#758 The Dresses are Complete

Thus, we introduced new members to our farm.

As we trained these budding tailors, showed them the inner workings of our farm, and shielded them from the artistic indoctrination of the elves and dwarves, time flew amidst all the commotion.

As the days passed, various progressions unfolded...

***

First, the wedding dresses were finalized.

“They’re done!!!”

These were the wedding dresses for our brides-to-be.

In total, four dresses.

For Batemy herself, Zoth Syra, Teacher Carp, and the dragoness Bloody Mary.

Constructing these four dresses was quite an endeavor, and even the unrelenting Batemy crumpled over with a victorious shout of “Complete!”

“Hahahaha... Wahahaha...!”

Though completely drained, she laughed with satisfaction.

Her monotonous chuckle echoed as if straight from Wh**ls on Meals.

Meanwhile, the novices who started assisting partway through were also completely exhausted.

After all, this was their first encounter with Batemy’s management.

Putting aside the grueling work the Demon King’s Army instilled, they were mentally struck by observing the working style of the top brand Noujou up close.

“This is... the type of work that commands the fashion industry...?”

“The intensity... it’s too extreme...!”

“I don’t believe I could accomplish this even with years of training...!”

They seemed to have been severely taken aback.

Hopefully, they can bounce back from this.

“If you want to do heavy-duty work, you must acclimate to a challenging environment. The army is perfect for that. You can experience hard mode straight from hell,” Batemy proclaims with pride, a rather twisted viewpoint, to say the least.

Moreover, isn’t it specifically Mrs. Astres’ subordinates who undergo this so-called “hard mode straight from hell”?

“Well, more significant than that is the outcome. Behold the final work of my single life!”

Displayed on the mannequins were the wedding dresses.

Even as a fashion neophyte, I could instantly understand the magnificence of these dresses. 

These pure white gowns, generously decorated with adamantine silk, had unique designs.

Batemy, with her capability to employ such a wide variety of design concepts, was undeniably a tailoring virtuoso.

It wasn’t solely the superior sewing machines or adamantine silk from the farm that formed the secret behind the popular brand.

“I see my well of crafty designs hasn’t run dry yet. Although I thought I might exhaust my ideas after creating so many wedding dresses in the past, my experience has permitted me to conceive new concepts.”

“You’ve created quite a few before, haven’t you?”

For Mrs. Astres, Platy, and others.

“Yes, especially since each wedding dress I’ve crafted until now had a hidden theme. Those themes were earth, water, fire, wind, and light, so I thought I was almost out of ideas.”

“You incorporated themes in each?”

From what Batemy told me...

The wedding dress she initially crafted for Mrs. Astres was themed after wind.

Next, Mrs. Glasya, she created an earth-themed dress.

Then she catered to the mermaid group, creating a water-themed dress for Queen Puffer.

The Witch of Hellfire Lampeye received a fire-themed dress.

And for my wife Platy, she said she fashioned a light-themed wedding dress.

“That’s pretty... chuunibyou.”

“I considered creating a dress themed around darkness, but I thought that wouldn’t quite match the ambiance of a wedding, so I abandoned that idea.”

Yeah, that would be too chuunibyou.

“After exhausting those themes, I fashioned these new dresses around a fresh motif. I feel extremely confident that it’s mirrored in my work!”

“Really?”

I wonder what theme she incorporated this time?

Gold wedding dresses themed after the twelve constellations?

“The wedding dress of thunder! The wedding dress of a swallow in flight! And the wedding dress of moonlight!!!”

...

... Oh well.

Things have heated up again, haven’t they?

But the words themselves sound rather romantic. Especially the wedding dress of moonlight!

“But wait, aren’t there supposed to be four dresses?”

The ones mentioned add up to three, so by my calculations; there should be one more.

“The final dress is my own.”

“Ah.”

“As such, it is distinctive from the others, having absorbed all of my best skills and techniques into it.”

“Wow.”

“It’s named... the Ultimate Wedding Dress!”

Sounds intense.

Like something you’d wear into a battle with the final boss.

Hold on a minute, Batemy.

You really skewed this in favor of your creation, didn’t you?!

So all the other wedding dresses you’ve made were just practice for this one, huh?

Isn’t that a misuse of your position?!

...

Well, I suppose it’s all right.

A tailor can put all their effort into creating something for themselves without facing the consequences, right?

That’s the privilege of being a creator, isn’t it?

“And that’s why I can’t wait to wear this Ultimate Wedding Dress to the ceremony! The spotlight will finally shine on me, who’s been in a supporting role all this time!!”

“I see. ‘Ultimate’ does have a nice ring to it...”

Just then, a chilling voice cuts through the air.

The owner of that voice... a non-human beauty in a black outfit?!

“Bloody Mary?!”

“I’m the wife of the strongest creature, the Geyser Dragon, who reigns supreme over all others. Don’t you think the term ‘ultimate’ suits me more than some mere demon?!”

“Ahhhhh! The unfair invader has arrived!!!”

Bloody Mary also has a wedding coming up.

She’s audaciously planning to snatch away the best one with the title of “Ultimate.”

Well, everyone wants the best for their once-in-a-lifetime wedding ceremony, right?

“Hold on, wait! This dress was tailored for me, so it won’t fit your voluptuous figure, Lady Mary! It’ll be too tight around the waist and loose around the chest!”

“Oh, is that so? That won’t be a problem.”

As Bloody Mary mumbled something, her body began to change?!

Her ample bosom suddenly shrank! And her belly seemed to protrude a little?!

Her height even seemed to decrease by about five cm?!

Even her proportions seemed to decrease!

“For us dragons, this human form is merely a temporary one. We can adjust our physique freely. Now, my body is the same size as yours, Batemy.”

“The beautiful Bloody Mary... suddenly became average?! Plump?! Short?! Is this really me?!”

Poor Batemy was confronted with a harsh reality.

Being able to perform such a heartless act so easily... Dragons are truly tyrants!

“Guoooh!”

Batemy collapses from the shock.

On the verge of her wedding, a time when she should be at her most beautiful, she’s forced to confront a cold, hard truth.

“Well then, I’ll be taking that Ultimate Wedding Dress! It’s only natural to take what you want!!!”

The logic of a barbarian.

“Now, where is that ultimate...?! Hm?! This is it, isn’t it?! It looks wonderful!!”

It seems Mary has found the dress she was looking for.

Is all hope lost?

Is it humanity’s fate to always have things taken from them by dragons?

But just when I thought that...!

“That’s the Moonlight Wedding Dress, right...?!”

One of Batemy’s mass-produced dresses?

“It’s a dress I designed with you in mind, Lady Mary. But it seems to have made a stronger impression on you than I expected. Well, of course, it suits you perfectly because I put all my effort into designing it to match you,” Batemy says, smiling smugly.

Her skills as a dressmaker are clearly top-notch, no matter what ultimate thing stands before her, even if the opponent is a dragon.

The clothes she tailor-made for the client are the ones that the client likes and is drawn to, just like a butterfly is drawn to nectar.

The ultimate beauty is different for everyone.

And that’s why Batemy, who can create the perfect “ultimate” for each customer, might be the best craftsman of them all.