Chapter 133 - Cool Clothes and Conversations with Friends
“Let’s save the Disasradu for another time... Ah, the shoe insoles—we’ve handed them out to the whole unit, and they’re really great, aren’t they?”
As soon as Volf arrived, Dorino abruptly changed the subject.
“I’m glad everyone’s using them now.”
“If only we could make clothes like those insoles. Summer expeditions are brutal with how sweaty and sticky the clothes get.”
“Same with the heavy gear. When I got heat rash on both sides, I finally understood how Senpai felt when he got frostbite from using ice magic stones.”
“It’s tough when you can’t even scratch under your armor, no matter how much it itches...”
The men exchanged these words with weary eyes, looking utterly pitiful.
Dahlia heard about it on the day she first met Volf, and it seemed to be a serious issue.
If only she could solve it with better clothing, but it wasn’t that simple.
“It’d be great if cooler clothes could be made. I tried prototyping something before, but it turned out... weird.”
“Don’t tell me it crawled away or something?”
“It didn’t crawl! What are you even thinking, Volf?”
“Just what came to mind, I guess...”
Volf seemed to recall the “Crawling Magic Sword” and tried to laugh it off.
“Are we talking about slimes? Anyway, what was so weird about it? Did it make you hotter or something?”
“Well... it just didn’t feel comfortable to wear.”
“Was it stiff or something? I could handle a little discomfort.”
“Yes, but... I think there’s still some leftover fabric in the kitchen...”
Rather than explaining, it was faster to show them.
Dahlia went to the kitchen and pulled out a long piece of fabric from the back of a drawer. It was meant to be cut into rags, but for now, it looked like a light green scarf.
“Looks like normal fabric to me.”
“You’ll understand if you wrap it around your neck.”
She handed the fabric to Volf, who gave her a skeptical look. He couldn’t tell just by holding it.
Following Dahlia’s suggestion, he wrapped it around his neck.
“...Ugh... This is... a bit...”
He quickly unwrapped it and rubbed his neck.
Dorino was in the middle of drinking wine, so Volf passed the fabric to Randolph.
“...Ugh!”
Randolph furrowed his brow deeply the moment he wrapped it around his neck.
He trembled slightly, enduring it for a while, but eventually took it off in silence. He handed it to Dorino with his head down.
“What’s wrong with you two?”
Dorino looked puzzled but wrapped it around his neck anyway. For some reason, he tied it into a bow at the front.
“Huh? ...Hehe! Haha! This is impossible—it’s way too ticklish!”
With tears in his eyes from laughing so hard, he finally took it off.
It was a piece of fabric she made before, infused with green slime material.
The slightest breeze made the fabric squirm.
Whether it felt like bugs crawling or just ticklish like Dorino experienced, wearing it for long was unbearable.
She had tried adjusting the wind intensity during prototyping, but the sensation never fully went away.
“Why is that? The shoe insoles don’t tickle at all.”
“The insoles are thicker, so they don’t move as much. Plus, your weight presses down on them, so they’re less likely to tickle.”
A few summers ago, Dahlia had the simple idea of infusing shirts with wind magic to make them cooler.
Unlike the fabric Volf and the others tried, she infused an entire short-sleeved shirt with a stronger version of the wind magic.
When she explained to her father that she was “prototyping a breathable shirt,” he tried it on while she was washing her hands.
Unable to stop her father from laughing hysterically, she ended up tearing the shirt off him in a desperate move.
If that had been the end of it, it would’ve been fine, but unfortunately, Tobias returned from a client meeting just then.
Dahlia tearing a shirt off her father who was laughing so hard he was on the floor.
Faced with an incomprehensible sight, he was left utterly speechless.
Her father made her recreate the exact same shirt for a proper explanation.
As for Tobias’s shirt, her father had ripped it off him too.
She remembered apologizing deeply to Tobias, who was doubled over from laughter, as he told her, “Think carefully about what you make.”
It was such a traumatic memory that she had buried it, but she was definitely the perpetrator.
“This could work for punishment games...”
Dorino’s words snapped her out of her dark reminiscence.
“Punishment games?”
“Yeah, it’d be great for drinking parties or banquets. Most people get forced to drink, but some can’t handle alcohol. So, they have to sing, shout the name of someone they like, or stuff like that. And for those who get too drunk or pass out, they get wrapped in fur or flags and thrown into a room.”
“Once, I got wrapped in a fishing net.”
“Randolph, the flag wasn’t big enough for you.”
Dahlia refrained from asking whether Randolph had gotten too drunk or just fallen asleep.
But if he ever got caught in a net, he’d probably be a big fish.
“Fabric... net? ...Ah!”
Dahlia ran back to the kitchen with a sudden idea.
She grabbed a piece of coarse white fabric, like gauze, used for straining soup ingredients. She chose a new piece from her stock for processing.
“Sorry! I’ll be right back—just need to go to the workshop for a bit.”
“If you’re going to experiment, I’ll come with you.”
Volf followed Dahlia as she dashed through the living room.
In the first-floor workshop, she took out green slime powder and mixed it with a magical tool solution in a glass cup.
Infusing it with her fingertip’s mana, the liquid turned into a viscous gel.
With her index finger’s mana, she controlled the light green slime and applied it onto the coarse, open-weave fabric.
However, rather than covering the entire surface, she arranged it in a grid pattern with gaps in between. Additionally, she fixed the airflow direction from the front to the back of the fabric.
Responding to Dahlia’s mana, the slime moved in an orderly manner both vertically and horizontally, adhering neatly to the fabric’s surface.
Previously, there had been slight inconsistencies in fixing the direction of the wind magic, but thanks to Ozwald’s guidance, she could now apply it without any issues.
She continued working carefully, ensuring that the wind magic infused by the green slime didn’t become too strong and that the grid pattern remained evenly spaced.
Since the fabric wasn’t very large and her mana had improved compared to before, she finished the process surprisingly quickly.
Gently checking with her left hand to see if the magic had settled properly, she took a deep breath and wrapped the fabric around her neck.
As she looped it once, a refreshing coolness flowed outward from her neck.
The fabric clung snugly to her skin, but since it was gauze-like, it didn’t feel bothersome. The outward airflow also prevented any ticklish sensation.
While its compatibility with clothing or armor might vary, it seemed wearable without any issues.
It might also be useful for wrapping around sweaty areas just as it was.
“I think this will keep you cool!”
She took the fabric off her neck and handed it to Volf. Without hesitation, he wrapped it around his own neck.
His golden eyes widened in surprise, then a bright smile spread across his face.
“It’s cool... and not ticklish at all!”
In the end, Randolph and Dorino, who had come down with them, each tried it as well. Smiles spread across their faces too.
“This is really great!”
“Feels nice and cool...”
“So, this level of wind should be good, right?”
Dahlia began jotting down the process in her notes.
The knights wrapped the scarf around their necks and arms, chatting about their ideas.
“If we could put this in the back of our summer uniforms, it’d reduce sweating.”
“Good point. It’d help under the arms too.”
“For heavy gear, having this fabric front and back would be a lifesaver.”
“About heavy gear... can’t you attach fabric inside the armor?”
“It’s possible. We often add fabric or cushions to metal parts that rub.”
“Then maybe we can replace that. Fix the wind direction and make it a bit stronger.”
Whether it felt ticklish varied by person.
They’d need multiple versions with different wind intensities. She added that to her notes.
“If we attach it inside the helmet, it’d reduce sweat getting in our eyes.”
“If the helmet has enhancements like increased durability, there’s a risk of mana interference... Oh! What if we make it into a thin fabric hat instead? That way, it would be easier to swap out as well.”
Green slime-infused wind magic was essentially disposable.
While easy to make, like the shoe insoles, it would need replacing eventually.
“That’d be great. After use, we could strip the magic and reapply it. The royal castle’s mages or magical toolmakers could do it quickly.”
“Royal castle mages are amazing. For regular folks, that’d take time and money.”
She had heard that removing enchanted magic requires a significant amount of mana. The royal castle must have an exceptional group of powerful mages and magical toolmakers.
“If we could put it in glove linings, it’d stop our hands from getting sweaty.”
“No, since it’s thin, a single glove should be enough. Then you can just wear your current gloves over it.”
“Less hand sweat would make the archers happy.”
Dahlia took notes while the knights shared their preferences and thoughts.
Perhaps fueled by the alcohol, the conversation remained lively, and her notes quickly piled up.
For Dahlia, this stack was a source of excitement.
The mountain of ideas and uses she hadn’t thought of made her smile.
“Hehe... These all sound fun. I’ll start making what I can!”
“...Wait, Dahlia! Let’s talk to Ivano first.”
Volf, who had been smiling at her, suddenly turned serious.
Dahlia tilted her head, puzzled.
“Of course, I’ll consult him, but is something wrong?”
“Sorry, but I’d like you both to keep this confidential. I think the squad will eventually use this, but if others find out first, it might cause trouble.”
“Ah... I get it. I heard mass-producing the insoles was tough too.”
Dorino nodded in agreement.
When Dahlia glanced at Randolph, he was staring straight at Volf.
“Do I need Covenant Magic?”
“Covenant Magic? For what?”
“For keeping this secret. My mother is from a neighboring country’s count family. I’ve been studying abroad for five years.”
“You don’t need one. Randolph, you’re a friend.”
“It may be alright with you, but Lady Dahlia is a chairwoman. For her company’s safety, wouldn’t it be necessary?”
Suddenly finding herself the center of attention, Dahlia panicked.
But as Volf said, Randolph was a friend. She didn’t think he’d spill the secret.
“No, it’s not necessary.”
“Then I swear on my sword—no, on our friendship—I won’t tell anyone. That should be more convincing for Lady Dahlia, right?”
“...Thank you very much.”
Hesitating for a moment on how to respond to someone who swore on his friendship over his sword, she somehow managed to find an answer.
His reddish-brown eyes seemed to be smiling at her.
・・・・・・・
After talking for a while, they wrapped up the conversation and everyone helped clean up after the meal.
Then, after thanking Dahlia, the men left the Green Tower.
The deep indigo sky already had the moon shining above.
“Volf, you can stay longer. You’re off tomorrow, right? Take it easy.”
“It’s late, so I’ll head back with you.”
On the road where the Green Tower was still visible, the blue-eyed young man smiled faintly.
“Volf, you’re dating Dahlia-san, right?”
“We’re friends. By the way, since when did you start calling her Dahlia?”
“Just now. So, you’re in the ‘friend zone.’ If Randolph or I seriously asked her out, you wouldn’t stop us, would you?”
“That’s... I wouldn’t stop you.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
Dorino and Randolph’s responses overlapped perfectly.
“If someone wants to ask Dahlia out, I won’t stop them. If you or Randolph truly feel that way, it’s not my place to interfere. But if you were only fooling around, I’d definitely tell you to stop...”
As he spoke, his steps grew heavier. He didn’t notice the two had stopped walking.
Watching his back, Dorino whispered to Randolph.
“He’s acting like a grade-schooler. Is this really a man in his twenties?”
“I mostly agree. But Volf is about to become part of a ‘marquis family.’ He might not be able to act as freely as he wants.”
“Ugh. Nobles are so complicated... Hey, let’s go drink a bit more at someone’s room.”
“Sure.”
Catching up to the tall figure walking ahead, Dorino called out.
“Volf, let me say one thing. I’m into blondes with big chests, so she’s not my type.”
“...I see.”
“Hey, Randolph, what about you?”
“Lady Dahlia would make a considerate and excellent wife.”
“Randolph...?”
Volf’s golden eyes wavered as Dorino patted his shoulder twice.
“Volf, seriously, catch on already. He’s just messing with you. This one may look serious, but trust me, just because it doesn’t show on his face doesn’t mean he’s not joking around.”
“I only said what I thought. I didn’t say I’d ask her out. Pouring her red wine while standing was just a gesture of gratitude, not ‘I want to get closer to you.’”
Randolph confidently stated, “I want to get closer to you,” saying only that part in the language of the neighboring country.
When a nobleman stands and pours red wine for a woman of lower or no rank, it signifies a desire to become close with her.
If the woman also stands to receive it, it means she understands his feelings.
Dalia had seemingly forgotten, but it was written in the notes from Volf’s mother’s book.
“Randolph...”
“What is it, Volf?”
His expression didn’t change, but Volf could see the laughter in his eyes.
Volf moved without a sound and grabbed Randolph’s arm with a Body Enhancement-infused grip.
The pressure was strong enough to seem like it might make a creaking noise, causing the red-bronze-haired man to raise an eyebrow.
In response, Randolph reinforced his own arm with Body Reinforcement and pushed back against Volf’s tightening fingers.
As the two began competing in Body Enhancement with calm, composed expressions, Dorino looked on with an exasperated face.
“Quit messing around here, you two. Let’s get going.”
Finally, Volf and Randolph separated, and they all continued walking down the night road.
“Still, Dorino, I’m surprised you’d say something like that.”
“Sorry. But it’s been seven years since we met, and it took three just to talk like this. Dahlia-san’s only been around recently, so I got worried.”
“...Thanks, Dorino...”
Volf thanked him in a small voice, and Dorino let out an exaggerated sigh.
“Honestly, you look like a noble prince, but inside, you’re just a brat in his teenage years.”
“Hey, that’s a bit harsh. I was feeling sentimental just now.”
“Volf, you should reflect on yourself calmly.”
“Even you, Randolph... Is today ‘gang up on Volf’ day instead of ganging up on monsters?”
Their teasing and laughter-filled conversation continued late into the night.
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