Kamisama Shop de Cheat no Kaori

Chapter 184. The Bumpy Family And The Latest Trends

“Patterns… you say?”

“Yeah, like these white clothes that the Guild Master and I are wearing—dress shirts and slacks. These are essentially their blueprints. I brought along a few other designs that might come in handy.”

The setting is the sewing machine testing workshop. I’m speaking with Eutis. I came here after finishing up tasks like the morning food distribution, transporting the mirrors, and paying salaries. I’ve already collected the payment for the mirrors too.

By the way, the courier who cracked the mirror came to apologize first thing this morning. It was more of an excuse than an apology, but that might be a cultural thing. Admitting fault here seems to mean shouldering all the blame.

I reassured them that I wouldn’t assign blame and instead asked for the accident details. They were hesitant at first, but when I explained it was to share the information and prevent similar mistakes, they seemed enlightened. Giro and Clari especially listened with shining eyes.

The salaries, food distribution, candy for kids, tobacco purchases, and restocking spices and breakfast supplies—especially since Hagg’s been picky lately—required extra groceries. I stocked enough to last several days. Our share, stored in the fridge, will stay fresh longer.

The gas for the generator, running nightly for battery charging, also needed replenishing. I picked up a weekly manga magazine while I was at it.

Might as well show it to Faf and Lalaila later.

Additionally, I bought two sewing machines and two copies each of the new patterns we approved. The five pattern types are:

Pattern (Dress Shirt, M) = 4,800 yen

Pattern (Slacks, M) = 4,800 yen

Pattern (T-Shirt, M) = 4,800 yen

Pattern (Overalls, M) = 4,800 yen

Pattern (Jeans, M) = 4,800 yen

All in all, I spent quite a bit of money. I’ll skip the detailed math.

Remaining balance: 13,208,603 yen.

“I’ve never heard of patterns before…”

Eutis looked confused.

“Ah, sorry. They’re like blueprints for clothes. With these, you can mass-produce the same design. These are made from a thin material called washi, but once the design is finalized, you could create a wooden template instead.”

“Oh! You mean wooden molds! …Wait, aren’t those top-secret at most workshops?”

“Consider it part of the contract. By the way, have you gathered fabric samples?”

“Yes, I’ve collected almost all types of fabric in circulation. Some are quite high-end, so I’ve been warned not to waste them.”

“Got it.”

Upstairs, bolts of fabric wrapped on boards were stacked neatly. Even shelves had been moved in at some point. The Guild Master’s enthusiasm was evident.

“This fabric will work for the dress shirt… Oh, this one’s slightly stretchy. Perfect for a T-shirt. This one’s for overalls, and this one’s for jeans.”

The denim-like fabric for the jeans was pricier, but its durability and resemblance to real denim made it a good choice.

“That material is thick, so it’s hard to sew and inefficient for production.”

“Really? Won’t a sewing machine solve that issue?”

“Can sewing machines handle such thick fabric?”

Actually, pedal sewing machines are more powerful than electric ones and can sew through thick materials with ease.

“Thick fabric?”

A thought clicked in my mind.

“Do you have soft leather?”

“Huh? We stock it but didn’t bring any today.”

“Could you gather some leather as well?”

“Leave it to me!”

It was Preliana from the sewing machine project team who jumped into the conversation.

“Alright, I’m counting on you.”

“Got it!”

She dashed out energetically. Don’t get hit by a carriage or something.

“Let’s start with the most requested item—the dress shirt. Place the pattern on the fabric and cut along with it.”

“Wait, even the template?”

“Yeah. There’s a spare, so use that as a reference if you’re making a wooden mold.”

“Understood.”

“I’m not great at sewing, so don’t expect a polished finish. You’ll have to handle that part.”

“Understood.”

I carefully sewed the cut fabric using the machine. Thanks to a cosplay-loving boss I used to help, I’m pretty handy with sewing machines.

“Shrink the fabric here… flip it there…”

Eutis muttered as he observed, trying to memorize my movements. In this world, skills are often learned by watching and imitating. Basic sewing doesn’t require much technique, but sleeves and other details need finesse. With his dedication, he’ll pick it up quickly.

“I’m back!”

“That was fast.”

“Yes, they had some in stock!”

Preliana answered, catching her breath but looking delighted.

“Let’s test it out… Okay, it works.”

The pedal sewing machine, as expected, performed powerfully. Surprisingly, it can handle thicker materials better than electric machines. Even leather artisans on Earth often prefer pedal machines. Though hard leather might still be a challenge.

“Amazing… It sews through that leather so easily.”

“Eutis, this machine is incredible!”

“Indeed. When the Guild Master told us about it, I thought it was too expensive to justify, but having many of these…”

The two seemed to fully grasp the machine’s value now.

I spent some time teaching them the machine’s operations. Maintenance instructions would come later from Hagg through the blacksmith guild. I also handed over the remaining patterns and requested sample products.

“By the way, these two machines cost ¥20 million. If the blacksmith guild mass-produces them, the price should drop, so source them there in the future.”

“Understood. We’ll pay you tomorrow.”

“Got it. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Understood.”

“Yes!”

And with that, I returned.

◆

Several days passed.

It’s been 10 days since selling mirrors to Lotton. We’ve delivered 1,000 units, including replacements for broken ones.

Sewing machines cost 20 million yen, mirror costs and transportation fees came to 11.74 million yen, totaling 31.74 million yen. Miscellaneous expenses and food totaled 244,335 yen.

…This feels like serious business.

Remaining balance: 44,704,268 yen.

I received a few clothing samples. Without needing to provide different-sized patterns, they produced S and L sizes themselves. This eliminated the need for pattern approvals.

Yaralai and Lalaila seemed comfortable in their respective L and S sizes. I gave them each a set of dress shirts, slacks, jeans, T-shirts, and overalls to test. Lalaila in jeans and a T-shirt was stunning—almost dizzyingly so. Of course, Yaralai looked equally amazing. They could easily model as a stunning parent-child duo.

Hagg was upset about not getting any, but there’s no way we can cater to non-human sizes yet. Elves can fit in because their builds are similar.

After storing the samples in the container, I noticed new additions to the SHOP product list:

Dress Shirt (Sevites-made) = 12,800 yen

Slacks (Sevites-made) = 26,300 yen

Overalls (Sevites-made) = 45,130 yen

T-Shirt (Sevites-made) = 8,700 yen

This pricing… what’s with the mystery?