Chapter 3

"Wow... that's amazing."

"Unyu..."

When I was told this with a sigh, and in a tone that sounded somewhat exasperated, I hung my head.

"Oh, why are you getting depressed? You're cute, and it suits you!"

Praised as if I were a helpless child, I was somewhat relieved.

I had finished distributing the scent pouches and, finally free during my break, I sewed my own clothes. I modeled them after the clothes from my previous life to make them easy to move in.

Why did I make them at the workplace... Well, the only things I had were a needle and a spider... I didn't have any scissors.

The spider would stop producing silk at the places I wanted to cut, and at my birth home, I mainly did mending, so I never had to cut fabric. Well, maybe I did... but I was given pre-cut patches. Perhaps they were wary of me tearing up the clothes in that room out of frustration. I wouldn't do that, but the people who made the judgment might have thought I would.

...But if there had been scissors there, I might have remodeled the tacky designs and poorly balanced clothes.

When I finally thought, "Let's make the thank-you scent pouches," I realized, "I don't have my own scissors..."

So, I got permission to use the scissors in the workroom during my break.

"Regardless of the scent pouches... I didn't expect you to cut fabric without measuring threads."

My supervisor, Aunt Lene, chuckled.

"Measuring threads?"

"This is it."

She took out a leather case and showed it to me.

"The red mark on the thread is for the length of the coat, the blue mark is for the arm, and the knot is for the circumference of the arm."

Wait... really?

"Normally, you measure the person's size with these threads, mark the fabric, and then cut it."

Like a pattern... yeah.

But it sounds complicated... Maybe the clothes I mended, which I thought were a waste of fabric, were made by someone who wasn't good at using measuring threads.

I thought about patterns for a moment, but I hadn't seen them here, and paper... it seems to be used only for books and documents... There don't seem to be materials of the right size for patterns in circulation.

But I realized something when I was making the scent pouches.

I can cut fabric to my desired size.

I can cut all pieces to the same size without measuring each one.

When I looked at my body and visualized the finished clothes, I naturally knew where to cut.

I was surprised myself.

"Oh, did that... surprise you?"

My voice, which I rarely use, is still a bit awkward.

Compared to when I first arrived, my voice is more feminine, and it doesn't have that hoarse quality, making it easier to understand.

"That's part of it, but overall, you're just too amazing... Your hands are so fast, and normally, cutting and sewing can't be done in a break. Your skill level is too high... I only taught you about basting and the existence of measuring threads..."

Aunt Lene's eyes were distant, and I panicked.

"But... I, I, was, h, helped."

Basting... the existence of basting pins really helped me.

If I hadn't borrowed them from Aunt Lene, it would have taken much longer.

"Ah, it's okay. I've known about Yui's work before. It's so beautiful that it's ridiculous, and I was smitten with it."

She patted my head, and I blushed.

"I, I, like, Aunt, your, work. It's, s, so, soft, and, w, warm, when, I, wear, it."

"Ahh, you're such a cute girl!"

She hugged me tightly, and we both blushed.

Aunt Lene is warm and kind, and I feel like I want to be hugged by her all the time, unlike my mother in this life... In the Nier household, child-rearing was the job of the servants, and the people who served in that house were mostly not good... My mother, whom I saw occasionally, was a pain to be near because of the perfume and makeup.

I'm really happy to have been taken in by this house and to have Aunt Lene as my supervisor.

While we were working in such a cozy atmosphere, Lord Schur arrived, with four spirits attached to him in unfamiliar attire.

It's rare for him to visit this mansion... According to Aunt Lene, he is the son-in-law of Mr. Ulde, the head butler of Mr. Rodan's workplace... I listened to her explanation, but my eyes were fixed on the spirits.

The spirits are generally in the shape of women, but some have wings, and others have cat, dog, or rabbit-like ears and tails.

The ones attached to Lord Schur were cat-eared spirits wrapped in fluffy, bright green cotton.

They looked like kittens tangled in yarn, but their expressions were like kittens who love small spaces.

A brown one, a black one, a reddish-brown one, and a lemon-colored one, they were snuggled up in a marimo costume, attached to his shoulders and head.

Lord Schur plucked one from his shoulder and brought it in front of my eyes.

"Fluffy, can I hold it?"

Without thinking, I held out my hands to receive it, and the people around me held their breath.

"Yui... Can you see the spirits?"

"Eh?"

Huh? Come to think of it... Lord Schur can see spirits?

I was so captivated by the cute spirit marimo that I realized too late... I had revealed that I can see spirits.