Chapter 67

The next day, Schnell came to the inn, leaving it behind with just a simple bag. He was to live in one of the servant rooms as a live-in apprentice. In the morning, after having breakfast with everyone, the explanations began for Schnell. A simple introduction to Lord Arjitt, the story of how the queen from a neighboring country had gone mad with love and harmed the country's guardian, and the need to separate the curse from the guardian to heal him, as well as information about me and Ariadne.

Despite calling it a simple introduction, Lord Arjitt had told Schnell almost everything, causing him to exclaim several times, "That's something a regular person from another country shouldn't know!"

When the explanation was over, Schnell, looking exhausted, gave his thoughts. "Why did you even take a second wife? What benefit does this country get from it?"

"Well, it's not about benefits. The neighboring country was suffering from a famine and was on the verge of collapse, which would have been a nuisance. We couldn't accommodate all the refugees, and their national character didn't match ours. If they came in large numbers, it would have destabilized the country..."

Lord Arjitt looked quite tired, as if remembering something. "The neighboring country wouldn't accept that there was some underlying issue. It's their national character, I guess. Once they get an idea in their head, they don't listen to others."

"Ah... I understand, there were plenty of people like that in Karankoya. Especially that idiot prince."

"We didn't have time, and marriage was the most straightforward solution. It just so happened that there was a girl with a magic eye at the right time."

"Really, countries and authority, they're such a hassle."

All I could say was, "You must be tired."

With the explanation over, I called Schnell over. He turned around, looking exhausted, and I smiled at him. "How about we start with one dress? I want to see your skills, Schnell."

At my words, Schnell shuddered.

Schnell was overjoyed to be sewing a dress after a long time, but he was also nervous about showing his skills to his new master, Yui. However, when he was led to the workroom and faced with a lot of fabric and thread, his rationality flew out the window.

"Light colors, deep purple? Spring tree spirit, silver hair for the moon, gold for embroidery accents."

In front of a mannequin sized for Yui, he grabbed paper and started sketching designs. "Oh, wait, is this my dress?"

"Yes, it's exactly like the one you made for Lord Arjitt's evening gown."

"Ah, yeah."

Remembering how he was possessed by the urge to create when we first met, I recalled my own recovery from growing pains and the first time I saw myself in a mirror. If I had been given the freedom to create with so much fabric in front of me, I would have been in the same state as Schnell.

"Seems like Schnell figured out Yui's guardian spirit even though he wasn't introduced to her?"

Lord Arjitt tilted his head. "Schnell has a magic eye, right?"

"He was squinting quite a bit, so his vision seems weak. It's not something he was born with; he probably gained the ability to see with the help of the Wind Spirit King."

A piece of paper fluttered to the ground. Picking it up, it was a dress with gold embroidery. The pattern was a simple vine, but a purification magic array might be better?

Without realizing it, I started drawing the purification magic array from the top of the guardian's tapestry. I had been weaving these arrays into gloves whenever I had free time, but... I wasn't sure if I was drawing them correctly.

A spider provided a thread, and I wove a single magic array. Ah, yes, it matched.

When I looked up, Schnell was staring intently at my hands, which surprised me. "Beautiful, I've never seen such a design before. Can I use this for the gold embroidery on the dress?"

"Yes, but..."

I placed the drawing and the woven array side by side, feeling that they were the same but different. "This embroidery needs to have the same thread structure as the weaving to feel the same."

Schnell compared the drawing and the woven array, his eyes shining. "Amazing! You're right!"

He grabbed some nearby fabric, a needle, and thread and started embroidering. "This part, like this, and this part like this? No, this way?"

Schnell's struggle lasted about two hours, even with me showing him a sample embroidery. "The shape probably has very strict proportions. This is intense."

Two hours later, he shouted, "I did it!" and then fainted. "Eh? Schnell?"

Luluu quickly picked up Schnell in a princess carry, laid him on a long chair, checked his pulse, and hummed a mysterious melody. "The Wind Spirit King seems to be having fun, so I don't think there's a problem, but what happened to Schnell?"

Lord Arjitt, looking at the Wind Spirit King, who was playfully petting Schnell's head, asked, "Did he absorb the purification magic array?"

There was embroidery on the dress's chest, and the presence of the Wind Spirit King, though invisible, was more pronounced. This was similar to when my clothes were worn and Lord Arjitt's magic and spirits were powered up.

"Level-up dizziness," Luluu said, her face contorted.

"Level-up dizziness?"

"When someone accomplishes something far beyond their current level, they level up too quickly, and their body and consciousness need time to stabilize, causing them to faint."

Lord Arjitt, impressed, said to Luluu, who seemed to be reading something, "You're amazing, Luluu. Do you have a diagnosis skill?"

"It's a sub-skill of the appraisal skill, and it's not very useful in the sea, so I used to think the appraisal skill was better when I was a child."

...I knew this world had skills and everyone had them.