I Became a Clothing Designer in Another World - Chapter 20
"Ni, Ni... Nice to meet you!"
The magician I met with the Magic Tower Lord's guidance was a person with a small physique and long, snow-white hair that stood out, giving a strong impression of being like an arctic rabbit.
Although the legs are short.
"I-I am Haynie Bailey, a mid-level magician who is a disciple of Senior Magician James William Lee and performs the secret magic of the B, Bailey family!"
Seeing her introduce herself while trembling like she had been dropped into a frozen river in the middle of winter as soon as she saw my mother, I became even more convinced that she resembled a rabbit.
Wouldn't this be exactly how a rabbit would look if you brought it in front of a lion?
"Nice to meet you, Miss Haynie Bailey, you were the third daughter of Baron Daker, right?"
"That's right! Thank you for remembering!"
Miss Haynie grabbed my mother's outstretched hands for a handshake and bowed her head repeatedly.
Her trembling only intensified as a bonus.
I was worried that she might break a bone somewhere from shaking like that.
"W-Would you allow me to ask if you would be willing to let me inquire about the reason why the Countess has personally graced this humble laboratory with her presence?"
"Don't speak unnecessarily long, just speak comfortably."
"What reason did you come for?"
"That's perfect."
My mother, with a gentle curve at the corners of her lips, subtly released her handshake with Miss Haynie and winked at me.
I immediately stepped forward and told Miss Haynie the reason for our visit to the Magic Tower in place of my mother.
"We came because we are interested in the knitting machine that was made in the Magic Tower."
"Ah! Then you've come to the right place, although it's embarrassing for me to say this myself, I am one of the leading authorities in magical mechanical engineering!"
"Oh... I see."
It was a little refreshing to see a scholar refer to themselves as an authority, so I nodded with a lukewarm expression.
"Please explain the machine."
"Of course! The knitting machine was created by my teacher's teacher to save people suffering from knitting so they could make stockings..."
"Ahem..."
I asked for an explanation, but I didn't expect her to start rattling off the development history right away.
I've been feeling it since a little while ago, but this magician has a very strong vibe of being a chatterbox.
If I leave her alone, she'll probably spend hours rambling on her own about things I don't even want to know.
I quickly raised my hand and waved it wildly to cut off Miss Haynie's words.
"However, my teacher's teacher was treated poorly because of the foolish insight of the former emperor..."
"Miss Haynie! The history is fine, so I would like you to briefly explain the most recently made machine."
"Heeing..."
Miss Haynie, who had suddenly become dejected, pouted her lips and drooped her shoulders.
And she continued the explanation in a dispirited voice, as if her interest had completely faded.
"The most recently made knitting machine is the fourth improved version. It was developed four years ago, and it can now hold thinner threads, and it can knit more densely and widely."
"Specifically, how thin is it?"
"Based on the thinnest needle, you can use thin 20-count thread, and you can use wool, cotton, as well as silk."
"Even silk? Aren't there any problems with the durability of the needles or the needles damaging the thread?"
"Replacing the needles is easy, and you can use them for more than 10,000 hours if you take good care of them, and there is no problem with thread damage if you adjust the needle size well."
"Oh..."
Just listening to the explanation made it sound like an amazing machine.
Of course, I would have to see the real thing and check it out.
"Can I see the machine?"
"I'm always showing you the machine."
"Yes?"
"Do you see that big table over there? That's the knitting machine."
A table-shaped table that looked about 2 meters long and 1 meter high.
However, the hundreds of needles and rods lined up were very impressive and felt murderous.
"It's quite big..."
"This is a lot smaller, too. I reduced it by that much while improving the durability of what was twice the size of that in my teacher's time!"
Achieving miniaturization and improved durability at the same time.
I don't know much about engineering, but I knew it wasn't an easy task.
So that's why she confidently declared herself an authority...
"Oh... That's very impressive."
"Ehehe~ Thank you."
When I burst out with admiration full of sincerity and looked at her with admiring eyes, Miss Haynie twisted her hair and smiled shyly.
"Can I see it in action?"
"Of course! However, it requires preparation time, is that okay?"
"How long will it take?"
"About 5 minutes."
"Show me."
"Yes!"
Miss Haynie, who answered brightly, walked up to the machine, pulled a few needles, touched the machine here and there, hung a ball of red thread on the machine, and inserted the thread between the needles.
Then, she turned her body around to look at us and said with a bright smile.
"Since we don't have much time, I'll just make a towel-sized piece."
"Yes? What do you mean..."
Before I could even understand what she meant by making a towel-sized piece because we didn't have much time, Miss Haynie grabbed the handle that rose above the needles and slowly pushed it from side to side.
"Huuuung!"
As the handle moved, the needles repeatedly came out and went in according to the movement, and the knitted fabric was pulled out of the machine as thread was intertwined stitch by stitch, just like paper coming out of a printer.
"Kkeueeeek..."
Each time the handle went back and forth, a row of patterns was engraved and the speed at which the fabric stretched out was so fast that it felt on a completely different level from hand-knitting.
"Kkeueeung... Ta-da! How is it?"
The time it took for Miss Haynie, who was groaning and diligently moving the handle, to pull the fabric out of the machine with a bright smile was exactly 10 minutes.
As she said at the beginning, a towel-sized piece of fabric was dangling from Miss Haynie's hand.
The fabric came out without the thread getting tangled or breaking while knitting so quickly.
"Wow..."
I immediately exclaimed and clapped lightly a couple of times.
Just a little bit, but I felt like I understood the minds of the workers who started the Luddite movement.
I feel a wall even when I do it as a hobby, but if it was my life and job, I would feel like my life was being taken away.
As I was staring blankly at the fabric, my mother, with a puzzled expression, tapped me on the shoulder and whispered in my ear.
"Is it amazing?"
"It would take me three or four hours to knit that much."
"Hoo..."
My mother's eyes twinkled, and a subtle smile appeared on her face.
"Is it difficult to operate?"
"If you've knitted before, you can quickly make this kind of fabric in a day or two, but you can't put patterns in as beautifully as you can by hand."
"How many people are needed to operate that machine?"
"One person is enough, but two people are better to use it efficiently."
"I would also like to know about the production cost and maintenance cost."
"The production cost is 2 gold, and maintenance is 10 coppers per needle."
"I see."
And suddenly, she asked a barrage of questions and showed a deep interest in the machine.
"Not bad."
"Yes! Demand is increasing little by little within the empire these days, especially inquiries are coming in from the Knights and the Northern Frontier!"
"Knights..."
My mother, with her arms crossed and her hand lightly supporting her chin, was lost in thought as she looked at the machine.
My mother, who narrowed her eyes, tapped her cheek with her finger, and thought deeply, raised her eyebrows, smiled contentedly, and opened her mouth.
"First, let's contract for one right away."
"Neeet?! Really?"
"Wow."
A very cool on-the-spot purchase.
Miss Haynie jumped up like a rabbit and widened her eyes and mouth into circles as if she didn't know she would buy it so coolly.
"Thank you, ma'am! You are the first noble to purchase it directly!"
"Oh my, that's delightful."
"I will take responsibility for transporting it to your mansion with the best service! Thank you so much!"
"Hehe~ I'll be looking forward to it."
Miss Haynie bowed her head to my mother as if her waist would fold in half, and expressed her gratitude.
My mother watched Miss Haynie's appearance with amusement and burst into a bright smile.
"Young magicians these days are full of passion and etiquette. It's nice to see that the Magic Tower has a bright future."
"It's all thanks to His Majesty the Emperor and the Count's family!"
"Was Miss Haynie's field magical mechanical engineering?"
"T-That's right! It is a field of study that combines the movements of magic and machines to create machines that are helpful in real life!"
"I see~"
My mother, nodding her head while dragging out the end of her words, made eye contact with Miss Haynie, smiled meaningfully, and whispered softly.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Hieeeek! Hueeek!"
As soon as my mother finished speaking, Miss Haynie covered her mouth with both hands and fell into a panic, making unknown screams as if she had won the lottery.
"Let's go."
"Uh... Is it okay to just leave her like that?"
"It's a daily occurrence, so don't worry."
"Eh..."
What is it really?
_
Inside the carriage returning to the mansion.
"By the way, why is the Magic Tower treating my mother so kindly?"
"What?"
I couldn't stand the curiosity that I couldn't solve and asked my mother.
As soon as she heard my question, my mother widened her eyes and blinked as if asking what nonsense I was talking about, then tilted her head and asked back.
"You really don't know?"
"No."
"Heh... Don't you even know what your father does?"
"Wasn't he a court magician?"
"Tsk..."
My mother looked at me with a pathetic look and clicked her tongue.
"He's a court magician and the First Vice Minister of the Magic Department. He's someone who can object to the patents for the technology developed by the Magic Tower and the Magic Tower's budget. Even if you have no interest in the people around you, at least take some interest in what your father does."
"Ah... I'm sorry."