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C149: DETUNE
“You like Olba, don’t you?”
Queen Astres’ sudden question caught Batemy off guard.
“W-W-What are you talking about, Miss Astres?! Ow! I pricked my finger! It’s because you asked something so weird out of the blue that I missed my aim, Miss Astres!”
“You aren’t even sewing by hand.”
The mountain of gold coins Batemy managed to earn from selling her clothes at the demon capital was an overwhelming amount, enough to stuff some of them in a bag and use it as a blunt weapon.
“There’s also an audit of purchase just to reassure you I didn’t pocket a single coin out of it.”
“I would never suspect you of committing such an act, Miss Astres
”
Then they immediately shifted the topic from business matters to a love story.
Mrs. Astres’ is as sharp as ever, even after her days of being a Heavenly One are over.
“Huh, Batemy has a lover?”
I was also drawn in by the bittersweet air of someone else’s love story.
“He’s an aide to another Heavenly One, so in essence, he’s Batemy’s equal. I often saw them engaged in conversation while they were on duty
”
“I-I was just giving him advice as his equal! It’s because of his pampered upbringing that he’s lacking in multiple aspects! Wouldn’t it be sad if his men died because of his own ignorance?!”
“Still, you looked like you enjoyed talking to him.”
“That’s because you’re a crazy romance fanatic despite appearances, Miss Astres!”
“Despite appearances?”
Batemy remains unfazed.
“I know for a fact that the armor underwear you secretly mixed in with the rest of your clothes to sell at the capital were specifically meant for him. I even heard the size was a perfect fit.”
“You sold them to Olba?!”
“His mother purchased it from a local merchant. After going through the hands of that many people, he’d never suspect that you’re the tailor.”
“He has an Oedipus complex, so I can see him treasuring it!”
“I actually have an interesting story to tell you regarding that
”
The story Mrs. Astres told was thrilling about how Olba, Batemy’s supposed lover, was attacked by a Lesser Dragon and was almost eaten alive.
Hearing the details also kept me on the edge of my seat.
“When the Lesser Dragon caught him by his stomach, he was already prepared to die, but surprisingly, its fangs didn’t penetrate his armor underwear and had a narrow escape from death.”
“Yipes
”
Batemy ended up fainting from the intense thrill.
She’s usually not even this sensitive.
“So, it was all because of the clothes Batemy made?”
“There’s no doubt about it. I heard his actual armor had a hole in it.”
The clothes from Batemy make use of a unique fabric called adamantine silk that’s produced on this farm made from the thread silkworm monsters spew. It’s overwhelmingly tough, so we call it as such.
“I knew it was hard to the touch, but I didn’t expect it to repel even a dragon’s fangs
”
The clothes I’m wearing right now are also made of adamantine silk.
Perhaps my defensive stats will skyrocket if I equip a complete set of armor.
“Upon hearing that story, I thought of asking Batemy to make a set for the Demon King as well, hence my coming here. But at the same time, I thought up another idea.”
“Oh?”
“I suggested selling Batemy’s clothes because I wanted her clothes to be widely available. However, the material used to make them, adamantine silk, is too expensive to sell at a low retail price.”
“Mm-hm.”
A fabric that boasts strength more remarkable than that of metal would be too bizarre in the eyes of the general public.
“Having a select few is still fine, but supposing the clothes Batemy made falls into the hands of the wrong people, it wouldn’t bode well for us.”
“Hmm, I understand what you’re trying to say, Mrs. Astres.”
In short, we must control the distribution of adamantine silk.
“There’s nothing else we can do about the ones we’ve already sold. But from now on, it would be beneficial for us if we screen our buyers to keep things to a minimum.”
“Agreed.”
Batemy regained consciousness.
“I don’t want my works to be sold because of the materials I used. As much as possible, I want them to sell because of my ideas and fine tailoring!”
“That’s the spirit. Naturally, I still want to continue selling your clothes within the capital.”
Then, we must change the material from adamantine silk to something else.
“How about cotton or hemp?”
Cotton and non-toxic hemp are grown and used to make fabric out of each on our farm.
Of course, we can’t possibly use silk for all our clothes, and using adamantine silk may be too luxurious for daily wear.
“I have an idea,” says Batemy.
According to Batemy, she still wants to continue using silk for making clothes.
It’s her fixation as a designer, and she’s not willing to compromise.
But now that adamantine silk is regarded as a potential threat, what does she plan to do?
“
Mr. Silkworm, I have something to ask of you,” Batemy addresses the silkworm.
“The fine quality thread you spew has been of great help to me, but they’re too good that it’s starting to cause us problems. So, I came here with a small suggestion
”
Batemy continues talking to the adamantine silkworm, the creature behind the adamantine silk thread.
“All this tailoring has gotten to her head. Poor kid
”
Mrs. Astres makes a pained look as she watches Batemy talk to the silkworm.
“No, wait, please don’t assume just yet.”
Adamantine silkworms are, in essence, still monsters.
Moreover, they have mutated throughout their life on our farm and now spew a stiff fiber called adamantine silk.
Batemy probably thinks they can understand human language and respond accordingly now that they’ve mutated.
Yep, in fact, I also think that’s possible.
“
So, could you please lower the quality just a teeny-tiny bit? I want to use it for something else, you see! Of course, a variety of adamantine silk is still good, so maybe you can do that side-by-side?”
She’s starting to sound more and more ambiguous with her words.
How could you behave like that in front of the silkworm, Batemy?!

But did it understand what she said?
“Tsk.”
“Did it just make a tongue-clicking sound?!”
But it’s a worm! It’s not even supposed to have a tongue!
Wait, was it a sign of affirmation or denial of Batemy’s request?
“Yay! Thank you! Thank you very much!!!”
Batemy gives a deep and sincere bow toward the silkworm.
The room is filled with a strange atmosphere.
The next day, we returned to the silkworm room only to be dazzled by its appearance.
“Woah
”
There’s so much thread!
The silkworms immediately spewed silk thread of lower quality than the adamantine silk!
There’s so much of it! Too much, even!
I can’t see the floor because it’s covered with nothing but thread!
Does this mean that by reducing the quality by a hundredth, we can increase our production rate by a hundredfold?
Anyway, I better call the goblin and elf teams to weave this.