Chapter 252.2
Working in silence is tough, but what do I even speak about with the bitches… Clothes? Aah~ which reminds me, there are very popular requests.
「How is the manufacture of original tones going? We might need some crazy number of them, actually, there was karakusa among requests too, do we really need that? I can’t think of any other use for it but wrapping cloth? What are you going to wrap?」
In the marketing questionnaires (coercive sale intimidation letters) that were forced on me by a certain two dozen schoolgirls, flower pattern, polka dots, border, stripes, and check were listed among the top requests, so they were given top priority and are currently manufactured. And then also some requests for animal, camouflage, vegetation-type, paisley, and then even some for native american and ethnic motives, and among all of that, even karakusa popped up. Who is going to wear that?
「It will have to wait but we’ll make it. Karakusa’s image is a bit that, but the pattern itself is super pretty and cute? Since it’s another world people here won’t have weird preconceptions, so it definitely will sell?」[1]
「Karakusa is a Japanese designation for a vegetation-based pattern depicting various leaves, stems, and vines stretching and entwining, which isn’t that different from European ivy patterns. 」
Looks like Karakusa-san is fashionable. Certainly, European ivy patterns look fancy both in design and furniture, and is a super staple selling merchandise. Wrapping cloth loop pattern is the only thing that came to my mind when hearing karakusa, but it seems to be deeper than I thought.
「The culture clubs’ girls are now working all together around Amou-san from the clothes and apparel club to make patterns. The pictures are drawn by the art club, and patterns are then handled by the handicrafts club. The cultures clubs’ girls are good with their fingers and also understand design, so things are going well.」
「They said that they will work on plates for clothes and then fabric when they are done with designs and art plates, so it seems things are going smoothly. The only problem is that designs come with endless combinations of sizes, forms, and patterns. 」
Clothes and apparel club and handicraft club are a pair of clothing specialists whom I know because they originally made pattern papers and taught me the basics of clothes making, and then there is cooking club girl from whom I learned recipes, and Librarian was always a librarian so naturally, I knew her too. The last member remained a mystery all this time, but turns out she was from the art club. Which reminds me, she kept gazing at the artworks from the main building of the inn, but looks like that was her area of expertise. She’s probably going to lambast them! ƒr𝒆𝑒𝔀e𝒃𝚗𝒐𝘃𝐞𝑙. c𝗼m
But the conversation is pretty normal? Yeah, it’s just the usual bitches, but I can see them fidgeting through『Space Perception』? Even though moving around makes it harder to measure and needlessly sends additional tactile feedback, they are still fidgeting? But they are talking normally.
They must be pushing themselves to act normal despite being embarrassed. Even the Pres has told me over and over that while their speech and attitudes might be harsh, they are actually nice girls, just like everyone else. Standing out due to their good looks, and even doing some amateur modeling for fashion magazines they seem to have had their share of envy, spite, and even bullying. But hating to lose they kept a tough front, and thus got on with their lives.
But the part where they immediately start yelling hasn’t changed at all, by the way, I’m apparently the only one who gets yelled at. Just what is a master?
Finally finishing temporary models I can feel them trembling as I put them up and adjust them. That might be a normal reaction for being naked in a room with a man. They are doing their best to keep their voices the same as usual, but it’s only natural for them to be scared or embarrassed.
They are probably the most competitive among the girls. They are the ones who are living earnestly doing their best. And they are also the most ordinary and weak ones.
That class, that got teleported to another world, was called『Cuties Class』or『Public Entertainment Class』even by other school years, due to its extremely high ratio of beautiful girls. They probably just collected all of the girls that they were afraid would have bullying problems due to envy or them standing out under the pres. That’s why even the boys had only the wannabe delinquents, the geeks, prone to getting bullied, and the rest filled by various big name folk from various clubs, basically lumping all of the celebs into one class. The biggest mystery is why such an ordinary person as myself was put into that class?
But other girls didn’t put up a front or pretended to be tough, and just acted normally. They are the strong ones. Compared to the other girls, who were strong enough to act normally even if others were envious or mean, the bitches are emotionally weak. Even now, they are still weak enough to have to put up a strong front, weak enough to be unable to show their vulnerable side.
「Speaking of which, still don’t want to release『Tamed』? I mean, being Tamed by a highschool boy probably doesn’t look good in the eyes of society, and might even be a source of rumors? It also has an immense offensive power for my Affection Rating-san? The offensive power is so great that Affection Rating-san ran away and isn’t coming back. Do you think I should paste『Have you seen?』flyers for it? Where should I paste them though?」
They should be frightened, but they won’t release it anyway. Being in servitude to a highschool boy, unable to refuse an order from him, regardless of what that order might be, should be terrifying to them, but they obstinately refuse to cancel the taming.
「「Absolutely no! No way! We haven’t paid back our debt… we are still to… Actually, you are yet to remember our names too! First remember our names and then talk!」」
Even embarrassed and bright red from the『Evil Hands』fitting (tentacle attack) they are still acting tough. Acting strong they are trying to be strong, to make it more than just a pretense. As I thought, they might be weak, but they won’t lose to anyone in their competitiveness.
But… You know~? Next is bottoms? Even the most self-conceited and unyielding girls of the class had their back give out on them, so it’s probably amazing? Yeah, I really hope you are as tough as you are hoping to be. Hang in there?
It was impossible.
But it really was an unexpected turn of events. To think I’d hear 『Shtap~』from the bitches’ mouths! But even such cultured enthusiasts as the geeks wouldn’t have been able to predict that it will be accompanied by『Nm~nyoo~』. It’s nyoo? Lyooks lyke it was nyoo~ gyood?
And they are dead?
The bitches turned into corpses, there is no response, so there is no mistake about this.
Oh crap! 『THE closed room. Serial murder case of naked schoolgirls. A highschool boy has entered the room.』, and the mystery had solved itself! The culprit is already inside! In the first place, if he just strolled inside then it’s not a closed room or anything! There is such an obvious suspect that there is no need to even look for evidence, just grab the culprit, he is right there!
The highschool boy that is hurriedly putting clothes on unconscious naked schoolgirls in the middle of the night is supposedly doing a good thing, but why does it sound like nothing but a crime? No, I’m actually dressing them up, okay? It might be criminal if I was undressing them, but I’m dressing them up? It’s not what it looks like? No, I can’t look! Or actually, Armored Pres-san’s blindfolding also disappeared, is it just my imagination or is the blindfold not fulfilling its blindfolding function in the slightest? Having dressed them up while keeping the eyes shut, and even carried the girls to their rooms, such a hardworking highschool boy surely has to be innocent.
But to think I’d get 『Shta~p』from them. Yeah, a strap dress sounds nice too! Yes, let’s put a strap dress on sexy Armored Pres-san and then do nyoo good things to nyoo good places until she cries out 『Nyoo~』! Yes, sounds great!
The girls that tried to act tough tried too hard, there is still steam coming from them.
But everyone trying too hard and overdoing it is pretty much how it goes in this world these days.
[TL Notes:
[1] Karakusa pattern – A variation of scrollwork pattern. The pattern consists of various spirals, and these spirals take their shape from vines and other natural forms. But, karakusa is “a typical” design for wrapping cloth and is often used in Japanese visual media for thief/burglar type characters. Which are probably the image issues that Shimazaki is talking about.