New chapter of Plant Magic Lord is out! (3/3 chapters)

 

 

Flustered

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

At the same time, on a certain great river, there was a lone cockatrice costume standing still. It was Elt’s older brother, Victor. Victor rarely told anyone, but he liked sunsets. After all, the golden cockatrice costume looked good in the setting sun. However unfortunately, again today, the cockatrice he aimed to see going downstream did not appear.

“Is it no good around here?” (Victor)

Victor muttered with a touch of resignation. He had come a little south from the point of the other day, but his hunch was wrong. Just when Victor thought it might be time to go home, there were people he recognized. Two knights clad in black full armor.

“U-um…” (Knight)

“E-excuse me, the costume over there…?” (Knight)

Their faces were hidden by helmets, so he could not tell. But Victor knew. They were members of the Black Dragon Knight Order where his younger brother served as captain. In that sense, they were people he recognized. The two who called out seemed a little intimidated. There had been a report that a mysterious cockatrice costume was standing on the bank of the great river.

So, they had come to call out to it for now, but…

“…What is it?” (Victor)

*Twitch!*

The knights shivered slightly. Of course, there were not many knights good with cockatrices. Their bodies instinctively showed a rejection reaction. But the other party was a costume… yes, a costume.

That should have been the case, but the knights thought…

It’s a well-made costume.

Seen up close, the mana of the person inside and the elaborateness of the costume made it hard to feel at ease. And of course, the other party was an eccentric. Almost every day, he came to the riverbank, looked around for about an hour, and just went home. There was a high possibility a few screws in his head had flown off.

The knights carefully chose their words and spoke to Victor.

“Uh, there’s been a little report from the neighborhood…” (Knight)

“Hmm. As you can see, I am just a costume gazing at the sunset. Please, do not mind me.” (Victor)

Victor’s responses were practiced. Smooth, in a dreamy tone. The reason was simple. He had already been reported like this many times. So naturally, his responses had become polished.

Victor understood the reasoning too. If an obviously suspicious cockatrice costume stood in the same spot at the same time every day, it was only natural to be reported. If it were near his own mansion, Victor would do the same. However, this was a matter of cockatrice research. He could not give in.

“Well, I was thinking of going home for today.” (Victor)

“I-I see… Well, it’s not that there’s anything in particular…” (Knight)

“I will come again tomorrow.” (Victor)

“…” (Knight)

Victor stomped closer to the knights.

“I cannot speak in detail, but it is important. I want you to give up.” (Victor)

“W-what kind of thing is it…!?” (Knight)

“I said I cannot speak of it. But… yes, I can make just one thing clear.” (Victor)

Gulp. The knights swallowed as Victor glanced around and spoke.

“It has to do with cockatrice feathers.” (Victor)

“…” (Knight)

“Or perhaps tail feathers. That part is still unclear. Anyway, it is that sort of matter.” (Victor)

The knights exchanged glances. No good, the costume before them had screws missing from his head. And being close, it was easy to tell. The person inside this costume was without a doubt a noble. He had noble-class mana. Right now, making a fuss would not be wise.

The knights judged so, and replied to the costume.

“…We will speak to our superior.” (Knight)

That was all they could manage to say.

 

—

 

The day after the uniforms were completed, I and Stella took them to show to Naru. It would be good to show them to Leia too, but I wanted someone other than a cockatrice enthusiast to see them first. It could not be helped that the uniforms were a bit wrinkled. At Stella’s request, she had slept wearing the uniform.

Stains and washing tests could be done with leftover cloth. But for stretch and durability, it seemed one would have to wear it for a long time. She strangely rubbed her head against me while sleeping was probably my imagination.

By the way, it was properly washed, so there was no problem. As for the wrinkles not coming out completely, that was inevitable in this world.

When we showed the uniforms in the Adventurer Guild’s office and explained them, Naru was immediately surprised.

“Nya! This embroidery is wonderful, nya…!” (Naru)

“Is that so, I’m glad to hear it…!” (Stella)

“Cockatrice, healberry, and… Cockatonia Village, nya. This is the team name, nya? It’s properly readable nya.” (Naru)

Good, that was the part I had worried about.

“May I touch it a little nya?” (Naru)
“Ah, please do.” (Elt)

Naru took the uniform in hand and, with a fumu fumu and soft kneading touch, checked it over. She even turned it inside out, quite thorough.

“Cloth is indispensable for medical goods, nya. Nya… To have finished maldecotton to this degree is impressive, nya…!” (Naru)

“Is clothing made of maldecotton rare?” (Elt)

“For cutting and embroidery, magical tools are necessary, and that is the biggest bottleneck, nya. For simple underwear or work clothes, it is fine, nya…” (Naru)

“Naru also handles maldecotton?” (Elt)

When I asked that, Naru nodded somewhat reservedly.

“Sometimes when I was in the north nya. In rural areas, poor mana holders sometimes come to sell marude-cotton cloth, nya.” (Naru)

“Since coming here, not so much?” (Elt)

“Nya. Zanzas has many goods, nya. As clothing, marude-cotton doesn’t have much demand nya.” (Naru)

“Marude-cotton itself isn’t expensive?” (Elt)

“Excluding labor and tool costs, it is not expensive. nya.” (Naru)

I see…

“Nyaaan…” (Naru)

Naru kept kneading the uniform. She seemed quite pleased.

Does she like the feel?

“You seem to like it quite a bit.” (Elt)

Stella seemed to think the same.

“Nya! Nya… It reminded me of Wood-sama’s cotton, nya.” (Naru)

“…Wood’s cotton?” (Elt)

“Yes, nya. Recently I’ve been playing with him, so I somehow felt that way, nya.” (Naru)

“Now that you mention it…” (Stella)

Perhaps curious as well, Stella came closer and squished the uniform. I too was tempted to touch it… but couldn’t tell. If told it was the same, well, cotton was cotton.

“Here, I have a handkerchief made from cotton given by Wood-sama, nya.” (Naru)

Naru took from her pocket a pure white handkerchief. It seemed she recycled the cotton after playing. But even comparing by touch, I could not tell. However, Stella seemed to think differently.

“Certainly… They feel very similar. Almost identical, don’t you think?” (Stella)

“Nya. If they are this close… they might be compatible, nya.” (Naru)

I didn’t know the difference in cotton, but I understood what she meant. Marude-cotton had compatibility with certain threads, and could not be embroidered easily.

“Combine them?” (Elt)

I could say that so readily because I had thought Wood’s cotton might sell. I had postponed it because there wasn’t enough to make it an industry. And I hadn’t thought of a good way to give it added value.

But for uniforms, could it work?

“…It might fit well as thread or fabric somewhere!” (Stella)

 

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