#33
1.
Flora, upon hearing Amelia’s request, wore a peculiar expression.
“You do know this is a dress shop, right? A place that makes dresses.”
“I heard this is the best place in Gehenna for making clothes.”
Flora puffed on her pipe, then wore a troubled look.
To Siwoo, it was like the expression of a shop owner who was asked for a salted mackerel at a fruit stand.
“I appreciate the compliment, but I’m not really in the mood. I prefer pretty women wearing my dresses, you know?”
The fact that she didn’t immediately tell them to leave might be because the person in front of her was a Baron?
Siwoo felt anxious for no reason.
“I’ll pay the fee.”
“It’s not about the fee. If I’m not motivated, I won’t work.”
At Flora’s words, Amelia took something out of her sleeve.
It was a very small perfume bottle.
More like an ampoule than a perfume bottle, the small glass bottle, perhaps 15mL, contained a shimmering purple liquid.
Flora, who had been crossing her arms with a reluctant expression, shifted her gaze to the perfume.
“Is that perhaps ‘Scent of Fatigue’?”
“Yes. I’ll give you two of these.”
“Two?”
Flora’s lax attitude changed. She smiled broadly and took the bottle from Amelia’s hand.
If Flora’s dresses were a sensation among witches, Amelia’s case was perfume.
Since Amelia herself wasn’t interested in making money, the quantity was extremely limited compared to the demand, making its value even higher.
Therefore, the perfumes she made were said to be popular items at the Red Roof Salon, selling out as soon as they were stocked, despite their high price.
For reference, it was Sophia who received and distributed Amelia’s perfumes, as Siwoo remembered hearing from Takasho.
As if Takasho’s words were true, Flora happily accepted Amelia’s perfume.
“Alright, that’s enough to get me motivated. I need to take your measurements first, so come here?”
Flora seemed eager to start working right away.
At that moment, a curtain hanging in a corner of the dress shop was drawn back, and a man walked out.
“Oh, a customer?”
A tall, blonde man, who looked like he could be the captain of the football team in a high school movie, walked out.
“Jake, I told you to wait inside.”
“I was sleeping, and I was surprised when you weren’t next to me.”
“You’re being cute.”
The man, with a voice full of narcissism, walked over in just jeans and naturally put his arm around Flora’s waist.
Surprisingly, he greeted them in that position.
“Hello, I’m Jake Robert.”
He bowed his head to Amelia as a greeting and then kissed Flora.
Flora accepted his tongue.
A man and a witch starting a passionate, American-style kiss in front of Amelia and Siwoo.
“Smooch… Smooch…”
“Slurp slurp sluuuuuurp.”
Siwoo was dumbfounded.
He wondered if it was appropriate to be doing such a thing in front of a customer.
But what was even more surprising was not that.
The relationship between Flora and Jake seemed very natural.
In other words, it didn’t seem like a witch and a slave relationship.
He spoke casually to the witch, and his attitude was also nonchalant.
A couple blatantly flaunting their love.
That is, an equal relationship.
That’s how it appeared.
Feeling embarrassed for no reason, he glanced at Amelia.
“……!”
The shape of her eyebrows showed about 75% shock.
Her eyes were wide, and her straight eyelashes were trembling.
She looked like she was about to open her mouth wide.
Flora’s tongue wrapped around Jake’s, and their lips met.
As the two slowly pulled apart, a long strand of saliva stretched between their tongues.
“Phew, that was too hot. Wait patiently.”
“You’re just too lovely. I’ll be right back, honey.”
Flora smacked Jake’s butt after the kiss, and Jake left after throwing out a cheesy line.
Amelia rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was seeing things.
But seeing Jake go back into the curtain, it didn’t seem like it.
“He’s handsome, isn’t he? You can stare all you want, but I’m not giving him to you.”
Flora smiled slightly at Amelia.
Amelia’s curiosity was so high that she couldn’t help but ask.
Even though she knew it was impolite, she asked.
“Is that man a slave too?”
“He’s a slave, but he’s also my boyfriend.”
Boyfriend? But he’s a slave?
A great confusion.
It was as if she couldn’t understand even though she had seen it with her own eyes.
How could a witch be in a relationship with a slave?
“Isn’t he cute? I picked him up from an orphanage when he was seven and raised him. Even though he’s grown up so well, he’s still a child in my eyes.”
Amelia knew that some witches had such relationships with slaves.
And she despised it, thinking it was an extremely un-witch-like behavior.
Weren’t witches supposed to be chosen to pursue the path of magic?
She thought it was wrong to be lazy and distracted by men.
And to act like a real couple…
“Something’s strange.”
“If you put it that way, you’re not much different. You came all the way to a dress shop to dress up your beloved slave.”
“That’s not it.”
Amelia retorted, but Flora didn’t seem to care.
“Anyway, my darling is waiting, so I can’t take too long. This way.”
“I said that’s not it.”
“Alright, why are you getting angry?”
Flora walked with her stiletto heels clicking and led Siwoo.
Siwoo entered the tailoring room inside the dress shop.
Amelia chose to stay in the lobby with a sulky expression.
Unlike the neatly organized lobby, the tailoring room was rather cluttered with various decorations, jewels, and mannequins.
“Can you stand on that footstool with your arms out? I need to take your measurements.”
“Yes.”
Flora pointed to the footstool as Siwoo stood there awkwardly, stiff.
Flora took out a measuring tape and began measuring Siwoo’s waist.
With businesslike movements, Flora measured and recorded his waist, below his chest, the center of his chest, and the lengths of his arms and legs.
Perhaps she was bored, she spoke first.
“You’re serving a cute witch, aren’t you? The previous Merrygold had a more mature feel.”
“Uh… well…”
“You can speak comfortably. You’re a customer right now, you know?”
Flora had a very relaxed vibe.
Perhaps it was because she had openly declared her relationship with her slave earlier, but she didn’t seem to look down on him like other witches.
She treated him as an equal human being, which made Siwoo feel a bit more comfortable.
“Then, may I ask what kind of perfume you received from Amelia?”
“Ah, the Perfume of Fatigue?”
Flora proudly took out the perfume she had received earlier.
“This is a perfume that makes you feel incredibly tired as soon as you smell it. Your body feels stiff as if you’ve overworked, your eyelids close on their own, and if you try to stay awake, your head throbs.”
“Hmm… I see.”
“Isn’t it strange?”
Strange indeed.
It wasn’t a fatigue recovery item, but a fatigue-inducing one, something Siwoo, who had suffered from chronic sleep deprivation, had no need for.
“Witches don’t necessarily need to sleep, right? That’s why a good night’s sleep is impossible for us. We can never experience the feeling of waking up refreshed after a good night’s sleep after a hard day. Take a deep breath for a moment? A big one.”
“Hoo.”
Flora measured his chest size once more while he was holding his breath and continued.
“But with this perfume, you can feel that feeling from back then. You could say it’s a perfume that lets you feel sleep.”
“Can’t you use sleeping pills or other magic?”
“You can sleep well with sleeping pills or sleep magic, but it’s artificial. The important thing is the naturalness of it.”
“I see.”
He didn’t quite understand, but it wasn’t like witches weren’t incomprehensible in many ways, so he just accepted it.
“I’ve taken all the measurements. Is it okay if I decorate it as I please?”
“I leave it in your hands.”
He didn’t know much about suits anyway, so it was best to leave it to the expert.
“You have a slim waist and a nice figure, so an Italian style would suit you. Let’s skip the patterns, add pleats at the shoulder ends, use a barchetta pocket, and a strapata style for the buttons, good, good. Shoulder pads wouldn’t be necessary… and to bring out a dandy feel, it’s better without vents, right? Let’s make the lapels a bit wide. It’ll make your legs look longer. No cuffs, perfect.”
While Flora was rattling off incomprehensible words,
the fabric she had brought floated into the air.
And at the same time, dozens of needles, scissors, and threads began to weave through the fabric in all directions.
The clothes began to be made at a speed that would make you believe they were being churned out in a factory.
Siwoo was witnessing a level of telekinesis he could never imitate.
“T-that’s amazing.”
As Siwoo, who had been watching blankly, muttered involuntarily, Flora smiled.
“If you’ve been making clothes for over 400 years, you have to be able to do this much.”
“400 years?”
Although witches were said to have infinite lifespans, they usually passed on their mark to the next generation after 100, or at most 200 years.
This was because their magical inspiration and skill would hit a wall, preventing them from continuing their research.
“I’m a bit old, aren’t I? I enjoy making clothes more than magic. I’m sorry to my predecessor, but what can I do? It’s their fault for taking in such a dissolute witch as an apprentice.”
While she was giggling ungracefully, a suit was completed in less than a minute.
Even a factory would be slower than this.
“Try it on.”
In the blink of an eye, a suit was completed on the mannequin that had been empty.
After trying it on,
Siwoo was amazed as he stood in front of the mirror.
The dark navy suit fit his body perfectly.
It was clear that it was made only from measurements, but even when he bent over or turned his body, it was not uncomfortable at all.
Above all, the fit of the clothes.
If he went out into the modern world in this outfit, he would be bombarded with questions about where he had gotten it made. It was perfect in every way.
Having worn only tattered work clothes every day, seeing himself in such fine clothes made him look so different that it felt awkward.
“So this is what they mean by ‘clothes make the man’.”
“It turned out well, didn’t it?”
Flora, as if knowing he would like it, just smiled once.
“Have you worn suits often?”
“No, and it was a long time ago…”
“You don’t button the bottom button. And the tie, come here.”
Flora loosened the tie that Siwoo had awkwardly tied and then tied it neatly again.
As she did so, she scanned his figure once.
“Not bad. Since your shoe size is the same, I’ll give you the ones Jake used to wear.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“No need to thank me, you should thank the witch outside.”
Flora covered her mouth and laughed.
It would be so comfortable and happy to live under a witch like this.
Why did he have to become Amelia’s exclusive slave?
While he was making a complaint that wasn’t quite a complaint, he was also grateful to Amelia for letting him wear such a wonderful outfit.
She was the one who had made him suffer for five years, but receiving such a gift made him feel bittersweet.
“Let’s tidy up your hair and beard too, what’s with this mess?”
Flora cast a spell to clean Siwoo’s face and then neatly slicked back his hair with pomade.
And so, Siwoo stood in front of the mirror, fully transformed.
It was a bit over the top, but his neatly slicked-back hair with pomade, as if he had been to a barbershop, the luxurious suit,
and the tie and shiny shoes.
If he went to a job interview at a small to medium-sized company like this, he would be immediately rejected.
He would give the interviewer the impression that ‘that guy is a silver spoon and won’t adapt to working life easily’.
“You’re oozing with wealth. You look like a rich young master. Now, you should go show it off.”
Flora pushed Siwoo’s back.
Siwoo pulled back the curtain and stepped out into the lobby where Amelia was waiting.
