Chapter 11: Chapter 11 – Dressed to kill

It was not much trouble to arrange for Fayette to stay at the orphanage for a bit—she still remembered all the personnel after all. The [Caretakers] were understanding about her predicament, and so she headed off to sleep after a light meal.

Fayette spent the night sleeping in the same bed as Mireille. The place was too cramped to have free beds for weary travellers, but Fayette could make do. It was nostalgic, she had forgotten how loud some of the younger children could get before bedtime, but it didn’t mar her rest. She drifted off to sleep peacefully, dreaming of adventure.

Fayette woke up late the next day to the sight of Mireille busy at work fixing up all the tears in her uniform’s apron. The woman was a level 6 [Seamstress], so she had decent enough skills already. The needle swished this way and that with supernatural grace, leaving little indication there had been frays in the cloth at all.

Fayette looked over to the side and saw the bright sunlight filtering through the window covering. Must be almost midday as the kids aren’t around. When have I last overslept? Sloppy of me. Mireille’s already gotten to work, and here I have been sleeping.

“I can’t believe you’re struggling to make ends meet with skills like that,” Fayette said, yawning, as she dragged herself out from under the sheets.

Mireille looked over from her work—she only needed to physically hold the needle for really precise bits, most of the time it floated through the air on its own. A perk of her skills, though Fayette did not honestly see the use of it.

“Just bad times to be a [Seamstress]. With those new sewing machines coming about, there’s no way for someone as low-level as me to get any employment. At least in any reasonable manner.” Mireille replied.

“I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t find [Maid] work...” Fayette sighed.

“What? You’re planning on heading out to be a hunter. Is that really [Maid] work?”

Fayette hopped off the bed. “I mean, I’m a [Maid], so if I go and do it, then of course it’s [Maid] work. What else would I be doing?”

Mireille had stopped sewing and was looking at Fayette with something akin to fascination. “That logic is completely circular, it makes no sense at all.”

The [Maid] stretched her arms. “Hey, it makes sense to me, and that’s all that matters.”

The [Seamstress] sighed and went back to repairing the outfit. “Well, if it works for you. Maybe I should consider something similar...”

Finished with her stretching, Fayette began making the bed—she had standards for this sort of thing. Mireille looked over from her work and furrowed her brow.

“By the way, should I even be repairing your [Maid] clothes? Are you really planning on going monster hunting in a skirt and apron?”

Fayette turned back, horror on her face. “What? You want me to wear pants or something? No way in hell, that would be absolutely scandalous!”

“Hey! Language!”

Fayette turned back to folding the sheets and rolled her eyes. The girl is 17 and still sticking to orphanage rules like that... She really needs to get out of here. Sooner the better.

“I’m a [Maid], so obviously I’m going to be wearing a [Maid’s] uniform. That’s that!”

“Haven’t you heard of the saying ‘The right clothes for the right job’?”

Fayette nodded her head. “Of course—a [Maid] uniform is the right clothing for every job after all.”

Mireille shook her head and lifted up the apron she had been repairing, showing how it no longer had any tears on it. “Well, I’m pretty much done with your precious uniform now, so do give it a try. It was a right mess—I actually got a level up from repairing it.”

“Oh, nice! Did you get a new skill for level 7?”

Mireille grinned and eyed Fayette’s figure, covered only in a thin chemise. “I got a very useful skill indeed. It’s called [Take Measurements].”

Suddenly Fayette felt as if the [Seamstress’s] gaze was piercing, and she shivered. “Wait wait wait, what exactly do you think you are measuring?”

“Don’t worry, I already measured you up much earlier. You are certainly growing in all the right places. Don’t worry—I made proper adjustments for your clothes.”

“Hey! Don’t use skills like that on me without asking!”

The [Seamstress] made her best attempt at an innocent expression. “I was just repairing your outfit out of the goodness of my heart, and I didn’t dare wake you from your rest.” She batted a few innocent eyelashes at the [Maid]. “It was only for the sake of the clothes, alright?”

Fayette groaned and went back to folding the bedsheets. “Fine, fine, have it your way. Just ask me next time, alright?”

Fayette finished making the bed, and Mireille put the stack of mended clothes on top of it. Fayette looked over the clothes, curious. Her apron and bodice had taken the most damage, but she could not find any traces of the damage anymore—it was almost as good as new.

“Do be a bit careful with them from now on.” Mireille said as she followed Fayette’s gaze. “[Mend] doesn’t make fabric out of nothing, so it’s all a bit thinner than it was before. Should still be good for a while though.”

Fayette nodded her thanks, then began putting the clothes on.

First, she pulled on her stockings, and fixed them in place with garters laced just below the knee. Next, she took up her corset, and started lacing it down from the front. It was a snug fit, quite a bit more comfortable than it had been just yesterday. Alright, maybe I’ll forgive her using that [Take Measures] skill. This is comfy!

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Next was a white petticoat, and then the black wool skirt over it. The weather was starting to get colder, so the thick wool was welcome. With that done, all that remained was putting on her black wool bodice, tucking it into the skirt, then putting on her apron. Now her basic outfit was complete.

“That is quite a lot of layers for something you plan on moving a lot in.” Mireille said, observing the process.

“Do you have my collar and headwear somewhere? They weren’t with the rest of the clothes.” Fayette asked.

“What, are you planning on putting them on today? I thought those were only for formal occasions.”

Fayette sighed. This was a conversation she had gone through quite often at the manor. “Look, I can’t just leave an outfit incomplete like that. I just like having everything on at all times—the complete set.”

Mireille quirked an eyebrow at that, but offered no further questions. “Well, the rest is in the box under the bed. They hadn’t really suffered any damage at all anyways, they were fine with just a wash.”

Fayette pulled out the box and smiled as she saw the missing pieces. She quickly set the collar on her bodice, then tied up her hair into a quick knot and put on headwear. At last, she felt complete. She did a few experimental stretches and found that it actually felt a bit easier to move around in than before.

“Hey, this actually feels different, less resistance to movement and stuff.”

“I’m not a [Seamstress] for nothing, you know. You could have told me about that magical bag in the pocket though, almost broke a needle on it.”

“Ah, sorry. Slipped my mind.”

“Well, nothing to it. Put your boots on, we’ve got a busy day ahead of us.”

“We do?”

 

---

 

After a quick breakfast the pair set off towards the forest.

Fayette could not help herself from staring at Mireille as she gracefully moved through the trees. She was another person who always moved decisively, she did not miss any steps or stop to look for the way. No, she just moved on, steadily.

Fayette was a bit clumsier, stumbling over the odd stump here and there. Still, she managed to keep pace and did not fall behind. Much at least.

“Hey, I put some buttons in your skirt so you can pull it up for ease of movement. Makes it a lot easier to move around,” Mireille said as she watched Fayette’s skirt catch on a branch, causing her to stumble over another stump.

Fayette got back her footing and glared at her. “Hey, I’m not going to start flashing my ankles around or anything, alright? A proper skirt is kept at a proper length!”

Mireille rolled her eyes. “Well, have it your way then. I guess you did manage to make it work yesterday.”

Today, the [Seamstress] had focused on practicality with her clothes. Her brown skirt flitted a lot more freely than Fayette’s, and she was wearing a loose button-down blouse as her top. Fayette however was resolute with her choice of outfit—she would not be dissuaded by some branches and brambles.

They stopped every now and then to check over the many traps the [Seamstress] kept here—her work with strings and threads was good for more than just sewing. Especially when aided with a [Basic Trapsetting] skill. Small snares made from durable, but near invisible thread were set all over the forest.

Food at the orphanage would get samey without some personal additions every now and then.

“So, what exactly is the purpose of this?” Fayette asked. She had been so busy scanning the forest for any possible threats that the matter had completely slipped her mind this far.

“You said that you gained experience from every kill you had, didn’t you? We are going to test how much what you kill matters—for example I do get small amounts of experience from working with these snares, and of them working, but have never gained any from killing the animals like you have. You had your theory, let's test if it’s true. Who knows, maybe you’ll get experience from all killing?”

“Wait, you mean...”

“Yes, it’s exactly as you imagine,” Mireille responded before Fayette could form her thoughts. “Look, we’ve caught one here.” She said, pointing out the next snare.

A large hare was caught in it, struggling against the knot it had gotten caught in.

Mireille smiled, then turned to Fayette.

“Looks like we’ll be eating some extra meat today. Kill that, and we’ll see if you get any experience.”

 

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