WeTried Translations

Translator: [IncomeElastic]

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Became a Blacksmith the Rankers Are Obsessed With ◈

Chapter 68

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Taking Measurements

* * *

If it hadn't been Dolores, but... Isabella, or some other High Ranker, asking me for gear.

Underwear almost certainly wouldn't have been the top priority.

Well, I wouldn't really know, but apparently they're both still out there climbing the Tower even now.

And if that's true, then in the dead middle of a battlefield where life and death hang in the balance,

the gear they'd want, with high probability, would be something that makes them stronger right this instant, wouldn't it?

Nobody facing a battle tomorrow morning wants warm underwear.

Sure, underwear technically counts as gear in this world too, but it's not the kind of thing that makes you stronger on the spot, the way a hammer or other gear can.

It's just something worn the longest in daily life, staying close to the body for a long time, slowly... slowly changing your constitution for the better.

Of course, what I make is on a completely different level, but still.

Anyway.

In that sense, Dolores, who's stopped climbing.

She was in more of a position where she needed to heal her own constitution and the disease eating away at it, rather than get stronger right away.

Starting with gloves, stockings, and other gear that stays on the body for long stretches, once she felt the effects,

she probably couldn't forget the feeling of her body healing... and so asking me for underwear too was probably

"Sounds good."

a natural next step.

I want to make it too, and,

this feeling, slowly warming up her cold body,

I like it. A lot.

I have one belief.

Once I decide to make a piece of gear, I think you just have to throw yourself completely into it.

Same with rhythm games. Once you decide to conquer a song, you have to see it through to the end.

In that sense, Dolores.

I'm in the process of conquering Dolores.

"Maman."

"Mm..."

She'd gotten swept up in the moment and said it, but...

her face had gone a soft red, apparently embarrassed at having actually asked me to make it.

"There are two ways to do this."

"Which...?"

What's the single most necessary thing for making underwear?

Obviously. Obviously, obviously, painfully obviously.

"Which...?"

"Well, um... it means taking your measurements, your size, Dolores."

Custom-made gear obviously needs measurements.

Eyeballing it just won't cut it, not even close.

How would I even know, looking at it over her clothes?

Proof of that: Spring Without Frost, made from careful measurements and countless observations, has a Compatibility Rating of 70.

while the Apprentice Blacksmith's Warming Gloves, made from a rough eyeball guess, doesn't come anywhere near that high.

"Hff."

Had she not thought that far ahead?

Or maybe she had and was just trying to deny it, but either way, her body gave a small flinch.

"One way is for me to measure you myself."

The moment she heard that, Dolores's eyes wavered.

"M-myself?"

"Yes. And the other way is... you lend me an undergarment you normally wear. I can use it as a reference sample."

Dolores fidgeted her fingers, avoiding my eyes.

It wasn't long before...

"...Which one is more accurate?"

she asked, as if she'd made up her mind about something,

both hands covering her reddened face.

Watching her resolve like that, I

"...As for which one is more accurate."

just answered plainly, honestly.

"I think we'd better do both, honestly."

For real.

I swear on Kim Yuna's name.

[??]

It was the truth, no lie in it.

* * *

I was currently waiting in the workshop.

In the end, Dolores caved to my sheer stubbornness and allowed both methods.

'Then... in two hours... I'll see you in my room...'

With that, she went back to deal with the rest of her paperwork.

Well, "went back" isn't quite right, more like she buried her face in her documents, cheeks flushed. Thunk.

Now I had two hours left.

Had I ever been this nervous in my life?

"Ugh, so nervous."

- Clank, clank.

My mouth wouldn't stop running, but my hands were just as busy.

I needed to make the tools for taking measurements.

According to Yuna... there were more measurements to take than I'd expected.

Apparently even luxury lingerie shops back on Earth did full bespoke work like this sometimes.

So I just borrowed their technique.

Underbust, bust, hip circumference, and so on.

Turns out you really have to measure in a lot of detail.

Only then can you make clothing that fits the body perfectly.

Anyway, what I needed was a measuring tape and something to write the numbers on.

Normally I'd just stretch a strip of brass out thin and make a tape measure out of that, but...

since it shouldn't feel cold against bare skin, I backed it with leather and marked the gradations on top.

Protect Dolores. No matter what.

But as I made the tools, the thought that kept crossing my mind was.

"...Hah, I should've just said I'd measure her without any tools."

Just bare hands and a ruler.

Yuna could analyze it all with a hologram anyway.

[Nope!!]

[Not allowed!!]

[Though it really wouldn't work anyway ㅋㅋ it's not your body, big brother]

"Got it."

So here I was, making a tape measure.

Honestly, what I just said was a joke. My real motivation isn't some shady scheme like that, it's genuinely wanting to save Dolores.

It's not like I'm measuring her naked, either.

Basically, she'll be wearing one very thin piece of underwear.

The shape her body makes when the underwear supports and cinches it matters more than her bare shape anyway.

So.

"I'm confident I won't have any funny ideas."

[.......]

Why isn't she answering?

- Tap tap. Thunk.

By the time I'd fitted even the hook onto it, the tape measure was already finished.

I had a board to record the measurements on, and I could just swipe a pen from Dolores's office.

Just as I figured all that was left to do was wait,

- Knock, knock.

someone knocked on the workshop door.

"Who ish it?"

"It's Sebas. The Duchess is asking for you."

"Ah..."

I felt the moment had come.

- Thud, thud, clatter...!

"Ah, j-just a second."

I dropped the measurement board reaching for the tape measure.

My hands felt like they were shaking, actually shaking. Had I ever trembled like this in my life?

The moment I stepped out of the workshop... clutching the tools to my chest...

- Tap tap tap tap.

I ran.

"Let me carry that for you...!"

Sebas reached out from behind to help,

"I'm fine!"

but my body was already moving on its own,

and I headed straight for Dolores's room without a second thought.

Dolores had several rooms, but if you had to name the three main ones...

there was her office, her bedroom, and finally the dressing room where she bathed and changed.

Today's meeting spot was the last of the three.

Before heading there, I stopped by her office first and grabbed a pen.

- Knock, knock.

I knocked on the dressing room door and waited a moment.

Yuna, what do I do.

I'm way too nervous.

"Come in."

Dolores's voice, soft and gentle, carried through nothing but a single door.

and my body opened the door on pure reflex.

- Bang!

"......."

I closed the door behind me.

and cautiously lifted my head to look ahead.

"...Hup."

And in front of me was a sight I never saw coming.

'L-l-l-long hair, Dolores!?'

I check her face and every part of her body every single day, but

she always kept her hair in the same neat, braided-up style.

It was the cleanest look, and I always thought it suited her best.

Even when she slept, it was the same.

But right now, Dolores's hair was damp,

and even the braid at the back, the one she always kept up, had come loose and spilled all the way down to her waist.

So her hair was this long...

"P-pretty."

Whoa.

My own inner thoughts had just slipped right out of my mouth.

Dolores's eyes went wide, and...

"...... Thank you."

she nodded, a shy smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

With a bit more of my head clear now, I noticed what she was wearing.

She must have just finished bathing; her hair was still wet, and she had a robe wrapped around her whole body.

Which meant, this meant...

underneath, she was wearing nothing but underwear.

"I put on... the one that fits closest to the body..."

- Slide.

Maybe so I'd have an easier time taking measurements,

she pulled a small stool over from nearby.

It probably meant I should stand on it, since I was too short to reach on my own.

And with the stool set down in front of her,

Dolores took hold of the belt at the front of her robe with one hand.

She looked at me, her face flushed red.

What did that blush mean?

Just embarrassment, probably.

"W-we're doing this right away, Lionel?"

"Yes."

"Okay..."

With my answer,

Dolores's hand slowly drifted toward her waist,

- Tap, tap.

- Slide...

The belt came loose... and the white robe fell open.

- Slide.

The robe slipped free and fell to the floor entirely.

Dolores had granted my request... my demand, perfectly.

To properly show the true shape of her body, she had to wear the thinnest underwear she owned.

And since I wasn't only making a top, of course that meant the bottoms too.

So right in front of me was.

Holy.

Ah.

Wow...

Um, ah...

Not holy as in crazy, I mean, just...

just...

I already knew, obviously, even through her clothes.

You've got eyes, you can tell Dolores has a great body.

But with every stray, unflattering detail gone,

every part of what made Dolores's body so uniquely her own came flooding into view, all at o-

"Waaugh!"

"Eek!?"

Dolores flinched at my outburst.

No, wait!!!!

That's not it.

I'm not looking at Dolores like that, I'm not, I'm not.

I hadn't even realized my mouth had fallen open, staring the whole time.

"I'll, I'll measure you quickly!"

"Y-your face is awfully red, dear. You can take your time, you know?"

Whose body is that because of... no, wait, this is entirely my own fault.

- Shaking, shaking, shaking, shaking...

[You're trying hard, big brother, but... your heart rate's at 160...]

Not the information I wanted, Yuna.

I carefully climbed up onto the stool she'd brought over.

Dolores stepped one pace closer, looking worried.

- Shaking, shaking, shaking...

Have you ever tried climbing onto a stool with your legs gone weak?

Turns out it's really not easy.

"Lionel..."

"I-I'm fine."

My voice suddenly came out all metallic and cracked.

I picked up the leather tape measure

and, facing her, carefully made my request.

"First... could you raise both arms a little for me?"

"...Like this?"

Dolores raised both arms.

Following the movement of her arms...

"......."

Screw Pygmalion.

If he'd used Dolores's body as reference when he sculpted his ideal wife, he could've just copied it exactly.

Truly a shame he never got the chance.

Why does raising her arms alone make her look even better...

Is that ergonomics too? Seriously?

Once she raised her arms, the underside of Dolores's chest finally lined up roughly with the height of my hand.

The first thing to measure was the underbust.

I had to circle the tape measure all the way around, right where her chest ended.

- Shaking, shaking, shaking...

I can do this.

Not hard. So easy.

Just pass the tape measure around the front of her body... and catch it on the other side.

"Excuse me. Please turn... your body a little."

"Okay..."

I reached both arms around either side of her waist.

- Slide.

The tape measure pressed against her back and wound its way forward,

and for both ends to meet in front, I naturally had to bring my body in close.

The scent of soap, freshly washed and clean, drifted past my nose,

but as always, in the end I got completely buried in Dolores's own natural scent and had to stifle a scream, that part's basically a template by now.

- Tap.

Finally, the tape measure met in front of her body.

I pinched the point where the ends overlapped with my fingers,

then quickly released the wrap.

Heart pounding, so, what was her underbust measurement...?

"...... 66.4."

Before coming here, I'd talked it over with Yuna.

she'd agreed to interpret any numbers I couldn't quite get a feel for myself.

Yuna? Interpretation, go.

[Given she's 170 tall... she's seriously thin. This thin, she'd look sickly, even guys wouldn't be into a body like this...]

Considering Yuna's a girl too, and might've been using typical girl-talk exaggeration,

I'll drop that last bit and take "seriously thin" as the honest truth.

Okay, better write it down.

"Oh."

Ah wait, I didn't bring the board up with me.

"Sorry, Dolores, could you hand me that... board over there..."

"Yes, of course."

She bent down to pick up the board that had fallen to the floor...

I absolutely did not look.

"Thank you."

I took the board and wrote the number down.

Now.

Time to actually measure her bust.

This one, unfortunately, there was just no way I could do it by hand myself.

Why, you ask?????

Think for a second about the two "points" the tape measure absolutely has to pass by.

I'm really not that far gone.

I held the tape measure out to her,

"This... um."

"Yes."

"Hold the middle of the tape against the highest... no, the point that sticks out furthest on your chest."

"Ah... all right."

"Then bring both ends around to your back, still holding it there. I'll... level it out from behind."

Dolores took the tape measure, turned her body, and pressed the middle of it against the front of her chest with both hands.

- Rustle.

The tape, stretched out to either side... passed under her arms and came around to her back.

I caught the tape measure as it was tossed to me, but

oh no, her long hair was slightly getting in the way of the measurement.

"Dolores, could you, um, your hair, just once..."

"Oh, sorry about that."

- Swish.

Since I was already holding the tape measure, she used her now-free hand to gather her hair up.

Leveling it out wasn't hard.

Hold it from behind, glance at the front briefly, then check again from behind.

"Just breathe normally..."

"Okay..."

I pulled both ends slightly taut, then pinched the point where they overlapped.

The length written there was...

"104.1...?"

[Wh-what?? Is that an error???]

I measured it right, though??

[Underbust 66.4... bust 104.1......]

[Difference of 37.7... which means... which means... converting to modern-day sizing standards...]

[65L....]

So it turns out they use letters all the way up to L for bust sizes.

I'm actually losing it.

Yuna seemed to have lost the will to fight; she suddenly went quiet.

Honestly, when a letter I never even expected pops up out of nowhere like that, I've got no frame of reference at all.

- Scribble, scribble...

I wrote it straight down on the board, then climbed back down.

"Y-you can put your top back on now. Thanks for your patience."

"Ah... okay, got it. Lionel, though..."

"Yes."

- Fidget.

Dolores's fingers twitched, but

since even the spot her fingers were twitching near was skin-colored background, I just kept my eyes on her face.

"If it's too big... and too hard to make, you don't have to..."

"It's fine."

I shook my head.

That's not a problem at all.

Now then, time for the lower body.

Though at this point, she really could've just put her top back on already.

"......."

I thought about saying something, then dropped it.

Honestly, the underwear bottoms are far simpler than the top.

You just need the waist, the hip circumference, and exactly where the bottoms actually sit.

For true precision work there are more important measurements to take,

but those, I genuinely could never measure myself, Dolores would have to do those herself.

In the end, without much trouble,

I measured once at the waist, once at the hip,

once at the widest point... and Dolores handled the other important spots herself, for reference.

And with that... without any real incident, the whole measurement was finished.

Thank god I'd worn thick pants today. Seriously.

Something I noticed while measuring.

There's no way she could've measured her upper body alone.

The lower body, though... hm.

She probably could've measured that fine without me.

This is a secret I'm taking to my grave.

...Wait a second.

Now that I think about it, couldn't I have just measured the upper body too, without touching her?

Just move the tape measure around with telekinesis or something.

"......."

I slowly lifted my head.

For reasons I couldn't fathom, Dolores, robe still not fully closed, was staring at me.

"Thank you for your patience today..."

I hugged the top-secret document bearing her three sizes and every other measurement of her body close to my chest,

and bowed my head.

"You worked hard too, Lionel."

- Ruffle, ruffle.

She ran her hand over my hair.

"Time to get to bed, Lionel?"

"Yes, I suppose so."

"I need to change first... would you go lie down in bed ahead of me?"

"Sure."

I gathered up all my tools and left the dressing room.

I was about to head straight back to my room when, oh, right.

There was one thing I still needed to return.

The pen I'd swiped from Dolores's office.

I changed direction and headed for her office.

The office lights were off.

I found the pen holder sitting on the desk.

- Clack.

"Thanks for the loan~"

I'd slotted the pen back into its place and turned to leave when,

"...... Hm?"

a small piece of paper next to the pen holder caught my eye.

I'd missed it earlier, too busy grabbing the pen and rushing off.

On the extremely fancy paper, there was a gold-foil emblem and...

《Maison Arvuella》

written on it, a word I couldn't make sense of.

"What's a Maison..."

[Something like a luxury brand boutique...]

Below the shop's name were her name, and a set of numbers that looked oddly familiar.

"......."

Turns out the reason they looked familiar was.

underbust, bust, hip circumference,

even everything else she'd just had me measure tonight...

was all written down there, every single one of them, without a single one missing.

Come to think of it, maybe that was only natural.

Dolores's body isn't the kind of shape mass-produced off-the-rack goods could ever hope to fit.

If she'd been wearing underwear at all in this world, then she'd obviously had it custom-made,

and if it was custom-made, then...

she'd obviously had it done more than once or twice, and obviously hadn't gone to just one shop.

Of course there would still be measurements on file from before.

"......."

So it had been there all along, hadn't it?

The measurements.

They'd already existed.

Right then.

- Tap tap tap tap...!

the sound of running footsteps came rushing down the hallway toward the office.

I quickly set the paper back down and pretended to be walking out of the office.

- Bang!

"L-Lionel?"

Dolores burst through the door in a hurry, but

"I was just putting the pen back."

"Oh... oh, I see."

I kept to nothing but the truth,

since it seemed likely that any follow-up question would let her ability sniff out whether I was lying.

and headed straight for my bed without looking back.

"......."

I lay down and stared up at the ceiling.

- Snore...

Ruby's sleeping breath drifted over from next to me,

but that didn't matter right now.

The image was still flickering in front of my eyes.

Someone's something.

Someone's long hair, too.

"...Hah."

Sleep tonight, fuck that,

I had a feeling it was already shot.

And then.

The next day, in the early hours before anyone else woke.

- Splash, splash...

A short little runt.

No, wait.

A grown, bona fide man named Lionel,

had to crouch in a corner of the workshop from before anyone else was even awake, scrubbing away furiously at something.

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