WeTried Translations

Translator: [IncomeElastic]

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Became a Blacksmith the Rankers Are Obsessed With ◈

Chapter 72

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Lionel the Little Pervert

* * *

What do you mean my desire is "transparent"?

Who are you calling a little pervert?

"......."

First, I'd succeeded in pushing the Compatibility Rating up to 45.

Felt good. Felt good, but.

"Aah......."

I had a rough idea now of how I needed to make it.

But now that I'd actually gotten it up to 45, I was starting to get greedy.

"Maybe I just... shouldn't use the knitting machine...."

Like with Spring Without Frost.

Weave everything, start to finish, even the fabric itself, entirely by hand.

The knitting machine was fast, and good, sure, but it was so uniform it lost something, some kind of flavor, I guess you'd call it.

Anyway, something about the fact that it couldn't fully capture my intent bothered me a little.

Though, the thread I'd spun back then had been fabric drawn straight from ore.

Even though I called it "thread," it was really cloth twisted into thread, so it had been fairly thick and springy, held its shape well, and weaving it by hand had actually been manageable.

But this time, the Spirit Thread was as thin as, well, actual thread... which seemed like it'd make things a lot harder.

Not that it was impossible.

I'd just do it until it worked.

It would just take a ridiculously long time, that's all.

"Yuna, how long do you think it'll take?"

If I wove the thread into fabric one strand at a time, by hand.

Honestly, her answer didn't really matter.

The moment I'd decided to do it that way, I was going to do it, period.

"Needle."

I picked up the needle sitting on the workbench.

Hooked the Spirit Thread onto its tip....

- Shhh....

I formed a loop and wove the thread together.

Just had to keep at it.

Until it worked, until I was satisfied.

And so...... about two weeks passed.

Sixteen-hour days, repeated one after another.

If there was one thing I'd settled with myself about rest, it was this: when I worked, I burned through everything I had,

and once it was done, I rested properly, thoroughly. That was the routine I'd switched to.

Turned out to be a lot more efficient too.

"......."

- Plop.

I took the black bra that had been resting on my face and put it into a paper bag.

Dolores's special-edition sleep mask.

Everything about it was great, but as time went on, her scent was gradually fading out of it.

These days I had to bury my nose right into it just to catch a trace.

Maybe it was about time I asked for a refill.

Could you fill it back up with her scent, plea....

"... What was I just thinking?"

The fact that a thought this deranged had surfaced without me even meaning it to.

Was I actually losing it?

I got up from my seat and looked over to the side.

There, laid out, was the white fabric I'd spent the last two weeks weaving, stitch by agonizing stitch, working myself half to death over.

Custom Spirit Thread fabric, its density carefully tuned differently depending on the direction of pull and the exact part of the body.

Today, barring any major surprises.

"Last day."

This would be the last day of making Dolores's underwear.

- Shhh....

Honestly, the strange part was....

When I'd used the knitting machine to spin out fabric, exactly where each piece needed to go or be used for hadn't automatically pictured itself in my head.

But with the fabric I'd woven by hand, piece by piece... even before I'd assembled anything, the finished shape of the underwear practically appeared before my eyes.

So this was what the difference in devotion looked like.

After two straight weeks of never letting go of it, the blueprint sketched itself without me even asking Yuna.

"I don't need a blueprint... this time."

I started by spreading the firm fabric meant to support the underbust out on the workbench.

Layered the softly woven fabric over it.

Hooked both threads onto the needle at once and joined their ends together.

- Shh....

I'd already trimmed the edges so the seam would fit together as if it had always been one piece.

That was the advantage of handmade work.

"Hah...."

Once I connected the shoulder straps and the fabric that would wrap around the back, the shape of the bra was already taking form before my eyes.

Tightly woven sections held firm; loosely woven ones stayed soft.

That finished the top.

I had Yuna do a mid-way check.

"Is it really that lewd?"

[Yep]

Then it passed.

That was the most important fucking thing there was.

I knew. But there was nothing I could do about it.

Apparently this direction performed way better, no wait, not "performance," the Compatibility Rating.

Gotta call it what it is.

Dolores would put something on over it anyway.

She wasn't about to go walking around outside in just her underwear, was she?

Thinking about it, what did exposure level even matter when there'd be outer clothing over it regardless.

It was comfortable, so that settled it.

I joined the front and back panels of the bottoms and attached the straps that would wrap around the hips.

One panel of fabric in front, one in back, straps connecting the two.

The classic thong structure.

Over that, I layered the garter belt... and fastened it to the thigh bands one at a time.

- Tap, tap, tap, tap.

All four garter straps were connected.

"Whew...."

I lifted Dolores's finished underwear up with both hands.

Pure white bra and bottoms.

Plus the garter belt and thigh bands tying it all together beautifully.

Not even the tiniest deviation from the blueprint in my head, clean and exact.

It was daytime now.

I didn't hesitate. I picked up the finished underwear and walked outside.

Out to the workshop's backyard, where no one ever came.

"Come on."

I lay flat on the ground, just like that.

Draped the underwear over my body, over my face, positioning it to catch as much sunlight as possible.

Somebody might point and call me a lunatic who'd gone and put on women's underwear in broad daylight.

I didn't care. I'd rather die than set this down on the ground.

Sunlight poured down over the underwear. How long had it been?

- Ssssss....

On the lower left of the bra top,

and on the lower left of the bottoms... I heard the sound of something being etched in.

Finally.

─────────────────

[Spring Breeze Bearing Fire][★★★★☆]

[Unique Equipment] [Compatibility Rating][ - /100]

─────────────────

[An underwear set crafted from the Spirit Thread of a high-rank Wind Spirit.]

[The Heir of Flame's engraving drinks in sunlight and continuously supplies the wearer with pure Yang energy.]

[Within it dwells a will even a god would covet.]

[The wearer gains a measure of divinity.]

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【For the sake of a single wearer, the artisan poured out everything he had.】

【Material and skill... the moment will and tenacity locked together in perfect alignment. Just this once, the maker transcended his own limit.】

─────────────────

『Wind... pairs well with fire. Your will is so sacred, it's hard to believe it comes from a lowly creature like you.』

『So if you offer that garment to me, even now... I'll forgive you for everything. And if you want, I could even hold you in my arms.』

- Ignia, Goddess of Fire -

『Not even worth laughing at. That's not something you should covet, it belongs to my daughter.』

- Gaia, Goddess of the Earth -

『A-ah... its standing... it's grown too... too high....』

- the Queen of the Faraway Wind Spirits -

─────────────────

- Plop.

I pulled the finished underwear back down over my face.

- Shaking, shaking....

My whole body was shaking.

"I did it......."

I'd succeeded in making...... my first-ever 4-star piece of gear.

Up until now, the highest I'd ever made was 3-star.

If you told me to make something else right this second, I'd probably still only manage 3-star again.

I could feel it.

I knew.

I wasn't at the level yet where I could make 4-star gear freely, whenever I wanted.

Just this once. Even if it was only once, I'd genuinely staked my life on it, and,

【Material and skill... the moment will and tenacity locked together in perfect alignment. Just this once, the maker transcended his own limit.】

according to the system's message,

as a result... I'd briefly surpassed the limit of what I could normally produce.

And, crucially....

"Fuck, this is just too gorgeous...."

It couldn't possibly be more exactly my style.

I don't think I'll be sleeping at all tonight.

Just having it draped over me was enough to paralyze my reason.

Wonder if I'll end up making a mess again tonight, heh heh.

"Ngh...."

I tried putting strength into my arms to sit up, but....

- Shaking, shaking....

"Huh."

My arms wouldn't listen.

After two straight weeks of clenching my fingers tight for sixteen hours a day... maybe that was only natural.

"Guess I'll just lie here."

Dolores was out today anyway.

And the servants rarely came anywhere near the workshop.

No one was likely to show up, so I figured I'd just wait until some strength came back and head into the workshop then.

So I lay there with the white underwear draped over me, enjoying the cool breeze and taking my rest.

If only it had her scent on it too, that would've been perfect. Shame.

"... Just wait, Dolores."

I'm about to show you a whole different dimension.

That was when, without even realizing it, I muttered those words.

- Rustle.

- Rustle.

The fuck?

Footsteps. I could hear footsteps.

No. No. Please!!!!

If it was Ruby, that was already a disaster. If it was Dolores, it was an even bigger one.

There was no talking my way out of this now.

Please, just let it be Sebas!!!

I quickly shoved the underwear aside a little and looked over,

"......."

and contrary to my desperate prayers,

there stood Dolores, her face flushed bright red,

and beyond that,

redder, and redder still, so much redder, looking ready to explode on the spot, stood Isabella.

"...... Ah."

"Um... Lionel...."

Dolores said, her voice trembling.

"... Isabella said she wanted to apologize to you... so I brought her along."

"Ah."

Oh dear.

Wait, what exactly was I wearing over my face right now?

And what was this elastic strap draped across my lips, and the thing half-stuck in my mouth....

Hm... a garter strap, maybe?

Dolores's trembling eyes darted back and forth between my face and the underwear draped over it.

Then her gaze locked onto the underwear.

Her pupils dilated, and the corners of her mouth curled up in a way she couldn't hide.

She was pleased.

Well, then, that settled it....

If she was happy, that was all that mattered.

I smiled.

If I'd already become some crazed little pervert regardless,

if my reputation was already, definitively, done for,

then fuck it, I might as well own it.

"Hello, Isabella."

"Eh? Eh?"

Isabella, of course, didn't look like she found any of this particularly "hello"-worthy.

"Sorry, but could you come back tomorrow instead?"

"......... uh, uh, um. Uh... I could...."

"Today's the day we're changing out Dolores's underwear."

"......."

I said, smiling.

"Looks like we'll be busy pretty late."

"Uh, um, uh... yeah, that's probably bett...."

Isabella slowly backed away, step by step,

and then just vanished.

Heh, guess my reputation's really done for now.

With Isabella gone, only Dolores and I were left in the workshop's backyard.

I didn't want to drag this out any longer either.

"...... Would you like to go try it on right away, by any chance?"

I asked first, with confidence.

"... Yeah."

Dolores answered too... calmly, evenly.

"Then carry me, my legs won't move."

- Slip....

And so I....

ended up carried in Dolores's arms, on our way to the dressing room.

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