WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: LilGuyBlastoise

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◈ I Made Magic Easier by Changing the Formula ◈

Chapter 2: The Cheating Magic That Revived a Dead Dress

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The next morning.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I checked.

The [Tear Mending] spell from last night, and the pieces of cloth that had been perfectly joined together.

It hadn't been a dream.

‘My mana recovered while I slept.’

When I used magic last night, my head had throbbed and my whole body had felt sluggish.

I'd emptied all my mana just by joining two palm-sized pieces of cloth.

At this rate, I probably wouldn't be able to use it more than a few times a day.

‘But it doesn't cost anything in materials. That's something, at least.’

After washing up, I went down to the shop on the first floor.

"Good grief, shopkeeper! What are you going to do about this?!"

Just then, an icy shout came from below the stairs.

The atmosphere in the shop was clearly tense.

‘What's going on?’

A middle-aged man stood before the counter with his hands clasped behind his back.

A neat black tailcoat. Sharp eyes.

I recognized him immediately.

‘Zebas, the Valderk family's butler.’

The Valderk family was one of the great houses said to divide Rowen between themselves and Felix's Bergen family.

And their butler was standing here with a grim expression.

Beside him, a maid stood with her head bowed, her face on the verge of tears.

"Mr. Zebas, please calm down. There was nothing wrong with the fabric we supplied. Rotten fabric, all of a sudden?"

"Don't make excuses! Tailor Pompar told me everything before leaving. The fabric had deteriorated and couldn't withstand sewing!"

Zebas's voice was low, yet imposing.

Father rubbed his hands anxiously.

A red velvet dress lay spread out on the counter.

The problem was at the hem.

It had been caught on something sharp, leaving an ugly tear as long as a finger.

"P-Pompar? That can't be. Pompar even praised the quality of our velvet..."

As Father protested indignantly, Zebas slammed a hand down on the counter.

"That Pompar fled in the middle of the night yesterday! Closed up shop and ran, with debt collectors in pursuit!"

"Ah..."

Father's mouth fell open.

Pompar was a famous tailor, with nobles lining up to have clothes made.

"Before running away, Pompar claimed to be innocent, saying the fabric supplied by Carter's Fabric Shop was defective and that was why the dress had torn!"

Zebas's eyes gleamed.

"The young lady has to wear this to a tea party tomorrow. What are you going to do about it? Pay compensation immediately! This dress costs one gold."

One gold.

That was one hundred silver coins.

It was as much as our shop earned in a year.

"Or restore it to its original state right now!"

"Mr. Zebas... this is a fabric shop. We can do simple darning and repairs, but restoring an expensive velvet dress like this so no one can tell is a tailor's job. Only someone as skilled as Pompar could do it."

"Then you'll pay one gold. Just as Pompar said, you'll answer for the crime of selling defective goods."

Father's face went pale.

It was obviously a false charge.

But if he refused, he would pay a harsh price.

With Pompar's false testimony that the fabric was defective, powerless Father had no way out.

I took a deep breath.

"I'll repair it."

I immediately walked behind the counter.

Father and the butler both turned to stare at me.

"Hans? What are you talking about?"

"And who's this? The shopkeeper's son? What does a little brat know that he thinks he can interrupt?"

Zebas frowned in displeasure.

I let the slight pass and carefully examined the dress.

High-quality velvet.

An irregular tear.

Multiple stains.

Velvet had pile, so mishandling the heat could burn it or leave flattened marks.

And the tear wasn't the only problem.

The entire dress was faded, with stains that looked like spilled wine.

‘That Pompar ruined the dress while making it, blamed the fabric, and ran away.’

The thought alone made my blood boil.

But this was no time to be angry.

‘Fixing the tear with Tear Mending will be easy enough.’

But that alone had its limits.

I needed to remove those stains as well.

‘...!’

At that moment, countless pieces of magical knowledge came to mind.

As if a blocked dam had burst open, formulas linked together in harmony and created another new spell.

[First-Tier Transformation Formula: Trace Erasure]

"It won't take long to repair this dress."

I looked calmly at Zebas and continued.

"Just give me one hour."

"What? One hour?"

Zebas's eyebrow twitched.

"A child sure talks big. Even that great Pompar takes a full day to repair velvet properly. If you want it to look flawless, that is."

"If I can't repair it, I'll pay one gold... No, I'll sell our shop if I have to and compensate you."

"Hans!"

Father grabbed my arm in alarm.

"Father, trust me. I have a way."

My confident gaze seemed to leave Father speechless.

"Hmph!"

Zebas snorted.

He had nothing to lose.

It would already be too late even if he went to another repair shop now.

"Fine. One hour exactly. If you can't do it by then, prepare yourself. I'll make sure this shop closes."

"Thank you for giving me the chance, Mr. Zebas. Then I'll see you again in an hour."

I immediately took the dress up to the attic on the second floor.

"Phew!"

Actually, I didn't even need an hour.

By my calculations, three minutes would be enough. No, two.

‘Let's begin.’

I spread the dress across the worktable.

Under the sunlight streaming through the window, its condition looked even worse.

The threads around the tear had come loose, and the cuff was grimy.

‘It doesn't matter. I'll repair it perfectly.’

I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing.

‘The formula I made yesterday, and the one I just made.’

The two magical formulas combined in my head and transformed into a new formula.

‘Here goes.’

Zzzzt!

A blue geometric pattern unfolded in the narrow gap between my palm and the fabric.

There were no unnecessary steps.

A mana circuit compressed to its limit, meant for function alone.

The moment its parts turned, interlocking like gears.

Whoosh...

Threads of mana thinner than hair extended from the center of the magic circle and slipped between the torn pieces of fabric.

‘First, repair the tear.’

[First-tier Composite Formula: Tear Mending + Trace Erasure]

It wrapped around the threads on the left and right, pulling them together.

At the same time, a faint vibration passed over the entire dress.

Shhh.

The two threads joined flawlessly.

‘Now erase the traces.’

A flash of light burst out.

Dust and stains embedded deep in the fabric were driven away by waves of mana.

The yellowed red velvet recovered a vivid color like fresh blood.

‘Urgh...’

Cold sweat ran down my forehead.

Mana drained away like an ebbing tide, making me dizzy.

My fingertips trembled, but I didn't stop.

‘Phew!’

When the final stage of the composite formula was complete, the blue light flashed and faded.

‘That worked too.’

Stain removal successful!

The dress on the worktable gleamed like a brand-new item.

‘...I didn't expect it to come out this perfectly.’

Honestly, even I was surprised by what I'd done.

I checked the clock. It had taken exactly two minutes and forty seconds.

‘Should I rest for a moment?’

I flopped onto the bed.

‘I should stay here for the full hour while my mana recovers.’

If I repaired it too quickly, anyone would find it suspicious.

"Time's up! Are you still not done?"

Exactly one hour later, Zebas's dry voice called from below.

Only then did I pick up the dress and go downstairs.

"Fortunately, I just finished the work. Here it is. Please inspect it."

I carefully spread the dress across the counter.

Zebas and the maid approached with doubtful eyes.

Father squeezed his eyes shut, unable to watch.

"Let's see. If you've just sewn it up carelessly... Huh?"

Zebas narrowed his eyes.

No, his eyes widened.

He lifted the torn hem toward the sunlight, then turned it over to examine even the lining.

"Th-This... How is this possible?"

There was nothing.

The trace of the tear had vanished completely.

Even the direction of the velvet's pile had been joined perfectly.

And that wasn't all.

"Mr. Zebas! The wine stain on the sleeve is gone too!"

The maid pointed to the sleeve.

"Hmm!"

Zebas examined the whole dress again.

When he had brought it here, the velvet had been dull and flattened in places. Now it boasted the full volume and sheen of new clothing.

"How did you do it? Don't tell me you worked on the whole thing?"

"If I'd only repaired the torn area, it would have stood out because of the difference in color from the older parts. So I gave the entire dress a special treatment."

Zebas swallowed dryly.

"Remarkable. You practically brought a dying dress back to life. Even that runaway Pompar couldn't have done this."

A smile of relief spread across his lips.

In truth, he had made unreasonable demands because he wanted to avoid being reprimanded for ruining a dress worth one gold.

"You did well."

He immediately opened his purse.

"How much should I pay for the repair?"

Father started and waved both hands.

"No, Mr. Zebas. We're grateful enough that you've let the matter go..."

He looked deeply relieved just not to have to pay one gold.

"That won't do. Here, take this."

Zebas placed two silver coins on the counter.

"You did repair it, after all. The usual fee for repairing clothing like this is about one silver. For work of this quality, even twice that isn't too much."

"Th-Thank you."

"More importantly, you there, what's your name?"

Zebas turned to me.

"My name is Hans."

"Hans. I'll remember that. I can bring clothes to you for repairs now and then, can't I?"

"Haha... Of course. If you entrust them to me, I'll always do my best to serve you."

"Good. I'll see you again soon."

Zebas and the maid left with light steps.

A deep silence fell over the shop.

Father looked at me.

His eyes held relief, surprise, and complicated worry.

"Hans."

"Yes, Father."

"Close the shop for a while. We need to talk."

"Yes."

Father led me into the room at the back of the shop.

Mother followed us in with a worried expression.

"Tell me honestly. How did you do it? That wasn't sewing, was it?"

Father's voice was low.

After hesitating for a moment, I nodded.

"I saw some magic books at the library and tried applying what I learned."

"Magic?"

Both my parents' eyes widened.

I roughly explained the records of my research in the attic.

"......."

After hearing me out, Father was silent for a long while.

I thought he would be happy.

I thought he would be delighted that we could finally make a fortune.

But Father's response was unexpected.

"For the time being... no, if possible, never reveal this ability in front of others."

"What? Why? If I use it for repair work, we could pay off our family's debts in no time!"

Father firmly shook his head.

"I'm telling you not to waste that talent repairing old clothes. Study more and attend a proper magic academy. You need to become a respectable mage."

His eyes reddened.

"If nobles find out that a commoner can use magic before then, do you think they'll leave you alone? They'll try to use you, or they'll hurt you out of jealousy."

I understood Father's feelings.

He was more worried about me than money.

‘That's why I need money even more.’

For the academy, mana crystals, and everything beyond them.

‘First, I'll earn it. As much as I can.’

The two silver coins on the counter glittered in the sunlight.

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