“Yes, you. Um, is there a costume party going on, or something?”
“Not that I know of…?”
“Then tell me: Why is every person I see dressed like royalty?”
“Like royalty…? I think this is pretty normal.”
“I see.”
In other words, showy clothes must be the norm in this country. I should probably get a second opinion just to be on the safe side. I really need to think of a way to cut this conversation short and then move on.
“I understand completely now, thank you very much. Well, I’m off.”
“Oh, sure. You’re welcome.”
I quickly parted ways with the prince who didn’t really seem to grasp the situation.
I went as far as the center of the city, but as expected, there was no end to the royal flock.
Princesses in the middle of shopping, princes and princesses having chats in cafés. Ahhh, it’s enough to make my head spin!
There was no escape in sight. Even if I looked straight up, there were advertisements depicting people in extravagant clothing on signs hanging from a building that looked like a cathedral.
The country itself was refined, but all the people living there made it seem particularly dazzling. I imagined how much easier everything would be to look at if I owned glasses with dark lenses. When will modern innovation catch up?
Anyway…
After looking at one ad in particular, I finally drew a conclusion about the state of this country.
“Um, excuse me.”
“Yes?”
This time, I called out to a nearby princess. “I’m a traveler, and I want to know—by any chance, is that style of clothing popular in this country?”
The girl made a puzzled expression. “Huh? Oh yes. It’s the current trend.”
“I see.”
So that’s why everyone’s dressed the same.
The princess nodded. She had clearly come to some conclusion as well.
“I thought you looked awfully strange, but you’re not from around here, are you…? Ha-ha.”
I wonder what she’s thinking. Her smile looks a little too condescending.
“Is there something strange about the way I look?”
“It’s a bit different, yes.”
“Could it be that this is your first time seeing a robe?”
She shook her head. “No. But the mages in this country don’t wear robes, so that’s why I said you look a bit different.”
“They don’t wear robes?”
“Right. They wear what’s in fashion.”
“……”
That doesn’t sound very mage-y…
“Well, they do wear the pointy hats. So people can still tell they’re mages.”
A pointy hat and trendy clothes would definitely clash…
However, now that she mentioned it, I was sure there had been some people wearing pointy hats mixed in with the people wearing aristocratic-looking clothing.
……
There had been some very, very unfashionable mages.
Those really don’t go well together at all…
“So they join in on the newest fad, huh…?”
“Yes. I mean, they wouldn’t want to wear outdated clothes. Plus, don’t you think it looks great?”
“It’s dazzling.”
“Right?”
I wasn’t actually praising the fashion, but the girl seemed satisfied.
“Anyway, can I ask you one more thing?” I asked. The girl, who was in a good mood for a reason I’ll never know, nodded enthusiastically. Just what I wanted. “Who decided that luxurious suits, dresses, and the like would be the trend in this country?”
“Hmm? I’m not really sure. They were just popular before we knew it.”
“Mm-hmm.”
In other words, you just got swept up in the trends.
I see, I see.
“Thank you very much. I’ve learned a lot.”
“Sure—Oh, that’s right. If you’re interested in the latest trends, you’d do well to go to that store over there, Miss Traveler.” The girl dressed like a princess kindly pointed out the next place I should visit.
It was across the large avenue from where we were standing.
There was a clothing shop so large, it could be mistaken for a cathedral, displaying many advertisements.
“Welcome… Oh my. Might you be a traveler?”
When I entered the shop, a woman in a plain suit came over to greet me.
She must work here.
I decided to turn a blind eye to her immediate assumption that I was from out of town.
“Yes, hello. I heard through the grapevine that this is the hottest store in the country.”
“My, my! Well, that certainly is true. Did you come searching for the latest formal wear from other countries? If so, we have some recommendations—”
When I confirmed I was an outsider, the clerk’s eyes lit up, and she went on a full-blown sales pitch.
Dazzling, dazzling. By the way, do you have any glasses with dark lenses in this store? You don’t? I see.
“Oh, it’s very rare to have a traveler.”
As I was allowing myself to be shown to the center of the shop, an old woman, bent at the waist, appeared from the back of the store, propping herself up on a cane.
“Oh, the manager,” the clerk said.
The old woman who had been called manager shuffled over to us. “Are you looking for some local fashions?”
I shook my head. “No, not at all. I’m just curious.”
“Is that so? Well, I’m sure you’ll find something interesting… The trends here are always on the cutting edge, you see.”
“Uh-huh.”
“By the way, what do you think, from a traveler’s perspective? About our clothing, that is. We’ve recently begun exporting it to other countries.”
“Well, honestly, I think it’s incredible. I’m sure a lot of labor goes into making mass quantities and a whole range of styles.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
One could see, just by looking around at the state of the country, that they had enough resources that even common folk could easily obtain beautiful aristocratic-style clothing, and it was clear that there was no shortage of talented tailors as well. And of course, it took peace and prosperity to develop an extensive history of fashion. This country had to look like a gold mine to foreign merchants.
“By the way, where do you come from, Miss Traveler?”
“From very far away.”
“And how long have you been traveling?”
“Quite a long time.”
“Uh-huh… Well then,” the old woman continued, still looking warmly into my eyes. “In that case, you must have seen all sorts of clothing in many different places.”
I felt the faintest of premonitions coming on.
“…Well, I’m not really traveling for the sake of studying fashion, so I’m not that well versed.”
The old woman stepped back, almost imperceptibly.
When she did, the clerk who had been standing next to her wheeled around behind me and grabbed me by both shoulders. “But, Miss Traveler, even if you’re not well versed, you have seen clothing around the world with your own eyes, right? I’m so jealous.”
“……”
This does not bode well.
My path of retreat had been completely cut off, and the elderly woman in front of me was steadily closing the distance between us.
Okay, I’m officially scared.
“I can’t wait to hear all about the countries you have visited, Miss Traveler. Ee-hee-hee!” The old woman’s face wrinkled up in laughter.
And then I was taken to a room deeper in the shop, where a mess of sample clothing had littered the space.
“…Mm-hmm. So the clothing designs from that region looked something like this?”
“Um…yes. Well, more or less.”
“I see. And how was the clothing in t
he eastern countries? I have some clothing that a traveler from that region left here years ago… Ah, here it is. Is it like this?”
“Yes, that’s right. I’ve heard it’s called a kimono.”
“They use really nice textiles for these clothes… This glossy texture would certainly be difficult to reproduce with cotton. Do you know how it’s made?”
“I wonder…”
“Hmm—by the way, how about the neighboring country?”
“I’ve been there.”
“What kind of clothes were in style? Please tell me everything you can remember, okay?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know. I mean, to start with, they seemed to be wearing totally ordinary clothing. Whether that was in vogue—”
“Ee-hee-hee, Miss Traveler, you say the strangest things. There is no such thing as ‘totally ordinary clothing.’ In the world of fashion, the ‘ordinary’ doesn’t exist. All we have is the uniqueness of each individual.”
“In that case, isn’t your country kind of…different?”
“Hmm?”
“I mean, by that theory, the people of this country have no individuality—”
“Hmm?”
“Sorry, I didn’t say anything.”
“In that case, I have some samples here… Which one do you like?”
“The one in the middle.”
“That’s what I’m wearing now.”
“Oh, you were talking about the clothes you’re holding in your hands, huh? I like the one on the right.”
“I see, I see. All right, then. Next—”
In this manner, I was made to talk endlessly on and on.
After the woman wrung details that I don’t usually pay much attention to out from the corners of my memory, I was very, very tired. It felt like my head would explode.
After that, I made it through the rest of my day without anything noteworthy happening.
Maybe it’s time to head to the next country—, I thought as I watched the sun rise on my fifth day in this country.
I brushed my teeth, ate breakfast, and made preparations for my departure.
I went down to the reception desk at the inn and returned the key to my room. Just before I left, the old woman manning the desk said something strange to me. “Oh, miss, you look so fashionable. I wouldn’t expect less for a traveler.”
Even though, just yesterday, I had been scorned by people walking down the street for my strange appearance.
Any questions I had when I left the inn were soon answered.
I went back down the road I had come in on yesterday, and when I returned to the large avenue where that one clothing shop stood, mixed in with the usual aristocrats was…me.
And when I say me, I mean people dressed exactly like me.
I looked up and saw that the signs and advertisements had changed, and they now depicted a girl who looked like me, wearing the same robe, with the words HERE IS THE NEXT BIG TREND!
……
“So the traveler from before was actually ahead of the curve… Tch.” I heard a woman who seemed ticked off for some reason.
“How cute,” said a man who was staring at the new advertisement.
“Now that you mention it, I feel like those clothes are much more practical…!” There were people running off toward the store.
“Whoo-hoo! I got the latest style!” Someone came out of the store in high spirits, wearing a robe.
There were all sorts of others.
I felt a sense of relief at the decrease in blindingly ornate outfits, but seeing everyone dressed like me was a little… Well, it made me want to cover my eyes.
Anyway, what exactly is going on here?
I couldn’t wrap my mind around it.
“Ee-hee-hee!” Before I realized it, the old woman from before was standing beside me. She gazed with gentle eyes at the store that was booming with business.
“Oh, hello there. Shouldn’t you be in the shop?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ve been working myself to the bone for several days, so I wanted to take a break at least for the morning.”
“Wow, you must be tired,” I managed to offer before I asked my real question. “So tell me why.”
“Why what?”
“You obviously modeled the ‘next big thing’ after me. Why?”
“Oh, it must be your imagination. Ee-hee-hee!” She dodged the question.
“……”
“Well, it was half by coincidence, half on a whim. I had been thinking of making clothing in this style from the beginning, but—yours were so very nice, Miss Traveler, so I nudged my design just a little closer to it.”
“…Could I get some royalties for the use of my design?”
“If you can prove to me that you are indeed the designer of those clothes, then yes. Well, okay, I suppose it was wrong of me to use you in my ads without asking your permission. Here, I’ll give you this as compensation.”
There was a flicker of gold between the old woman’s fingers. The flat, glittering object fell as if drawn into my two open hands.
It was a gold coin.
“It’s an honor to be featured in your advertising.”
“Isn’t it?”
After carefully putting away the gold coin into my purse, I nodded.
“But you really made that many items in just a few days?”
“There are that many mages in our country.”
“I see.”
I could easily picture a group of mages using magic to manufacture mass quantities of clothing in all sorts of colorways.
Those mages are now dressed the same as me, huh…? It’s a little bizarre, like something right out of the horror genre.
“However, it’s a strange thing, isn’t it?”
The old woman studied the chaos surrounding her shop. Her kind eyes held a tinge of sorrow.
“I want our country to pioneer new styles, but as soon as I make new clothes and release them to the public, I feel as if a heavy burden has been placed on my shoulders. Even though it’s supposed to be several steps ahead of the competition, it’s like we’re always lagging behind.”
“……”
“Well, I’m already well aware of what we’re doing wrong, though.”
When it came to clothes, everyone could wear whatever they liked. As for me, I liked my mother’s hand-me-downs, so I wore them all the time. If the old woman was right, if there were as many types of clothing as there were people, maybe wearing fancy suits and dresses could represent someone’s personality. Even if other people pointed and laughed and said that you look weird, you couldn’t change what was authentic to you.
I think that was what the old woman had been trying to say. And that was what made her feel so uneasy. The people in this country only cared to follow the latest fads. In other words, there was nothing individual about their style.
It was sad.
“Do you think I ought to change the way I do things, Miss Traveler?”
“Which is more important to you? Fashion or the individuality of the people here?”
“Fashion, of course.”
“In that case, I think you’re better off not changing.”
“Right? Ee-hee-hee.” The old woman laughed at me.
Well, then. I wonder just how long this new style will last? Unfortunately, I won’t be around to see the next big thing.
However, I was certain that a new traveler would arrive soon and unwittingly start a new fad, just as I had.
An eternity spent chasing trend after trend.
Coincidentally, this culture had founded this country, and it was how this place would continue to be preserved forevermore.
CHAPTER 6
Before the Snow Melts
It was a cold winter day.
All sorts of people were meandering along the snowy road. Among them was a girl wearing a tattered hood, her eyes downcast.
“…It’s so cold.”
Her name was Elise. She was a cute little gir
l with long golden hair and skin as white as snow.
She was twelve years old.
Still a child.
“……”
The girl walked for a little while longer before arriving at a bakery.
Only two people occupied the shop: an older man—the owner of the place—who was reading a newspaper, and a young witch, who was staring at the bread lined up on the shelves with a blissful smile.
“Mister, I’ll take this one, please.”
At that, the man glanced over, folding his paper, then looked at Elise with a troubled expression.
“Back again, huh? …Sorry, but I can’t sell ya any bread. Hurry up an’ go home.”
“Why? I’ve got money. Sell it to me. I want to give my little sister something good to eat.” She dropped what she had on the counter.
“C’mon, I can’t take money that ya stole from who knows where.” The proprietor put his palm on top of the pile and pushed it back toward her.
“…Sell me bread.”
“Ya never give up. I already told ya, I don’t sell ta monsters.”
“…”
The girl turned and left the shop without buying anything.
“……?”
The young witch watched their exchange with considerable confusion.
Shortly after being turned away from the bakery, Elise arrived at a small street stall.
“……”
It was an unmanned counter. There was no shopkeeper, only a box for depositing money. On it was written ONE APPLE FOR ONE COPPER PIECE. PLEASE LEAVE PAYMENTS IN THE BOX.
Since no store would sell her food, recently the girl had eaten nothing but these apples.
I’d like to give my sister something to eat besides apples once in a while.
As she thought this, Elise placed the apples into her bag and put the money for her purchases into the box.
However.
“Hey, you. What are you doing?”
There was a voice, and someone grabbed her hand. She looked up in surprise and saw a man making a scary face.
“I set up this box for humans to use. I didn’t make it to sell to the likes of you—give those apples back.”
“But I paid…”
“I don’t care. I don’t want your money.”
“……”
“Come on, give them back, Monster.”
Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina, Vol. 2 Page 5