Episode 56: The girls’ accomplishments

 

As they patrolled around in the early spring, they headed towards a new facility in the village.

 

Not much later, the chief’s granddaughter, Liscia and Yamato arrived at a new building, constructed along the small river that flowed behind the village.

 

“Well, isn’t it young Liscia and Yamato-dono?”

“Oh, you two sure get along well, don’t you? ”

 

“Yeah, as you can see. But don’t mind us, continue what you were doing.”

 

The old ladies in the village who saw them called out to them, but Yamato just told them to keep doing what they were doing.

That is a phrase he had heard many times, “you two sure get along well”. And certainly, being the two of them together all the time would cause misunderstandings, but Yamato simply tried to mind it not.

 

“Finally, it’s starting for real… the “Textile Workshop”, right, Yamato-sama?”

“Yeah. It’s still at the testing stage, but it appears to be going well.”

 

While peeking inside of the workshop, Liscia said while feeling captivated.

In the spacious interior machines she had never seen before were lined up, filling the air with their characteristic sound were spinning wheels and manual looms.

 

“I find it hard to believe… with only this much work, we can weave the fabric this fast…”

 

She expressed her excitement while staring at the old ladies in the village handling the looms, weaving fabrics, and the children spinning the threats.

 

“The new machines with the shuttle should be several times faster than the ones used before.”

“Several times… as expected of Yamato-sama! ”

 

All the equipment in the workshop that Liscia found impressing was designed by Yamato and crafted by the Mountain Clan People while being directed by Gaton.

 

 

So far, the production of the “Urd fabric” was a traditional work made solely by hand.

However, due to the current situation where the main workforce in the village was taken away, it became a case where there weren’t enough hands to take care of the troublesome textile production.

 

Thus, it was decided that since the food shortage was in a stage where it wasn’t a problem anymore, the textile industry should be restarted, while being guided by Yamato.

 

The archaic weaving machines used before were improved, and the textile manufacturing began anew while operating the new looms.

Looms and spinning wheels were instruments invented alongside the innovative “shuttle” in the eighteenth century in Earth.

 

There was no real challenge in recreating this technology, mainly due to the aid of the dexterous hands of the Mountain Clan craftsmen.

The only problem was coming up with novel ideas such as the “shuttle” and the other machines.

But implementing such technological reforms was nothing for Yamato whom had come from modern day Japan.

 

“This spinning wheel machine too… it’s really amazing. It can’t be compared to the charkhas that we’ve used up until now…”

“I’ve made it so that it uses the water wheel as a power source. The efficiency should be considerably higher.”

 

“This is my first time seeing a charkha powered by a waterwheel anywhere… as expected of Yamato-sama.”

 

At what Liscia was looking at impressed was a spinning wheel to weave the yarn.

That machine was a more advanced version of a charkha, a device made for spinning natural fibers such as wool, cotton, hemp, flax or silk.

 

With the invention of the new loom and the “shuttle”, the improve in work efficiency would inevitably lead to the lack of threaded yarn.

That was the reason of the creation of the water wheel-powered semi-automatic spinning wheel.

 

It made use of the rebuilt water wheel made by the Mountain Clan craftsmen, and the improved version of the village’s old charkhas. With this, regardless of age, the old ladies as well as the children could efficiently spin the yarn.

 

What Yamato aimed with this was to improve the time-consuming tasks and up the productivity in the village.

 

“Thanks to the workshop, I’ve got the chance to devote time for “Urd embroidery” for the first time in a long time.”

“The women in Urd are experts in dyeing and embroidery after all.”

“Yes, when one becomes six years old, we are taught the crafts of “needles and dyes”.”

 

As she explained the customs of the village, Liscia proudly showed the clothes she was wearing.

The fluttering skirt danced in the wind, embroiled with the peculiar colors of this mountain village.

It was a pattern that she herself embroiled only using a single needle.

 

And just like Liscia said, they couldn’t work on these due to the food shortage, but thanks to the workshop and the current food situation, they now had the time to do it.

 

“The women in Urd have the tradition of polishing their skill before adulthood and marrying while wearing the embroiled clothes they themselves made in the ceremony.”

“I see. So, the village girls practice embroidery whenever they have time?”

“Yes, I too have been working hard since I was younger.”

 

When they went to Orn to trade last year, Yamato noticed that Urd fabrics were very popular among the citizens.

High quality clothes and beautiful dyes that couldn’t be collected outside of the mountainous region had gathered the attention of the women in the city who were looking for a different sense in aesthetics.

 

So, when the workshop started to work in full scale and the textile production increased, the plan was to wholesale it to the city of Orn as a commodity.

 

“S-speaking of which… I’ll be fifteen in the next summer. And become sixteen years old next year…”

“I see. Time sure goes by fast.”

 

Yamato remembered the first time he met Liscia in the woods, when she was still thirteen years old, feeling like it was a really long time ago.

Like old people say, “time flies like a shooting arrow”.

 

“I-in the hometown of Yamato-sama… you said when a woman “becomes sixteen” they can marry…”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much right. It’s a bit different from the customs of this village.”

 

In Japan, by law women below the age of sixteen couldn’t get married.

And, while being in a different world, Yamato still felt bound by that same sense.

 

“Ya-Yamato-sama… will you stay until next year… will you stay in the village until I become sixteen years old? ”

“I think so. There is still a mountain of issues to be resolved in the village. I suppose I’ll be in your care for a little longer.”

 

Although the food problem had been fixed, there were many other problems that had been piling up in the village.

Especially the current unstable situation with no adults, and the possible threat against an invasion from the outside, Yamato wanted to solve them somehow while he was here.

 

“R-really!?　I’ll do my best then. I’ll become a wonderful woman that won’t lose to Isis-sama! ”

“Yeah, let’s all do our best.”

“Yes!! ”

 

Liscia declared with a big smile on her blushed face.

Yamato on the other hand, wondered why the name of the Consul Regent of Orn came out in such a chat.

 

He dismissed that thought believing she was at the age when girls sometimes said strange things.

Yet, he was glad that she, as the village chief representative, was motivated. Therefore, he too decided to do his best as her assistant.

 

“Alright, should we now go see the facility that’s still under construction last?”

“Yes… the “House with smoke”… right? ”

“Yeah. It’s almost time that it’s finished, so let’s take a look.”

 

Thus, they both went on to visit another facility in the village that was still under construction.

 

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