Chapter 122: Prototype of the Caith-Sith

After enjoying the atmosphere of the annual festival and bidding farewell to the two heads of the household the next day, Isamu and Annemarie headed to the commercial district of the royal capital, just like they did yesterday.

Today, with the stalls opening from early morning, the festival was starting to show its full excitement, and the commercial district was bustling with people even more than yesterday.

“The crowd seems to have increased even more than yesterday…”

“Since today marks the beginning of the main event. It’ll continue like this for a while.”

As Isamu remarked upon seeing the crowded commercial district from the carriage window, Annemarie nodded beside him.

Except for the central square and the main street leading there, where stalls were not set up, the commercial district was filled with street vendors, making the area very crowded.

“It’s a good thing they separated the carriage lane from the sidewalk. It’s really crowded.”

Just as Isamu was inwardly relieved, gradually the carriage slowed down and eventually stopped.

“Lord Isamu, we have arrived at the Nashara Trading Company’s royal capital branch.” 

Liddell called out from the coachman’s seat.

Today, as Liddell had mentioned, they were visiting the royal capital branch of the Nashara Trading Company.

Having heard that Gil Nashara, the head of the company, was planning to come to the branch in the royal capital for the annual festival, they had made arrangements for him to inspect the prototype of the Cait-Sith that had been produced.

As Isamu got off the carriage first and reached out his hand to Annemarie, two beastfolk individuals noticed them and came out from the shop.

While not as large as the main branch in Inotia, it seemed quite large among the lined-up shops.

“Welcome, Lord Matsumoto, Lady Annemarie. It’s been a while.”

The familiar face of a beastfolk greeted them. It was Gil Nashara, the head of the trading company.

“Gil-san, thank you for welcoming us.”

“Lord Gil, it’s been a while.”

As Isamu and Annemarie returned the greetings, Gil introduced another cat-like beastfolk woman standing next to him.

“This is Yupi Nashara, who serves as the branch manager at the royal capital branch. She is also known as the leading expert on the Cait-Sith research.”

“I’m Yupi Nashara. I’m really looking forward to seeing the prototype of the Cait-sith. It’s a pleasure to meet you. nya”

“Uh… Nice to meet you, Yupi-san. I hope you’ll be satisfied with it.”

Surprised by the unexpected “nya” at the end of her sentence, Isamu managed to return the greeting despite feeling like bursting out laughing.

Since no one seemed to pay any attention, he concluded that it must be due to the automatic translation.

Perhaps the translation feature only reacted to female beastfolk since male beastfolk didn’t have any change in their speech pattern.

Escorted by Gil and Yupi, they entered the shop, which was quite busy.

The products mainly focused on items from the western region, with imports from other countries as well. While not as large as the main branch, there seemed to be a fair number of beastfolk employees.

They were led further into the store, up a staircase where a beefy-looking beastfolk resembling a security guard was standing, and into a reception room.

“Once again, thank you for coming. We know you’re busy with the Great Council…”

“No, no, no, Lord Selfers is busy, but we are not. We were touring the festival from yesterday afternoon.”

He lowered his head at the very beginning, so I hurriedly asked him to look up.

“I see. By the way… I heard from one of the staff that there was a commotion at the stall yesterday, and it was said that it was the knights of the Klauffeldt family who put out the fire. Could it be…?”

“Huh? Is that rumor going around!? We did put it out, but…”

“No, no, no, wasn’t it said that a few people brilliantly extinguished the fire? Since most of the stalls are made of wood and cloth, it’s a big deal if they catch fire. It seems that the Klauffeldt family has skilled magic knights who swiftly extinguished the fire before it spread, and it’s become a rumor in the taverns, you know?”

It was a short time, and it was done in a very small area of the vast capital city, so I didn’t think it would be particularly noteworthy, but apparently, that’s not the case.

“Well, it’s not a bad rumor, and if it improves the reputation of the Klauffeldt family, then it’s a good thing.”

It would be troublesome if bad rumors spread, but since that’s not the case, Isamu decided to accept it for now.

“Well then, may I show you the prototype right away? Unlike the divine object of Orihime, this time it’s a one-of-a-kind, so I’ve put a lot of effort into it.”

Isamu said, sending a glance to Anne-Marie next to him.

Anne-Marie lightly nodded and took out a black-and-white object about 60 centimeters tall from the large bag she had brought.

“W-What is this!!?”

“……I-It’s amazing, nya.”

Gil and Yupi were speechless at first sight.

“What do you think? Since making it life-sized would be too big, I made it about half the size.”

It was exactly like the Cait Sith depicted in Wami Nashara’s memoirs and supplementary materials.

The glossy black fur and the awakening white fur, both had exquisite textures.

The creator, Priest Mimilia, excitedly explained that it was the fur of a monster called “something or other,” but she spoke too quickly for me to catch it.

The eyes and nose were made using the same parts as Orihime’s divine object, and it seemed like it would smile or wink at any moment.

By the way, although Earth cats have facial muscles, they have fewer than humans, so they don’t express emotions on their faces much. However, in Wami Nashara’s supplementary materials, there were many expressions of Cait Sith laughing, getting angry, and crying just like humans.

Surely Wami and Cait Sith lived happily together, laughing and quarreling.

“Nyaon.”

Orihime seemed to be pleased with the result as well, rubbing her cheek against it without any hostility, unlike when she saw her divine object.

“What a splendid work!! It’s as if Cait Sith-sama from the records has come to life!”

“This texture… Just as it was described, Cait Sith-sama’s touch was fluffy with a slightly moist feel, nya!!”

Gil and Yupi were also fascinated, petting it eagerly.

“Now, this is the amazing part.”

After petting it for a while and calming down, Isamu grinned and picked up the Cait Sith plush toy.

Then, he started moving its front legs and neck.

“W-What!?”

Once again, Gil and Yupi were speechless. Meanwhile, Isamu continued his work briskly.

In less than a minute, the Cait Sith that had been standing until just now was now sitting cross-legged.

“This time, we’ve put a skeleton and joints inside. The neck, limbs, waist, and tail can all move, so you can pose it in various ways like this.”

As he said this, he lightly raised Cait Sith’s right hand.

By the way, the joints were made using a special process where monster horns were shaved to resemble ball joints, polished, and thinly coated with crushed hecteyes.

“……..”

Gil and Yupi were too shocked to say anything.

“Nyaon.”

Orihime, sitting between Cait Sith’s legs, seemed satisfied and started grooming herself alternately with Cait Sith.

“…How precious, nya.”

Yupi muttered with a dumbfounded expression.

“Oh, right, as a bonus, I’ve prepared something like this as well.”

Isamu took out something else from another bag and lined it up on the table.

“This is!?”

“…Clothes, nya!? Clothes for the fashionable Cait Sith-sama!!”

“Yes, that’s right. According to that material, it seems that Cait Sith-sama was quite fond of fashion, so I prepared several clothes.”

What Isamu took out were various clothes and accessories for dressing up Cait Sith.

“What on earth. Isn’t this practically Cait Sith-sama itself?”

“Incredible… It’s like everything written in the literature has been reproduced, nya…”

“How about it? Would Wami Nashara be pleased with this?”

In response to Isamu question, Gil replied with laughter and tears.

“Yes, yes… Without a doubt, he would be overjoyed. …It’s a pity we couldn’t show this to him while he was still alive.”

Isamu also imagined the situation where he would be separated from Orihime for the rest of his life.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Even though you’ve made such a wonderful thing… When we return to Inotia, we’ll display it in front of his grave!”

“Yes, please do.”

“So, how much should I prepare for the cost of this? It’s such a splendid work, so I don’t mind paying a considerable amount if necessary.”

“No, as I mentioned before, this is a gift from us, or more accurately, from me, so there is absolutely no need for payment. Thinking about Mr. Wami Nashara, who loved cait-sith similar to Orihime but could never meet again, I can’t help but feel personally connected to this matter. It’s my self-satisfaction, so please accept it with a smile.”

After Isamu firmly stated this, Gil stared at him for a moment, then softened his expression.

“Sigh, understood. I appreciate Isamu-sama’s kindness. However, it wouldn’t be right for us, as descendants of Wami-sama and as Nashara Trading Company, to do nothing in return for all you’ve done. So, please consider this incident as a debt. If Isamu-sama ever needs anything or encounters any difficulty, please feel free to reach out to us anytime. The Nashara Trading Company will do everything in our power to assist Isamu-sama.”

“Haha, thank you very much. I hope there won’t be any trouble. …But I might need your help in the future.”

Isamu said with a wry smile. The last words he murmured didn’t reach anyone’s ears.

“Oh, right. Can additional orders be placed for this caith-sith prototype? I really want to spread this among our clan.”

“If that’s the case, we’ll gladly accept. It takes time to make them, so we’ll need a little while…”

“Oh, can you accept it?! Of course, it’s no problem if it takes time. Then, I’ll gather the quantity later and formally place the order. Oh, please provide a detailed estimate for the additional order. If it’s free, I won’t place the order.”

Gil said with a cheerful laugh.

“Fufu, understood. We’ll make sure to invoice you for the additional orders.”

Isamu also said with a smile as he shook hands with Gil.

From this day on, in the territory of Klaufeldt, mass production of jointed caith-sith plush toys began. And soon, thanks to this expertise, high-quality plush toys became a specialty product of the Viscount Klaufeldt territory.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter