Gunpowder Plate Armor and the Magic Revolution

"Every Orentia has their own mission and responsibility to defend their homeland, and besides, Noze is a born magician; we can't keep him even if we wanted to..."

"You know how shameless those people at the Wizarding Club are. To poach talented kids, they'll use any dirty trick they can think of, cheat, steal, or anything else. They even force people to sign contracts to send their kids into the army..."

But Eileen wasn't buying it at all and immediately retorted, "Do mages have to go to the battlefield? I saw in the Chamber of Commerce's newspaper the other day that Edric is sending mages into factories and research institutes, isn't it? Doesn't it matter where they work?"

Eileen is now like a fiercely protective lioness, and no matter how much Leopold tries to reason with her or appeal to her emotions, he can't persuade her.

In the end, the poor general could only awkwardly pick up the warm tea on the table, take a sip, and let his eyes wander to the flickering flames in the fireplace.

The evening breeze outside the window carried the salty smell of the sea, rattling against the glass with a soft clanging sound. The sea breeze was chilly, seeping in through the window cracks, making the warmth by the fireplace all the more precious.

"...It's getting late, Madam. Let's get some rest. I think Norze must be tired too."

Leopold stood up and used Nozer as a truce, thus ending the fireside chat that had ended without a clear winner.

Norze returned to his room, turned off the kerosene lamp, and collapsed onto the soft bed.

"I still need to make clothes tomorrow..."

Noze closed his eyes, his consciousness gradually fading. "I hope I can get up..."

I slept without any dreams.

--------------

The next day, we went to Bailang Street, the most bustling commercial street in the entire Monsoon City.

"This is it, the best tailor shop in all of Monsoon City."

Graham pointed with his riding crop at the shop not far away. "Take a look, what do you think?"

Riding on his horse Chestnut, Noze looked in the direction the whip pointed and the first thing he saw was the particularly eye-catching sign above the door.

Instead of using the bronze reliefs commonly found in shops in Monsoon City, this shop innovatively used more than a dozen different colors of dye to hand-paint the two cursive characters for "dream" on a dark walnut wood base.

Please don't underestimate these dyes. This not only shows that the shop has outstanding business capabilities and a wide variety of colors, but also reflects the shop's extraordinary background.

It's important to know that there were no synthetic dyes back then; all dyes had to be extracted naturally, and the most precious of them were purple and carmine.

Purple dye has long been priced far higher than the same weight of gold, and purified dye can be two to three times more expensive than the same weight of gold.

Even at such a high price, there is still no market for them. Clothing dyed in pure purple is extremely rare. During the period of imperial control, only the Pope of the Holy Church, royal nobles, and the emperor's most trusted dukes could wear purple clothes.

Although this rule no longer applies in the federal government, its exorbitant price is still beyond the reach of most people.

Carmine is slightly inferior to purple, and is "only" twice as expensive as silver of the same weight, occasionally matching gold. It is often used to make dresses for important banquets.

Although the price is also very high, it still gives some people hope that they can afford it.

Of course, besides these two, the dyes used for the other colors on the signboard were also quite expensive. For example, the gold color was most likely made of real gold, while the indigo blue was dye imported from "New Territories"...

The fact that this shop owner was able to collect all these rare colors is enough to show that he has considerable power and status in Monsoon City.

The tailor shop's street-facing storefront wasn't large, but it creatively used a lot of almost transparent glass as exterior wall decoration.

The purer the glass, the more expensive it is. With so much glass on the exterior wall, Norzer was really worried that someone might take the risk and remove all the glass and the wall overnight.

Through the glass, you can see several finished women's dresses being worn on wooden mannequins, which directly show the details of the upper body. There is even a sign on the wooden door that says that you can try them on for free.

It is somewhat similar to the sales strategies of modern stores.

"Isn't that...too luxurious?"

Nozer simply couldn't find a better description than this word.

"Not bad, you have good taste."

Graham was pleased with Norzer's reaction, as if it were an endorsement of his taste. He dismounted and handed the reins to the doorman.

Norze also dismounted, gently patted Chestnut's neck, handed the reins to the doorman who came to greet him, and followed Graham into the shop.

"However... Lieutenant Colonel Graham, I heard you're investigating an assassination, aren't you? Isn't it okay for you to be out during working hours?"

"Who says you can't investigate cases while making clothes? I'm working right now."

Graham spoke mysteriously, then quickly changed the subject, "To be honest, the owner of this shop is a widow."

Graham looked at Norzer with a grin and said this out of the blue.

"Widow... what's wrong?"

Norzer clearly didn't understand what Graham meant.

"Oh dear, you don't know how good a widow is when you're young... Besides, this widow is no ordinary woman. Not only is she young, but she's also quite shrewd. Have you seen 'The Rose with Thorns'? It's the latest one at the Grand Theatre. Isn't it about a man vying to marry a widow...?"

"..."

Noze didn't know how to respond.

Graham pushed open the door, and was greeted by the distinctive aroma of turpentine.

The store is much more spacious than it appears from the outside. Several frosted glass lamps hang from the high ceiling, casting warm yellow light on the floor-to-ceiling fabric racks on both sides.

The shelves were neatly arranged with fabrics of all colors, from the finest aristocratic cashmere and lustrous mulberry silk satin to durable and crisp military twill and breathable, skin-friendly high-count linen.

The colors range from calm black, gray, and navy blue to vibrant burgundy, dark green, and light brown, as well as noble purple and crimson, and each roll is meticulously maintained.

Behind the shelf, a pretty woman was drawing lines on a fabric with chalk powder while muttering to herself, and a young girl was looking at an account book and calculating something at the counter next to her.

"Mrs. Dorothy, and Miss Cora, it's been a long time."

Graham greeted the two of them quite naturally.

"Lieutenant Colonel Graham, what brings you here?"

When Mrs. Dorothy saw Graham, a familiar smile immediately appeared on her face, and she quickly came to greet him. "The dress you ordered last time is finished. I was just about to send someone to deliver it to you."

She wore a well-tailored dark green satin dress with delicate silver embroidery at the neckline, which made her skin appear even whiter than snow, and there were no fine lines around her eyes, the signs of aging.