Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 539: Has the balance been seen through?
I believe that anyone with normal intelligence has already guessed that the owner of this magical workshop hidden in a secluded alley is the girl they met on the breakwater. However, at this time, she has untied the handkerchief wrapped around her crystal blue hair, replaced it with a red ribbon, tied her hair into a ponytail, and held a pen and a ruler in her two slender hands. In front of her are many drawings with messy lines and patterns drawn on them. This dress makes her look thin and weak, and gives people a refreshing and neat feeling.

"So," Alice was surprised, then she remembered the name of the store on the sign at the door and looked thoughtful, "So your name is Lorena?"

The girl recovered from her initial surprise and smiled gently when she heard the words: "Yes, I forgot to introduce myself before. I'm really sorry. But I didn't expect that several guests could find this place. I'm really surprised."

Her voice was still as gentle as ever, and her tone of voice was slow and leisurely, easily reminiscent of the tide that surged up at night, slowly hitting the beach and reefs, spreading a long and lasting echo.

But, was it really because of negligence that I didn’t introduce myself?

Alice didn't notice anything unusual, but Lingge could hear a hint of caution and alertness in her words, so he spoke before the golden-haired maid could say anything, "We were just passing by and came in to take a look."

From the footprints left on the wet stone road outside the door, it is clear that although this alley is remote, it is not completely deserted. Otherwise, why would the girl open a shop here? Does she not want anyone to patronize it at all? In this case, it is reasonable that a few foreign tourists happened to pass by here, discovered a strange shop, and decided to go in to take a look. As for the small probability that these foreign tourists and the shop owner had a chance encounter, although it does sound subtle, it is not completely impossible.

"Are you passing by?" It was unknown whether the girl named Lorena believed Ling's explanation or not. Anyway, the smile on her face did not change at all. She continued to smile and said, "Those customers are so lucky. Although my store is small, the products I sell are all special. You can't find them in other stores at all. So, what do you want to buy?"

This is a very common marketing tactic. Basically, every store Lingge has visited says this. As for whether her products are really unique... The young man glanced at the goods on the shelves and walls vaguely and found that they were all very ordinary objects, such as clocks, glasses or buttons, and there was nothing special about them.

Of course, Alice didn't care much about such trivial matters. She had only one purpose for entering this store from beginning to end.

"Do you provide custom-made clothing services here, Miss Lorena?" The golden-haired maid looked at the girl behind the workbench with anticipation.

Her explanation was reasonable, so Alice did not doubt it. She took out the swimsuit blueprints from her arms and handed them to her, saying confidently, "It doesn't have to be that complicated. The blueprints are all here. Just make them according to the designs above."

"Custom clothing?" Rorona replied without hesitation, "Of course, and not only do I provide custom services, I can also help you draw the blueprints and prepare the materials. But the price may be a little higher."

Alice asked impatiently, but Rorona shook her head gently. "Well, I need to know your needs first. The fee will be based on the quality, quantity and complexity of the customization. So, can you tell me what kind of clothing you want to customize? What are your requirements for the fabric, flannel or wool? Do you need to customize different styles for men and women? If so, how many are needed... I need to understand these situations before I can give you a quote."

"how much is it?"

"Oh?"

Perhaps it was because few customers brought their own drawings to order, so when Lorena saw the swimsuit drawings, she immediately became interested. She took them and looked through them one by one. Alice was standing by, nervously observing her reaction, fearing that she would be like those self-righteous shops before, unwilling to make such vulgar and revealing clothes.

However, surprisingly, while reading the drawings, Rorona's expression remained calm. She didn't even frown, not to mention making any "shameless" or "moral" comments about the drawings, as if these were all normal designs. Not worth making a fuss about. After reading the last drawing, a light arc appeared at the corner of her mouth: "Very bold, but also very interesting designs. They don't look like they are designed for daily life, but there are few scenes that require wearing similar clothes. Maybe I am too ignorant and can only think of one possibility - this is actually a swimsuit drawing, right, Miss Alice?"

"!!?"

Alice was greatly shocked.

This was the first person who understood that these drawings were actually swimsuit designs without her having to explain. Before that, whether it was Metien who helped her draw the drawings, Linger who listened to her swimsuit plan, or even those blind clothing stores on the Cheshire Maiden Street, they all identified them as underwear. In the final analysis, the design concept of Earth swimsuits was too advanced, completely beyond the limitations of this era, so people could not accept it for a while.

Alice originally thought that she was the only one who could understand their innovation and openness, but she didn't expect that here, in a dark and remote alley, in a strange workshop with few customers, she would meet such a discerning person who saw through and affirmed her own design on the spot.

There is a saying that goes, those who are half a step ahead of their times are geniuses, those who are one step ahead of their times are great geniuses, and those who are a hundred steps ahead of their times are... the ultimate genius.

Could it be that Rorona is the genius?
She was moved and immediately decided that she had to go to this store today. No matter how expensive the price was, she would accept it. After all, this was a mutual admiration between geniuses. Can inspiration and creativity be measured by vulgar money?
The girl put down the drawings and said, "Although the designs of these swimsuits are novel, they are not complicated. I happen to have all the fabrics needed, so if the customer agrees, I can arrange it for you now. It's just that in terms of price, although bringing your own drawings can save some money, the most important labor and material costs..."

"Just tell me straight, how much do you want?" Alice interrupted her and said proudly that money was not a problem, as long as you could make these swimsuits. At the same time, she cast a subtle look at Saint Shallia, who was in charge of the wallet, implying that it was time for you to pay.

Saint Shallia silently took out (Linger's) wallet and prepared to pay, just like an old mother who was about to buy toys for her ignorant child. After knowing that Alice was not the one who actually paid, Rolena cast her eyes towards Saint Shallia - more precisely, towards the wallet in Saint Shallia's hand, and then narrowed her eyes slightly.

At this time, Linger noticed that her left hand quietly placed on the wrist of her right hand, where she wore a bracelet made of three colors of crystals: sky blue, cherry pink and scarlet. Although the color of the crystal was pure, it had a thin texture, which should be a product of artificial production, not natural crystal. Without anyone noticing, Rolena's left thumb and index finger gently pinched a sky blue crystal on the bracelet and turned it, but released it the next second and moved her fingers away as if nothing had happened.

This action was so brief and casual that if someone else saw it, other than Lingge who was paying close attention, they would have ignored it as an unintentional little action of the girl.

Then, Rosa smiled and said, "As for the price, it seems that you are from Great Brittany. In that case, we will settle it in the currency of Great Brittany. The deposit is 1 pound, the labor fee and material fee are 1 pound and 3 pounds respectively, and the balance is 5 pounds, so the total is 10 pounds."

Alice would not care about this price, Saint Charlia would hesitate, and Ling would remain silent.

Because in his wallet, except for a few coins of one penny and one shilling, the total value of the large-denomination banknotes added up to exactly 10 pounds.

This is his last property.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)