61: The Masked Noblewomen / Another Sanada / Roast Pork Sandwich with Honey Mustard 7

Jill’s next project was a prototype of a weaving loom. Initially, she planned to work on it alone, but when Garda came by to visit, he showed interest in the blueprints. Apparently, Garda had a knack for woodworking and offered Jill various tips. Eventually, they decided he might as well help with the project. They spread out the blueprints on a chair in the store’s second-floor, discussing possibilities, crafting parts, and in between, they assisted with the general store, serving tea to customers.

Because the two of them worked on it together, the loom prototype was finished quickly. The loom itself was a simple structure that could be mounted on a table, so it didn’t require much effort to construct.

“Still, Garda, you really can do anything.”

“Well, I adjust and make my own work tools. I’ve reshaped the grips of leather knives and built workbenches, so I’m pretty good at small crafts.”

“Thanks to you, this went smoothly.”

“By the way, I’ve been wondering… is this what a loom looks like?”

Garda tilted his head, resting his thick thumb against his chin as he inspected the finished product.

The loom, at a glance, could be described as a long, narrow wooden frame. Its size was about half that of a window frame. Across the frame, several strings were tightly stretched from the back to the front. The strings were arranged in alternating heights: one string stretched from above, the one next to it stretched from below, creating a staggered arrangement.

“Yes. Oh, have you never seen a loom before, Garda?”

“I’ve seen one, but I thought they were bigger. I imagined a craftsman sitting at a loom the size of a table, moving it back and forth… not something that could fit on top of a table.”

“It’s like a miniature version of a full-scale loom. Isn’t it surprisingly cute?”

In truth, Jill had held the same impression as Garda. She had always thought of looms as being the size of large indoor instruments or oversized lecterns. However, the manual for the Sanada-himo included instructions on making a loom out of cut cardboard and simple blueprints for tabletop looms. Jill had taken one look and been smitten. The design was appealing, and the functionality seemed more than adequate.

“Cute… cute?”

Jill decided to ignore Garda’s skepticism.

“It may look small and cute, but its mechanism is exactly the same as a well-known loom.”

“Can you really weave fabric with this?”

“Well, if you want a loom capable of mass-producing large fabrics with simple operations, that would require a complex mechanism. But weaving itself isn’t all that complicated. It’s just vertical threads and horizontal threads interlocking to form a flat surface. That’s the essence of all weaving.”

“I see…”

Garda gazed at the prototype loom with a curious expression.

“So, are you going to give it a try?”

“Yes. I’ll demonstrate it for you. First, the two rows of threads stretched vertically on the loom are the warp threads.”

“Got it.”

“Then, you pass the horizontal weft thread through the space between the upper and lower warp threads to interlace them.”

Jill passed the weft thread through the gap between the upper and lower warp threads. Using a tool called a beater, she pulled the weft thread firmly toward herself, pressing it into place. This produced something resembling fabric, albeit just about a millimeter’s worth.

Next, Jill operated the loom to reverse the positions of the upper and lower rows of warp threads.

“Hoh,” Garda murmured in admiration.

“This is one of the key functions of a loom. The mechanism that changes the height of the threads and reverses the upper and lower positions is called the *heddle*.”

The loom had a component resembling a wooden sewing needle—this was the *heddle*. Some of the warp threads passed through the holes in the heddle, while others did not. When the heddle was lowered, half of the threads moved downward. Conversely, when the heddle was raised, half of the threads moved upward. This is how the threads’ positions were reversed.

“Now, you pass the weft thread through again and press it down with a tool like a beater. Then, you reverse the warp threads and repeat the process of passing and pressing the weft thread. This creates the interlaced grid pattern. That’s the essence of weaving.”

“…Sounds simple enough, but I bet it’s not really that easy.”

“Well, the process itself isn’t difficult. It’s just a hassle if the threads get tangled.”

“Oh?”

“But the setup work… threading the loom… that’s incredibly tedious. You have to carefully set up each warp thread without letting them tangle. Honestly, you could say the preparation accounts for over 90% of the effort.”

“The more warp threads there are and the wider the fabric, the more the work multiplies, huh?”

“Exactly. For something like the width of Sanada-himo, the setup isn’t that bad, though.”

“So, if you expand this loom for Sanada-himo, you could weave normal fabric too?”

“That’s right.”

At Jill’s words, Garda looked thoughtful.

“What’s on your mind?”

“Well… how should I put this…”

Garda muttered something cryptic.

Jill tilted her head, wondering what he meant.

“Boss, how about taking a break soon?”

At that moment, Carol came upstairs from the lower floor.

“Oh, Carol, thanks for your hard work. How’s the shop doing?”

“As expected for a weekday, the customer flow is pretty sparse. By the way, boss, what’s that…?”

“It’s a loom. Have you ever done any weaving before?”

“Huh, a loom this size…? Does this actually work?”

Carol asked with a hint of doubt in her tone.

But Jill, unfazed and full of confidence, replied with a grin.

“Heh heh, I can’t blame you for thinking that. It works perfectly!”

With rhythmic clicks and clacks, she began operating the loom.

“No way!?”

“Impressive, isn’t it?”

“It’s… it’s amazing. Is weaving really this simple? I always thought it involved operating some incredibly complicated machinery…”

Carol’s murmured remark elicited a reaction from Garda.

“Exactly! That’s it! That’s the point!”

“Uh, huh? Did I say something wrong? Oh no, I did, didn’t I! I’m sorry for doubting you!”

Startled by Garda’s booming voice, Carol started bowing and apologizing profusely.

“N-no, that’s not it! I’m not blaming you, so just hear me out!”

“Y-yes!”

Carol, slightly intimidated by Garda’s gruff demeanor, seemed uneasy. Jill, wearing a wry smile, stepped in to calm the situation.

“Now, now, let’s all relax. Garda, did something come to mind?”

“Yeah. The brilliance of this loom.”

“The brilliance?”

“This simplicity is brilliant. It has few parts, it’s easy to maintain, small enough to store effortlessly. Sure, setting up the warp threads is a hassle, but the actual weaving process is straightforward. In a word… it’s *refined*.”

At Garda’s words, Carol nodded enthusiastically.

“Exactly! Honestly, I feel like I want one for myself.”

“This could be a product all on its own, don’t you think? Use higher-quality wood, polish it up nicely—it could be a piece of art.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea! And with this size, even kids could use it.”

“Right?”

Before long, Carol and Garda were hitting it off, their conversation growing animated.

“Um, excuse me… the loom is more of a byproduct. The main focus is actually this Sanada-himo…”

“Oh, right, my bad. I forgot about that.”

Garda chuckled sheepishly, trying to gloss over his oversight.

“Hmph! If you’re going to act like that, I won’t show you this Sanada-himo at all!” Jill huffed playfully.

“But isn’t that still unfinished?”

“…Just look forward to seeing it completed!”

“So, in the end, you’re going to show it to me anyway.”

At Garda’s remark, both Carol and Jill burst into laughter.