Chapter 129: The Enchanted Machine That Refused to Obey (And the Two Idiots Who Tried Anyway)
Chapter 129: The Enchanted Machine That Refused to Obey (And the Two Idiots Who Tried Anyway)
Vaelory gasped so sharply it sounded like she had just swallowed her own soul through the wrong pipe.
"You... you can’t sew?" she asked, staring at Rin as if she had just confessed to murder.
Rin, already reaching for the pile of fabric that had once been Vaelory’s maid uniform, paused mid-motion. She glanced over her shoulder, unimpressed. "I already told you that. Why are you still asking like it’s surprising?"
Vaelory pressed a hand to her chest again, genuinely scandalized this time. "Because I do not understand how you expect to adjust my clothes if you cannot sew at all."
Rin scoffed. "It shouldn’t be hard."
"That is not an answer."
Rin rolled her eyes at Vaelory before answering.
"I’ve seen the other seamstresses do it," she said confidently. "You place your leg on the device, guide the fabric, and the machine does the rest."
Vaelory blinked. "Your... leg?"
"Yes. Your leg."
"Why would anyone need to put their leg on it when we have magic?" Vaelory asked, horrified. "Isn’t that inefficient?"
Rin finally turned fully toward her, black eyes glinting. "The sewing machine is enchanted. It produces clothes ten times faster than normal methods. And you still have to guide it and use it like how one would use a sewing machine without magic."
Vaelory paused, processing that, then nodded slowly. "Alright. That makes sense."
Rin smirked, already victorious.
"But that still doesn’t excuse you using it," Vaelory added immediately, lifting a finger. "You just admitted you don’t know how to sew."
Rin rolled her eyes so hard it was a wonder they didn’t fall out. "Like I said, it can’t be that hard. And this isn’t even the first time I’ve used an enchanted device."
"Really?" Vaelory asked her.
"Yes, really. For all my vices, I wouldn’t lie about something like that," Rin told her.
Vaelory gave her a long, unimpressed look. "Alright then, since you have used a device like this before, then you should sew."
Rin nodded. "Obviously I should. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all this while."
She turned back to the sewing machine with the air of someone about to conquer a great enemy. The machine itself sat innocently on the table—dark metal, faintly glowing runes etched along its sides, the foot pedal polished smooth by years of use.
Rin spread the maid uniform fabric over the surface, aligning it with exaggerated care.
"There," she muttered. "Easy."
She lifted her leg and placed her foot firmly on the device. She tried to move it with her leg, but the device remained in position. It didn’t move.
She frowned and pressed harder, but there was still nothing.
Rin frowned, then pressed with even more strength. "...Sew," she growled out.
But the machine remained stubbornly silent.
Rin pressed again, this time stomping slightly. "Sew."
Vaelory watched, eyebrows climbing higher with each second. "Rin..."
Rin leaned forward, baring her teeth at the machine. "Sew!"
Still nothing.
She stomped again, harder. "SEW!"
Vaelory stared at her. "Why are you yelling at it?"
"Obviously so it can sew," Rin told her.
Vaelory doubted that just commanding the machine to sew would be enough.
"Perhaps the machine is low on magic?" Vaelory asked Rin.
Rin paused, her head tilted as she thought about it, and decided that it was a good reason.
She lifted her hands and began waving them around the machine. She swatted at the air, fingers flicking and slicing as if chasing invisible insects.
Vaelory blinked in shock. "...What are you doing?"
"Obviously making it work," Rin snapped. "I’m gathering magic from the air so I can put it into the machine."
"You can gather magic from air?" Vaelory asked Rin in shock, and she nodded. "Of course you can, magic is free after all."
"Are you sure that’s how it’s done?" Vaelory asked her.
"I am very certain it is," Rin shot back. "That’s how I’ve seen it done."
"I am very certain it is not," Vaelory shot back. "That’s not how it’s done."
Rin stopped suddenly and turned to face her. "Since you think you know better, you try."
Vaelory lifted her chin, spine straightening. "With pleasure."
They exchanged places. Vaelory sat before the sewing machine, staring down at it as though it were a challenge issued directly to her dignity.
She adjusted her sleeves, took a deep breath, and carefully placed her foot on the device.
She pressed, but nothing happened.
Vaelory frowned; she was sure this was how it was done. She pressed her foot again, but nothing happened. The machine remained in its position.
Then, thinking that perhaps Rin was right after all...
"...Sew," she whispered softly, but the machine did not respond.
"Please sew," she said, stomping her foot on the machine, but it still didn’t respond.
Her eye twitched.
She lifted her foot and placed it down again, this time with determination. "Sew." She didn’t even bother to whisper.
Vaelory scowled, then leaned down and smacked the side of the machine. "Move."
Rin snorted.
Vaelory glared at the machine. "Sew, you dreadful machine!"
Rin burst out laughing. "Look at you. You’re no better than me after all."
Vaelory snapped her head toward Rin. "At least I tried properly."
"Properly?" Rin scoffed. "You hit it."
"And if you look carefully," Vaelory said stiffly, "it moved."
Rin’s smile vanished. "That’s a lie."
"It isn’t," Vaelory insisted. "It moved."
"By what? Your imagination?"
"By an inch," Vaelory said stubbornly. "A tiny inch, but it moved."
Rin shook her head. "It did not."
"It did!"
"It absolutely did not!"
"It moved. We should calculate—"
"I cannot calculate lies," Rin snapped. "You are lying."
Vaelory’s jaw clenched. "I am not."
"You are."
"I am not!"
"You are!"
They stared at each other, fury crackling between them.
"This stupid machine—" Vaelory started.
"—is clearly defective," Rin finished.
"Or cursed," Vaelory added.
"Or intentionally disrespectful," Rin said darkly.
Vaelory kicked the table lightly. "Work!"
Rin slapped the top of the machine. "You useless hunk of enchanted scrap!"
The runes flickered faintly, as if offended.
"Oh, don’t you glow at me," Rin snapped. "Do your job!"
Vaelory leaned in. "If you don’t start sewing right now, I will dismantle you piece by piece."
Rin pointed at it. "She means it. Humans are weak but violent."
"I am not violent!"
"You just hit the machine!"
"You did it too," Vaelory told her.
"I did it with respect," Rin told her.
"Oh, shut—"
"Um, excuse me?" a voice sounded from the doorway, and they both turned to the demon.
"What?!" they asked.