Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

"Two regular suits, one formal suit," Kosa considered for a moment and then spoke again, "And make one set of officer's uniforms as well."

At the military academy, the students' uniforms were made to measure by the school itself. However, once out of the academy, officers had to pay for their own uniforms.

The officer ranks of the Allied Army were still inevitably influenced by the old nobility, much like nobles of the old era who came equipped with their gear and attendants, the officers of the new era also had to provide their own military uniforms, horses, swords, and so on.

These unwritten rules formed an invisible threshold, and Bard wasn't exaggerating when he said that if he didn't go overseas, he couldn't even afford to have his military uniform made.

"I can't wear an officer's uniform yet," Winters hurriedly reminded his aunt.

But Kosa didn't seem to mind, "Won't you be able to wear it next year? It's better to have it made in advance, so you won't have to bother later on."

Winters knew he had no say in domestic matters, so he didn't oppose further.

Kosa sat beside him, flipping through a spread-out book, which appeared to be a design catalogue from the Meva brothers, while a male tailor busied himself beside Winters.

But Winters thought of the case at the docks, a thought struck him and he asked casually, "Do you make cloaks here?"

"Cloaks? Your Excellency wishes to have a cloak made? If you need, we can take care of it for you," the male tailor replied while measuring Winters's waist.

"From what you say, it seems that the Meva brothers don't usually make cloaks?"

The male tailor answered with a smile, "Our shop usually makes more exquisite garments. Indeed, we haven't made cloaks before."

"About how many tailors are there in Sea Blue City?"

"Not many, less than a hundred people," the tailor added, "Many households don't come to tailors to have clothes made, most buy the fabric and make it themselves."

Hearing this, Winters understood that trying to find the cloak-wearing man through the tailors was not realistic. The cloaks of those assassins weren't necessarily custom-made by an external tailor; hiring a maid who was good with needlework could also produce them.

However, Winters was not willing to give up even if there was just a sliver of a clue, he politely asked the tailor, "Could you help me inquire if any tailor in Sea Blue City has recently received orders to make black cloaks?"

"No problem," the tailor replied politely, "Are you looking for someone in particular?"

Winters answered with a faint smile, "I'm seeking a few friends who wear black cloaks."

"If you are looking for clothes, you might rather look for the fabric," the tailor noted down the measurements in his booklet, saying offhandedly.

"Looking for fabric?"

"There are over forty fabric suppliers in Sea Blue City, and each one's materials have slight differences. If you bring the fabric to me, I can roughly identify which supplier it's from, then ask that fabric merchant who they supply to, and continue to trace from there, which will be much simpler."

It was indeed a good method, but unfortunately, Winters had none of the assassins' fabric in hand. He thought back to the situation at the time and couldn't come up with an explanation.

"What material? Linen? Cotton? Wool? Silk?" the tailor asked.

Winters tried hard to recall the feel of the cloak when he had grappled with the cloaked figures, "I don't know, I only know that it should be quality fabric, the weave was very dense, but not as smooth as silk."

"Then it's likely wool or cotton," the tailor concluded, "I will ask around for you, but there are many merchants selling wool and cotton fabrics in the city, so don't get your hopes up too high."

"Thank you."

Once the measurements were taken, the next step was to pick out fabric. During this process, Winters became a mere puppet, with Kosa directing the tailor to bring several types of fabric for her to choose from, repeatedly having Winters step onto the small platform and draping the fabric over him to see the actual effect. After selecting the fabric, they moved on to pick out designs.

Winters originally thought he was just going to the tailor's to have his measurements taken, which would be quick.

But by the time an exhausted Winters and a content Kosa returned home, it was already getting dark.

Inside the mansion, Antonio had been waiting for a long time and was passing the time by playing with a cat in the living room. As soon as Winters entered the front door, Antonio called him over and said seriously, "Come with me, there's an urgent matter."

————Cut————

In the eleventh century, a method for making small pane glass appeared in the Germany region, which later spread to the Italian Peninsula. The Venetians improved this technique and by at least the fourteenth century, were able to produce transparent glass; however, at that time, colored glass was more valuable.

The manufacturing of large transparent glass panes came later, not until 1674.