"I had no intention of disturbing your 'tryst.' I just forgot to tell you something earlier."
As Miss Galina spoke, her eyes casually swept over the room before noticing the cat on the bed staring at her.
"Sylvia asked me to let you know that your investment succeeded. Her experiment has made a critical breakthrough, and the finished-product yield from the steam factory's trial production is quite high. You should receive your first dividend around this autumn or winter."
"Investment?"
Shade thought for a moment and remembered what Miss Sylvia had said before leaving. He had even given the young Great Witch five thousand pounds.
"It succeeded? You mean Synthetic Fiber—"
Shade's eyebrows shot up. This was an astonishing achievement. Miss Sylvia had become the first person in this world to synthesize artificial fiber, an accomplishment worthy of being recorded in history books.
"What Synthetic Fiber? Didn't the two of you jointly invest in women's clothing textiles?"
As Galina Cavendish spoke, she took two steps back, lifted the hem of her skirt with both hands, and spun in place.
"I deliberately changed into a nightgown with a higher hem. Did you really not notice anything different about me from before?"
Tifa quietly pointed downward beside him. Following her gesture, Shade lowered his gaze and saw the black, close-fitting fabric wrapped around Galina's feet and calves. In this world, such fabric was exceedingly rare; he had only seen it on Great Witches from the Fifth Epoch. Her delicate feet were wrapped within it, and the close-fitting material outlined the perfect curves of her legs. The semi-transparent black fabric extended upward beneath her skirt, leaving just the right amount to the imagination.
He blinked and said with great delight:
"This is incredible. Miss Sylvia actually succeeded so quickly! I dare say this