CHAPTER 107 (2): SILVER CROSS - GOD, LIFE, VOID, SELF

“Master, I saw in the newspaper today that stockings have hit the market, and sales are excellent.”

Excellent was an understatement. They were in short supply!

Silvia perked up. It was largely thanks to Wayne’s stockings that her brand could enter Londan’s fashion circle and become the new darling. He could look forward to the dividends.

“By the way, Master, when I was on Dragon Heart Island, I saw the most popular ladies’ swimsuits and was suddenly struck by inspiration.” Wayne found a pen and paper to make a simple sketch of a bikini.

Silvia frowned. It was too revealing, showing what should and shouldn’t be shown. The police would arrest those who wore it for public indecency.

“Won’t it work, Master?”

“No, who swims in their underwear?”

Silvia shook her head. As a professional designer, she immediately recognized the value of the bikini; it accentuated women’s beautiful curves and would definitely be popular, but it would also be tremendously controversial, making it unsuitable for public wear.

Wayne paused, realizing the limit of the era. People weren’t as open-minded yet, which explained why Vera’s and Veronica’s swimsuits were so conservative. What a shame. He would’ve loved to see the three girls frolicking about in bikinis! Just imagining the vibrant scene they would paint was exciting, not that he could do anything about his excitement.

If it wouldn’t work, it wouldn’t work. He didn’t insist. “What about undergarments? Is it feasible to create a luxury brand for undergarments and pioneer the industry standards?”

The concept of cup sizes had already been introduced, but the bustiers available in the market could only be described as primitive, neither practical nor attractive for either women or men. Wayne learned from the example of swimsuits and didn’t immediately propose a revolutionary design. While he could do that, the public of the current era might not accept it.

Since undergarments weren’t revealed in public, he believed it had potential. Silvia could create a few designs, and he would add new elements to modify them.

She did think it was viable, but the conversation made her look at her student strangely. Stockings were one thing; where did the boy get his inspiration for such intimate women’s clothing?

Wayne shrugged. He was inspired by swimsuits and firmly believed that the market wouldn’t disappoint a genius. When inspiration struck, nothing could stop it.

Afterward, he made several suggestions for updating and upgrading stockings, casually sketching a few designs. Silvia found them rather ordinary, but he was confident, asking his master to hand the designs to Auston. As a major capitalist with a keen business sense, Auston would surely see the market potential.

Wayne had incorporated his preferences into the designs, so he believed Auston would like them too. He told Silvia that the stockings market was only getting started. It would take several more years to fully develop. Once the market became saturated, they would show the customers the new variations to ensure maximum profit.

Silvia cocked her head. It was uncanny. When Wayne was talking about making money, he was almost identical to her bastard husband. The difference was that the bastard specialized in finance and made huge profits in securities, while Wayne was single-mindedly focused on making money off women.

That night, Wayne didn’t stay the night. He took a car back to his mansion.

Being late for class inevitably led to the tutoring session running later, and his lack of intelligence also meant it took longer to teach him. Senior Kristen would have to stay the night again. He was beginning to feel bad about it.

Why didn’t you just move in, Senior? Save yourself the trouble of going back and forth day and night. It’s inconvenient and wastes time.

Meanwhile, Silvia had brought the sketches to Auston, asking for his professional opinions. Wayne had defined the new stockings as high-end luxury items, claiming that they would be popular with high society.

...They were so obscene that they were perfect for high society’s refined taste. Auston didn’t know about others, but he would certainly buy a lot. Take these garters as an example. He loved them for their vintage charm. A gentleman should appreciate vintage style!

He heard that there were also designs for undergarments. The cement barrel had a lot of ideas and had to have more... Perhaps he was worth keeping around.

For a moment, Auston was caught in a dilemma. Keep Wayne around, and Veronica would surely fall victim. Don’t keep him around, and Auston’s wife would have no new clothes. What should he do?

“Say something!”

“It... It’s not unfeasible.”

***

Dawn broke, and the fog lifted. Londan was somewhat gloomy today with clouds suggesting an approaching storm. Wayne gentlemanly opened the car door for Kristen, once again apologizing for last night’s tardiness. If not for him, Senior Kristen wouldn’t have had to stay the night.

After closing the door, Wayne exchanged a meaningful look with Veryl.

You don’t have to give me a look every day, Master. I understand.

No, you don’t.

I see, now I understand.

Good that you understand. Remember to be discreet. Don’t let her notice.

After the silent exchange, the butler grasped what his master wanted. It wasn’t enough to simply talk him up during the drive. Other tricks were necessary, like rumors and gossip.

Someone as beautiful as Kristen getting picked up every night by a luxury black car and returning to school only the next morning? Had she made a rich boyfriend? Did she stay at his place every night? How far had they gone? Were they going to get married?

The rumors—the gossip would spread like wildfire. The girls at the academy would welcome something to talk about when they had tea.

Wayne told Veryl to be discreet and to use his own judgment, planting people when necessary. He could sponsor financially struggling college students or even teachers at the academy. He didn’t mind the butler spending a little more on it.

If money could solve the problem, just pay for it.

***

After Veryl left, Wayne carried the suitcase to the back garden and began his morning sword training. Snow perched in a tree the entire time.

It was Wayne’s condition. His joining the Church of Sun was like getting a brown stain on white underwear. Even if it wasn’t feces, it looked like it. There was no washing it clean. And it was all Snow’s doing. The owl couldn’t escape responsibility. As things were, reporting him would be self-destruction, so it would serve Snow best to stop having such ideas.

Snow remained silent throughout. If it could go back in time, it would never have followed Wayne out of the bird house out of curiosity.

After lunch, Wayne took his black car to Commercial Street. Last night, Vera didn’t come to stay the night, still sulking about the multiple-choice question incident. Without her around, he didn’t need to go shopping. He had a pleasant chat with Veryl on the way before quickly arriving at the detective agency.

They were conducting interviews this afternoon, starting with the receptionist who would serve as the face of the agency. Wayne’s requirements weren’t strict. He just wanted someone who was young and beautiful, busty with long legs, and had good fashion sense and a good temperament. They had to let clients know immediately that their service didn’t come cheap.

For employees, he had signed a contract with Wesley. As the second-best detective at Wayne’s Detective Agency, Wesley was in charge of hiring detective staff from another office. Given that the agency wasn’t large-scale, five detectives would suffice. They didn’t need to fill all positions initially, so he only tasked Wesley with hiring two.

At two o’clock, near afternoon tea time, Wayne received a call from Kael.

“I saw the newspaper ad. You’re hiring?”

“You found out about that? You’re well-informed.”

“How about I introduce someone to you? It’s my older sister. She’s the type of ugly girl you like. Since it’s time for tea, I can arrange a meeting for you.”

...Ha, I’d like to see how beautiful she can be!