I Will Be Unrivaled With The Skill [Sewing]! They Said It Was A Bad Skill, But With Effort, I will Make It A Hit~ - Chapter 6

Episode 6: The Mountain of Stitches

Leaving Yuria’s house, Seneca could hardly keep herself still.

“I’m sorry, Kito! I’m heading back to the orphanage right now!”
“Got it. Be careful, okay?”
“You too, Kito!”

Before Kito could even finish speaking, Seneca had already taken off running.

Hopping and skipping all the way back to the orphanage, Seneca made a beeline for Emily.

“Emily! Lend me some fabric and needles! I’ll sew as much as you need!”

Seeing Seneca’s radiant face, Emily couldn’t help but smile.

◆

From that moment, Seneca dove headfirst into sewing.

The clothes at the orphanage were old and often tore easily.
Since fixing them one by one as they ripped was a hassle, repairs were usually done in bulk.
Seneca took advantage of this and mended everyone’s clothes non-stop.

At first, she made plenty of mistakes.
Her stitches were uneven, and she often didn’t know what to do.
But day by day, as she kept at it, her mind became sharper, and her sewing steadily improved.

She practiced all kinds of stitching: running stitch, overlock stitch, backstitch—everything she could.
Because her work was for the orphanage, even her clumsy attempts were met with encouragement.
Failures didn’t bother her at all.

When she finished repairing the clothes, she turned to practicing on the same piece of fabric over and over.
With materials limited, she would sew and then undo her stitches, repeating the process endlessly.
However, undoing stitches took longer than sewing, and she quickly grew tired of it.

In the end, Seneca asked Emily to introduce her to a workplace.
Since she couldn’t work full-time, she arranged to take on sewing projects and sell the finished pieces.
Emily spoke on Seneca’s behalf, leveraging her own trustworthiness to secure the opportunity.
Seneca felt deeply grateful for Emily’s support.

Over time, Seneca’s sewing became faster and more refined.
Although she was still far from matching Emily’s expertise, her progress was remarkable for a beginner.

Meanwhile, she delivered medicinal herbs to Yuria three times.
Yuria praised her keen eye, noting that Seneca consistently brought back herbs of excellent quality in great condition.

Kito, who had introduced Seneca to Yuria, felt a sense of relief.

Yuria mentioned that she would soon ask for more challenging materials, but regular herbs were still essential for Kito’s training. Seneca decided to prioritize gathering them whenever possible.

Though she ventured into the forest three times, she stayed near the edge and didn’t encounter any wild animals.

◆

After a month, Seneca’s sewing skills had grown considerably.

She began to see an unexpected advantage in her ability: she could practice for extended periods, unlike some other skills.

For example, in the orphanage yard, Nort practiced swordsmanship diligently, but there was a limit to how long he could keep swinging a sword.

In contrast, sewing allowed her to work for much longer stretches of time.
Seneca began to wonder if this endurance could be the key to carving out her path.

She was so engrossed in sewing that she realized she hadn’t taken on any adventurer tasks despite being registered as one.
Even so, she felt as though she was on the brink of discovering something important and decided to continue her sewing-focused routine a little longer.

◆

For over a month, Seneca committed herself fully to honing her skill.

Apart from simple tasks at the orphanage and gathering herbs, all her time was spent sewing.

She worked so tirelessly that Sister Claire and the others at the orphanage began to worry.
When asked if she was okay, Seneca would always reply that she was fine, but her lack of energy was becoming apparent.

Eventually, she started dreaming about sewing.
The repetitive motion—stitch, stitch—had become second nature, and she sometimes found herself completing tasks unconsciously.
She even became proficient at sewing with both her right and left hands.

◆

One day, Kito came to the orphanage.

“Seneca’s starting to act a bit strange. I think we should take away her fabric, thread, and needles for a while.”

Sister Claire, Emily, and the headmaster all nodded in agreement.

They had already been concerned, especially when Seneca began telling the younger children a made-up fairy tale called The Mountain of Stitches.
However, they had grown used to her intense focus and hesitated to intervene.

With Kito’s suggestion, they decided to place Seneca under her care for a while.

At Kito’s house, Seneca spent her days idly, her mind a haze of exhaustion and reflection.

Kito Hands Seneca a Wooden Sword

When Kito handed her a wooden sword, Seneca immediately began practicing her swings with the same energy she had when Lucius was still around.

Her cheerful smile returned, blooming as brightly as ever.

◆

Three days had passed since Seneca had been brought to Kito’s house.

On the third day, she ventured into town.

She wanted to window-shop for armor, preparing for when she could fully embrace her role as an adventurer.
For now, she was still using hand-me-down gear from the orphanage, but she dreamed of saving enough money to buy her own someday.

The shop Seneca chose was Pepeck’s Store, known for its wide selection of beginner-friendly armor.
Pepeck, the cheerful and kind-hearted owner, had earned a reputation for his fair pricing, making his shop a favorite recommendation at the guild.

As Seneca stepped into the store, her eyes were immediately drawn to a leather armor piece displayed near the entrance, crafted from Wild Bear hide.

“Whoa!”

Startled by Seneca’s sudden outburst, Pepeck came over from the back of the store.

“What’s the matter?”
“Mister, is this leather armor stitched together with thread?”
“That’s right…”
“Please teach me how to do it! Also, could I have some leather scraps and tools? I’m great at sewing!”

Though taken aback, Pepeck’s natural kindness won out, and he happily gave Seneca a crash course.

◆

Thanks to Pepeck’s guidance, Seneca began practicing sewing monster hides back at Kito’s house.

Seeing the spark return to her eyes, Kito allowed it, but only under strict limits on how long she could work each day.

For the first two days, Seneca used a tool called a stitching awl to punch holes into the leather before sewing it, as Pepeck had taught her that this was the fundamental technique.

Though she spent a decent amount of money gathering the necessary tools, Seneca wasn’t worried. She now had the confidence to believe she could save up again over time.

Sewing leather was different from sewing fabric in some ways, but the basic motions remained the same.
Once she got used to it, she was sure she’d master it quickly.

Yet, as she worked, Seneca realized something unsettling. Despite diving into leatherwork with the same passion as her fabric obsession, she felt she was falling back into the same unhealthy patterns.

◆

When she wasn’t sewing, Seneca practiced her sword swings.
But even this, she pursued with such intensity that Kito began wondering if she should put a stop to it.

As she swung the wooden sword, Seneca pondered her future.

Her interest in monster hides stemmed from a sense that they might be useful in her adventuring career.
For instance, repeatedly using the stitching awl helped her gain a better understanding of the leather’s properties.

Perhaps this knowledge would one day prove useful when slashing through leather-clad foes.

However, Seneca had originally intended to apply her sewing skills more directly to combat.
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t figure out how to make it work.

Maybe it would be more practical to practice cutting leather with a blade instead.

Still, she remembered Yuria’s advice to confront her skill and understand it fully.

“If only I could sew leather directly with a needle…”

With that thought lingering, Seneca swung her sword diagonally with full force.
It was a perfect strike—strong enough to cleave through a kobold.

Satisfied with her practice, Seneca replayed her earlier thought in her mind, and an idea suddenly struck her.

“That’s it! If I can learn to sew leather directly with a needle, it might actually be useful in battle!”

◆

Fueled by determination, Seneca began experimenting with ways to stitch leather directly.

But Kito intervened before she could spiral out of control again.

Stopping Seneca wasn’t something Kito enjoyed, but she patiently explained that rushing forward without a plan wouldn’t get her anywhere.

The immediate issue was that Seneca had started hammering the needle into the leather wildly, like a woodpecker.

Kito had seen this before. His genius friend occasionally entered states of near-zero intelligence, and it was up to him and Lucius to reel her back in when that happened.

Seneca had been overworked and burnt out from sewing, and just as she was recovering, Kito couldn’t let her slip back into that same cycle.

With help from Kito’s parents, they managed to calm Seneca down and convince her to take a step back.

Refocused, Seneca poured her energy into thinking carefully about her approach.

And in no time, with terrifying speed, she arrived at an answer.