Chapter 6: Magic Cloth – Spider Silk Cloth

Most of the purchases were basic magical herbal materials. The primary reason was that Aresia’s body was indeed somewhat fragile, a concern shared by Duke Rogest.

Originally, the Duke’s daughter adhered to mainstream beauty standards, and she would intentionally reduce her food intake to achieve a more delicate and slender appearance. This pursuit was against the wishes of the Duke and Duchess, because Aresia is premature babies. While she was fortunate not to have suffered any significant health issues due to premature birth, her health was maintained with the help of various magical medicines. It was because of this that the Duke’s excessive pampering had led to the development of somewhat spoiled temperaments in his daughter and they would not tolerate any harm to their daughter body.

When the Duchess was around, the Duke’s daughters didn’t dare to deprive herself too much of food. She tried to control her food intake slightly, otherwise her nutrition would not be able to keep up, and no matter how good her genetics were, she would not be able to grow to her current height.

Additionally, the Duke’s daughters had always been delicate and lacked physical exercise. Without a way to strengthen her bodies directly, even drinking high-grade magical potions didn’t fully compensate for their frailty.

The timing for Aresia’s preparations was just right. Every few days, she would drink a bottle of these potions to ensure that her body could absorb them without issue.

Furthermore, Aresia knew that she might not have time to brew magical potions within the next few days. So, in addition to the solidifying agent, she also needed magical potions for soul healing and body nourishment. Preparing some commonly used magical potions like those for alertness, stopping bleeding, relieving pain, and replenishing magical energy was a wise precaution. It was better to be prepared for any eventuality.

As a result, Aresia spent several days in the laboratory. She didn’t stay there continuously but took occasional breaks to stroll in the garden or read a book.

After nearly three days had passed, a messenger from the Adventurer’s Guild came to inform her that someone had completed the task she had posted. In reality, the level of Aresia’s task didn’t usually warrant a personal notification from the guild. However, the fact that a noble with the Duke’s emblem was involved piqued some curiosity, and someone had expressed interest. Thus, they sent a notification.

When Aresia had posted the task, she had already paid the Adventurer’s Guild a sum of money as a mission fee. The guild, in turn, helped ensure that the required spider silk glands were collected according to her specifications and distributed a reward. Now, Aresia needed to send someone to the Adventurer’s Guild to retrieve the items.

Upon inquiry, the guild’s representative reported that they had collected a decent amount of spider silk glands. As Aresia sent her representative to the Adventurer’s Guild to collect the items, she also reached out to the guild’s head and asked for help in locating a skilled textile worker.

“We’ve found one; a skilled textile worker,” the guild head reported.

While the guild head didn’t know the specific reason behind Aresia’s search for a skilled textile worker, he had followed her request diligently.

Weaving was a craft that many commoners had proficiency in, and locating a skilled textile worker wasn’t a challenging task.

Aresia instructed her people to arrange for the task items and then headed off for a break.

The next day, it was time to check the spider silk, as it needed to soak overnight to become suitable for weaving.

The servant brought back the task items. In this world, magical creatures were widely spread, and even in the vicinity of the human imperial city of Holy Lotean, where there were vast forests, there were quite a few spider-like magical creatures. Furthermore, their levels were relatively low. Within just three days, the adventurers had collected a substantial amount of spider silk for Aresia.

Aresia wasn’t concerned about the silk glands. The price was determined by the quantity of spider silk, and although the glands weren’t large, they still took up space. The purchase price was based on the weight of the spider silk. Some adventurers chose to kill the magical spiders and squeeze the glands directly, discarding the unused silk.

It wasn’t clear how many magical spiders they had slain, but the spider silk they brought to Aresia weighed approximately two hundred catties. This bundle of spider silk was dirty and grimy, appearing like a contaminated cocoon. It was stored in a barrel-like container.

Aresia had someone find a large bathtub and poured the spider silk solidifying agent into it, diluting it according to the prescribed ratio. Some of the spider silk was then poured into the bathtub, and a strong male servant stirred it continuously with a wooden stick. This stirring continued until the tangled mass of spider silk was no longer sticky but had hardened in the agent. They let it soak overnight.

Dealing with two hundred catties of spider silk wasn’t a small task, but a sturdy servant managed the stirring, and Aresia didn’t need to supervise closely.

By the next morning, the spider silk soaked in the solidifying agent initially appeared as a tangled mass. However, when they probed it with sticks, they realized it had separated into individual fine silk threads, and the original dirt and grime had completely disappeared.

Aresia gently pinched a strand of spider silk and rubbed it between her fingers. With a strong pull, the effect of the potion became evident. This silk, which was now many times finer than a human hair, had completely lost its stickiness but remained incredibly durable.

After soaking overnight, the spider silk was thoroughly rinsed, leaving no trace of dirt. It revealed its original pristine white color, with a hint of crystal-like translucency.

Regarding the color of the spider silk, Aresia realized she had forgotten to prepare dyeing agents. Magical spider silk was a magical material, and regular dyes couldn’t color it. Special dyeing agents were required to change its natural hue.

The cleaned magical spider silk was hung out to dry, and the task of weaving was entrusted to the skilled textile workers that Aresia had arranged for.

When the workers arrived, they weren’t sure why they were called, but the diligent manager had followed Aresia’s request and found ten skilled textile workers who were proficient in weaving.

Aresia didn’t waste time with explanations. She pointed at the drying magical spider silk and said, “Once this silk is dry, I need all of you to weave it into fabric.”

The group of textile workers were professionals in their field, and they immediately understood Aresia’s intentions as they observed the spider silk hanging on the drying line. Their extensive experience made them recognize that the pristine white silk threads were incredibly lightweight. They realized that if they wove fabric with this silk, the resulting material would be exceptionally light.

However, these silk threads were indeed extremely fine. Coupled with Aresia’s mention that they were spider silk, the workers initially had doubts about whether they were genuinely meant for weaving.

But after seeking clarification from Aresia and examining the partially dried spider silk, they found that these silk threads were thinner than human hair yet highly resilient. Even with their utmost effort to stretch and pull, the threads didn’t break, and they remained soft and pliable—perfect for weaving.

With this assurance, the workers agreed to take on the job.

The Duke’s mansion had specifically prepared spinning wheels and weaving machines for them. During their stay at the Duke’s mansion, the workers received better treatment compared to their previous employers. Their meals were provided, and the group of workers didn’t have any complaints.

As batches of spider silk arrived, Aresia continuously received significant quantities. Due to the nature of the task, which hadn’t been canceled, the purchase price for the spider silk was calculated according to the terms specified in the task. There was no limit on the quantity purchased, and the spider silk kept flowing into the mansion. A designated room was set up to store the silk, and servants were assigned to handle it.

Aresia had also procured a significant amount of spider silk solidifying agent, ensuring that the Duke’s mansion would have enough supply. To further secure this operation, she sent 3,000 gold coins to the Adventurer’s Guild as a deposit for posting another purchase request, this time for high-quality spider silk.

Advanced spider silk was already an excellent alchemical material, and its price had risen significantly. The 3,000 gold coins served as a guarantee for the purchase of premium spider silk. With the Duke’s mansion backing it up, if anyone offered high-quality spider silk worth more than 3,000 gold coins, the mansion would cover the initial cost.

As a result, the treasury was left with only two thousand gold coins.

The workers were very fast, and in just ten days, they were able to weave a whole piece of fabric (30 meters long and 1.5 meters wide). When the tailor shop sent the custom-made clothes for Aresia, the ten workers had woven enough fabric to make several outfits.

The woman who delivered the clothes was the owner of the tailor shop from last time. Aresia inspected and accepted a few sets of uniforms and regular clothes. After the servants paid the final installment, Aresia asked the owner to wait for a moment while someone brought the special silk fabric.

Due to the limited space, the length of the silk fabric woven by the workers varied by about three meters. Aresia planned to use one piece to make a long skirt. She asked the ten workers to weave the silk fabric using a special spun thread, and then they used a dye made from a combination of different ingredients. Finally, they presented it to the woman.

“What is this?” the woman exclaimed when she saw the pure white, light and delicate fabric, which she instantly recognized.

With permission, the woman carefully reached out and touched the glistening white fabric. Its coolness and smoothness made it feel like a high-quality pearl, reflecting different shades depending on the light. Its texture was incredibly soft, almost imperceptible.

She took a handful of the fabric and crumpled it in her hand. However, when she released it, the fabric immediately smoothed out without a single wrinkle. She even tried pulling it forcefully, but it was stronger than the delicate wings of a cicada.

A string of ideas immediately flashed through the woman’s mind about the clothes she could make from this fabric. Its skin-friendly characteristics made it suitable for close-fitting garments, especially for summer outerwear. It’s cool and breathable nature ensured that wearing it would never cause any discomfort from heat.

“Wow, it’s so beautiful,” she exclaimed. “Miss Aresia, can you tell me where you bought this fabric?”

The lady eagerly approached to get a closer look at the delicate and beautiful fabric. She was certain that this fabric would drive the fashionable noble ladies crazy.

“This is the spider silk fabric I purchased last time,” Aresia replied, taking a sip of her fragrant tea with a hint of milk. She didn’t want to reveal too much to the lady.

Seeing the change in the lady’s expression, Aresia quickly added, “But don’t worry, only a small portion of the spider silk is toxic. The fabric itself is safe.”

The lady forced a smile, feeling a bit embarrassed. As an ordinary woman in the city of Holy Lotean, she had limited exposure to the outside world. Her knowledge of magical creatures and their properties was mostly based on hearsay and exaggerated stories. While some people believed that spider silk was poisonous, she had only heard snippets of conversations and exaggerated claims. However, she trusted that there was some truth to the statement about the toxicity of spider silk in this particular fabric.