Chapter 87: The Sage Confronts the New Weapon

“What do you mean… custom-made for Yuura ?”

The director looked pleased with herself as I asked her.

Her expression seemed to say "I'm glad you asked!"

“This golem is revolutionary! So much so that it has the potential to break conventional sense.”

The director emphasized this as she made was gesturing.

Apparently, she was quite confident in this creation.

Her eyes shone with intellectual passion as she blinked.

“The golem of the Magic Kingdom and the prototype golem from earlier were designed as weapons that could be handled by anyone with ease. By doing so, they could easily bolster one's fighting force. Indeed, it was a logical decision.”

After the director said that, she suddenly rushed forward.

She stood in front of the custom-made golem and placed her hand on its shoulder.

Then quickly she turned around.

“However, this custom-made golem is different! It is designed specifically for the opposite purpose.”

“Opposite purpose?”

“We focused on designing and optimizing every aspect, from the exterior to its inner functions, to ensure that only Yuura-chan can use it. Other people would be unable to operate it at all.”

“I see.”

I raised my opinion of her by a little.

Her method was certainly innovative.

If the users of the weapon were limited, then it wasn’t a bad choice to sharpen its performance to match the user’s capability.

It was something that would be hard to achieve if one were to be trapped in existing concepts and common sense.

It was an idea that was in perfect opposition to John Doe’s, who had aimed for a future where anyone could fight with increasing versatility through the use of guns, reinforced armor, and high-performance golems.

He had also made that giant golem, but that was a weapon that could only be used for decisive battles.

Compared to his other inventions, it was not in line with John Doe’s usual principle.

That golem had been created exactly under the assumption that it would be used against the Demon Lord.

On the other hand, the director seemed to prefer these kinds of weapons.

She might enjoy making weapons that anyone could use, but she could only unleash her true potential when creating something like this.

Even so, the director and Yuura should have only met for the first time today, so how had she created such a fine custom-made golem?

It was a mystery as to when she'd manage to gather information on Yuura.

I didn’t remember ever granting the director any permission to investigate Yuura.

…Did Luciana tell her just for fun?

After thinking for a little bit, I guessed she was likely the source.

If it was Luciana, she might've actually done something like that.

Even so, I had no intention to punish her for it.

The development of a custom-made golem wasn’t a bad thing for the Demon Lord’s territory.

It wasn’t like Luciana had deceived me or anything.

She had judged that providing information to the director would have been beneficial.

I approached the custom-made golem and observed its details.

Looking at it again, it was truly an elaborate structure.

“You said that it has been custom-made for Yuura, but does it mean that I can’t operate it?”

“It may be possible for a person who is tremendously powerful like Demon Lord-sama to forcefully do so, but from my calculations, it will still be a bit hard to use despite that.”

“I see.”

I continued to observe it while listening to the director’s opinions.

I couldn’t feel any magic power from the custom-made golem.

It wasn't filled with fuel.

No, I couldn’t find any place to hold any fuel to begin with.

In the case of the prototype golem, a box had been attached on its back.

However, this custom-made golem didn’t carry any such box.

There wasn’t enough space to build such a thing inside the slender custom-made golem.

Perhaps the director had noticed what I was gazing at, because she happily interjected.

“You noticed that right away! This custom-made golem has no parts attached to store magic power. I removed it since it wasn’t necessary.”

“So it is equipped with another power source?”

“Yes! It was made for Yuura-chan to possess and move it using her own magic power! Since she is an offshoot of a Great Spirit, it should be possible for her to do that.” 

“…Hmm, that’s true.”

Yuura’s body was composed of magical substances.

Therefore, it was possible for her to phase through objects at will.

In addition, she possessed a high degree of intelligence.

It had been revealed that she could interact with magic tools during her time in the castle.

Therefore, possessing a golem shouldn’t pose any major problem for her.

“Since this custom-made golem cannot be operated remotely, it is closer to armor than a golem. It’s more like something Yuura-chan can wear.

“Yuura, can you possess it?”

When I asked that, Yuura began to observe the custom-made golem.

She then answered after a short pause.

“Analyzing the weapon’s internal structure — it is possible. Do you wish to proceed?”

“Ah, please do.”

“Accepting the order — executing possession.

Yura’s body turned transparent and diffused, before overlapping with the custom-made golem.

Immediately after that, every part of the custom-made golem began to glow with light.

Its mechanism began to activate.

The custom-made golem started to move slowly.

It turned its head to face me and the director alternatively.

The director, who saw that, was delighted.

“Ooh! Ooh! It’s a success! Yuura-chan, how is it?! Are there any particular problems that need attention?”

“Measuring the synchronization with the device — it is pretty good.”

Yuura’s voice could be heard from the custom-made golem.

When the director heard that, she got more excited.

She took a deep breath then timidly gave some instructions.

“Th, then, could you try various things…?”

“Accepting the order — commencing test operation of the device.

Yuura started moving the custom-made golem around.

She gradually accelerated and jumped, before eventually crashing onto the floor.

She also kicked the wall before executing a spin and using all four limbs to land on the floor.

It was a dynamic movement reminiscent of a beast.

Its behavior became more and more fierce.

I stood beside the director and watched the situation from a distance.

“It’s amazing.”

“Well, it was worth the effort of developing it. I’ve been up for a week. I have already forgotten the last time I went back to my home.”

The director murmured.

There were some words that I couldn’t overlook mixed in, but it wasn’t the right situation to point them out.

For the time being, I made up my mind on turning the director into an undead.

I decided to put aside such thoughts for the time being and changed the topic.

“… By the way, why did you make a custom-made golem for Yuura?”

“Well, I was hoping for that golem to serve as an opportunity for her to know how to use her own power, see? Rather than having someone around her suppressing her massive power, it is better for her to learn how to control it herself. It's exactly because she is so innocent that she may do dangerous things unintentionally; it is better to give her such a chance.”

The director spoke with an unusually serious expression.

I didn't expect for her to have such a thought.

As a result of such an idea, she had created the custom-made golem.

Silence settled over the place.

The director suddenly smiled as if she remembered something.

“Well, I actually just wanted to develop it! Doesn’t a custom-made golem sound wonderful? Yet my last workplace didn’t let me do as I wanted and I was bored to death.”

“… I see.”

I responded as I suppressed my confusion.

It was hard to judge on what she truly intended just from her expression.

Perhaps both were true.

Meanwhile, the movement of the custom-made golem became more extreme.

It moved about at a speed that was difficult to notice just by sight, and produced afterimages all over the place.

There was no sign of the custom-made golem breaking down.

It was quite sturdy.

While I was watching that, the director turned towards me.

She then spoke with a reserved tone.

“Demon Lord-sama, I have a small request, but…”

“What is it? Tell me.”

“Would you please use the prototype golem to fight against Yuura-chan's custom-made golem? I need its battle data for future reference.”

Before I knew it, the director was holding a bundle of papers.

She was holding some recording sheets.

It seemed she wanted to write about the golem’s performance skills.

I had no reason to decline.

It was good to experiment with it.

Therefore, I agreed without hesitation.

“Fumu, alright.”

“Thank you very much! Then I’ll confirm it with Yuura-chan too.”

The director called out to Yuura to explain the situation.

Yuura, who heard the story, answered without faltering.

“Acknowledging the request — Requesting for a simulated combat against master.

“Thank you very much, Yuura-chan! Let’s get the place ready right away.”

As the director took action, a cubic barrier was formed in the center of the room.

It was quite wide.

So we were supposed to fight inside there.

I reconnected with the prototype golem inside the barrier.

Yuura operated her custom-made golem and entered as well without a pause.

We faced each other at a certain distance.

“Master, I’ll be in your care.”

“Oh, I’ll also be in your care.”

The director stood outside the barrier and spoke from there.

“Yuura-chan's custom-made golem is equipped with a flight device and beams. Both of them are a little unstable, so be careful when using them!”

“Understanding the explanation — the advice is appreciated.”

After Yuura said her thanks, she took a stance while making a driving sound.

She raised her fist and lowered her hips.

There was no awkwardness in her stance; it looked to be proper.

It was clearly not the stance of an amateur.

Had she picked that up from someone?

Despite my musings, the magic reaction coming from the custom-made golem was increasing.

At the same time, I could feel the power of the Great Spirit.

“Initiating combat movement — Master, please prepare yourself.”

After such a declaration, Yuura kicked the floor and jumped forward.