Volume 10 - Chapter 3 – Study Group (2/2)

“Hmm, I wonder what. Well, let’s go there for a bit and see.”

Since there was a Warp Gate in the basement of his new home, he was able to freely go back to the research facility.

The golem managing the Warp Gate room, Butler-1 greeted them and Jin headed to the usual living room.

Laojun’s mobile terminal Laozi was waiting there.

“My Lord, my thanks for coming all the way here.”

Laozi said and gave a bow.

“As a matter of fact, there was something interesting among the weapons collected from around Tetrada the other day.”

Laozi said and presented Jin with a short sword.

“Tetrada… Oh, that was where Cline Kingdom’s army was disarmed. So this was among the weapons?”

Jin gazed at the short sword while talking. There was nothing unusual about it, it seemed to be a sword just like any other. He tried taking it in his hand, and again noticed nothing.

“What about this?”

“For some mysterious reason, traces of My Lord’s Magical Energy can be felt from the sword.”

“Eh?”

Jin who had heard something unexpected then tried using magic to investigate its workings.

“[Inspection].”

“Indeed, this is my… Ah, I remember now. This must be Lithia’s short sword.”

Jin recalled it. It was last autumn, when he had transported wheat in taxes to Toka Village from Kaina Village together with some men. At that time, golems had appeared, and time Lithia who had then been a tax collection official recklessly used this sword to fight against them.

Even so, the sword that was made out of iron which was even softer than steel had quickly bent out of shape. Then after repelling the golems, Lithia had been feeling down after Toka Village’s smith had told her the sword couldn’t be repaired.

Unable to just watch, Jin had straightened the sword with [Forming], then turned it to a steel sword using [Carburising] and [Heat Treatment].

“This is the sword from that time. I see, Lithia was supposed to be in Tetrada too, wasn’t she.”

“By Lithia-san, you mean the person who told Father to run back then, correct?”

Reiko hadn’t been around when the golems were driven back: she was talking about the time when after that Earl Walter had come to capture Jin to a misunderstanding.

“Yeah. Looks like she’s been taking good care of this.”

The sword in his hand hadn’t rusted and had been sharpened well. Since it was Lithia’s it probably hadn’t been used in combat, and Jin could tell it had been handled with great care.

“Indeed. Someone who treasures a gift from Father is a good person.”

Reiko’s evaluation standards were plain and simple. Jin smiled awkwardly.

“If possible, I’d like to return it.”

Jin had gone and given orders to have the materials of the taken swords, spears, shields, armor, and such checked, then have them molten down to ingots except for the clearly special equipment that were imbued with magic or made out of rare materials.

Considering that, Laojun (and his subordinates) who had found this swords were deserving of praise.

“She was in the royal capital, wasn’t she?”

Jin muttered and Reiko caught his words.

“Father, don’t tell me you’re thinking of going there?”

“Hm? What’s wrong with that? My face isn’t that known in Cline Kingdom, so I don’t think it would be especially dangerous.”

“But even so…”

Lately the overprotective Reiko had frowned a lot. Laojun then gave a helping hand.

“Reiko-san, since My Lord has expressed his desire to go, I think it is proper to fulfill his wishes. And if possible, I’d like to ask for some more protective measures for My Lord.. ”

“Protective measures against what?”

It was an obvious question.

“Against anything that poses a danger to My Lord.”

Laojun replied and,

“Please take a look at this.”

He continued, then the portable terminal Laozi took something out of a basket.

“Hmm? Clothes, aren’t they?”

“Yes. These clothes were made out of thin slices of a Sea Dragon’s leather.”

“A Sea Dragon’s leather? I wonder if this can harden on impact too in that case.”

“Yes. According to our tests, it’s not to the extent of the reinforced clothing but it can defend against Ann’s full strength.”

Ann’s strength used to be about ten percent of Reiko’s. In other words a human couldn’t break through its defenses.

“The silver surface is the most heavy part, and by passing Magic Energy through it it can become even more robust.”

The silver referred to the front of the leather which had a smooth surface. You could think of the front as the spot with the most superior defenses.

“I got it. So, pants and a coat. Thanks, Laojun.”

“It is a privilege to be a help to My Lord.”

There was still something else at the bottom of the basket. It looked like a lapel pin.

“And what’s this? …No, wait, isn’t it a Magi Tool. And what… It deploys a [Barrier] on a reaction from the clothes?”

“Yes. Please attach it to the lapel of the coat. In the case that you receive an attack and the coat hardens from impact and from Magical Energy, a [Barrier] will be instantly deployed. Since it’s small the [Barrier] doesn’t last long, so please activate the bracelet before it breaks. ”

The equipment was perfect. The Pegasus personal airplane from earlier was good, but this time Laojun really did excellent work.

“Got it, I’ll gladly put them to use.”