Chapter 177 Riding the Hype Train Can Corner the Outmarket
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”By the way, Tatara, what would you say if I offered you a reward for everything you’ve done for Aarem?” Jiji Entier asked, leaning back against the sturdy workbench.
”Huh?” I muttered, dropping my tools.
My mind ground to a stop at the sudden question.
”Rewarding merit and punishing failure is the way of the world, child,” Jiji continued, leaning into each word. “If a leader don’t compensate a man for his hard work, he’ll find folks lose their loyalty mighty quick. Sorry, but you don’t really have much of a say-so in this matter.”
”Talk about a forced sell…”1 I grumbled under my breath.
”You ain’t wrong about that,” he replied, chuckling softly with a wry, self-mocking smile.
The blade Calamity-Cutter had been presented as a formal tribute, but the Vanquish armor was a custom commission. If an unnamed member of the royal family claimed they were so moved by its quality that they wished to grant me a special reward, then refusing out of modesty would be a huge insult. It would be like telling them they were too small-minded to reward me properly, which would smash a noble’s pride to pieces. These high-society games were already way over my head. Honestly, I already had far more wealth and status than a guy like me deserved, and I had no desire to ask for more.
”Oh,” I gasped as a thought struck me.
”Ho? Did you catch yourself a spark of inspiration, son?” Jiji asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.
An idea flashed through my mind like a divine revelation. Granted, it might have been an incredibly reckless request.
”Well… I did just think of one thing,” I said, looking up at him.
”Good. Let’s hear it then,” Jiji prompted, crossing his arms.
As I laid out my sudden brainstorm, Jiji’s expression slowly twisted into deep suspicion.
”…And that’s the reward you’re fixin’ to ask for?” Jiji asked, his brow furrowing.
”Yes, that’s the plan,” I replied.
”Correct me if I’m wrong, child, but don’t this just sound like a grand old time for an old timer like me?”
”From my personal standpoint, it actually helps me out immensely,” I explained with a sheepish grin.
Even after my explanation, Jiji still looked utterly bewildered, and that pulled a wry smile from me. I was just grateful he viewed my absurd request as something fun.
”Well, alright then,” Jiji declared, shaking his head with a low chuckle. “If that’s what your heart’s set on, we’ll make that your reward.”
”Thank you so much!” I exclaimed.
When I offered my genuine thanks, Jiji only shook his head with another quiet laugh. Well, with that settled, what should I tackle next?
”…Now that I think on it, Tatara,” Jiji started, shifting his weight.
”Yes? What is it?” I asked.
”Could you show me some of them weapons you forged from Demonsteel? I’ve been a bit curious about ’em for a spell now.”
I readily agreed to his casual request. After I lined up a full array of my custom Demonsteel weapons, Jiji picked up each piece one by one and examined them with a practiced eye.
”…Impressive,” Jiji murmured, running a weathered thumb over a blade. “It’d cost a whole king’s ransom to adopt these as standard military issue, but the quality far exceeds the price tag, sure enough.”
”Thank you,” I said proudly.
”If we could mass-produce these, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to overhaul the equipment of our frontline infantry.”
”Well, educating and training the right people always takes far more time and money than making the actual goods…” I sighed, with the weight of my old corporate exhaustion bleeding into my words.
”Exactly!” Jiji barked, slamming a fist into his palm. “Lord, it drives me clean crazy how many fools out there completely fail to grasp that basic reality.”
A bit of trauma from my past life’s workplace struggles had slipped out, but finding such deep understanding from Jiji made me feel a tiny bit vindicated.
”…Hold on now,” Jiji said, picking up a massive, carefully designed weapon. “Isn’t the destructive power of this one a massive case of overkill, son?”
”It was originally designed to fight Orichalcum Golems, so even with this much power, securing an instant kill is nearly impossible,” I explained.
”No joke, them Orichalcum Golems are an absolute nightmare to deal with,” Jiji muttered, a shudder passing through his broad shoulders.
Next, I showed him the Erengium, and its sheer offensive power left him visibly staggered. Even with a direct hit from a weapon like this, though, bringing down a boss-level threat like an Orichalcum Golem in one shot was still a tall order. We could farm them like clockwork nowadays, but man, that monster used to give us a hell of a time.
”Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold the phone now!” Jiji practically shouted as I pulled out the Auto Eizul, his eyes widening in pure ecstasy. “What on earth are you plannin’ to fight with a monstrous thing like this?!”
”Oh, I’ve clashed with plenty of things,” I replied casually. “I used it against the Orichalcum Golem, and it came in handy against the Undead King, too.”
”It actually saw live combat?!” Jiji hollered, running his hands along the chassis. “Man… this thing is the absolute definition of pure, unadulterated romance!!”2
I could not blame him for losing his mind. A weapon with enough absurd firepower to ignore a military’s main battle tank was bound to be packed with every boy’s dream. Of course, pouring ten days’ worth of an average household’s total mana use into a single strike was also the height of madness.
”But this Auto Eizul… this absolute beast of a pile-driver don’t drain the user’s own mana reserves none?” Jiji asked, peering closely at the mechanism.
”The core design philosophy was to make sure even humans with meager mana pools could use it without issue,” I noted. “The real catch, unfortunately, is that the chassis ended up far too heavy. If you don’t possess monstrous physical strength, you can’t even lift it.”
At 120 kilograms and 220 centimeters long, its bulk made it a nightmare to handle. Without meaning to, I had created an incredibly high-skill-ceiling weapon.
”Right now, Dahlia can draw her own mana naturally thanks to her traits as an Automaton Maiden, and when I use it, I can draw power directly from my own armor to keep it operational, so it’s rarely an issue,” I added.
”Come to think on it, you do wear your own custom Arcane Armor, don’t you, Tatara?” Jiji asked, looking up from the weapon. “Is that the prototype for the Aarem model the merchant guild master uses?”
”Yeah. Visually, it doesn’t look much different from his right now, but its internal specs have been heavily upgraded.”
As I spoke, I summoned Kokuyo from my inventory. Its shape shared many similarities with the base Genbu model armor, but its structural plating was not forged from simple Demonsteel. Instead, it used an Orichalcum alloy infused with high-purity Adamantite, giving it a brilliant luster that belonged to an entirely different league. Above all else, the parts reinforced by the King’s Cores radiated clear elemental auras. Just standing there, it had an intimidating presence.
When a specialized mechanical hanger swung out on automated arms to clamp and support Kokuyo, then projected its combat status display into the air, Jiji’s eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas. Yep, no matter the world, every guy reacted exactly the same way to this stuff.
”Are you kiddin’ me?!” Jiji yelled, completely beside himself. “This is insanely cool, son!”
”Right?! You get the romance of it, don’t you?!” I cheered, matching his enthusiasm.
”Of course I do!” Jiji bellowed back.
Watching Jiji lose his mind over the hanger mechanism filled me with the joy of finding a fellow connoisseur of the craft. In this country, people in high places seemed to understand the Rule of Cool at a remarkably high rate.
Swept up in our mutual enthusiasm, we spent the next hour bouncing ideas back and forth. With a magitech processor, we mapped out a brand-new Arcane Armor design and stacked feature upon feature without a single shred of restraint.
When the finalized blueprint finally loaded on the screen, Jiji and I looked at it, then looked at each other, and said the exact same words in perfect unison.
(We went way too far.)
That was the only thought that came to our minds.
”I can understand masterin’ Adamantite plating to safeguard vital organs like the heart,” Jiji muttered, rubbing his temples as he stared at the screen. “But what in the wild world is this ‘Flexible Defense Cloak’ supposed to be?!”
The component Jiji was staring at was a special defensive mechanism I had thrown in purely because it sounded awesome. It used the same traits as a sublimated Mithril shape-memory alloy and allowed direct thought control through an Adamantite neural link. By adding Acoustic Mapping as active sonar, the cloak could sense incoming threats and move on its own to block them. To an outsider, it looked like nothing more than a fashionable, high-gloss cloak, so it would not put an assassin on guard the way a huge magic shield would. In other words, it was perfect for baiting an ambush and capturing the attackers alive.
Granted, using a high-profile figure as live bait was a problem in its own right.
”I considered installing the defensive matrix from the magic shield Karagana,” I explained defensively, “but I just thought it would look incredibly slick to have a cloak fluidly moving around to block attacks on its own.”
”I mean, I get it. I completely get it, child…” Jiji hesitated, looking at me with a mixture of awe and exhaustion. “But man, aren’t you introducin’ groundbreaking, unprecedented defensive tech a little too fast for this world?”3
I could practically hear the unspoken words hanging in the air.
Classic Tatara-ing.
”Still, what should we do with this blueprint…?” I mused, tapping my chin.
As a proof of concept, it was not impossible to build. In fact, I had more than enough rare materials stocked up to forge it right now. However, if I actually put a price tag on this masterpiece, then by my rough estimate, it would easily clear the ten-billion mark. If I ever brought this to the Lady Mayor for an official appraisal, she would probably cough up blood from sheer stress, which made it an impossible topic to raise with her.
”Is craftin’ it a real option then?” Jiji asked, looking at me intently.
”Personally, I don’t mind forging it, but it’s going to deal a noticeable amount of economic damage to the national treasury, you know?” I countered.
”Yeah, you’re right about that…” Jiji conceded, deflating slightly.
A monstrous piece of equipment that required a Demon Lord-class Soul Core and a mountain of legendary magic metals was too expensive for a nation to casually pull from its reserves. Not to mention, even for a former emperor, a purely functional design might lack the traditional ceremonial look needed for imperial regalia.
”An Arcane Armor that strips away all artillery functions to maximize its absolute defensive ceiling… It really is the ultimate gear suited for an anonymous royal,” Jiji murmured, his voice trailing off.
”Is it really that fitting?” I asked skeptically.
In response to my doubt, Jiji gave a firm nod and began to explain.
”I spent my youth on the front lines slaughterin’ our enemies, so it might sound mighty rich comin’ from me, but an anonymous royal—or rather, a supreme commander—is never supposed to step onto the battlefield, child. Surely you understand that much?”
”Yeah. If the commander or the mastermind steering the ship falls, the entire organization crumbles from within. When that person is the literal representative of a nation, the stakes are immeasurably higher,” I admitted.
That much was obvious even to someone like me. A commander was not just a tactical head who organized movements; they were the army’s emotional pillar. More than anything, the troops needed the peace of mind that came from believing they would win and survive as long as they followed their leader’s orders.
If that pillar fell, even the most elite, well-trained army could collapse into a scattered mob and get crushed piece by piece. Then again, this was a fantasy world where people with overwhelming charisma could overturn impossible situations, so it was hard to say anything with absolute certainty.
”That’s exactly why an item so heavily focused on absolute defense is the most fittin’ choice for the person at the very top,” Jiji said, his voice softening with genuine warmth. “If it’s not for me, but for the current Emperor to wear… there ain’t no finer masterpiece in this world.”
”…You’re just being a worried father, aren’t you?” I asked softly.
”The kid is already well past his hundredth birthday,” Jiji grumbled, throwing out excuses as a slight blush colored his weathered cheeks. “But from where I stand, child, no matter how much time passes by, he’ll always be my precious boy.”
Despite all his excuses, it came down to a father being worried sick about his child’s safety and wishing he had the perfect equipment to protect him. I deeply wanted to honor that feeling, but if I went through official channels, it would stir up endless political friction with every faction involved. In that case, I would just play the part of an ignorant, brash youth who did not give a damn about political boundaries.
”In that case, how about I hand over this blueprint and the prototype to you, so you can test it out firsthand at the imperial capital’s research laboratory?” I suggested with a grin.
”…What’s that now?” Jiji blinked, completely dumbfounded by my casual suggestion.
It was the exact same method I had used before to handle one stubborn blockhead.
”Consider this a direct, personal commission from me to Master Kalan,” I declared proudly. “I’ll forge the initial prototype for this Arcane Armor, so I want you to run it through its paces with repeated field tests and see if the capital’s laboratory can actually manage to mass-produce it.”
As the full weight of my words clicked in his mind, a huge, helpless grin spread across Jiji’s face.
”Issuin’ a formal work order to a former emperor… Do you have any idea how insane that is, kid?” Jiji chuckled, the sound rumbling deep in his chest.
”Come on, I’m sure you took on all sorts of odd jobs to scrape together operational funds back when you were laying low,” I teased. “Working up a sweat while reminiscing about the good old days sounds like a fantastic time, doesn’t it?”
Hearing my cheeky retort, Jiji threw his head back and let out a roaring laugh that shook dust from the rafters. He looked so genuinely happy that it took me by surprise.
”Aha… Excellent,” Jiji roared, wiping a tear from his eye. “Not as a former sovereign, but as a single man named Kalan Nahazhuto—I gladly accept the commission of Tatara Julon.”
”Really?!” I pressed forward.
”Good grief, don’t look so thrilled about it, child,” Jiji chuckled, giving me a mock-exasperated look as I leaned forward in sheer excitement.
Despite his playful grumbling, I had officially secured his agreement. Just as I was about to dive straight into organizing the materials for the Arcane Armor, a quiet, polite knock echoed from the workshop door.
”Oh, uh, yes? Come in!” I called out.
I opened the door and found Mitsuha standing in the hallway, looking as serene as ever.
”Is everything alright?” I asked.
”Lunch is finally ready,” she said, offering a warm, perfectly elegant smile. “I would be absolutely delighted if your guest would care to join us at the table as well.”
The moment the word lunch left her mouth, a huge growl erupted from my stomach and shattered the dignified silence. As my face burned crimson from sheer mortification, Jiji burst into another booming round of laughter.
Lately, I had been completely freeloading off Mitsuha’s incredible cooking and leaving the kitchen entirely in her capable hands.
As for today’s lunch menu—
”This is an absolute masterpiece! The chicken is coated evenly in fragrant spices, then slow-roasted over an open flame until the skin turns crisp and perfect! The rich juices mingle with the dry heat of the spices, bringing out a deep, savory flavor without leaving even a hint of greasy heaviness on the palate. It strikes the most magnificent balance!
And because it’s spring chicken, the meat is unbelievably tender—the fibers practically dissolve on the tongue! Once you’ve savored the natural flavor of the meat, dipping it into a sauce made from miso, soy sauce, and an entirely different blend of spices reveals a whole new layer of deliciousness. Then, whenever you crave a clean, refreshing palate cleanser, a quick splash of fresh lemon juice mixed with salt completely transforms the profile! Your culinary skills have reached completely new heights, Lady Mitsuha-sama!!”4 Hinagiku-san exclaimed, her face alight with explosive reverence.
Jiji Entier rubbed his chin, looking utterly bewildered by the sudden performance. “…Tatara, is this person some sort of world-renowned epicurean back in Hizuru?” he asked, his tone carefully steady.
”No, sir,” I replied dryly, maintaining my usual even tone. “She is the imperial guard who stands as the pride of the Torakuma family.”
Confronted with Miss Hinagiku-san’s sudden, nostalgic flood of hyper-detailed food commentary, I answered with the calm distance of a man who had long since grown immune to her antics. Jiji Entier looked bewildered, but honestly, I was more surprised that Mitsuha-san had gone out of her way to serve something as labor-intensive as chicken chashu.
By the way, since Baba Entier clearly was not used to chopsticks, I had set her up with a standard knife and fork and served bread as her main starch. Just in case they were wary of assassination attempts, I had forged the cutlery out of pure Mithril… though both of them had the “Calamity Sever” trait anyway, which made them completely immune to poison in the first place.
As for my own meal, I had built a custom rice bowl with steaming white rice drizzled in chashu reduction, a light dusting of toasted sesame seeds, a layer of crisp, well-drained lettuce, and a generous helping of sliced chicken chashu topped with shredded scallions. The deep, savory taste of the miso-and-soy-sauce reduction was lifted perfectly by the nuttiness of the sesame, while the lettuce and sharp bite of the scallions refreshed my mouth between bites. Hinagiku-san was staring at my bowl with burning envy, but I chose to ignore her.
”Well, I must admit, I’m not overly familiar with the cuisine of Hizuru, but this is genuinely spectacular,” Jiji Entier said approvingly.
”Yes! Thank you very much, sir,” Mitsuha-san replied with perfect politeness.
Mitsuha-san offered him a bright, beaming smile in response to praise that carried no hidden agenda or courtly pretense, only honest appreciation. Watching her easily satisfy the palate of a literal retired emperor was impressive, but it also gave me a strange sense of whiplash. (My brain is honestly lagging over this.)5 I had to remind myself that this girl was actually the highborn young lady of the Torakuma family, one of the grandest noble houses in all of Hizuru. Thinking about it too hard threatened to break my brain.
”Say, Tatara-chan,” Baba Entier chimed in, her voice warm and easy.
(‘Chan?!’)
The moment Baba Entier spoke, everyone at the table stiffened in shock at the casual, affectionate honorific. That single word shattered the distance between us in an instant. I had tried to correct her politely once before, but she had brushed it off completely. At this point, pushing the issue any further risked crossing the line into outright disrespect, so I could only pray everyone understood why I had given up.
Mitsuha-san kept casting quick, hesitant glances in my direction. (Surely she was not thinking what I think she was thinking… right?)
”Tatara-chan is smart, so do you happen to know why Kalan is in such an exceptionally good mood today, kashira?” Baba Entier asked, peering over her glasses with old-fashioned warmth.
”Ah, well… it’s probably because I showed him a bunch of my recent inventions,” I explained, keeping my answer respectful. “Most of them are just absolute piles of romantic idealism, not the kind of things you’d ever actually deploy on a practical battlefield.”
Baba Entier turned her gaze toward Jiji Entier, who gave a firm, silent nod. I mean, it could not really be anything else, considering the only other interaction we had was him taking a formal crafting request from me.
”…Hey, Tatara,” the Moron muttered, leaning closer with a sharp edge to his voice.
”What’s up?” I asked.
”Those two over there…” he grunted, nodding vaguely toward the guests.
”You’ve seen their official portraits in the textbooks before, haven’t you?” I pointed out.
”…Are you serious?” he growled, his eyes widening in sudden understanding.
After watching my brief exchange with Baba Entier, the Moron had leaned over to quietly confirm his suspicions, so I merely pointed out the obvious. Since he had actually paid attention to his studies for once, he instantly read between the lines and realized he was sitting in the presence of the former Emperor and Empress. As far as I could tell, the Moron and my mother-in-law were the only two in our group who had put the pieces together.
”Master Tatara-sama,” Mitsuha-san murmured softly.
”Yes?”
”Should I start calling you Tatara-chan as well, desu ka?” she asked, her expression completely neutral and sincere.
”I beg of you, please spare me,” I groaned, lowering my head.
I bowed with absolute, dead-serious sincerity in response to Mitsuha-san’s sudden, terrifying proposal. If I did not stop this right here and now, I had an ominous feeling that something fundamental in my life would come to a swift and catastrophic end.
”My, how terribly uncouth. Arara, it is perfectly adorable, so why not let her call you that, desuwa?” Ibara-san scoffed.
”Absolutely not,” I snapped back. “Why on earth should I be subjected to that kind of teasing from the woman who’s about to become my sister-in-law?”
Ibara-san froze mid-gesture, her eyes narrowing. “…Sister-in-law?”
(Ah.)
I had snapped back without thinking in order to counter Ibara-san’s mocking tone, but the instant the words left my mouth, I realized I had made a massive blunder. Ibara-san had absolutely no idea that Yohira and I were already legally betrothed. Oh God, was she about to turn this entire house into a pile of literal rubble?
”…Ibara,” Mother-in-law said, her formal voice cutting through the room with cold precision.
Ibara-san slammed her utensils onto the table, her body tensing as she started to rise in a towering rage, only for Mother-in-law to speak over her in a chillingly quiet voice. The raw emotion buried beneath that tone sent a violent shudder straight down my spine.
”What is it now, Mother?!” Ibara-san demanded, her high-society manner cracking under her anger.
”We are in the middle of a meal. Sit back down, nasai,” Mother-in-law commanded coldly.
”But he just said—!”
”Sit down!” Mother-in-law roared, her authority crushing all resistance in an instant.
Ibara-san, who had been on the verge of exploding, went silent in less than a second. Her face, flushed red with rage moments before, drained of all color until it turned ghostly pale. (No, seriously, Mother-in-law was utterly terrifying when she wanted to be.) Ibara-san sank back into her chair as if the bones in her legs had turned to jelly. Once she had been fully suppressed, Mother-in-law continued in the same heavy, unyielding tone.
”The marital connection between Yohira and Master Tatara-san is a matter of paramount geopolitical importance, serving to bind our homeland of Hizuru with this nation. Per protocol, I will not tolerate any interference or petulant commentary from the sidelines, nabi kimasen!”
”That… that may be so, but…” Ibara-san stammered, her voice weak.
”If you are resentful simply because your younger sister has managed to precede you to the altar, your anger is entirely misplaced. Your current bachelorship is the natural, inevitable result of your own actions—specifically, your persistent habit of leaving every single one of your prospective suitors permanently incapacitated. Have some shame, nasai!”
Ibara-san hung her head, her spirit thoroughly crushed as she stared blankly down at the table. (A sudden thought crossed my mind. Had Mother-in-law secretly been carrying a huge grudge this whole time because Ibara-san kept violently ruining every arranged marriage meeting?)
”If anyone has any further objections regarding Yohira’s marriage from this point forward, you may bring your complaints directly to me and my husband. Am I understood, nasai?”
”…Yes, Mother. I understand, desuwa,” Ibara-san murmured, completely defeated.
Watching Ibara-san answer in a weak murmur while staring at her lap, I could not help feeling a sudden pang of pity for her. At the same time, I flinched as I remembered Mitsuha-san’s warning from a while back: Ibara-san would absolutely throw a violent, destructive tantrum if she ever found out. It turned out that warning had not been an exaggeration in the slightest. If anything, the reality was far more terrifying. I really wished Ibara-san would adopt a slightly gentler, more refined manner… but yeah, that was probably asking for the impossible.
”Our honored guests, I must apologize for forcing you to witness such an unsightly family display,” Mother-in-law said, her voice shifting smoothly back to an impersonal, formal register.
”Ah, no… don’t worry about it. Yes. We didn’t really mind at all, so please, rest easy,” Jiji Entier replied, smooth and unbothered.
(Did Jiji Entier’s diplomatic response mean he was adopting a strict policy of plausible deniability regarding the dark, dysfunctional underbelly of the Torakuma family? Yeah, I give up. This level of social maneuvering and political tact was completely beyond my pay grade.)
”Hey, hey, Tatara-chan,” Baba Entier called out again, breaking the heavy silence with gentle warmth.
”Yes? What can I do for you?” I asked.
”Whatever it was that got Kalan into such an incredibly good mood… would you mind showing it to me later as well, no?” she asked.
”Sure, that’s fine. But in exchange, please refrain from calling out to me or interrupting while I’m actively working, alright?” I replied.
And just like that, I added another spectator to the list. For the record, Mother-in-law also looked intensely curious and clearly wanted to tag along, but since she was currently busy supervising our part-time “Baito-chou,” who was stuffing her face with rice, she could not join us. Instead, she directed a deeply envious glare at the back of my head.
Once the meal was over, I stepped forward to clear the table, but Mitsuha-san insisted on taking over the dishes herself. After offering her a quick volley of thanks and apologies, I escorted Grandmother and Jiji Entier out of the dining area and straight down into the workshop.
”Alright then. Could you please strip down?” I asked plainly.
”Sure thing,” Jiji Entier agreed at once.
”Wait… what?!” Baba Entier shrieked.
Jiji Entier gave a casual nod, leaving Baba Entier frozen in place as her brain failed to process the situation. While she stood there paralyzed, the old man calmly unbuckled his heavy armor, stripped off his underclothing without a shred of hesitation, and stood proudly in nothing but his underpants, displaying his bare physique to the room.
”…Wow. That is genuinely incredible. You don’t have a single ounce of sagging flesh anywhere,” I murmured in awe.
”Ha! I appreciate the compliment, though truth be told, I’ve gotten a bit soft compared to my prime, zo,” Jiji Entier chuckled, completely relaxed.
”Just what kind of absolute apex monster were you in your prime, then?” I asked.
Muttering in genuine awe, I pulled out my trusty measuring thread and began taking precise measurements across his physique. To my amazement, his muscular structure was perfectly symmetrical. Wait, did this guy actually have the “Perfect Body” passive trait?
”Hold on, hold on, hold on a minute! What do you think you’re doing?!” Baba Entier yelled, rushing forward with her face flushed deep crimson.
”I’m sorry, ma’am, but I really need you not to interfere until I’m completely finished taking his measurements…” I sighed.
”Measurements?! What do you mean measurements?! What on earth are you measuring?!” she cried, her voice shaking with horror.
Watching her panic so frantically filled me with genuine confusion. (Why on earth was this woman losing her mind right now?)
Meanwhile, Jiji Entier caught her reaction and let a wicked, mischievous smirk spread across his face. (Seriously, what on earth was going through this old guy’s head?)
”What am I measuring? Well, if I’m going to craft something custom for him, I obviously have to get a clear look at his dimensions,” I explained slowly.
”A clear look at his dimensions?!” she echoed, her voice rising into a panicked crescendo.
If I did not get an exact grasp of his physical dimensions, there was no way I could forge equipment with a flawless, skin-tight fit. I had no idea what she was getting so worked up about. While tossing out calm, logical replies, I kept my focus on mapping his physique. Thanks to the passive sub-effects of my “Crafting” skill, I barely needed to concentrate to get an incredibly accurate read on the numbers.
”Seriously, this is magnificent. Your physical balance is absolutely flawless,” I noted.
”Oh? I don’t think anyone’s ever phrased it quite like that before, but I’ll take it,” Jiji Entier replied smoothly.
”Hey! What kind of balance are we talking about here, no?!” Baba Entier demanded, completely unhinged now.
I tuned out Baba Entier’s increasingly loud protests and continued mapping the final sections of his body. When I knelt down to measure his lower stance, a bloodcurdling shriek echoed through the workshop, leaving me wondering what could have possibly triggered such a reaction.
”And we’re all done. Man, you can really tell you’ve spent a lifetime on the front lines. That is an absolute powerhouse of a physique,” I said, stepping back.
”Well, I like to think I can still hold my own when push comes to shove, zo,” Jiji Entier said with a confident shrug.
While taking his measurements, I had also checked the condition of his muscle tissue. It had incredible tone while keeping a remarkable level of flexible movement. His explosive strength and physical elasticity were bound together at an exceptionally high level, which meant his body could probably absorb huge kinetic shock without taking damage. I suppose this was what a human body looked like when it had been fully optimized for high-tier combat.
As I pondered the physics of his muscle density, a pair of hands clamped violently onto my shoulders. I blinked in surprise and turned around to find Baba Entier staring straight into my face with pure desperation.
”Tatara-chan!” she barked, her warmth replaced by intense gravity.
”Y-Yes, ma’am?!” I stammered.
She called my name with such force that my voice practically cracked in response. Gripping my shoulders with terrifying strength, she forced me to face her directly and shook me back and forth.
”Listen to me! A relationship between two men is completely counterproductive! You need to put a stop to this madness right now, no!” she pleaded.
”What on earth are you suddenly talking about?!” I yelled back, entirely bewildered.
Faced with a tearful, panicked lecture that made absolutely no sense, I instinctively shouted back. Unsurprisingly, my words did not reach her at all.
”Tatara-chan, you already have a beautiful partner like little Ethelena-chan, don’t you?! You absolutely must not do anything that would cause her a lifetime of heartbreak, no!!” she wailed.
”Don’t you think running wild with that kind of insane delusion is incredibly disrespectful to your actual partner?!” I shouted over her panic.
Once I understood the wild, catastrophic misunderstanding that had formed in her head, I tried to correct it at once, but it was completely useless. Seriously, there were times in this world when my voice simply could not reach another human being no matter how hard I tried.
Jiji Entier, who had clearly understood where this was going from the very beginning, burst into a loud, booming laugh. When I glared at him, the old man merely offered a wicked, teasing grin like a mischievous brat who had just pulled off the ultimate prank.
”Well, well, Tatara. So that’s how it is, then. I wouldn’t mind giving it a shot with you, zo,” Jiji Entier chuckled, fully enjoying the chaos.
”Do NOT throw more gasoline onto this chaotic fire, na!!” I shrieked.
I let out a furious, exasperated shout that came dangerously close to a literal shriek of despair. Meanwhile, Baba Entier, her eyes welling with actual tears, continued desperately begging me not to stray from the path of righteousness.
”Ugh… I feel sick. You shook me around so much I’m actually getting motion sickness…” I groaned, leaning against a workbench.
”I-I’m so sorry, Tatara-chan…” Baba Entier apologized softly, her usual warmth returning as she patted my arm.
”My, my. Don’t go showing us such a pathetic display now, o future Chief Crafter of the ‘Whirlwind’ alliance, na?” Jiji Entier taunted, his voice dripping with amusement.
”Shut the hell up, old man,” I snapped heavily.
It took a solid hour for the chaos in the room to finally burn itself out. A thoroughly chastened and fully rational Baba Entier offered me a meek apology, while Jiji Entier immediately started smugly teasing me again, which drew a sharp, venomous snap from my mouth. My polite filter had dissolved into thin air, but neither of them seemed inclined to call me out on the breach of etiquette. Wait, it was not that they had failed to notice. They just straight-up did not care.
”In any case, now that the physical measurements are complete, I’ll use these specifications to construct your custom Arcane Armor… Just to confirm the design specifications one final time,” I said, returning to business.
”Right. I don’t need anything beyond that. Make sure it’s a standard, streamlined Arcane Armor model—none of that ‘Armored Muscle Suit’ nonsense you mentioned earlier,” Jiji Entier directed firmly.
”…It’s called an Inner Muscle Armor suit,” I corrected flatly.6
I could not help wondering where on earth this old guy had picked up the classified name for the specialized tactical gear used by high-tier operatives in certain covert human organizations.
Cutting the banter short, I moved straight to the crafting station and began forging the Arcane Armor. For the exterior plating, I used an advanced alloy of Orichalcum structurally interlaced with Adamantite, while the internal lattice framework was built from Evil Mithril and Evil Orichalcum. Both were heavily reinforced and supercharged with a “Divine Core Fragment of the Goddess of the End.”
”…Tatara, where did you get your hands on a Divine Core of that caliber?” Jiji Entier asked, his voice suddenly dropping into a serious, heavy cadence.
”The source material was provided directly by the Poster Girls,” I stated neutrally.
”Understood. I will ask no further questions,” he replied at once.
Even a veteran warrior of Jiji Entier’s caliber hesitated when faced with the overwhelming, reality-bending pressure radiating from a literal Divine Core Fragment. The moment he learned it had come from them, however, his instinct for self-preservation kicked in, and he dropped the subject immediately. Yeah, that was definitely the correct move. Smart people knew better than to casually involve themselves with, or attempt to confiscate, anything tied to those girls.
With those brief interruptions out of the way, I returned to forging the components one after another. Though this particular suit was tailor-made for Jiji Entier, it would also serve as a prototype for testing several basic crafting techniques.
To keep the suit as mobile as possible, I built a bellows-style framework along the spine. Then I added synthetic muscles made from a new Abyssal Mithril alloy, which protected the joints without locking them in place and greatly improved the wearer’s defense. After that, I prepared a fabric woven from the same Abyssal Mithril and lined both the inside and outside of the synthetic muscles with it. At a glance, it looked like ordinary clothing, but the layered Mithril fabric and artificial muscle meant it could shrug off almost any attack aimed at it.
For the donning mechanism, I split the front armor plating so it could shift and hinge outward, allowing the user to practically step right inside the suit.
As for the power source, I used the Soul Core of an Archdemon harvested from the sixty-fifth floor or below. That core gave a huge performance boost to the Abyssal Mithril and Abyssal Orichalcum, both of which had a natural affinity for the Demise attribute.
”I’d like to test out the donning mechanism,” I said, gesturing to the open frame. “Mind trying it on for a second?”
As the Arcane Armor finally took shape, I made the request, and Jiji Entier stepped forward with the eager grin of a man who had clearly been waiting for the invitation.
”Tell me, son, can I step into this contraption without taking off my clothes?” he asked.
”That was the baseline design concept, yeah,” I replied, adjusting the alignments. “I adjusted the internal telemetry during your fitting to make sure it’s as snug as possible.”
”Hmm…” he grunted.
Satisfied with my answer, he stepped into the Arcane Armor while still wearing his everyday noble attire, which looked like an even more lavish version of typical high-society wear. The armor instantly recognized its designated user, and the plating slid shut on its own.
”Whoa… Whoaaaaaaa?!” Jiji Entier bellowed, his voice echoing off the workshop walls.
He let out an excited shout at the automated feature. Honestly, even though I was the one who had built it, it was a pretty damn cool gimmick.
Once fully equipped, the Arcane Armor gleamed with a dark, somber gold, the distinct color of an Orichalcum-Adamantite alloy. Combined with the faint, shadowy aura rising from the Abyssal Mithril fabric over his upper arms and thighs, it made him look exactly like a literal Demon Lord.
”My, isn’t that a bit… eerie?” Baba Seras murmured with concern. “Downright sinister, even, if I do say so.”
”That’s the result of tailoring the magic metals specifically for the Nightkin…” I replied.
I could not help agreeing with Baba Seras. The look was undeniably villainous, and I still had to add the cape on top of it. A kid would probably burst into tears the moment they saw that dark aura.
”Tatara, I’m tellin’ ya, this is just flat-out spectacular!” Jiji Entier hollered, testing the weight.
”I get the enthusiasm, but please calm down,” I warned, stepping back. “If you bump into the workshop equipment, it’s going to be a total disaster.”
I did not know Jiji Entier’s exact stats, but my custom armor had to have boosted his parameters by at least a hundred points across the board. If someone with that kind of raw power accidentally clipped a workbench, the whole thing would instantly disintegrate.
While keeping a cautious eye on the overexcited old man, I moved on to creating the armor’s main defensive feature: the Flexible Defense Cloak.
The required materials were Abyssal Mithril and Abyssal Orichalcum. By applying a specialized spell formula, I forced the Mithril, which had shape-memory alloy properties, to take on the look and texture of flowing cloth while using the Orichalcum as a control matrix.
I secured the cloak inside the shoulder guards and drew it across his back to protect his rear. Finally, I added a matching armored apron, bringing the suit to completion.
”How does it feel?” I asked.
At my prompting, Jiji Entier checked the fit of his new gear. He rolled his shoulders, moved his limbs experimentally, and grinned broadly as the cloak shifted in perfect response to his thoughts.
”This is well beyond anything I could’ve dreamed of, child,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief. “It tracks my movements with absolutely zero lag.”
Watching Jiji Entier speak with lingering excitement, I let out a quiet sigh of relief, glad he liked it. Then I remembered a feature I had forgotten to mention.
”Lord Kalan, try imagining a helmet covering your head,” I suggested.
”Covering my head…? Whoa?!” he exclaimed.
The moment he formed the mental image, mechanical components rose from the back of his neck, smoothly encasing his head and covering his face. It was a retractable helmet, and the interior used mana stones to create an integrated monitor display with a remarkably wide field of vision.
I had styled the headpiece after Vanquish, his personal armament. Even if the body armor looked completely different, I figured it would be nice for his helmet to resemble his weapon of choice.
I had the golems carry over a full-length mirror so Jiji Entier could see the complete silhouette for himself.
”You… Seriously, boy, you think of everything, don’t you?!” Jiji Entier barked, his voice muffled through the helmet.
He could not hide his delight. Seeing someone react that joyfully to something I had built made all the work worth it. Beside him, Baba Seras watched her husband with a warm smile, and for a moment, the workshop was filled with a bright, happy atmosphere.
Though if the Lady Mayor ever found out about this thing, she would probably cough up blood from pure stress.
”Now then, Tatara Julon,” Jiji Entier said, raising his visor.
”Yes?” I asked.
”You mentioned wanting to put this Arcane Armor through a field test, correct?” he asked, turning back to confirm my original request.
I nodded. “Yes. As for the operational data…”
Right then and there, I quickly made a custom storage hanger for the prototype Arcane Armor. I embedded Appraisal and Crafting functions directly into the frame, then carved out a dedicated socket for a recording crystal.
”Whenever you’re done using the armor, just suspend it on this hanger,” I explained. “If you plug a recording crystal into this socket, it will catalog the suit’s current structural state. You can just mail the crystal back to me, and I can send back optimized updates. From there, the hanger can automatically adjust the spell formulas and armor plating distribution.”
”Pardon me, son?” Jiji Entier asked, blinking in confusion.
He threw a confused question my way, but I did not think I had explained anything particularly complicated, so I was not sure which part had gone over his head.
”Um, Tatara-chan?” Baba Seras chimed in softly.
”Yes?” I asked.
”Is it customary for folks to just… casually bestow powerful skills upon everyday objects like that?”7 she asked.
”I don’t know about everyone else, but I can imbue pretty much any skill I personally possess,” I explained.
Granted, the transferred skills usually settled at their baseline ranks. By breaking down and understanding the mechanics of a skill as a spell formula, I could replicate and embed its effects, though unique abilities gained during my Existence Sublimation were strictly off-limits.
Furthermore, while I could technically add baseline stat boosts like Physical Attack Boost, they were pointless if the magic device’s user already had the same skill naturally, since the effects would not stack. It was far more efficient to adapt reinforcement magic formulas and enhance the Arcane Armor’s output that way.
Honestly, I could not even remember when I first figured out how to do this. I had automatically assumed it was possible when I built the hanger for the Chief Justice, after all.
”Don’t you go frettin’ over the details, Seras,” Jiji Entier sighed, waving a hand. “Even if the boy tries to explain it, the conclusion is always just ‘Tatara doing Tatara things.’”8
”Ah, I see,” Baba Seras said with a gentle nod. “So this is the famous ‘Tatara-ing’ I’ve heard stories about.”
Even if the entire world had already accepted it as a known phenomenon, hearing it directly from an anonymous member of the royal family still stung a bit. I could swear I heard someone’s voice in my head whispering, “You’re actively destroying the Lady Mayor’s stomach lining, you know.”
”Then again, whippin’ up a piece of Arcane Armor loaded with this many brand-new features in just a few hours—and without noticeably technical craftin’ skills—is the literal definition of Tatara-ing,” Jiji Entier added.
”Wait, really?” I asked.
”This is full-scale research and development, son,” Jiji Entier said firmly. “Back in the Imperial Capital, just assemblin’ the framework would take a whole team at least two days.”
(No way.) Was the capital’s tech level really that low? If I said that out loud, they would probably just snap back with “No, you’re just a freak,” so I wisely kept my mouth shut.
”…Hey, Tatara-chan,” Baba Seras said, stepping closer. “Why don’t you come back to the capital with us? We can arrange full state protection for you.”
”I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want to leave the house my parents left behind,” I replied.
I knew she was asking out of genuine kindness, but I could not bring myself to abandon this place. When my time came, I wanted to pass away in the same town where my parents had lived and died.
Hearing my response, Baba Seras’s expression softened with quiet sadness. Rejecting such pure goodwill left me with a heavy wave of guilt.
Looking back and forth between us, Jiji Entier seemed to realize something, which gave me an incredibly bad feeling about whatever he was plotting.
”…I’ve got it!” Jiji Entier declared with a slap of his thigh. “We’ll just station a permanent security detachment right here at Tatara-chan’s house!”
”Could you please stop suggesting things that continuously exceed both my house’s capacity and my personal bandwidth?!” I yelled.
We were already completely out of spare rooms, so accommodating any more people was physically impossible. Besides, I did not have the land for it, nor did I want to put my house through a huge, disruptive renovation.
As we continued bickering, a soft knock sounded at the door. Before I could even answer, it swung open, and Ethelena, who had slipped out earlier, peeked into the room.
”Tatara, dinner is—oh,” she stammered, stopping dead in her tracks.
The words caught in Ethelena’s throat the moment her eyes landed on Jiji Entier and Baba Seras. On the other hand, Baba Seras’s face lit up the instant she saw her.
”You must be Ethelena-chan!” Baba Seras cheered.
”Wh-Gah?!” Ethelena squeaked.
Ethelena let out a strange noise as Baba Seras swept forward and wrapped her in a tight hug. I could not tell whether she was startled by the sudden contact or if she had realized the woman’s true identity.
”Oh, Tatara-chan, I can’t believe you managed to snag such a beautiful girl!” Baba Seras gushed.
”Um, excuse me… Who exactly are you?” Ethelena asked, looking completely overwhelmed.
”I’m Seras! Wonderful to meet you, dear!” she replied warmly.
”W-Wonderful to meet you too…?” Ethelena replied, her voice trailing off.
Ethelena seemed to be going along with the overwhelming momentum, but her eyes darted around in sheer confusion. As I watched the spectacle unfold, Jiji Entier sidled up right next to me.
”So that’s Tatara’s girl? She’s an absolute stunner, I’ll give you that, son,” he murmured.
”Thanks for the compliment, but if you even think about laying a hand on her, I will ready my blades and slice you to pieces,” I threatened under my breath.
”Don’t say such terrifying things, boy,” Jiji Entier chuckled, patting my shoulder. “Why on earth would I chase after a girl the same age as my own granddaughter?”
Come to think of it, according to the rumors surrounding the Godslayer, whenever he was not using Sex Sorcery to subjugate his enemies, he pretty much stuck to his own inner circle. The one running around chasing after young girls was definitely the Godslayer, not Jiji Entier.
Realizing that Ethelena had come to call us for dinner, I checked the time and was shocked to find that I had spent over four hours forging the Arcane Armor. Usually, I could finish a project in under an hour, but tailoring this suit to a specific user had taken much longer.
”…You two should stay and have dinner with us,” I offered.
”Are you sure, son?” Jiji Entier asked.
”Knowing Mitsuha, she probably anticipated this and made extra portions for you both,” I assured him.
Since she knew I had been cooped up in the workshop with our guests all day, it was entirely like her to look out for us. It felt wrong to send them away at this hour, so I invited them to finish the evening at our table.
Dinner turned out to be quite an event. Our Part-Time Leader took one look at Jiji Entier’s face, opened his mouth in shock, and froze in place. Meanwhile, Hinagiku delivered her usual flawless food critique. By the time we finished eating, it had grown so late that the elderly couple wound up staying the night. Well, more like they decided they were staying the night.
I mean, this was just a standard, ordinary household. We did not even have an open guest room. Left with no other choice, I surrendered my own bedroom to them and resigned myself to sleeping out in the workshop.
”Ethelena, Ichika, could you show Seras-san to the bath and explain how to use everything? Oh, and show her how to use the restroom as well, if you don’t mind,” I requested.
The two girls nodded at my instructions and led Baba Seras away toward the cypress bath. For the record, it seemed like no one except Mother-in-law and our Part-Time Leader had actually seen through our guests’ identities. Seriously, Ethelena, you should at least recognize the former Emperor and Empress of your own country.
Since the hour was late, I handed Cipher three of the Calamity Wards I had forged during the day. The bird automaton let out a metallic cry before taking off into the night sky.
”Tatara, what was that just now?” Jiji Entier asked, watching the window.
”A bird-type golem I built,” I explained to him. “It’s delivering the Calamity Wards to Mia’s house.”
Jiji Entier nodded in silent understanding as I answered his question.
”Still, I appreciate it. Sorry to make you go to all this trouble to set things up,” Kalan-sama said, his tone carrying a hint of apology.
”Don’t worry about it,” I replied, shaking my head. “Considering the true goals of the student movement, Mia and the others are prime targets for kidnapping anyway. This is a small price to pay compared to the homeland deploying a full military force after us.”
Jiji Entier gave a wry chuckle at my answer, and without either of us saying much, the two of us drifted over to the veranda and sat side by side, gazing up at the empty sky.
”That girl, Tatia. She’s of that bloodline, isn’t she?” he asked quietly, breaking the silence.
”Yes,” I confirmed softly. “She’s a knight trainee carrying the blood of the Chutelair Lords.”
His sharp gaze settled on me, piercing enough that it almost seemed to look right through my face. I instinctively averted my eyes as I answered, and after a long moment, Jiji Entier let out a slow sigh, followed by a soft, relaxed laugh.
”Well, she loves you from the bottom of her heart, so I suppose it couldn’t be helped,” he remarked. “Besides, knowing the kind of woman she was back then, it makes sense that anyone spending enough time by your side would eventually fall for you.”
”Huh?” I stammered, caught off guard.
”You’re like a poison, Tatara. Especially to the type of people who carry heavy burdens,” he said.
Excuse me? Calling me poison was a bit harsh, was it not? I had half a mind to object.
”Even recently, I’ve found myself thinking about it,” Jiji Entier continued, looking out into the distance. “If only you had been by my side when I went to claim the kingdom.”
”But you had the Chutelair Lord as your best friend, didn’t you?” I pointed out.
”You know as well as I do that he wasn’t standing by my side from the very beginning,” he countered. “If it were you… I feel like you would have been there for me since the days I was still with my father.”
That felt a little too convenient as a what-if. Could a kid as young as I had been back then really have made it all the way to the Demon Lord’s domain by himself?
”Well, I know it’s just wishful thinking,” Jiji Entier said, clearly reading my expression. “But I can’t help but feel that if our paths weren’t meant to cross now, we would have shared that kind of history instead.”
It made me wonder if he was somehow touching memories from another possible world. If I really had been there to support Jiji Entier back then, would he have been able to have a child with his true queen, Lady Flora?
”Spending the day with you made me realize that things might have genuinely turned out differently if you were there,” Jiji Entier mused. “Your unconventional ideas, and the sheer skill required to bring them to fruition… I’m certain you would have used those gifts to save both Flora and me.”
”But if things had played out that way, Lady Seras wouldn’t be by your side right now, you know?” I said.
Kalan froze. “Is that… how it goes?”
”Yes. Absolutely,” I said, the words tasting bitter. “She likely would have buried the love deep within her heart and departed on her own journey.”
That was the truth. In the route where Queen Flora survived, Baba Entier never ended up by his side. I only knew it because I had seen that ending myself. Even though the route was labeled a happy ending, she slipped away in silence while secretly carrying Jiji Entier’s child. Along with one other ending, it left a bitter aftertaste that never quite matched the word happy.
”I wouldn’t want that,” Kalan murmured.
”That just shows how deeply you love Lady Seras,” I observed.
”Deep enough that if someone forced me to choose between her and Flora, I would genuinely be at a loss for an answer,” Kalan confessed.
That was saying an awful lot. In the official lore, his devotion to Flora was supposed to be so deep that he never recognized anyone else as his true queen.
”And here I am, openly declaring that Ethelena is the only one I love, yet everyone else keeps…” I grumbled.
”You might only have eyes for one person, Tatara, but you aren’t exactly the type who can survive on your own, are you?” Kalan asked with a knowing smile.
”My childhood friend told me the exact same thing… Is it really that obvious?” I sighed.
”Your judgment is driven by your own natural goodness,” Kalan said gently. “You act with pure intentions, which makes it very easy for others to take advantage of you. That is why you need people around you who can shield you from malice—and why the people who receive your kindness can’t help but gather to love and protect you.”
Hearing it put that way only made me feel more confused about myself.
”You are easily liked by adults,” Kalan added, “and you have a habit of drawing in people who carry heavy emotional baggage.”
”You already mentioned that second part a moment ago,” I deadpanned.
”Because it’s an undeniable fact,” he replied. “The fact that the Lord and Lady of the Torakuma family treat you like their own son is living proof.”
Jiji Entier turned his gaze fully back to me.
”Even I found myself letting go and enjoying today like a carefree child again. It was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. And because you gave me that time, I found myself wanting to protect you,” he said softly.
His eyes were calm, but they burned with a fierce, unshakable resolve.
”I, Kalan Nahazhuto, give you my vow. I will be the shield that cleaves through your hardships,” he declared solemnly.
”Lord Kalan, that’s…” I began.
”I may no longer wield the authority of the Former Emperor, but my martial might is entirely at your disposal,” he interrupted. “If the need arises, just say the word. I’ll force a path through for you, no matter how reckless or impossible it seems.”
His words made warmth and guilt rise together in my chest. Maybe it was a habit left over from my past life, but whenever someone went out of their way for me, I could not help feeling as though I had burdened them.
”Verily, to steal the spotlight and act all valorous entirely by oneself… is that not exceedingly unjust of thee, Your Majesty?” a deep, resonant voice drifted over to us.
We turned around to find our Part-Time Leader standing there, holding a ceramic tokkuri flask and a pair of small ochoko sake cups.
”Heh. Are you saying you don’t want to look cool yourself, Lord Nobutsuna?” Kalan asked with a smirk.
”Nay, I too yearn to display a gallant countenance,” Nobutsuna answered with a heavy sigh. “Alas, such a feat ever eludes me whenever I stand in the presence of Master Tatara.”
With a chuckle, Nobutsuna slid into the space between us and set down the flask and cups.
”Come, I pray thee, permit me to proffer a draught,” Nobutsuna requested.
”Ah, thank you very much,” I said, hurriedly holding out my cup.
”Hmm. A brew from Hizuru, is it? This will be a first for me,” Kalan remarked.
We accepted the sake from Nobutsuna and treated the moment with proper reverence. Once everyone’s cups were filled, we raised them in a silent toast and drank the liquid in one smooth draft.
The sharp heat of the alcohol bloomed down my throat and passed through my nose, leaving behind the sweet, rich aroma of fermented rice. I did not usually drink much alcohol, but this was incredibly smooth and easy to down.
”This is delicious,” I said.
”Yes, it’s excellent,” Kalan agreed, nodding along with my praise.
Nobutsuna beamed with a wide, proud smile. “Verily, I deemed it would please thee! I held steadfast faith that this nectar would not suffer in comparison to the hidden treasures from the city’s finest breweries that Master Tatara bestowed upon us aforetime.”
”If you’re a fan of rice and fish, this is definitely the drink for you,” I noted.
Japanese sake… or Hinode brew, as they called it in this world. Rice-based alcohol paired perfectly with seafood, so if the side dishes were fish, Hinode brew was always the ideal choice.
”Mm. Speaking of which, it does make one crave a few side dishes to go with it…” Kalan mused.
”Well, drinking without any food can feel a bit lonely, but look,” I said, pointing toward the sky with the hand holding my cup. Floating high above us was a brilliant golden moon. “If we look up at the sky like this and use its beauty as our appetizer, it becomes a wonderfully elegant affair.”
”You’re quite the romantic, aren’t you, Tatara?” Kalan chuckled.
”What words are these, Your Majesty?” Nobutsuna chimed in, coming to my defense with lighthearted force. “This is Tsukimi-zake9—the grand tradition of moon-viewing wine! It stands as an entirely proper and venerable manner in which to partake of spirits.”
”Just call me Kalan,” the former emperor replied, waving a hand. “I’m already calling Lord Nobutsuna by her name, after all.”
Perhaps cleared by the alcohol, a warm, open atmosphere settled over the three of us. The moon floating above us was a regular moon, one without divine authority. Still, it made me wonder. If that had been the Azure Moon or the Crimson Moon up there, would this count as offering wine directly to the gods?
”Come to think of it, Tatara,” Kalan said, leaning in slightly. “Do you happen to know any of the myths or legends surrounding the Moon Goddesses?”
”Nothing major,” I replied casually. “Just that before they ascended to godhood, the younger sister thought absolute happiness meant being able to sleep all day, while her gardening-obsessed older sister constantly scolded her and took care of her.”
Kalan’s expression instantly went blank. “Listen to me carefully. Do not ever say that to a devout follower of the Moon Goddesses.”
”But you know, the Azure Moon Goddess became the moon of the night specifically to protect that peaceful, happy slumber, watching over the people below. She’s incredibly kind, really,” I added.
The moment those insider details left my mouth, I felt a sharp thwack against the back of my head. I spun around at once, but the veranda was empty, with no one else in sight. Was it just my imagination?
”In that case, if one were to make an offering to the Azure Moon Goddess, what would be best?” Kalan asked, completely missing my confusion.
”Oh, definitely a body pillow or a plushie,” I joked, the alcohol clearly making me loose-lipped. “Anything that helps with a good night’s rest. Do that, and I’m sure she’ll grant you a divine blessing for sweet dreams.”
This time, I felt a rapid string of phantom taps against my back. Seriously, what was going on?
”Then what about the Crimson Moon Goddess? A potted plant or some high-grade fertilizer?” Kalan asked.
”If you gave her that, I bet she’d bless you with a bountiful harvest lasting until next year,” I answered.
A sharp, distinct pinch landed on my cheek.
Ouch. Seriously, what was happening tonight?
”By the way, Lord Nobutsuna,” Kalan said, turning his attention back to the table. “Is there any more of that secret brewery reserve from the city you mentioned earlier?”
”Regrettably, I possess it not,” Nobutsuna sighed. “I was permitted to savor its vintage solely through the esteemed benevolence of Master Tatara’s acquaintances.”
”Then do you have any left, Tatara?” Kalan asked, turning to me.
”No, I don’t,” I replied, rubbing my smarting cheek. “To be honest, I don’t even remember who exactly gave it to me in the first place.”
I knew for a fact that I had received it at the brewery, but the identity of the person who handed over the bottle was a complete blank. I could not remember their face, or even their general appearance.
”Ah, what a shame. I was hoping to try it, but I suppose it’s not meant to be,” Kalan lamented.
”You’ll just have to give up on it,” I told him. “It doesn’t seem like the kind of rare commodity that gets handed out easily.”
Come to think of it, it was a miracle whoever gave it to me had not been attacked or robbed for it. I wondered if that person was still working away, brewing wine at the city distillery.
We kept up our idle chatter, trading stories and sharing drinks. Once the Hizuru sake ran dry, Jiji Entier pulled out a bottle of wine from his own stash. It was an exceptionally fine vintage, and the rich aroma of grapes filled the air the moment he pulled the cork.
As bottle after bottle was brought out and emptied, the world began to spin. In the end, I passed out right there on the veranda.
Seriously… Jiji Entier and the Part-Time Leader’s alcohol tolerance was way too absurd.
===
Afterword:
Prototype Arcane Armor for anonymous royal use: “Protea.” HP +100. Mana +0. Skill Power +0. Physical Attack +50. Physical Defense +60. Magic Attack +0. Magic Defense +60. Speed +50. Movement +1. Special Ability: “Active Defense Cloak.” Kin of the Night exclusive.
Protea is a defense-focused Arcane Armor created by Tatara Julon for an anonymous royal. It makes maximum use of alloyed and reinforced magic metals, and because it was designed for an anonymous royal of the Nahazhuto Imperial Kingdom, its construction uses a Kin of the Night Soul Core. When equipped by a Kin of the Night, its performance is doubled. Its greatest feature is its special equipment, the Active Defense Cloak. Made from sublimated Mithril, this cloak detects incoming attacks and deploys itself between the attack and the wearer, reducing the impact. The Active Defense Cloak automatically intercepts attacks with a Speed value of +100 or lower than the wearer. Before damage is calculated, it reduces the incoming Physical Attack or Magic Attack value by 120.
—
Summary:
Moving forward with shared artisan excitement, Tatara and Jiji Entier get heavily carried away mapping out an over-engineered defensive armor design. Their brainstorming culminates in an extraordinarily expensive, high-spec blueprint that would cause severe national financial strain to manifest. In order to construct it without political friction, Tatara subverts standard protocol by offering the prototype and blueprints as a personal commission to the former emperor under his real name, Kalan Nahazhuto, leaving the realization of the massive defense shield to be tested at the capital’s laboratory as an unresolved variable.
Gathering around a lavish spread of newly prepared chicken chashu, Tatara balances the high-octane culinary rhapsodies of Hinagiku with domestic arrangements for his royal guests. The peaceful mood shatters into a cold family standoff when Tatara accidentally reveals his marriage engagement to Yohira, drawing an iron-fisted verbal suppression from Mother-in-law against a furious Ibara. Transitioning to the workshop, an essential physical measurement session takes an absurd comedic turn as Grandmother wildly misinterprets the structural garment preparation as an illicit romance, leaving Tatara to forge high-tier Arcane Armor using volatile materials amidst a pile of chaotic family misunderstandings.
Forging components continuously, Tatara constructs a specialized, sinister-looking suit of Arcane Armor for Jiji Entier that boasts immense defense parameters. Jiji Entier dons the dark armor with high-spirited excitement, prompting a humorous reaction regarding how villainous his overall appearance has become. An administrative conflict arises as the former royals suggest moving Tatara to the capital or placing security guards at his over-capacity house, leaving his eventual living situation up in the air.
Sitting on a moonlit veranda, Tatara and Kalan share an intimate, deep conversation about alternate routes, historical routes, and the sacrifices that accompany each unique narrative branch. Nobutsuna soon joins them to break the heavy mood by pouring traditional regional Hinode brew to observe the customs of Tsukimi-zake. As Tatara humorously reveals divine system secrets regarding the true nature of the celestial Moon Goddesses, unexpected physical impacts suggest these deities might be actively monitoring his words from afar.
—
Trivia:
The legendary sword Yakiri was originally presented to royalty as a formal tribute rather than a typical blacksmith commission.
An average household’s total mana consumption over a span of ten full days is expended in a single strike of the Auto Eizul.
The custom armor Kokuyo is an advanced structural modification of the base Genbu model armor, incorporating Adamantite and Orichalcum.
The automated cloak interception system is dynamically guided by an active sonar ability termed Acoustic Mapping.
Jiji Entier’s biological son, the currently reigning Emperor of the territory, has already lived past his hundredth birthday.
Grandmother and Jiji Entier possess the ‘Calamity Sever’ trait making them fundamentally immune to poison, making the Mithril safety precautions redundant.
Ibara has an ongoing track record of leaving her prospective marital suitors permanently incapacitated, which has caused Mother-in-law to hold deep internal resentment.
The mysterious ‘Poster Girls’ possess such terrifying reputation and authority that a veteran warrior like the former Emperor drops all inquiry immediately upon hearing their name.
The special armor suit term corrected by Tatara references specific real-world sci-fi tactical action tropes hidden within his internal inventory.
The armor uses a Soul Core from an Archdemon obtained on or past the 65th floor.
The alloy consists of Orichalcum and Adamantite, giving it a dark golden tint.
The helmet’s design directly mimics Kalan’s weapon called Vanquish.
Tatara effortlessly embeds his own skills by deconstructing them into spell formulas.
The hanger automated system can fix armor configurations based on data crystals.
Only the Mother-in-Law and Part-Time Leader recognized the true identities of the former Emperor and Empress.
The specific game ending where Flora survives results in Seras leaving in complete secrecy while pregnant with Kalan’s child.
Tatara has completely forgotten the facial identity and structural description of the individual who gifted him the rare city distillery vintage.
The prototype Arcane Armor Protea doubles its technical parameters automatically if the user possesses the Kin of the Night classification.
The Active Defense Mantle ignores all physical and magical incoming attacks that execute below a raw tracking speed of one hundred.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Jiji Entier – Kalan Entier. A high-ranking figure who possesses deep dignity and an ability to command authority instantly. He has a history of unconventional behavior.
• Entier – Family name carried by Kalan, the former emperor and his wife, Seras, his son the head Magic Research Institute director too.
• Tatara – Tarashi is an unassuming, good-natured reincarnated salaryman, 70th-floor Explorer, and legendary Divine Smith in Whirlwind. Fiercely protective of his workshop, this single young craftsman hides a dry cynicism toward authority but draws in burdened individuals with his magnetic presence. Best friend to King Kalan, he uses meta-knowledge and a conceptual appraisal skill to over-engineer complex magitech, precision gear, and custom katanas.
• Jiji – An elderly, broad, and weathered veteran from the southern reaches, Lord Kalan Nahazhuto is the former Emperor and an anonymous royal of the Scientia lineage, known to some by the Jiji family name. He possesses a majestic presence contrasted by rural warmth and childlike excitement for custom armor. Gifted at reading passion on craftsmanship tools, he deeply worries for his son’s safety.
• Dahlia – Chrome-finished automaton maid and Machina Saint, this fiercely loyal partner to Tatara and companion to Julon is a highly capable fighter. Despite low domestic skills, she expertly pilots Valkyria, overclocking in combat using martial arts and magic tools. Her intense methods and high mana output inspire dedicated, isolated battlefields. She loves mecha footage, but hates Aarem toys.
• Mayor – Serious‑looking female mayor governs the city, fiercely autonomous and protective of its citizens’ privacy against Imperial pressure. She oversees the Festival, shields ally Julon, and is constantly stressed by Tatara’s boundary‑breaking inventions, suffering stomach ulcers. Her authority and concern define her role.
• Kalan – Kalan Nahazhuto (Jiji Entier), the founding king and former emperor of the Nahazhuto Kingdom, is a weary, refined Kin of the Night with deep navy hair and a slender chin. This elderly royal veteran and father to Protea overthrew the old regime. Now an incognito, grandfatherly crafter, he vows his immense martial might to protect close brother-in-arms Tatara, while holding deep affection for his wife Flora and childhood friend Seras.
• Kalan Nahazhuto – Kalan Nahazhuto, also known as Kalan, is the founding king of the Nahazhuto Kingdom. He has deep navy hair and a handsome, refined appearance. A Kin of the Night, born of a human mother and a Demon Lord father, he is Protea’s father and once served as the founding emperor who overthrew the previous kingdom, remaining hidden during a crucial meeting.
• Nahazhuto – The Nahazhuto name belongs to the imperial lineage of the Former Emperor, tied to the historic Nahazhuto Empire. Currently carried by King Kalan Nahazhuto and Queen Flora Meitis Nahazhuto, the royal family governs the Nahazhuto Kingdom, preserving their ancestral identity and sovereign relationship with their people through their distinct regal presence.
• Julon – The protagonist. Lean, cloaked alchemist-reincarnate Tatara Julon has sharp eyes beneath alchemical robes, a limit-breaking Crafting skill, and severe stress-induced stomach pain. The former mayoral servant carrying his family name’s legacy is now the best friend and close advisor to King Kalan Nahazhuto. He also hosts at the Tatara Aarem Arena, bringing infectious enthusiasm to high-stakes combat commentary.
• Mitsuha – Second daughter of the noble Torakuma family and Yohira’s older sister, this serene, awkward, yet nurturing non-native has long hair and a forehead horn. Dressed in violet robes, she handles household care and cooking—including chicken chashu—for Tatara, whom she offers to call by a nickname. Highly trained in etiquette, she offers guests warm hospitality, shifting registers to serve them.
• Hinagiku – A cheerful tengu woman, imperial guard for the Torakuma family, and Ranka’s potential companion who stays with Tatara’s group. Bonded with Ranka over a shared love of gluttony, she participates only in household scenes, having no direct tie to Tatara beyond cohabitation. During dinner, she brings lively energy to the household by providing exceptionally detailed and enthusiastic food reviews.
• Torakuma – The prestigious noble house of Hizuru, known as the Torakuma family, includes Mitsuha, Ibara, and Mother-in-law. Serving as a pillar of high society, this lineage maintains an elegant outward appearance and is renowned for its mastery of traditional martial arts, commanding deep respect in their relationships with others.
• Baba Entier – Seras. An Entier elder who keeps her husband in check. Referred to as Baba Entier, the Baba figure.
• Baba – An elderly former empress and wife of Entier, she is highly self-aware of her deep curiosity. She struggles using chopsticks, misinterprets Tatara’s tailoring measurements as romantic advances, and aggressively warns him to stay faithful to his partner.
• Ibara – Eldest Torakuma daughter, house-guest, and guard, this fierce young lady boasts short black hair, a crimson horn, molten-gold eyes, and a Shuten-dōji kimono. Sharp and formal with predatory confidence, dry humor, and a massive appetite, she once opposed the protagonist but softened over his skill. Related to Yohira, she was just reprimanded by her mother for her history of incapacitating suitors.
• Yohira – An Oni warrior and Torakuma’s sister, she is an Explorer human capable of rapid leveling. Tensions peak when she defects from Ethelena’s faction, mask-like smile failing as a vein throbs in response to Ethelena’s boastful comments regarding intimacy with Mitsuha. Despite her warrior nature, she maintains a strained, complex dynamic with her allies while navigating her own internal conflict.
• Mother-in-law – An authoritative matriarch of the Torakuma family. This stern dancer possesses genius-level memorization and commands deep respect, using physical discipline when needed. She enjoys teasing Tatara—hoping to use his memories for scripts—and easily silences Ibara’s outbursts to protect a vital geopolitical marital alliance while handling festival and diplomatic duties.
• Baito-chou – The fourth and youngest ‘Poster Girl’ sister, Baito-chou, is a clumsy, emotional girl prone to crying and tripping, yet trained in martial arts; her body is currently a vessel for the World Laws, tasked as a countermeasure against her beloved eldest sister. She wears wings and special shoes gifted by Tatara Julon, a martial-arts-obsessed geek who memorizes dramatic lines and analyzes choreography, and is married to her mother-in-law. Despite her low self-esteem and struggle to recite an overly poetic diplomatic script, she deeply loves her eldest sister and was briefly possessed by the World Laws before becoming their permanent vessel.
• Ethelena – Tatara’s primary wife and fellow academy student is a voluptuous, long-haired Succubus obsessively devoted to him. Now pregnant with his child, she boasts high intimacy and uses extreme measures or manual techniques to bind him. Since gaining her massive Sex Sorcery skill, she creates mana clones, manipulates her age, trains ‘Steal’ near level 50, and earns noble praise for her cuisine.
• Seras – A fit, youthful-looking former Empress and childhood friend of King Kalan, Grandma Entier is an elderly Succubus warrior who masks lethal sword skills behind a polite, playful, and elegant disposition. A doting mother of five known to Tatara as Grandma, she warmly affectionate toward youth yet suffers deeply from unrequited love, having been relegated to a concubine after Kalan married Flora.
• Leader – The Part-time Leader, also referred to as Baito-chou, is an actor and performer who struggles to memorize lines but possesses an incredible memory for things he enjoys. He once expressed deep disappointment over missing out on an Aarem battle.
• Ichika – Fox-girl kunoichi of noble lineage, a household attendant who guides guests and coordinates domestic tasks. Recognizable by her pointed ears, amber eyes, and slender tail, she wears ninja garb and speaks formally. Fiercely devoted yet exasperated by Tatara, she secretly carries his child and harbors intense romantic desires. She calls Ethelena “Okusama,” envies other women, and hates charity.
• Cipher – Tatara’s bird-shaped Golem serves as his familiar, sent to guard Tatia. Created to deliver items across long distances, this high-speed assistant crucial for communication and logistics has recently been enhanced via Golem Crafting for increased movement and basic statistics, allowing for rapid travel and facility visits.
• Mia – A curious young girl and researcher of noble blood, she is the daughter of the Entiers and granddaughter of the Entier couple. Earnest and observant, she appreciates her new Magic Device and interacts warmly with Golems. As an explorer interested in racial history, she shows clear affection for the protagonist and remains protective of Tatara while navigating her role as a Godslayer’s daughter.
• Tatia – A student at the Knight school and an illegitimate child of the Chutelair family, she possesses exceptional combat ability with a level of 50 and statistics exceeding 100. As an member of the adventurer group preparing for the City Festival through dungeon exploration, she joins the dinner table dispute and expresses immediate irritation at Ethelena’s continuous listing of marital facts, prompting her to officially align with the opposition faction.
• Flora – The official Queen of the Nahazhuto Kingdom who possesses rich, cascading golden hair and an innocent, pure charm. She is a former prisoner of war who was looked after by Tatara, and she secretly collects all of Sansasa’s fan-comics.
• Nobutsuna – A seasoned warrior and squad leader who also goes by the title Part-time Leader. He treats Tatara with profound respect, speaks with a dignified, masculine, and old-fashioned cadence, and enjoys sharing regional sake under the moonlight.
• Protea – The current emperor of Tatara’s nation; meets with the Immortal King to establish diplomacy.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply