1.
Still, it wasn’t as though I was linking all seven thousand pieces into one single unit.
The human body has contours, and areas like the arms and legs need to move independently.
So I divided and linked them in groups of roughly five hundred pieces each.
Of those, I picked up the pieces meant for the chest...
In other words, the breast area.
Rustle...
The mana iron pieces threaded onto elastic cord dangled beneath my hand.
"Just go for it."
I attached the pieces to the mannequin’s chest and inserted temporary fastening pins.
And then... just as I had planned.
The hexagonal pieces bent smoothly along the contours of the chest, covering it.
When I pulled the cords and closed the gaps between the pieces...
Click.
They met one another and became perfectly smooth.
To the point that the seams were invisible.
Swipe, swipe.
Even running my fingers over them, it was perfect.
"Done."
I lowered my head and breathed out.
"...It worked."
My theory was perfect.
I immediately picked up the next pieces...
And added them one by one to Galatea... no, Seren’s mannequin.
Click.
I inserted the fastening pins.
Creak...
I pulled the cords to readjust the spacing, then inserted more fastening pins.
From the chest to the waist.
Then from the waist to the hips and thighs.
I needed to cover it all first, then conduct movement tests to make sure none of the pieces caught.
As I layered them on one at a time, the visible patches of brown clay steadily dwindled.
Click.
I secured the final pieces around the shins...
"..."
And took a step or two back.
Armor enveloped the mannequin from neck to shins...
The softly golden mana iron gleamed in the light.
There were seven thousand pieces, but from the outside, it simply looked like sleek, beautiful armor.
So, was it finished now?
"No."
From here on, I would demonstrate every single one of Seren’s movements.
Equipment wasn’t complete until I identified and fixed every problem that emerged.
"Give me Seren’s list of signature moves."
I had never felt this familiar with someone whose face I had never even seen before.
But after watching and analyzing Seren videos all day, I’d developed an absurd amount of familiarity with her.
I felt like I could spend two hours just making small talk, but I was the only one who felt close to the other person here, wasn’t I?
[1. Downward slash]
[2. Twist into a horizontal slash]
[3. Her characteristic backward somersault dodge]
[4. Retreat and deliver a ranged sword strike]
[5. Block with the sword and counterattack]
"Play footage of the first move at half speed."
Watching the footage Yuna projected in midair...
I gripped the mannequin from behind, held both its arms, and slowly reenacted Seren’s motion of lifting her sword.
Creak...
The shoulders spread apart... It didn’t seem like a serious problem.
So far, there was no major issue.
But the instant I lifted its arms a little higher—
Creeeak!
"Ah... here, huh?"
The pieces beneath the right armpit all pulled taut at once.
I stopped and held the pose, then peered inside the armor.
The brown clay that could be called flesh was being pressed down.
"It’s digging in."
Where was it digging in, you ask?
"...It’s digging into the breast."
It fit perfectly while standing still, but when the arm went up, the shoulder pieces moved and dragged up the pieces around the chest too.
Seren had large breasts and a narrow waist, so the breastplate had pronounced curves to begin with...
Even a slight shift in position would press into her flesh.
If she brought down her sword quickly with her arm raised like this...
The taut cords could give a sharp, painful tug.
I fixed it immediately.
I loosened the tension of the elastic cords linking the shoulder and these sections.
Then I adjusted their length and attachment points so they would not be dragged upward.
And tested it again.
Click... rustle...
The arm lifted all the way without issue...
And there was nowhere that pinched her flesh.
"Good."
One complete.
The first issue had been resolved.
Now I understood why she said it dug in around the armpit.
Calling it the armpit was just a way of saying it was practically digging into her breasts.
One problem solved.
That was how I went through every remaining movement as well, identifying each issue that arose with Seren’s body...
And adjusting them individually, to the point that I thought, So this is what truly custom-made means.
Horizontal slashes caused a problem at the hips.
And the backflip...
"...Holy shit."
The moment I leaned the body backward, something blocked my view.
There was no need to call it something, because there was really only one possible thing it could be.
So I simply adjusted the breastplate to hold everything in place during a somersault.
You needed to be able to see, after all.
"Whew..."
After checking everything through the downward slash...
I stared at the motionless mannequin.
The truly interesting part was that it didn’t look any different from before.
In other words... it might look fine on the surface...
"But the invisible parts are the most important."
In the end, it takes a pervert to handle the details.
All that remained was the finishing touch.
I removed the fastening pins from the mannequin one by one and completed the armor’s connections.
Click, click...
Even after the pins were removed, the pieces did not collapse and remained in place.
I picked up a small engraving knife and moved to stand in front of the mannequin...
"It shouldn’t be too flashy..."
Just beneath the neckline of the breastplate, I made a small engraving...
Scrape... scrape...
Lines extending toward both shoulders.
Not densely packed lines everywhere—just enough to add an accent.
And from a distance, this too...
"...Good."
I set down the engraving knife.
At last, the armor was complete.
Just as I sighed and dropped down to sit, apparently with no intention of letting me rest—
Bzzzzz...
"Hm."
In the end, the Sun Dwarves’ mark was engraved.
I had worried a great deal about this part.
Could I reveal that the maker at Cristiano Workshop was one of the Heirs of Fire?
And... in the end, I decided not to erase it.
Not that I could erase it anyway.
This mark was part of my identity, wasn’t it?
Throwing that away just to sell some equipment didn’t sit right with me.
And really, there was no reason for it to be a problem.
"I’m anonymous."
The key point was that there was nothing you people could do.
The only information they could know was the name Cristiano Workshop.
And from the buyer’s perspective, there was no reason to spread this news far and wide, either.
If it really was a Sun Dwarf... they would want to keep using me all to themselves.
So the mark being engraved now was not a problem, but...
The real problem was...
"...Where was it engraved?"
I had heard the buzzing sound.
But no matter how much I looked around, I couldn’t see the mark.
As I scratched my head and pondered it...
The status of the completed equipment appeared before my eyes.
─────────────────
[Elevert: Paladion] [★★★★✦]
[Unique Equipment] [Compatibility] [- /110]
─────────────────
『The knight clad in a fortress raises her sword.』
『Bring down the citadel before that knight descends.』
『The time granted to you is no more than that very instant.』
─────────────────
[Form Change]
[When the wearer declares the designated “commencement,” the pieces composing the armor rearrange.]
[Each form possesses a unique appearance and abilities, while sharing existing damage and cooldowns upon transformation.]
[Current state: First Form]
─────────────────
『Meeting you must be the greatest fortune of that child’s life, don’t you think?』
- Serendipity, Goddess of Fortune -
『...The incomprehensible obsession and meticulousness, the notion of tuning seven thousand pieces as one.』
『You are more perverse than any being I have ever seen.』
- Armone, Harmonizer of All Things -
─────────────────
[Form Change], successful.
And beneath it, its abilities were listed in a row.
─────────────────
[First Form]
[Elevert: Paladion]
─────────────────
[Absolute Defense]
[Cooldown: 5 minutes]
[Unfailingly defends against one attack directed at the wearer.]
[At the moment of defense, the bonds between every piece lock into place, nullifying the attack’s force and piercing effect.]
[May be activated by the wearer’s will, and activates automatically upon detecting a lethal attack.]
─────────────────
[Raumdeuter]
[Reads the movements of the battlefield to search for the space in which the wearer can swing their sword to greatest advantage.]
[Orchestrates space to form the optimal route of entry through the enemy’s offensive.]
─────────────────
[No Recoil]
[The 7,000 pieces composing the armor distribute one another’s load and impact.]
[The wearer can immediately continue into the next movement without delay.]
[Even when struck by an enemy attack, the wearer does not stagger.]
─────────────────
"..."
The first form definitely seemed to contain exactly the effects I had designed and envisioned.
Absolute defense based on heavy armor...
And despite wearing such sturdy armor, it found the optimal combat space and allowed the wearer to hold the best position.
It was fitted perfectly to the body, and...
"It deletes recovery lag."
It had eliminated recovery lag, arguably the greatest weakness of a knight who swung a massive greatsword.
My intention had carried through.
And the crafting was perfect.
I had worried whether the equipment might come out wrong because she wasn’t someone I knew personally...
But it had been needless concern.
With enough effort and obsession, there was nothing I couldn’t do.
All right, next.
"...Form Change."
When I placed my hand on the armor and murmured softly...
Bang!
The armor that wrapped the entire body rose at once with a hum.
Purple spread across the silver-gray cords containing response stones exposed beneath it.
And then...
Click, click, click, click...
The armor plates separated from one another.
The thickly layered pieces began changing places among themselves.
The heavy pauldrons tilted back, while the breastplate and waist plates narrowed along Seren’s figure.
And the armor that had been removed from those places gradually gathered behind her back...
Rattle...
Golden shafts rose on either side of the spine.
Along those shafts, a pair of slender silver wings took shape.
"...If it has wings..."
An angel.
The moment I had that thought—
─────────────────
[Second Form]
[Elevert: Valkyrie]
─────────────────
[Heavenbreaker]
[Cooldown: 1 minute]
[Accelerates toward a designated target at supersonic speed, charging forward.]
[During the breakthrough, creates a barrier in front of the wearer to prevent damage from air resistance and impact.]
[Upon reaching the target, concentrates the barrier forward, ramming into and shattering the enemy’s defenses.]
─────────────────
[Valkyrie]
[Deploys metallic wings, enabling free aerial maneuvering.]
[Can halt in midair or instantly accelerate in any direction.]
[Maintains flight posture while swinging a sword or taking attacks, adjusting altitude and direction according to the wearer’s intent.]
─────────────────
[Inertia Transfer]
[Stores the inertia exerted on the armor during sudden stops and changes in direction within the wings.]
[Releases the stored force into the next movement or sword strike.]
[Also applies immediately after [Heavenbreaker], allowing a sword strike to carry on the charge’s momentum.]
─────────────────
『H-how dare you imitate our appearance...!』
『T-the maker must come to the Heavenly Realm to be forgiven for this sacrilege...』
- Michael, Archangel -
『...Mm, nice figure.』
『I guarantee it as a former archangel—those wings are flawless.』
- Lucifer, Fallen Angel -
─────────────────
This confirmed it.
The second form perfectly reflected the idea I had been holding onto.
If the First Form, Paladion, asserted Seren’s concept as a fortress-like knight in heavy armor...
Then the Second Form, Valkyrie... pushed mobility to the utmost limit.
What would happen if you gave mobility to a knight wielding a brutish greatsword?
The answer was right before me.
"This is insane."
And [Inertia Transfer] was literally a rocket thruster...
It could use the fuel it accumulated to propel her whenever she wanted.
Should equipment like this really be allowed to exist in the world?
Since it was armor, its abilities were primarily excellent in supporting areas, but...
With the thought that I might have made something absurdly overpowered...
The last one.
"..."
I placed my hand on the armor once more.
"Form Change."
What I pictured in my mind was the Third Form.
Of course, it would be that.
Still, I had gotten permission, and it would only change when the wearer pictured that form and declared its commencement.
There would be no need to worry about it changing somewhere unintended.
I intended to explain everything about [Form Change] in detail from beginning to end.
Rattle...
The wings spread behind her folded.
Starting from the shoulders, the armor’s bonds came undone, and thousands of pieces slid down along the elastic cords.
What was revealed underneath was...
"...Wow."
A bikini softly blending gold and silver.
Both the top and bottom had sleek, uncluttered forms.
Because the curves had been shaped by layering tiny pieces, even their color subtly shifted with the angle.
Where did the rest of the armor go, you ask?
Rustle...
The pieces remaining on the shoulders unfurled long downward, forming a thin cardigan.
It was sheer mesh, faintly revealing what lay beneath.
Golden pieces accented the front edges and sleeve cuffs, while the hem fell to around the thighs.
Exactly low enough to cover half her ass.
"...Beautiful."
It was so beautiful, I was left speechless.
And then...
─────────────────
[Third Form]
[Elevert: Sunshine]
─────────────────
『Today, you need not protect anyone.』
─────────────────
[Shimmering Ripples]
[Automatically adjusts the garment’s curves and tension to suit the wearer’s body shape.]
[Conceals skin blemishes and scars, correcting the wearer’s skin and hair to their healthiest, most lustrous condition.]
─────────────────
[Ideal Rest]
[Rapidly restores the wearer’s stamina and mana while out of combat.]
[Relieves accumulated fatigue in the muscles and mana circuits, continually repairing minor damage caused by overuse.]
[Recovery efficiency rises the longer rest is maintained, reaching up to fifteen times the normal restorative effect.]
[The restored condition is retained even upon transforming into another form.]
─────────────────
[Waterway]
[While resting or sleeping, the cardigan spreads over the water’s surface, supporting the wearer and preventing them from being swept away by waves and currents.]
[Drifts along a fixed route over the sea.]
─────────────────
『Maker. Come to the Heavenly Realm at once!!』
- Michael, Archangel -
『If you go rushing over just because he calls, you’ll be in serious trouble, you know?』
- Lucifer, Fallen Angel -
『Mmm... I really was lucky, after all.』
- Serendipity, Goddess of Fortune -
─────────────────
"Whew..."
Still.
It wasn’t just an item built solely for looks.
Then I spotted something.
The dwarf mark.
I had wondered where it was, but it was on the Third Form.
As the corners of my mouth rose...
"Ah..."
I leaned all the way back.
"Contact Seren for me."
Tell her I made something fucking incredible.
And tell her to pay up.
I had successfully completed my first commission perfectly.
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