Chapter 122: 121. Save the Seren
1.
"...She seems to like it, right?"
[Absolutely lol]
Judging by her replies and the way she spoke, she seemed quite satisfied with the equipment.
The problem was...
[Incoming call from Seren de Lumiere]
Brrring...
"?"
But why did she keep calling me?
I hadn’t even known this feature existed. Looking at the interface, there was apparently something like video calling too.
I didn’t use DMs much, so I had no idea.
Click.
I declined it for now.
[Cristiano]: I’m writing up the instructions.
[Cristiano]: Please stop...
[Seren de Lumiere]: Ah, I’m sorry;; I keep pressing it by accident;;;
It wasn’t even located somewhere that was easy to press by accident.
Still, my head hurt a little right now.
If she were here, I could just point at things one by one and explain them.
This does this, that does that, so use it in situations like this, and so on.
I could have her try them herself and immediately correct anything she misunderstood, too...
But writing every last thing out was a lot of work.
"...Still, I should write it all down."
It would be upsetting if she couldn’t draw out all of its performance.
Just as I was writing down all its functions...
Ding.
Something appeared before my eyes.
─────────────────
[Conflict Detected]
[Conflicting effects have been identified among equipment created by the same maker.]
─────────────────
[Elevert: Paladion — "Absolute Defense"]
[Guaranteed to defend against one attack directed at the wearer.]
[Kargon: Primordial Garden — "Primordial Garden"]
[Natural catastrophe.]
[Eruptions generated within the garden ignore the target’s defense.]
─────────────────
"...What’s this now?"
I held my breath and read the lines back and forth.
Ah, so...
A shield that always blocks, and a spear that always pierces.
I made both of them...
And now there was a contradiction between them, wasn’t there?
Because if they clashed, one of them would have to be a lie.
─────────────────
[If both effects are applied simultaneously, an adjudication conflict will occur.]
[The Great Creator has been granted authority to designate the priority of the relevant effects.]
[When the two effects conflict, please select which effect will be applied first.]
─────────────────
[Prioritize "Absolute Defense"]
[Prioritize "Primordial Garden"]
─────────────────
"So that’s a thing."
I had made both of them ridiculously good.
So it had come to ask the person who made them.
"..."
I had done my best for Seren, too.
They were former comrades to begin with, so they wouldn’t fight anyway...
Still... if I had to choose who to prioritize...
"Primordial Garden."
There was nothing to deliberate over.
Kargon was genuinely five-star equipment, so it was only right to treat it as five-star equipment.
"Mm-hm."
She wasn’t really going to go attack her, right?
...Just as I was feeling a strange sense of guilt toward Seren.
[Seren de Lumiere]: By any chance, I’m asking because I’m curious... Have you always been my fan?
[Seren de Lumiere]: You said earlier that you were grateful for my devotion... hehe.
She suddenly seemed a whole lot more easygoing.
"..."
It also felt a little awkward to say, No, I wasn’t.
The question itself was difficult. She sounded so bright and innocent about it, too.
[Cristiano]: I was your fan.
Ah... what was it again? Right.
[Cristiano]: You were amazing in the battle at the Sword Graveyard on the 121st floor.
I remembered because I had watched the footage so many times to recreate her movements. It had been particularly cool, too.
It wasn’t a video with especially high viewership... so I wasn’t sure whether she would remember it herself...
[Seren de Lumiere]: ...Wow, you really are a true fan...?
[Seren de Lumiere]: You’re the first person I’ve ever seen mention that one.
[Seren de Lumiere]: It was a battle I really liked, but I guess people don’t care much for it because it isn’t flashy.
[Seren de Lumiere]: So you saw it... hehe.
Got it, woman.
Honestly, there was no need to form any deep attachment anyway... Cristiano Workshop was only a trial run.
I had absolutely no intention of continuing to use that name.
I ignored her for the moment and scribbled out the instruction manual.
The explanation had to feel natural, too.
And since I had to explain all the different abilities of each form, it wasn’t an easy task.
Scratch, scratch.
"...Finished."
My handwriting in my previous life had been atrocious beyond belief.
But perhaps because I’d been writing since I was young in this life, it felt like I might become quite a fine calligrapher.
After checking through the last page, I sent the manual.
[Cristiano]: I’ve sent the instruction manual.
[Cristiano]: Please read it, and leave a message if you have any questions.
All right, now that was done...
But then.
[Seren de Lumiere]: Yes, thank you...!
[Seren de Lumiere]: But there’s one thing I need to tell you.
What was it?
[Seren de Lumiere]: I’m affiliated with the Imperial Family, you know?
[Seren de Lumiere]: Equipment acquired with Imperial Family funding has to be personally demonstrated before the royals.
Ah-ha.
So there was a rule like that.
...It didn’t really matter, though. Today was Cristiano’s last day anyway.
[Seren de Lumiere]: Usually, I also tell them where I got it from...
[Seren de Lumiere]: But I think they’ll definitely ask once they see its performance this time.
They probably would.
[Seren de Lumiere]: I’ll keep it secret.
[Seren de Lumiere]: I’ll tell them that you don’t wish to reveal your identity.
I hadn’t expected things to go this way... but it was good for me.
Though I wasn’t sure whether the Imperial Family would accept a vague explanation after seeing that equipment.
Still, I appreciated her saying so.
I playfully tossed out a question.
[Cristiano]: You aren’t going to show them the swimsuit, are you?
[Seren de Lumiere]: What? Absolutely not!!!
"Hehe."
I grinned, the corners of my lips curling upward.
2.
"This is real...?"
The moment Seren saw the instruction manual, her common sense was shattered yet again.
It felt as though that person was rewriting her very understanding of the world.
She had no idea how many times it had already been remade today alone.
She wanted to handle the equipment and demonstrate it right away, but...
"There isn’t time."
The presentation accounting for the use of Imperial Family funds.
There wasn’t much time left until it began.
Originally, it had only concerned Richard, but Seren had urgently informed them that she would participate as well.
In the end, Seren hurriedly ran out of her room.
Click.
Richard was supposed to be the star of the event today.
"..."
But Seren was certain that she would steal every bit of that spotlight today.
The moment she walked into the hallway, eyes fixed on her. Her armor was currently in Form One.
‘Of course.’
Of course it was bound to draw attention.
Seren walked with her shoulders unconsciously squared... then rounded a corner, and when no one was looking, she slightly lowered her head.
"...It smells nice."
She had been too flustered earlier to notice at all, but after switching the armor a few times and watching its internal structure shift around, a subtle fragrance had begun to rise from it.
Especially near the collar, and throughout the armor as a whole, it carried a faintly sweet, warm scent.
It was somewhat like dry wood... with the slightest trace of vanilla lingering at the end.
It felt far removed from the oily smell armor usually had.
‘Did he even add a fragrance to it?’
He had paid attention to even something like this.
And he was a fan, too...
The Sword Graveyard on the 121st floor was one of the battles Seren personally believed she had fought most elegantly in.
"He’s the first person who’s ever said he liked that one..."
How should she put it?
It was beginning to feel more and more like custom-made equipment.
‘An incredible blacksmith just happens to be my fan...’
She wondered if such a coincidence could exist, and her mood rose even higher.
But separate from how good she felt...
The price Seren had to pay was one kilogram of special mineral.
‘What a joke.’
Did he think she would really just give him that and call it done?
Seren had a sense of decency, and she was absolutely not the sort to brush off a benefactor’s kindness with the attitude that a good thing was simply a good thing.
The price was practically volunteer work. If he had intended to make money, he would never have named such a price in the first place.
That was all the more reason for her to be even more considerate.
If she wanted to maintain this relationship, he was not someone she could ever treat carelessly.
Looking at his absurd pricing, he was the sort of person who could vanish like the wind without it being strange...
One day, he could easily say, “I had a good time~,” claim he’d enjoyed himself enough, shut down his workshop, and disappear.
‘I don’t want this to end after just once.’
So, if she wished to tell him that she wanted to keep their relationship going, then she had to properly show her sincerity at the very least.
There were people who would sell their souls even for four-star equipment...
She could consider this a task she had to carry out as though her life depended on it.
And when she said she would not reveal the creator’s identity to the Imperial Family, it was no empty promise.
For someone so precious, every single channel through which one could contact him was more valuable than anything.
And right now, Seren herself was that channel.
The creator was uncomfortable with revealing his identity, so would she press the matter and sever that relationship?
It was not something the Imperial Family would want, either...
‘At least that much, I can protect for you.’
So he could rest assured and contact her again next time.
Thinking that, Seren buried her nose in her collar and quietly exhaled.
Then.
"Sir Seren."
"Ah."
At the call of the knight standing guard at the end of the hallway, Seren looked up.
She was already here.
"They are waiting inside."
"Thank you."
There were five members of the Imperial Family attending today’s presentation.
His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince.
His Highness the Second Prince, whom Seren served.
And His Highness the Third Princess and His Highness the Third Prince, whom Richard served.
Seren straightened her posture.
Creeeak...
The knights on either side opened the doors.
Beyond them lay the Imperial Family’s indoor training ground.
Since this was a place to show the use of equipment firsthand, protective magic had been cast over the floor and walls...
And five chairs had been prepared on the opposite side for the royals.
With His Majesty the Emperor’s seat at the center, the other chairs stood to either side.
And before them stood that fussy Richard, seemingly wearing his new gloves.
As Seren entered, she bowed her head.
"Your Majesty. I apologize for coming so suddenly. My armor was unexpectedly completed, so I requested to join at the last moment. I judged that it would be better to present it together than arrange another occasion."
"Not at all. We were just about to begin..."
The Emperor answered casually, but then his eyes swept over Seren’s form...
Slowly traveling downward.
"...Good heavens, Seren. That armor?"
The Emperor rose from where he had been leaning back in his chair, his eyes widening.
The other royals were the same.
They, too, had encountered renowned equipment for the sake of doing at least a minimal amount of Tower climbing.
"...Seren! Just where did you get...!"
The Second Prince sprang to his feet.
He was famous for his greed for equipment.
He was also the one who was always pressuring Seren to bring him something.
Holding back the upward curl of her lips, Seren...
"I was fortunate enough to commission its creation."
"Commissioned... creation?"
She smiled and held out the appraisal report she had cut from the instruction manual.
"Its rating is four and a half stars."
"..."
Richard, who had originally been today’s star...
Could only hide his brand-new gloves behind his back and stare blankly at Seren’s armor.
It seemed he had been explaining the gloves’ effects...
‘Sorry about that.’
Seren thought so to herself.
3.
After a month and a half of work came to an end...
And once work was over, there was something that had to be done.
Rest.
"Hmm-hmm."
"Hehe."
In the sunlit garden, I lay down on a mat and nestled in Dolores’s arms, truly experiencing what life was all about.
This was living...
Squish, squish.
Dolores was also kneading my cheeks with a pleased expression.
Every now and then, she would pull me into her arms and rock me, too.
This made all that hard work worthwhile.
"Dolores."
"Hm?"
"When are you climbing the 150th floor?"
Dolores brushed my hair aside as she answered.
"Next week."
Already next week.
I lifted my head and looked at Dolores... but she did not seem nervous in the slightest.
She looked confident.
"Will you be okay?"
Dolores answered with a smile.
"There won’t be any problem at all."
Good.
Very good.
All right, the trial run was over... so was this about as far as Cristiano went?
This time, I had put in extra effort because she was Mama’s acquaintance... but I thought I needed to be wary about equipment of that caliber continuously entering the market.
Just as I was considering what to do next...
"...She’s coming?"
Dolores looked at something in the air.
She carefully set me down, then abruptly stood up.
"When is she coming?"
Who was she talking to?
"Ten...? Ten days from now?"
As Mama waited for an answer, her brow furrowed.
"Nine? Eight? What are you talking about..."
Whoooosh...!
"Above us!"
At a voice from somewhere, I looked up.
Boom!
Something gleaming crashed down on the other side of the garden.
As the dust settled, a figure emerged.
One knee and one fist pressed to the ground...
Yep. A hero landing.
Not long after, golden and silver wings spread out to either side.
Shrrrk...
Seren, clad in Valkyrie armor... had dropped straight down from the sky.
What the fuck?
Why was that here...?
Do you know what it feels like to have armor you shipped to the other side of the world fall out of the sky and come back to you?
"Hello, Dolores?"
Seren, dressed in Valkyrie armor, raised her head.
Pat, pat.
With a grin, she dusted off her knee.
Then she deliberately spread her wings one more time.
"..."
[I think she came here to show off her equipment...?]
Yeah.
I thought so too.
Seren had definitely come here to flex.
Yeomhwa, Isabella, and Dolores had all gotten good equipment one after another, so she must not have been feeling too great about it.
She must have desperately wanted to show hers off.
The problem was...
‘She picked the wrong person.’
Her target was Dolores, who owned Lionel-made, one-of-a-kind five-star equipment.
Setting aside the fact that flexing would not work on her...
"D-Don’t fight."
I quietly whispered to Dolores.
Seriously, anyone else would have been fine.
"Don’t hit her, Dolores."
"..."
Dolores was not fine.
Mama looked down at me, then nodded.
"Okay. I won’t."
Save the Seren was, thankfully, a success.
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