kscans

Chapter 44 - A Golem of His Own

"H…rah!"

I gripped the tip of my blade and slammed the Mode Schlag into the Treant’s shin.

ROOAAR…!

Its right leg snapped cleanly, and the Treant fell to its knees. A moment later, a grappling hook wrapped around its head, and Byakuren and Erina-san pulled it taut.

With its movement sealed, I delivered a full swing to its face. The head was literally blown to smithereens, turning into salt.

"Alright…"

I collected the sapling-like drop item and took a breath.

That makes twenty. Just a few more to go.

"Good work, Kyouta-chan!"

"Thanks. Here, can you take this again?"

"Okey-dokey!"

I handed the drop item to Erina-san, who stored it in her Item Box.

"My, my. You’ve gotten quite used to taking down Treants, Kyouta-kun. Couldn’t you handle them solo at this point?"

"No, not at all…"

I went to scratch my head but was blocked by my helmet. I settled for scratching my cheek instead.

"I’m still a long way off. Without Erina-san’s support, I’d be too afraid of their counterattacks."

"That’s me!"

"Is that so? Well, numbers are certainly important. I’m relieved to see you haven’t lost your caution or humility."

"Huh…?"

I tilted my head, puzzled by the strangely serious tone in Aira-san’s voice.

What’s with her? That’s unusual.

"Also, you may have noticed, but it seems you’ve reached LV: 14. Congratulations. You level up fast, you know."

"Ah, I did feel like something went up…"

"Congrats! But man, I really don’t like this dungeon."

"S-Sorry."

Erina-san puffed out her cheeks and pouted.

Treants are big and tough. Her throwing stars barely do any damage, and it’s difficult for her to target their vitals with her ninja sword.

Because of the bad matchup, she can hardly land a scratch on the monsters, so she gets almost no experience from fighting them.

"Um, I’ll help you level up next time, so…"

"Really? That’s a promise!"

"Yeah."

"Improving your strength is good, but please, don’t overdo it. For now, let’s finish exploring this dungeon."

"Right."

"Let’s go!"

I switched to a standard grip on my sword and resumed the exploration.

"So, Kyouta-kun. We came here to gather materials for your golem, but how much more do you need?"

"If we can take down about five more, I think I’ll have enough."

"Oh? The fact that you have a specific number means you’ve already designed Byakuren’s new body, I take it."

"Tentatively, yes…"

"Ooh, what’s it like, what’s it like?! Is it cute?"

Erina-san turned around, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me.

"Well, I’m not really going for cute… I don’t want a design that makes me hesitate when I need to use it as a shield."

"Hmph. So you won’t make it a beautiful girl-type either? You could make one relatively easily using the models from the Alchemy Enthusiasts Club."

"That’s true, but if I made it look exactly like a human woman, I feel like I’d instinctively try to protect it…"

I had briefly considered it at first. If I’m going to build one anyway, why not a big-breasted beautiful maid golem or something?

But now that I’m working as an adventurer, I have to ask myself if I could really treat a golem with that appearance as disposable in a pinch.

And the fact that I’m even asking myself that question now is the answer. When every second counts, that hesitation could be fatal.

In that case, the golem’s design should be…

"I’m planning to make it look non-organic… something mechanical."

"Are you trying to rip off Renge?! I won’t allow it! She’s mine now!"

"That’s right, Kyouta-chan! Senpai uses Renge-chan as a hug pillow when she sleeps at night!"

"Isn’t that uncomfortable?"

That thing is made of wood and iron, isn’t it? It’s got to be incredibly hard.

Then again, I did pay close attention to the curves in various places, so maybe there’s a chance it’s actually comfortable to cuddle…?

In any case, using Miyoshi-san’s past data is out of the question.

"I’m not ripping anything off. I’d feel bad using a design like that as a sacrificial pawn. Besides, using the skeletal data of someone I know without permission is just wrong… as a human being."

"You’re absolutely right, Kyouta-kun. I am overjoyed that you have not strayed from the path of a decent human being."

"Wait. By that logic, does that mean senpai isn’t a decent human being?"

"Kyouta-kun. I’m so disappointed in you…!!"

"You’re the one who should be disappointed in!"

Even if there are special circumstances, creating a golem that looks exactly like your blood-related sister and sleeping with it is pretty damn weird.

If by some chance she reconciles with Miyoshi-san, how is she going to explain Renge? If I were in her sister’s shoes, I’d seriously consider cutting ties for good.

"More importantly, mecha! Is it gonna be a Gan○am?! Are you making it look like a Ga○dam?!"

"No, we should be thinking along the lines of a robot girl!"

"I’m not making a Ganda○, and robot girls are your hobby, Aira-san. I’m just planning to use a mannequin as a base and make various parts look like armor."

"How boring."

"Ooh, that sounds cool!"

"Y-You think so?"

I felt a little embarrassed by Erina-san’s words.

"I’m planning to use action figures as models, or those robot things with metal joints that have been coming out the last few years. The base will still be a human skeleton, but the recent ones replicate that stuff pretty well, so they’re a good reference. I was never that into plastic models, but I’ve started to appreciate things like that lately. Though the prices are a bit steep, so it’s hard to get my hands on them…"

"Kyouta-kun."

"Ah."

I froze, realizing I’d been rambling.

"S-Sorry, I just…"

"Nah! I don’t really get it, but you look like you’re having fun, Kyouta-chan, so I think it’s great!"

Erina-san gave me a bright smile as I hurriedly apologized.

Is she an angel…?

"Kyouta-kun. I hold you in contempt."

"Huh…?"

A cold sweat trickled down my back at Aira-san’s chilling voice.

"All you talk about are pre-made products! Do you not understand the appeal of plastic models?! It seems you are ignorant of the romance of recreating those mechs and scenes from the anime with your own two hands!"

"Wow, what an annoying otaku."

"You’re definitely one of us! Hmph, in that case, I’ll just have to indoctrinate you not only in games but in this as well…"

"Please, give me a break. I’m already working as an adventurer. If you take away any more of my time, my schoolwork will…"

We continued on, having a conversation that was completely out of place in the extraordinary setting of a dungeon.

We were being careful. But I couldn’t deny it if someone said we were being careless. Still, the exploration ended without incident, and we managed to gather a good amount of golem materials.

Not everything… or rather, I might find I need other things later on.

But before that, there’s something I have to do.

It’s not quite assembling a plastic model, but… I need to do a ‘test fit.’

*

After returning home, I laid out my share of the materials that Erina-san had carried for me.

As expected, the room felt a little cramped. With ordinary lumber placed alongside the saplings, that was a given.

…I’ll have to move the stuff on my bed before I go to sleep.

Times like these make me a little envious of people who live in cheap houses near dungeons.

I learned from the Alchemy Enthusiasts Club website that if you have an adventurer’s license, you can rent a house within three kilometers of a dungeon for a ridiculously low price.

Some people get permission to turn those houses into workshops. All for the sake of their ‘ideal homunculus wife,’ they say.

Well, the beauty of alchemy is that you don’t need to rent a place like that just to build a single humanoid golem.

I laid a sheet of paper with an alchemy circle drawn on it on the floor. On top of it, I placed several wooden boards the size of a writing pad, the Treant saplings, and about five coins.

And then, I began the alchemy. As sparks of mana crackled, I slowly focused my imagination.

The coins melting to become connection parts. The Treant saplings mixing with the normal wood, spreading like blood vessels and nerves.

After about ten seconds, the light of the alchemy faded. I opened my eyes and checked the ‘part’ on top of the circle.

"Alright, let’s see…"

I picked up the golem’s joint section to examine it. It was similar to a ball joint, and I tried moving it back and forth. At a glance, it didn’t look bad.

But it was no good. It wasn’t smooth at all, and more importantly, the Treant sapling ‘nerves’ hadn’t fused properly with the wood. The precision of the alchemy was too sloppy.

The values I’d written into the alchemy circle shouldn’t have been that far off. They were just estimates, and I couldn’t produce exact numbers… but with my limited knowledge, trial and error was my only option.

I placed the joint back on the circle and performed the alchemy again. The ability to reuse materials even after a failure is another one of alchemy’s strengths.

After about an hour, I finally created something I felt was ‘passable for testing.’ I immediately grabbed a ruler to measure the various parts of the prototype.

I would write the numbers I got from this into the alchemy circle and create the other elbow joint. The knee and other joints would require different numbers, so I still had a long way to go.

Just as I was holding the ruler against the joint, my smartphone rang.

I put down the ruler and picked it up. Aira-san’s name was on the screen.

"Hello, Yagawa speaking."

"Hey, Kyouta-kun. Is now a good time?"

"Yeah, I guess. Oh, but if it’s about games, I’m a little busy."

"No, it’s not that. I just thought I’d give you a warning… or maybe a lecture? I’m about to say something that isn’t very pleasant."

"…I heard a word in there I didn’t like, but what is it?"

"It’s nothing. I mentioned it during our dungeon crawl, but Baba-sama told me to hammer it into you not to do anything rash in a dungeon."

"Huh? The professor did?"

"Indeed. But it’s not because you’ve done anything wrong. It’s simply an old woman’s concern, telling you not to get swept up in the current t(・)r(・)e(・)n(・)d(・)."

"A trend…?"

"You don’t know? About the recent dungeon streamers."

"Um… sorry. I think I’ve seen some streams, but probably not the ones you and the professor are talking about."

I’ve been watching exploration videos of people with similar skills or Arcane Gear for about six months now, and I follow them regularly.

But since she specifically said ‘recent,’ I guess it’s related to the new adventurers who have popped up due to the dungeon boom?

"Yes. I’m sure you’ve already guessed, but I’ll say it anyway. As you know, the number of adventurers has recently increased. And when the pool gets larger, so does the number of thoughtless individuals. For example, some have been doing things like monster training for fun, or scribbling graffiti that mimics the Self-Defense Force’s markings on dungeon walls."

"What… No, that’s not a joke… People could die from that, right?"

Monster training goes without saying. As for mimicking the SDF’s markings, if you get lost in a dungeon and waste precious stamina, you could easily be killed by a monster.

It’s not just a prank; it’s a clear criminal act.

"That’s right. It’s extremely dangerous. There’s a limit, even for clout chasing. But it’s also a fact that the number of adventurers posting such things from ‘F-Rank’ dungeons has been increasing lately. Of course, the majority of adventurers explore seriously… but every industry has its fools."

"…You’re right."

I had been reflecting on how much we’d been chatting during today’s exploration, but it seems there are people far worse out there.

It wouldn’t be good to get a false sense of security from that, though, so I gave a small shake of my head.

Still, it was hard to believe there were people who would do such dangerous things inside a dungeon. It was a foolish act that could cost not only others their lives, but their own as well.

But on second thought, those kinds of troublemaking streamers existed even before the Day of Awakening. Crazy people who prioritize getting attention over their own lives.

Honestly, I can’t understand that way of thinking. And I don’t want to. But since people like that actually exist, I’ll need to keep it in the back of my mind.

"I understand what you’re trying to say. Please tell the professor that I’ll take it to heart."

"Good. It’s not just about you not messing up, but you also have to be careful not to get caught up in the actions of such idiots."

"Right."

"And if you’re going to be an idiot, let me know first. If we’re going to do it, we’ll do it big!"

"No, you’re supposed to stop me."

Can this person not have a conversation without a punchline?

"Well then. Now that the boring talk is over."

—Ksssh.

"Wait a sec."

"It’s party time!!"

"Hold it, you pathetic college student."

"What’s your problem? Today’s not a no-drinking day, Kyouta-kun! Humor me a little~"

This one’s already been drinking, hasn’t she?

"Haaah… fine. But let me switch to telepathy. I can use both my hands if I use the earring."

"Hmph. Very well. You should be grateful for my generosity."

"Maybe I should just block you…"

"Kidding, just kidding! Now, listen to my voice, niiiiicely and slooooowly, right by your ear!"

"Yeah, yeah."

I have to admit, she does have a beautiful voice. It’s just that her long-winded stories are a little annoying.

I hung up the phone call, took the earring out of my drawer, and put it on.

Well, she seems to have her own share of problems. I don’t mind keeping her company, as long as I only half-listen.

"Listen to me, Kyouta-kuuuun. Baba-sama was giving me an earful, telling me to get my act together…"

"Uh-huh, uh-huh."

While half-listening to a tipsy and clingy Aira-san, I continued to measure the parts with my ruler.

Looks like I’ll be staying up a little late tonight.