Chapter 81 – ８１ – For Naru's Dedicated Device

Sports Festival Arc

Afternoon.

Suzu, Ichi, Marie, and I were led by a woman who seemed to be in charge of the academy’s Foreign Affairs Department to one of the reception rooms on campus.

Waiting for us in the reception room was a woman dressed in a visibly high-quality suit.

“Thank you very much for inviting our company, ‘Silk Cloud,’ today. My name is Tanoshine, and I will be the one in charge of Lord Midorikawa and his party. We are truly grateful that you have commissioned us for the development and manufacture of Lord Midorikawa’s Custom Device.”

“Thank you for your courtesy. I am Midorikawa Naruki. And this is Minasono Suzumi; she knows me well and is quite intelligent, so please address the main points of the negotiation to Suzu.”

“I am Minasono Suzumi. It is a pleasure to meet you today, Ms. Tanoshine Kyōko.”

“Y-yes.”

Suzu and I took our seats, while Ichi and Marie stood behind me.

Though Ms. Tanoshine seemed a bit nervous by our arrangement, she began laying out the documents.

Incidentally, Ms. Tanoshine’s employee ID was tucked away in her breast pocket, hiding her name, and the visitor’s permit—which seemed to be what she had—contained only a photo and a date, no name… so it remains a mystery how Suzu knew Ms. Tanoshine’s given name.

“Now, I believe you are already aware, but I would like to explain a bit about our company, ‘Silk Cloud,’ and the types of devices we typically manufacture. After that, I would like to hear what kind of device Lord Midorikawa is seeking. Once we have gathered the necessary data, we will proceed with the development and manufacture.”

“Yes. Please go ahead.”

Now, as for this company called ‘Silk Cloud,’ they aren’t actually a specialist company for manufacturing Masquerade devices.

In fact, the device manufacturing division was apparently established quite recently; their primary business is as an apparel manufacturer.

So, yeah, to be honest, I had actually received messages from ‘Silk Cloud’ regarding my modeling work… but that’s irrelevant now, so let’s get back to the topic.

The devices that Silk Cloud’s manufacturing division typically develops and produces are those with designs that don’t look out of place when worn in daily life.

In terms of shape, they range from glasses and sunglasses to ear cuffs, bracelets, and chokers.

This is not only to prioritize aesthetics but also to ensure that the design is natural enough to wear constantly, thereby eliminating the need to waste time digging through a bag during an emergency.

As for why one would activate a Masquerade in an emergency:

First, as is well known, while a Masquerade is active, the user’s original physical body remains unharmed regardless of any wounds or impacts received; the Masquerade simply cancels.

By utilizing this, one can ensure their safety in an emergency by simply activating the Masquerade. Even if one were to fall from several thousand meters in the air, the person in their Masked Form would remain unharmed.

Furthermore, the Goddess recognizes this type of usage as an exceptional case for the purpose of preserving life.

“For these reasons, our company specializes in Masked Forms with structures that excel in immediate deployment, defense, and maintenance. Additionally, although it is currently under development, we are considering a function that automatically activates a Masquerade for a split second during an emergency to protect the user.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Incidentally, spread out before us were documents prepared by Silk Cloud showing how their devices compared to others in terms of deployment speed, maintenance duration, and defensive strength.

Well, it’s common for this kind of data to be presented favorably to the client, so the right move is probably to take it with a grain of salt.

After the conversation continued for a while…

“Naru. What are your requests?”

Now it was my turn to state my desires.

Suzu had told me to put forward any request, no matter how wild. She said it would be fine because she would stop me if something was truly impossible.

“Let’s see… first, it’s a given that the device shouldn’t hide my face.”

“That is a given, indeed.”

“Because it’s Mr. Naru.”

It was a given that I wouldn’t hide my face.

Should a Duelist be wary of their face being exposed?

It’s a bit too late for that.

My Masked Form is practically my own face, so I’d rather choose to boost my motivation by not hiding it.

“If you’re good at deployment, defense, and maintenance, I want you to lean into those strengths. Those are the areas my Masked Form excels in as well.”

“Understood.”

“Naru, what about offense?”

“I’ll handle that with skills and technique. It’s not the kind of thing that can be solved just by a slight boost from a device. If I had to make a request, as long as it’s on par with the academy-designated devices, that should be enough.”

“I see.”

Regarding physical capabilities, as long as they prioritized what Silk Cloud was good at, it should be fine.

“Oh, right. Please make sure my appearance doesn’t change.”

“Eh?”

“Naru. It’s almost unheard of for a device to change the appearance of a Masked Form.”

“Eh?”

The first “Eh?” was from Ms. Tanoshine, and the second was from me.

Apparently, there was no need to worry about that.

In fact, it seems that with current human technology, the limit is to partially change the appearance of a Masked Form through adjustments. Since my Masked Form’s appearance cannot be changed by such technology, it is likely a part that cannot be altered by anything other than my own will.

Hmm, I didn’t realize it was that significant.

“I see. I have noted your requests. Now, regarding the design: since this is a Custom Device, a designer will be sketching it out. Do you have a specific direction or policy in mind for the design?”

“Let’s see…”

Next came the design phase.

I thought about what kind of design would feel natural for both myself and my Masked Form to wear.

I made several suggestions, and Suzu added a few of her own.

Suzu’s additions were something both I and Silk Cloud desired, so they were accepted.

The general direction was quickly settled.

“Then, finally, please sign the contract.”

“Understood.”

“Ms. Foreign Affairs.”

“Yes, I understand.”

After a few more discussions, I signed the contract after Suzu and the person from the Foreign Affairs Department confirmed there were no issues.

With this, the development and manufacture of my own Custom Device was officially decided.

“Now then, Lord Midorikawa.”

“Right. Let’s get to it immediately. Ichi.”

“Yes, I shall be your opponent.”

And so, to gather the data essential for the device’s development, we all headed toward a place where we could Duel.