Chapter 209 – Goddess and Royalty

Rosemary’s Magic Dolls are a type of Magical Creature. They create a doll’s base body and then house and anchor an intangible Magical Creature—essentially a Spirit—within it.

It’s like pouring a pseudo-soul into the vessel of a doll. Their performance varies immensely. This depends not only on hardware aspects like the quality of the doll’s base body and the materials used, but also on software aspects such as the type of catalyst used in creating the Magical Creature housed within, adjustments to the Spell Formula, and Improvements.

The dolls I fought at Anastasia’s mansion were designed with the philosophy of independence and Coordination between parts, allowing them to compensate for destruction by sharing components among multiple dolls. Even if partially destroyed, intact dolls could immediately combine and continue fighting.

Thanks to that design philosophy, multiple units could link together and operate as a single giant doll. They aimed to achieve both strength as a group and strength as individuals.

This time, we’re creating a one-of-a-kind piece that simply pursues strength as an individual. Apparently, since there were Dragon Fang Soldiers and they could compensate by combining, they postponed making such specialized dolls, but the concept itself had existed for some time.

“I’ll be assembling the doll’s base body, so I’d like you to create the armor,” Rosemary said.

When I offered to assist with development, Rosemary smiled as if she were plotting something mischievous. So, we spread out blueprints on the table in the recreation room and discussed various details.

We’re doing this in the recreation room because my place is filled with people rich in combat experience, and I wanted to hear their opinions as well.

The plan was to prepare some tea and sweets, relax, and proceed with the doll development discussion.

“What about the material?”

“Mithril Silver. We’ll engrave the reverse side with a Spell Formula for structural reinforcement and increased strength, then Enchant it.”

“I see. So, we balance lightness and strength while further supplementing with Magic.”

That certainly sounds like a job for Alfred. The Brightwelt Workshop could create custom-made Armor, and engraving Spell Formulas onto it would be a breeze for them.

“The defense aspect is fine with that… but if we keep the Enchant active, the Magical Creature housed inside might get… winded. If we incorporate a Magic Stone into the base body to supplement that, I think we could make it stronger and more agile.”

“If it’s a matter of mobility, why not incorporate Aerial Combat Gear from the start?” I suggested.

Physical strength, armor, plus mobility and flight capability… Yeah. Being straightforwardly strong is a good thing.

“Incorporating Aerial Combat Gear just involves attaching Magic Tools to various parts, so it’s not much different from what we’ve done before… but in that case, we probably shouldn’t use mediocre Magic Stones for the doll’s base body.”

“In that case, what about a Giant’s Magic Stone?” Grace, who had been listening, suggested.

“A Giant’s Magic Stone? Such a thing exists?”

“Grace took one down at the Blazing Fortress the other day.”

“Such a precious item… are you sure I can use it? I haven’t done anything for you yet.”

“If we can create something good, I believe it will directly contribute to Theo’s safety,” Grace replied.

Upon hearing Grace’s words, Rosemary closed her eyes and smiled gently.

“…That’s true. You’re absolutely right. I’ll use it carefully.”

“Yes.”

According to what Rosemary said yesterday, the residents of this house don’t need to read between the lines, so it’s relatively free of toxicity.

She thought she’d be blamed more since she’d put me in danger twice, so she was somewhat taken aback. Well… the book incident probably wasn’t Rosemary’s fault, and everyone knows she’s been cooperating in various ways.

Although she’s lost her right to the throne and her position is different now, I feel Rosemary’s interactions have softened, likely due to such factors. Grace also isn’t the type who would have been around the Royal Castle—especially around Rosemary.

“—As for me, I’m thinking of using a Flame Demon’s Magic Stone to create a Weapon for the doll.”

“A Weapon?”

“Would that become a Magic Tool? I’d like to ask Alfred to handle that as well.”

“I don’t mind, but I’m endlessly curious about what will come out of this,” Alfred remarked.

Hmm. It might be quicker to create a model with Earth Magic than to explain verbally. Given the doll’s design philosophy, it will likely be deployed as a Vanguard. In that case, something usable in close combat would be best. On top of that, we’ll utilize Fire Magic.

Considering we might challenge the Blazing Fortress, there will likely be more situations where using fire directly isn’t very effective. So, let’s specialize it in physical attacks to gain versatility. Rosemary can handle the magical support aspects.

“Is this… a gauntlet?”

It’s a Weapon resembling Gauntlets with Claws. Its somewhat rugged appearance can’t be helped.

“It can be used as gauntlets. We’ll embed the Magic Stone here, and when using it, hook the claws to secure it, then use Fire Magic to—”

Activating the Gimmick with a light Fire Magic spell causes a pile to shoot out forcefully from the gauntlet. Alfred and Rosemary’s eyes widened.

In essence—it’s a Pile Bunker. Normally, it serves as clawed Gauntlets for offense and Defense, and against larger foes, you drive the pile into them.

“For the pile’s core, we’ll use Valyus Silver to ensure weight. Surround it with Mithril and engrave a Spell Formula so that after driving the pile in, Magic can be activated from within… How about something like this? I think there’s plenty of room for Improvement, so I’ll need to discuss and experiment with Viola as well.”

There’s also the idea of firing it as a projectile, but with ordinary Metal, the power would be unreliable, and Valyus Silver or Mithril Silver are too precious and costly to use as disposable items. Moreover, explicitly developing a gun would have significant repercussions down the line.

In that regard, if it’s a Magic Tool using a rare Magic Stone, analysis would be difficult, and imitation would be hard. Also, since it doesn’t rely on Fighting Spirit or the like, it should be suitable as a doll’s Weapon.

“Activating Magic inside…”

“…It’s amazing you thought of something like this.”

The two of them were intently examining the model I handed them.

“For it to do this with Fire Magic… you’re utilizing the pressure from the blast, right? There’s no risk of the gauntlet itself rupturing?”

“That part uses an application of the Resonance Mine, giving the explosion directionality and concentrating the force to a single point to launch the pile.”

I’ll take charge of writing the Spell Formula, but in any case, we need to experiment first. Since the crucial power output is unknown, it would be problematic if we used a precious Magic Stone to create it, only for it to be too weak to be useful. Before embedding the Magic Stone, we should create just the launching mechanism and test its power.

For now, I have a rough idea of the types and quantities of Materials needed. I also need to have a tailor look at Arachne’s fabric, so let’s plan to go out for supplies another day. For today, we’re planning to relax at home, also serving as Rosemary’s welcome party.

“Speaking of which, you have quite a few unusual servants, don’t you?” Rosemary remarked, tilting her head as she looked at the servants resting in the recreation room after we reached a stopping point. She seemed genuinely curious. It’s probably because she’s meritocratic and doesn’t care about origins.

She hasn’t been told about Claudia’s background yet. She doesn’t know how things came to be this way.

“Ah, that’s—”

“Theodore. I’ll explain,” Claudia said, taking over from me.

Rosemary only knew the part about Claudia and Marlene using a Blessing to nullify the book’s Curse Magic, but given Claudia’s noble demeanor, Rosemary must have been curious.

After Claudia finished explaining her background, Rosemary was truly taken aback and left speechless.

“A contract partner in the Nation Protecting Ceremony… Even though I was unaware, I have acted disrespectfully.”

Rosemary performed a subject’s bow, kneeling on one knee and lowering her head to Claudia without the slightest hesitation. …Well, that makes sense. She’s essentially the one who granted sovereignty to the Verdgar royal family.

“Um… I’d be happier if you treated me normally.”

“If that is your wish. But before doing so, I wished to express my respect.”

“I have duly received your words.”

Upon hearing that, Rosemary stood up. Considering the contents of the Oath Magic, there’s no duplicity or maneuvering in Rosemary’s current words.

Respect. For bearing the responsibility of world regeneration? For subsequently supporting the kingdom for many years as a foundation of the Labyrinth? Even as someone born of the same royal lineage. As a member of the Verdgar royal family. And likely, from Rosemary’s personal meritocratic perspective as well, she must have various thoughts about Claudia.

But still… given this reaction upon learning Claudia’s circumstances, it seems she’ll likely help enthusiastically with analyzing the Labyrinth’s Spell Formula after defeating the Last Guardian too, which is a welcome prospect.