Maou-sama no Machizukuri! ~Saikyou no Danjon wa Kindai Toshi~-Volume 8 Chapter 9

After leaving the [Plains], I headed back to my estate.

There, I waited for Tiro and Kuina to come back from their level grinding. Once they have, we were going to go to Rorono's workshop and test out Rorono's new and never-before-seen weapon for Tiro. First, we needed to let Tiro try it out, check to see if it has accomplished its design goals, and whether it was usable in real combat. After that, we needed to determine if this was the right approach for Tiro's weapon.

In truth, I wasn't so confident in it.

I knew that what Rorono made was a pile bunker. It was a close proximity weapon that would shoot out via an explosive blast a gigantic metallic stake.

It was very impractical as a weapon, in my honest opinion. Due to its weight, it would have immense offense, that I didn't doubt, but that wasn't saying much considering the offense that firearms could offer.

It was Rorono, so it was going to be diligently and properly made, but there was no denying that this was going to be more of a novelty weapon than anything.

At that moment, I remembered something. Some time ago, I accessed the [Memory of the Planet] and used [Creation] to produce a copy of a certain robot anime. Rorono watched that anime, and when a pile bunker appeared in the show, I saw a glimmer in her eyes.

"Nah, everything'll be fine. The Avalon-Ritters' Twin Drive Golem Cores were inspired by an anime too, and yet it's exactly what was needed. This time too should be alright."

I decided to stop thinking on that for the moment and think instead of what I needed to do next based on the results of my inspection of the casino's construction.

First off, I wanted to build an outer wall in the [Plains] much like the one the city had.

I was also thinking of dispatching Mithril Golems and resurrected artificial heroes to maintain public order. There was a need to prepare against attacks by bandits and monsters, but that was doubly so for places like ours where many people with money and resources have gathered.

It would also be a good move to build infrastructures in the [Plains]. Perhaps something like the water and sewer system present in the city. There were wells and the like built there already, but those were makeshift infrastructures at best and were not at all going to be satisfactory to our would-be guests. So, as soon as the casino's construction was complete, I was of the thought that I should have the Dwarf Smiths begin building infrastructures there.

"Oh, they're finally back, huh?"

I felt strong magic power which I guessed to be from the activation of a Transfer array.

Moments later, my guess was proven correct by the sound of footsteps of two people.

"Oto-san, we're back!"

"Guruu!"

All of a sudden, a fox-eared girl and a giant black dog jumped at me.

If it was just Kuina, I might have been able to withstood it, but with the both of them, yeah, it was a bit too much.

And so, the two pushed me down and buried their faces in my chest.

I couldn't help buy smile wryly; the two were so much alike.

"You two seem to be full of spirit. Now, will you two please move? I can't stand with your weight on me."

"'Kay ♪"

"Guruu"

After the two finally let go of me, I used my Demon Lord powers to look at Tiro's status.

"In just a week, you're already level 30, huh. Things are going quite well, haven't they."

"Tiro-chan's amazing! Even if she's by herself, she won't lose to any monsters in the [Crimson Cavern] anymore. Plus, with her excellent nose, not one enemy can escape!"

"That's amazing."

"She's a really capable kid!"

Her leveling was indeed progressing well, but the end goal was still far away.

If an S rank monster was made to have a static level, it would be born around level 71-80. On the other hand, even though a monster that could level up had the ability to grow as strong as a monster of a higher rank, it came at the price of having to start at level 1.

So, the current goal was for Tiro to reach level 71 so that she could be at least as strong as an S rank monster with a static level. Indeed, it was still far from realization.

Kuina, Rorono, Aura, Duke, and Ruhe were fortunate in a way because they had been able to participate in large-scale battles and thus were able to earn enough experience points to reach and exceed level 71. Such a chance didn't seem likely to appear for Tiro though.

Whatever the case might be, I had to think of another way to level her up. I wanted her to be at least level 71 by the time the rule protecting us new Demon Lords was no more. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to use her as a true trump card.

But as it stands, Tiro won't make it in time. Should I challenge a fellow new Demon Lord into a war? If we massacre all their monsters… No. This isn't who I am.

"Kuina, Tiro, there are some snacks in the kitchen. After you've eaten and rested enough, let's go to where Rorono is. She has just finished making a prototype for Tiro's weapon."

"Wow, Rorono-chan sure does work fast!"

"Gururu ♪"

Upon hearing my news, their eyes lit up with excitement and expectations.

Surely, what Rorono made won't betray these expectations… I can't help but feel anxious though.

◇

After they finished their snacks, we headed to Rorono's workshop.

I knocked on the door and out came Rorono.

Her silver hair was unkempt, and there were shadows beneath her eyes. No matter how I looked at it, it was clear that she pulled another all-nighter.

I had thought that her workload had finally lightened up to the point that she could squeeze the development for Tiro's equipment into her schedule, but…

"I'm sorry, Rorono. I made you overdo it again."

Unsurprisingly, asking her to complete the development in just a week was asking for the unreasonable. Despite that, I still let her do it after hearing her saying it was manageable.

"No, it's not your fault, master. The fault's all mine. I got a bit greedy."

"Greedy?"

"Actually, I finished Tiro's weapon yesterday morning. But while I was working on your request, the gravity-halving plates for the Hippogriffs' carriages, an idea for another equipment for Tiro struck me. But to make it to the deadline, I decided to stay up all night."

Upon hearing that, I connected that to be the reason why she didn't show up for dinner the previous evening.

"Thanks to that, I made it in time. Just barely though. I finished it just 30 minutes ago."

"Really, to finish that in a day, that's really amazing. Great job. But take it easy today, ok?"

"I'll take a break after we've done the tests. And, it's my turn to have [Father's Day] today, so I'll be sleeping soundly with you tonight, master."

She seemed embarrassed, but she said such things filled with her expectations nonetheless.

It was her turn to spend the day and night with me, and I intended to spoil her lots.

"Master, please lead Kuina and Tiro to the workshop's garden. I'll go get the equipment first. Let's do the testing there."

Rorono then went to the interior of her workshop.

There're two weapons. I'm absolutely excited to see both.

◇

"Rorono-chan, waiting, waiting, waiting for Rorono-chan ♪"

"Gaugau, wau, wau ♪"

Kuina and Tiro were both singing a rather questionable song.

More noteworthy though was the astonishing level of closeness the two had. As of the moment, Kuina was riding on Tiro's back.

Which reminds me, where could Ruhe be? She should have been back from her tour in the Axela Kingdom, but I haven't seen her today. Because Tiro and her are going to be fighting together in the other dimension, I want the both of them get along too.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I've brought Tiro's equipment."

Rorono said so after arriving.

The first of the equipment she brought was a revolver mechanism that would fire gigantic metal stakes. One such stake was not yet loaded and it was easily twice Tiro's size.

The second equipment was a set of boots made to match Tiro. The ones for the forelegs each had these three claws the size of daggers attached to them.

"Woah, so cool. These gigantic stakes, Kuina wants some too!"

Kuina had taken a liking more on the pile bunker than the boots.

Tiro, on the other hand, made a grimace at the pile bunker, but wagged her tail and even gleefully barked when she looked at the boots.

"You've got your shotgun already, Kuina. You don't need a pile bunker like this. Anyway, Tiro, let's try on the boots first, ok? Can you put them on yourself?"

"Gau!"

Finding it good that she was going to try the boots rather than the pile bunker, Tiro barked joyfully and then skillfully put the boots on while still in her dog form.

While still wagging her tail, she then turned around and did a pose, thus prompting Kuina to comment you're so cool, Tiro-chan!

"Mhm. I know this is sudden, but lightly put equal amounts of magic power into the boots."

"Gau!"

Tiro replied so and then did as she was instructed. When she did, she was suddenly blown away. It was no exaggeration to say that she was launched to a height three times that of Rorono's workshop.

"Kyaun!?"

Tiro was understandably surprised by this, but quickly regained composure. She then balanced herself and somehow did a graceful landing.

Not taking a liking to being launched without warning, she looked at Rorono reproachfully.

"Mhm. I'm glad it's working as intended. Tiro, this is the [Talaria]. As you saw, the boots generate a localized force field which pushes things in the other direction. The strength of this repelling force is proportional to the amount of magic power you pour into it. With this equipment, you could gain tremendous speed from zero distance. Also, assuming you are somehow stranded up in air, you only have to kick on the force field and you will be moving toward the other direction. Do it enough and you can even run in the sky."

Ohh, interesting.

Sold on the idea, Tiro once again poured her magic power into the boots. This time, she jumped a little bit lower than before. Holding back as much magic power as possible, she took another step and then another. Considering she had S+ Agility, she had movement speed far beyond norm even without relying on the explosive boost that the boots provided.

After a while, Tiro landed with an elated look on her face. Great, it seems she's pleased with it a lot.

"Mhm, the localized force field doesn't seem to have an issue. But as for the magic power consumption, I see that it needs further improvement. If I optimize it with Tiro's wavelength and do other improvements based on this test, the magic power consumption can be improved by 30%. It will improve reaction speed too."

Rorono said so, mostly to herself, while quickly typing away at her laptop pc.

Meanwhile, Tiro was looking around restlessly as though searching for something.

A moment later, she approached a wall in the workshop. And in the moment after that, the six dagger-like claws in her forelegs' boots shone and made a sort of clinking sound.

She then raised a foreleg and swung it down.

That cut through the wall like a hot knife through butter.

Delighted by this, she then proceeded to stand on her hindlegs and claw the rest of the wall much like a cat would.

In no time at all, the wall was ruined beyond recognition.

Rorono's workshop housed Avalon's important weapons and equipment, so it was built to be considerably sturdy to the point that it could withstand a full-power physical or magical attack from even an A rank monster. So, for Tiro to tear it down so easily, it was nothing short of amazing.

That being said, a vein popped in Rorono's temple.

"Each of those six claws is made from orichalcum alloy. They also have an enchantment of [Rending]. By pouring in magic power, any slashing attack done by it is improved. It is specialized solely in cutting things, and as you can see, it is terrific in it. it still depends on how you do it, but it is possible to slash even an Avalon-Ritter with it."

It was a simple yet convenient piece of weaponry.

"…but you didn't have to test out its sharpness on my workshop, Tiro. For behaving like a naughty child, you must be punished. I'll ask Aura to not make you any desserts for a while."

Tiro, who was repeatedly doing clawing movements, stopped suddenly upon hearing Rorono.

Even though she was like a dog, she loved desserts.

"Kuuuun"

Facing Rorono, Tiro issued out a pity-inducing cry.

That wasn't all. She approached Rorono and then rubbed her body against Rorono's legs.

At that, Rorono sighed.

"…Fine, it'll be just for today."

Tiro continued her act, but it didn't seem like Rorono was going to concede any further.

"To decrease Tiro's consumption of her own magic power, I can add in Kuina's tail fur to act as a battery. Additionally, to improve fuel efficiency… Mhm, ok, Tiro, please test the localized force field's performance some more. Why don't you go all out using it this time"

"Gau!"

As instructed, she leapt once again. It might be because she had better grasp on how to use the boots, but she was moving more fluidly than before. She was making absurd turns in almost every step, yet she was going faster and faster to the point she was as fast as a Darkness Dragon.

In just a short amount of time, she had gained mastery over the [Talaria]. It was as though making the force field for each leg and then kicking it at the best timing became second nature to her.

It was a splendid sight to behold.

But then, she fell.

It seemed like she ran out of magic power, which wasn't surprising given that the pace she was going was truly absurd.

However, she wasn't exhausted to the point that she would faint. A few moments before making contact with the ground, she generated force fields which negated a significant amount of her falling velocity. Rather than a crash, she did a splendid landing instead.

That being said, she still was critically low in magic power, so she felt groggy.

"Mhm, that should be enough performance tests. I've seen the things that need improving."

"That so? Tiro's affinity with the [Talaria] is spectacular. She might become invincible with it, especially after you've improved it."

The [Talaria] had everything Tiro might need in a weapon: the ability to create footholds anywhere; the ability to accelerate her tremendously and instantaneously, the attack power provided by the claws, and the fact that it was light and thus didn't negatively impact Tiro's agility.

"Rorono, it's amazing to think that you've made this in just a day."

"Most of the functions in this are already present in my [Mechanical Warmaiden]. I just put them together after making a few minor adjustments, so it didn't take much time, especially compared to developing new technologies and techniques. Anyway, all it needs now is a better fuel consumption and a few other little things."

"Okay, I'll leave it to you."

The [Talaria] was just something extra that Rorono made overnight, and yet, in my opinion, it eliminated the need for the pile bunker.

"Kuina, please give Tiro a potion for magic power recovery."

"'Kay. Tiro-chan, drink this!"

Like I asked, Kuina took out a potion from her pocket and gave it to Tiro. Tiro drank it and the complexion on her face became better.

Seeing the exhausted Tiro, I recognized one of her weak points: her lack of self-control. If she was to exhaust herself again and no one was nearby to help her, she would be in grave danger.

"Gaugau! Gauuuuuu!"

"Oto-san, Tiro wants to go home. She says she wants to eat. Also, she says thank you, Rorono-chan, for the amazing weapon you've made for her. Tiro-chan, I'm so glad you got a great weapon!"

"Garuu ♪"

It seems like the two have reached a mysterious level of mutual understanding. Well, it seems like a good point to end a hard day's work, anyway…

"Wait, you two. The [Talaria] is just the opener. The real show has yet to begin. Next up is this… the pile bunker [Motelius]. It's an amazing creation, if I may say so myself. Now, hurry, try it."

"Kyuuuuun…."

Tiro made a clearly disagreeing face.

Perhaps it was her beastly instincts, but she seemed to have the same misgivings as I had.

Rorono loaded the giant stake into the pile bunker, but even then, it was still as long as Tiro. She then brought it near Tiro. At that, Tiro took a step back.

I had a feeling about it, but it was still a weapon Rorono was proud of making.

Sorry, Tiro, but I'm really excited for this trial.