Chapter 54: Before the Quest, I Picked Out New Equipments for My Friends (Part 1)

Chapter 54: Before the Quest, I Picked Out New Equipments for My Friends (Part 1)

Since it was a good opportunity, I decided to gear up before the quest.

Weapons are just a matter of getting Rafilia’s bow and arrow, so I decided to focus on armor.

We also need to buy some medicinal and poisonous herbs.

So, let’s all go out shopping together…” As I was getting ready, Leticia came home.

She was supposed to be leaving for Metekal soon with a caravan of merchants, and she had a few baggage porters with her.

“A merchant of my acquaintance gave me a piece of armor at a very reasonable price. He’s offering a substantial discount right now!”

With that, she began to arrange a large amount of luggage in the living room of the house.

“Well, are you going to the dungeon tomorrow? It was just as well.”

Leticia was in a good mood and told us what had happened.

Apparently, a merchant she knows is training engineers to make weapons and armor, and he’s looking for someone to buy the prototypes made by the newbies (geniuses, in a sense).

The newcomer made too much use of his talent, and now he’s having trouble selling it.

I’ve heard that you can get a discount of three, five, or even seven times off the current price, but at this point, I’m very suspicious.

It was also in the original world. A company that installed a reasonably priced application to reduce costs. A mystery app that occasionally opens a mystery window and displays a mysterious foreign language and a mysterious phone number, and an employee takes a mysterious action to call that number.

The reason why some products are cheaper than others is because they have their own reasons.

I think it’s better to just go to the armor store and buy a genuine one.

“As expected of Nagi-sama! I think so too.”

“I agree with you completely. We can’t just pick and choose without even comparing.”

“I think Aine should also be checked by Na-kun’s eyes.”

“So I’m going to ask Master to make sure that what we’ve chosen is correct!”

Translation: I’ll just pick one at random for now, so please check if it’s usable, Master.

That’s how it happened.

…Well, that’s okay.

There’s nothing too weird about it, no matter how much it’s the work of some genius engineer.

So, while everyone else was picking out armor, I decided to go upstairs and plan my strategy for the dungeon.

Back in my room, I grabbed a quill and scribbled the concept of the skill on a piece of parchment.

What I was thinking of was a plan to strengthen Rafilia, who has few cheat skills.

In my hand, I have one of the housekeeping skills that Iris gave me, [Watering LV1].

Skill to “sprinkle” “water” with “watering can”.

Originally, it was a skill to water the flowers in the flower bed so as not to damage them. It was said that since there were some rare flowers in the aristocracy’s flowerbeds, precise watering techniques were required.

And if I combine this with [Archery], …Yeah, it’s a good idea.

I want to keep the original [Archery] skill to increase the hit rate, so I’m going to buy the skills later…

This and that

“Master, may I come in?”

I heard Rafilia’s voice.

“I’ve chosen my armor, and I need you to check it.”

“Yeah. It’s okay. Come on in.”

Kacha

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, clickety-clack

Rafilia comes into the room, banging her armor against the pillars and walls.

Peking dong dong, katakotsu pakong

It was the opposite of quiet or covert equipment.

It’s leather armor that covers you from the shoulders to the waist…

“Well, what do you think, Master?

“Leather armor, right?”

“Yes. The name of the armor is “Avenger’s Armor”!

Rafilia was wearing armor made of leather armor pieced together.

The color is red. It goes well with Rafilia’s pink hair.

The construction looks sturdy. The chest, stomach, and hips are independent, so they don’t interfere with movement, and Rafilia’s large breasts are well contained.

But I don’t think it is without problems…

“…Why do you have spikes all over your body?”

On the chest, shoulders, and torso.

A thorn that seems to be about 10 cm long is growing outward.

“Yes, Master! This is the strength of this armor!”

“I guess that’s an advantage?”

“These blades are used to skewer an enemy that has attacked you!”

Avenger’s Armor

Leather armor with spikes all over the body.

Intimidation effect. Has a positive modifier for close combat.

The noise effect makes it easier for enemies to spot you.

Pay attention to the front and back side when you wear it.

“I can also damage enemies who carelessly approach me by hitting them with my body! It’s the perfect armor for both defense and offense!”

It’s the perfect chuunibyou armor.

I see.

Rewriting the bad luck skill didn’t cure Rafilia’s midlife crisis, did it?

“Rafilia.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Try a little bow pose.”

“Oh, yes. Gulp.”

pus

The spikes dug into Rafilia’s wrists and elbows.

Yeah. That’s how it is. When you draw a bow, you draw your arms to your body by clenching your armpits.

“Ha, ha, ah, ah. Huh.”

No, you don’t have to hold that pose.

“This, this, this much pain is nothing. If I can endure it, I can draw a bow.”

“But you can cut the string of a bow with a spike.”

“Whoa…”

Rafilia was impressed, and made a gesture of playing her bow with a bottle.

“Besides, Rafilia’s job this time is to protect Iris, right? If you try to protect Iris with that armor, It’ll skewer you.”

“…Oh.”

Rafilia held her head.

“No, no, no, but I have bad luck, and I can be caught by surprise. I need to be prepared for that!”

“I rewrote your bad luck skill, didn’t I?”

“That’s… right!”

You forgot about it, didn’t you?

But… that’s right.

If you think about it, Rafilia has been haunted by bad luck ever since she woke up, so it’s understandable that she would be cautious. To be frank, if she couldn’t trust her previous friends and ended up fighting alone, and kept doing that, she’d usually become very cautious.

I think this spiky armor is the product of a mid-life crisis.

“That’s right. I’ve become a new me.”

Rafilia hits herself on the head with her fist.

“I have Master now, don’t I?”

“Yes. So you don’t need armor just to look cool like that.”

“It’s cool, though.”

“There’s something romantic about hitting an attacking enemy and skewering it with your armor spikes.”

“It’s not very practical, is it?…”

“It’s cool, though.”

“It’s cool, though.”

“By the way, Rafilia.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Isn’t that armor for men?”

“That’s not true. It is said that it was originally made by a beautiful girl blacksmith to take revenge on the man who abandoned her. The blacksmith got her revenge and skewered the man and they were united at the bottom of a cliff.”

“Wait a minute, is that what ‘Avenger’ means?”

“Yes. This is an elaborate replica of it. It’s a wonderful work of art. If you look closely, you can even see the bloodstains here. …Oh, what are you doing, Master?　What are you doing, throwing it out the window? Oh, I’ll take it off myself!”

After sealing it up tightly, I decided to politely return it.

cough-cough

“Nagi, do you have a minute?”

There was a light knock at the door and Rita’s voice.

“Do you …mind checking gear?”

“Okay.”

Behind the open door, Rita was just peeking out.

She’s shyly fiddling with her golden hair with her fingers. She has a sheet wrapped around her body.

“…I’m a fighter, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So I picked the one that’s easiest to move around in, but I’m not so sure.”

Rita dropped the sheet that was wrapped around her body with a flutter.

I saw a black breastplate.

There was a cloth covering her waist and a thin steel plate surrounding it.

That was it.

All Rita is wearing is an iron breastplate that covers her chest, and a cloth and iron plate that cover her waist.

It was the so-called bikini armor.

I’ve seen them in games, but never in real life.

…I didn’t know that this world had bikini armor.

The breastplate managed to cover Rita’s entire chest. But because of the way it pushes the breastes up and down, it emphasizes her cleavage to a surprising degree.

The bottom half of her body is covered with a steel protector around her bikini swimsuit area in my world. It’s like she is wearing armor on her bare skin, and it’s quite erotic. It’s also cute.

“You see, this quest is going to be a seaside battle, right?　I thought it would be okay if it got wet so that I could move around easily in the water.”

Rita said, and stretched her chest, wrapped in a black protector.

“It’s the best outfit I’ve ever worn when it comes to mobility and reaction time. With this, I can kill enemies with my super reaction the moment I find them, right?　That way, I won’t have to use up Cecil’s magic power, and Nagi won’t be injured.”

Of course, it’s embarrassing, so I’m going to limit it to uninhabited dungeons like this one, but …what… do you think?

Rita murmurs in a whisper, looking to the side.

Her tail was twitching behind her black bikini.

Rita looked at me shyly, but then, as if she had taken the plunge, she spun around in front of me. Her back was well guarded around her shoulder blades, and there was a hole for the tail. It looks like it was made for a beast.

It looks really good on her.

I didn’t think a black bikini would look so perfect against Rita’s pure white skin. Cute.

Yeah. I think it’s good. I think it’s good, but…

“It’s pretty expensive, isn’t it?”

“What? Why?”

“Because it’s magic armor, right?”

In games and such, bikini armor is supposed to “convert charm into defense”. Of course, there’s no point in having armor that only covers your chest and waist. So, by implication, the entire body is covered with a magical field. This is the so-called magical armor setting.

That’s why the bikini armor in this world should also be magical armor.

“Magic armor are quite expensive. It’s a little over our budget.”

“Oh, I heard that kind of magic protection will be implemented in the next version.”

…Huh?

“So this is just a paper armor with high exposeure?”

“I’m fine! I have [Divine Power Grasp]. If I concentrate my divine power on the part of the body that will be attacked, there will be no problem. Right now, I should focus on ease of movement and attack power, right? That way, I can protect Nagi, right? That’s why I think this armor is the most appropriate for this quest.”

Rita’s body shuddered.

“Rejected.”

I pick my quill from the desk.

“What are you doing, Nagi?”

“I will see if it really is defensible”.

“It’s not fair to catch me by surprise! I did’t think Master was going to tickle me with a quill!”

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I did it out of reflex, too.”

Rita turned bright red and was shaking. Her golden tail was swollen and her ears were perked up. She wass holding herself in her white arms, still and alert.

“You know, Rita. I know you can defend yourself with the [Divine Power Grasp], but you have to be tense all the time. You’ll get tired faster, and you’ll lose energy. As your Master, I can’t allow you to fight that way.”

“But the easier it is to move, the higher my reaction speed and attack power will be. I want to be useful to Nagi!”

“No, because I wi;ll be worried.”

“…E.”

“You may know that you can protectruoy self, but that doesn’t make me feel safe. I have to worry about when you are going to get hurt, or when you are going to miss the timing of the [Divine Power Grasp]. My mind can’t handle the worry. No, you can’t. That armor is rejected.”

“Uh-oh.”

“You need to find a balance between offensive and defensive capabilities. As a master, I can’t allow you to fight in that outfit. That’s all.”

Armor that can only protect the chest and waist area is useless. It’s just like some part-time workers who were forced to work in factories without helmets and safety shoes.

We’re going to a dungeon, so Rita needs to have adequate protection.

“……All right, master. I’ll use normal equipment.”

Rita looked at me with tears in her eyes for a while, but then her shoulders slumped.

“If it really was a magical armor that converted Rita’s charm and cuteness into defensive power, there would be no problem.”

I said.

“Then I won’t have to worry about it at all. I’m sure you would be absolutely invincible then.”

But there was no way I could afford such magical armor.

But I’d like…… it if it were real. No, no. I don’t want Rita to go out dressed like that. She’s cute, though. The combination of Rita and a black bikini makes me wonder if God is in charge.

I hope it’s for home use. For home use.

“Nah, Nagi, gosh darn it, …”

The next thing I knew, Rita was turning so red that she looked like she was about to burst into steam.

“Can you say that again?”

“One more time?”

“What you just said. If this was some kind of magical armor that turns my charms into defenses?”

“It would have been the strongest defensive armor that no demon could harm, so you would have been safe, but now that it’s not the case, it’s unusable. It means that you have to use a different equipment.”

“…Whoa”

Rita flinched back, as if she had been punched in the jaw.

Then she nodded, holding her chest with a bright red face.

“…Yes. Master. Rita Melpheus will do as you say.”

“I’m sorry if I sound like I’m denying everything, and you went through a lot of trouble to make your choice.”

“That’s not the case.”

Rita looked kind of pouty and shook her head.

“It’s more of a full affirmation. Yeah, I get it. I know what Nagi finds attractive. Yes, Nagi is good at this kind of thing. He’s absolutely invincible because his charm is his defense.”

As she said this, Rita slowly backed away.

I mean, this is for home. No, no. I’ll have Aine make me a dress in the same shape, and when I see a chance, I’ll invite Cecil to join us too.

Smoothly, as if she had eyes in the back of her head, Rita backed away and walked out of the room.

Blonde hair. White skin. Beast ears and a tail. And a black bikini.

It was the strongest combination.

If the armor really converted “charm” into defense, she would have been invincible.

I can’t let her use the current version, can I? I can’t let them fight with that thing.

But for home use?

I’m not sure.

I’ll ask Letica the price later.

Then, a little while later.

“Na-kun, can I talk to you for a second?”

I heard a knock on the door and Aine’s voice.

“Yeah, the door is already open, so you can come in as usual, Aine.”

“Sorry to bother …you.”

When Aine came into the room, she was wearing her usual maid’s uniform.