"Ah... it's Airmid. You're back so early today~"
Facing their own deity, it was the first time Isagi and Cecil had seen Airmid wear such a terrifying expression.
It couldn't be helped.
She probably had it rough too.
After all, Dian Cecht was famous throughout the city—an unreliable fellow said to be no less so than the god Loki. If she weren't a bit strict, the whole Familia would probably have been squandered away by him long ago.
"Don't tell me you're trying to sneak something out to sell again?!"
"I'm not!"
"Did you rack up debt at the casino again?"
"As if!!"
"Then it's the Pleasure Quarter."
"How can you slander a god's innocence out of thin air like that—and besides, the Pleasure Quarter doesn't let you run a tab anymore these days..."
At this point, the elderly god looked rather indignant, huffing and glaring.
Isagi had heard about it too.
Ever since Goddess Kali took over the Pleasure Quarter, the rules over there seemed to have become much more "stringent." After all, many Amazon warriors who had once belonged to the Battle Nation had come; though since everyone had a poor impression of the sort who frequented the place, the Guild didn't much bother with it.
Cough, cough, cough.
"I just saw that this thing you were making is a little..."
"Get lost, now!"
"!!!"
Watching Dian Cecht set down the box and flee in a panic, both Isagi and Cecil inexplicably felt a headache on Airmid's behalf.
Thank goodness Goddess Astrea was quite a relief to deal with.
The silver-haired girl let out a lament, walked over, and looking at the boxes scattered across the floor, didn't pick them up but simply tore one open then and there.
Inside was a doll.
As a whole it took on a humanoid shape, but the body and head were hollowed-out in design, woven only from fine threads of gold and silver, like a... wicker man?
One glance told you this thing was quite extraordinary.
Isagi had earlier asked Airmid to make a doll, thinking that perhaps in the future, down in the Dungeon, he might find the souls of Alfia or Alise-senpai and the others, and maybe then he could place them inside a doll for a "resurrection" of sorts.
But now there was no need.
Yet the girl had clearly kept the matter of making the doll on her mind all along, which was why there was today's "work."
Airmid did possess this ability.
The girl had previously made "prosthetic limbs" lifelike enough to pass for real for some adventurers in the city.
Though the price was extremely steep.
But they truly let adventurers who had lost a hand or foot and been forced to retire keep working in the trade.
This had to do with the [Mystery] Developmental Ability that Airmid herself possessed.
And making the doll before them was, for her, both "right up her alley" and, in a sense, a challenge.
A partial limb and a complete human form were entirely different concepts; most importantly, it also had to be made to "move," and even to possess certain abilities——
Especially since the task had now changed.
Originally what was needed was a vessel that could carry a soul, but now what was needed was a weapon or piece of equipment—something that could be put to use in combat.
"I thought of that thing you had before... um... [Soul Teardrop]."
Airmid had seen Isagi's "Teardrop Big Bro."
That marvelous being composed purely of magic, capable of imitating anything—even Isagi himself.
Not only that.
Even the skills and magic the boy could use, it could imitate perfectly—truly a "BUG"-level existence.
And now.
This doll was prepared precisely for [Soul Teardrop].
Teardrop Big Bro's only weakness was that it was pure magic, so it became very troublesome when it ran into something that countered it.
For instance, in the earlier battle against Alfia, Teardrop Big Bro had been completely useless.
On top of that, because it was itself magic, it could naturally be "canceled out" by another kind of magic—put plainly, it too was vulnerable to the enemy's magic output.
On this basis.
Cecil and Airmid came up with the idea of making a "body" for [Soul Teardrop].
"This doll is made from pure [Magic-Reflecting Armor]."
"?"
Come to think of it.
Armor capable of reflecting magic was absolutely a "rarity" in this world.
Otherwise, back when Ryuu-senpai and the others first encountered [Juggernaut], it wouldn't have resulted in the outright deaths of two of their mage senpai.
But in his own special Dungeon, this thing really wasn't all that rare.
It even gave Isagi the sense that every cat and dog could, to some degree, reflect a bit of magic.
As a result, he and the girls were now all quite familiar with it—so much so that whenever they ran into a new monster, they'd routinely first probe it with a lower-powered spell.
And because they understood it somewhat.
Isagi also knew that this thing was, in essence, just the most basic "spear and shield" problem.
[Magic-Reflecting Armor] was not absolute; once the opponent's magic exceeded the degree it could counter, it would be destroyed.
Earlier.
Cecil had once forged herself a great shield that could reflect magic, but it turned out not to be very useful in the Dungeon, because the monsters' levels were generally too high, making it hard to use it to counter them.
As for this doll, based on the earlier test where they'd dragged Lefiya in, it should be enough to withstand magic bombardment of at least Lv6 level.
"...Mm... probably, I suppose."
Cecil was mainly unsure whether it could block bombardment on the order of the "[Explosion Magic]" that Lefiya and Riveria could unleash.
But there was no way to test it, mainly because it would be a bit too much of a waste if it actually got broken.
"Still, it should be enough."
It was for Teardrop Big Bro to use anyway, so even if it broke in the Dungeon, there was nothing to worry about.
After that.
Airmid began to explain their little clever touches.
This doll actually had two "forms." One was like now, with the body and head hollowed out, so that the [Soul Teardrop] inside it could actively cast magic.
At the same time, the originally hollow body and head could also be completely "sealed," which would fully ward off magic attacks and effects.
Of course, in that case Teardrop Big Bro itself couldn't use magic either, but it only had to open the sealed armor when casting magic—a design with quite a bit of room for maneuvering.
But none of this was the most important part.
"And with Fels's help, we managed to make this."
Cecil once again produced a tiny little doll—except, surprisingly, it looked a bit like Isagi himself.
"[Soul Doll]."
Through a certain ritual, the damage one took could be transferred onto this doll.
Incredible.
You could even pull off something like that?
Now Teardrop Big Bro was truly an all-rounder king—it was as good as having an extra stand-in for himself, and most importantly, in many cases he could forcibly tank a skill and trade one-for-one with the opponent. Not bad.
Not only that, Cecil also had a plan to link and reinforce her own [Wolf's Feast] armor with this [Soul Teardrop] doll in some way.
This couldn't help but make Isagi wonder.
Could it be that in the future he might even be able to "fuse" with Teardrop Big Bro? And wouldn't that be a bit... mm, hard to say—Isagi found it a bit hard to say.
____
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