Avalon's Dungeon

Chapter 231.1

　The one-hour-long durability test of the prototype armor was completed without a hitch.

「Good, good, my armor is showing the rigidity as calculated, my armor~♪」

　Dorothea pats her armor, which is still attached to the wooden doll, in a good mood. She treats it as if it were her own child.

「Well, let's check the fit next time. After that, it's time to test the durability of the armor while it's still on...」

　Dorothea looks at the armor intently.

（I know I said that, but it would have been helpful if it worked as Sara-san said, and if it had a function to report the amount of impact through it）

「Haha, what am I thinking, I wonder. There's no way that the chemicals Sara-san made would not be anything...」

　Dorothea laughed, saying rude things to herself, and propped the hammer she still had in her hand against the earthen wall of the workshop.

「Well then」

　Dorothea removes the armor from the wooden figure and checks the placement of the belt to which the armor is attached.

「I could have someone try it on for me, but it makes sense to test it yourself first.」

（Besides, I've already decided that I'm the first one to try on the newly made prototype!）

　The motive is approximately the latter.

　Dorothea attaches the armor directly to the sleeveless tunic she is wearing.

　She adjusts the position of the chest, and pulls and tightens the belts at the shoulders and the waist, respectively.

　Since this is light armor, the upper part of the body is tightly covered, while the lower part is not.

「Yes, it seems to fit well.」

　It is important that the armor can fit anyone's body because if it slips off in case of emergency, it could be a problem.

　After a few moments of light exercise, Dorothea moves her body and bends over, "— yes," she says, and then sits up, satisfied.

「It doesn't interfere with anything, and as usual, my armor is very well made.」

　Satisfied, she reaches for the belt around her waist to remove her armor.

「...What is it?」

　Suddenly, her hand stops pulling on the belt.

「Hmm...? It doesn't come off?」

　She tries to pull the belt again and again.

　However, no matter how hard she tries, it does not come off. Not only that, the belt, which has been tightened tightly around her body, does not move even a little bit.

「It's not right... design error?」

　That's absurd.

　The part to put on and take off the belt is basically made based on the model. The purpose is to make it possible for anyone to put on and off any kind of armor without any confusion.

　Therefore, it is not a part where mistakes are made in the design.

　The confusion grows.

「What's going on...?」

　As she pulls on the belt, she suddenly sees a pair of leather scissors on the metal desk next to her.

「......」

　Dorothea's throat clears.

　But she quickly comes to herself and shakes her head no.

「What am I thinking! I've just given birth to this armor! It's maybe my fault, but I can't just easily cut it with scissors!」

　Dorothea pushes aside her own feelings of discomfort and reaches for the belt once more.

「I-I'm sure I'm just wearing it wrong. I'm sure it'll be fine if I'm cool about it... Okay...」

　Dorothea gets herself together and tries to undo the belt.

　However, it doesn't budge at all.

　And that was not all.

「...Hmm?」

　Dorothea feels a strange sensation at the place where the armor touches her body.

　Something, wriggling, itchy...

『What a gentle person you are』

　Suddenly, from somewhere, she hears an unfamiliar, childlike voice with a neutral impression.

「Eh...?」

　Dorothea looks around.

　She is alone in the blacksmith's workshop, which is located in a corner of the castle. No one else is supposed to be here.

『You really wanted to destroy me, didn't you? But you held back because I was just born. Oh, what a wonderful person. I'm so happy to have someone like you wear me』

「No... way...」

　She has a bad feeling about this.

　And Dorothea looks down at the armor she's wearing.

『Yes, yes』

　Dorothea looks at her armor and it responds.

　『It's me. I'm here. You're wearing it. That's me.』

「Ehhhhhh!?」

　Dorothea exclaimed loudly in shock.

　But, fortunately, or unfortunately, the earthen walls of the workshop are thick enough that her voice does not reach the outside.

「Hey, what do you mean? My lovely armor finally came to life...!?」

　Dorothea is upset, and the voice of the armor says, "Maybe so."

　The armor is very talkative, but no, it's not. Dorothea thinks back.