Mikoto’s Invention

On a moonlit night, the moon shone over Kyō, the capital of the Yamata Kingdom.

Inside Mikoto’s private chamber in the castle, the Demon King and Mikoto were seated on the tatami floor.

Standing before them was the goblin mage Gobe.

However, Gobe was wearing a suit of iron armor.

It completely covered him from head to toe.

Only the face portion was made of transparent glass.

The Demon King furrowed his brow and looked at Gobe with suspicion.

“So this is the armor that blocks Holy Wave…?”

“Yes. It’s only a prototype, but in theory it should block it. I’ve named it Ultimate Defense-kun No. 1.”

Mikoto answered coolly, without a hint of laughter. Her glossy black hair swayed gently.

At the name, one of the Demon King’s eyebrows twitched, but he said nothing.

Instead, he examined the armor closely before speaking.

“Gobe, move.”

“Y-yes, Demon King… i-it’s… heavy…”

Clank… clank…

Gobe moved at an incredibly slow pace.

Since the joints would not bend, he walked stiffly, like a stick with arms and legs forced straight.

The Demon King snorted in exasperation.

“Hah! You can’t even move properly! At the very least, the joints need to move, or you won’t even be able to swing a weapon.”

“I told you, it’s a prototype. If there are gaps, Holy Wave would seep in through them.”

“How heavy is it? It looks heavier than ordinary armor.”

“I already made it thinner than before, you know? It’s also a double-layer structure, inside and out. The hollow interior is densely inscribed with new curse sigils created from primordial light.”

Mikoto replied with a mysterious smile curling the corner of her beautiful lips.

The Demon King covered his mouth as he thought.

“Hollow and curse sigils… I suppose using cloth at the joints would defeat the purpose…”

Just then, Gobe—who had been clanking along—suddenly began to suffer.

“Hm? What’s wrong, Gobe!?”

“I-I can’t… breathe…”

Gobe tried to remove his helmet, but with his arms stiff like rods, he could not. His face beyond the glass rapidly turned pale.

“Gobe!”

The Demon King rushed over and tore the helmet off.

Gobe collapsed onto the floor, gasping violently for air.

Mikoto shrugged her slender shoulders and put on a sorrowful expression.

“Oh, right. I forgot about breathing. Experiments always come with sacrifices.”

“Y-you…!”

Grinding his jagged teeth together, the Demon King glared at Mikoto.

Mikoto averted her gaze without remorse, then spread her fan and fanned herself with an alluring smile.

—Just then.

There was a knock at the door.

The Demon King widened his eyes and fell silent, placing a hand on the sprawled Gobe as he muttered a spell.

Instantly, the two of them took on the appearance of ordinary humans.

Mikoto shot a sharp sideways glance toward the door.

“Do not open it. We have a guest at the moment. …Now then, what is it?”

A voice answered from beyond the door.

“A thief appears to have broken in and stolen one of your treasures, Lady Mikoto.”

Despite hearing that a treasure had been stolen, Mikoto did not flinch in the slightest.

With a dignified voice, she urged him to continue.

“Oh? A thief, you say… what exactly was taken?”

“Well… the storehouse was disturbed but nothing there was touched… It seems the glowing orb you left in your laboratory was taken.”

Until then, Mikoto had maintained her confident smile, but her face stiffened sharply as she began roughly searching her sleeves and inner folds of her kimono.

Almost immediately, her beautiful features twisted with panic. Even that expression looked like a painting.

“Damn it! I got too absorbed in the experiment…! Retrieve it at once! Immediately!”

“Yes. Shall we deploy the Legendary Three Ninja?”

“Recover it using the maximum force available!”

“Understood.”

The presence outside the door vanished.

Mikoto grimaced in distress.

The Demon King returned to his true form and spoke.

“That glowing orb… don’t tell me it was the Jewel of Light?”

“Yes… I usually carry it with me, but today I used it to generate new curse sigils and carelessly left it behind…”

Mikoto scratched her head hard with slender fingers.

She continued scratching as if venting her frustration, unconcerned with her black hair falling across her porcelain-like cheeks.

The Demon King looked at Mikoto with a serious expression.

“That’s my fault, then, for having you cooperate. …If they fail to catch the thief by night’s end, I’ll send my subordinates as well. It’s an island nation—using sea and aerial monsters, escape will be impossible.”

“Yes, please do… It’s a miraculous artifact passed down among the dragonfolk, after all… Though I do believe the Legendary Three Ninja will recover it…”

Mikoto’s sorrowful face was fragile and beautiful, as if she might shatter at any moment.

-One day remaining until Lady Mikoto reaches the banks of the Sanzu River-

After returning to the Yamata Kingdom, Edgar delivered Princess Nobara to the Mikawari Corps estate in the capital, Kyō.

He cleared up the misunderstanding, explained the situation, and somehow secured their protection of the princess.

However, a final decision would only be made after an audience with Lady Mikoto herself.

An act as advanced as resurrecting the dead was beyond the sole authority of the Mikawari Corps in the Yamata Kingdom now ruled by Mikoto.

Leaving the princess in their care, Edgar departed from the estate.

Later, under the cover of twilight, Edgar infiltrated Mikoto’s castle.

Suppressing his presence, he activated the thief skill “Treasure Detection.”

There was only one target.

—the Jewel of Light.

He searched the storehouses, but found nothing.

Next, he entered the castle itself and used the detection skill again.

This time, there was a response from the upper floors.

“Just as I thought… it’s here—Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique.”

As he activated the technique, Edgar also triggered the thief skill “Stealth,” completely erasing his presence.

In this country, anything less would not fool the guards.

He climbed the wooden stairs, sometimes scaling the outer walls to reach the upper levels.

Eventually, he entered a rather large room.

It was a stark, utilitarian workspace, completely out of place in a resplendent castle.

On the workbench were heating lamps, glass flasks, mortars, and filtration devices.

In one corner stood an anvil, a hammer, and a high-temperature furnace—blacksmithing equipment as well.

Nearby, the glowing orb had been casually set down with a careless plop.

Edgar carefully scanned his surroundings as he approached.

He picked up the orb.

“Are you serious…? Why leave it lying around like this… Well, I’m grateful, but still.”

The moment he tucked it into his clothing, a commotion suddenly erupted outside.

When he went to the window and looked down behind the castle, it seemed the break-in at the storehouse had been discovered.

He could sense people approaching outside the workshop as well.

Edgar raised his face and fixed his gaze on the distant view beyond the window.

The moon dimly illuminated the cityscape of Kyō, spreading across the plateau.

He formed hand signs with both hands and stared at a single point in the distance.

“All or nothing—Wind Release: Wind Crossing Technique.”

Edgar’s figure was swallowed by a whirlwind and vanished.

At the same time, guard samurai, blacksmiths in work robes, and mages burst into the room.

They searched for what had been stolen, but a blacksmith noticed the absence of the orb near the furnace and went pale.

“The glowing sphere—Lady Mikoto’s orb is gone!”

In a panic, everyone rushed out of the workshop.