Chapter 654

Mourou’s Armor
Seeing the taxidermy reward had fired me up completely.
Next was the discussion about what I would actually deliver.
But their request was surprisingly simple.

“Something that can repel powerful curses. And it must completely block petrification curses.”

“Petrification… are you planning to take on a Basilisk or a Gorgon?”

Basilisks and Gorgons were the classic monsters that used petrification curses.
Petrification curses were such a nuisance that, without a way to dispel them, the best choice was simply not to fight.
So was that the level of enemy he meant?

“No, something much stronger. I can’t say its name, but it spreads petrification and death curses everywhere. A troublesome opponent.”

Death curses? Those sounded even worse than petrification.
That’s what I thought, but apparently, that wasn’t the case.
There were mass-produced magic tools that acted as substitutes for the bearer when a death curse hit.
Adventurers fighting monsters with such curses carried a large number of them.
These tools also worked on death curses used in sorcery, which made it very hard to assassinate nobles with such magic.
And apparently I’d been given several of these myself without realizing it.
I didn’t know they were that common.

“In any case, the monster spreads all kinds of curses, but petrification is the strongest and most dangerous. If it can’t be completely nullified, I can’t do the work I need for the mount.”

He really was an artist in his own way.
The other curses, ignition, freezing, and so on, could be handled with existing anti-curse items.
He only wanted petrification defense.
That much was no issue.

“Understood. So, what kind of armor do you want, Mourou?”

“The original request was a scale mail, but that won’t work this time. I’ll use my existing armor, so what I want is an under-armor garment to wear beneath it.”

Under-armor, huh…
But for something that simple, receiving those mounts felt unbalanced.
I should ask Fanny how valuable the Snow Crystal Fairy mounts actually were.

“The value of a Snow Crystal Fairy mount? Honestly, each one is the kind of item that, if auctioned separately, would soar in price. You can’t put an easy price on them.”

I see, he really hadn’t offered something you could buy just by having the money.
In that case, maybe I should offer something better on my side as well.

“Plum, would using dragon scales be a problem?”

“Of course it would. The Darshe Principality’s grand duke commissioned you to make dragon-scale equipment. You cannot hand such a thing to an ordinary adventurer.”

Denied.
So what could I use?
At most, dragon shed-skin leather would be barely acceptable.

“That material we still have in abundance, and using it isn’t an issue. Considering the rarity of what you’re receiving, it’s an appropriate balance.”

Plum judged the value roughly equal to my own dragon leather armor.
Good—once that was settled, things moved quickly.

I took Mourou’s measurements and moved to an empty room to begin work.

Since I was making a leather armor set, the parts were: chest armor, shoulder armor, gauntlets, lower-body armor, greaves, and the under-armor garment.

I drafted entirely new patterns based on Mourou’s build.
Completely different from women’s sizing, so that was unavoidable.

The armor pieces were constructed from triple-layer dragon leather, using pre-tanned material.
For enchantments, I added moderate resistances and Self-Repair.
That alone made it enormously valuable.

The under-armor’s exterior was Ogre Spider Silk, and the lining Frost Spider Silk, forming a double structure.
I embedded multiple curse resistances and gave it excellent defense.
Naturally, this too had Self-Repair.
Honestly, if curses were the only concern, he could fight wearing just the under-armor.

That should finish the preparations.
I returned to the previous room to deliver it.

“… Already finished?”

“Yes. I had all the materials on me, and pattern-making is something I’m used to.”

“I’ll put it on just to confirm.”

“Please. If anything feels off, tell me and I’ll adjust it.”

Mourou left briefly, then returned wearing the armor.
The gauntlets had scratches, he must have tested the defense.

“Amazing… am I really allowed to receive something like this?”

“Yes. I’m getting something just as valuable in return.”

“… Very well. Still, I can’t help feeling indebted. Once this request is over, let me gift you a new piece. Would you prefer something eye-catching and fierce, or something beautiful?”

Hmm, tough choice.
Plum and the others preferred beautiful pieces for furnishing, so I’d go with that.
If I wanted something else later, I could commission it privately.
Fanny and the others knew plenty about monsters anyway.

I wasn’t much into mounts myself, but I was looking forward to seeing what he would send.

What do you think about this chapter?