The well-Balanced Yamamoto-san Gets Caught up in a Death Game

Chapter 44

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Two weeks until the Grand Martial Festival—

Lately, I’ve been incredibly busy—releasing [Thousand-Changing Flower] into the market, discussing food stall plans, watching Lili-chan and Tatsu-san train at the Adventurers’ Guild’s underground facility, bumping into Tuna-san while sampling food, and endlessly collecting seawater.

But with the Grand Martial Festival approaching, I summoned Lili-chan (and Tatsu-san, by extension) to the rental blacksmith workshop I’d leased.

Well, I’m planning to discuss things I’d rather others not overhear.

I’ll consult with the two of them in this soundproofed facility.

“So? What’s this about today?”

“I called you both here to unveil Lili-chan’s equipment and discuss it. That’s why I invited you too, Tatsu-san.”

“Discuss? Ain’t the equipment finished?”

“The base is done. I want to talk about how to complete it from here.”

“I don’t get it. Can’t you just show us the equipment and explain?”

Tatsu-san is so impatient!

But I suppose it’ll be easier for them to understand if I explain while showing them the actual thing.

“Alright. Then open your eyes wide and take a good look!”

“If I open my eyes too wide, it’ll hurt.”

“I don’t think I can open them that wide…”

Could you not nitpick that?

Blushing slightly, I take out a small humanoid figure from [Storage] and place it down.

Yeah, it’s a bulky doll about 160 centimeters tall.

“…?”

Well, I can understand Lili-chan’s reaction since it has almost no seams and is made entirely of black metal.

By the way, this doll—

The head part is round like a helmet, the torso is an inverted triangle, and the legs are thick and long. The outer shell of this doll is made of magic iron with a strong black color, and its surface is intricately covered with iridescent magical lines.

To me it looks like a doll, but to someone seeing it for the first time, it might look like a clunky full-body armor?

And Tatsu-san provided a more understandable answer.

“A robot… or something?”

Hmm. Close, but not quite.

“I named it Customed Over Gear, or COG for short, but simply put, it’s a kind of powered suit. COG-002L, open the hatch.”

Responding to my words, a light hiss of air escapes, and the abdominal part of the doll slowly opens outward. Inside is a cockpit designed with shock absorption and close fit in mind. You get into this cockpit to operate the COG.

“Now, Lili-chan, get inside.”

“Eh…?”

“This is a weapon for you, Lili-chan.”

“Eeeeeeh!?”

I grab Lili-chan, who’s saying something like “No way,” and forcibly stuff her into the COG.

She seems to have struggled, but she can’t escape from my arms with over 200 physical attack power.

“We’ll need to register Lili-chan’s voice pattern later too. COG-002L, close the hatch.”

“This is imposs—”

Yep, Lili-chan’s scream was cut off.

COG-002L’s airtightness is perfect.

“Can she breathe in there?”

“That’s not an issue.”

I wouldn’t make a coffin that suffocates you as soon as you get in, of course.

“By the way, can production classes really make something like this?”

“If you try hard enough, you can.”

Tatsu-san looks at me suspiciously.

“Well, you’ve helped me out a lot, so I won’t pry too much.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

Tatsu-san, who’s entering the Grand Martial Festival with that, will probably be bombarded with questions though.

“I-I feel like I’m being squeezed!”

Oh, it’s recognized Lili-chan as the pilot and started moving.

“Calm down, Lili-chan. That’s to adapt to COG’s high maneuverability. It shouldn’t squeeze you more than necessary.”

“Y-yes. It stopped…”

“Then try standing up.”

“Um, how do I…”

“Just move as if you’re moving your own body normally.”

“O-okay…”

COG-002L starts moving, still with some tension.

But its movements are very slow.

“I don’t mean to doubt you, Yama-chan, but can she fight like this?”

“According to the design, Lili-chan’s stats should triple in all areas except Luck when wearing COG-002L.”

“Does this thing have horns!?”

No, the coloring is almost all black, you know?

It’s not red.

And Lili-chan seems to be more cautious than I expected.

“Lili-chan, you can stand up more dynamically. I’ve installed an automatic posture control system, so you won’t fall over easily.”

“Yama-chan, you do realize LIA is supposed to have a fantasy setting, right?”

“I know. That’s why I went out of my way to rent this blacksmith workshop where we won’t attract attention.”

I thought I was being considerate about that, but did I do something wrong?

Tatsu-san is shaking his head.

Then, COG-002L suddenly springs up from its lying position.

“Wawawa…”

But the automatic posture control system kicks in, and COG-002L lands perfectly in place.

“Oh, you stood up.”

“That surprised me…”

“Ain’t the movement really unnatural?”

“Lili-chan is currently three times stronger than normal, so it’s probably hard to control her strength.”

“I don’t think that’s the issue…?”

Tatsu-san, please don’t dig any deeper.

I was about to say “Bravo, oh, bravo” myself.

“Anyway, Lili-chan, try walking around the workshop.”

“O-okay…”

Lili-chan’s movement is quite fast even though she’s just walking. Well, COG-002L has a long stride. Each step covers a lot of ground.

“The view is so high. And even though I’m barely moving, it feels like I’m going really fast…”

“No, you actually are. You’re moving at about a light jog’s pace.”

“Really…? Also, my reactions feel much quicker…”

That’s because your Intuition has tripled too.

I think that’s why your body feels easier to move.

“But triple, huh.”

“You look like you want to say something, Tatsu-san.”

“Well, I’m wondering if triple is enough.”

That’s something I’ve been concerned about too.

“The base is triple, and I plan to strengthen it further with options, but…”

“Wouldn’t it be better to check Lili-chan’s stats first? Then we can think about which direction to take with the options.”

“That might be true, but…”

In normal VRMMORPGs, peeking at other people’s stats or skills is considered bad manners. And [Appraisal] is also considered rude because of that.

Well, it’s a different story if you get the person’s permission.

So, I stop Lili-chan as she’s walking around and try to negotiate, and surprisingly, she agrees easily.

“Everyone is thinking so hard for my sake, I can’t refuse to disclose my stats!”

That’s what she said.

So, we immediately check Lili-chan’s stats. After she unchecks the option to hide stats from others—

====================

Name: Lili

Race: Imp (Demon)

Gender: ♀

Age: 12

LV: 15

HP: 260/260

MP: 310/310

SP: 8

Physical Attack: 14

Magical Attack: 30

Physical Defense: 19

Magical Defense: 17

Stamina: 26

Agility: 31

Intuition: 16

Spirit: 31

Fate: 17

Unique Skill: [Certain Hit]

Racial Skill: [Mischief]

Common Skills: [Fire Magic] Lv5 / [Dark Magic] Lv2 / [Light Magic] Lv2 /

[Presence Detection] Lv3 / [Archery] Lv2 / [Magic Effect Increase] Lv4 / [Guts] Lv3

====================

Yeah. Yeah… yeah.

How should I put this, maybe because I’m comparing it to my own stats, but it feels really lonely…

“Ah, [Fire Magic] has reached level 5!”

“That’s great. You’ve been training hard at the training facility every day.”

“Yes!”

This conversation is painful to hear for me, whose skill levels increase almost automatically!

“So this will be tripled, right?”

“That means it’ll be like this.”

====================

Name: Lili

Race: Imp (Demon)

Gender: ♀

Age: 12

LV: 15

HP: 780/780

MP: 930/930

SP: 8

Physical Attack: 42

Magical Attack: 90

Physical Defense: 57

Magical Defense: 51

Stamina: 78

Agility: 93

Intuition: 48

Spirit: 93

Fate: 17

Unique Skill: [Certain Hit]

Racial Skill: [Mischief]

Common Skills: [Fire Magic] Lv5 / [Dark Magic] Lv2 / [Light Magic] Lv2 /

[Presence Detection] Lv3 / [Archery] Lv2 / [Magic Effect Increase] Lv4 / [Guts] Lv3

====================

“Amazing! It’s cheating! It’s the strongest!”

Well, um, yeah, how should I put this…?

“It’s not enough.”

While I was hesitating, Tatsu-san cut in bluntly!

“We heard A-rank adventurers will be participating in the Grand Martial Festival. A-rank adventurers are supposed to have most of their stats over 100, and their specialties approaching 200. Plus, they’ll be using advanced skills left and right. With stats like these, honestly, it won’t even be a competition.”

Wait, doesn’t that mean I’m beyond an A-rank adventurer with all my stats over 200 and some over 300?

Ah, but there’s a skill gap.

I haven’t acquired any advanced skills yet either.

“I see…”

Lili-chan looks dejected.

But this is where COG-002L really shines!

“Don’t worry, Lili-chan. COG-002L… it’s hard to say, so I’ll just call it Cog-2 from now on. Cog-2 can have options added! With those, we can boost your stats even further, so I think you’ll be able to compete with tough opponents! So don’t lose hope!”

“O-okay!”

That’s a good response.

Now we’ll discuss with Tatsu-san about which direction to boost the stats and what functions to expand.

As a result, we decided to modify Cog-2 into an evasion tank type focusing on magical attack, agility, and intuition. It seems they judged that two rear guards would be difficult to fight with.

The plan is to modify it over a week, then spend the remaining week doing practical tests in the Forzine Underground Labyrinth, but…

Between the food stall issue, the EOD matter, the [Mysterious Regeneration Potion] thing, I have way too much to do, geez!

Well, I can’t complain since I chose to do all this myself!