After the dinner party at the Hollow Bottom Branch, the main shop group decided to return to the ground together and prepare for tomorrow.

　First of all, Noir and the other four were sent off to their respective rooms, and then Garnett and I headed back to the head office.

''Whew, it feels like a weight has finally been lifted off my shoulders.

　As soon as he entered the house, Garnett let out a satisfied breath as he rotated his shoulders.

Well, I've been of little use to you in terms of product development.
You've been busy in the shop the whole time, haven't you?　It was nice to see you follow through.
Oh, sure, thanks. You really have a way of flattering me, don't you?

　Garnett sat down on the couch with a look on his face that didn't seem full.

　In the meantime, I went to the kitchen and poured two cups of herbal tea that I had made and chilled in the dark.

　Then I sat down next to Garnett and handed her one of the cups with the herb tea.

'Here,'
"Hm.

　They exchanged a short exchange and cleared their throats at the same time.

'Speaking of burdens on your shoulders, how about the one about wanting to be strong?'
I'm sure you'll be happy with the medallion thing, but the rest of the armor is just as good. But the rest is armor. I think it's an excellent product as it stands, but the opponent is the one that needs to be strengthened a bit more: ......

　I could tell that Garnett was telling me his true intentions without having to be wrapped up, and I didn't need to be put into words.

　Of Garnett's current equipment, the sword is a first-class product on the market that I [synthesized] mithril to a first-class product, and Noir carved a magic crest so that it can generate magical slashes and barriers.

　The clothes are also specially made, using the dragon materials that Dragon Slayer Theodore had killed, and are one of the items that were tailored by a craftsman who was also introduced to me by Theodore.

'If you want to strengthen it further than that, well, ...... you don't hide the fact that you're a knight anymore, so should we look into using metal armor?'
We don't want to get too heavy and be out of step with the other guys. It's not a good idea to keep up with Sakura and Dustin on their feet.

　It seems that the performance of Garnett's body-enhancing skills doesn't seem to be affected much by wearing metal armor, but it seems to be a factor that he can't ignore ...... and the highest level of warriors as a comparison.

　I'm sure you'll be able to see the profile of Garnett, who is mulling over the matter with a serious expression on his face, and I'm strangely transfixed by it.

　It's really nice to see Garnett seriously engage in such a topic.

　After all, the true nature of a girl named Garnett will come out when she positions herself as a fighter and faces her role seriously.

　It's nice to see her laughing cheerfully in her daily life, but I may have quite a good taste in the way I feel the same amount of charm in her knightly behavior.

''Ma!　I'm not in a hurry to get there. I think it's much more realistic than making a flesh-and-blood body strong overnight. After all, our main business is a weapons store.
...... Yeah, yeah. That's right.
I'm counting on you, Luke.

　He smiled at me from right beside me, and I almost felt my heart skip a beat.

　If this is not useful, the name of the weapon shop will go out of business.

　It's still a shortcut to improving the quality of the sword base.
　The current swords are undoubtedly of an advanced quality within the range of what adventurers can normally obtain, but if you want more than this, it's going to be difficult.

　That's exactly what I might need to do to procure a famous and celebrated sword class.

　As long as I can procure a base, I'll be able to [synthesize] the mithril and then have Noir apply a new magic crest to it and adjust the battle style to match the virtual enemy in the future.

　As for the armor, there will be even more options.

　For example, the current dragon leather equipment will be improved.
　For example, metal armor made of [synthetic] mithril.

　Other than that, it might be a good idea to develop new equipment based on the fact that when the garnet was [synthesized] with the medallion's demonic beast factor, the strong fur element of the demonic beast Skoll was reflected in the armor.

　...... The edges of my mouth naturally loosened as I thought of such things.

　I've been in the weapons store business for more than a year now, and perhaps because of that, I've come to enjoy conceptualizing new products rather more than ever.

　The same was true when I was in a meeting with Noir and Alexia to discuss a prototype that was requested by the Ash Hawk Knights.

　Even though he carries the ostentatious title of knight, commander, or lord, his main job is as a weapons dealer - the excuses he has asserted on every occasion are never an excuse, I am convinced once again.

''Hmm?　Sounds like some fun.

　In the moment when I'm looking down with emotion, Garnett closes the distance as far as he can and looks into my face.

'Of course it's fun. We're a weapons store that likes to do this, and more importantly, we're thinking about your equipment.
"Heh, that's very nice of you to say ......

　I lifted Garnett's light body and sat him on my lap.

　I'm not sure if I have the skills for combat, or even the means to strengthen my body, but my physical abilities and prowess are commensurate with my physique.

　I'm sure that if you fight a garnet with all of your skills, you won't last a second, but when you're relaxed, it's easy enough to lift your slender body with ease.

　Feeling a moderate weight on my knees, I put my arms over my shoulders and lean in close.

　For my part, I wanted to continue like this for a while, but Garnett was fidgeting strangely, and was beginning to try to create a gap between his body and mine in his arms.

'Ah ...... yeah, right!　The bathrooms are available today, right?　Why don't you give it a try?
That's a good idea. Let's get some sweat out of you and freshen up. The smell of grilled meat is still there.
...... If you know what I'm talking about, don't do it!

　In my lap, Garnett shook his head and slammed the back of my head into my face with a momentum that didn't hurt much.