It was a little past noon and time for the incessant sleepiness to set in.
　There were four figures in Lace's workshop. They were the four familiar figures of Wraith, Raffy, Sylvia, and Lurimes. All of them surrounded the black stone and had some kind of difficult look on their faces.

　This is because today we are gathered here to experiment with the creation of Wraith's golem. By the way, the shop is closed, but Rotia is sleeping in her room. I'm not sure if it's because he's a vampire, even though he's half vampire, but he's not very good at the hours of daylight.

''Well, what kind of golem shall we make?

　Wraith looked at the black magic stone and thought vaguely. It's not a good idea to have a golem that you can make, but it's a matter of concern because Helgar didn't specify the shape or material of the golem you want to make.

　Even though it was for the academy's class, Wraith's mind was buoyed by the fact that it was an experiment in creating a golem, something he had never done before. It was easy to see the true intention of wanting to try out various things from her childlike, glowing expression.

''Do you have any opinions, Master?''

　For now, I ask Rulimes, who is probably the most knowledgeable about golems in this group. Lurimes, who has attracted the gazes of three people, puts his hand on his chin and thinks for a while.

　And then, as if he had an idea, he opens his eyes with a snap--

Anyway, if we're going to make it anyway, it should be something cool!

　Raffy and Sylvia laugh together at Lulimes' words, which seemed to be deep in thought but didn't think anything of it. However, Wraith, who is getting excited, doesn't care, or perhaps he doesn't mind, nodded deeply to show his affirmation.

　The teacher-disciple duo of Rulimes and Wraith, who wanted to do it just right and get it over with as quickly as possible, and the Wraiths, who were full of motivation, were in agreement on their opinions, although their inner thoughts were the exact opposite.

''Well, form is important!　The cooler you look, the more motivated your students will be, maybe!
That's quite appropriate...
Haha.....

　The two people who can't stop having a bad feeling when they see the Wraith who is full of motivation are Raffy and Sylvia. From my past experience, I don't know what the Wraiths will be able to get out of a situation like this.

　However, since we are in a workshop, I believe that as expected, nothing spectacular will happen. Rather, I'm praying.

''As I recall, you're going to make a golem to use for training, right?　Then you'd better remember to make it suitable for it. Well, I don't know what the training was designed for...

　Raffy recalls what she heard from the Wraith beforehand and gives an opinion that is a thousand times more constructive than Lurimes. Lurimes, who nodded exaggeratedly at that opinion with a knowing look on his face, would have looked annoyed if he was a normal Wraith.

''It certainly would,''

　Even if we talk about training in a nutshell, is it training with humans in mind, or is it training with demons in mind? Depending on the type, the shape of the golem to be made will change. Well, as far as demons are concerned, there are a variety of sizes and shapes, so you'll have to decide on a suitable shape for yourself.

''For now, we have to decide whether to make it a human or a demon.
'Hmmm, well...'

　What can be made is limited either way, since it's something Wraith can imagine.

　The troubled Wraith suddenly comes up with an idea.

　-- then why don't we just make both forms?

Okay, target set!
...What are you going to do?

　Raffy, with a subtle expression on her face, asked, and Wraith grinned.

'Let's make a golem that can transform.'
...What?

　Raffy and Sylvia tilted their heads as if to say, "What is this guy talking about?". At the same time, they cocked their heads, wondering if golems were meant to transform in the first place.

''Err ... what are you trying to do, Ray-kun ...''

　Looking at his apprentice who was about to start doing something that seemed to take a lot of time and effort, Lurimes didn't even try to hide his disgusted expression. It was an unacceptable idea for someone who wanted to finish quickly and have a drink.

''I mean, I can do it in the first place, that-''

　It's an element that even Lurimes has never tried, such as the transformation of a golem, which is something that even Lurimes has never tried. I don't even know if it's possible in the first place. Looking at the wraiths who seem awfully confident, is it a guess?

　It's possible that this ridiculous apprentice might be possible, Lurimes looks at him expectantly.

''I don't know,''
Okay, can I go home?

　A big smile blossoms on his face as his hopes are cut off by his apprentice's words.

'It can't be good. I mean, there's no place for me to go back to.'
Yes!　I have a home to go back to, a bar!

　Wraith looks at Lurimes with white eyes as he clenches his fists and makes a forceful speech with tears. He strongly felt that he didn't want to become such a bad adult. He leaves Lurimes, who breaks down in tears, and faces the black magic stone.

''But what exactly are you going to do?　I know you're a hell of a guy, but isn't it hard to do something so unprecedented that you can't just go ahead and do it?
Maybe. Well, I said I didn't know, but I do have a plan. It's an experiment, so let's try what we can.
That too!

　Raising her arms in front of her chest, Sylvia also shows her motivation.

''For now, let's see what we'll use for materials. It's for training, and it would be nice to have something that's reasonably durable, but.......

　 He said he would use it to train swords and magic, so it shouldn't be something that would break after just a few attacks. Besides, I want a material that's easy for magic to pass through so that it can easily transform. After searching in my brain, there was only one material that came to mind.

'Shall I use Mithril?'

　It's the material I used when I made a staff for Sylvia before. It's easy for magic to pass through, and there's no other material that has the strength to pass through mithril. I'm sure Mithril will allow me to make more fine adjustments when creating a golem.

　Wraith immediately took out mithril and placed it under the black magic stone. Then he concentrates on it, remembering the time he made it at the academy.

　Then the shape of the mithril changes more and more, and eventually takes on a human shape. He is about the same height as the Wraith, and his physique is not so different from the Wraith. The Wraith based his body on his own body, which is the easiest to reproduce.

　However, unlike the Wraith, the golem holds a sword in one hand.

'Alright, Raffy, try slashing at this golem. Also, I'm sure Raffy can break it, but please don't do that.
Yeah, okay.

　Raffy pulls out the sword at her waist and holds it towards the golem as she is told. He swings his sword in a beautiful gesture of kesa-kake while keeping his handiness in his mind.

　Then the golem quickly reacted to Raffy's move and caught it with the sword it was holding. Raffy continued to swing his sword, but the golem defended it without danger. No matter how tame it is, it's still handling the attacks of an S-class adventurer, so it must be an amazing performance.

''Thank you, Raffy.
Is that enough?
Yeah.

　Their performance in close combat was confirmed.

''Next, Sylvia, can you ask for some light attack magic?
Are you sure?
Yeah, please.

　With her approval, Sylvia prepares her attack magic even though she is confused. As expected, she can't damage the room, so it's a single point-focused water magic method.

　Water like a thin needle appears in front of her palm, and after the sound of cutting the air with a huff, it quickly collides with the golem. Although the golem was somewhat upside down, it didn't seem to have suffered any fatal damage.

　Wraith looked at it and nodded with satisfaction.

''Even though it's for training, what the hell are you making.......''

　It is clear that the performance of the golem created by the Wraiths, including the golem that withstands the attacks and magic of the S-class adventurers, is generally considered to be astounding.

It's also a good idea to have a few of them on hand.

　After confirming the performance, Wraith got to work on the next task. From here on out, it's completely a part of Wraith's hobby.

　He touches the body of the golem he has created, and through alchemy, he puts in something like lines one after another. Wraith continues to repeat the process while checking the whole body in detail.

''I guess it's something like this.''

　The Wraith nodded, taking one last look at the entire golem in a circle. Then, as Wraith poofed away from the golem, the golem suddenly began to disintegrate into a human form.

　However, it was immediately apparent that the golem was not disintegrating, but rather was changing to achieve a certain shape. Like a robot, its body was reassembling itself.

''Eh.''

　Lurimes, who had been watching the Wraiths' work in a daze, opened his eyes.

　The golem that had lost its human form was now taking the form of a wolf like the one the Wraith had made at the academy. The silver wolf with an overwhelming presence would definitely be defeated in an instant by a low-ranking adventurer first.

　It was no longer a training puppet or anything like that, but more like a weapon.

''Yes........it won't be like that!''

　Rulimes is also a big surprise. What exactly is a golem? It's an existence that makes me want to think about what it means.

'Whoa, isn't this cool!

　Only the creator, the Wraith, expresses his excitement. It's true that the transformation is tantalizing, but the resulting over-specified weapon is no longer at the level of fear.

''Master!　Try to surround the golem with magic and attack it!
What more do you want to do...?
Please, this is the last time!

　Lurimes was asked to put her hands together and, although she was unwilling to do so, she fulfilled her apprentice's wishes. She snaps her fingers and the golem is surrounded by a ball of water.

　As soon as Lurimes waved her index finger down, the water balls began to move all at once. The numerous water balls running through the air attacked the golem without mercy.

　However, the golem avoids the attacking water balls with agile movements. It's as fast and responsive as it looks, just like a beast. Finally, it managed to get past Rulimes' magic without being hit by a single shot.

''........How is it?　Isn't that perfect?
'No, well, it's certainly good work, but...'
'Where in the world is a training golem that has the ability to fight even with S-ranked or higher demons, where are you aiming to go from here...'
I don't know what I want to do with my apprentice anymore.

　It seems that Wraith is the only one who is satisfied with the outcome of the training golem (weapon) that he created in his experiments.

　Wraith, who didn't get the reaction he expected, was a little dissatisfied.

　Nevertheless, Wraith believes that a boy of his age will definitely notice the charm of the transforming golem.

　For a student who has yet to see it, though, it's just a problem to be placed in such mysterious trust.

''I mean, Ray-kun, are you going to take that golem to the academy?
Yeah, what's the problem?
No, well, I guess you can do what you want now........but first of all, that golem, can you take it to the academy?

　When asked by Lurimes, Wraith thinks about it.

　What the golem is driven by is the magic power contained in the magic stone. Naturally, if the magic power is exhausted, the golem will also stop working, and it won't move until the magic power is poured into it again.

　And the performance of the golem that Wraith had just created was unprecedented. In other words, it consumes as much magic power as its performance.

　Whether the amount of magic power of such a golem can be covered by the amount of magic power of the Wraith is something that can be understood without trying.

　As if reading the Wraith's thoughts, the wolf-shaped golem that had been standing up on four legs in a dignified manner at just the right moment crumbles.

　There was not an ounce of the intimidating feeling that existed earlier, only the atmosphere of a silent wreckage. As much as the joy was great, Wraith stared at the golem that had stopped moving in a daze.


It's not a problem for me, but I need to replenish my magic power on a regular basis anyway, and I don't think there are probably any high-level mages in the academy who can do that. But that doesn't mean I can't go to the trouble of going to the academy to replenish my magic power every time it runs out.

　What Rulimes says is true, there is no such person who can replenish the magic power of a weapon level golem. In addition, it's impossible for Rulimes, an outsider, to enter and leave the academy freely.

　Even if they were free to come and go, there is zero chance that Rulimes would do such a troublesome thing, though, given her personality.


'Oh, well, I guess I will...'

　As expected of Wraith, Rulimes awkwardly scratched her cheeks as if she was starting to feel sorry for him.

　The golem that he had worked so hard to create, but there was no other way but to let him sleep in this place. The Wraith clearly wears an atmosphere of doldrums.

The first thing you need to do is to get your hands dirty. If you tell me, I'll help you again.
'Yes, Mr. Wraith!　We'll take care of it!

　Raffy and Sylvia waved their arms impatiently to comfort her. Wraith smiled an enlightened smile and shook her head emphatically.

''Thanks, both of you. .... but that's okay, I'll finish saying goodbye to Liquid #1.

　Wraith compassionately lets her hands touch the golem's body. She reacts as if she's lost her beloved dog that she had for many years, but it hasn't even been an hour since she created it.



　For some reason, Lurimes, who was being shown some kind of weird play, blurted out so that Wraith couldn't hear him.