"Yura-exclusive… What do you mean by that?"
When I asked, the Director put on a proud look.
Her expression practically screamed "I'm so glad you asked."
"This golem is revolutionary! It'll overturn all existing common sense."
The Director gesticulated wildly as she made her case.
She was clearly brimming with confidence.
Her eyes gleamed, and she'd stopped blinking altogether.
"The Magitek Kingdom's golems and the prototype golem from earlier were designed so that anyone could operate them. That way, you can easily bolster your fighting forces with capable units. It's a very logical approach — yes."
Having said that much, the Director suddenly dashed forward.
She planted herself in front of the golem in question and placed a hand on its shoulder.
Then she spun around to face me with a flourish.
"But this exclusive golem is different! It went in the exact opposite direction from that design philosophy!"
"The opposite?"
"It was designed with Yura in mind from the start — everything from the outer shell to its functions has been optimized for her. Anyone else would find it nearly impossible to pilot."
"I see."
I raised my opinion of her slightly.
Her approach was genuinely innovative.
If the user was limited to a single person, pushing performance to the extreme wasn't a bad call at all.
You'd never get there if you shackled yourself to existing concepts and conventional wisdom.
John Dou had pursued a future where guns, enhanced armor, and high-performance golems were all designed for broad usability so anyone could fight. This philosophy stood in direct opposition to that.
He'd built the Giant Golem too, but that was purely a decisive-weapon project.
Judging from the entire development process, her work diverged from John Dou's approach.
That one had been an exceptional case, created with the Demon Lord in mind.
Meanwhile, the Director seemed to prefer this kind of weapon.
She enjoyed developing weapons anyone could use as well, but her true talents lay in this kind of work.
That said, the Director and Yura were supposed to have just met for the first time — how had she manufactured a custom unit?
When she'd gathered that information was a mystery.
I didn't recall granting the Director enough authority to investigate Yura in detail.
(…Could Luciana have told her on a whim?)
After a moment's thought, I deduced the cause.
Luciana was exactly the kind of person who'd do something like that.
Still, I had no intention of punishing her for it.
Developing a custom unit was hardly a bad thing for the Demon Lord's domain.
Luciana hadn't lied to me either.
She must have judged this to be beneficial and provided the information to the Director accordingly.
I approached the custom unit and examined its finer details.
Even on a second look, the craftsmanship was remarkably refined.
"You said it's Yura-exclusive, but could someone like me pilot it?"
"Someone as far beyond the norm as the Demon Lord might manage, but I imagine the handling would be quite poor?"
"Fair enough."
Listening to the Director's assessment, I continued my inspection.
I couldn't detect a trace of magical energy from the custom unit.
It wasn't filled with fuel yet.
Actually, there wasn't even a place to hold fuel in the first place.
The prototype golem had a box mounted on its back.
The custom unit, however, carried no such container.
A frame this slender wouldn't have the interior space for one either.
Noticing my gaze, the Director chimed in with a delighted expression.
"You noticed already! This custom unit doesn't have a reservoir for magical energy. I removed it because it wasn't needed."
"Does it have some other power source installed?"
"Exactly! The plan is for Yura to possess it and run it on her own magical energy! Since she's a fragmented manifestation of a Great Spirit, something like that should be entirely possible."
"…Hmm, that does make sense."
Yura's body was composed of magical material.
That allowed her to phase through physical objects at will.
She also possessed a high degree of intelligence.
During her time living in the castle, it had been discovered that she could interfere with magical devices.
Possessing a golem should pose no problem whatsoever.
"This unit can't be remotely operated, so it functions more like armor, in a sense. Think of it as something Yura wears on her body."
"Yura, can you possess it?"
When I asked, Yura fixed her gaze on the custom unit.
After a brief silence, she answered.
"Analyzing the internal structure of the weapon — feasible. Shall I proceed?"
"Yes, please do."
"Command accepted — initiating possession."
Yura's body thinned out and dispersed, overlapping with the custom unit.
Instantly, the entire unit lit up across every joint and seam.
The circuitry had activated.
The custom unit began to move with slow, deliberate motions.
It turned its head, looking alternately at me and the Director.
Seeing this, the Director practically leaped for joy.
"Oh! Oh! It worked! Yura, how is it? No problems, I hope?"
"Measuring integration rate with the host frame — extremely favorable."
Yura's voice emanated from the custom unit.
Hearing that sent the Director into even greater excitement.
She took a deep breath and carefully issued her next instruction.
"Th-then, could you try moving it around a bit…?"
"Command accepted — commencing test drive of the host frame."
Yura began walking the custom unit forward.
She gradually accelerated from there, and before long leaped into the air, shattering the floor beneath her.
She kicked off a wall to rotate, then landed on all fours with practiced ease.
The movements were startlingly bestial.
The Director and I stood side by side, watching from a safe distance.
"That's impressive."
"My goodness, all those sleepless nights of development were worth it. I pulled seven all-nighters in a row, you know? I can't even remember when I last made it home."
The Director murmured with deep feeling.
There were some telling words buried in there, but pointing them out now would be poor form.
I resolved then and there to absolutely make sure the Director underwent undead conversion.
Setting my private thoughts aside, I shifted the topic.
"…By the way, why did you build a custom golem for Yura specifically?"
"Well, I thought it could serve as a trigger for her to understand how to wield power. Rather than having those around her suppress her immense strength, I thought it was better for her to learn to manage it herself. During those innocent but dangerous times, she deserves every opportunity to grow."
The Director spoke with a surprisingly serious expression.
I hadn't expected her to hold such a philosophy.
She'd developed the custom unit as the result of her own careful reasoning.
A silence settled over the room.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, the Director broke into a grin.
"Well, the real reason is that I just wanted to build one! Custom units are amazing, aren't they? At my last workplace, they never let me build what I wanted, and it was truly tedious."
"…I see."
I suppressed my confusion and nodded along.
It was impossible to tell from her profile which of those two reasons was the honest one.
Or perhaps both were equally true.
Meanwhile, the custom unit's movements had grown even more extreme.
It moved at blinding speed in every direction, leaving afterimages in its wake.
There was no sign of the unit malfunctioning.
It had been built with impressive durability.
Midway through, the Director turned to face me.
She spoke in a measured, tentative tone.
"Demon Lord, I have a small favor to ask…"
"What is it? Go ahead."
"Would you be willing to spar with Yura's custom unit using the prototype golem? I need combat data for future reference."
At some point, she'd produced a thick stack of paper.
A glance told me they were recording sheets.
She intended to jot down the golem's performance data.
There was no particular reason to refuse.
Conducting a test was a good thing.
I nodded without hesitation.
"Hmm, very well."
"Thank you! Let me confirm with Yura too!"
The Director stopped Yura and explained the situation.
After hearing the proposal, Yura stood perfectly still and responded.
"In favor of the proposal — requesting a mock battle with the Master."
"Thank you, Yura! Let's get the arena ready right away!"
The Director clapped her hands, and a cubic barrier formation materialized in the center of the room.
It was fairly spacious inside.
I supposed we were meant to fight in there.
I re-established my connection with the prototype golem inside the barrier.
Without a moment's delay, the custom unit piloted by Yura entered the space.
We faced off at a set distance.
"Master, I look forward to our bout."
"Yes, likewise — don't hold back."
The Director took up a position just outside the barrier and called out to us.
"Yura's custom unit is equipped with both flight and beam functions! Neither is fully stabilized yet, so please be careful when they're used!"
"Explanation understood — gratitude for the advice."
Yura powered up her frame, the whir of its mechanisms filling the air.
She raised her fists and dropped into a fighting stance.
There was no awkwardness — her posture was impeccable.
It was clearly not a beginner's stance.
Had someone trained her?
While I puzzled over that, the custom unit's magical energy readings surged.
At the same time, I could feel the power of a Great Spirit.
"Shifting to combat mode — Master, brace yourself."
With that declaration, Yura kicked off the floor and lunged at me.