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Chapter 123: Modesty and sensuality are only a single side of things to worry about with clothing

I sigh heavily.

I’ve become Karin-san’s dress-up doll… not.

I thought it was going to be a replay of back when I was Seimei-san’s bodyguard and the Nee-sans at the brothel jumped in, but … she just wanted an audience to her fashion show.

I can’t deny that it made me feel a little happy when Karin-san said, ‘Wait, I’m going to change, turn around.”

No, I get that I’m a girl now, but part of me is still… you know, I was a guy for 16 years of my life.

Say what you want about culture and gender or whatever (I get way too much of that from Hibiki-chan), but I’m still going to feel happy when I’m treated as a guy, you know?

According to Hibiki-chan, it’s ‘validation of masculinity’ or whatever.

I feel like Hibiki-chan was on the road to becoming a social justice worker or something … but at the same time, I also kind of understand why she’d be interested in that kind of thing.

Since her friend was a lesbian and Hibiki-chan’s the conscientious sort.

Anyway, although I lucked out and wasn’t made to dress up in ridiculous outfits, it’s still really tiring to stand there and go, ‘Ah, yeah, looks good.’

It also doesn’t help that Karin-san said,

“Eh? I’m not dressing you up instead? Well, duh, I mean, Hibiki-chan’s clothes are super girlish… I mean, the androgynous look is best! Kyaa! A beautiful androgynous guy~!”

I won’t deny that I’m a little put off by her enthusiasm… also, for some reason, the opposite of the usual happened and I wanted to refute her and say I’m a girl.

It’s a very strange feeling.

I sigh a little as Karin-san puts on another skimpy outfit.

“You know, this isn’t exactly what I was thinking about when I was asking you to change clothes…”

“Eeeeh… Don’t we look good?”

Karin-san made a pose as she spoke.

“It’s not a matter of looking good or not.”

Jeez, jeez, this girl can be so annoying!

She knows that’s not what I’m talking about.

“What’s the problem? This stuff’s at least as good as the armor in the shops around here, right? And it looks way cuter.”

“That’s also not the problem…”

I groan as I looked over at Hibiki-chan for help.

Hibiki-chan giggled at my frustrated, helpless look.

“Actually, when I came back, I wanted to talk to Jun about an armor shop I found. I’ve been wearing cheap armor over my MMO armor, right? It’s kind of annoying, you know? And Jun… you’re still wearing cheap armor as your main!”

Well, I mean, I don’t have any MMO or game armor, and Karin-san is right when she says that Hibiki-chan’s clothes, especially the armor, won’t suit me.

I’m also taller and lankier, so not everything fits.

“Eeeeh… even though this stuff is way more than good enough…”

Karin-san seems super reluctant to part with the flashy game armor.

“Mm, well, it won’t hurt to shop around, right?”

“Well… that’s true…”

Hibiki-chan, nice job!

Although I don’t want to come along either, as Hibiki-chan said … I’m just wearing whatever fit and was within my budget at the time from when I first dove into Nyl Labyrinth.

Even if I have Augment Body, it’s still too reckless… not like I’ve been having any problems with it so far, though.

After informing Ragnall where we were going, we headed out to the shop Hibiki-chan had seen.

It’s a typical armor workshop, although on the small side.

Just from my intuition I can tell that the armor is pretty good.

In fact, it looks like the armor is made with the defensive capabilities to the absolute highest degree of the materials used, although leather is a little outside of my expertise.

I use leather and wood, but I can’t say I’m as capable with them as I am with metals, after all.

It looks like Hibiki-chan found a good shop.

And if I take a look,

◤
Name:  Stonehide Armor (for females)
Type: Equipment – Armor (Leather)
Maker: Lizette and Andira

Analysis: A high-grade armor made to the limit out of Stonehide Boar leather. It is enchanted to become rigid and durable when magic is poured in, at the cost of mobility.
Rarity: High-Rare
◣

Oooh, it’s an enchanted armor!

Although I’ve begun able to put some minor enchantments on my sword, it’s not easy to make something that won’t take magic unless you consciously will it to.

Especially since armor is worn, so it has a greater surface area to absorb magic from.

“We~lcome!”

As we entered the shop, the attendant calls out and rushes out from the back of the shop.

Although you can see into the workshop part of the store, there is still a very distinct separation between the shopfront and the workshop.

Un, it’s a really small store, both the shopfront and the workshop.

From what I can see, there are only two women who work in this shop.

It’s rare to see an all-female workshop with armor or weapons.

Not to mention, their armor really is good… although over half are distinctly for females.

“Hello, Lizette-san, I came earlier to talk about having armor custom made…”

Hibiki-chan said.

Ah, un.

It does seem like more of a ‘made-to-order’ shop.

The armor is all fairly form-fitting, after all.

The cheery attendant smiled widely and said,

“Ah, that’s right! You wanted to discuss materials with your party members first, right? Of course there’s a discount for the material fees if you provide your own materials, of course.”

… So that’s why Hibiki-chan wanted to talk to me first.

Un, there’s manticores and nagas and wyverns and … well, there’s a lot of ridiculous materials in my Inventory.

“Okay, okay, and you wanted two full sets of armor, one for you and one for… one of these fine ladies?”

“Yeah, Jun…”

“Can you make that for all four of us?”

I quickly say as Hibiki-chan started to speak.

“Certainly! Of course it will take longer, but that’s a matter of course.”

The attendant laughed merrily, but Karin-san frowned.

“Jeez, Jun-kun, I said I was just coming to look. This is just as good as any other armor, and I prefer how it looks!”

Karin-san and Emi-chan are back to wearing their former clothing, so Karin-san is talking about her mini-skirt armor.

“I told you, it’s not good to wear that in a Labyrinth City.”

I sigh.

Why is she being so stubborn…

“Ugh. Why is this a problem? I’m so sick of people telling me to mind the surroundings more with my clothes…”

As Karin-san began to complain, the attendant spoke up.

“If I might say something … I also think that outfit and the mage’s dress are inappropriate for a Labyrinth City.”

Karin-san makes a face but keeps silent, like she’s just going to endure the lecture.

The attendant doesn’t let it bother her as she continued.

“I certainly see that both the armor and the clothing are very capable. In fact, I don’t doubt they could withstand blows far better than a lot of the armor within this city. But, you see, although armor’s first priority is to be able to defend you from attacks, attacks aren’t the only thing you have to worry about in the Labyrinth. See, the big monster bugs are a big problem in Ploids Labyrinth, but the small monster bugs are also a problem… and if there’s exposed skin or openings in clothing that are easy to get into, they’ll…”

“Gyyyaaa! Okay, I get it, I get it!”

Karin-san and Emi-chan have turned somewhat pale, and Karin-san is scratching herself as if she was imagining invisible bugs crawling all over her body.

As the attendant nodded in satisfaction, a more boyish looking woman with some similar facial traits to the attendant came out from the back and spoke up.

“Right, the smaller bugs are definitely troublesome with biting, burrowing into flesh, and the like, but there are also poisonous plants and other caustic materials within Ploids Labyrinth. Exposed skin is just asking for trouble. Although we can tell your current armor is certainly well-made and would do well for a knight in battle, that older sister over there is asking you to buy more suitable armor for Labyrinth exploration.”

“Ugh… I said I get it… Can we commission armor too?”

Karin-san sighs and gives in.

“Actually, I was more concerned about thugs thinking they can take advantage of them,”

I said.

Or more like, why am I ‘older sister’?

I’m not talking about the ‘sister’ part but the ‘older’ part.

Um… I guess I am the tallest.

“Ahaha! Well, that’s true too. Although there will still be idiots who think like that just because you are all young women, it’s true that wearing that kind of showy armor in Labyrinth Cities are just asking for trouble.”

The boyish-looking woman said.

“How come?”

Karin-san asked.

She’s not being stubborn anymore, she’s honestly asking to understand why.

“Your armor is very showy and emphasizes its appearance, but then leaves so much skin showing. Not everyone is an armorsmith like us, so they won’t be able to tell how good it is at a glance. Instead, with that kind of ‘appearance first’ look, wearing that armor makes you appear naïve, like some rich person just coming to play who doesn’t understand the real threats of the Labyrinth.”

“Right, that’s what I was trying to say, but I didn’t know how to say it,”

I agreed as the boyish woman clearly explained what I was thinking.

“I see… haah… because I came from a place where all the women were criticizing us with ‘modesty,’ ‘modesty,’ ‘modesty,’ I didn’t even think about it… I mean, I‘m confident in my abilities to take thugs on, but…”

Karin-san sighed heavily, like she was embarrassed for not being able to understand why we were asking her to wear something else.

“Well, yeah, I bet you could knock down all the thugs too, but it’s a pain to have to fight them off, so if we could reduce it even a little…”

I said.

“Yeeeeeeeah… I get it. I get it, so…”

“Fufufu, yes, armor for utility is a must in a Labyrinth City … but I don’t hate your desire to still look cute!”

The attendant said.

“That’s right. Who said you had to neglect fashion for necessity? That’s why we, the Kartinez Sisters opened up shop! Armor as good as any armor, but made to suit the tastes of women who don’t want to sacrifice their appearance – that’s what we’re here for!”

The boyish woman puffed her chest out with both hands on her hips, but then sighed and wilted as she continued on and said,

“Buuuut… we don’t get a lot of business. Adventurers are mostly male, see. And even if there are women adventurers, a lot of them want to look like they can handle things as well as a man, so they won’t choose armor that emphasizes their femininity. Other than cloth armor for wearing under other armor, we don’t get a lot of business.”

“Whaaat. But this stuff isn’t at all lower in quality than other armor out there.”

I frowned as I pointed at the Stonehide Armor.

“Well, you know, that’s just how it is. Even though we do make armor for men, we’re women after all… and there are other armorshops with just as good or better quality.”

Even as she slightly puts her own shop down, the boyish woman looks pleased that I’ve recognized their work.

Now that they mention it, I can tell that the armor is certainly more feminine and emphasizes appearances, but I was just subjected to a fashion show with Karin-san’s tastes, so I didn’t notice at first.

MMO armor is a whole different ballgame, after all.

“Andira… they’re going to provide their own materials. Miss Hibiki said they had some good stuff~ And all four want full sets!”

The attendant… hm… she might also help make the armor, but I’m still just calling her an attendant in my head, excitedly told the boyish woman.

“Ooooh, four full sets? And going by Miss Knight and Miss Mage there, we can pull out all the stops on appearance… This really will be something to look forward to. What kind of materials are we talking about?”

Hibiki-chan looked over at me.

“… Well? What were you thinking about, Hibiki-chan?”

I asked.

I’m not a mind reader.

“I wasn’t really thinking much, actually. I mean, the materials are technically yours, Jun-kun.”

Uh… hm… I don’t know though…

“Is there somewhere I can take this stuff out?”

I asked.

“Ah… yeah. Are they not pre-processed materials?”

“Some are, some aren’t…”

“Okay, okay… I guess you have a Magic Bag or something…”

The boyish woman took me and Hibiki-chan into the back room, while the attendant began to measure Karin-san and Emi-chan.

What I have is more impressive than a Magic Bag, but there’s no need to point that out.

Wham wham

The tail of a naga and a full manticore.

And aside from that… wyvern leather as well as hide with the scales still attached, kelpie hide, and … oh, why not. A portion of the ice drake hide and some scales.

“So, yeah. This is representative of what we have. What do you think?”

I asked, but when I turned to look at the boyish woman, Andira, she was just staring at everything with her eyes like dots.

Un… it was definitely too much, but even with this much I still have over 20 corpses within my Inventory at this degree.

And these are just from Seimei-san’s over-hunting that one time when we went into Nyl Labyrinth.

I’ve only gotten the things I’d use for grips and sheaths processed, but I haven’t touched the naga and manticores, except for disposing of the nagas’ upper bodies.

It just creeps me out a little to have things that resemble humans stacked up in my Inventory.

“Um… so … what do you think you can use?”

I asked again, and Hibiki-chan kind of nudged Andira with her arm.

“-Haa! Um… can we buy the leftover material!?”

I don’t mind, but can we talk about our armor first?

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<a/n: it’s not smithing, but…
Anyway, I’m getting close to actual plotline stuff. Sorry for the wait~
Sorry, no Fluvia this time, but there is [this]>