Golems Really Are Romantic After All

Karina-chan here. Loved by the Goddess, and burdened with the fate of collecting girls' socks…

By the way, the catalog says the Goddess's reward items are "non-duplicable." Which means if I want to use the period-skip pill every month, I'd have to buy one every month…

But I will not lose to my period!

Saving is earning!

All I have to do is endure 50 SP worth of period pain each month!

That alone is effectively 50 SP earned monthly, so endure it, Karina-chan!

 

 

"By the way, when and how do periods start? Just between us, it's been less than a month since I was born."

"Eh? Um, right… well… discharge increases…"

"??? That's a lot of terms I didn't learn in health class…"

"We need to start with vocabulary, then. So…"

Hmm. I see.

… Mmm, I have been feeling heavy lately. Turns out that's a sign too.

Between us, I assumed it was just my chest weighing me down, so I lightened them a bit with Spatial Magic. Gotta be kind to your Cooper's ligaments.

"Thank you, that was helpful."

"It's been ages for me too, so my memory's fuzzy, but try to keep your belly warm."

"I should buy or make a belly-warmer."

Maybe I could use heating stones for makeshift warmers too.

… In any case, I just have to experience it once. It's scary, but all women go through it and don't normally die from it. Still scary, though!

I-if it's truly impossible, I'll use the skip pill! Sniff!

 

*

 

I offered some stall-bought food to the Goddess, but since I wasn't delivering socks this time, I didn't meet her and headed back into town.

I didn't have anywhere particular to go anyway. I'm faking my exit from town, so I can't show up at the Merchants' or Adventurers' Guilds, and staying at an inn is tricky. Not that it matters — I sleep in my storage-space home.

I figured I'd wander until evening. As I walked near the port, I discovered something fascinating.

"… What is that?"

A bipedal mass of rocks, a size or two larger than a person. The humanoid figure was deftly lifting and carrying crates.

With gray stone for limbs, it looked somewhat like an armored knight — stylish enough to call a robot. So cool.

I grabbed a passerby to ask.

"H-hey! That — what is that!?"

"Huh? Ah — that's a Golem. First time seeing one?"

"A Golem! So that's it! Wow!"

Now that he mentions it, it definitely looks like what you'd call a Golem.

Pop open that chest plate and there might be a cockpit.

"Ah! So, like, you tame it like a monster?"

"Tsk, tsk. It's not a monster. It's a large Magic Tool built with alchemy."

"Seriously!?"

Come to think of it, the magic-item shop where I bought the massager mentioned Golems too.

I only remembered the massager though. Tehe!

"If it's a Magic Tool… does that mean you can pilot it?"

"Of course. That model is semi-automatic, so it can run unmanned too. Much safer than taming. It follows orders and won't run off. Perfect for heavy labor. But the magic stone costs are insane — only a big firm can afford to run one."

Mmm, magic stone costs, huh.

So Golems are basically heavy machinery. Watching it a bit longer, I saw it doing crane and forklift work, unloading cargo from a large ship.

With a pilot, you can do fine control; with orders only, it's like autonomous operation… I love it!

"I love that. It's so cool."

"Good eye. That's Gomezti Company's Golem — the latest model by the alchemist Swantia. Care to have tea and discuss Golems in depth?"

"Hmm. Are you a Golem expert?"

"A bit of an enthusiast, you could say."

A tempting offer. No reason to refuse.

… It's just tea, should be fine, right?

"Sure, I'd like to hear about Golems."

"Great! I know just the—"

"Hold it, buddy. The lady has a prior engagement."

Huh? I turned toward the voice. A group of men wearing bandanas and striped shirts — classic pirate lackeys.

"Eek — the Gomezti Company… S-sorry, remembered an errand. Later."

"H-hey!?"

The Golem enthusiast I was just talking to fled!

… He got away.

"Who are you guys? You want something from me?"

"Yeah, we've been looking for you. The captain wants a word. Come with us."

"Captain? … Ah, Gomezti. Right, the pirate I beat in the drinking contest — his name was Gomez-whatever."

"Drop the 'whatever' — it's Captain Gomez!"

Was it? Eh, close enough.