Succubus (3)

… Hah!

Crap, I ended up pulling an all-nighter. Before I knew it, it was morning.

… Once I start making robots, I just can't stop. For me of all people to prioritize something over my desire to sleep, what a blunder. I need to be careful about that.

Well, thanks to that, I did manage to finish the Golem to serve as the Succubus's vessel――

"What do you think? She looks pretty girly now, right?"

"Ah, sorry, I was sleeping. Is it done?"

You fall asleep even though you don't have a physical body?

By the way, the theme is robomaid. I remodeled an Iron Golem to have ball joints like a mannequin, and I'm proud of the feminine curves I gave the body. Everything except the face, that is.

… The face is, well, a simple round face with what looks like a pair of cyber-esque red sunglasses. I did try making upturned eyes using synthetic rubies, but I lacked confidence in them, so I slapped on a visor made of the same synthetic rubies running in a single horizontal line across the face to cover them up.

I think I nailed the robomaid vibe pretty well though.

"Hmm, couldn't the face be a little prettier? It's kinda flat-looking, you know?"

"No comment on the facial structure. This is my limit…"

"Eh? Hmm, well, I guess it can't be helped then. I'll let it pass."

Oi, look how high and mighty this Succubus is.

"By the way, where did Rokuko and the others go?"

"Rokuko-sama and the others went outside. She said they were going home to sleep… though where exactly does a Dungeon Core 'go home' to?"

"Ah, there's an inn I built outside. We usually eat and sleep there."

… Still, her reaction to seeing my [Create Golem] was pretty lukewarm.

"I mean, I already used up all my surprise yesterday. You were making all sorts of requests about leg shapes and arm shapes, don't you remember?"

"Aah, yeah, maybe? I think that happened… yeah, these legs really did turn out great, even if I do say so myself. It's iron, but the form has such a soft quality to it."

"Well, you did have me possess Niku-senpai and use her legs as a reference. You kept saying you couldn't quite get it right while pouring all that obsessive effort in. Honestly, what a turnoff, Master!"

I don't remember that. Did I really do that?

"Huh? You don't remember? … You were totally licking her feet all over. It was ticklish. Niku-senpai pleaded, 'Please stop,' but Master wouldn't hear of it and climbed on top of her… and then the two became one."

"Wait, hold on. Sorry, is that true?"

"Well, no, it's a lie. Specifically, everything from the possession part onward was a lie. Rokuko-sama stopped you."

It was a lie, you jerk. Well, she's a Succubus, so not exactly a "jerk."

Anyway, I attached the ring to the Golem for her to possess it. One last adjustment with [Create Golem] to get the fit just right… there.

"Go ahead."

"Then, possessing it now!"

The ruby eyes flashed. Or at least, it felt like they did.

The Golem sat up and began moving without any command from me… Yeah, even though they're Golem legs, they look really cute. My own obsessive attention to detail is something to behold.

"Oooh! This is… way more human-like than I expected! How do I put it… the handling, yeah, the handling feels really human!"

"Of course. I mixed a small amount of orichalcum into the joints, so for everyday movements, it won't have that sluggishness typical of Golems. It should even handle hand-to-hand combat with ease."

"For real? A Golem with orichalcum mixed in is seriously something else, Master."

The Golem threw a few rapid punches. Yeah, using orichalcum dramatically changes the performance. It's on a completely different level from a regular Golem at this point.

"Rather than just calling it a Golem, let's call it a Doll. It doesn't really have the mechanisms to call it a machine doll though."

"This is wonderful, Master! I'll follow you for life!"

"Alright, let's go show Rokuko and the others! Behold my greatest masterpiece!"

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

"So, Kehma. Good morning. Back to your senses?"

"… Yeah. That was, well, I was on a sleep-deprivation high…"

After sleeping and waking up, I found myself sitting seiza in front of Rokuko.

Next to me was the Succubus in the Doll.

"Still, you did make quite a cute Golem. I figured you'd just obsess over the legs though."

"No no, having only the legs be detailed with a regular Golem body on top would be creepy. If I'm going to do it, of course I'd refine the whole body."

"… You refined the whole body for the sake of the legs?"

"Yeah, so?"

Even with beautiful legs, if the upper body belongs to some old man, it kills the mood. So coordinating the whole body, or rather, creating the whole body, is a perfectly natural conclusion.

"… Actually, maybe making the arms deliberately bulky could have worked too… unbalanced Golem hands on a slender frame, that's its own kind of moe element…"

"Kehma, are you still not getting enough sleep? Are you okay?"

For some reason, she started worrying about me. I'll shut up.

"Well anyway, we can't exactly put a Golem like this in the inn, can we? What are you going to do with it? Display it in your room?"

"… Ah, right. At this point, I was thinking maybe she could just possess the massage chair instead. That's a Golem too, after all."

"I see, the [Charm] effect would double our repeat customers… Ah, but then couldn't we just say we found it in the dungeon, like the massage chair? Say it came from a treasure chest."

… Would that work?

Indeed, if I say I got it from the dungeon, nobody would question what I found. Plus, I'm supposed to be the one who's explored deepest into the dungeon as a pioneer. Saying it's an item only I could obtain wouldn't be a problem at all.

By the way, I've also been having handheld massage devices that require mana recharging come out of the warehouse's treasure chests, just like Golem Blades. They're a quietly popular item.

"Going forward, you could make Golems available from treasure chests too. Ones that move when you supply them with mana and follow their owner's orders. Then yours wouldn't be a problem either, right?"

"I see, even just having them follow orders would be pretty convenient."

Rokuko's idea was quite good.

And if Golems I've made spread around, they might come in handy when something happens.

"Alright, let's make it so obedient Golems come out of treasure chests on rare occasions from now on. And as a grand prize, there'll be Dolls like this one. Though without the Succubus possession, just a regular Golem version."

"Right, that sounds good. Just tell the guild you found something new in the dungeon and there shouldn't be any problems. If there are, I'll shut them up."

A Rokuko borrowing Haku-san's authority, I see.

And so, we gained a new Golem employee.

"By the way, now that it's come to this, calling her 'the Succubus' all the time is a bit much. Want to make her a Named?"

"Eh, for real? Being made a Named, I'm so touched!"

"Right. Well, she's a Succubus, so… 'Neru' works. Because sleep."

"Yahooo! So random! But I'm Named now, woo!"

Looks like she's happy about it. Anyway, I'll be counting on you for anti-Succubus security, alright?