The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)-Chapter 676: That time I increased my robot collection in another world

Chapter 676: That time I increased my robot collection in another world

In front of us, standing as tall as Natha, was...well, the humanoid size of Stan.

I felt like he got thinner compared to the bulky stone giant before, perhaps to make it look more balanced. In the giant form, he looked like Gu*dam or Tran*for*er, but in this new form, he looked more like Rob*cop or Iro*man.

You got me? Okay.

The point was, it was awesome!

"Whoa..." I couldn’t help but exclaim. "How do you feel, Stan?"

"Needs time to adjust."

The voice was the same, so it felt like an uncle was wearing a sleek, plain armor.

"Try moving," Neel instructed with her notebook ready in her hand.

Obediently, the golem started walking and moving around while we were all spectating like it was a show. Or a test drive. His footsteps were striking the floor with a heavy thud, thud, thud that seemed to make the room vibrate--just like when he was still in the giant form.

"Wow, you still sound heavy," I commented.

"It’s because he still has the same weight as his big form," Neel explained. "We just did a compression, which is possible because the materials used for his body are flexible and malleable to magic. But we can’t get rid of the original weight." fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

"I see," I stroked my chin. Seemed like the magical world couldn’t just get rid of logic with magic. "But does it hinder your movement?"

Stan stopped moving his legs and started to move his arms. He clenched and unclenched his fingers and bent his knees. After doing that kind of thing for several minutes, the crystal eyes turned toward me. "Shall we have a joust?"

"Oh, sure."

I nodded eagerly. Aside from my own curiosity, Alveitya was also buzzing in my left arm. It wasn’t our first time facing a golem, but Stan was supposed to be more advanced than anyone else. Neel said there was already a memory code inside Stan’s core, which seemed to be filled with several martial arts--naturally since he was a combat golem.

But he was supposed to learn from fights, so the more he did it, the stronger he could be--at least in terms of skill.

And so, for the first time, we used the arena as intended. Neel kept on making notes in her journal, while Jade and Shiny cheered on both me and Stan on the side, even making tiny rainbow fireworks with magic.

It was a spar that felt like a festival.

I used Alveitya on my own at the start while Stan fashioned a shield and a spear from his own body--very cool. Later on, after he got used to me, I incorporated magic into my attacks, enriching the experience, and made use of the whole huge arena.

After being confined by my own son in the castle, moving around rigorously like this was nice. It was different than the spar I had with Qu’en because it was for learning purposes. I could only use the spear art that Valmeier used in the past.

This time, however, I could use whatever I wanted. Spear art or druid magic, I could use them all. Stan also had high durability, so even if I went a little harder, he could take it. Since it was a learning experience, it would be better to do it as if we were truly fighting our best, not just for training.

Anyway, I could treat this as a warm-up for the upcoming battle against the church--which would happen whether the church had the last bead or not.

"Phew~" I wiped the sweat on my forehead with the back of my hand, before Jade ran toward me with a handkerchief and lemon water from the picnic basket.

Such a filial child.

"I don’t know how you’re supposed to move before, but I think there’s no problem," I commented after our spar.

"Yes, I also think so," Stan replied stiffly. He did not feel tired, but his movement would become sluggish after expending mana. Kind of like how a computer would lag when it got too hot?

Neel came to interview Stan about the sensation he felt during and after the spar, and based on what I heard, it seemed like he quite liked fighting with people at equal heights. He said he preferred this form to the giant one because he did not have to look down or be mindful of his step. Just like how Ignis had been afraid of burning things, Stan didn’t want to accidentally step on Shiny or Jade.

Wasn’t he such a gentle golem?

"Stan! Stan look so cool!" Jade circled the golem excitedly. "Jade like climbing Stan, but this one cool too!"

Chii!

"Right?" I clasped my hands in agreement. "He looks like a knight wearing full-body armor."

He looked chunkier than average knights, and there was no emblem or decoration on his surface. But the sleek stone almost looked like metal, so unless people scrutinized him closely, they wouldn’t realize he was a golem. Also, most golems out there--usually in magic towers at the residence of very wealthy individuals--were not equipped with advanced-level speech like Stan was.

Hmm...his programming must have been very complex, right? Wasn’t it incredible that Neel managed to modify it? The month-long seclusion was not for nothing, I guess.

At this point, couldn’t she try to make her own golem? Android? Anyway...

"I think we can disguise him easily by just attaching a cloak," I stroked my chin while thinking if there was anything that fit him in my storage ring. I wondered if it was alright to give him one of Natha’s cloaks--I was sure I could find one in my storage’s wardrobe section.

"His speech has no artificial feeling about it, so people wouldn’t notice," Neel agreed. "Isn’t it great that we live in a world where wearing armor is normal?"

"True, true," I nodded.

But then again, if it was back on Earth, Stan would probably be made to look like a normal person. Like those futuristic Androids in games.

But now that we were done assessing his performance, came the real question.

"So, what do you want to do now, Stan?" I asked the golem, who was in the middle of power-saving mode. "Do you want to come with us, or do you want to roam the world by yourself?"

The dimmed crystal eyes flickered and brightened slightly. There was a delay of about ten seconds--perhaps because Stan was looking for an answer in his new commandments--before he replied with a question on his own.

"What are you going to do, Chosen One?"

"Valen," I corrected.

"...what are you going to do, Valen?"

I raised my thumb before answering honestly. "I’m going to find the Goddess and gain full custody of my child."

I had told Stan about it the first time we met, but I wanted to emphasize it again. Honestly, Neel had put a backdoor in the medallion I received from Stan--if I wanted to, I could order him to do anything as long as it was within the scope of his new commandments. I could also do an emergency shutdown if he got berserk, found his location, or woke him up if he shut himself in the future with the medallion.

But again; I wanted him to decide for himself. Even if he had a set of commandments, at least I wanted him to taste a fraction of free will.

"Find the Goddess..." Stan muttered. "Yes."

He nodded, and the crystal eyes shone brighter. It was probably the most golem-like trait that he had, but at the same time, it felt like a soul was residing behind them.

"Then, I shall help you in your quest," Stan said solemnly. "We can’t preserve the harmony of three realms with one deity missing."

"Ooh!"

Nice! It seemed like the commandments worked as intended. No, no--it wasn’t about my custody project, okay? This was about preserving world peace.

"In that case, shall we return? I’m afraid my husband will go bald," I clapped my hands in a hurry. Shwa was a vicious hair-grabber, and I had left the house for almost twenty-four hours.

"Yes," Stan nodded.

"How do we get back?" Neel asked while tidying up her tools and journals.

"Scroll," I replied simply and pulled out a teleportation scroll from my storage ring.

Tsalinade had no time to make one, so I commissioned the Lord of Pride to make me a trans-realm teleportation scroll straight to the castle. Risky move, but I trusted Uncle Sol. I gave Stan one of Natha’s cloaks and called them over.

"Gather around and hold my clothes," I reminded them once more, especially Shiny. After making sure the mole still clutched my clothes even while Jade was carrying it, I tore the scroll. "Let’s go!"

"Gooo!"

Jade’s voice tapered into nauseating nothingness as the space was folding and we were thrown into the yard. The Castle of Greed’s yard, thankfully. Would be awkward to throw up in someone else’s garden.

I had to admit--I hated scrolls.

Fortunately, only Neel and Shiny threw up for real, and I cast a rejuvenation spell on them. I apologize to the startled gardener who had to clean up our waste first thing in the morning, but I had to return to the Lord’s quarters immediately because I could feel my son’s distress already.

He must have woken up at dawn and kicked up a fuss when I was still not there.

"We’re home!" I burst the living room door open and found Natha in front of the stairs. It seemed like he hurriedly came down after sensing my return.

"Yes, nice," he smiled wryly while looking up from his bowed position. The end of his hair was firmly in my angry son’s clutch. "Can you soothe your son, now?"

I laughed and rushed toward them. "Give him to me."

The moment I got close, Shwa let go of Natha’s hair and pulled on mine instead. He did not cry yet, but tears were already pooling and glazing the green eyes. "Waa! Aaah!"

"Yes, yes--I’m sorry, baby. But look--Papa comes back in a day, right?" I kissed him with a laugh as heavy footsteps came behind me.

"Oh..." the neighborhood uncle’s voice sounded surprised.

I turned around and chuckled, waving my baby’s hand. "Hello, Stan. This is Shwa."

The crystal eyes flickered at the sight of my son. Was the golem surprised to see such a tiny creature? Well, Shiny was smaller, but a baby must have looked like a mini-human.

"The One."

Stan uttered an unexpected word that made us froze. "...yes?"

"My...Creator," the golem continued.

...what?!