Ch. 119 Mia needed a new suit of chainmail

“Mhm, mhm,” the blacksmith nodded, eyeing Artoria: “One more question, if you are to wear armor in the future, will you wear a skirt or pants as the lining?”

“This… for now, I suppose it’s still a skirt…”

“Mhm, I understand.” The blacksmith nodded. Then came the requests from Mia and Wilden.

Mia needed a new suit of chainmail; the one she had scavenged from the Cave of Learning long ago had been run through by Morgott’s Cursed Blade.

Besides, that suit of Royal Army chainmail was too dilapidated; Mia didn’t even have the thought of repairing it.

She hoped for a new suit of armor that fit better.

At the same time, she also wanted a set of plate armor similar to Artoria’s.

As for Wilden, he needed a breastplate.

“We certainly won’t skimp on the money!” Kay shook the money pouch, which made a pleasant sound.

As for Mia, she would pay with gemstones as usual.

Kay would pay for Artoria’s, while Mia would cover the costs for herself and Wilden.

“Rest assured!”

Seeing such a big client, the experienced-looking old blacksmith’s fighting spirit was ignited: “I will absolutely produce a finished product that is in no way inferior to the armor of the Kingdom’s knights; I will forge it exactly how the blacksmiths of Camelot would!”

“How long until I can come to pick it up?” Mia asked expectantly.

“Forging plate armor is actually quite simple; the expense lies only in the cost of the materials. Creating large pieces of plate armor requires high-quality steel. Although the price of one set of plate armor is enough to equal ten sets of chainmail, the corresponding labor time required is much less than that of chainmail. If it’s just two sets of plate armor and one breastplate, you can come pick them up in four days.”

“And what about the chainmail?”

“If we were to weave a suit of chainmail from scratch, it would take about half a month.”

“Ah, this…”

Waiting idly for half a month was simply too long. Moreover, this half-month didn’t even include the time for forging the plate armor. A conflicted look appeared on Mia’s face.

“This is where I need to ask for your opinion…” the blacksmith added: “If we use existing chainmail and simply modify it, then one day is enough, provided you don’t mind that it’s modified chainmail…”

“Then let’s do that,” Mia decided helplessly: “The sooner I can get it, the better.”

“With that, I can rest easy!” A look of relief and satisfaction appeared on the blacksmith’s face after closing the big deal. Almost immediately, he began the preparations.

A thought suddenly occurred to Mia.

“By the way, was that silverware you were hammering earlier?”

“That’s right, it’s silverware.” The blacksmith cleaned out the blast furnace that hadn’t been used for some time and said with a chuckle: “You might not know this, but in villages like ours, blacksmiths often moonlight as jewelers.”

“In that case… I have another job to entrust to you.”

“Oh? I’d be glad to hear the details.”

— The plate armor the group needed would take four days to craft. The chainmail Mia requested would add another day to that. Furthermore, the other task Mia gave the blacksmith at the end would also require a day. Thus, six days later, the group returned to the village blacksmith shop as agreed.

The finished armor was all laid out in wooden crates with a great sense of ceremony, waiting for its owners to retrieve it. Actually, Artoria’s armor had been made first, but in order to share the same sense of surprise as everyone else, Artoria had held back and hadn’t come to pick it up early.

“Perfect armor! It’s a perfect match for you, Artoria!” As soon as he saw Artoria wearing the armor, Merlin began to exclaim loudly.

“Really?” She spun around. The armor fit her body and clothing perfectly, making absolutely no sound when she moved. Or perhaps she just hadn’t moved vigorously enough. This set of lightweight armor did not hinder her movement at all.

“Why are they high heels, though…” The knight princess stomped her feet, somewhat distressed.

“Do you not like them?” Merlin asked, clutching his staff.

“It’s not that, it’s just… high heels are sometimes inconvenient,” Artoria replied.

“Hmm…” Merlin rubbed his chin, pondering for a moment. “Think of it this way, Artoria.” He wore his signature smile, the one that made people feel like he was plotting something.

“Hmm?”

“If you can move freely, or even fight freely while wearing high heels, then when you take them off, you’ll be even stronger!”

“I see,” Artoria realized with a start: “This is also a part of training, right!”

“Yes, yes, that’s right, this is also a part of training!”

Kay, standing to the side, rolled his eyes: “…You just think Artoria looks cute in this outfit, don’t you? Be careful, or I’ll crusade against you for deceiving an innocent young girl.”

“That’s not true at all; Artoria has always trusted me, right?”

“Hmm, although Master Merlin sometimes does very childish things… overall, he is trustworthy, isn’t he?”

Consequently, Kay let out a mournful cry. “Tragic! What a great misfortune!”

His little sister had been completely blinded by that old con artist Merlin! No, absolutely not. Kay gritted his teeth at Merlin.

“I could hear you all from half a block away.”

“Miss Mia!” Accompanied by a creaking sound, Wilden appeared at the inn entrance driving a carriage. Torrent was pulling the cart. Mia was sitting in the cargo bed.

“Yes, I’ve said it many times, haven’t I? Artoria can just call me Mia.” Mia stood up from the cargo bed.

At this moment, she looked completely different from a week ago. She wore armor similar to Artoria’s, but was dressed in black, with a long black robe that reached down like a skirt. With a similar face, she looked almost like an inversion of Artoria!

Artoria (Alter) — Mia reporting for duty?! However, the silver-white armor made her look more like Jeanne d’Arc.

At the same time, her blindfold had also undergone a new change. Originally it was just a strip of cloth, but now, the cloth had turned into a silver-white accessory that looked like a tiara. This was a piece of silverware Mia had asked the blacksmith to craft, based on the Fire Keeper’s blindfold.

By the way, the chainmail was worn underneath, over her shirt, and was hidden by the long hem of her travel attire.

“Does it look good?”

“Of course.” Artoria nodded like a pecking chick.

As for Wilden’s appearance, his tabard covered the breastplate, so he looked completely unchanged.

“Then let’s board; we’ve stayed in this village long enough.”

“Uh, if I may ask.” Kay silently raised his hand: “What about this carriage?”

“It’s a vehicle for our travels, of course,” Mia explained.

It wasn’t a war chariot, but a carriage with a long open cargo bed and four wheels that could carry both people and goods. Since Wilden didn’t have a mount, and one probably couldn’t be found in Britain for him to ride, Mia had asked the village chief for this carriage to make the journey more comfortable.

“Didn’t we say we were leaving today? While it wasn’t too late, I made some preparations.” During the time they had spent in the village waiting for the blacksmith, the group had long since agreed on the time to continue their journey.

“Well, let’s load everything up now, shall we?”