The Town of Shining Stone (8)

One year after Maios-sensei commissioned armor from me—in other words, a little over two years after I began learning sculpture—Kretos set out for the front to perform military service as Count Marmaros's representative.

He led Count Marmaros's soldiers, clad in brand-new armor.

The armor I made for him at the request of his father, Maios-sensei, was scale armor.

However, it wasn't made by fastening scale-shaped metal plates to a leather backing; instead, I used the scales of a real monster—one from a particularly powerful species.

By covering the edges and undersides of each scale with metal, I made it possible to fasten them to a leather backing just like metal scale plates.

The leather used for the backing had also been tanned and processed from the hide of the same monster.

The result was somewhat heavy, but attractive, easy to move in, and, above all, extremely durable.

Working on each individual scale was incredibly laborious, but without that treatment, the monster's scales would injure the hands of anyone who touched them.

A complete set of scales and hide from a powerful monster had cost an exorbitant sum, but the finished armor was unquestionably an exceptional piece that would save its wearer's life.

Of course, wearing it was no guarantee that Kretos would survive, but if I started worrying about every possibility, there would be no end to it...