Using an already existing plush representing my knightly form, I was able to immediately transform back. Although rather than actually transforming, it was more like my ‘Base Form’ popped out of existence, and the plush expanded into my knightly form.

  This was something that was supposedly able to be done over vast distances, but I had never had the occasion to test it. Ophelie could make plushes quickly, but certainly due to the fact that this particular plush was part of an ability of mine, Ophelie found that after being made, it would take a little while before it could actually be moved out of the mindscape. Or more precisely, moved out of her room in the mindscape’s little mansion.

  And the more she made, the longer the wait time got for each subsequent plush, until it seemed like they would just never be ready. So, although she probably had fifty of them made, only ten were available at a time.

  I presumed that this was a limit that could be increased when I got stronger, or perhaps when Ophelie got stronger… Probably both, really.

  In any case, I walked toward the door, uncertain. By all means, Heltna's father could already know that I was actually a monster, but he could also be wholly unaware. I had learned about spellcasters both when I was being taught magic and when I was being instructed into knighthood.

  The former because that was the subject, and the latter because knowing how to deal with mages and the likes as a knight was very important. Mages could fall into many categories depending on the energy they depended on, the specific way of power they had chosen to follow, or how they had decided to use their magic to begin with.

  Some ways of power, such as the basics of the basics ‘Energy Manipulation’–Which was what most mages were using–Were very versatile and wide-ranging in what they allowed. Some ways of power were very obviously limiting, but energy manipulation was both one of the simplest and also one that easily permitted one to perform very different actions as long as they were willing to actually put in effort.

  As far as I was aware, spell slinging was just a very specific and demanding form of energy manipulation. Also, I was fairly certain that terms like ‘jinx’ and ‘hex’ were used, but had nothing to do with the other ways of power that just so happened to use the same damned terms.

  I don’t even know why I remember all that nonsense, but I do, and it pisses me off to think that no one is willing to sit down and give everything proper names and specific terms. It’s already complicated enough to talk about the subject with the thousands of different energies and hundreds–If not more–Ways of power…

  Oh… Am I thinking fast as hell, or have I been leaving this guy hanging in front of the door for a while?

  Your thought process is pretty fast, but you have been standing here seething about improper naming conventions for a solid thirty seconds

  By the way, I agree with you. It is infuriating that it is just accepted for anyone to put their foot in the door when giving names to things

  Right? Anyway, what was the point of this in the first place…? Ah, I remember.

  I was wondering whether Heltna’s father was one of those squishy mages or one of those enhancing ones. The two weren’t mutually exclusive, but mages tended to heavily focus on one of them.

  The squishy ones were the basic, and thus, when not actively using magic, they were almost like mundane people. They tended to focus on maintaining defensive spells when out of combat, so if that guy was one of those and hadn’t been suspecting me, then he had probably walked up to the door being absolutely none the wiser.

  If he were the enhancing kind, then he had actively used mana to either permanently enhance his body, and in this case, I would be annoyed if he enhanced his senses, as he definitely would have heard me speak, as well as someone else’s voice.

  Or if not permanent, he had just trained to maintain a spell that did the same thing for little cost…

  Anyway!

  I walked up to the door and opened it. I was really hoping that he was none the wiser, and since I wasn’t instantly blasted when I opened the door, it seemed that I had gotten lucky.

  It wouldn’t be strange for him not to spread his mana sense all over the place. If he were a proper man, he probably wouldn’t want to sense what was going on inside his daughter’s room at a random time. The risk of sensing something unfortunate was too high, but I had to admit that I wouldn’t have expected him to extend that sort of courtesy to me as well.

  A good mage should be able to direct their mana sense, so had he wanted to check on me, he could have done so without me noticing anything. That was why it was such a gamble for me to try and rob this place. I just had to hope that no one would be using their nifty mage sixth sense.

  “Ah. Sorry to bother you at this late hour, Miss Silent Knightess!”

  Heltna’s father looked perfectly unknowing and free of any suspicions toward his, clearly, strange guest.

  The whole family may be made up of weirdos…

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  This thought of mine was confirmed as the man casually invited himself in, shut the doors, and grabbed one of my hands.

  “May I ask for your name?”

  Good thing I prevented my little ghosts from seeing or hearing anything about the outside… That guy is hitting on me! In the middle of the night and in a bedroom at that. That’s not subtle in the least.

  Well, he can afford to be a bit weird, he’s a noble, and pretty good-looking… And also a strong mage–Damnit, couldn’t this have happened when I was a human? A nice man like this is into me only now that I am a twisted hybrid trapped in a body of steel, really?!

  I fetched the necessary tools to write, once again using Maya as my name.

  “Maya? What a beautiful name, very fitting”

  How smooth. The creepy time and place bring things down, but not bad.

  “Miss Maya, I have noticed that Heltna seemed to quite enjoy your presence in a way that is different from what I originally imagined when we met earlier”

  Mmh? I haven't seen this guy at all since getting through the front doors… Has he been observing his daughter experimenting curses on me this entire time? I felt like saying this was another creepy point, but to be frank, it would be weirder if he didn’t pay attention to what the strange woman his daughter had brought out of nowhere.

  “So I was wondering if you would mind becoming her new mother?”

  Pardon?

  Huh?

  I tilted my head, a gross understatement of my confusion and irritation. If this were in my human days, you better bet I would have instantly agreed! Are you joking?! Talk about instantaneous promotion! The only downside would be that my last name would be Bombidour, which sounds silly and feeble, but you win some, you lose some…

  Since I unfortunately was unable to actually agree due to several reasons, one of which being that I was a lump of steel. I instead wrote a few quick words to ask why he was making such a proposition out of the blue.

  The ring he would give me would be made out of such high-quality steel as well…

  “Ah, my apologies if I surprised you. You see, Heltna’s mother passed away when she was young, and even since then, she has had a very big problem with forming any sort of bonds, and in particular, she does not like older female authority figures in the least. She does not remember much of her mother, but she hates it when it seems like someone else is trying to replace her”

  “So I figured that since she seems to like you, you could be her mother! And to be perfectly frank, I am quite attracted to you as well. I will not lie, the moment I noticed your hips, I was overtaken with the idea that I should reproduce more, and it means a lot considering that I haven’t touched a woman since my wife’s death”

  Good thing I can’t feel dizzy, it doesn’t feel like I am in reality at all! Nara, give me a mind shock real quick.

  Mara, this man is very strange. That is not how people usually express themselves

  He’s a noble. There is no need to dance around the subject with someone he assumes is of lesser status… Unfortunately, I can’t agree. I lack the capabilities to be anyone’s wife in the nighttime department, and even if I try for some reason, he’ll just realise that I am a solid chunk of steel and not a seductive woman in armour… Or rather, he’ll realise that I am just a seductive suit of armour…

  What can I write that will convince him that it is meaningless to bother with me…? Oh… I’ve got a very good idea!

  Why do you sound so happy about it, Big Sis?

  I wrote down the genius thing I just came up with and handed the paper to the noble, who scratched his face.

  “I… I see. It is a shame, pardon my intrusion for tonight, Miss Maya”

  And just like that, he was gone.

  The piece of paper was left behind. It read:

  ‘My apologies, Mister Bombidour. You are a dashing man whom I would happily be betrothed to. However, my oath lies with my knight establishment, and our oath is a restrictive one. We call it ‘Iron Maiden’, for to progress along the path of knighthood, we must give up speech, remain single, retain our purity, and become one with our armour, as in, never take it off. As such, I am unable to fulfil any of the duties of a wife. I hope that it is not too disappointing for you, but once my oath is fulfilled, we might be able to reunite and get to know one another better.’

  I should have become a writer. I am actually a genius.

  This… This is indeed quite good… But isn’t there a risk that he’ll figure out that you invented this knight establishment?

  Please, do you really think there isn’t at least one establishment that calls itself that? Female knights and maidenhood are a pretty common combination. I bet there are multiple establishments with that name.

  Do you actually intend on seeing this guy again, though?

  Jealous that your big sister will be taken away?

  N-No…

  Adorable.

  I probably won’t, but if I get a convincing form and need a place to hide, this should be a nice spot. Remember, Nara, always plan for the future!

  In any case… Let’s just wait for the next night before trying anything else suspicious.

  I climbed into bed and pulled the covers over me. The sight of me lying in bed was probably hilarious. I definitely looked out of place, and I hadn’t even bothered removing my dress. I was playing the bit of the ‘Iron Maiden’ now, and technically speaking, the dress was part of my armour.

  The dress was actually made out of very thin and supple steel. The only non-steel thing about me was the dark hair that cascaded out of a gap at the back of my helm-head.

  Just as I was about to enter a state of dormancy for a short while, I felt a strong tingling sensation wash over me.

  Huh? I didn’t do anything though… But for some reason, I also felt a surge of negative emotions alongside a soul reach me.

  Did I, somehow, cause someone’s death?

  It seems like it, let’s just check the soul you acquired, maybe we’ll recognise the person

  Good idea, Darling.