Episode 242 Security Shadow Puppets (Manufacturing)

Ami and Alisa-tachi gathered at the Western-style building that came to be called the Grimm Mansion.

"Sensei, how many Shadow Puppets will you make?"

Amane confirmed with me in the work room of the mansion.

"There are three cat-shaped Shadow Puppets, and two bear-shaped Shadow Puppets."

"Putting aside the frog type, are you not going to make a leopard type?"

"For security, I thought a cat-shaped one would be good so that people wouldn't be scared because they would be released into the garden."

Alisa chuckled.

"What's wrong?"

"How many kilograms of Shadow Clay do you plan to use for the cat-shaped Shadow Puppets?"

In response to Alisa's question,

"That's right. There will be cases where they will catch intruders, so they need to be at least 50 kilograms or more."

"A 50 kg large cat is as scary as a leopard."

At Alisa's opinion, Ami objected.

"It actually isn't. Subtle differences in body shape and face shape can make something look cute even if they're big."

Ami took out Paub, a bear-shaped Shadow Puppets, from the shadows. Alisa nodded when she saw the bear with a cute face that looked like a stuffed animal.

"Certainly, with such a cute face, it might not be scary."

Chika laughed when she heard that.

"Putting aside the face, I don't think 50 kg of Shadow Clay is small. But what would you do if the intruder was a giant over 100 kg?"

"Shadow Puppets are several times stronger than humans. I think a human about twice their weight could be subdued. If that doesn't work, then there's this."

I took out the Magic Storage Alloy and showed it. Yukari tilted her head.

"What is that?"

"It's a metal that stores magic and can be activated at any time. It's called a Magic Storage Alloy."

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It seemed that Alisa and the others were unaware of the existence of the Magic Storage Alloy. It was a rare metal, so it was understandable that they didn't know.

"So you're going to incorporate this into the Shadow Puppet. But, can the Shadow Puppet use it?"

I nodded at Alisa's question. I let Komugi try it, and it was able to use the magic stored in the Magic Storage Alloy.

I talked with Alisa and the others, and decided to use 60 kg of Shadow Clay for the cat type and 90 kg for the bear type. In addition, I prepared 50 kg of Shadow Clay for the Shadow Puppet that Ami asked for.

I took out the Shadow Clay, weighed it and divided it into 90 kg, 60 kg, and 50 kg chunks. After that, Alisa and the others had Ami explain the manufacturing procedure in another room.

In the meantime, I used 'Clay Knead' to knead the D-Particles into the Shadow Clay. When that work was finished, Alisa and the others returned.

"The preparations are complete. First, I would like Chika, who strengthened her muscle strength with Muscle Magic, to process it into a rough shape."

"Understood."

Chika shaped the Shadow Clay while receiving instructions from Ami.

The mass of Shadow Clay that had been completed was fine-tuned to make it look like a real cat or bear. The Sorcery Eyes and Sorcery Ears built into the Shadow Puppets for security were equipped with the night vision function and high-sensitivity hearing function that were built into Taabou.

The Magic Storage Alloy was shaped so that it could be placed in the mouth. It looked like the tongue was covered with a metal cover. When activating magic, it was similar to opening their mouth and sticking out their tongue a little.

As a finishing touch, the Magic Core was built into the head and magical power was poured into it. When I started pouring magic into the first cat-shaped Shadow Puppet, the lump of black clay transformed into a large black cat.

Alisa and the others stared at it as if they were mesmerized.

"It's amazing."

"I can't take my eyes off this moment."

Yukari and Chika shared their thoughts.

I completed the Shadow Puppets one after another. All the Shadow Puppets were completed. Alisa and the others helped me, so each Shadow Puppet had its own individuality.

The bear-shaped Shadow Puppet that Alisa helped make became a faithful imitation of the moon bear that she had taken as a model. The one I was in charge of had a slightly Tanuki-like face and was charming.

The cat-shaped Shadow Puppet Amane helped with had the face of a round-faced calico cat that is kept in the neighborhood, ignoring the color of the fur, the one that Yukari helped make had a Bengal cat's face, and the one that Chika helped with had a Maine Coon's face.

The three cats were large black cats, so there wasn't that much of a difference overall, but there were enough differences that you could tell them apart by their faces.

Ami was in charge of finishing the details while making the most of each one's character. In addition to that, she made the cat-shaped Shadow Puppet that Chairman Ohnishi asked for, so she must have had the most trouble.

We gave each one a name. Alisa's was 'Cress', Amane's was 'Mike', Yukari's was 'Bengal', and Chika's was 'Bokuden'.

Amane and Yukari's 'Mike' and 'Bengal' were easy to understand, but Alisa's 'Cress' was associated with Crescent Moon, and Chika's 'Bokuden' seemed to have been named after Tsukahara Bokuden, a swordsman from the Sengoku period.(TN: 'Mike' here said 'mii-kay' not 'mai-kh' is a type of calico/tortoiseshell cat.)

"As for Grimm-sensei's, what will you call it?"

Amane asked. When I looked at the Tanuki-faced bear-shaped Shadow Puppet, I was troubled.

"It's no good. I can only think of 'Tanukichi'."

I was laughed at by Alisa and the others, but it turned out to be appropriate. I felt a little sorry for it, but that was really all I could think of.

The Shadow Puppet training was decided, it would take too much time for me alone, so I decided to ask Alisa and the others to help me.

"By the way, how will they tell the difference between an intruder and a visitor?"

Alisa asked a question.

"The faces of those who frequently come and go to this mansion will be remembered. After that, I think we have no choice but to train to identify people who behave suspiciously."

I also thought that if there were more people coming in and out of the mansion, it would be necessary to make something like a permit that hung from the neck.

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Ami was relieved to have fulfilled her first Shadow Puppet creation request. All she had to do now was train the Cat Shadow Puppet and hand it over.

The training took her about two weeks.

Ami went to Chairman Ohnishi's house with her father, Director Jikouji. It was a mansion as big as the Grimm Mansion.

Once inside, Ami and the Director were guided to the reception room. Chairman Ohnishi showed up with his granddaughter Momoka and her mother Risa.(TN:Not translating it Lisa because that would be too much of a disconnect with Japanese sounding names for her father and daughter and then Western-sounding name for her.)

Momoka moved her gaze around looking for something and looked disappointed when she couldn't find it.

"Ojii-chan, where's Momoka's Shadow Puppet?"

Chairman Ohnishi turned his gaze to Ami, and Ami took out the cat-shaped Shadow Puppet from her shadow. This Shadow Puppet was named 'Pon' at Momoka's request. It was the first name that came to mind.(TN:'Pon' can be a sfx or a cutesy sounding ending to calling someone/something. Completely fits since she calls herself in third person.)

Momoka's eyes lit up when she saw the big black cat. On the other hand, her mother Risa and Chairman Ohnishi's faces stiffened. Probably because it was bigger than expected.

However, Momoka hugged Pon.

"It's 'Moko moko' and 'Fuwa fuwa'."(TN:Fluffy and Soft/Fluffy(Floofy?).)

Momoka seemed to like it a lot, but Chairman Ohnishi had a worried look on his face.

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