Chapter 98

After Diania left, I was tinkering with the trees in the garden.

Then, Hestia came over, rubbing her eyes.

"Huh... Good morning."

"Hey, good morning, Hestia."

"Hmm... I woke up because I felt a different magical energy. What are you doing?"

Hestia's gaze was focused on my hands.

Since I was doing something different from usual, the magical energy must have changed as well. Anyway,

"Well, I was thinking of making the golems smaller."

"Hmm, why?"

"I made a shop in town, right? I thought it would look cramped if there were several big ones there."

"Oh..."

That's right, the shop in town is much smaller than our home.

So, just the tree golems walking around take up quite a bit of space.

That's why I decided to make the golem shop assistants smaller.

That way, I could secure more space.

"Oh, you're making a golem right now."

"Yep."

I considered two methods to make them smaller: compression and reducing the materials.

I knew that compression would make them heavier and slower.

So, I first tried simply reducing the amount of wood used to make the golem.

Instead of using one tree, I used half this time.

As a result, the golem's size was reduced to about half.

"Yep, it's a success in terms of size... but now it's about performance."

Thinking that, I had the golem carry a garden stone.

A normal-sized golem could easily carry it, but,

"...It's a bit weak in terms of power."

The small golem could lift a rock larger than itself, but it couldn't move much under the weight.

"Even carrying one rock is too much. Does reducing the materials make it weaker?"

"...Hmm, I think, for a golem, it's strong enough. A rock that size usually can't be lifted."

"Is that so?"

Well, if it's only going to be used inside the shop, this might be sufficient. The heaviest thing it would need to lift is a box of apples.

It has enough power to squeeze apples.

...But, you know,

I want to improve its performance a bit more.

"Since I'm making it smaller, I want it to be usable in various places."

"Is that so? ...Then, why not try mixing in different materials?"

"Different materials? For a golem?"

"Hmm, it's often done when making wands. If the magic capacity is insufficient, you mix in minerals."

"I see. You're really skilled at crafting."

I had been focusing on making it smaller and hadn't considered the materials.

Maybe I should try using other materials.

Fortunately, there are some refined magic stones from the dungeon in the basement rolling around in the garden.

I'll try adding some lightly.

"Okay, let's see if the tree can absorb the magic stone..."

"...!? You're just putting it in like that!?"

"Huh? Is that not okay?"

When I pushed the magic stones directly into the golem's body and arms, Hestia was surprised.

Why? Doesn't she often mix in minerals?

"Usually, you use powdered or smaller pieces. Otherwise, it's hard to control the magic, and it won't function properly."

"Is that so. Hurry up and move—wait, it's moving normally, the golem."

"...Huh?"

Looking where Hestia was pointing, the golem with the magic stone mixed in was lifting a rock larger than itself and running around.

It stopped when I told it to, and the control was perfect.

"Wow, it can lift it now, and it's performing pretty well."

"Yeah. ...Maybe my common sense isn't reliable after all..."

Hestia, with her shoulders slumped, watched the golem lifting and lowering the garden stone.

She looked a bit sad, and I felt like I had done something wrong.

"Well, don't worry about it. What you should be concerned about is that golem."

"Huh? Is there something to worry about?"

When I asked, Hestia nodded.

"Hmm, just adding the magic stone made the power increase too much. Normally, that wouldn't happen. Even with a large magic stone, it's impossible."

Hmm, even if she says it's impossible, I just combined the materials I had on hand.

"Hmm... Maybe it's because the magic stones are from the dungeon under this house, which is why the power increased so much."

"I see. Our dungeon, which we only used for hot springs, produces good materials."

In that case, maybe I should go down to the basement and get some more.

That way, I could finish the miniaturization by night.

Thinking that, I decided to head to the basement with Hestia.