Next day we begin preparations for the journey to Shirone Kingdom.
Preparing everything that we need for the trip.
First, equipment for Zanoba.
It goes without saying that I don't want Zanoba to die.
Because of that, I pick a few choice armor out of the office armory for Zanoba to use.
First is a rather hefty full body armor.
It is augmented with [Increase fire resistance] magic tools.
A perfect match for Zanoba, who's weak against fire.
Even though Zanoba seems vulnerable to fire, but that's more or less true for all humans.
Next is a weapon.
Orsted said, there's no weapon tough enough for the strength of a miko like Zanoba.
Regardless of how special the sword is, it will break like a twig in his hands.
That's why I made Zanoba a bat.
A stone bat, hardened with my magic.
It's shaped like a racket.
It's deceivingly heavy, so much that even a grown man can't lift it.
But Zanoba pinches it, holding it like a twig. If a single swing from that lands, it's basically instant kill.
It's like attaching lasers on sharks. [2]
Even though Zanoba has ridiculous strength, he has plenty of weaknesses.
He isn't fast, but I have just the thing for that.
A magic item called [Net of Overfishing].
For reasons unknown, as soon as it's cast, as if it has a mind of its own it will automatically chase and tie up the opponent.
Taking advantage of Zanoba's strength, it can instantly cripple an opponent, and drag him within Zanoba's striking range.
I'll just leave these three pieces of equipment with Zanoba for now.
He doesn't really like wearing full armor, but he's more than happy with the rest of them.
I also prepared equipment for Roxy.
Of course her safety is my top concern.
So I mostly picked equipment that can adequately protect her.
Of course, Roxy isn't very strong, so I can't exactly dress her up in full body armor like Zanoba.
She has plenty of combat experience, so wearing unfamiliar equipment might just become an hindrance for her instead.
That's why I picked for her a barrier ring for physical attacks and a scapegoat ring that can prevent one lethal attack.
She'll use her usual staff and robe.
That's all the equipment for Roxy.
It makes me uneasy.
But all I can do is do my best to protect her.
We don't know what kind of trap awaits us, but we will make headway on that front.
On the school front, Zanoba dropped out, and Roxy also filed a leave of absence.
I don't want Roxy fired, so I asked Zanoba to write a notice of recall, requesting Roxy to return to her post as court magician of Shirone palace.
Of course the school objects.
So it ended up becoming a sit-down negotiation between the principal and Zanoba.
Roxy has become that important a personnel to the school.
That's only natural.
If I were the principal, I'd do the same.
"Roxy-dono was court magician for Shirone to begin with. Only for various reasons did she quit, but she has plenty of ability, thus I wish to bring her back and again grant her the position of court magician of Shirone Kingdom."