"I've practiced a lot, but I'm still nervous," Eliza stated with a wry smile as soon as they stepped into the courtyard of the Steil estate.
However, the sight of her swiftly drawing a magic circle on the ground with practiced ease was reassuring.
The three members of the Steil family, the butler Pott, and the guards including Seabas watched from the mansion with looks reserved for suspicious individuals, while Strass and Shenley also observed Eliza with mildly anxious expressions.
This was likely because they didn't know what kind of magical research each one had been conducting, given events like the school festival.
But in truth, Eliza had been studying magic circles diligently every day. I had been cooperating with her studies about once a week, so I knew just how hard she had been working.
She drew the magic circle she had drawn over and over again, then glanced at me as if to confirm.
"I think it's fine. You've done a great job," I replied.
Hearing this, Eliza gave out a sigh of relief, lowered herself beside the freshly drawn magic circle, and reached out her hand.
As she infused it with magical energy, the magic circle began to emit a faint blue glow.
Then, gradually, the earth within the center circle began to rise, forming a small mound. The mound grew larger and eventually reached the height of a person.
What followed was the difficult part; something only those who practiced magic could truly understand. She had to shape the gathered earth, harden it, and then craft the joints so they could bend and stretch to allow movement. Furthermore, she had to weave magical nerves from the head throughout the construct, creating a brain capable of interpreting commands and executing appropriate actions.
Without that, it would be nothing more than a mere doll.
Because of these difficulties, only extremely simple golems had ever been created. Their movements were as slow as a snail, requiring considerable time just to walk from one place to another. Moreover, the materials were limited, and in some countries, research had already been abandoned.
Whether golem creation was still ongoing in the elven lands or not, the act of creating a golem itself was not surprising, but the reaction was still far from favorable.
According to Owen, ancient golems, though not on par with humans, could move at a respectable speed and handle somewhat complex commands.
After relying not only on Owen's teachings but also consulting the books of Fiddiq Academy and repeatedly examining the mechanisms and possibilities of golems, I arrived at a single idea.
That idea was to construct the brain like a program. In existing literature, the actions of golems in response to commands were often vague. This ambiguity led to slow movements and an inability to perform complex actions.
A magical energy storage unit that could retain infused mana for a certain period, and a magical circuit that defined movements corresponding to each command in a programmatic manner. Thanks to these two innovations, I believed Eliza's golem had evolved significantly. Of course, beyond that, she had also researched body construction using human anatomy and neural materials for transmitting magical energy.
The magic circle had been revised many times to properly reflect these research findings. With each revision, Eliza had to relearn the circle's shape and the flow of magical energy from scratch.
Thanks to these hidden efforts, Eliza's golem, while possessing sufficient capabilities, was completed in just over ten minutes.
During the shaping stage, its height shrank to about the same as Eliza's, resulting in a rugged golem that looked like a combination of cubes and cylinders.
Eliza inspected the golem from head to toe with satisfaction, then turned to face Spire and the others.
"It's finished!" she declared.
The astonished group gazed at the newly completed golem. Representing the others, Spire stepped forward and looked at Eliza's creation.
"...Certainly, the golem was completed at an astonishing speed. But this is just a form, isn't it? If that's all, even I, who has never specifically studied golem creation, could make one," Spire said with a mocking laugh, while Pier and Brest also burst into laughter.
In response, Eliza shook her head, wearing a confident smile.
"No, this is a proper golem. Not only that, but a golem with high capabilities," Eliza replied.
Brest then jerked his chin toward the golem.
"Then make it move," he said challengingly.
At his provocative tone, Eliza puffed out her chest and nodded.
"Yes, of course. 'Move forward,'" she commanded.
At her single command, the golem slightly raised its upper body and stepped forward with its right foot. As the right foot touched the ground, it shifted its centre of gravity, simultaneously sending the leg backward while stepping forward with the left leg. It was a smooth motion.
Although not as fluid when compared to a human's, the golem walked with sufficiently smooth movements, leaving everyone with stunned expressions.
"'Turn right,'" Eliza issued the next command.
The golem immediately changed its direction. The step it had taken just before the command couldn't be helped, but before taking the next step, it turned its upper body to the right, then rotated its hips while adjusting the direction of its toes.
This, too, was quite impressive. The effort I had put into thinking it through was worthwhile.
As I watched the golem, Eliza flashed a fearless smile and opened her mouth. Somehow, I had a bad feeling about this.
"...Golem! 'Jump,' 'Look down,' ...'Thrust out your right hand!'" Eliza fired off commands in rapid succession.
In response, the golem immediately moved to process the instructions.
It kicked off the ground and leaped straight up, bending its upper body downward.
Then, while falling toward the ground, it thrust out its right hand.
An instant later, the golem's rock-like right hand pierced straight into the ground. A shock that shook the earth and a low, rumbling sound resonated, leaving behind a crater of about fifty centimeters in diameter.
Because the golem's fist was an unrounded cube, it likely couldn't pierce the ground cleanly, causing the impact to spread. In terms of penetrating power, there was none, but the destructive force — combining its own weight, gravity, and the thrusting motion of its arm, was considerable.
Realizing this, several of the watching elves gasped audibly.
"...'Stop,'" Eliza gave the final command, and the golem ceased all movement.
After a brief pause, Eliza spoke.
"How was that?" she asked.
No one could answer immediately. As Spire and the others blinked in astonishment, Strass let out a relieved breath and spoke.
"The golem's movements are incomparably better than when I saw them before."
"Yes! I think the new structure really helped. Though it was all Aoi's idea," Eliza replied with a wry smile at Strass's observation.
"Not at all. It's the fruit of Eliza's hard work," I said.
At that, Eliza laughed and nodded.
After confirming this, I turned back to Spire and the others.
"...Well, since the beastman Shenley and the dwarf Eliza have demonstrated their magic, I suppose I'm next," I said with a smile.
Behind Spire, Pier and Brest visibly flinched.
