A Katarina Interlude

Katarina had never been to this part of town before. No, not just 'town'. Cleeseton. While it sounded like some kind of British comedian who walked funny, Katarina could almost sort of see the connection to her family. But name aside, she'd never been to this part of it. She'd mostly gone downtown, where the tasty bakeries and cafes were. Today, however, they were in the craft district, which were big, serious buildings that were completely unrelated to food at all, and the only places to eat were taverns, meal halls, pubs, and the occasional wine house. Not to be confused with the upper business district, which were different big, serious buildings that were completely unrelated to food, or the meat district, which were big, stinky buildings that were about food before they became food.

"Where is this?" Katarina asked, looking around. From inside the big building were the sounds of ringing hammers and large machinery, the smell of smoke and other less identifiable things, and a general feeling of needful activity.

"This, my squire, is Staligrast Arms, one of the oldest smithies in the duchy who specialize in arms and armor," Dame Campbell said. Then, as if anticipating something, she added, "'Arms' means weapons, not the things your hands are connected to."

Ah. That made sense. She'd been thinking it was sad that there were enough people without arms that people had to make new ones for them.

Cousin Mashu, why are you giving Keith money?

"Staligrast Arms makes many of the mass produced arm—weapons and armor in the Duchy," Dame Campbell explained. "Individual knights might have personal or preferred armorers, but many of the Covenants based in the city get their armor maintained or commissioned from them, as well as the guards of small noble houses, merchants and banks. Of course, there are other, smaller workshops, but as I understand it, his grace your father has an investment interest in Staligrast Arms, though you may opt to do business with another firm or specific smith in future…"

Katarina almost zoned out, since this just sounded like a tutorial, but she'd learned her lesson playing Fortune Lover. Don't just skip through the dialogue, that's how Miyazaki-sensei punished you! She forced herself to listen, even as her right kept pressing on her forefinger as a part of her tried to skip all the dialogue.

"Do you understand, my squire?"

"So…" Katarina said, "we're here to shop for new clothes?" She grinned happily. New clothes were always nice.

"Armor, but close enough," Maria said. She gestured. "Their graces your parents have decided to gift you with this new armor in light of how well you've been doing in your studies."

Katarina stared. That couldn't be right. Her parents, in any of her lives, had never said she'd done well in her studies! Katarina and Yamada Tae would never have said they'd done well in their studies!

Only, when she looked at her parents, father was smiling happily and mother was smiling even as she cried, making her look like a villainess having a flashback to create sympathy for them moments before their death scene, totally real death, we're not bringing them back, promise, so feel sympathy for this mass murderer the fandom has hated for years!

"D-don't misunderstand," mother said, looking aside with a sniff even as she patted a handkerchief at her tears. "I-it's not that we love you and support this decision, it's just that you need to be properly attired to represent the House of Claes, hmph!"

…

Ah. Mother loved her! Mother really loved her!

Katarina was… really happy right now.

There… wasn't really any proper etiquette for giving your family member a hug and telling them you loved them—she and Shana had checked, as both had wanted to know how to do it properly—but Katarina supposed that meant there was no rule against her doing it any way she wanted.

So it totally wasn't against etiquette when she rushed forward and gave her mother a big hug. "I love you too Mother!" she said, not bothering to speak tsundere. "And you too, Father!" Mother, of course, blushed and looked unable to speak, typical tsundere stuff. Father, however, just laughed and patted her head fondly, saying she was still daddy's little girl.

…

Wait, Mother was a tsundere. Did that mean father had been some kind of harem protagonist when he'd been younger or something? Was that the subject of some kind of prequel game or manga side story or online web novel or DLC?

…

Eh, not her storyline.

Dame Campbell coughed politely. Katarina looked up from the hug. After all, there was no such thing as official hug etiquette! "Ahem. In addition to fitting you for proper formal armor, I have decided to take this opportunity to also have you try on a selection of armors of various weights, configurations and designs to give you an idea of what is available."

Katarina blinked. "I thought we were already shopping for new armor?"

"Formal armor," Maria repeated. "For parties, formal events, knightings, court appearances, executions, things of that nature. While it will be functional armor, it will be relatively lightweight, and will be unlikely to protect you from powerful blows. It might suffice for light arrows though which is about the only reason to wear armor in any case."

Wait, didn't Maria just say something really scary there…? Ah, but she was still talking.

"So, at a certain point, you will need more substantial armor suited for your style and preferences," Dame Campbell continued. "While it will likely not be soon, I want you to start thinking about it."

"So… I'll be trying on armor?" Katarina said.

"Yes. You'll try them on, and practice walking, sprinting, rolling and using your sword and various other weapons with them, to give you an idea of how they affect your mobility and ability."

"Can't I just wear what Mas—er, Dame Matthew wears?" Katarina asked.

"You can," Dame Campbell said with a nod. "In fact, she bought it for you to try. It won't fit your perfectly—the ancients could supposedly make armor that could fit anyone, from child to giant, but we've lost the skill to do so—but it should be close enough, and you can make your own judgement after trying it."

Cousin Mashu smiled and patted a chest that had been sitting next to her. "I think my Dangerous Beast will fit you, cousin, so no worries there. You might have trouble getting used to the weight, though."

"Don't worry," Katarina said, giving a self-assured smile. "I know I might seem like just some lady, but I'm confident in my strength, you know?"

"No one thinks you're just some lady, sister," Keith said.

"Dame Lalatina was supposed to be joining us, but it seems her carriage is running a little late," Dame Campbell said. "I suppose we'll have to start without her."

"Wait, Lady Lalatina is coming?" Katarina said, surprised. "Why?"

"She owns a selection of heavy plate armor that must be specially built," Dame Campbell said. "As there is little call for them in other Covenants, few make them and thus not many samples are available for you to try out. The ones she brings were made by the Rocks of Havel's own smiths, and include their distinctive armor. While I do not think you will choose the Rocks of Havel, I thought you should be familiar what constitutes the uppermost limits of heavy armor, and she offered to make her sets available to you, as a friend."

Aw… that was so nice of her!

When they entered, the front of Staligrast Arms wasn't that much different from some of the dress shops Katarina had been to. Sure, it was racks showcasing armor instead of mannequins with dresses, and swords and other weapons on the wall instead of rolls of cloth, but the lighting, the sort of nice wood flooring, and the curtained-off area at the back were remarkably similar.

They even had a nice young woman to take her measurements of her body after she'd stripped off the more heavy metal bits of her armor, pulling her pants tight and measuring things like her bikini line, her three sizes, the shape of her head—"For the helmet, Lady Claes," she'd been told—and things like how thick her biceps were when her arm was down at her side, when it was held out in a T-pose, and when her arm was curled.

Why yes, she did have nice biceps, thank you for noticing.

After the measurements, she and Maria were shown sketches of examples of formal armor. Mashu even brought the designs of her set to show Katarina, and Mother was there to make sure that the final design would be suitable.

Formal armor, it turned out, was mostly leather, with the heaviest having some sort of metal inserts or, at least, an underlying layer of brigandine, though small breastplates, light greaves, light bracers and decorative pauldrons and spaulders were not unheard of.

Maria and Mashu both had to convince mother that, no your grace/auntie, a skirt was not suitable.

"I've seem knights wearing skirts," Mother argued.

"Those are faulds, your grace," Maria explained. "They are armor and only ever reach down to the knees at best. They are not skirts. Any longer and they become a hazard to the wearer. As the point of formal armor is to be combat ready even during formal events, such would be a detriment."

"Perhaps a waist cape of some sort?" Mashu suggested. "With leather faulds to go with it?" She drew to demonstrate.

The other two frowned down at it.

"I suppose…" Mother said.

"I guess…" Maria looked dissatisfied.

Since they were both unhappy, it was decided it was a good compromise!

Apparently, she was also going to have a surcoat (?) with a chainmail shirt to go with it (?). No, wait, now Maria and Mashu were having an argument about chain mail versus brigandine.

"Chain mail offers better protection!"

"It's too heavy! And she doesn't need it, she can parry! Besides, brigandine is better for arrows!"

There was also the mantle vs pauldrons debate, the all-leather vs metal-backed leather gauntlet debate, the knee vs thigh-highs debate…

"Can you put in some kind of secret snack pocket?" Katarina hissed to the patient-looking armorer who was listening to all this and nodding along, taking notes when a feature had been finalized. "Something I can fill with candy?"

"Of course, your ladyship," the armorer said with a knowing smile. "Would you like a drinks pocket too?"

"You're the best!" Katarina sighed. A beat. "Actually, how many pockets can you put on this armor…?"

The man blinked. "Pockets, your ladyship?"

"Yes," Katarina nodded. "Pockets. Actually…" She glanced towards her Mother, Maria and Mashu. The three M's were still hotly discussing if there needed to be a built in… c-something belt? Good, they were distracted. Katarina grabbed a pencil. "In the back, maybe around the waist cape, can you put in a pouch…?"

Sophia would be so jealous Katarina had a secret romance novel pocket in her clothes!

Dangerous Beast Set
Greaves, gauntlets, and armor of Knight Matthew Romani. Surprisingly light.

A great and sturdy armor made with a mother's love and the sacrifice of many dresses for the rare materials with which it was made. Wielding a protective shield, she has joined the fight to protect the kingdom. While a gallant knight, but her mind can be quite filthy.

Its weight was specifically calibrated to not impede stamina regeneration