>>6004717Louise is struck by [b:lit][green]a sudden and powerful urge to pat the moth girl on the head[/green][/b:lit]. However, she knows that Anofelis is to be her opponent in this friendly competition, and - however strong the urge to pat her might be - to treat her as a crying child who needs reassurance would be a slight to Ano that would reflect poorly on Louise. So instead she takes one of Ano's hands in her own and offers a warm smile, saying, "Charmed, Ano. I am Louise le Blanc, humble servant of Daffodil and Sunflower, and baroness of this village. Let us both do our best in this race, shall we?"
Unlike Louise, Hilde has nothing holding her back from patting the moth girl on the head. It's quite fortunate that Ano was on her knees; even so, the short and busty woman needs to stand on the tips of her toes to reach the floof on Ano's head. Hilde's hands are soft and skilled, massaging Ano's scalp with gentle and tender care as much as giving her a reassuring pat. "Good girl, good girl~"
Then she catches Louise's look. While she doesn't stop patting Ano until the mothgirl moves to stop her, she does stop addressing her like a sad puppy. "Ahem, I mean, I'm Hilde. Louise's best buddy... and artifex, too."
Neither woman is dressed particularly fancy. Louise managed to force Hilde into something other than the oil-stained top and tight-fitted trousers that she wears around her workshop, if only in consideration of the King's presence. A clean blouse in her family tartan, with more buttons left undone than was probably in good taste, was the most Hilde would wear. That and a pair of denim coveralls that mysteriously stopped at her thighs, leaving a two-finger gap before her stockings took over and covered the rest of her legs.
Louise herself wears her armorsilks alone, the new model Hilde gifted her after the Justicar tore her old set to shreds. Woven of liquified ironsilks that react to the flow of mana, she's set them to resemble a tasteful bodystocking beneath a leotard striped with black and gold. Blood-red roses in a pattern that match her curse mark grow along deep green vines that decorate the smoke-colored bodystocking. A lacy, golden skirt patterned with the narzissenmark in black falls around her hips, lower in the back than the front. The flashy sort of armorsilks favored by female knights in the Daffodil Kingdom as they go about the city, meant as much to show off her stature as to protect her body.
Hearing Mikhail's question, Hilde looks at him in askance, her head tilted like that of a curious dog. "Metal? No, that's still burlap. I've just khemically reinforced it, is all. Concept Imbuement by the Bolvar Transformation. The enhancement isn't as permanent as I would like, but I don't think anyone makes a sack out of silk unless they're spending a small fortune to weave a four-point spatial distortion array into the seams..."
