Episode 50

I used Wind magic to brush away the dirt clinging to the finished plate.

Then I moved the plate to the anvil.

Holding a small hammer, I infused heat into the plate.

I struck the glowing red metal with the hammer. As always, I monitored the magical signatures and used the hammer to break them down.

…Because I combined two types of Magic Ore with fang and claw materials, the magical information was fragmented.

From the surface the sheet looks like a single mass, but inside it’s different.

Fang, claw, Eirea Magic Ore, Birea Magic Ore—all of them had become independent within it.

So I shaped it into a sword with the hammer while weaving those magical signatures together.

I repeated the process of breaking and then binding them until they became a single mass.

After that, I moved on to reinforcing the magical information through repeated destruction and regeneration.

By repeating this, the sword becomes stronger.

Then I continued swinging the hammer in silence.

…A full day passed doing this work.

I headed to the smithy again the next day.

Reberto, who had rented a room the day before, was already at the smithy by my working hours.

“Nice to see you.”

“…Yeah.”

I nodded once in response to Reberto’s smile.

The work resumed from where it left off yesterday.

I continued layering more reinforcement onto the magical information.

By the morning, that task was finished.

While doing that, I hammered the plate and refined its shape.

Now there was an unpolished sword in front of me.

For the last step, I inspected it myself.

What’s important for a double-edged sword is the left-right balance.

There didn’t seem to be a problem. With this, the sword’s construction was complete.

Next I would make the hilt. It didn’t need to be a high-rarity magic stone, so I used Irea Magic Ore for it.

I combined the finished blade and hilt.

Then, before sharpening, I handed the sword to Reberto.

“Reberto, I want to make some adjustments—could you swing it once for me?”

“…Understood.”

He took the sword from me with a hint of nervousness. The moment he gripped it, his eyes widened.

Then he swung the sword.

His splendid movement was as clean as one would expect from someone who talked about slaying a dragon.

Having someone check the sword’s condition while it’s being made like this is the best approach.

I actually wanted Ivas and Weather to do this too, but I couldn’t reveal my identity…

Reberto kept swinging the sword for a while, but his expression remained one of constant astonishment.

“Are you alright?”

I had made it the exact same weight and length as the sword he had been using.

So as a sword, I thought there shouldn’t be an issue, but…

When he finished swinging, he returned the sword to me.

“…I’m shocked. It’s exactly the same as the one I was using earlier.”

His voice was almost a whisper. He still looked at me in stunned awe.

“Ah, ah… Was it no good? You asked for the same one, after all.”

“I-I never thought a single forge could produce something that matches so perfectly! Your skill with the hammer is incredible.”

Saying that, he grabbed both of my arms tightly in his excitement.

Then, he rubbed his cheek against me.

“I’m jealous! To have such freedom in your smithing talent!”

“S-stop it!”

I pushed Reberto’s face away, who had leaned in as if to embrace me.