CHAPTER 307: FORGING THE SWORD 1

 

~Second-Generation Kunimitsu’s POV~

A full week had already passed since Aun and the others set out for Tengu Valley.

It was a distance that took less than a day on foot one way. Even assuming two days for a round trip, this was far too slow. A thought lingered in one corner of my mind that something might have happened, but I reminded myself that trusting them and waiting was also part of the duty of the one who had sent them off.

And so, I stood in my workshop, staring intently at Shiranuemaru atop the smithing stand.

From the moment I received Shiranuemaru until now, I spent every hour not devoted to sleep or food in silent dialogue with it.

Its countless tiny nicks, its faint distortions, its slight traces of rust. They could all be called the path Shiranuemaru had walked beside Aun. The record of its battles.

How its wielder swung the blade.

What kind of foes it had fought.

The habits and techniques born from battle.

And even the growth it had undergone from the day it was first taken in hand until now all came through naturally.

An unfinished blade, used this hard, and yet the ‘core’ within it had never broken.

A small flare of anger rose in me at that fool for forcing his weapon far too much, but even so, I could tell just by looking that, ignorant as he had been, the boy had still tried to cherish it in his own way—and that Shiranuemaru itself had been happy for even that much.

「You’re a damn fool too…」

I muttered it softly and lowered my gaze once more.

If I repair it, it would die.

And yet it wants to move beyond that.

That was the will I could feel from this tachi.

That was why I waited.

To see what that young brat would bring back.

The forge fire rumbled low.

At this point, time did not matter.

There was no reason to rush them, and getting impatient would solve nothing.

All I could do was wait.

And then—

Footsteps stopped beyond the door.

Confident footsteps. There was only one person brazen enough to stride up to my workshop like he owned the place, and that was that young fool.

Then—

With a creak, the door opened.

The moment I laid eyes on the brat who stepped inside, I understood.

…Heh. The air around him is different.

What he carried around himself had changed.

—That face of his looked infuriatingly like a man who had seen things through to the end.

I became aware that the corner of my mouth had twisted slightly.

「Sorry. Kept you waiting.」

「I wasn’t worried, but… did something happen?」

「Nah, well… it’s a long story if I get into it.」

The young man tried to wave it off, then flicked a glance at Kinu beside him.

「Mm. I’ll explain it simply. When Aun destroyed Tenkei’s technique, he ended up destroying the barrier stretched over the valley too. And if it stayed like that, it looked like a huge number of nearby monsters might pour in. So Tenkei and I stayed behind to put the barrier back up.」

「Breaking it was easy, y’know. Never thought rebuilding it would take three whole days! I mean, I didn’t think the barrier would break too… kinda an accident, maybe?」

Aun laughed without the slightest remorse, while Kinu gave a small shrug.

More to the point—

Tenkei? Rebuilding the barrier together?

Just what kind of situation did it take for that to happen…?

As I found myself thinking that, I suddenly noticed the figure standing behind them.

A single black wing. The lower half of his face was covered, but he was unmistakably one of the tengu. I tensed at once, but the man bowed his head politely and offered his greeting.

「A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Kunimitsu-dono. My name is Magarasu, of the tengu tribe. I have been granted leave to accompany Aun. At present, I revere him as my chief and have sworn him my loyalty.」

「Man, you’re still stiff as hell, Magarasu. You could just say, ‘I’m one of the gang’, and be done with it.」

A tengu… one of the gang?

I had questions. Endless questions. But trying to understand the whole thing felt like a waste of effort, so I gave up on pressing them.

…More importantly, there’s only one thing that matters.

「Well then… did you bring it?」

「Yeah. Just like I promised.」

As he spoke, the brat pulled a hemp sack from his magic bag.

The first thing I felt was a pressure that seemed to drag everything downward.

I could tell even through the bag.

This is no ordinary ore.

「…Take it out.」

I kept it short, and the young man opened the sack without hesitation.

Then a black mass rolled out.

The instant it did, the air in the workshop warped ever so slightly, and the forge fire let out a louder roar than before.

…What the hell is this?

The back of my throat stung.

I could not look away.

Though I had not even touched it, my fingertips felt rough and dry.

Slowly, I reached out a hand toward the ore—

And stopped just before touching it.

I knew.

This was the kind of thing that forced itself into your understanding.

「You… this…」

My mouth felt so dry it was as if all moisture in it had evaporated.

The voice I forced out came rough and hoarse.

「I brought you Bukō.」

The young man’s eyes held no hesitation, yet there was something hidden in their depths.

「Apparently, no higher purity than this still exists.」

Don’t tell me…

「…Hihiirokane?」

The moment I said it aloud, everything clicked strangely into place.

A class apart even among Bukō. Steel that existed for the sole purpose of becoming a sword.

And this fool had brought it back.

「You really are something else…」

A laugh slipped out of me before I could stop it.

Half exasperation.

—And the other half was excitement I could no longer hold down.

A flame ignited in the depths of my chest and blazed up all at once.

It was a sensation I had not felt in a very long time.

…Damn it.

…I want to forge it right now.

「I did the best job I could, didn’t I? The rest is up to your skill, Kunimitsu. I’m counting on you… for Shiranuemaru.」

「Fine by me. I’ll turn it into the finest sword in Bukyo… no, the finest sword in the world.」

The Bukō I took in my hand was light as a feather despite appearances. If I let my guard slip, it felt as though I might be swallowed whole, so directly did its allure batter at my mind.

This was a steel where the contest began the instant you touched it. If you let yourself be captivated by this irresistible exhilaration, you would fall.

One lapse. One tiny mistake.

…And it will devour you in an instant.

「Give me some time. I want to focus.」

With that, I sent Aun and the others out of the workshop and wrapped a hand towel around my head.

Then, slowly, I fed more charcoal into the furnace and strengthened the fire.

If I rush here, everything would be ruined.

No haste. If I panic, it will not answer me.

That was true for any steel. No ore in existence ever lied to fire.

Within the furnace, I judged the color of the flames.

When I worked the bellows and sent air into the fire, the color deepened from red to orange… and then to yellow.

Once white began to mix into that yellow, tiny sparks started dancing within the furnace with a faint crackle.

…Well then. Time to begin.

I quietly placed Shiranuemaru into the furnace.

Slowly, the blade turned red, its outline began to waver, and before long, it lost its shape.

The sword I had spent the past several days staring at, the tachi I had been certain was my greatest masterpiece, the greatest masterpiece of the second-generation Kunimitsu…

It was returning from weapon to metal.

To be honest, I somewhat regretted it. Even so, I did not look away.

「Just wait. I’ll finish you into the shape you desire.」

I murmured it to no one in particular.

It truly had been a fine sword.

That was why—

I will be the one to bring it to its proper end with my own hands.