"Who says we don't have the conditions for it?" Yae Miko lightly covered her mouth with a smile. Though not a blacksmith herself, she was very familiar with the forging process of divine weapons—after all, Ei was a master of the craft. As a child, she had often watched Ei forge weapons.
Her own Kagura's Verity had been forged this way. She knew the steps well. Saphir was slightly tempted by her words but still confirmed, "Are you confident?"
"Mhm~" Yae Miko's eyes curved playfully, as if saying, Why don't you guess?
Saphir knew better than to expect a straight answer from this sly fox. In the end, it would be her decision alone. Everyone's eyes were on her, waiting for her verdict. After a moment of internal debate, she clapped her hands. "Let's do it! No kid cries forever, and no gambler loses every time! I'm betting it all on this one!"
Seeing her reaction, Yae Miko chuckled and shook her head. She's such a performer—always playing the victim even while reaping the rewards. Still, she didn't call her out. Instead, she stepped forward and picked up the cross weapon prototype to explain.
"Other than Saphir, most of you probably aren't familiar with this weapon type. Though technically a variant of polearms, I personally classify it as a catalyst-type weapon."
"Standard polearms consist of a shaft and a head. That includes spears, lances, halberds, and even our Inazuman naginata. But a cross doesn't follow this structure."
"It's fundamentally different. Anyone who's trained in spearmanship knows that spears emphasize flexibility and fluid motion—like a snake striking or a dragon leaping. That's why spear shafts are made of flexible materials. If it's too rigid, it becomes a fire poker—completely unwieldy."
"Hence, spear shafts prioritize elasticity. It's one of the trickiest parts of forging. As for the spearhead, it must be sharp and aggressive to pierce armor and deal damage. Kunfeng, that's what you were thinking, right?"
Kunfeng scratched his head awkwardly. She'd nailed it—he had approached it that way. He hadn't seen the Dark Shepherd use a cross before and had assumed the tip was supposed to be some kind of bladed weapon.
With Kunfeng confirming, Yae Miko corrected him, "Then I need you to do the opposite. The shaft must be as solid as possible—no flexibility. Forge it like a fire poker. Can you do that?"
"This…" Kunfeng glanced nervously at Saphir. Was she setting him up to fail? If she didn't like the result, he was screwed.
But Saphir nodded with interest. "Do as she says. The last cross I used was made by her."
"Yes, ma'am." With her approval, Kunfeng relaxed. If the top brass signed off on it, he had nothing to worry about. Time to work without hesitation.
Saphir was more curious about how Yae Miko would handle the biggest issue—Teyvat didn't have welding technology. That meant the handle and the head couldn't be forged separately and fused afterward. It had to be forged as a single piece. She wanted to see how this problem would be tackled.
Almost as if reading her thoughts, Yae Miko smiled mysteriously. "What are you waiting for, Kunfeng? Start forging the shaft."
"But… the prototype…" Kunfeng didn't have the cross prototype—Yae Miko was still holding it.
"Who said you're using the prototype? Just forge the hardest shaft you can. Understood?" Yae Miko's tone carried the authority of a Guuji.
Kunfeng, thoroughly intimidated, didn't dare question her and rushed off to start forging.
Next, Yae Miko turned to Sucrose. "Little one, we'll need your help for the front-end."
Sucrose hadn't expected to have a part in this. She immediately perked up. This was a rare hands-on opportunity—perfect for honing her alchemy skills.
"It's not too complicated. Do you have a reference chart for Mondstadt-region woods? Something detailed?" Yae Miko requested something odd. Though confused, Sucrose nodded.
"Go get it. We need to pick the materials. Yumemiru wood isn't quite right," Yae Miko added.
Sucrose dashed off to her lab—she remembered a notebook in the alchemy workshop that documented the wood types of various regions.
Lisa caught the hint and asked, "You're planning to make the head of the weapon from wood? Wouldn't that compromise its durability? Might break again like last time."
Yae Miko nodded. "That's why I need to choose carefully. And I won't use wood alone."
Sucrose soon returned with the notebook.
Yae Miko flipped through it carefully.
"Cedar, pine, birch, Cuihua wood, and Aralia. Looks like these are the options. Cedar has prominent grain and texture. Good for furniture, not weapons."
"Pine—simple in appearance, but if properly processed, it's resistant to pests and corrosion. Also quite hard. Not bad." She marked the page with a small symbol.
"Birch…" Yae Miko frowned. A typical furniture material—soft, easy to work with, smooth surfaces. Great for pretty furniture, but that's it. She didn't even comment and flipped the page.
"Cuihua wood—beautiful color, unique grain. Fairly balanced material. But being average means it lacks strengths. Not suitable."
Only Aralia remained. She read the notes: "High in oil content, unique aroma." Her brow furrowed again. "This stuff's ornamental at best. Barely passable for furniture." It was on par with Yumemiru wood, and leagues below the sacred cherry trees she'd used before. No good.
She kept flipping—and suddenly, her eyes lit up at one entry.
"Quercus Sandora—resistant to wind and rain, endures for a hundred years." Perfect.
Sucrose added, "Quercus Sandora… doesn't grow in Mondstadt. It's mostly found in Liyue."
In other words, they didn't have any on hand. A problem. Yae Miko hesitated. Should she settle for second-best? Pine wasn't unusable, but Quercus Sandora was undeniably better. After bragging just now, accepting an inferior material would be a blow to her pride.
Saphir noticed her hesitation and asked, "So Quercus Sandora is the best?"
Yae Miko nodded. "As far as I can tell, yes. Do you have a way?"
Please. Saphir was Saphir. Getting some timber? Easy.
"Wait here." With that, she closed her eyes—and vanished.
A few minutes later, she returned—this time from the direction of the Goth Grand Hotel—leading a group of Fatui soldiers carrying several long logs.
Saphir displayed the lumber with a flourish. "Specialty timber from Liyue: Quercus Sandora. Just harvested from Lingju Pass."
As luck would have it, when she'd popped back to the Yanshang Teahouse, she found Aida supervising a renovation crew. Curious, she asked if they had any Quercus Sandora. Aida handed her several logs, saying they'd been ordered by one of the Harbingers—though she didn't know which. The client had insisted on secrecy, and all the staff had been sworn to silence.
That left Saphir puzzled. There weren't that many Harbingers. Who would be sending Quercus Sandora to Yanshang Teahouse?
It couldn't be Pierro—he never left Snezhnaya. Not Dottore either—he was still tangled in his "Blasphemy" experiment. Columbina? Highly unlikely—she barely left her bed. Definitely not her.
Arlecchino? No—last she'd heard, Arlecchino was heading to Fontaine. Probably on a mission. Pulcinella? Out of the question. Sandrone… maybe? That one was hard to figure out. Kunfeng still hadn't reported back, and it was possible she had come to Liyue for her mechanized experiments.
The others didn't make much sense either. Scaramouche was en route to Inazuma. Rosalyne had returned to Snezhnaya to hand over the Anemo Gnosis. Pantalone never moved. Capitano was in Natlan. As for Tartaglia? He was still looking for Mona's teacher—the witch "B."
"Sandrone, huh? What's that schemer up to now?" Saphir ultimately settled on Sandrone as the most likely source. But it didn't really matter. She had the wood—and that was enough.
With the materials secured, Sucrose began her next alchemical experiment under Yae Miko's guidance.
Liyue, Lingju Pass.
"Dark Shepherd, the timber has been delivered," a Fatui Electro Hammer vanguard kneeled before another Saphir and gave his report.
The girl nodded. "Well done. That solves the problem."
Yes—the one who arranged for the wood wasn't the Saphir we've followed, but another "her." While one Saphir was still fretting over resources, the other had already made preparations in advance.
After rewarding the vanguard, she turned and left. The wind lifted her long hair, hiding the truth of what had just occurred.
"We were never meant to meet… but soon, you'll realize I exist. And by the time you do, I'll already be gone. Good luck… former me."
~~~----------------------
To read 55+ future chapters head over to Patreon:
patreon.com/YonkoSlayer