Only after Shikizaki Kiki's thought-form had completely vanished and I had taken a nap was I finally able to see the [truly] completed Sentō Namakura.
In terms of appearance, nothing differed from the original aside from the blade's length. The original was an uchigatana (though it could have been either a tachi or an uchigatana; judging by the scabbard's solid color and the lack of any particular carrying fittings, I decided it was an uchigatana). Other than having been shortened to kodachi length at Kaguya's request, it was Sentō Namakura itself.
With a blade just over sixty centimeters long and a fifteen-centimeter tsuka, or hilt, it was a typical Japanese sword with an overall length of roughly eighty centimeters.
The blade, guard, hilt, and even the scabbard were all black. The only other color was the white triangular pattern engraved on the guard.
The sword itself was black, but regardless of its color, the Sentō exuded an eerie atmosphere. No, if one focused their eyes even slightly, they could actually see a purple aura slowly rising from the blade.
I did not know whether only the wielder could see it or whether others could see it as well because of the aura radiating from the sword itself, but it looked quite dangerous.
Just like the original [Sentō Namakura], the blade displayed a zigzag hamon, as precise as if it had been measured down to the slightest fraction, resembling an animal's teeth. Thank goodness... This was the part I had put the most care into, so I could not imagine how heartbroken I would have been if it had failed. Seeing the clean boundary between the spine and edge, along with that zigzag hamon, truly made it sink in that I had completed a major undertaking.
If we were discussing the quality of the finished [Sentō Namakura], I was confident I could point out every single part from the tip to the bottom of the hilt and talk about it in detail. But since there was nobody to listen to me (???: "Hey, are you ignoring us?" / I will not break through the fourth wall.), I stopped admiring the sword and set it down again.
With this completion, the illusion had seeped into both the scabbard and the sword. Why the scabbard? Originally, iaijutsu was simply a technique of quickly drawing a sword from its scabbard and cutting quickly. More precisely, it was a technique for drawing the sword from its scabbard as fast as possible and responding to an emergency. In modern times, subculture has turned it into this thing where you supposedly use the scabbard's friction to draw at extreme speed and cut things so fast the eye cannot see it, blah blah blah... but that is allllll nothing more than fantasy.
But if I am the one making it, that changes things. If I have the power—magic—to turn that fantasy, that illusion, into reality, then I can reproduce that technique of using friction to push the speed of an iaijutsu draw to its absolute limit!
The altered sword dimensions had lowered the reproduction rate to 75%, but a scabbard that could raise drawing speed to the limit in exchange for blood, coupled with an edge capable of cutting nearly anything short of something indestructible, had produced the sharpest sword in Orario.
Of course, since the sword stored within it was so sharp, a careless movement could slice the scabbard apart. So I made sure the scabbard itself could withstand the sword's sharpness. I also infused it with the power of [Illusion] so that any blood inside would disappear on its own after a certain amount of time.
Wait, you are saying that if you smear blood on the sword, sheathe it, and then draw it, the friction will be drastically reduced and allow a lightning-fast draw? Have you considered the viscosity of blood? It starts drying into a sticky mess less than thirty seconds after hitting the ground, and you are saying that reduces friction? How could that possibly work?!
Yep, it can. Laugh
Ahem...
Anyway, with a 75% reproduction rate, there was not enough cost remaining to add other special abilities. The two special abilities of the scabbard—a tough scabbard and blood-flow acceleration—along with the downgraded sharpness of the blade, which cut anything short of the indestructible, were the limit.
Hmm... Now the question was how to deliver it...
First, I did not want Kaguya entering my forge, so I could go to her myself.
But in that case, the already poor atmosphere between us might be seen by the Astraea Familia members, making things awkward with their whole group.
Second, why should I be the one moving? The thirsty person should come to the well.
That was the most common approach. It was not as though she were someone on Finn's level—did I need to seek her out personally?
Hmm. I should just call her over.
I was not personally delivering it, so there did not seem to be any need to make a sword bag, either...
"I'll contact the Guild and have her come over."
Let's see... Had it been four or five days since I received the materials? I had watched the morning sun once when I began working and once more when I finished, so my sense of time was messed up... No, counting the fact that I had just slept and woken up, maybe it had been about six days.
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A day later...
Jingle.
"Good day. I received word from the Guild and came at once."
"Yeah, it's on the sword stand over there, so feel free to admire it. I'll be in the forge for about thirty minutes, so take your time looking at it. I'll explain it once you're done appreciating it."
...Looks like she had changed her mind. When she brought the materials last time, she silently handed them over, said only that she was counting on me, and left. I had not known then, but today, every word and action showed that she was being conscious of me.
You are asking where I learned to leave a customer alone and head inside by myself? No, I am giving her time to appreciate her own weapon alone. She should be grateful for that instead.
In my original world, Japanese swords were a kind of art object, to the point that there were even established methods for appreciating them. Besides, if I left her to admire it, she would probably keep staring at it without end. Interrupting her while she was doing so would be rude, so it was better to step away and give her time alone. Got it?
Then why not let her into the forge? A man's privacy is...(It is an absolute mess in there.) No, no, it is fine because I know where everything is! (The typical excuse of someone who never cleans up.)
Maybe I should do some cleaning while I have the chance...
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Young man, cleaning in progress...
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Hmm... This should be good enough to leave alone for about a month.
Let's see... It had been around forty minutes. That should be enough.
When I opened the forge door and went outside, she seemed to have nearly finished admiring it and was sheathing the sword.
Click.
"So, are you satisfied?"
"...I am satisfied beyond anything I could have hoped for. It feels more than I deserve."
"Well, that is the normal reaction."
"...?"
"After all, it was one of twelve keys meant to change the flow of history and fate."
"...I feel as though I just heard something I was not supposed to hear."
"It is not the original, just a downgraded replica, so do not worry. No remnants of its role as a key remain anymore."
"By 'anymore,' do you mean there were remnants before?"
"Even if they had remained, what would it have meant? It is a replica, there is no predetermined history here, and there is no need to change fate."
I meant that sincerely. I had entered the world of DanMachi, but once I began living here, this place stopped being a world inside a book. Whatever stories had originally been set in stone would change somehow, and whether directly or indirectly, I would be part of the reason. Struggling to change a predetermined fate? That fate had already been shattered the moment I appeared, and to put it bluntly, I was not even the one destined to die because of it. Was there any need for me to change it?
Of course, I could intervene in events I disliked and steer them in a better direction. But that was all. I had no hobby of trying to change the fate of the world while throwing away my own life. I was neither a hero nor a sucker. I was merely an ordinary blacksmith content so long as I could make what I wanted to make.
"To explain simply, first, as you have seen for yourself, it possesses ultimate sharpness. It is nowhere near the original's level, but I am confident it can cut nearly anything that is not indestructible. It might even cut through everything in the deep floors unless it specializes in defense."
"...Amazing."
"For a simple test... this."
I gripped an iron ingot with both hands and held it up before Kaguya.
"Do not try to cut it. Just lightly set the blade on it."
Shing.
As though she had been waiting for this, she drew the Sentō and assumed a stance.
"Do not use much force at all. Use less strength than a child gripping chopsticks, then lightly press downward..."
When Kaguya silently did as I said...
Slice. Thud.
The steel ingot split cleanly in two with absurd ease and fell with a heavy sound.
"Did you see?"
"If this is degraded from the original, then just what was the original...?"
"Hmm, simply put, it can cut down to the smallest units that make up this world... I suppose. That probably still does not make sense... Put simply, when you swing it through the wind, it cuts the air and creates a vacuum? That is not quite the right example, though..."
"I do not really understand what you mean, but I understand that it is incredible..."
"And the other main feature is the scabbard. Think of it as a scabbard specialized entirely for iaijutsu draws."
"A scabbard does not have much influence on drawing a sword... does it?"
"Ordinarily, no. But in the original's [story], there was an [illusion] that said it could perform a lightning-fast draw through super-acceleration using blood on the blade while it was inside the scabbard... and I made that real. It has two major abilities and one minor ability. Which would you like to hear first?"
"Tell me in order."
"To give them simple names, [Diamond Body] and [Blood Flow Acceleration]. As you just tested, that sword's sharpness can cut through something like steel without much effort. But if that is the case, then while drawing it from the scabbard, one careless motion could neatly cut apart the scabbard I worked so hard to make. So first, I gave the scabbard extreme durability, like an indestructible body. Of course, as you have held it, you know its weight is exactly that of an ordinary wooden scabbard. In an emergency, you could even use it as a club. How terrifying is an indestructible club?"
"That final example was rather..."
"Ahem, let us move past that. Next is [Blood Flow Acceleration]. As I just said, the original can perform a lightning-fast draw using blood on the blade as a medium, and I reproduced that. No matter whose blood it is, if the blade is sheathed while covered in it and you draw the sword, it will come out at speeds that cannot be compared to before. Because of that ability, this sword is optimized for one against many."
"Why is that?"
"First, you need to be alone because you must be able to swing the sword without thinking about anything else. That abnormal sharpness could cut through a monster and slice your allies behind it as well. At least until you become accustomed to handling that sword, it would be better to hunt alone."
"Second, you need many opponents to make the fullest use of [Blood Flow Acceleration]. The more enemies there are, the easier it is to get blood on the blade. Then, using a lightning-fast draw through [Blood Flow Acceleration], you cut another enemy and get blood on the blade again, then use [Blood Flow Acceleration] once more. Once you land one attack, you should be able to win from then on unless every one of your opponents is at least one or two Levels above you. They say the original's first owner cut down ten thousand samurai alone through that process. Not as a legend, but for real."
"Finally, the minor ability is one that automatically removes foreign matter other than the blade after a certain amount of time, since you would not be able to use the scabbard if blood built up and stuck inside it. It is minor, but is that not an essential ability for this scabbard?"
"Now then, do you understand the value of the weapon you are about to own?"
Apparently at a loss for words, Kaguya merely stared at the sword and me with trembling eyes.
"Thank... you."
"I am making it for money, though. Hmm... I think I should receive the full fifteen million valis for this. Did you bring the money?"
"Here it is."
At least she had come mentally prepared. When she handed over the checks, her hand was not trembling like Kaniel's had.
"I have confirmed one check for ten million valis and one for five million valis."
"The sharpest sword, [Sentō Namakura], is yours."
"[Sentō Namakura]... That is a completely contradictory name. Namakura means dull in Japanese. Can you tell me why it was given that name?"
"You would be better off not knowing... Do you truly want to know?"
"Yes."
"Do you know which part of the human body is the sharpest?"
"The fingernails... perhaps?"
"It is the tongue. Even the lightest words spoken through the tongue can tear into a person's heart, and when those words pile up and pile up, they can even drive someone to death."
"I gave it that name in the hope that your sharp words might become even a little duller. That will be all, so please leave. Take good care of [Sentō Namakura]."
Seeing Kaguya standing there blankly, apparently struck by a painful remark, I went back into the forge. She would leave on her own eventually.
It had been... difficult work.