Tsubaki Collbrande took the sword Genichi handed over and examined it carefully.
That dark gray blade was now covered in a dense web of cracks.
Several chips had broken out along the edge, and there were even a few fractures running nearly all the way through the blade itself.
The whole sword looked like it was on the verge of collapse, as if it might break into pieces at any moment.
Tsubaki's fingers lightly traced those cracks, and a complicated look flashed through her one eye.
Then she raised her head and looked at Genichi.
There was a strange light in her gaze.
"What kind of battle did you go through?"
She paused.
"How did this sword end up like this?"
Genichi let out a dry laugh.
What could he even say?
That he had fought a Black Goliath close to Level 7?
That he had poured magic through the blade and blown the monster to ashes from the inside out?
None of that could be said.
At least, not yet.
So all he could do was give an awkward laugh.
Tsubaki looked at him like that, and a glimmer of understanding passed through her lone eye.
She did not press further.
As Orario's strongest smith, she had seen too many adventurers and too many secrets.
She knew what should be asked and what should not.
"This thing can't be repaired."
She set the sword on the table, her tone calm.
"I told you that from the start."
Genichi let out a quiet sigh.
He had expected that answer.
When he bought the sword back then, Tsubaki had already told him: this blade could not be repaired. Once it broke, it was broken for good.
Because it had been forged from a fusion of multiple top-tier materials, once damaged, it could not be reforged.
So he was not too disappointed.
Just a little regretful.
After all, this blade had accompanied him through his entire journey from Level 2 to Level 4. It had helped him cut down countless monsters and fight his way through the Black Goliath.
But it really was time for it to retire.
Genichi took a deep breath and forced those feelings back down.
Then he looked up at Tsubaki.
"In that case…"
His voice was calm, but carried an undeniable certainty.
"I want you to forge me a new weapon."
"One with the Unbreakable attribute."
Tsubaki's brow lifted slightly.
The Unbreakable attribute.
That was the mark of Orario's highest-tier weapons.
A weapon with the Unbreakable attribute could, in theory, stay with its owner through a lifetime of battle.
Of course, "unbreakable" did not literally mean indestructible. It only meant an exceptionally high degree of hardness and durability.
Even so, a weapon like that was still worth a fortune.
"You sure?"
Tsubaki looked at him, her one eye studying him.
"An Unbreakable weapon costs at least a hundred million valis."
She paused.
"You sure you want one?"
Genichi said nothing.
He simply took out the gold card from inside his clothes and placed it on the table.
"There's two hundred million on it."
Tsubaki narrowed her eye slightly.
Two hundred million.
This boy could actually produce two hundred million?
The last time she had seen him, he had hesitated for ages over a weapon that cost only five hundred thousand.
And now, after such a short time, he could throw down two hundred million?
What exactly had this boy gone through?
But she quickly suppressed the question.
If the money was there, then the deal was there.
That was her principle.
"Fine."
She nodded and reached for the gold card.
But Genichi's hand pressed down on it.
Tsubaki looked at him.
With his other hand, Genichi reached into his storage pouch, took something out, and set it on the table.
It was a sheet of pitch-black hide.
Roughly two meters square, completely black, with fine patterns across its surface. To the touch, it felt incredibly tough.
Tsubaki's pupil contracted slightly.
She picked up the hide and inspected it carefully.
Her fingertips moved across the surface, feeling its astonishing resilience and the lingering traces of magic inside it.
A moment later, she looked back up at Genichi.
A complicated light flickered in her eye.
"This is…"
She did not finish the sentence.
But Genichi knew she had guessed.
The Black Goliath's hide.
This was absolutely not something an ordinary monster could drop.
Any monster capable of producing a hide like this had to be at least Level 5, and an extremely rare variant on top of that.
The moment she saw the hide, Tsubaki had already more or less guessed what kind of monster Genichi had fought to leave that sword in such terrible condition.
She did not ask.
She simply set the hide down and looked at him.
"You want me to use this to make you a suit of leather armor?"
"Not leather armor. An inner armor."
"And an Unbreakable weapon too, included in the same deal."
He paused.
"Is two hundred million enough?"
Tsubaki was silent for a moment, then smiled.
There was admiration in that smile, interest too, and the excitement of meeting someone worth taking seriously.
"Interesting."
She took both the hide and the gold card.
"I'll take this job."
Genichi gave a slight nod.
"How long will it take?"
"For the weapon, one month. For the inner armor, half a month."
Tsubaki paused.
"One month is too long. I need the weapon and the inner armor as soon as possible."
"It's not impossible to speed it up. But that'll cost extra."
Genichi fell silent for a moment.
"How much extra?"
"Other than Unbreakable, do you have any other requirements for the weapon?"
"It needs magic conductivity and sharpness. As for the design, make it based on this."
Genichi handed Tsubaki a sketch of the weapon style he wanted.
"In that case, two hundred million won't be enough. With your requirements, the weapon will cost a hundred and eighty million. For the inner armor, I'll only charge you for the material cost: thirty million. That makes two hundred and ten million total. If you want it rushed, the fastest I can do is one week for the weapon and three days for the armor. Rush processing will be another fifty million."
Genichi frowned slightly.
He only had two hundred million on him right now, and he had already handed it all over to Tsubaki.
He was still short by sixty million.
"Make the weapon first. I'll wait on the inner armor until I've scraped together the rest."
Tsubaki nodded.
"No problem."
She stood, walked to a desk off to the side, took out a contract, and quickly wrote out the terms.
When she was done, she handed it to Genichi.
He read through it carefully, confirmed there were no issues, and signed his name.
Tsubaki signed as well, kept one copy of the contract, and handed the other to Genichi.
"Come back in a week to pick up the weapon."
Genichi nodded and rose to his feet.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Tsubaki looked at him, amusement flashing in her eye.
"If you get your hands on more good stuff next time, remember to come to me again."
Genichi was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"All right."
He turned and headed for the door.
Outside, Demeter was waiting for him.
The moment she saw him come out, she hurried over.
"Did it go well?"
"Yeah."
Genichi nodded.
"I'll come back in a week to pick up the weapon."
Demeter looked at him, her gray-white eyes full of warmth.
"That's good."
The two of them walked side by side toward the exit of the Hephaestus Familia's residence.
(End of Chapter)
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