Chapter 109
A year after Win set out—in other words, around six years after I returned to this Yosogi-style dojo—I began teaching blacksmithing to several of the dojo's disciples.
Presumably, Shizuki had realized that the only reason I was staying at the dojo was Kaeha's presence, and that I wouldn't remain there forever.
Hence, he wanted people capable of taking charge of blacksmithing even after I left the dojo.
Yet for the disciples, the opportunity to learn a new skill was certainly nothing to complain about.
No matter how long they studied the sword at the dojo, it was only natural that not all of them could make a living with it.
Even among those who loved the sword, some were unwilling to throw themselves into a world where they might kill or be killed.
The disciples had all sorts of circumstances—some had no family trade, while others dreamed of the sword rather than spending their lives doing menial work as third or fourth sons—and, in any case, a fair number of them wanted to learn blacksmithing.
But I couldn't possibly look after all of them, so I selected them based on their aptitude: those who were serious at heart and could devote themselves to iron, and those with the stamina to endure a blazing forge.
What surprised me was that among those who had asked to learn blacksmithing and seemed suited to it, one of them was ten-year-old Souha.
Souha was Shizuki's daughter and Kaeha's granddaughter—and, to me, Kaeha's grandchild as well.
In short, depending on how things turned out, she could potentially become the next head of the Yosogi style.
Well, Souha was Shizuki's eldest daughter, but she had a younger brother named Touki.
When it came to fighting with a sword, men tended to have an advantage in strength and build, so the chances of Souha becoming head were probably not very high.
But there was Kaeha's example as the former head, and it wasn't impossible that Souha's future spouse might become head instead.
Of course, if I put it that way, even Mizuha's children, who now lived in Vistcoat, might obtain the position of head if they showed enough talent.
...Yeah, I didn't want Kaeha's grandchildren within the Yosogi style to fight over the succession, and I didn't even want to think about it.
Let's hope Touki properly inherited the talents of his grandmother and father and put them to use.
Anyway, to return to the point, Souha was an important person to the Yosogi style, so I hesitated over whether I should teach her blacksmithing.
If she learned blacksmithing, the time she could devote to the sword would naturally decrease.
After all, Souha was only ten, and she couldn't just learn swordsmanship and blacksmithing to the exclusion of everything else.
There was plenty she needed to learn, including reading and arithmetic, her country's history and how society worked, as well as cooking, sewing, and other household chores.
Win had twice the time available to a human, but Souha was human, and the time she had was naturally no more than an ordinary human lifespan.
Learning blacksmithing would actually limit Souha's future.
For example, it would certainly take her farther away from the position of head of the Yosogi style, at the very least.
I hesitated to teach Souha blacksmithing.
Yet Souha's father, Shizuki, said,
"Souha made this decision herself, and we've already discussed it, so please take good care of her."
Kaeha, meanwhile, went so far as to say,
"There are ways to live besides merely aiming to become head, and some people have grown stronger through blacksmithing. But Eisa, don't lead my granddaughter astray, okay?"
She said so with a laugh.
What was I supposed to do with that?
I didn't really want to meddle in other people's lives, but...
However, once I had her guardians' permission, I had no reason to turn down Souha's request.
Well, if this was how things turned out, I was glad I'd selected particularly earnest candidates.
Even though she was only ten, Souha was the daughter of the head of the Yosogi style.
Some disciples wanted to get close to her, and if by any chance one of them had joined us to learn blacksmithing just to attract her attention, I'd have been swinging my fist, not a hammer, in the forge.
But once I decided to teach blacksmithing, where they came from no longer mattered.
What mattered was how sincerely they faced iron, metal, and, at times, materials obtained from monsters, and whether they could create something from them.
Naturally, none of them could do anything at first, but what mattered was absorbing my instruction and striving to become capable.
Whether they could do that or not had absolutely nothing to do with where they were born.
Looking back, it was probably for the best that Win never learned blacksmithing from me.
Azvaldo was better at both blacksmithing and teaching, but more importantly, I would inevitably have favored Win.
Setting that aside, Souha was actually exceptionally talented once she began learning blacksmithing.
She listened to me more seriously than anyone else, watched my movements, thought about them, and imitated them.
Her only flaw was that she had less stamina than the older men, but considering her age, even that put her in an exceptionally strong class for her years.
Her serious efforts made the other disciples work hard so as not to be outdone.
Those who couldn't keep up left the forge of their own accord at an early stage.
They did not shy away from building a foundation, yet they were filled with ambition, and everyone gradually absorbed my techniques.
After two or three years of teaching, I began entrusting them with repairing the practice swords used at the dojo, and I also started bringing them jobs from the blacksmiths' guild.
Nails, farming tools, pots, kettles, and the like were in high demand even in the royal capital, so there was more than enough work to go around.
And even among them, Souha still stood head and shoulders above the rest.
However, because she was devoting herself to blacksmithing, her swordsmanship had stagnated, and her younger brother Touki was beginning to catch up with her.
So, although I agonized over whether it was none of my business, I asked her.
Was she really all right with that?
Wouldn't it be better for her to focus on the sword rather than blacksmithing, even now?
But when I asked her, Souha smiled and said,
"Master, don't worry. Touki will definitely become an amazing swordsman like Father and take over this household. When that happens, I want to support my little brother through blacksmithing. Because I'm Touki's big sister!"
She declared it with complete confidence.
She stood tall with her chest held high, brimming with strength and shining brightly.
I see.
I had thought I rated Souha highly enough, but apparently even that had fallen short.
Then what I needed to do was not worry unnecessarily, but teach her every technique I possessed to the best of my ability and... hand over all responsibility for blacksmithing at this dojo.
The Yosogi style, which had once nearly been crushed and which Kaeha had painstakingly rebuilt, was being made greater still by Shizuki and would be passed down to a dependable next generation.
It was a future for them that filled me with joy.