The Curse No Sword Can Sever (3)

I slid open the smithy's door and stepped inside.

Nearly nine years had passed since I left this dojo, but apparently someone had been cleaning it the whole time.

Not a single speck of dust stirred in the smithy.

...Yeah, I really do like this.

I travel often, so I come and go from smithies all over the place.

But all those smithies were merely borrowed.

This smithy, however, was built just for me.

A place of one's own brings peace simply by virtue of being one's own, and yet, paradoxically, it makes one's heart dance.

I'd just returned to the dojo, and I couldn't help wondering whether blacksmithing really ought to be the first thing I did.

But unlike back when Kaeha had been my sole sword master, there were now quite a few disciples.

It probably wouldn't be right to disregard all of them and suddenly ask Kaeha to teach me swordsmanship.

Well, I wouldn't mind if they envied me or thought poorly of me, but I didn't want that to interfere with Kaeha's instruction of the disciples.

Besides, if I were envied and disliked by the disciples, it would make it harder for Win to stay here.

I was already receiving special treatment by staying in Kaeha's main house rather than the detached building, so any further preferential treatment would inevitably breed resentment.

So I decided to put off asking for sword instruction, act like a newcomer first, and begin by earning the acceptance of those around me.

...Though Kaeha did give me an absolutely terrifying look.

Ah yes, Win was welcomed into Kaeha's family without incident.

Kaeha's mother, in particular, doted on Win like her own child.

When I introduced Win, though, she said just one thing:

"You really are a hopeless man, aren't you?"

I wondered what she had meant by that.

As for Kaeha's children, they appeared to be twins; apparently, the boy was named Shizuki and the girl Mizuha, and both of them made a point of paying attention to Win.

Apparently, Kaeha had told them to think of Win as their little brother, so Shizuki and Mizuha did their best to act like older siblings around the child who looked smaller than they did.

...Though in reality, they were probably almost the same age—or Win might even have been older, if anything—but that was better left unsaid.

In any case, I felt I had to repay Kaeha and the others for all the care and kindness they had shown me.

So, having returned to the dojo, the first thing I would do was naturally reforge Kaeha's sword.

Of course, it wasn't merely to placate Kaeha, who seemed a little angry; I wanted to do it.

After all, this sword had always remained by Kaeha's side, doing what I hadn't been able to do.

It had done so before, too, but after I reforged it, it supported Kaeha throughout my three years as an adventurer and the nearly nine years after that.

Yes, since it had done what I couldn't, I at least wanted to treat this sword with some care.

Or rather, it had been used so much that it had grown quite worn again.

It was properly maintained, so it normally wouldn't have ended up like this, but... Ah, had it simply become unable to keep up with Kaeha's skill?

And now Kaeha was swinging it carefully, trying not to put too much strain on the sword.

The sword must have found that terribly frustrating.

Because I was feeling frustrated about it myself right now.

Well, it couldn't be helped.

I hadn't devoted myself exclusively to blacksmithing, but my skills had improved since before.

I should be able to forge a sword that could hold its own against Kaeha's current strength.

Since it had been a long time since I'd used the forge, I slowly raised the temperature while watching how things went.

Then I glanced toward the smithy's entrance.

A small presence was peering inside from outside.

Since Mizuha, one of the twins, had been keeping Win company, that left the boy, Shizuki.

It was only natural for him to be curious when an elf who had suddenly appeared announced that he was going to use a place that had gone unused until now.

However, I didn't want to let a child who didn't even seem to be ten into the smithy, since there were too many dangers.

Come to think of it, who exactly was the twins' father?

There had been no one in the main house who seemed a likely candidate.

Nor did Kaeha seem to be in that sort of relationship with any of the disciples.

I was certain that Kaeha was their mother, but it wasn't something to pry into out of mere curiosity, so for now I decided not to worry about it.

Well, it was about time the furnace reached a suitable temperature.

Time to begin work.

I would leave the sword's weight and balance almost exactly as they were, while making it sturdier and giving it a sharper edge.

I would simply focus on improving its quality.

Of course, that was the most difficult part.

Naturally, even I had the urge to show off the new techniques I'd acquired while away.

For instance, making a magic sword.

But if I gave in to that urge, this would no longer be a sword made for Kaeha, and the work itself would become nothing more than my own self-satisfaction.

It would have no meaning.

As I let the forge's heat wash over me and listened to the ring of metal, I lost myself in the work.

To care for, cherish, honor, and breathe new life into this sword, I poured all my strength and soul into it.

The sound of steel being hammered rang louder and louder throughout the smithy and the dojo.