It had already been a month since Rex and I toured Orario. In that time, I had analyzed the reports Kaniel gave me after returning from the expedition and spent my days considering what to make for my next [Phantasm].
"Hmm... I've made one each from Type-Moon and Dark Souls, so maybe it's about time I made something from Knight Run or Katanagatari..."
Jingle
"Excuse me."
"Welco—?"
...The first thing I saw was a deep violet kimono patterned with flowers, wrapped in a scarlet obi. Raising my eyes, I saw silky black hair like ebony. And a face whose delicately gathered features painted the very image of an oval-faced Eastern beauty.
"...You're from the Far East?"
"Where else do I look like I'm from?"
...I had no idea who she was, but what an awful attitude. Wait... I feel like I've seen her somewhere... In the original story?
"Your name?"
"Th—"
"If you're about to tell me that I should introduce myself first if I want to hear your name, I'm Smith. And you are?"
"...I am Gojo no Kaguya."
...Kaguya... A rude manner of speaking, from the Far East, and a woman... Hmm... Ah?
"Are you with the Astraea Familia, by any chance?"
"Allow me to introduce myself once more. I am Gojo no Kaguya, vice-captain of the Astraea Familia."
"Wait... Gojo no? Isn't that one of the five most prestigious families in the Far East?"
There was no need to pretend to be surprised by something I already knew... But someone who looked to be from the Far East not knowing about one of its prominent families? That would be suspicious. Well, I really was curious, too.
"You need not know. Curiosity kills the cat, after all."
"Easy, easy. So knock it off with that killing intent already."
"Hmph..."
That was seriously chilling... It was on a completely different level from the force Finn gave off or the killing intent Dungeon monsters showed... Let's see, this was before she clashed with Arpia, so was she still Level 3?
"Myaa~"
"Little guy, we have a guest right now, so go over there."
"Myaa..."
Rex came rubbing up against me, asking to be petted, so I sent him into the workshop for the time being.
"Ahem. First, I should offer my thanks."
"...?"
"Ryu told me that, when we held a dinner gathering at the Hostess of Fertility last time, you were the one who bought everyone a glass of ginger ale."
"Oh, that? It was nothing..."
"Nothing... you say?"
"Kaguya, if you bumped into someone while walking down the street, would you think apologizing to them was some great thing? It's simply what you should do, right? It's the same thing. Expressing gratitude to someone you're grateful to is only natural."
"..."
What was with her?
"I did it simply because I could, and because I wanted to. I don't expect to be thanked over every little thing like that."
"That was thoughtless of me. Even so, I will thank you, because it will put my mind at ease."
"No, I mean—"
"Thank you."
"No—"
"Thank you."
"I—"
"Thank. You. Very. Much."
"...Yeah. I'll accept your thanks."
...She must have felt really unsettled about it.
"So, you said that was only your thanks. That means you have other business, right?"
"Naturally."
"So, are you buying something I've already made, or placing a custom order?"
"Since you do not appear to have any katanas already made, I have no choice but to place a custom order."
"Well, that's true. Just keep in mind that if you commission [me], it'll cost at least forty million valis. My custom-made pieces are comparable to magic swords."
"And they will be worth every valis, I presume."
"Naturally. It's not as if I would carelessly make a weapon bearing Lady Hephaestus's emblem."
"A craftsman's pride, perhaps... I shall put my faith in you once."
"Well... it's less a craftsman's pride and more a matter of taking responsibility for my goddess's name as one of her children. But I suppose you could see it that way. So, what's your order?"
According to Ryu's recollection in the original story, iaijutsu was her main technique... That incredible quick-draw strike which could kill a monster from the forty-first floor in one blow was said to be only about forty percent of the woman standing before me.
"A kodachi, perhaps... I came to offer my thanks, but I had also heard rumors that someone from the Far East had settled here. I wanted to see whether you could make it in the same manner as they do in our homeland."
"I see. Most blacksmiths can use folded steel, but I'm the only smith from the Far East. Hmm, though I should correct one thing: it won't be made in [exactly] the same way. Since the quality of materials is so vastly different, some of the steps originally used in the Far East to increase a blade's strength may be omitted."
"Yes, I understand that well enough. What matters to me is simply having a blade made by someone from my homeland, in the style of my homeland..."
"Hmm... Can you tell me your usual method of attack? It would be even better if you could show me the weapon you currently use."
"My primary method is iaijutsu, but... why do you wish to see my weapon?"
"I have a rough idea of what I'll make you, but the quickest way to tailor it to its user's hand is to examine the weapon they've been using."
"...Have a look, then."
Hmm, two blades including a spare. Both had tsuba... Their length was a little short to call them kodachi, but kodachi fell between wakizashi and uchigatana in size anyway, so the ones she used now must have been made closer to wakizashi dimensions.
The hamon... was artistically well done. They looked like the work of no ordinary master... I couldn't tell whether their maker was a craftsman of Orario or the Far East, but they clearly had poured their heart into them. The jigane had a masame-hada, a straight-grain pattern...
Their strength was also incomparable to Japanese swords from my previous life. Well, the Far East itself was a nation-based Familia, so perhaps they were made by a smith blessed with Amaterasu's Falna, or perhaps local materials had been used to compensate for the Japanese sword's chronic weaknesses.
"Hmm, I've had a good look. You seem to have maintained them very well. But your weapons haven't accumulated much strain yet, so why are you here to buy new ones?"
"I heard the rumors, and I came both to see a fellow countryman and to take the opportunity. If you seemed skilled enough to entrust the work to, I would commission you. Otherwise, I would simply continue using what I have."
"So, what do you think of my shop's quality?"
"...Hmph. It is worthy of a passing grade."
She had been looking around the shop ever since she arrived... So that was what she was doing.
"What is the maximum blade length you can accept?"
"Please keep it from exceeding the limits of a kodachi as much as possible. As for the minimum, use the blade I showed you as your reference."
"Then I'll set the upper limit at somewhere in the mid-sixty-centimeter range. It may end up reaching seventy centimeters during the process; can you allow that much?"
"...I will decide after seeing the finished product."
"Then I'll work out the blueprint and all the other materials, so come back in about a week."
"Then I shall be on my way..."
And with that, the swordswoman from the Far East left... Hmm, making [that one] would be best, but I was worried the poison might come along with it. Well, if I shortened it into a kodachi, the replication rate would drop, so perhaps its toxicity would lessen too.
Let's see, I already had a rough blueprint prepared, but if I was shortening it into a kodachi, I would need to modify it a little. I also had to decide on the materials for the handle and scabbard...
Hmm, it had been a while since I made a katana. To get my feel back, should I finish the blueprint and make one or two as demonstration pieces? She said she wanted to gauge my skill, so showing her what I made this time should be enough to let her do that.
"All right, let's make one!"
"Myaa!"
"Whoops, right. I get it. Let's eat first."
Maybe I'll try that sushi restaurant Mia mentioned last time~
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The young man and cat, on the move.
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Let's see... Its name was Baratie, the head chef was [Red Leg (Red Is Three Times Faster!)] Zeff, the sous-chef was [Diable Jambe (Devil-Like Footwork)] Sanji, and though there were few employees, every one of them was Level 2... This all felt incredibly familiar, and a lot like somewhere else...?
Oh, there was a warning sign here...? Let's see...
[If you don't want to eat what we serve, get lost. But if you come as a customer, we'll treat you with the utmost hospitality~]
...I like it.
"Anyone here~?"
"Welcome. Who sent you our way?"
"Ah, yes. Mia sent me..."
"Mia...? Ah, if the old lady sent you, come this way."
...Did they have some kind of connection? Whatever the case, I was looking forward to this.