Chapter 55

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We were in a taxi heading to the address of the swordsmith that Mr. Juzo had told us about. We had to take a taxi because, although the train went as far as nearby, there was no means of transportation from there.

The taxi, having left the city, drove for a while through the farmland and arrived at the gate of the swordsmith's workshop at the foot of the mountain.

"We have arrived. The fare is 3,860 yen."

"Yes. Ah, I'm sorry. I don't have any small change, so can I pay with a 5,000 yen note?"

"That's fine... Here, your change is 1,140 yen. Thank you for using our service."

I paid the fare on behalf of us and got out of the taxi. I took the travel bag containing Zunko from the trunk and watched the taxi drive away. When I turned around and looked at the workshop, it had a rather impressive gate, though not as grand as Yuzi's house. The sound of metal being struck could be heard from inside the gate, so this must be the right place. There was an intercom by the side of the gate, so I pressed the call button. The chime sound rang out, mingling with the sound of metal being struck.

After a short wait, a woman's voice came from the intercom.

"Yes, who is it?"

"I'm Hase, as we had arranged to visit."

Yuzi responded to the intercom.

"Mr. Hase, right? I've heard about you from the master. I'll open the gate, so please come in."

"Understood."

After a brief exchange, the intercom cut off and the gate opened by itself. It seemed to be a gate that opens from inside.

As the gate opened, a karesansui garden appeared before our eyes. Large rocks covered in moss were scattered amidst white, rippling pebbles. We quickly passed through the karesansui garden, admiring it, and arrived at the entrance of the main house, a single-story building. I pressed the doorbell on the side and called out.

"Excuse me, I'm Hase."

A few seconds later, the sound of footsteps could be heard, and a well-built middle-aged woman opened the door.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Thank you for coming from so far."

"No, it's fine."

"Please, come in."

Prompted by the woman, we put on slippers and entered. Guided by the woman, we were led to the reception room.

"I'll go and call the master. Please wait a moment."

"Ah, yes."

After serving us tea, the woman bowed and left the reception room. As I sipped the tea in the quiet reception room, I couldn't help but feel a bit out of place. I glanced at Yuzi and Shizune, wondering if they felt the same way. Shizune seemed restless, just like me, but Yuzi was calmly sipping tea while admiring the hanging scroll and flowers displayed in the alcove.

"...Yuzi. You're looking at it so intently, is there something interesting?"

"Hmm? No, it's just that the hanging scroll of the landscape painting reminds me of one we have at home."

"...Oh, really?"

"Yes, apparently my grandfather used to collect them as a hobby. There are quite a few hanging scrolls stored in the warehouse."

"...Wow."

To cover up the awkwardness, I started a casual conversation with Yuzi and Shizune. Just then, the sliding door at the entrance opened, and an elderly man in a work kimono entered.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"No, thank you for accepting our sudden request."

As Yuzi bowed, Shizune and I hurriedly followed suit. The elderly man sat across from us at the table, and the conversation began.

"Let's start with introductions. I am Takiya Heizou, the swordsmith here."

"I'm Yuzi, the grandson of Hase Juzo."

"I'm Kusunoki Daiki."

"I'm Shizune Hime."

The elderly man, Heizou, nodded lightly at our introductions. He didn't seem to be the type of craftsman who is difficult to deal with.

"You are Juzo's grandson, right..."

Heizou looked at Yuzi intently after hearing his introduction. Perhaps he had some thoughts about Yuzi being Juzo's grandson.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I was staring rudely."

"No, it's fine."

"You look a lot like Juzo when he was young."

"Have you known my grandfather for a long time?"

"Didn't you know? Juzo and I have been friends since we were teenagers. We used to get into a lot of trouble when we were young."

Perhaps to lighten the mood, Heizou shared nostalgic stories about Juzo. Thanks to this, Shizune and I felt a bit more relaxed.

"By the way, I heard from Juzo that you are explorers who frequently visit the dungeon..."

"Yes, but only on weekends."

Yuzi responded to Heizou's question with a wry smile.

"I see. Well, now that the introductions are over... let's get to the main topic, shall we?"

"Yes."

The atmosphere in the room changed from a relaxed one to a more tense one.

"I've heard from Juzo about the request to refurbish the sword and spear... Is that correct?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Then, could you show me the sword and spear you want to refurbish?"

At Heizou's request, we took out our weapons from the travel bag and placed them on the table. After examining our weapons, Heizou came to a conclusion.

"Indeed, in their current state, none of these swords can be used any further."

"Is that so, as I suspected."

I wasn't doubting Juzo's judgment, but it seemed that even from the perspective of a sword expert, Zunko and the others had reached their limit.

"Unfortunately, they may look fine on the surface, but they have accumulated a lot of internal fatigue. You mentioned 'leveling up'... The weapons of explorers are strengthened along with the user, but there is a limit to everything. If they were ordinary swords that hadn't been strengthened, they would have broken long ago."

It seemed that Heizou was trying to help us let go of Zunko and the others, who we had been reluctant to part with.

"Thank you. Hearing it clearly from you, I can finally make the final decision."

It seemed that Yuzi was thinking the same thing as me. I glanced at Shizune, and she also seemed to have made her final decision.

"Seeing your expressions, it seems you're ready."

Heizou seemed pleased to notice the change in our expressions.

---

Just as we were talking with Heizou, a voice came from the entrance. It was a young man's voice.

"Kousuke. Master, are you here?"

"Yes. Come in, please."

"Yes, I'm sorry for the intrusion."

The sliding door opened, and a young man in his mid-20s wearing glasses entered.

"Let me introduce him. This is Kousuke Morihashi. He passed the sword-making certification exam last year and obtained the permission to make swords in April. He is a promising new swordsmith."

"Hehe, Master. Calling me a promising new swordsmith is an exaggeration. Cough. Anyway, I'm Kousuke Morihashi. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Yuzi Hase."

"I'm Daiki Kusunoki."

"I'm Shizune Hime."

We bowed and greeted Kousuke.

"Kousuke, these are your clients."

"...What? They are?"

"Yes. I know it might be surprising to see their age, but they are excellent explorers. They are D-rank explorers at their age."

"D-rank..."

Kousuke looked at us from head to toe several times, as if he couldn't believe it.

"Hey, Kousuke. It's impolite to stare at your clients like that."

"Ah! I'm sorry!"

"You should apologize to them, not to me."

Reprimanded by Heizou, Kousuke realized his mistake and hurriedly bowed to us in apology.

"!? I'm sorry!"

"No, it's fine. There's no need to apologize so much."

"But..."

"Kousuke, they said it's fine, so please be more careful in the future."

"...Yes."

Ashamed of his mistake, Kousuke lowered his head and sat at the edge of the table, shrinking into himself. Seeing Kousuke's reaction, Heizou sighed.

"Kousuke, don't shrink like that. Listen to their story properly."

"...Yes."

"Ha... Do you understand? Their request is to refurbish these weapons."

Heizou gestured for Kousuke to look at the weapons on the table. Kousuke raised his head, apologized, and then examined Zunko and the others.

"These... can't be used anymore."

"Yes. That's why we're requesting a refurbishment."

"Wait, Master. Wouldn't it be better to buy new ones rather than refurbish these?"

"I thought the same, but after hearing their story, it seems better to refurbish them."

"Why is that?"

Heizou explained to Kousuke the reason we requested a refurbishment. After listening, Kousuke nodded in understanding.

"I see. Indeed, if that's the case, I'll try to refurbish them despite the effort."

"Yes. It's an uncertain attempt, but it's worth trying."

"Indeed. In that case, the procedure would be to use old iron in the sword-making process..."

Kousuke seemed interested in our proposal and was quite enthusiastic about it. It seemed that we wouldn't be turned down.

---

"This is your first job as a swordsmith. Do your best."

"Yes, Master!"

It seemed that the matter was settled. Kousuke responded with a determined look to Heizou's encouragement.

"Then, Yuzi, Daiki, and Shizune. I'll leave you here. Please discuss the details of your request with Kousuke. He is a new and unknown craftsman, but his skills are reliable. He will surely meet your expectations."

"Yes, thank you, Takiya."

"Thank you."

"Thank you."

"No, it's my pleasure. Kousuke, I'll leave it to you."

"Yes!"

Heizou bowed lightly to us, said goodbye, and quietly left the reception room. After the sliding door closed, Kousuke moved to the center of the table and sat facing us.

"Let's discuss the details of your request, shall we?"

"Yes, please."

"Likewise. Still... I never thought my first sword-making request would be from high school students."

"Hehe, I know."

"But, well. Getting a request right after obtaining the sword-making license is a good start for a swordsmith."

"Um..."

Seeing our puzzled faces, Kousuke explained the situation of the sword-making industry with a wry smile.

"Well, you see. Just because you become a swordsmith doesn't mean you'll immediately get requests. Unless you're extremely lucky, it's rare for a new swordsmith to get requests."

"Is that so?"

"Indeed. Also, the works of new swordsmiths who haven't won any awards are not highly valued by dealers. Did you know? Swordsmiths are only allowed to make 24 swords per year."

"...Only 24?"

"Yes, about one every half month. Even then, a sword made by a new swordsmith sells for only a few hundred thousand yen at best. After deducting the costs of making the sword, the profit is only a few thousand yen per sword. It's very difficult for new swordsmiths to make a living just from sword-making. Only about 10% of swordsmiths in this industry can make a living solely from sword-making."

The image of Japanese swords as high-end art pieces contrasts sharply with the financial struggles of the swordsmiths who make them.

"Um... Some Japanese swords are priced in the millions. Is it the same for those?"

"Hmm? Yes, there are such swords, but considering the labor and costs involved in making them, the profit is not much. Do you know about tamahagane?"

"Um... It's the iron used to make Japanese swords, right?"

"Yes, correct. Making tamahagane is very costly. It's only made about twice a year now."

We listened to Kousuke's rather shocking explanation, feeling a bit stunned. The more he talked, the more his smile faded.

"But, well. Thanks to the appearance of the dungeon last year, the situation has improved a bit recently."

"...Because of the demand from explorers?"

"Of course, that's part of it, but I'm an explorer myself."

Kousuke showed us his explorer card.

"I'm F-rank, but it's a good part-time job if you prepare properly. Also, the trend in sword-making requests has shifted from art swords to practical swords used by explorers in dungeons. I sometimes go to the dungeon with young swordsmith colleagues as part of my research."

"I see."

In other words, you can't make good swords without knowing how they are used in the field. These swordsmiths are quite proactive. However, it also means that young swordsmiths won't get requests unless they have some unique selling points.

"Thanks to explorers actively buying Japanese swords, the prices dealers pay have also increased."

"Are the swords sold by the Dungeon Association made by you and your colleagues?"

"No, those are classified as industrial blades, not Japanese swords. They are outside our jurisdiction. I wish they would remove the limit on the number of swords we can make before flooding the market with such products."

Kousuke seemed to have some thoughts about the swords sold by the Dungeon Association and had a bitter expression. After a small sigh, he turned back to us and continued the conversation.

"Well, regardless. I'm happy to accept your request for sword-making."

"Um... Thank you."

"Likewise. So, let's discuss how to make them."

We talked with Kousuke for about an hour and came to an agreement on the sword-making request. We decided to have the weapons made to the same dimensions as the ones we had been using. According to Kousuke's estimate, the production period would be about half a month, and the cost would be around 700,000 yen. However, since the refurbishment of Zunko and the others would result in some material loss and a shorter product, we decided to give Kousuke a certain item after discussing it with the two of them.

"Kousuke, here, take this."

"What is this?"

"It's iron ore I obtained from a dungeon recently. I thought it might be necessary, so I brought it."

"Iron ore? I have enough materials in stock, so it's not necessary..."

"I brought it because I thought dungeon iron would be better for this purpose. When I had it appraised by the association, it turned out to be ultra-high-purity iron."

"Really?"

Of course, the dungeon I referred to was the slime dungeon where I obtained the item. When I felt something odd about the ore and used an identification analysis, it turned out to be ultra-high-purity iron. I tried to exchange it with other items at the association, and it was appraised as ultra-high-purity iron with no impurities, with a surprisingly high value, comparable to gold. I kept it, thinking it might be useful for something.

"Can't you use it?"

"...No, I can use it."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Kousuke looked at the ultra-high-purity iron I gave him for a moment, then looked at our faces and nodded.

"Alright, I'll give it a try."

"Thank you very much."

Thus, our first sword-making request was completed. We had some savings from our hunts, but we spent a lot on this request. We'll have to work hard to earn more.

---

This is ultra-high-purity iron.

The time for fantasy metals has not yet come.

Ultra-high-purity iron will be used by adding other high-purity materials to form an alloy.