Chapter 56

Looking inside the forge, there was a hearth, a bellows, a hammer, and other tools. What caught the eye was a large hammer. Upon closer inspection, its shaft extended outside at the top. It was the type powered by a water wheel. Since the installation would teach me how to operate it, it seemed manageable.

The hearth wasn't magic-compatible, so I had to light it myself. After placing charcoal in the hearth, I took a piece of bark, some wheat straw, a sheet of metal, and a hammer, and headed to the anvil.

I placed the sheet of metal on the anvil and started hammering the edges, flipping it over from time to time. After a while, the edges of the metal sheet began to glow red. I placed the wheat straw on the bark and touched the red-hot metal to it, igniting the straw. I quickly carried it to the hearth, placed it on the charcoal, and operated the bellows until the charcoal caught fire. After operating the bellows for a while and getting the fire going, I added more charcoal and continued to operate the bellows. In our workshop, this part was usually done with magic, making it much quicker. I could just throw in some charcoal, light it with magic, and send some wind. Someone more skilled in magic than me could probably do the same with this hearth, but since it was the bare minimum, there was no choice. And such a person probably wouldn't be a blacksmith anyway.

Once the fire was hot enough, I heated the best-looking sheet of metal I had. After heating it, the first step was to stretch it. I placed the heated metal on the anvil and hammered it, trying to make the structure as uniform as possible. However, it felt a bit different from usual. Was it because the hammer was different? Maybe I should have brought one from the workshop. This was a "custom model," so I had to concentrate while hammering and stretching it.

Eventually, it reached the length of a longsword. From here, the next step was to shape it. I heated and hammered the metal to form the shape. The final shape was a straight-bladed longsword, simple and sturdy.

"Hey, it's coming along, huh?"

Kamiro, who had been somewhere, called out to me.

"Yeah, the shape is there," I replied while placing the sword back in the hearth to increase the temperature. It was time to prepare for quenching. I operated the bellows and gauged the perfect temperature. Once the sword reached the desired temperature, I quickly removed it from the hearth and quenched it in water. After the temperature dropped sufficiently, I lightly heated it again in the hearth and then cooled it. After polishing and sharpening, it should be complete... or so I thought.

"Hmm..."

I was puzzled.

"What's wrong? Did it not work out?"

Kamiro looked worried.

"Well, it did work, but... it's not good enough," I said. The "custom model" I had made before had a certain brilliance that this sword lacked. At best, it was a "premium model." While creating a "premium model" in such a short time was impressive, it wasn't good enough for a family heirloom.

"It looks pretty good to me," Kamiro said.

"No, it's not good enough," I replied. There were some logs and wheat straw, so I placed the straw on the logs and slashed it with the newly forged sword. The straw was cleanly cut, and the blade had deeply penetrated the logs.

"Wow, that's a sharp blade!"

"No... it's not good enough," I said. Kamiro was excited, but my custom model was much sharper. This was only a premium model. I took out my own knife and cut the straw and logs. The straw and logs were cleanly sliced. Indeed, the custom model was much sharper.

"Hey, what was that just now?"

"Hmm? Oh, when I put in the effort, I can make something this sharp," I said.

"R-Really?"

Kamiro was a bit taken aback. I realized that he had only seen the appearance of Helen's custom model, not its sharpness.

"Don't go telling everyone about this," I said.

"I know. Besides, no one would believe me anyway," Kamiro replied.

"Yeah, that's true," I said. After all, a knife that could cut through logs as well as straw was quite something.

"I'll try a few more," I said.

"What about the one you just made?"

"If you want it, I'll give it to you at a discount," I said.

"You're still as greedy as ever, aren't you?" Kamiro laughed.

After that, I tried making a couple more knives, but they all turned out to be premium models. It was already dark, and Kamiro was no longer around.

I compared the premium models I had made here with my custom model for self-defense. The difference in brilliance was clear. While the premium models had a certain shine, the custom model seemed to glow on its own. It even seemed to shine more brightly now than when I first made it. What was the difference...? How could I achieve this brilliance with the materials here?

"No, that's not it," I realized. If I couldn't make it work with the materials here, I could use materials from elsewhere.

I increased the fire in the hearth and heated the disassembled self-defense knife. Once it was red-hot, I cut it into thirds. I alternately placed the smaller metal sheets and the cut pieces of the knife on a larger sheet of metal, wrapped them in a damp thin hemp cloth, and attached some ash from burned wheat straw. I then heated it in the hearth until it glowed red and became a single mass. Using my "cheat," I hammered it to ensure the metal from the sheet and the cut pieces of the knife bonded together.

I repeated this process several times until it was well bonded, then hammered it to stretch it, but not to the desired length. Once it had stretched to a certain extent, I made a cut in the middle, folded it over, and bonded it again. I repeated this process about 15 times.

I heated the resulting mass and stretched it to the desired length. I hammered it to make the structure as uniform as possible, eliminating any inconsistencies. This time, there was no sense of discomfort as there had been with the first attempt.

Once it reached the desired length, there were no inconsistencies or warps. From here, I shaped it. I heated and hammered it repeatedly, carefully ensuring that no inconsistencies or warps reappeared. The final shape was not like the first one; the blade had a graceful curve. I hadn't thought about it at first, but for a family heirloom, a more intricate design would be better. I used my "cheat" to perfectly complete the quenching, tempering, polishing, and sharpening.

I carefully examined the newly forged blade. The brilliance was definitely that of a custom model. I brought some wheat straw and logs and set them up, then lightly swung the newly made longsword.

In the next moment, the blade of the longsword touched the ground, and the cleanly cut wheat straw and logs scattered on either side.