Chapter 9

When I tried cutting a bundle of wheat straw with the knife I had made as a test, it cut through the wood I had placed as a base as well.

If I were to state the facts plainly, that’s what would happen, but it’s a situation that’s hard to accept, to say the least.

After all, it’s just a prototype. Thanks to the "installation" benefits, I made it quite seriously as it was my first attempt, but I didn’t expect such a sharpness that felt like magic. It’s too sharp and dangerous.

I wondered if I had been given some kind of cheat, like a talent for swords, so I tried the same thing with the knife I used to cut Sermia’s clothes yesterday, but while it cleanly cut the straw, it didn’t cut through the base.

In other words, while my skill with the knife (or sword) might have played a role, the performance of the knife itself is fundamentally the reason for this result.

However, in the previous world, there’s a saying, "using a cleaver to kill a chicken," and this knife is precisely that. There aren’t many people who would want a knife that cuts through the cutting board when they try to cut meat.

Still, this knife might be a capable weapon. Normally, a knife is effective against an opponent without armor, but if they have leather arm guards, its effectiveness would be greatly reduced.

But with this knife, it seems it could pierce or cut through leather, if not metal.

In any case, I can’t sell this. Fortunately, I made it small as a prototype, so I’ll use it for self-defense.

I cut the wood I had just chopped to the same thickness as the knife, then cut it to the shape of the knife. I applied glue and attached boards on both sides, shaped it, and attached a leather strap to the scabbard’s opening, and that was a simple scabbard. At least now I can carry it.

However, if all my creations turn out this well, it’s going to be a problem. I quickly prepared three pieces of sheet metal about the same size as the knife I made and set up a forge.

I’m going to forge these three now, but I’ll make one with more effort, one with a bit less effort, and one with no effort at all. I’ll make them almost the same size.

They’ll be a bit larger than the one I made for self-defense, about the size of a survival knife from the previous world.

By the time I finished forging the three, it was already getting dark. I’ll do the rest in the morning. I need to wake Sermia, who was sleeping to heal her wounds.

"Hey, it’s almost dinner time. Wake up."

"Uuuuun..."

Sermia rolled over. Geez, what a sexy voice.

"Sleeping is important, but you won’t heal if you don’t eat. Come on, wake up."

When I pulled the blanket off, she finally woke up. I realized after pulling it off that it would have been quite awkward if Sermia didn’t wear anything when she slept. I’ll be more careful in the future.

"It’s already this late? I slept a lot, but I’m still sleepy."

"That’s because you had a serious injury. Your body is probably trying to rest to make blood and other things."

"Wow, Aizou, you’re quite knowledgeable."

"Not really."

Yesterday, I fell asleep before it got completely dark, so I didn’t use the lantern in the bedroom, which can be lit with magic. It seems "installation" included it as a minimum, and I can use it.

Since it’s already quite dark, I used it right away.

"Aizou, you can use magic!?"

"Only simple ones."

"Still, people with family names are amazing..."

Sermia was impressed. There are a lot of people in this world who can’t use even the minimum magic.

We moved to the living room to eat dinner. I reheated the soup from the morning and added root vegetables. We used more food, but it still seems to last quite a while.

Still, it’s not enough for two months or three months. I need to find a way to earn money here.

Basically, I’ll have to go to the city to sell things or take on repair jobs.

However, I don’t want to move from this house until Sermia can move around properly. It would be a bad start if something happened to the girl I saved while I was away.

During dinner, we chatted about various things. We avoided talking about our backgrounds, but Sermia talked about her daily life, and I talked about nature in the previous world.

I can talk about things like seeing snow that never melts on the top of a very high mountain without any problems.

After dinner, we both went to sleep. I decided to sleep at the desk in the study. I’m used to it from the previous world.

Sermia offered to sleep there, but I strongly insisted that she couldn’t until her wounds were fully healed, and she reluctantly agreed. Thus, the second day passed.

The next morning, I woke up, made breakfast, and woke Sermia to eat. After boiling water for her to wipe her body, I went to fetch water. I took a bath while fetching water.

The water was quite cold because it’s a lake, but I felt refreshed and returned with the water.

Now I can continue the three tests from yesterday. I’ll temper all three knives, each made with different levels of effort. I’ll sharpen them just enough to cut. After that, I’ll wrap the handles with leather straps for a non-slip grip to complete them.

Before I knew it, it was already noon, so we had lunch. At that time, I asked Sermia for a favor.

"Sermia, sorry, but can you help me a bit after you finish eating?"

"Sure, but I don’t know anything about blacksmithing."

"That’s fine. I just need someone else to do it."

"Well, I’ve been lying down all day, and I feel much better today, so sure."

"Thanks."

I asked her to help so that my sword skills (or something like that) wouldn’t affect the test cutting results. If the one I put the most effort into cuts through the base, it’s probably due to the knife’s performance.

After lunch, we moved to the workshop.

"I want you to test the sharpness of the three knives here, from right to left. Place a bundle of straw on this base and cut it."

"Got it. No problem."

Sermia sat on a work stool (just a cut log), placed a bundle of straw on a piece of firewood used as a base, and took the knife on the far right, then swung it down with force.

It made a "swish" sound and cut the straw, but the knife’s blade barely penetrated the firewood. It only cut the straw.

"Wow, this knife. Aizou, you’re really skilled."

"Thanks. Next one."

"Okay."

Sermia, who seemed to be getting into it, took the next knife and swung it down as before.

Again, it made a "swish" sound and cut the straw. The knife’s blade penetrated the firewood quite a bit, but it didn’t cut through it.

"Hmm, that’s the level of sharpness."

"Hey, Aizou! This knife is amazing! It cuts so well! Wow!!"

Sermia was very excited, but I was half relieved. It seems that if I don’t put a lot of effort into making it, it will be this level.

"Alright, last one."

"O-okay, got it."

Sermia, surprised by my calmness, took the last knife, the main one of this batch, and swung it down.

It didn’t make a "swish" sound. There was no sound at all. However, the knife Sermia held had penetrated the firewood halfway.

"?"

Sermia seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Pull your arm back."

"O-okay..."

As soon as Sermia pulled her arm back, the straw and firewood were cut through, just like in a manga or anime.

"Eh, eh, what’s this?"

Sermia was panicking.

"Calm down. If you panic in this state, it’s very dangerous."

When I spoke to Sermia, she looked at me and said,

"Oh, r-right. Sorry."

She regained some composure.

"No, it’s fine. It’s my fault for not explaining."

Of course, if something like this suddenly happens in front of you, you’d be scared. I was scared too, but I was prepared for it, so it wasn’t as bad.

However, this confirmed it. The cheat I was given as a blacksmith allows me to create things with incredible performance...