Chapter 12: Sword Testing (3)

When he first stepped back from White Rose, I instinctively knew this boy was a competent swordsman.

He had knowledge of White Iron’s properties, something he would have had little opportunity to learn, and the skill to wield aura at his age.

I didn’t want to admit it, but I had to—this kid was one of those rare geniuses.

But he lacked the most crucial qualities: humility and the ability to objectively assess himself.

‘Such a young brat…’

In my anger earlier, I told him never to pick up a sword again, but everyone has moments of foolishness in their youth.

This would be a good opportunity for him to understand his true skills.

‘There’s no point in crushing young talent here. Even if he fails to cut White Rose, I’ll take back what I said….’

While I was thinking this, a powerful aura emanated from the boy’s body, strong enough that even I, not a swordsman, could feel it.

When I looked up, he was in a completely different stance, eyes fixed sharply on White Rose, as if he had forgotten I was even there. I involuntarily swallowed the saliva gathering in my mouth.

Tttr, Tttrr!

He must have been focusing his aura into the scabbard. The scabbard shook violently, as if it would explode, like the pounding heart of a horse in full gallop.

‘This young boy… such an immense amount of aura!’

Realizing the abnormal amount of aura, I turned my gaze to White Rose, but it remained unaffected.

That meant this young boy was fully controlling such a vast and intense amount of aura.

I started to think that an unimaginable outcome might actually happen and hurried to stop him.

“Brat――!”

But before I could finish, a flash like fire burst from his scabbard and collided with White Rose.

The moment the sword was drawn, a deafening roar and a tremendous shockwave blew away the surrounding swords.

Having witnessed many top swordsmen wield their blades, I knew this was what happened when a sword was swung at supersonic speed.

Screech!!

His sword, imbued with intense aura and moving beyond the speed of sound, shredded through White Rose’s helmet with a sound like metal being torn apart.

If someone had been wearing the helmet, their head would have been split in two.

The sword didn’t stop at the helmet but continued down to the chestplate, tearing through the armor.

However, this was only for a moment.

White Rose, reacting to the intense aura, utilized its unique ability and stopped the sword from advancing further.

Had someone been wearing it, their internal organs would have been shredded by the sword, but soon after, the aura, with the sword unable to contain it, exploded.

The exploded aura flew forward, luckily sparing me from serious injury, but White Rose wasn’t so fortunate.

It looked like a runaway daughter found in a brothel.

White Rose was blackened with soot and torn apart by the explosion, looking utterly devastated.

Seeing the once beautiful and pure fortress of White Iron in such a state made me clench my fist unconsciously.

I wanted to punch that kid’s face right away, but more than that, I was impressed.

‘…I have no choice but to acknowledge this.’

White Rose maintained its shape, but the anvil it was placed on was in pieces.

The anvil and even the ground beneath it were split as if a giant had stomped on it.

Had White Rose not absorbed most of the impact, the entire area would have collapsed. No, it definitely would have.

“…Who taught you that sword technique?”

The boy, looking frustrated that he hadn’t completely cut through White Rose, stared into the void and answered.

“Well, formally, I guess I learned it from a local sword instructor? I learned Baldo from him. The rest, I taught myself.”

“Is that so…”

Hearing that he had almost entirely self-taught the skill to wield such an immense amount of aura didn’t surprise me.

Sometimes, even gods make mistakes, and a person like him comes into existence.

“You’ve cut through White Rose’s helmet, so I’ll make you that reverse-bladed sword.”

“Then, here’s the money…”

“No, I don’t need the money.”

I declined the pouch of money he offered and continued.

“Not just this time, but from now on, I won’t take money from you.”

“…From now on?”

He tilted his head, not expecting that there would be a next time, so I explained further.

“Exactly. From now on, if you commission a sword, I won’t charge you. If you need special materials, you’ll have to provide them, though.”

“I don’t understand. That’s good for me, but what’s in it for you?”

“What’s in it for me… Of course, there’s something in it for me.”

For a blacksmith, there’s nothing more important than seeing their sword used by a worthy owner.

That alone is worth far more than any amount of money.

“…Thank you for saying that.”

He didn’t expect such words from me, and his face turned red as he smiled awkwardly.

“But can I ask you something?”

“Yes, anything.”

“That technique you showed earlier… why did you use it from a sheathed state?”

Using it from a sheathed state gives it power in a confined space, but considering the aura spent on the scabbard and the effort to control the wild sword, wouldn’t it have been better to use it after drawing?

I didn’t intend to deny its power, but I was curious about why he did it that way.

“…That’s because Baldo is the ultimate sword technique, and it’s more efficient to use it from a sheathed state.”

“What nonsense… it’s much more――.”

Before I could finish my question, his face turned even redder, and he shouted in frustration.

“Because using it!! From a sheathed state!! Is more efficient!!! Do you understand?!!”

“…Alright, let’s leave it at that.”

They say all geniuses are crazy, but this guy seemed crazy independent of his talent.

‘A lunatic…’

As I left the smithy, I looked up at the now darkened sky and thought.

‘How did it come to this?’

Honestly, I didn’t quite understand how things had turned out this way.

I just came to get a reverse-bladed sword to safely use Baldo on people, and I ended up with a top-tier blacksmith willing to work for free.

‘Could it be… all thanks to Baldo?’

No matter how much I thought about it, that seemed the only explanation.

After all, all I did was argue with the old man and destroy the armor he had commissioned using Baldo.

Although the old man had a poor understanding of the efficiency of sword techniques, he was clearly impressed by my beautiful Baldo.

I always knew Baldo was an all-purpose technique, but I never expected it to help me make connections like this.

‘Maybe I should just show Lady Whatever my Baldo instead of giving her a gift?’

As I was seriously considering this, I heard someone calling out to me from a distance.

“Hey, Ian!!”

I turned to see Victor, who I had parted ways with at the dormitory, waving at me.

“Took you long enough. Did it really take that long?”

“It’s a popular shop, so I had to wait in line for a bit.”

Victor said that, but his hands were empty.

“So, where are the sweets?”

“The shop said they’d deliver them to the lady’s villa. I guess they want to send them freshly made.”

“I see.”

Hearing about dessert delivery in this world felt strangely out of place. But considering the amount of money equivalent to ten katanas, such a service made sense.

“What kind of dessert are they sending? Are they going to cover it in gold leaf or something?”

“Maybe. Can you even eat gold leaf?”

“I have no idea.”

Both Victor and I were nobles, but far from wealthy, so we had no knowledge about such things. Honestly, since we weren’t the ones eating it, it didn’t matter much, but I was curious about what kind of dessert cost the same as ten katanas.

“You went to buy a sword, right? Judging by the time, did you not find one?”

“…I found one, but in the process, one got destroyed. Still, the end result is good because I won’t have to pay for swords in the future.”

Victor looked at me with eyes asking what on earth had happened, but I didn’t have much to say. If I had to explain, it would just be that I picked a fight and ended up using Baldo, leading to the current situation.

“Well, we can talk about this later. I’m a bit hungry. If you haven’t had dinner yet, want to grab something to eat? Maybe some drinks too.”

“Sounds good. But let’s take it easy on the drinks. We have to visit Lady Jessica tomorrow.”