Ch.251Tomato, Awakening?

CLANG-!!!

The sword broke into several pieces and scattered.

SHIIIIIIIIIK-!!

The demonic energy within the sword dispersed in all directions.

“Fool…ish…!! I know swordsmen like you well….You surely have many enemies…..You will constantly face the fear of death…..!”

The demonic sword continued its attempt at persuasion.

I have to admit, this rotten demonic blade has persistence.

“With me….I can make you an overwhelming force….I can deal with your enemies too…..!”

The demonic sword shouted loudly.

“Indeed, I do have many enemies.”

I shrugged my shoulders and sheathed my sword.

“But I possess something far better than a cursed sword like you. With it, I can overcome anything.”

I said with a smile.

“W-what is that….!”

The demonic sword spoke in a tone of incomprehension.

“Companions.”

That was my answer.

“Being swayed by such fragile things….”

It seemed to be trying to persuade me still, but the demonic sword’s power was rapidly fading.

WHOOOOOSH-!!

Before long, the demonic sword turned into mere metal fragments.

“Y-you did it!!! Finally, that demonic thing is gone!!”

The skull rolled toward me, shouting.

“Yes. It wasn’t much of a challenge.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“No….your mental strength is formidable.”

The skull said.

“Usually, the moment a swordsman with desire for power hears that sword’s voice, they immediately grab it and become the sword’s host. You have the mental fortitude to resist the sword’s temptation….!!”

The skull explained.

“With this……I can finally rest in peace.”

After that, the skull’s form began to fade.

I see. Some kind of passing-on event, I guess.

“Before that. Old man. Is there anything you’d like to see before you go?”

I asked the skull.

“What do you mean….something I’d like to see.”

The skull stared at me intently.

“Your descendants. They’re alive and well. As a distant ancestor, wouldn’t you like to see them?”

I said with a smile.

“I….I suppose so.”

Suddenly, the skull’s jaw began to chatter tremendously.

“I’ll take you to them.”

I picked up the skull.

“Hehe. I always said my boyfriend has a warm heart.”

Kirtan smiled gently as she watched me.

But first, I had something to do.

I picked up the fragments of the demonic sword.

“What are you going to do with such a hideous thing?”

Kirtan muttered with a disgusted expression.

“I think this might be good material.”

I said with a shrug.

“Maybe if we feed it to our Pinocchio, it might strengthen him?”

That was my speculation.

The demonic energy in the sword was gone anyway. There was no chance of the demonic sword reviving. I casually gathered the sword fragments and headed toward town.

VROOOOOM-!!

At that moment, the damaged Kirtan ship landed on the ground nearby. It had landed deep in the mountains where it wouldn’t be noticed by outsiders.

“Is your ship….okay?”

I was a bit worried about that.

“Well…..we’ll have to stay on Earth for a while, but our ship has capable engineers. They’ll fix it somehow.”

Kirtan said, waving to the crew.

“Hmm….that’s good then.”

I was relieved about that. I would have felt guilty if the ship had been completely destroyed.

——–

Anyway, we headed to the Todai Workshop.

The old man rushed over as soon as he saw us.

“W-what happened!! There was a tremendous explosion from the mountain. And lightning too!!”

Apparently, the space fleet battle was perceived as just thunder and lightning.

“We dealt with the demonic sword.”

I said, showing the broken remains of the demonic sword.

“I see. So this….is the monster our ancestors risked their lives to hide.”

The old man muttered, looking at the sword’s remains.

“But….this skull.”

The old man pointed at the skull I was holding.

“A skull buried in the ground. Should I call the police?”

The old man blurted out in a panic. He truly had the sensibilities of an ordinary person.

“Calling the police wouldn’t make much sense. It’s a body from several hundred years ago.”

I chuckled as I stroked the skull.

“Several hundred years ago……”

The old man seemed to realize something.

“This is your distant ancestor. Please give him a proper burial. This person has been guarding the demonic sword for hundreds of years.”

I handed the skull to the old man.

“I see…..”

The old man’s eyes reddened slightly.

At that moment, the skull spoke.

“My distant descendant.”

“……….?!”

The old man seemed startled that the skull was speaking.

Though it had no eye sockets, I could tell the skull’s gaze was warm. The skull looked around the workshop.

“A fine workshop. Still……our family members are……excellent craftsmen and potters……I’m relieved. The magnificent talent of the Georgia clan…..has continued.”

Though it was hard to read the skull’s expression, I could intuitively tell it was smiling.

FWOOSH-!

With that, the skull’s form completely faded away. Yes, it had let go of its earthly attachments and passed on.

“Thank you. Young man and lady.”

The old man’s eyes reddened slightly.

“I’ll do anything I can for you! Just name it!!”

The old man shouted loudly.

“Anything? So if I asked for all your wealth, would you give it?”

Kirtan made a somewhat savage joke.

Squeeze-!

I squeezed Kirtan’s chest to punish her.

“Then…..could you repair this sword?”

I immediately drew out Tomato.

The blade was too damaged from the fight with the demonic sword.

“Repairing Tomato….!!”

The old man carefully received the sword.

“This is a reward for me!! The chance to repair a legendary sword…..!!”

The old man muttered as he examined the sword.

“That’s all I need. If possible, make it less prone to breaking.”

I voiced my request.

Greenbeard could also repair weapons, but right now I wanted to entrust it to this old man.

“Understood!! I’ll use all my skills!! You’re staying here tonight anyway, right? I’ll have it finished by tomorrow!”

The old man shouted loudly.

And the old man immediately set to work. Excited by the opportunity to handle a famous sword, the old man’s eyes sparkled like a boy’s.

Well, it would be rude to disturb him….I firmly grabbed Kirtan’s buttocks.

“Let’s go to our room then.”

I said to Kirtan with a smile.

“Okay….”

Kirtan nestled against me as if she had been waiting for this.

——–

When we arrived at our lodging, the old woman welcomed us.

“Oh my!! I heard the news!! Come eat!!”

The old woman served us a meal.

“Wait….Grandma. You provide meals here too?”

I looked at the old woman with suspicious eyes. I was worried she might charge extra after feeding us.

“Hahaha!! You stingy young man! Don’t worry about that! This is my personal treat. Our old man….his expression has brightened considerably. You dealt with that demonic sword or whatever, right? That old man was very concerned about the infamy surrounding the demonic sword.”

The old woman looked at the workshop where the lights were still on.

“Besides….it’s been a long time since the old man worked so happily. Since nobody buys swords anymore, he only makes farming tools….but a craftsman should be making swords.”

The old woman looked at the workshop with nostalgic eyes.

“Anyway! Eat well and rest!!”

The old woman urged us to pick up our chopsticks. Well, if that’s the case.

“WOOOOW!!! This is delicious!!”

Kirtan devoured the food with an incredible reaction. Kirtan had quite an appetite.

“My! The young lady eats so well!”

The old woman seemed to like Kirtan.

“This is really good. Truly.”

But it was genuinely delicious. Is a grandmother’s cooking always special?

Anyway, after eating our fill, we headed to our room upstairs.

——–

It was just like a typical homestay structure. We couldn’t expect the luxury of a first-class hotel, but this homey atmosphere was actually nice.

I was tired and thought about taking a nap, but that seemed unlikely.

CLANG-! CLANG-!! SCREECH-!!

Noise was coming from the workshop.

“Well….looks like sleep is out of the question.”

I thought with a chuckle.

“Hmph. We weren’t going to sleep anyway.”

Kirtan immediately began to strip off her clothes. I couldn’t help but stare at Kirtan’s healthy female body in a daze.

“Yeah. Looking at Kirtan’s body, sleep is the last thing on my mind.”

I smiled and embraced Kirtan.

And we immediately began to intertwine our bodies.

Would our lovemaking be louder? Or would the workshop noise be louder? A strange noise pollution competition unfolded.

——-

After making love like beasts for a long time, we both finally fell asleep exhausted.

That night. I opened my eyes in the dream dungeon.

“Ah. You’re here.”

Bluebeard greeted me.

The dream dungeon was a world separate from reality, but it was somewhat linked to the real world.

“Ah! It’s here!”

The fragments of the demonic sword were in my pocket.

“Can we use this material to strengthen Pinocchio?”

I asked Bluebeard.

“Hmm. I think we can.”

Bluebeard immediately activated the enhancement device.

“Pinocchio!!! Come out!”

I immediately summoned Pinocchio.

“Master!!! If I use this….I’ll become stronger, right?!”

Pinocchio’s motivation to become stronger had clearly increased. Once he escaped being a weakling, he couldn’t contain himself.

“Here we go!!! Rare material going in!!”

I immediately put the demonic sword fragments into the enhancement device.

ZIIIIING-!

Right after, Pinocchio’s body began to glow.

“Ooooooh….!!”

Pinocchio’s expectant cry could be heard.

Ding-!

At that moment, the results appeared on the status window.

‘Memory of the Demonic Sword: Pinocchio Sword has become more integrated with the form of a sword. The transformation time to Pinocchio Sword is shortened.’

‘Sharpness of the Demonic Sword: Pinocchio Sword’s damage increases by a fixed 10.’

‘Pinocchio’s strength, durability, and speed all increase by 5.’

Hmm. Not bad. The premium material was worth it.

Plus……there was an additional effect.

WHOOSH-!!

Black aura began to emanate from the transformed Pinocchio Sword. This was just an effect. It had no practical function.

However….with that, Pinocchio awakened to something.

“Kekekeke….I can feel it….the evil pulsation……”

Yes. Pinocchio had awakened to chuunibyou syndrome.

“I am….the chosen psycho-robot. All my wandering until now was for this.”

Pinocchio’s state had become somewhat strange.

What to do about this. But I knew the answer.

I immediately used the secret technique my father had used on me.

“Snap out of it!!!”

I immediately slapped Pinocchio across the face.

“GACK!!!!”

Pinocchio immediately collapsed.

There’s no better cure for delusions than this.