Chapter 10: Sword Testing (1)

Knock, knock.

I knocked twice lightly and opened the door to the smithy. The old hinges made a grating, irritating sound. Inside, it was filled with dust, as if it were an old, abandoned house. The eerie atmosphere made me wonder if I was in the right place.

“Is anyone here?”

I called out to whoever might be inside, but just like when I knocked, there was no response. I had no choice but to go further in. Deeper inside, there were weapons and armor displayed, just like in any other weapon shop.

Seeing the weapons and armor displayed as if they were decorations, I couldn’t help but be amazed.

‘These aren’t just swords; they’re works of art.’

I picked up one of the displayed swords and tested its sharpness. I momentarily forgot my purpose for coming here as I stared at the sword in a daze. Although it wasn’t born a katana, its sharpness was incomparable to any sword I’d ever seen.

The craftsmanship was so perfect that it seemed out of place in this shabby smithy. I even wondered if this place was actually a secret stash for weapons stolen from the royal palace.

“How long do you plan on staring?”

After what felt like thirty seconds, a voice came from behind me, making me turn my head. Standing there was an elderly man who looked to be well over seventy.

Though he wasn’t short, his long, bushy beard reaching down to his chest made him look like a dwarf, which was rare even here.

“Ah, I’m sorry. The craftsmanship was so mesmerizing that I couldn’t help but keep looking.”

“Hmph!”

The old man snorted, perhaps thinking my words were a blatant flattery.

“Enough with the flattery. Just tell me what kind of sword you want me to make.”

“…Actually, I came here to request a special katana.”

Seeing the sharpness of the sword I had just held, I realized that my budget might be far from enough.

“Judging by the quality of your swords, I don’t think my budget will be sufficient. I’ll have to earn more money and come back later.”

“……”

I was ready to give up and leave, planning to come back later, but the old man’s words stopped me.

“How much money do you have?”

“Well… I have 180 gold coins.”

Sensing a possible miracle, I spoke with a trembling voice. The old man nodded, seemingly deep in thought, before speaking again.

“The mention of a special katana piqued my interest. What kind of katana are you looking for?”

Barely suppressing a smile, I replied to the old man.

“Yes. I need a katana with a dull blade.”

“A dull blade? Are you planning to use it for training? Any smithy can make that.”

As the old man said, this was something any smithy or weapon shop could do. But it was the next part that made everyone look at me with bewilderment and then send me away.

‘Incompetent fools….’

I wouldn’t have thought so if they had simply sent me away. But I couldn’t stand the disdainful looks they gave me when I mentioned the second condition. It wasn’t that my request was strange; it was just beyond their capabilities to make the sword I wanted.

‘But this old man might be able to do it.’

Seeing the sword and armor earlier, I was sure that this old man’s skills were top-notch. With confidence, I spoke to the old man.

“I want the back of the blade to be sharp instead of the front.”

“What?”

The old man’s face twisted in confusion.

Having lived as a blacksmith for about seventy years, I had received countless unreasonable requests.

I’ve been asked to make swords so thin that they were almost transparent and swords over five meters long.

There were many unreasonable demands, and honestly, at first, I couldn’t understand why someone would want such swords, but that was only for a brief moment.

As I made the swords and conversed with the swordsmen, I began to understand their thoughts and the purposes behind these unusual requests.

But this time, I couldn’t fathom the reason at all.

“I’ll ask you straight. Why do you want such a sword?”

“To use it without killing anyone….”

“Then why would you need to sharpen the back of the blade if that’s your purpose?”

If it was for training or a non-lethal purpose, there was no reason to sharpen the back of the blade.

The boy blushed and touched the katana at his waist, as if to explain.

“I didn’t want to brag, but I am a swordsman who practices Baldo.”

“Is that so? And?”

“What?”

When you’ve been a blacksmith for a long time, you naturally become knowledgeable about swordsmanship.

Baldo, as I recalled, was a technique where you draw the sword swiftly to attack.

But what connection did that technique have with this bizarre sword?

Seeing the boy tilt his head as if wondering what I was talking about made me clench my fist unconsciously.

“Uh… it seems you’re not familiar with worldly matters, but in Baldo, it’s common practice to use a reverse-bladed sword for non-lethal purposes.”

“Reverse-bladed sword? Common practice?”

A reverse-bladed sword must be what this boy wanted. But common practice? What was he talking about?

It felt like talking to a foreigner who didn’t understand my language, giving me a headache.

Should I have just let him leave earlier?

“First, let’s clarify what a reverse-bladed sword is. You mean a sword with the blade and the back reversed, right?”

“Yes! Exactly!”

“Then… why do you need such a sword? It seems like it would be disadvantageous.”

Creating such a sword wouldn’t be difficult. Reversing the blade and the back was no big deal for me. Other blacksmiths might worry about durability issues, but that wasn’t a problem for me.

The issue was pride.

I couldn’t allow a bizarre, failed creation that might end up killing its user.

“With the back of the blade sharpened, you can’t apply pressure or control it well, and you might end up cutting yourself.”

“I can cover that with skill.”

“Impressive confidence…. So why take such a risk to use a reverse-bladed sword?”

“…The swordsman I respect used such a sword.”

According to the boy, the reverse-bladed sword was the weapon of a swordsman who had killed many for the sake of his country.

Despite his service, he couldn’t escape the guilt of his deeds and chose to carry a reverse-bladed sword as an act of penance, embarking on a journey to protect the weak.

“The sharpened back of the blade was to remind him of his sins and to atone for them.”

“Hmm… a good story. What was this swordsman’s name?”

“…Himura[1].”

Himura… I suspected as much when he mentioned the katana. It must be an Eastern swordsman.

In any case, he was certainly a man worthy of respect.

“So, are you planning to follow this swordsman’s path and vow not to kill?”

“What? No, why would I give up something so fun?”

“What? Then why….”

“I respect him, but I don’t want to live like him. I want to use a reverse-bladed sword because his ultimate technique is Baldo. I’ll only use the reverse-bladed sword for training.”

“Haha… I see.”

I stood up and pointed to the door.

“Get out of my workshop immediately.”

“What?”

“Get out of my workshop right now! How dare a brat like you make such an insolent demand of me?!”

If a truly skilled swordsman had made such a request, I might have set aside my pride and complied.

For a swordsman who makes a living from battle, a vow of non-killing is not something to be taken lightly.

But this boy wanted that sword simply because his ultimate technique was Baldo—a ridiculous reason.

It was an insult to both me and the swordsman Himura’s legacy.

Surprisingly, the boy walked toward the door without another word.

Just before he stepped out, he turned to me and said:

“Hah… You’re just like any other blacksmith.”

“What? What do you mean by that?”

“You’re someone who can’t admit to his lack of skill. So you make excuses to kick me out.”

Realizing what he had said, I found myself holding a sword from nearby.

“…What did you just say?”

“Am I wrong? You’re saying that because you’re not confident you can make it!!”

“Shut up!! It’s not that I lack confidence; I just don’t want to make such a sword for a talentless brat like you!!”

“Talentless? Have you even seen me wield a sword?”

“Judging by the fact you’re an academy freshman, do you think your skills will stand out here as they did in your rural backwater?”

“Hah!”

The boy snorted at my words and spoke with a sneer.

“I didn’t want to say this, but my skills are already at the level of a Swordmaster.”

“Swordmaster?!”

I was too stunned to speak.

A Swordmaster is not a title anyone can claim lightly. It’s a title that takes decades of training for even the most talented to achieve.

Only unparalleled geniuses, who etched their names into history, earned that title at a young age.

Yet this boy dared to call himself a Swordmaster so easily.

“If you’re so confident, prove it!!”

[1. raei: Himura is the protag of the manga Rurouni Kenshin.]