He still had two silver coins on him. That was already quite a lot for Jiuye, but for the sake of a steady livelihood, he came back to yesterday’s smithy to help out.
All morning, the older man worked on the weapons he’d made the day before, decorating and polishing them. Jiuye and the blacksmith’s son spent the whole time hammering at the forge. After a few hours of work, the two of them had managed to make a dagger.
The older man had prepared food that morning, so Jiuye ate lunch with them.
Blacksmiths hammered metal like this every day, so of course they were tired all the time. The older man let everyone take a proper two-hour break at noon, with work starting again at two in the afternoon. Come to think of it, that really was a standard eight-hour workday.
After a tiring morning, nothing beat a good nap at noon. The older man and his son were asleep in no time, but Jiuye wasn’t used to taking naps. He tossed and turned on the side, wide awake.
“Excuse me, can you repair weapons here?”
Just as Jiuye was tossing and turning, a voice came from the entrance of the smithy.
Jiuye glanced at the father and son. They were both fast asleep and hadn’t reacted at all. He stood up and slowly walked outside. One look at the customer, and he was startled.
“What can I do for you?” Jiuye asked, awkwardly eyeing the person who’d arrived. He felt uncomfortable all over.
The person at the door wore red and white, had pink hair and a lovely face, and carried a long katana. Who else could she be but the woman Jiuye had only just managed to avoid that morning?
When Jiuye saw the woman, his first thought was that trouble had come looking for him. But then he remembered what she’d just said about repairing a weapon.
The woman looked at Jiuye, who wore protective gear and had a handsome face.
“There’s a crack in my sword. Can you repair it here?”
Jiuye nodded. “Let me take a look at it.”
The woman handed him the katana. Jiuye took it and drew it at once to inspect it.
The blade was spotless, its edge sharp and gleaming. The whole sword looked flawless, except for one very obvious crack running through it. Jiuye noticed the woman’s expression. She kept her eyes fixed on the sword. It must be very important to her.
“Can you repair it?” The woman saw Jiuye holding the sword without saying anything and thought he might not be able to.
Jiuye didn’t answer right away. He drew the entire blade, held it in his hand, and swung it a few times. Then he brought his ear close to the blade and flicked it with his index finger. Only then did he look at the woman.
“This sword was forged from Godfall Iron, wasn’t it?”
Godfall Iron was a material found only in meteorites from beyond the heavens. Compared with ordinary iron, it was in a completely different league—the finest of the finest materials for forging weapons. Weapons made from Godfall Iron were incredibly strong. For a sword like this to develop a crack was no ordinary thing.
The woman nodded.
“Yes, it was forged from Godfall Iron.”
Jiuye glanced at the woman.
“For someone to crack a weapon made from Godfall Iron, they must be pretty high-level. If it was a Spirit Master, they’d have to be S-Rank at the very least. If it was a magical beast, it would need to be level 40 or higher.”
The woman stared at Jiuye in surprise, her face full of astonishment.
“To repair a weapon made from Godfall Iron, we’ll need Godfall Iron too. You’re in luck—I happen to have some here. It might cost a bit more, though. I’ll need one gold coin. Are you willing to pay that?”
“I am!”
The woman answered Jiuye without a moment’s hesitation.
…
