Vol.1 - Chapter 3: Final Preparations (9/10)

"Hmm."

The amber eyes of a chestnut-haired boy flickered with curiosity. He seemed to be walking through the crowd without knowing where he was going. Nevertheless, he was moving at a very steady pace.

'If I want to test myself, then I should leave without taking anything.'

He was trying to decide what to do as other things came to his mind that contradicted his own thoughts.

'But it would be foolish not to take some stuff while I have the chance. I've considered not taking clothes, but it's starting to get quite cold. I will also need a vehicle for transportation. Even if I somehow find the money to buy the vehicle, if I go into the forest with it, my movement will be very restricted. Maybe I can go to where I need to get to quickly and build a small wagon there.'

He took a small pouch out of his pocket and looked at the coins inside. There were two silvers and a few dozen coppers. He sighed disappointedly and pushed the thoughts out of his head.

'Huh... And I'm telling them to take it easy and take their time, and here I am trying to prepare to go into the forest when it's almost the end of the summer. And with no preparations too.'

He smiled awkwardly and shook his head from side to side. It was hard to tell whether he was angry or happy. Only one emotion was quite clear. Excitement...

When Shin thought he had reached his destination, he looked up at the building in front of him. The sign on the building stated "Charlie's Swords". Actually, he had been looking for a blacksmith for a while, but he could only find other kinds of shops in this neighborhood.

'Maybe there is no blacksmith around here. It's best to go in and ask.'

He approached the door of the shop and stepped to get inside, but just then the door opened towards him.

Shin stumbled backward but recovered his balance before he fell to the ground. Still, the person who opened the door realized his mistake and quickly rushed to the boy and supported him by the shoulders.

"Whoa! I'm sorry, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

This person was not much taller than Shin. He also looked young in age, but he was quite disheveled. He had ordinary long black hair and black eyes. 

He had bandages from his hands to his arms. From the outside, he looked like he had a normal body, but Shin recognized his strength from the way this man was holding him.

The man's face was quite emotionless and his eyes in particular looked quite soulless. But after Shin's gratitude, he smiled at him quite sincerely. He patted him on the shoulder, said something, and left.

"Take care of yourself, young man. This city doesn't have the slightest mercy."

Shin, who had been quietly watching him as he left, muttered to himself.

"What an interesting man."

He turned his focus back to the building in front of him at the call from inside and entered.

"Welcome to Charlie's!"

The middle-aged, bearded man who seemed to be the owner of the place was standing behind the sales stand. With his skinny body and appearance, Shin could already tell he was not a blacksmith. As his anticipation faded, he made a desperate request.

"Do you do weapon maintenance here?"

The answer he received was unexpected for some reason.

"Of course, young man, if we don't do it, then who will?"

The man behind the booth said confidently and full of praise. Shin was a little skeptical of what he heard, but he quickly reached for the sheath at his waist and put the sheath and his knife on the stand.

"I want it thoroughly cleaned, oiled, and sharpened."

The skinny man curiously took the knife out of its sheath and then, while rubbing his beard with one hand, he carefully examined the blade with the other.

"I've never seen a knife like this before, it looks like different materials have been added to the steel. It's often seen in special productions, but I've never seen anything like your knife before."

Shin was surprised by the man's questioning of him. He thought this was just a place to buy and sell swords, but it seems that information was also important in this business. The encounter with this man made Shin realize what the sword shops he had seen on the streets were actually like.

"You seem quite knowledgeable. Yes, I bring this blade from my village and as you said, it is custom-made."

He was lying because it was a gift from a friend and it was not made in the village.

"So you want it to be refined, huh? It looks pretty good quality, but it's really battered."

Shin's prejudices about this shop and the man in front of him were shattered and a chatty atmosphere began to develop.

"Yes, it is. I'm afraid I didn't give it the attention it needed."

"You know, weapons repay the favor done to them in spades. That's why you have to take good care of them."

After his words, the man in the booth began to examine the knife even more carefully. There were strange and irregular wavy patterns on the metal. The sharpness of the blade was well-concentrated where it was needed.

It was a bit heavy compared to other knives, and could perhaps even be considered a small short sword. The hilt was well crafted and made of a polished wood that was as unfamiliar to him as the metal was unrecognizable. There were also some strange ornamental engravings.

The man sighed, realizing that he could not learn anything about this knife from his own knowledge, and decided to ask the boy in front of him.

"Huhh... I consider myself an expert on weapons, but I don't know the slightest bit about this knife. If you don't mind, could you tell me something about this special knife? I can probably do what you ask just like I would with a normal knife, but it's always good to be knowledgeable."

Shin didn't know how this knife was made or what it was made of either. He also didn't think it would be good to investigate it further. Because he already knew where the knife came from.

"Sorry, I don't know much either. My father was a merchant and he brought me this knife as a gift on one of his trips."

He didn't hesitate in the slightest when he lied. It was as if he believed his own lie.

"Then there is nothing to do. Let's polish this beauty."

The bearded man took the knife and walked to the back of the room. There was another, smaller room there. Shin was going to follow him, but at that moment he paused with an important question that came to his mind.

"Brother, I don't mean to be rude, but how much does it cost? I don't have much money."

The man laughed and answered without turning around.

"Hahaha, don't worry! It depends on what you want. But I was thinking of selling you a few items that might be useful to you along with the full maintenance. The maintenance will cost about thirty coppers, but if you want your blade at its full potential, it can cost up to seventy coppers. And the materials I'd like to sell you also cost more than a silver piece. But I liked you and your fancy knife, so I can do everything together for a silver and a half."

Hearing that, Shin also went into the back room and fell quietly into his thoughts. The swordsman took the knife and dipped it into a barrel. He stood there for a while, then took it out and turned to the boy behind him.

"So, what would you want?"

'Hmm... it looks like he's trying to sell some stuff, but it's hard to say without talking a bit more. Those items might be helpful for me, also I don't have much to spend my money on anyway...'

"You can sharpen the knife, brother. I can pay you seventy coppers for the maintenance. We can talk about those goods in the meantime."

The man smiled and quickly took the knife, dipped it into another barrel, and pulled it out again.

"Of course. We'll have plenty of time to talk."

He took out a cloth and wiped the blade, then approached the small forge in the room and gently stoked the fire inside it.

"I thought you only sold swords, but you also have a forge."

The man turned his head to Shin in surprise. He was not angry at the words he heard, but his tone had risen. He spoke with pride.

"Of course we have. What do you think a sword shop is? How can someone who only buys and sells swords can call himself a swordsmith? I may not forge swords from scratch, but there will come a time when a forged sword will need repair and reworking."

He continued speaking as he held the blade in the scorching hearth.

"I have an adventurer's kit quite suitable for you. It contains a good sharpening stone, a good quality bottle of oil to protect your blade in wet conditions, and another special mixture I have made for you to clean your blade. I will also give you a cleaning cloth, which you may find small, but I think it will be very useful. It is compatible with my mixtures, so it only pulls dirt off the blade. It wipes everything off the blade, especially blood. Of course, since this cloth does not absorb the mixtures and liquid, you will need to wipe your knife again with something else to clean it. And don't forget to use plenty of water, it dissolves the mixtures and makes them easier to remove."

Shin was pleased that the man gave a lot of information. At first, he didn't think these materials were essential, but he agreed with what he had heard and with the change in his knife. 

After heating the knife, the man put it on an anvil and beat it a little, then dipped it into another barrel and left it there for a while. Meanwhile, bubbling sounds came from the barrel. When he took the knife out, it was shiny. 

Then he put it in another barrel again and took it out. This time the barrel seemed to consist only of water. After cleaning the blade with a cloth, the swordsman looked at the boy behind him and smiled. Even this short job was enough to bring sweat to his forehead.

"The cleaning and shaping is almost done."

He took the knife to a large tool. It was a round object with a pedal. The Swordsmith sat on a chair and started to press the pedal. With that, the round object, like a wheel, started to turn slowly and gradually accelerated its rotation.

The swordsman held the blade transversely and gently rubbed its broad side against the spinning wheel. Small sparks and the sound of metal began to emanate from the blade.

"Your knife is pretty sturdy too! It's even hard to get the excess off it."

After a period of repetition, he lifted the knife, examined it, and wiped the sweat from his forehead with great relief.

"Actually it should have been done pretty fast, but this one took a while. Should I charge you extra?"

After saying this playfully, he got up from his seat and walked towards the boy. He continued with a smile on his face.

"We are almost done. Only the sharpening is left. So, what do you think, did I do a good job?"

He handed the knife to Shin. The boy's eyes were focused on the shining blade in front of him.

'I really didn't expect such a change...'

He pulled the knife back and took out a shiny stone that looked like an ingot from a box in the room. After a few minutes of sharpening the corners of the blade, everything seemed to be done.

"Here, try it."

After handing it to the boy, he gestured to a training dummy. Shin went to the dummy and gave it a few quick slashes. There were scratches on the dummy that were too thin to be seen. The weapons master did not see them and, thinking Shin was wasting time, called him to his side.

"We are finished, young man. Do you want the other materials?"

"Of course, I would appreciate it if you would prepare them. I will take everything you listed."

With that, the swordsmith prepared a bag and then went back to the front of the shop.

Shin followed him and exited the back room, holding the door to close it. At that moment, something he had left behind caught his attention for the last time. The training dummy had split in some places. The dummy had shriveled up and fallen down. The boy smiled broadly.

"Like I said, it costs one and a half silver pieces. The bag contains everything I counted."

He noticed the big smile on Shin's face as he turned to him. He handed him the bag and waited.

"Thank you very much, you did a very good job."

Shin took a silver and fifty coppers from the pouch in his pocket and gladly handed them to the man in front of him. There was nothing left in the bag but a small amount of coppers. Still, he didn't care and headed for the door of the shop.

"I'll be expecting you again, young man. I'd like to examine that knife more."

The swordsmith had a big smile on his face as he took the money. Shin, who didn't care much from there on, simply raised his hand and waved goodbye to the man on his way out of the shop.

-

'Now... We better not get caught by Rina-san. I'll convince her later, but right now I have to finish my business with Minato. I can't waste time in the city, I need to hurry before it gets too cold. I don't have much left to do here anyway.'

The chestnut-haired boy was on his way to leave the things he had bought in his room before his business with Minato. He was about to arrive at the inn when a voice stopped him.

"Shin! Don't go in there!"

The agitated voice was barely audible in the crowd, which was even larger than before. Soon the owner of the voice revealed himself and approached the boy.

"That monster is waiting for us inside!"

A thin young man with auburn hair and a face full of worry emerged from the crowd. He was holding the clothes that had been handed to him about an hour ago.

Shin sighed and said something to the young man. Then he continued confidently to the inn in front of him.

"You wait here. I'll leave the stuff I bought and come back."