Kays Translations

Chapter 189: The Nature of Weapons

In front of the furnace, Lutz remained still, holding the magic axe "White Lily" in his hand. His gaze, directed at White Lily, was filled with a lonely color.

"When I slashed into the arm of the Flame Demon in the recent battle, the tip melted due to the extremely high heat. Upon closer examination, not only the tip melted, but the entire axe was distorted."

"Can it be fixed?"

Claudia, who appeared behind him unnoticed, asked with a hesitant voice.

Lutz silently shook his head and raised the hammer he was holding. Striking the blade strongly, the axe shattered easily. It was an unexpectedly anticlimactic end for a weapon that had slaughtered numerous formidable enemies.

"...Well, that's how it is. It was distorted overall and became too brittle due to the heat. Repairing it was impossible."

If a weapon breaks or shatters during combat, it can be fatal. This was an unavoidable measure.

By shattering the axe, Lutz felt a sense of loss greater than he had anticipated. Initially, it was meant as a temporary tool until he forged his own sword. Eventually, he had even considered giving it to the princess as a gift. However, as he swung this axe and fought various powerful enemies, he had developed a deep attachment to it.

It was the end of its lifespan; that's what he thought.

...Initially, he had intended it as a compassionate weapon for mourning the dead, but in the end, he had treated it as an incredibly cruel weapon to incinerate enemies alive.

By the way, Ricardo's beloved sword, "Sakura," only had a slightly melted tip. With a proper sharpening, it could be repaired without any issues. Whether it was fortunate or not that he could only pierce the enemies' eyeball is a different matter.

Weapons are consumables. If you can't let them go when needed, they might become shackles instead. This was the right decision; this was fine.

While repeating this to himself, Lutz picked up the grave marker of his companion. Then, switching his mindset, he muttered with determination.

"I've been putting it off, but I'll forge my own sword."

Claudia, watching Lutz's resolute figure with mixed emotions, said,

"So, what kind of sword are you planning to forge this time?"

A familiar conversation but Lutz couldn't answer immediately. He turned his head and twisted his lips.

"I have an image in mind, but it's a bit vague."

"That's fine. Tell me about it."

"If I may say, the essence of a sword is to be hard, sharp, and beautiful. A blade that can cut through anything effortlessly."

"Yeah... huh? Well, I guess so."

It was a rather indirect way of speaking. Claudia knew what Lutz wanted to say, but kept quiet and waited for him to say it.

"It feels like it's really too late to be saying something like this now..."

"Yeah."

"Using a sword that causes self-harm, or setting someone on fire, for a sword, it's not healthy, is it?"

"Oh, you're saying that."

The true struggle of a sword lies in clashing and overcoming, using the sword in its purest form. The notion of defeating an opponent through powerful magic effects or curses has long been bothering him, as it seems to deviate from the essence of a sword. It feels like the curse is stronger than the sword itself.

Ricardo, for instance, seemed to prioritize mastering curses over mastering the sword each time he acquired a new sword.

He has undoubtedly become much stronger, widening the scope of his battles and leaving no openings. However, there remains a question of whether his skill with the sword has genuinely improved.

"But, you know, if the quality of the sword isn't good, you can't engrave many ancient characters, right? Gerhardt, before meeting Lutz-kun, seemed to have been troubled by that for a long time," 

"That's true, but the premise that the sword is the master and the curse is the subordinate seems to have been overturned. Techniques like enchantments that enhance sharpness, such as 'Ittetsu,'Stone Eater,' and ‘Mumei’ carried by the masked adventurer Samurai Mask, are still within the realm of understandable innovations," 

The names Lutz mentioned referred to the swords of Gerhardt, Duke Eldenburger, and the masked adventurer Samurai Mask. Enhancing sharpness is still an area where innovations can be considered.

"But, you know, if we're talking about essence, doing anything to win is the essence of the battlefield. No rules is the rule of the battlefield; not breaking the rules is a breach of etiquette. Killing one-sidedly with a curse, isn't that a significant act? Complaints won't reach from the afterlife."

From Claudia's perspective, what mattered more than the guys' petty pride was that Lutz returned safely. A weapon that only Lutz and the others could use, it was truly wonderful. She rather wanted them to use it more and more.

"Besides, from what I've heard, if it weren't for White Lily's incendiary effect, you wouldn't have been able to defeat the three-meter-class giant orc, right?"

"That's right. That's it."

Lutz nodded deeply with a serious expression.

"The orc had a powerful regeneration ability, so it couldn't be defeated without turning it into a human torch. What I'm aiming for this time is a sword that, when you slash, seals that regeneration ability. Applying it to this case, it would nullify the Flame Demon's ignition ability."

Previously, during an expedition to the Allied Nations, he had created a sword that canceled magic effects. Lutz thought that he could follow up on that idea.

However, Claudia still seemed to have lingering doubts. She tilted her head and said,

"Isn't the regeneration ability and ignition ability more of a constitution than a magic effect? In other words, it's like the inherent traits of birds being able to fly or horses running fast. Suppressing that is like denying the opponent's existence itself."

"Denying the opponent's life, that is the essence of a weapon."

Lutz nodded deeply. It was the face of a craftsman who had resolved to confront difficulties.

Impossible, reckless, absurd. Yet, it looked irresistibly attractive. Claudia said with a wry smile,

"...It's challenging. Can you do it?"

"If I can't, I'll apologize to Kevin-san on my knees."

He spoke with a confidence that conveyed he had no intention of doing such a thing.

Lutz began to crush the fragments of White Lily into even smaller pieces. The parts that were hard and resistant to shattering were deliberately put into the furnace and heated before being split, displaying a meticulous approach.

Claudia, who was about to leave the workshop so as not to disturb the work, suddenly stopped, curious about something.

"Lutz-kun, are you going to do a piled-up forge?"

This referred to the process of stacking small pieces of steel, heating them, and then forging them into a lump.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Since it was an affectionate weapon, I'll melt it and pass it on to the next beloved sword. If you call it just sentimental romance, then so be it."

"Melting a weapon that had ancient runes engraved on it with magic effects and making a new weapon again. In that case, I wonder if there will be any impact when engraving the ancient runes again..."

"Well, uh... I wonder. Honestly, I don't know."

It was an unprecedented story, something unimaginable.

After all, there was no one who would go through the trouble and expense of melting down expensive magic weapons to forge another weapon. At least, there was no record of it in literature.

Whether there would be no impact at all, or if it would cancel out the new effects. Or perhaps an unbelievably powerful magical sword would be created.

"Hmm..."

Lutz groaned, lightly pondering, but quickly resumed his work.

To forge ahead—that was his answer.

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