Chapter 660: No Problems with Sharpness or Durability

“Ahem. Rejoice, Lionel—and everyone else. This steel sword has been reborn as a Near-Legendary sword.”

“…What?”

Silence engulfed the training ground, as though everyone present had become a speechless ghost. A cut from this sword might send them smiling peacefully to the next world.

…Its sharpness was fine, wasn’t it? It had not turned blunt, had it?

“Th…”

“That’s incredible!”

After a moment, a tremendous cheer erupted. At last, the knights seemed to understand how splendid the sword was. Lionel was firmly massaging the wrinkles between his brows, though.

He had to face reality, just as I had.

“The only potential problem is whether its sharpness and durability have decreased. Its colour changed slightly, so something must be different.”

“That’s certainly possible. We’ll test it immediately.”

The knights sprang briskly into action. Lionel appeared resigned—or perhaps simply curious—and did not stop them.

A straw dummy was soon brought onto the training ground. They would probably use it to test the blade’s sharpness.

“I shall examine it.”

“I’m counting on you, Lionel.”

Lionel assumed his stance and slashed diagonally across the dummy. A quiet snick sounded, and half the straw dummy slipped to the ground. The cut was remarkably clean. If we fitted the two sections together, they almost looked as though they might reattach themselves.

Hmm. Its sharpness seemed fine.

“Thank goodness. It appears to cut properly.”

“Yes. They should be able to use it regularly.”

“That’s not the case.”

Lionel’s expression turned grim. The other knights’ eyes, however, sparkled like children presented with a new toy. In other words, everyone wanted that sword.

“What’s wrong?”

“Please watch.”

This time, Lionel brought over an untreated sword and cut a straw dummy in the same manner.

A dull crunch sounded as the dummy was severed, but unlike the first, its cut was jagged. Those pieces would not fit back together.

Lady Fabienne gasped. Apparently, she had noticed the difference too. She was steadily becoming a woman who could appreciate such distinctions.

“Lord Julius, you were watching properly, weren’t you?”

“Of course I was.”

Lady Fabienne gave me a suspicious look. Naturally, I had wanted to pretend I had not seen it, but that would be wrong. I had to face reality.

So improving the sword’s class had also increased its sharpness. Its durability had probably improved as well.

“Lord Julius, this will cause a serious problem.”

“Perhaps, but we haven’t tested its durability yet. It might have become sharper but more brittle.”

“I somehow doubt that…”

“So do I, but we should test it to make sure.”

At my suggestion, the knights conducted a durability test. The method was simple. They supported both ends of the sword on stones, then struck the centre with a hammer.

The knights watched anxiously. They already seemed to regard it as their sword.

It was too soon for that, all right? I had never said we would adopt this method. Did they understand that?

The hammer crashed down repeatedly, but the sword neither broke nor even bent. Lionel quickly ordered the test stopped.

“Its durability has improved as well. An ordinary sword would bend at least slightly from the first strike.”

Of course. They had struck it with a large hammer using all their strength. I had been thinking the same thing. We had no choice but to admit it now.

“There doesn’t seem to be any problem with the sword. Does that mean… we can use it?”

“Lord Julius, we still have the other improved Holy Droplets. Shouldn’t we examine those before deciding?”

“You’re right.”

The remaining versions were even more powerful. Stopping the experiment at this point was an option, but we had gone to the trouble of making them. I wanted to test them all. Lady Fabienne surely felt the same. Lionel looked resigned, though.

“You don’t seem enthusiastic, Lionel, but everyone else wants to know, don’t they?”

“Of course we do!”

“The next sword will be even more powerful than this one, won’t it? We would welcome that!”

“Exactly, exactly.”

Good. Now everyone was an accomplice. Father could hardly dismiss such an impassioned request from the entire order. I had won.

Lionel…still looked troubled, but he did not appear inclined to stop us.

Once I had confirmed that, I poured the next potion over a sword. Its yellow colour was stronger than the previous blade’s, and its radiance seemed brighter.

“Legendary.”

“Legendary…”

An ordinary steel sword had evolved into a legendary weapon. We had done it!

…Should we test its cutting ability? I was beginning to feel we ought to pretend we had never seen this. Still, I wanted to know what the next potion would do.

“Um, what should we do? Continue?”

“Continuing frightens me, but what will we do with the remaining improved Holy Droplets if we stop?”

“True. If we hide them somewhere, someone might use them. Since that could create an even greater problem, we should probably examine their properties properly now.”