Chapter 78: The Charm of Conversation

“As someone watching, it was really hard on the heart, though.”

“Hahaha!!!! Sorry, sorry. But, you know, Gulf, it was a chance to fight a real, super strong samurai. Can’t let that slip away, right?”

Having admiration and respect for samurais, including his brother who actually fought them, Ishud spoke.

Ibuki, sitting beside them, who had just learned about this admiration, refrained from showing her joy and instead enjoyed the taste of the local cuisine.

“Well, you see, I only really know samurais as a profession… or rather, as for samurais as a profession? I’m not really familiar with that.”

“Well, that might be true. The charm… the charm of samurais… It might sound strange coming from someone who’s not from Yamato, but it’s definitely about wielding a sword.”

“Speaking of which, Ishud, you casually pulled out a katana from the pocket dimension, right?”

“Yeah, it’s a famous katana, a famous katana. It can withstand my power while still retaining its sharpness. It doesn’t have any particularly special effects, but it just accompanies my power… It’s a katana that embodies contradictions.”

“I also saw the katana Ishud wields from a distance… It must have been crafted by a renowned swordsmith.”

“Correct!!! I had it made by the best blacksmith in our territory.”

Already well into his sixties, the master craftsman still wielded his hammer actively.

Praised for his much older friend, Ishud smiled.

“Well, you see, about the sword… When I was about five or six years old, I asked him if he couldn’t make one for me.”

“Could it be that the blacksmith learned the technique from scratch and crafted that famous katana?”

“No, he already knew how to make katanas, but in our territory, what sells well are greatswords, battle axes, spears… Longswords sell reasonably well too. Anyway, there aren’t many people who handle delicate weapons like katanas or rapiers, so he didn’t put much effort into it.”

It made sense.

There were various points to agree upon… although there was one person who couldn’t agree with the related story.

And about one person who couldn’t agree, Ishud understood the dissatisfaction in their expression immediately.

“Ishud, didn’t you defeat the second-year rapier user with a rapier?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, that happened too. It’s not like they’re not sold, and you can even buy them in other towns. Anyway, going back to the story, I asked that blacksmith when I was a kid. I told him I wanted to use a sword in the future, so I wanted him to be able to make an even better katana than he does now.”

“Hey, Ishud. Many craftsmen are temperamental, you know? Even if you’re the lord’s son, wouldn’t he get angry if a kid said something like that?”

“I  was with Great-Grandpa, so there was no need to worry about that at all.”

In the explanation of Ishud, three people, excluding Ibuki, immediately agreed.

That…that a monster who ishud, even if he seriously tries to kill him, cannot kill him at all and ends up being defeated instead.

According to Ishud, he’s a demigod.

With such a person accompanying him, it’s inevitable to at least try to listen to what he has to say.

“But, after that, he seemed to really put effort into it, and he made the famous katana I used in the duel earlier. He told me to wait because he’ll make an even better weapon, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

“…So, it means it’s a famous katana packed with about ten years of ambition.”

“Hehehe. That might be true. And that’s the charm of being a samurai… or was I mistaken? If not, when samurai fight each other seriously like this… they don’t wear any equipment other than their katanas and don’t wear any armor, right?”

Ishud turned his face awkwardly towards Ibuki, who was a real samurai, as if seeking confirmation timidly.

“Yes, that’s right. As Ishud says.”

““Wha…!?””

In agreement with Ibuki’s statement, Gulf and the other two stopped their hands mid-meal, struck by the shock.

“I-Is that… true?”

“Yes, it’s true. Of course, in battles against enemies or demons… which we call monsters here, we wear armor.”

“I see.”

“Fighting with just a single weapon like a sword… Hmm, that does seem like something Ishud would favor, doesn’t it?”

“I think it’s one of the charms. And aiming for a single-strike kill… no, perhaps it’s a one-sword kill. Fighting with that as the basic style, that’s what makes it captivating.”

Watching Ishud nodding to himself and reaffirming the coolness of samurai, Ibuki couldn’t help but feel that it was worth studying abroad just to encounter such individuals.

“There are also differences in traditional clothing and other aspects, so the appearance of combat professions here changes drastically… well, something like that.”

“…You’ve spoken quite a bit.”

Michela realized that he wasn’t just a berserker. 

She was well aware of that fact already, but she hadn’t expected him to speak so much about a single topic, revealing an unexpected side of him.

“People tend to talk about things they like, don’t they, Big Boobs?”

“Ishud… Today was the first time I met Ibuki-san.”

“I figured. It’s the first time for me and Gulf too.”

At times like this, it was evident that their conversation didn’t quite match up.

“Wha…! You, you…!”

Michela exclaimed sharply, and Ishud either brushed it off with laughter or teased her even more.

“…Is this how you two always are?”

“Well… probably, yes. Initially, Michela got involved emotionally, but after spending more time together… it’s mostly Ishudo teasing, leading to this kind of situation.”

“Michela doesn’t have much resistance to teasing~. You know, like water and oil?”

“It’s not so much that they don’t mix, but more like they often clash…”

“They’re like cats and dogs, I suppose.”

Ibuki politely explained the meaning of the phrase to the two who tilted their heads, not understanding the foreign language.

“I see… Indeed, once an argument starts, it does feel like that, huh?”

(…Even though I can’t put it into words, it’s like a clever monkey teasing skillfully, isn’t it?)

In the end, their exchange continued until five minutes before lunch break, and as usual, Ishud emerged as the clear winner in terms of mental resilience.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter