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nThe next day.

n“Good morning. Did something happen?” Ryouma

nWhen I showed my face at the store, I noticed that people had gathered at the kitchen.

n“Ah, Boss.” Jane

n“Good Morning~” Maria

n“It’s this.” Fina

nThe three girls cleared the place to reveal a plate of sausage atop the work table. There were three long coils of sausages on the plate. It was a considerable amount.

n“The housewife next door brought these as a gift to celebrate you being able to tame a rimel bird~” Maria

n“She also said that it’s for the deodorizing liquid you brought yesterday since she didn’t think the feed they give you for your slimes was enough to thank you for that.” Jane

n“Seems that deodorizing liquid of yours was a huge help. She was all smiles.” Fina

n“I see. It seems we just missed each other.” Ryouma

n“Let’s cook this for today’s lunch.” Shelma

nShelma, who was in front of the fridge, said.

nIs she going to fry the sausages? Or maybe she’ll cook them into a soup? Either way, I’ll be looking forward to today’s lunch.

nAs the three girls went back to work, I parted with them and went to the office to receive Carm-san’s report.

n“Looks like the rumors are spreading well.” Ryouma

n“Well, it was true after all, so it didn’t take much effort to spread. We’ll have to see what effects this’ll have on the situation.” Carm

n“I see… And the store?” Ryouma

n“Nothing has really changed. No damages too… Ahh, speaking of which, a housewife asked me if we were selling deodorizing liquid.” Carm

n“Deodorizing liquid? She must’ve found out from Zeke-san’s place… Do you think it would sell if we can guarantee its safety and efficacy?” Ryouma

n“There are already people asking it for it, so yes. It’s also not unrelated to our store’s business, so I propose we display them in front of the store and see how people react.” Ryouma

n“How much of a burden will this place on the workers?” Ryouma

n“If we put them in a bottle, anyone will be able to sell it. Caulkin-san and the others are also researching stuff in their free time, so it should be fine if we just ask them to watch over the display when they’re free.” Ryouma

n“…Then just to be safe, have Caulkin-san and his group ensure that the deodorizing liquid is safe. If nothing’s wrong, then we’ll put them on display. I’ll prepare the slates to calculate the revenue from the deodorizing liquid.” Ryouma

nI worked quietly in the store to prepare for the sale of the deodorizing liquid until it was lunch time.

nAfter lunch.

n“I wonder what I should do in the afternoon…” Ryouma

nI had no work left to do. There wasn’t much work to do in the first place, but now, Caulkin-san and the rest of the manager candidates have taken them all.

nIf there’s nothing left to do at the store, then I guess I’ll have to work on my house (trap).

nAs i thought that, I went back home.

nAlong the way…

n“If it isn’t Ryouma, de gozaru.” Asagi

n“Asagi-san, good afternoon. Is it your rest day today?” Ryouma

n“That it is. Resting from time to time is important, after all. Are you working today too, de gozaru?” Asagi

n“Actually, I don’t have any work left to do, so I’m currently on my way back home.” Ryouma

n“I see. That’s makes things easy then.” Asagi

nSuddenly, Asagi-san unwrapped the furoshiki 1 from the thing he was carrying and revealed a bottle of wine.

n“Ryouma, you’ve received the divine protection of the god of wine, right? Won’t you have some of this wine?” Asagi

n“This smell… Is this nihonshu (Japanese rice wine or sake)?” Ryouma

n“Oh! So you know this wine. That’s right. It’s a daiginjou (top quality sake brewed from rice grains milled to 50% weight or less) made at my hometown, a kind of wine known as nihonshu, de gozaru.” Asagi

n“Well, thank you.” Ryouma

n“I hear if one treats someone who has received the divine protection of the god of wine with liquor, he’ll be blessed with good fortune.” Asagi

nOh yeah. That’s common sense in this world.

n“In that case, I’ll pray for your good fortune while drinking.” Ryouma

nJapanese wine, huh. This sure is nostalgic. It seems I’ll have the opportunity to enjoy Japanese liquor for the first time in a long while.

n“You sure know a lot about my hometown, de gozaru.” Asagi

n“My grandparent told me stories of it.” Ryouma

n“I see, de gozaru.” Asagi

n“…By the way, where did you get your katana?” Ryouma

nI didn’t want to talk about my background, so I asked him something I couldn’t ask before. Security is currently an issue I’m tackling, so I’d like to get my own katana soon.

n“I use what I’m regularly sent from my hometown. Do you just want a katana, de gozaru? Or are you planning to use it?” Asagi

n“I plan to use it.” Ryouma

nI’ve studied how to use katanas, but this country mainly uses long swords. There weren’t any katana in Tigger’s Arms Store either.” Ryouma

n“Unfortunately, you’ll be hard-pressed to get one in these parts. But if you go to the capital, you should be able to find a store selling them. Katanas are the weapon of choice back at my hometown. And they are also works of art we are proud to display to other countries. Katanas are the very symbol of our soul as samurai, de gozaru.

nTherefore, if you wish to get one, it’s possible to have one exported, but it will take a lot of money.

nYou have your store, but you’ll run out of money too if you just spend it recklessly. And katanas are consumable like any other weapon, so it’s simply not an option to keep buying one.

nI too reluctantly tried purchasing one from the capital, but it was simply too expensive to keep purchasing a new one every now and then.

nI hear there are outsider swordsmiths who have been given permission to learn the forging method, but there’s only a handful of them, and I’ve never met one myself, so it’s not practical to rely on that option either.” Asagi

n“Isn’t there an inexpensive way to get one regularly?” Ryouma

n“Hmm… I believe there was a previous case wherein a disciple of a school is provided a katana, but unfortunately, I’m currently still in training and don’t have the qualification to take a disciple and a qualified person wouldn’t go here anyway.” Asagi

nIn the first place, Asagi-san left his hometown to train. It’s a custom of theirs, so he can’t communicate with his hometown that much.

nAt most, he could send them a letter to let them know that he is safe and to receive a Japanese wine as a good luck charm of sort. The katana is also sent to him because it is a necessity.

n“Ryouma, from whom did you learn how to use a katana? It would probably be best if you get one through that person instead.” Asagi

n“Grandfather forged katanas in the past. He was also the one who taught me how to use them.” Ryouma

n“I see… I thought you were strangely privy to my village’s matters, so it turns out it’s because of your grandfather.” Asagi

nLet’s just leave it at that.

n“But if that’s the case, then there’s no other choice than to purchase an expensive katana or to change the way you hold your weapon.” Asagi

n“I see… Thanks anyway.” Ryouma

n“Sorry, I couldn’t be of help, de gozaru.” Asagi

nIt’s not his fault.

nI thanked him for giving me precious sake and parted with him.

n1 –

nAs I left the town and walked on the empty and peaceful path, it suddenly occurred to me.

n..Can’t I just make the katana myself?…

nThe material used to make modern-day katana is tamahagane. A kind of steel made from charcoal or iron sand.

nCharcoal, I can make. After all, I am a former Japanese salary man. And the number of times I’ve dreamt of living a peaceful life after retirement where I burnt charcoals couldn’t be counted. It was also a very important resource during winter in the Forest of Gana.

nProcuring iron sand is even simpler. The representative black triiron tetraoxide is different from the ferric oxide that I use as feed for my metal and iron slimes, but it’s still a compound of iron (Fe) and oxygen (O) 1. As such, using alchemy, I can get as many as I need back at the mines.

nAs for the forging method, well I have that too.

nActually, my dad was a swordsmith. I’ve seen him work countless times as a kid. He also used to bring me to the workshop where he manufactured iron. When I’d grown up a little, he even asked me to help out. In that way, he secretly taught me how to forge the katana.

nBut unfortunately, he quickly saw that I didn’t have any talent for forging.

nI have the knowledge and I can procure the ingredients. The only thing missing is the technology. Which is why I probably won’t be able to make something practical. Or at the very least, I won’t be able to make it anytime soon. If I really want to make one, it would be best to learn from someone first. But again, that would take time.

nStill, making one by myself does seem like an interesting idea.

n“I only wonder if this would break some rule. I should’ve asked.” Ryouma

nWhatever. I’ll ask Asagi-san next time.

nAs I decided that, I suddenly realized something.

nIt’s not a katana, but I think I have something I can use…

n“Item Box.” Ryouma

nAs soon as I got back to the mines, I set the monsters free in the open area, while I went off on my own to look for something.

nI’m pretty sure I put it here somewhere… Ah, found it!

nThe weapon I took out was none other than the weapon of a bandit I defeated in the past, Melzen’s spear.

nIt’s a bit long, but it’s neither rusted nor deformed anywhere. Considering its length, it was actually quite light. It wasn’t made out of iron, though… Flame crystal? I used Identify on it, but I couldn’t really understand the result. I’ll have to ask someone about it. Anyway, this should serve me just fine for now.

nThe metal slimes and the other slimes were rolling down a slope as they enjoyed their free time.

nAfter making sure that there weren’t any slimes nearby, I started swinging Melzen’s spear.

n“…No problem with swinging it. But as expected…”

nThe technique I inherited from my dad in its original form is said to be a technique passed down by a samurai who lived through the warring period.

nHis social standing was up there, so he was fairly proficient in martial arts and was himself also interested in the discipline.

nBut because he wasn’t the oldest son, he lived his life as he pleased. I don’t know if he was kicked out of his family or if he left, but apparently, he lived quite the destitute life.

nHe didn’t think much of it when he was young and passionate, but in his later years, he changed.

nHe was poor. He had no children and no wife. He was skilled in the sword, but he wasn’t famous. When he looked back to his life, he wondered what he’d been doing until now. As he realized that he had no legacy to leave, he became sad.

nAs a result, he decided to leave behind his technique and knowledge. It is said that from that moment on, he started looking for students and did his best to teach them.

nThe main weapon he used to survive the warring period was a spear. The katana was nothing more than a secondary weapon for when the spear was lost. That’s why samurais, as well as me, have inherited the skill and are able to use the spear effectively.

nBut honestly speaking, katanas are easier to use.

nThis doesn’t have anything to do with the times. If I had to put the blame on something or someone, then I would say it’s my dad’s fault.

nThe things I’ve learned from my dad include the katana, the spear, the staff, the wakizashi, the bow, the shuriken, the kusarigama, and the hidden weapons.

nMy dad taught me the techniques in a particular order. Hand-to-hand combat and the katana were the most prioritized. In fact, I wasn’t even allowed to touch the other weapons until I was good enough with them. And because Iwas learning for the first time with the katana, I was instructed to spend a lot of time with it.

nIt wasn’t because he was a swordsmith that he favored the katana. No. Most probably it was because the katana and the one’s unarmed fists were easier to use in modern times.

nAfter all, techniques with weapons can only be used when you have the weapon equipped. But modern laws forbid citizens from carrying weapons.

nDepending on the place, one would also be subject to a search via a metal detector.

nIt was a time where even carrying a stick of wood would subject one to questioning.

nBut hand-to-hand combat can be used without a weapon, and katanas are considered as a work of art, so people are allowed to possess them. It’s also shorter than spears or rods, so it’s easier to hide. So, I think that’s why he prioritized those two.

nI didn’t actually hear the reason from him directly, though.

nI do think his common sense is fairly unique compared to the world’s common sense. Although he acted friendly to outsiders, so he was often appraised highly.

nI wonder how much my katana can cut if it were used to cut humans.

n“!? …” Ryouma

n“KURURURU” Rimel Birds

nDad!?… Wait…

nThere’s no one around. There’s no presence of people. My monsters are just doing as they please and no one’s acting like anything is out of the ordinary. If anything, I supposed the rimel birds are a little shocked. But that’s my fault.

n“…My imagination, huh.” Ryouma

nI walked around and checked the place, but really… Nothing was out of the ordinary

nI was probably just imagining things because I was thinking about dad.

n“Still, I wish I’d asked for my dad’s katana before transmigrating…”

nDad wanted to test the katana for its original purpose, but if he’d cut someone, then he wouldn’t be able to forge katanas anymore. That’s why he couldn’t cut anyone.

nHis personality aside, dad was a person who lived to forge the greatest katana.

nHe was someone who received acclaim as a swordsmith, so he should’ve been really good.

nIf only I had his katana. How unfortunate.

n“Let’s stop thinking about this… There’s nothing I can do about it now, so… Yeah.” Ryouma

nAnyway, if I recall correctly, this spear is supposed to be a magic weapon. If I let mana course into it, it should be able to cast a spell.

nLet’s try it out.

nMy interest shifted to the spear and I became excited at the prospect of another experiment.

nWhen I tried pouring mana into the spear, fire came out.

n…So this spear can cast fire magic.

nCan it cast anything else other than ignition and fire ball?

nIt seems it doesn’t really matter how much mana I feed it. Its output seems to be standardized.

nIt doesn’t matter what attribute your mana is either.

n…But it seems to consume less mana when you use mana of the same attribute.

nSo, it’s best just use fire with it.

nLike this I investigated Melzen’s spear, or rather… I fiddled with Melzen’s spear.

n“The sun is starting to set…” Ryouma

nI should put an end to this soon.

n…I fiddled with Melzen’s spear a lot, but it didn’t seem all that useful.

nMagic weapons allow one to use magic easily like alchemy, but it’s not very flexible.

nIt’s useful for people who can’t use magic when fighting a monster that’s immune to physical attacks, but the thing is I do know how to use magic. And in fact, my fire magic is stronger than the one this spear casts. I can also cast a greater variety of fire spells. So, as interesting as the weapon is, it’s not really much different than a normal spear.

nAs I concluded that, I stored Melzen’s spear into my Item Box.

nNow then, I better make supper.

n1 – Author included the chemical symbols, so I figured I might as well.

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