Chapter 35: CH 35

35 - The Old Man From The Countryside Recommends A Sword

“But how long has it been? How’ve you been, Master?” Valder asked.

“I’m doing fine, getting by, you know,” I replied. “You’re looking good too, huh, Valder?”

“Aren’t I?” Valder asked. “If you look at this body, you’ll understand!”

“Hmm, hah” Valder flexes his biceps as he speaks.

Yeah, he really does look great. He doesn’t seem to have suffered any illnesses or injuries.

“Master, do you know him?” Alexia asked, looking disappointed as she watches the exchange between me and Valder. It’s an inevitable question on her part.

Alexia and Valder enrolled at different times. It’s no wonder they didn’t know each other.

“Yeah,” I said. “This might surprise you, he’s one of my former disciples.”

Valder Gasp.

I remember him well. He was my only disciple who was older than me.

As you might have guessed from Kuruni’s befriending him, Valder studied under me at the dojo at the same time as both Kuruni and Thyssel. Alexia probably didn’t know who he was because she enrolled after him.

Well, even back at Bidden Village, it doesn’t make sense to loudly announce that he’d studied at my dojo here in the capital, Baltrain. It would probably end with people asking, “Who are you?”

Valder had studied in my dojo for a little over a year. He wasn’t studying long because he wasn’t aiming to master his swordsmanship.

It’s rare for a person to enter my dojo because he wants to know how a swordsman feels while handling their blade, for Valder’s dream of becoming a blacksmith. Even though he was older than me, I was struck by both his insatiable curiosity and his unending drive for his quest.

So what does a swordsman usually think about when they choose and swing a sword, rather than what they do with their swordsmanship? I think that there were many lecture-like sessions, talking about good weapons for swordsmen.

I didn’t complain so long as he paid the monthly fee, but as the other students went through their repetition drills, I can still picture him watching from the edge of the dojo. Or rather, there was no one other than Valder who did that. Obviously, he also joined in the training.

“Seriously, though, you’ve finally got your own store,” I said. “Congratulations.”

“Oh, thanks, Master,” Valder said, proudly looking at his place. “Well, it was a hard road getting here.”

It’s a little small but I think it’s a good store.

I often rely on professional blacksmiths, but I’ll be able to tell if the store, and by extension, the people working there, are doing a good job.

Various weapons are lined up on the wall.

In terms of appearances alone, they’re well maintained and you can easily tell their sharpness. I can get a glimpse of one aspect of Valder’s skill.

“Now then, is there something you needed doing after coming all this way?” Valder asked, adjusting the volume of his voice.

“Yessir! I need a shar-pe-ning,” Kuruni hummed playfully.

Well, I can handle my sword problem later. I was tagging along with Kuruni, to begin with.

“Which one? Show me,” Valder said.

“Here you go,” Kuruni said, removing the short sword from her waist and handing it to Valder.

He pulls the blade out from its scabbard and examines it deeply.

“… Kuruni, this isn’t any good anymore. Buy a new one,” Valder said.

“Whhhyyy…?!” Kuruni whined. “What’s wrong with it?!”

Astonished that her sword’s life was over, Kuruni let out a small, resigned sigh.

As with any weapon or armor, all equipment has a lifespan.

Just as my longsword has passed away, it’s time to stop using this. Though to be fair, it’s rare to have such a ridiculous break.

So, if you’re a blacksmith, you could examine the life of a weapon with a certain degree of accuracy.

Mine was an accident. It was impossible to predict that.

“Is the edge ruined?” Kuruni asked.

“Mn, close but not quite,” Valder said. “There’s a number of ‘chips’ that can’t be fixed by a sharpening.”

“I see,” I said.

Now that I didn’t need to ask the question, it seemed to be a user problem rather than the lifespan of the sword.

Well, it’s a very common problem.

All weapons, not just swords, are not all-purpose.

There is a proper way to use them, according to the weapon type.

In the most extreme case, no matter how sharp you make it, if you smack your opponent around with the flat of the blade, the sword’s true advantage will never be utilized and soon be ruined. That’s just how it is.

Conversely, all tools, especially weapons, will last surprisingly long if you handle them correctly. Since it’s a tool for combat, it’s inherently highly durable.

In this case, there were 3 main causes for the edge to start “chipping.”

It could be that the sword is reaching the end of its life or Kuruni tried to cut something that wasn’t suitable for cutting.

And there could be her abilities and the weapon type not being a match.

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“Kuruni, did you cut something weird?” I asked.

“No, I haven’t done anything like that?!” Kuruni cried. “I’m just using it for training and actual battles!”

I suspect something about those training sessions and actual battles, but let’s leave it be.

“I’ve seen her handle her sword, but it doesn’t seem like she’s done anything crazy with it,” Alexia says, lending some supporting claims.

“Hmm…”

Well, even when Kuruni was learning at my dojo, and especially because of the deployments of the Knights, it isn’t unreasonable to wield pull out her sword as quickly as possible over form.

I’ve also seen her movements during training but I don’t get the impression she’s brute-forcing her swings. If that’s the case, I wonder if there’s another cause.

“Usually, you shouldn’t see this kind of chipping,” I said. “How are you using it?”

“I told you I’m using it normally! Hnph-humph!”

“Okay, okay,” I said.

She’s fuming! Kuruni is raising her voice and making her dissatisfaction well-known.

I don’t want to bully her. I’m just trying to prod the story along because this alone isn’t constructive enough.

Hmm. It’s hard to imagine given her physique, but perhaps:

“Kuruni: how do you feel handling a short sword?” I asked.

“Huh?” Kuruni asked, stunned for a moment.

“No matter what you say… it’s okay if it’s light, isn’t it…?” Kuruni said vaguely.

“So that’s it,” I said.

“That’s it, alright,” Valder added.

“Huuh?” Kuruni asked. “What, what do you mean?”

“In conclusion,” I said, “the short sword isn’t right for you, Kuruni.”

Yes. The shortsword itself isn’t suitable for Kuruni. The solution to this would be to find the best fit for her.

It’s a matter of course, but what weapon fits which user is different.

Of course, there are various types of weapons other than swords. It seems easy to find a weapon that fits you, but it’s unexpectedly difficult.

This is an entirely different story from custom-made weapons.

A custom-made weapon is an act of carefully crafting a weapon that suits you best, there’s no point in commissioning a sword if you’re good at spears.

In Kuruni’s case, I didn’t get the sense that anything was off when she was back at the dojo, I had almost no doubt that the sword was right for her. As you might expect, I can tell when a student of mine is obviously unsuited for swordsmanship.

When I was teaching her, I didn’t feel anything was off, so I wonder if it only became a problem after she joined the Knights.

“If you can’t feel the weight of the product, you can’t swing it properly,” I said. “That’s probably the reason your skill is stagnating.”

“I think he’s right,” Valder sighed, crossing his arms.

“Mmn…” Kuruni grumbled.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Valder wanted to join my dojo because he wanted to give this sort of advice. In that sense, he hadn’t wasted his time then.

That being said, whether or not Kuruni’s skill is stagnating is another matter entirely. However, as far as I can see from her reaction, we’re not far off.

Before a weapon becomes useful, you must feel its weight in your hand.

Obviously, too heavy is useless.

Not too light, not too heavy. That the user has a sense of weight and estimate of their weapon’s center of gravity to use them effectively. This is all difficult to explain in words.

In my case, it’s the longsword. And Kuruni probably doesn’t fit the shortsword.

“Valder, can you show me your swords?” I asked.

“Yeah, feel free to ask questions, Master,” Valder replied.

I look at the weapons hanging on the wall and wonder which one would suit Kuruni.

Shortswords are too light, so maybe longswords have the same problem. The actual lengths of the blades weren’t that different, so the names are confusing.

Kuruni’s movements are optimized for swordsmanship, although spears and axes are in the running simply for their weight.

It’s undeniable that she may have other talents sleeping, but it’s quite difficult to find them from here on out. In the first place, I don’t really understand anything other than swords.

And speaking of the Knights, perhaps they only use swords. Yet more points to consider.

“… Oh. I wonder if this is it,” I said.

“Oh, really?” Valder asked.

I was browsing the store’s selection as I was thinking.

What I picked out was a large sword with a long blade and a characteristic ricasso. 1

It was a two-handed sword commonly called the “Zweihänder”.2

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