Chapter 26 – I Want to Make a Sword
“Why are you asking for a blacksmith…?” After a brief moment of confusion, Tang Gon’s face lit up. “Oh! Do you finally intend to properly master assassination techniques?”
Every full-fledged member of the Tang Clan was closely associated with at least one or two blacksmiths. “Assassination weapons” was far too wide a category, and they all required precise manufacturing.
Tang Gon must have been excited at the prospect of me abandoning the Eighteen Basic Weapon Arts—which he deemed useless—and adopting assassination weapons instead. Since the Wild Wind Dance was meant for assassination techniques, there was surely a lot he wanted to teach me.
I felt bad putting a damper on his parade, but that didn’t stop me from saying, “No, that’s not it.”
“…Then what is it that you want to make?”
“You’ll be disappointed if I tell you.”
“Then I’m fine not hearing it,” said Tang Gon. And though he tried to hide it, his shoulders were slumped.
He must have developed a real fondness for me. He’d started treating me like his real disciple.
“Hmm. There is one weaponsmith that I know,” he said.
“I sense a ‘but.’ ”
“There’s a bit of a problem.”
“Does he live far away?”
“No, he lives here in Jiulong County. Have you heard of Lu Ban’s Forge?”
“How could I not have?”
“He’s the owner.”
Everyone in the Nine Dragons Branch Family—nay, everyone in Jiulong County had bought from Lu Ban’s Forge at least once. That was how big they were.
But what stuck out to me was the name, Lu Ban… that was the name of the first sacred master craftsman, the god of architecture, engineering, and craftsmanship. I’d always thought the owner had to be quite proud of his skills to use that name for his store. I hadn’t expected Tang Gon to be acquainted with him, however.
“The Lu Ban Forge must live up to their name. But I thought they didn’t specialize in weapons?”
“As you’re aware, our clan already has many skilled craftsmen, so I haven’t felt much need to frequent them. Not to mention that their owner isn’t very fond of Tang Clansmen. He’s always complaining that assassination weapons aren’t profitable enough.”
I could see why.
Tang Clansmen were some of the worst customers in the world. They would cry and complain whenever their weapons broke, making baseless claims like “I lost because my weapon was defective.”
It was no wonder that he wanted to avoid such customers.
“That’s why he now only looks after weapons for people he has a history with. I believe he’s also the one who maintains the family head’s weapon.”
“He works on the family head’s weapon?” My eyes widened in surprise. “Was he a member of the Wild Wind Squad?”
“Something like that.”
「An ex-Wild Wind Squad craftsman? That’s such classified information, I’m dying to find out—」
「They always wielded ingenious weapons and firearms. We’ll finally uncover the mystery of their maker.」
Judging by how the ghosts were gossiping, his skills seemed quite trustworthy.
What a stroke of luck. The sword I wanted to make was quite the special item.
“Anyway… He’s a little—scratch that, he’s a very proud man. He often ignores people, but he should help you with my recommendation.”
“Thanks.”
“However…”
“Hm?”
“No matter what happens, don’t blame me.”
“???”
That only made me more curious to see what kind of person this man was.
* * *
Reaper Scans
[Translator – Nano Sashin]
[Proofreader – Gorm]
Join our discord for updates on releases! https://dsc.gg/reapercomics
* * *
The Dark Sovereign’s visit was now only 20 days away.
Between the Tang Clan members that had been summoned back home and the arrival of important visitors, the Nine Dragons Branch Family had become lively. A wave of people were coming from all over for the honor of seeing the Dark Sovereign, even if just from afar, overcrowding Jiulong County.
Not to mention that there were diplomatic envoys from various western provinces like Gansu, Qinghai, Yunnan, and Guizhou.
I sighed exasperatedly as I looked at the sea of people. “…Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.”
I could barely make my way through the crowd.
I had put on a hat to cover my face so that I wouldn’t be recognized, but that seemed totally unnecessary now, the streets were so busy.
「There are so many people. Why don’t you simply get it made after the Dark Sovereign’s visit?」
‘No, that’ll be too late.’
The Black Bone Ghost Valley, along with other evil hands of the Society, would soon attack the Nine Dragons Branch Family. I had to make all the preparations I could before that happened.
Besides, I had already left the manor. So I continued to follow the map Tang Gon had drawn me, intent on seeing this through.
Clatter, clatter!
Every time I took a step, the sword hanging from my back clattered loudly, and the ghosts, floating above, couldn’t help but be curious.
「Do you plan on modifying the Black Sword?」
I was sure they were quite curious since I had never wielded a sword before, even as a joke.
‘Well, something like that.’
「Then it needs to not only function as a weapon but also as a magic tool… That won’t be easy, sir.」
‘It’s not like there’s many places that can make magic tools.’
Magic tools were much more complicated to manufacture than ordinary sorcery artifacts. If they were a piece of cake to make, I would have already done so.
No.15 carefully spoke up.
「I believe the junior lord has a masterful plan that we cannot even begin to envision. But if I were to voice my humble concern, I question if even the skilled craftsmen of the Tang Clan are capable of making magic tools.」
He must have been worried that what had once been his precious sword would be ruined.
‘Is that what you’re worried about?’
A different ghost asked,「Are the skills of the Tang Clan craftsmen better than what was known to the cult?」
‘Of course not.’
「…」
A silence fell over the ghosts.
「Then what’s your plan, sir…?」
‘They’re at least capable of modifying it to my desired specifications. After all, the Tang Clan is the best when it comes to precise handiwork.’
「Oh!」
My magic tool of choice in my past life had been the Demon Dragon Sword. Even the Iron Demon Association, famous for its magic tools, wouldn’t be able to produce a magic tool that could satisfy me. This wouldn’t change even if the magic tool was made by the Iron Demon, the master of the Iron Demon Association and the greatest craftsman in the world.
Thus, the best course of action was for me to nitpick the production to my desired specifications.
「So you indeed had a plan, sir! I’m amazed!」
「You are truly wise…」
The ghosts’ ass-kissing was starting to get annoying, but I managed to ignore them and arrive at the large smithy.
Even just standing in the doorway, I could feel the heat.
“Move faster, you bums! Even a sloth can hammer faster than you guys! Hey, you’re completely missing the cast! Work properly if you don’t want to die!”
An old man was busy shouting, pressuring the blacksmiths to work harder. Though he was short, with a height of only 5 feet 4 inches, his muscular build and toned skin made him look capable of easily tossing around guys twice his size. His face, half covered in burns, was horrifying, but with purely his dominating vigor, he alone was managing the entire workshop.
「His vigor is impressive, but he also seems quite familiar in terms of martial arts.」
「With those skills, how has he remained unknown?」
「The Tang Clan has a habit of hiding their talented personnel from outsiders. He must be a secret of theirs. Though he looks familiar for some reason…」
It didn’t seem like he would spare me the time of day, so I barged in while loudly shouting, “Excuse me!”
“Who are you?” the old man asked.
“Are you by chance Sir Tang Chuk-yoong, the master of Lu Ban’s Forge?”
The old man’s name was just as embarrassing as the name of his forge. His name used the same Chinese characters as the god of fire, Zhurong.
He had to be the king of all egomaniacs.
“That’s right. So what?”
“Pleasure to meet you, sir. I’m Tang Woon-hwi, the second son of the Nine Dragons Branch Family.”
After looking me up and down, the old man smirked. “You must be the sly fox that maverick told me about.”
‘Maverick? Sly fox?’
Had Tang Gon been talking about me behind my back? “Maverick” did seem like an apt description for Instructor Gon.
“Since you’re the son of that cold-blooded statue, I was worried you would be just like him… But you seem much more human than your father. So, why are you here? Are you here to make a weapon like the maverick told me?”
I’d been told that he was familiar with Tang Ho-san, but to think he’d speak of the man so casually. This was probably the only man in all of Jiulong County who could act like this.
“Yes. There is a specific weapon I’d like to request.”
“What is it you want made?”
“I would like a sword.”
Chuk-yoong raised his eyebrows at the unexpected answer. “A sword?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Why? Do you intend on becoming an ascetic like your sister?”
“I’m not the type to hole up in a mountain and meditate.”
“Then why does a member of the Tang Clan want a sword?”
“I have a particular need for it.”
“You don’t want to tell me, I see.”
“I will share it if it’s necessary for the production.”
“It’s fine. I’m sure you’ll just come up with some nice-sounding bullshit.”
From just this short conversation, I could tell that Tang Chuk-yoong had a keen eye.
Chuk-yoong continued, “As you can see, we’re pretty busy. We’re drowning in customers, in fact. Even if you are the young master of the Nine Dragons Branch Family, we can’t give you preferential treatment. Are you fine with that?”
I had anticipated this. After all, every member of the Tang Clan was getting their weapons inspected in preparation for the Dark Sovereign’s test. I should be glad that they were even taking my order in the first place.
Judging by how annoyed Chuk-yoong seemed, if not for Tang Gon’s recommendation, I might have even been denied.
“That’s fine, sir. However, my request is tricky. Please assign me a skilled craftsman. Of course, it’d be best if you worked on it personally.”
“I’d turn down even a request from your father, no matter how much he might beg. You’re far too greehorned for one of my works, you little brat.”
“Of course, I wasn’t expecting that either. But like I said, the specifications of my request are quite tricky. I’m only warning you since you will need to assign someone highly skilled.”
Chuk-yoong crossed his arms and scoffed. “Hmph! You Tang Clansmen only know how to make tricky requests.”
I responded with a smile.
He was surely going to regret this attitude later.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“And I’m making it clear that this is a smith that I operate with my title on the line. There’s no such thing as failure under this roof. I’ve yet to see a Tang Clansman dissatisfied after submitting a request to me. You have the schematics, right? Hand them over. I’ll assign you someone fitting.”
Tang Chuk-yoong had a look that said, How complicated can a brat’s schematics be? But upon seeing it, he tilted his head.
“Eh?”
「Huh?」
「Junior Lord, isn’t this…?」
Seeing the schematics for the first time, the ghosts all had a similar reaction.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to make a sword?” Chuk-yoong asked.
“Yes, I do. I want to modify this,” I replied as I pulled out the Black Sword.
Upon seeing it, Tang Chuk-yoong became baffled. “Are you sure you didn’t give me the wrong schematics?”
“No, sir, those are correct.”
“How does that make sense? What’s drawn here is a folding fan. How do you want me to make a sword with this?!”
Indeed, the schematics contained a drawing of a fan instead of a sword. But that was because this was no ordinary sword.
