Badlands Saga: Reincarnation in a Different World with Extreme Charisma

Chapter 14 Emerald Sword 8

Even though the adults had started moving to break through the fort, my tasks and what I could do remained the same.

Make medicine as long as I had the materials, and learn the language of the Makiano tribe. That was all.

Just because my father told me to protect the castle didn’t mean I was of an age to fight with a spear or command troops yet.

In other words, I was given the role of ordering my subordinates to abandon the castle in case of the worst possible scenario—my father’s death—and assigned the task of staying in a safe place.

While I was fulfilling that duty, my eyes landed on a dirty little bag while organizing alchemical materials.

“Oh, right… what was this supposed to be, again?”

When I opened the bag, inside were small, blackened metal pellets.

I think this was something that a captain of the Makiano tribe, who had come to the mountain, had been carrying.

I’d meant to bring it back to the castle to examine, but I’d put it off and forgotten all about it.

“Maybe I should ask a Makiano about Makiano things.”

I had been studying their language, after all…

Thinking that, I took the small bag and headed to the cell where the prisoners were held.

“Fusha-sama.”

“Fusha Hepalin Donge.”

Following the old fortune-teller woman, Logos, who had stuck her face out from inside the cell, two male prisoners, who seemed to have learned my name, also approached. I held out the small bag in front of the three of them.

“Yua Loar Deea?”

I asked something like, “What’s in the bag?” Each of the three picked up a metal pellet with their fingers and inspected it closely.

“Baikaron?”

“Baikaron Hesa Baikaron.”

Apparently, this was something any member of the Makiano tribe would know about.

It seems I was right to ask them about it.

“Baikaron Deea?”

When I asked, the old woman, Logos, made a gesture of raising her joined arms and then bringing them down.

Was this a gesture indicating the wielding of a weapon?

“Baikaron, Yukka Juda Vagna Mekiru.”

Uh, “Yukka” means “make,” so… “Juda Vagna” must be some kind of weapon, I guess?

“Juda Vagna?”

I asked while pointing to Isara’s sword beside me, and they shook their heads, replying, “Vagna.”

“Juda, Deea?”

I tried asking again, but…

It seemed that “Juda” was an abstract term, and with my current understanding of the Makiano language, I couldn’t decipher what it meant.

…However, when faced with something I simply couldn’t understand like this, I was fortunate enough to have someone I could seek guidance from.

I carried the dirty little bag and headed toward the tower room occupied by my long-eared teacher, Isrortep.

“…Oh, my, this is quite an antiquated thing for a little boy to bring.”

At a glance at the black stone I presented, she bared her fangs and laughed gleefully.

It seemed the teacher knew what it was.

“Is this something old?”

“Not so much the object itself, but the lore surrounding it… This is Cobalt Steel, also known in other lands as God-granted Steel, or Orichalcum. It is said to be the mineral used in the sword of the open land, the Azure Sword, Chionovagna, created by the legendary stone folk, the Eldar Dwarves, in ancient times.”

“What!? Then it’s a valuable thing!”

“Well, it’s something rarely found, but conversely, it has no use now. No blacksmith today could ever forge the Azure Sword, Chionovagna, from it. In short, it’s just a piece of sacred scrap metal.”

She chuckled with a soft, throaty laugh.

“Well, there are also warriors who, dreaming that they might one day possess the Azure Sword, Chionovagna, devoutly buy and collect this metal…”

Could it be that the warrior I met in the mountains was one of them?

If they were carrying it around so dearly because it was linked to a legendary sword, I could somewhat understand that sentiment.

“Well, nowadays, after all the world’s renowned blacksmiths have tried and failed, it’s the kind of stuff that might be used for scams. Even if you mix it with regular iron to forge a sword, you’d only end up with a dull and brittle blade.”

Long-Eared Sensei, lying comfortably in front of a fireplace that emitted a warm glow despite having no firewood, said this with a chuckle.

But why was it, I wondered?

From the moment I heard the name “God-granted Steel Orichalcum,” I had this inexplicable feeling that I knew how to work with this metal.

I politely thanked Long-Eared Sensei, who had lifted the corner of her blanket and invited me to warm myself by her side, and I immediately left the room.

“The Azure Sword, Chionovagna, huh?”

“I’ve never heard of a sword before…”

“But, somehow, I feel like I could make it. The Makiano tribe guys are searching for treasure, right? If we made one for them, do you think they’d be satisfied and leave?”

“I wonder about that…”

That thought had crossed my mind, but…

More than anything, I was personally fascinated by the idea of a legendary sword, such a quintessentially fantastical item.

When it comes to legendary swords, they often appear in games and manga as power-up items for the hero.

In such creations, there are always swords with various special abilities—blades of light flying with each swing, unleashing the thunder of a hero, or gradually healing wounds.

What kind of power does the Azure Sword hold, I wondered…

Even if it had none, that wouldn’t bother me; I was just curious to see what it looked like.

Though I couldn’t imagine myself, a scrawny ten-year-old, wielding it, it might at least be of some use if I gave it to Kintman or Isara.

And besides, even in this state of emergency, with our supplies now replenished, we had enough resources to forge a sword.

With that in mind, I made my way to the dwarf blacksmith Kodara, who was working in the castle’s forge with the other blacksmiths, and called him over.

When I showed him the bag of God-granted Steel Orichalcum, while he scratched his belly under his thick leather apron…

Kodara stared at it for a while, then gave me a somewhat troubled expression.

“What’s this?”

“It’s some metal that’s supposed to be used for making swords. I want you to use it to create an alloy and forge a sword.”

“So you want to mix it with iron? I might be able to do that…”

He seemed a bit uncertain, but I knew well from having him make various farm tools that Kodara was quite skilled. If it’s Kodara, preparing the difficult parts with alchemy and making a legendary sword should be a piece of cake.

“Not just iron, but also copper, gold, silver… and pure salt… and alcohol, sugar… and, well, maiden’s hair, dragon scales… although it seems like we don’t have those, so fairy dust and baby teeth…”

“If you mix all that, it’ll just turn to charcoal.”

“The mixing part will be done with alchemy. Kodara, you just need to handle the fire and make the final sword.”

He looked at me with some concern, but it really wasn’t that difficult. To be honest, not all the items I listed were strictly necessary.

Most of the items are just materials to assist and shortcut the process of alchemy turning the God-granted Steel Orichalcum into an alloy with other metals. They are just things I’ve listed from what we might have available. Alchemy, when given enough time and effort, is a more flexible technique.

“Anyway, prepare a large crucible for me and I’ll be back after getting everything ready.”

“Got it.”

With that, I left the forge and returned to my own laboratory.

I opened a treasure chest that had been lightened by spending all the large gold coins, and took out a small silver ring, a gold earring, and, for some reason, a baby tooth I hadn’t thrown away. I also took copper buttons from my brother’s hand-me-down coat in the wardrobe and tossed them into the materials basket.

“Now, let’s see if I can find the rest in the kitchen.”

I entrusted the basket to Isara and headed for the castle’s kitchen.

There, where meals for the entire castle were being prepared, children were busy peeling vegetables, washing dishes, and cleaning, looking quite occupied.

I got permission from the head chef to secure the materials I needed and went to Martha, who was mending someone’s clothes in a corner of the kitchen.

“Martha, could you spare a bit of your hair?”

“Huh? Hair? Actually, I just had it cut yesterday…”

She turned her head, and indeed, her hair was short enough that you could see her neck from behind.

On her neck, a golden ring made by Kodara was shining, tied with a leather cord.

Good, it looks like everyone is wearing their usual accessories.

“It’s fine if you cut a bit more, though.”

“No, that would make you cold.”

What to do… All the little children have hair about the same length as Martha’s…

As I scratched my head, wondering what to do, a strand of golden hair was offered to me from the side.

Following the extended arm, I saw Isara with a sullen expression, looking away.

“…Thanks, Isara.”

“Don’t mention it.”