Book 1: Chapter 127: Tamahagane Appraisal

Suruga… At dusk, Lily finally arrived before the two stone lanterns at the town entrance. Her clothes were tattered and nearly half of her slender body was bare.

Though she had only pa.s.sed through this area once or twice, it gave her a sense of security comparable to returning home. At last… she had made it back to Suruga.

This territory was under the protection of the Ashikaga clan, the domain of Imakawa, even Hojo Dijon wouldn’t dare to act recklessly within the walls of Suruga.

Suruga was a lot livelier now compared to the period of Chaotic Night. Lily still felt a little sorry for leaving without saying a word, so she didn’t immediately return to the Saionji residence. Instead, she made her way towards Uehara Munechika Ehiro’s workshop first.

Lily was really looking forward to having her own Cursed Katana, but there were still many preparatory works to be done. She must first have the grandmaster inspect this tamahagane. If Dijon and the Demon Hound regarded it that highly, then it must at least be Grade 3 or higher. It would be great if it was a Grade 4 tamahagane… however, with how uncommon a Grade 4 tamahagane was, even if it was of average quality, she would be very satisfied already.

Ignoring the various kinds of gazes from women and men alike due to her tattered clothes, Lily made a straight line to Ehiro’s workshop. Even from afar, she could hear the clanking sounds of hammering ironware. She felt jubilant to find that Ehiro was present.

After knocking on the door for a while, the hammering sound finally stopped and the door was pushed open.

The tall woman who stood in front of the doorway was somewhat startled as she called out, “M- Miss Kagami? That you?”

After all, her impression of Lily was an intellectual little girl, but now she looked so graceless with a whole body of ragged clothing. However, Lily also asked with the same sort of questioning tone, “Grandmaster Ehiro? I- is that you?”

As for why Lily was so puzzled, that was because while her figure and hair-color matched that of Ehiro, her… skin color… had changed to a healthy bronze, so much so that it even shone with a metallic gloss. It ill.u.s.trated a different kind of wild beauty, and to be honest, it was more well-matched with her tall and muscular build. However, just what was going to make her skin color to change that much?

“Hehe, Miss Kagami, are you surprised about my skin color? That’s a long story, but to put it simply, my metalcasting skill has reached level 5! One who practiced in the traditional Munechika forging methods will have their skin color changed upon reaching level 5 and above. It will change into a bronze color that’s a mixture of tamahagane and cast iron!”1 explained Ehiro with a bright tone. Her body was covered in sparkling sweat that emanated the smell of a healthy woman. The contrast between her pink hair and bronze skin made her out to be even more eye-grabbing than ever.

And the color of her skin made her figure even more distinct. Those huge b.r.e.a.s.t.s looked bulkier than usual.

“Ah…” Originally, Lily wanted to ask why she would go as far as abandoning her fair skin in order to forge swords, but she swallowed those thoughts that were on the verge of spilling out. She suddenly felt herself to be ignorant and praised from the bottom of her heart, “Grandmaster Ehiro looks more beautiful than ever. You are emitting a healthy and vigorous aura that is distinctive of a woman.”

“Ahahahaha,” Ehiro blushed at Lily’s honest praise, and continued happily, “Not bad, this big sister is indeed a lot more vigorous now! Haha, if this keeps up, maybe I might end up liking those kinds of tender and feminine girls, eh?”2

Ehiro leaned against the door frame and bent down to get near Lily. Her eyes seemingly fixed on Lily’s snow-white neck and she said those while sniffing Lily’s body.

“Eh?” Lily blushed at Ehiro’s suggestive action. No way… why do all the females in this otherworld like to tease me so? The grandmaster should only be joking, right?

“That said, how did you become like this, Miss Kagami?” “Eh, well, it’s a long story…” Lily had a bitter smile. “Haha, come in, come in, let’s talk inside, “Ehiro casually grabbed Lily’s arm, but the place she grabbed was a little high, almost touching her soft armpit…3

After pulling Lily into the house, she pressed her onto the chair and poured a cup of water for her in a big wooden cup. Before she handed the cup to Lily, however, she drank a big mouthful first and asked, “Alright, I don’t have much business to attend to today, will you tell me how you end up like this?”

As such, Lily began to tell Ehiro of her most recent adventures, recounting the key points and what she could tell her.

“Those Hojos are really so hateful! Miss Kagami, you said you managed to obtain a block of tamahagane? Show it to me, quick, I will appraise it for you…” Ehiro was also quite interested in top-quality tamahagane.

Thus, Lily took out the tamahagane from her b.r.e.a.s.t.s a little bashfully. It was slightly warm due to her body temperature, but it was a beautiful tamahagane with two contrasting colors.

“What?! An azure l.u.s.ter?!” Ehiro shouted with surprise, “T- this is… lemme examine it!” Even with as much strength as Ehiro, even her hands slumped when she received the tamahagane, “S- so heavy!”

She placed it under the lamp to carefully observe it. Then she gently stroked every nook and corner of the tamahagane, using her skin to feel the texture. In the end, she even brought her face closer to sniff the tamahagane and lick it with her tongue!

“Grandmaster…” This was also the first time Lily saw someone appraise an item like this.

Ehiro was unwilling to let go of the tamahagane anymore. Her eyes shone with excitement as she exclaimed, “Kagami Lily, just what kind of jackpot have you hit to get this kind of treasure?”

“Huh? Grandmaster, this is…” “This is known as a Lazulite, it’s a tip-top Grade 5 tamahagane!” “…… G- grade 5?!” Lily felt so happy that it was almost infectious.

Ehiro said, “I must say, you have quite good luck, Lily. Not only were you able to get such a top-quality Grade 5 tamahagane which only a selected few were able to get their hands on, but you also got here just in time when both my metalcasting and forging skills reached level 5! To tell the truth, my metalcasting skill was already at level 5, it’s just that my forging skill was stuck at level 4. I was able to get a flash of realization during these past few days of Chaotic Night and finally made a breakthrough! If not because of that, I honestly won’t be able to handle such good material!”

“Um… that means…”

Ehiro stuck the tamahagane on her chest and said, “Let it to me! Even if you searched all over Suruga, you will not find a better swordsmith than me! I will definitely forge a perfect Grade 5 Cursed Katana for you!”

Lily was so elated when she heard that. “That’s great! Grandmaster Ehiro! What about the price…”

“What are you saying, Miss Kagami?! To be able to use such an uncommon material to forge a rare piece of work like the Cursed Katana, just thinking about it is already making me drool! Money? I don’t need such a thing!” Ehiro was already salivating as she was speaking, “Of course I’ll help you forge the sword free of charge! You just need to help me cover the cost of the Grade 5 materials. However… Miss Kagami, you said you wanted to draw the sword inscription yourself right? Do you even know how to do it?”

“Eh?” Lily suddenly realized all she thought about at that time was the materials. However, as someone who came from the modern world, how would she know how to draw a sword inscription?!4

1. Robinxen: Fun fact this is an actual part of j.a.panese folklore. Though I don’t remember the details, it was cited as the reason Archer’s skin gets darker in Fate/stay night and Fate/Grand Order.
   

   It’s probably used somewhat liberally in both this story and Fate, but the gist is the same.

2. Silva: YURI!!! GIMME YURIIIIIIII!
3. Silva: Let’s chant with me: Yuri! Yuri!! Yuri!!!
4. Robinxen: I wonder how they’re going to pa.s.s off her being able to do this.
   

   Maybe treat it like a circuit diagram? Or maybe they have to use the ‘ancient language which is suspiciously identical to Chinese’ route?