Souta took a step back from Dina and Antgar and faced the puppet again. However, in his hand was the same iron sword as before, not a new weapon. Therefore, his sword was still without the tip.
「H-Hey, don’t you want to use new weapon instead?」
Antgar’s question was a matter of course. Souta was about to use the broken sword to perform the same action as the one that broke the sword. That meant the result from before would just repeat itself. What Souta was saying and his action didn’t match, or so Antgar thought.
「If I use a different weapon, then the result might be thanks to the weapon, don’t you think so? That means, isn’t it better if I use the same weapon but get a better result than before? Though, if you’re satisfied with the previous result, then it’s good too. Well, let’s just say that my previous attempt was a practice and this time is the real performance.」
In reality, Souta’s previous attempt was done with just brute force and little skill. In that regard, he was holding back and to call it practice was correct.
Souta put his magic power into the iron sword. The magical power covered the entire sword and formed the part where the missing blade was. Furthermore, to increase his body performance, Souta also applied reinforcement magic to himself. Watching all of this, Antgar gasped.
Souta took a step forward with his right foot and put the sword back in its sheath. Souta stopped moving with his hand still gripping the handle. Despite no movement, Dina and Antgar who were watching from the side could feel Souta’s spirit grew. The silence continued for a few seconds or maybe even minutes.
At the next moment, Souta opened his eyes, pulled the sword out of its sheath, and swung it at the puppet in one motion.
「Wha!?」
Antgar didn’t hide his surprise as he saw the result of the blow. The iron sword slashed the puppet from the waist to the chest and then stopped there.
「What about this? I think this is quite a deep cut…… Though, I guess I can’t use this anymore.」
Because the iron sword was pushed far above its original capability, the sword crumbled while still in Souta’s hand.
「W-Wow, don’t say that the power from before…」
「Well, I can do that because this is a disposable weapon, that’s not practical to do.」
Souta told them that this method was done to fulfill the condition presented by Antgar and implied it wasn’t something that he would use normally.
「R-Right… But to cut it this deep, I guess being a hero from a thousand years ago is not for nothing…」
「But… is it true that this puppet can’t be scratched? It certainly considerably hard, but I’m pretty sure a decent adventurer would be able to scratch it…」
Antgar averted his eyes when Souta said so. Souta was waiting for Antgar’s reply without saying anything.
「……This is the second time I tried. When I tried it before, I used a weapon I sloppily made…」
Antgar, who couldn’t stand the silence, started telling them the truth.
「I happened to get a small amount of dragon iron, I thought that it was too little to create a weapon, and so I made this puppet by mixing it with other metals, but…… it was too hard to be used for testing weapons.」
Antgar confessed that this puppet was a failure while scratching his cheek.
「But, do you recognize my power now?」
「Ahhh, it’s more than enough. After doing something like this, complaining further is just nitpicking.」
「…I see, so next, do you go get the permission in the castle?」
In his mind, Souta went “isn’t our exchange earlier also nitpicking?” But he didn’t voice that out to not derail the conversation
「Yes, I don’t really like it, but I guess I must… Hmm, maybe I should dispose of this…」
Antgar tried to put the puppet back on the trolley.
「That, you don’t need that anymore?」
Souta stopped him and asked the question.
「Hmm? Ahh. This is originally a failure, I’m going to keep it in the hut before I dispose of it later.」
「In that case, I will make it easier to carry. Step back a little.」
Souta put his hand on the part with the cut he made, and then pulled his fist back and released a magic power-infused blow at the puppet. The puppet cracked from the cut part and was broken into several pieces.
「……」
「This way, it’s easier to put away.」
Souta and Dina put the broken pieces on the trolley as if nothing had happened. Antgar was standing stood still in a daze. Although it was a failed creation, it was still something that he was confident in its mass and hardness, and that puppet currently falling apart and rolling in front of him. What shocked him the most was the cause of its destruction was bare hand.
「Did I… do something bad, maybe?」
Souta raised his voice toward the still dumbfounded Antgar.
「N-No, I was just a little surprised, don’t worry. Then, let’s get this done quick.」
Antgar also joined and started to put the pieces away. He came back to his mind quickly, but for a while, his hands were still trembling.
After they finished, they returned to the living room again.
「So, do we house-sitting while you go?」
「No, if possible, I want you to come along. If the application goes through, I will be asked about the force I will bring to the mine. I was thinking about introducing you there.」
Antgar answered Souta’s question, but hearing his answer, Souta frowned.
「Is it necessary for me to go too? I don’t want to be involved with royalty if possible…」
「I want you to come if possible. Also, I don’t think it would be an audience with the king. I think, before, it was finished with just talking to the receptionist.」
Souta had been involved with the royal family in all the countries he had visited so far, and he wanted to avoid contact in this country.
「Umu, I understand. The sun has set today, so I will go alone tomorrow. You guys should come to the workshop again at noon, I should be back at that time if I go in the morning.」
「Alright, I will leave it to you.」
「Thank you, Antgar.」
Souta raised his hand while Dina bowed her head as they leave the workshop.
Souta took a step back from Dina and Antgar and faced the puppet again. However, in his hand was the same iron sword as before, not a new weapon. Therefore, his sword was still without the tip.
「H-Hey, don’t you want to use new weapon instead?」
Antgar’s question was a matter of course. Souta was about to use the broken sword to perform the same action as the one that broke the sword. That meant the result from before would just repeat itself. What Souta was saying and his action didn’t match, or so Antgar thought.
「If I use a different weapon, then the result might be thanks to the weapon, don’t you think so? That means, isn’t it better if I use the same weapon but get a better result than before? Though, if you’re satisfied with the previous result, then it’s good too. Well, let’s just say that my previous attempt was a practice and this time is the real performance.」
In reality, Souta’s previous attempt was done with just brute force and little skill. In that regard, he was holding back and to call it practice was correct.
Souta put his magic power into the iron sword. The magical power covered the entire sword and formed the part where the missing blade was. Furthermore, to increase his body performance, Souta also applied reinforcement magic to himself. Watching all of this, Antgar gasped.
Souta took a step forward with his right foot and put the sword back in its sheath. Souta stopped moving with his hand still gripping the handle. Despite no movement, Dina and Antgar who were watching from the side could feel Souta’s spirit grew. The silence continued for a few seconds or maybe even minutes.
At the next moment, Souta opened his eyes, pulled the sword out of its sheath, and swung it at the puppet in one motion.
「Wha!?」
Antgar didn’t hide his surprise as he saw the result of the blow. The iron sword slashed the puppet from the waist to the chest and then stopped there.
「What about this? I think this is quite a deep cut…… Though, I guess I can’t use this anymore.」
Because the iron sword was pushed far above its original capability, the sword crumbled while still in Souta’s hand.
「W-Wow, don’t say that the power from before…」
「Well, I can do that because this is a disposable weapon, that’s not practical to do.」
Souta told them that this method was done to fulfill the condition presented by Antgar and implied it wasn’t something that he would use normally.
「R-Right… But to cut it this deep, I guess being a hero from a thousand years ago is not for nothing…」
「But… is it true that this puppet can’t be scratched? It certainly considerably hard, but I’m pretty sure a decent adventurer would be able to scratch it…」
Antgar averted his eyes when Souta said so. Souta was waiting for Antgar’s reply without saying anything.
「……This is the second time I tried. When I tried it before, I used a weapon I sloppily made…」
Antgar, who couldn’t stand the silence, started telling them the truth.
「I happened to get a small amount of dragon iron, I thought that it was too little to create a weapon, and so I made this puppet by mixing it with other metals, but…… it was too hard to be used for testing weapons.」
Antgar confessed that this puppet was a failure while scratching his cheek.
「But, do you recognize my power now?」
「Ahhh, it’s more than enough. After doing something like this, complaining further is just nitpicking.」
「…I see, so next, do you go get the permission in the castle?」
In his mind, Souta went “isn’t our exchange earlier also nitpicking?” But he didn’t voice that out to not derail the conversation
「Yes, I don’t really like it, but I guess I must… Hmm, maybe I should dispose of this…」
Antgar tried to put the puppet back on the trolley.
「That, you don’t need that anymore?」
Souta stopped him and asked the question.
「Hmm? Ahh. This is originally a failure, I’m going to keep it in the hut before I dispose of it later.」
「In that case, I will make it easier to carry. Step back a little.」
Souta put his hand on the part with the cut he made, and then pulled his fist back and released a magic power-infused blow at the puppet. The puppet cracked from the cut part and was broken into several pieces.
「……」
「This way, it’s easier to put away.」
Souta and Dina put the broken pieces on the trolley as if nothing had happened. Antgar was standing stood still in a daze. Although it was a failed creation, it was still something that he was confident in its mass and hardness, and that puppet currently falling apart and rolling in front of him. What shocked him the most was the cause of its destruction was bare hand.
「Did I… do something bad, maybe?」
Souta raised his voice toward the still dumbfounded Antgar.
「N-No, I was just a little surprised, don’t worry. Then, let’s get this done quick.」
Antgar also joined and started to put the pieces away. He came back to his mind quickly, but for a while, his hands were still trembling.
After they finished, they returned to the living room again.
「So, do we house-sitting while you go?」
「No, if possible, I want you to come along. If the application goes through, I will be asked about the force I will bring to the mine. I was thinking about introducing you there.」
Antgar answered Souta’s question, but hearing his answer, Souta frowned.
「Is it necessary for me to go too? I don’t want to be involved with royalty if possible…」
「I want you to come if possible. Also, I don’t think it would be an audience with the king. I think, before, it was finished with just talking to the receptionist.」
Souta had been involved with the royal family in all the countries he had visited so far, and he wanted to avoid contact in this country.
「Umu, I understand. The sun has set today, so I will go alone tomorrow. You guys should come to the workshop again at noon, I should be back at that time if I go in the morning.」
「Alright, I will leave it to you.」
「Thank you, Antgar.」
Souta raised his hand while Dina bowed her head as they leave the workshop.
