Rustle Rustle Rustle

Making sounds inside my mind has become one of my hobbies I don’t want people finding out. This is quite fun on its own when I’m bored and alone.

Since I let Asteria sleep, I feel bad waking her up again just to keep up a conversation so this is the only way I can amuse myself.

Like what she said earlier, my body is not in an optimal state to do any strenuous training so I’ll settle with just a few swings when testing a weapon I may take a liking so I am hoping that I could find something here.

That said, this bamboo thicket…

The bamboos are so tall that only bits of sunlight pass through but at the same time, it doesn’t completely dim the trail. The trail I am talking about is a stone path arrange from hundreds of stone slabs while the bamboos are grown aside and a fence is put up like a rail.

Like normal trees, they have leaves that rustle when the wind blows but it brings a different aroma that strangely captivates me.

Now I am craving for boiled bamboo shoots.

Gluglugluglu

That is the sound that my stomach makes when it demands a food. I’ve just eaten breakfast but I already want to eat some more.

Bashabashabasha

That’s the sound the leaves make when the gentle breeze brushes the bamboos around me.

Clank Clank Clank

That’s the sound that…wait? That sounds like a hammer hitting a metal or whatever it is. It seems I am getting somewhere with this walk. I can feel now in my bones that this is going to be an encounter that will give me strength that I need!

I proceed towards where the sound is coming from and what met my eyes is a wooden hut inside the forest of the bamboo thicket. There’s a smaller house next to the house in which smokes is coming out and the sound is coming from.

It looks like the old man they are talking about is in there, currently in progress of his work.

With that in mind, I called out.

“Excuse me, are you available right now?”

THUD

THUD

Two thundering bumps came out from the house that sounded like the person inside panicked. I wonder if he is okay.

As I was thinking about that, the door of the smithy house opened.

“Welcome! Welcome to my place! It’s been three years since someone visited!”

“Eh? Wait, did I got the right place?”

What came out of the house is a girl with bunny ears with long fluffy grayish hair. She wears a dirty work dress filled with coal stains and boots that look bigger than her own foot. Her skin is also dirty with soil and mark of coals but I can tell that she has a high quality tanned skin.

She is around Alstroemeria’s age but her breasts are a bit on the medium size so there’s nothing bouncing or anything. What I noticed is that she has a bump on the top of her head.

Must be from panicking earlier.

But that’s intriguing since they told me that supposedly, an old man should be managing this place.

“Yes! You got the right place!”

“I haven’t even told you what I’m looking for.”

“Yes, this is the Backwater Smith shop!”

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“You literally ignored my words. Anyway, yes, I am looking for a blacksmith that makes a blade called Katana.”

“Yes, I can create Katanas!”

“You’re ugly.”

“Yes, I’m ugly! Wait--!?”

“Kidding. Just pay attention properly, okay?”

“Yes…”

Something inside me boils in fervor.

I haven’t seen anyone this dumb for days now, not since Asagao!

Isn’t this the feeling of finding a new toy?! Oh, how joyful!

“That said, I heard that there’s supposed to be an old man here, however, you are the only I can see here.”

“Ah, if you are looking for Uncle, he’s dead.”

“Pretty harsh coming from his niece. Also, condolence.”

“Yes! He tripped on a rock and broke his neck! Pretty stupid if you ask me! Good thing I learned all of his techniques before he passed away.”

“I’d like to point out a lot shit about what you said but I want to get the talk back onto the track.”

I’m thinking that this girl is merciless or anything but it might really turn out that she is only an airhead.

“By the way, I am Aina, sixteen years old, single, and I have been living in this thicket for almost ten years now and I know how to for a lot of weapons and even armors!. It’s been a long time since I introduced myself to anyone so I feel really nervous!”

“Higanbana, the Beast Queen.”

“Ahahaha! You’re so funny! Okay, okay, little beast queen, what do you want? Big sis here will do what she can for you!”

“Like I said, a Katana.”

This is quite the situation that I really love.

Of course, she totally doesn’t believe that I am the beast queen. After all, if she has been in this thicket for ten years and her recent encounter is three years ago, Old Man Folga is the Beast King in her mind.

“I already have some Katanas in stock! No, forget about having some stock, I have tons of assortment in my warehouse that are collecting dust!”

“Sounds like you really piled up a lot. How do you even get your materials?”

“If you go deeper into these thickets, there’s a mine for a lot of minerals! It’s like a treasure trove!”

“Eh, how do you even eat?”

“Hahahaha! Loads of steamed bamboo shoots!”

Now I feel like I don’t want to eat bamboo shoots.

“Well, well, I’ll go to the storehouse and take out the best Katanas I have!”

“Yeah…there she goes.”

She runs with a pitter patter in glee.

I guess she’s too happy that after three years, she met someone. How can the kingdom ignore this place?

“I’m back!”

“That’s fast.”

Too excited that she brought out a total of ten of those katanas with varying sizes. Aina brought them down on the floor and sprawled them.

They are your creations, right? Treat them with care.

Well, anyway, since it’s already here, I picked up one of them.

“Yikes!”

“Hmm?”

“Nothing, it’s full of dust.”

“I don’t mind.”

I drew out the sheathed blade from its scabbard and the gleaming color of the steel shines brightly as the sun reflects on it. As I fully drew it out, the beauty of the blade with only one edge with a slight curve meets my eyes.

The weight is quite heavy but the size of the handle indicates that it needs two hands to swing it so it sounds balanced.

“How is it?!”

“I’d like to test it.”

“Yes! I’ll get something! Are you fine with a bamboo?”

“I am.”

I can see now why a lot of people wanted it as a decoration.

When you look at it up close, it’s beautiful, thin, and uniquely long unlike a standard steel sword. I swear I’ve seen a sword like this but I can’t put my mind into it.

“Higanbana, here it is!”

Aina sets up the bamboo and struck the sharp end at the ground. The bamboo’s height as tall as an adult man but it’s thicker than my arm.

“You can try using it with this.”

“Is it really okay?”

“It’s okay, I can assess your ability with it at the same time. My uncle once said that a Katana is a fragile weapon the prioritizes the sharpness of its slash rather than a brute force of a normal sword. Stance and concentration play an important role.”

“Ah, I see. Then I’ll show you something. A potential that lies within me.”

I hold the katana with both of my hands and directs it downwards and lowers my hips while bending my knees to a certain angle. I took some several steps to adjust the range of the attack while calculating the length of the blade in my hand.

“That’s…an excellent stance…unbelievable…”

Rather than bashing the sword, this weapon is made to slice, like a sharp wind cutting into the air. Swiftness is the key, breathing control is the playing card, and concentration is the apex of this move.

I am a lot stronger than Asagao when it comes to physical strength but I still have my shortcomings. However, if I focus, I can correct any failures of my movements to an extent.

The surrounding feels like it’s slowing down, I can feel each leaf falling down to ground bits by bits of seconds, and the slow breeze brushing onto my skin.

At this moment, I am one with the concept called swiftness.

“Got you!”

“This is it!”

WHOOSH

The blade cuts the wind and the merciless slash made its way to the bamboo that’s standing in front of me.

THUK

“…”

“…”

“…Huh?”

“…Um?”

The Katana, instead of cutting the bamboo in half, dug its blade halfway that it made it impossible to budge. It’s more accurate to say that it is stuck.

I tried pulling the Katana but…

“Hnnggggh!”

“Ah…”

“Um…how do I pull this out?”

“This is a first for me too…Uncle mostly handles it when the blade gets stuck like that. You can also brute force it.”

“Can I just bend it forcefully like this?!”

“Ah, no!”

SNAP

I tried bending the blade, the Katana and put too much strength.

The blade snaps.

What with this…shitty fragile sword?

“Is this a defect?”

“I don’t know. It’s been a while too since anyone used a Katana in front of me.”

“Really now, this is a shit quality. Don’t you have anything unbreakable?”

“That’s an enchanted sword already and that’s beyond what we blacksmiths can do! Or maybe you really just flunk it and did a stupid job with your skill!”

“Huh? Now I can’t accept that. I’m going to buy those nine Katanas and I’ll practice.”

“Eh? Really?!”

“I’m the Beast Queen after all.”

“There you go again with your silly joke!~”

In the end, I broke all nine Katanas lined up for me before sunset.

I started thinking that all of it is a defect but I doubt that because of how pale Aina’s face is by the end of the day.