A few days had gone by at this point, and now I've gotten to watch Kaite spar. She flows around her opponent, leaving very little time for them to react, even with the slightly larger sword she uses. Dancing around blows and delivering decisive strikes when the other is off balance. It's incredible how beautifully she moves, and it lets me know how to shape her sword, and where to put the center of balance.

  If I get my way, this weapon will be perfect for her and last a very long time. If it was made of an even more precious metal, I'd want it to last her a lifetime, but that's just not realistic at this point on my path. The best I can settle with is the best I can make. And making is what I'm preparing to do today.

  I've started melting a large chunk of ore, using only my light mana, purifying the mana inside the ore until it is only light aspect.

  I've already heavily inspected the remnants of her old sword, making sure that the aesthetic notes from it are going to be present in the new one, but with one major difference. The old sword had etchings of lilacs on the blade, and decorations of them on the guard, as those were her favorite flower. The new sword, however, is going to have white lilies etched into it, because they're Belle's favorite flower. I do think that Kaite would appreciate that small detail, and making sure she's happy is what the job is all about.

  After forming the now white-gold metal into an ingot, I began shaping the blade. Using every ounce of strength and skill I had accumulated up to this point, I spent hours upon hours in the forge, making sure the blade came out just right. After six consecutive hours of shaping the metal, it was as close to perfect as I could manage.

  The next step would be the grip. I wanted it to stand out, but also be strong. I couldn't use just any old material for it, so I asked Mr. Darius a question for the first time in over a week.

  "Master, what kinds of materials do we have for making grips?"

  "You finally turn to your mentor for help, and that's all you need? Well, I guess anything goes for the grip on this one, but something you've worked with before would cut into your final grade. I recommend looking in the old shed behind the smithy for something unique." Mr. Darius seemed a bit downcast that I didn't seem to need him throughout this process.

Stolen novel; please report.

  Not that I'd change how I acted to make him feel better.

  After searching through the shed for a good few hours, I began to lose hope that anything that spoke to me would be found out here. That was until I felt something almost calling to me, a strange length of wood or bone, completely deep blue, and about half a foot long. It was the perfect size and shape for me to turn it into a grip for the sword I was making.

  After returning to the forge with my prize, I began shaping the grip, making sure to pay attention to all of Mrs. Kaite's measurements. If the sword wasn't exactly matched to her physique, I'd have a fit.

  Once I had the grip shaped, it was time to shape the guard. Relatively simple cross type guard, nothing special needed here until the final steps of engraving.

  I began putting all the pieces together, and much to my amazement, every time one of the pieces of mithryl came to rest next to another, it fused together, like it was always one piece. The only thing that didn't belong fully was the deep blue grip, standing out almost exactly as I had envisioned.

  After the sword was fully assembled, I had to sharpen it repeatedly, which took hours to fully complete. After finishing up the sharpening, it was time to do the engraving and etching.

  Turning the blade into functional art was, perhaps, the most difficult part. The design couldn't clash with the wielder's personality, or their mana, or the results would often be explosive.

  After multiple painstaking hours of work, the designs had come fully to light, each line slightly glowing with holy energy. The lilies on the blade were almost pure white now, with no golden tint to them, and the lilacs on the guard deepened to a purplish blue almost the color of the grip. The pommel was also shaped to look like a rose, with a thorn coming out of the center, for use in bashing when cutting wasn't an option.

  Doing a once-over on the sword for the final time, I noticed a small pocket at the center of balance, which wasn't there when I forged the blade. After focusing for a few minutes, I suddenly realized what the space was for. I remembered that swords and other tools made with magical metals need to be used by their single owner for most of their life. And I just realized what kept the bond together. This little pocket was the perfect place to store the owner's mana to partially convert the mana within into the kinds it needs to best help its wielder.

  The thought of weapons doing things for a reason makes me a bit uncomfortable, but also love the idea of having a sentient weapon accompanying me wherever I go.

  Once all the engravings were fully sanded and wiped, and the pieces were in place, I began to do a final sharpen of the blade itself.

  After everything was said and done, the blade absorbed a good chunk of the ambient light mana, temporarily dimming the shop's lights, and those within a few yards of the shop as well.

  Once that dramatic show was over, I looked at the blade again, and saw that it was glowing faintly, more than before. And I also got a message in my {System}.