72 Care is important.




There are almost no spills or distortions, and I think it should be fine for the next six months or so, but I'll fix it just in case.
 With a handshake, I call out to Helen.
"Yeah, nice to meet you.
Okay, I'll fix it. Just give me a minute.
Hey.
Hmm?
 "Hey." "Hmm?" Helen calls out slowly. I thought she was all about the hard work, but it seems she's not always that way.
Can't I watch you fix it?
No, I don't mind.
 No, I don't mind." "I don't think you can understand what I'm doing, but I don't think it's worth refusing. You may need to ask him to refrain from using fire, because it is dangerous (in some cases, almost 1000℃), but for sharpening and repairing distortions like this, you don't need fire. On the other hand, I'm afraid that using fire would make quenching and tempering meaningless.
"Yes! Thanks!
 He slaps me on the back. You're resolute. The word "heroine" suits you well.
Sir, may I have a look?
"Yes, of course.
 Rike also wanted to observe, so I agreed. It would be better for Rike to have a good look. I'm sure he knew that, and started to say so.

 The first step is to remove the distortion. But it is not so distorted, so you just put it on the anvil and hit it. Since I know where to hit and how much to hit with my cheat power, I hit it carefully. The sound was quiet and clear, different from my usual blacksmithing work.
 After finishing the first piece of work, I handed the sword to Helen.
"Take a look at it.
"Sure.
 Helen took the sword and swung it a short distance away. Helen takes it and swings it a little farther away.
"Oh, wow!
 Helen shouted in surprise.
"That's great, Eizo! You're as comfortable as the first time!
You're just as comfortable as the first time!
 This is the honest truth. A skilled craftsman's fingers can detect an error of a few microns, and I feel the same thing.
So you're okay with it?
Of course it is! It looks brand new!
 When I looked at the sword again, I noticed that the leather wrapping on the hilt had been rewrapped several times, indicating that it had been used for a long time, as he had said.
Do you want me to fix the leather wrapping on this one as well?
"No, that one's fine, it's familiar to my hand. It's wrapped so that it will.
Then I'll just fix the blade.
Yeah.

 I carefully fix the distortion on the other one. The clear hammering sounded again in the quiet forge. Both Rikke and Helen are watching me closely, as if they think the sound of my breathing is disturbing their work.
"Hey, Helen.
Hmm?
Are you enjoying this?
Yeah. It makes me feel like a craftsman.
No, I'm a blacksmith, for sure. I'm a blacksmith.
 Well, I'm a blacksmith. I'm almost a new blacksmith.
I know that, but my father was a craftsman and I watched him make things.
Oh. What kind of craftsman were you? What did he do?
He was a saddler. I had to leave home for various reasons.
A saddler. That sounds interesting too.
 It sounds like a profession. Horseshoes and nails are the domain of blacksmiths, so I might be able to do something like that.
 While talking about such things, I gradually remove the distortions. When all the distortions had been corrected, Helen said to me.
Eizo doesn't ask you why you left home, does he?
It's not that I'm not interested at all. It's not that I'm not interested in it at all, it's just that I generally don't ask about women's pasts.
Have you ever had a bad experience asking?
Maybe. I can ask you all I want about what you ate that was so good. Okay, I'm done here.
 I handed the one I had just finished to Helen to see how it was doing, and it seemed to be fine, so now I would sharpen it.

 The next step was to sharpen the blade. Both Rike and Helen are watching my hand with serious eyes. Eventually, I stopped when the spilling of the blade disappeared.
It should be fine for a while.
 I hand her the finished piece. As Helen was checking the finish, the squeak in the workshop made a clanging sound.


Oh, my God, is it that time already?
What's with the bell?
When the door to the house opens, this one rings.
"Then open this door.
The doorbell on the other side goes off.
Well, that's interesting.
Well, that's interesting, because sometimes you have to leave one of the doors open, like now. That's convenient. Maybe our man's back.

 And not long after, Samija and Deanna came into the workshop.
"Hi. Hey, are you here?
Welcome back. Hi. You're the guy who made my sword before.
 Helen bows to Diana.
Oh, it's Helen. How are you?
"Oh, I'm fine.
 I know Samija from the last time I saw her. He's a friendly guy, so it's easy to greet him.
"Helen, the Helen of the Thunder Sword you were talking about?"
"Hmm? Yeah. Yeah, but?
 Deanna asked me, but it was Helen who answered. Deanna's eyes light up when she hears that.
"Helen.
"Hmm? What is it? Eizo.
"In exchange for the money to fix it, Deanna ...... would like you to train with that young lady.
Oh, is that what you want?
Yeah. I'll finish another one while you're at it.
All right, I'll take care of it.
Go easy on me.
 I toss Helen the wooden sword I always use. Helen took it and walked out with Deanna. Deanna was visibly excited. Is Helen that famous? Information about famous people over here is not part of the installation's knowledge.

 As I watched her go, I picked up the one I hadn't sharpened yet to get back to my work.