CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40: THE REPLY

Kanae slept soundly until sunset.

When Kanae opened her eyes, she saw someone sitting beside her, her hand still clutching his sleeve.

After a moment of disorientation, her memories resurfaced.

She showed little panic or confusion, making no unnecessary sounds or movements.

She simply gazed at him quietly.

After a while, she realized... he had fallen asleep sitting up.

She wanted to laugh but restrained herself.

Looking around the room to confirm it was hers, she relaxed her grip on Tetsu no Sosuke’s hand. Her cheeks flushed as she noticed the wrinkles in his sleeve from her tight grip.

Has he been sitting here the whole time?

Kanae stared at his back for a moment, then gently massaged her stiff hand, which had been cramped in a gripping position for so long.

She sat up from the futon and stole a glance at Sosuke’s face.

There she found a pair of bright, alert eyes staring back at her.

"Ah!"

Kanae startled, her face flushing even deeper.

He hadn’t been asleep after all!

"How are you feeling?" Sosuke asked.

Blinking, Kanae replied softly, "Not bad..."

"If you’re feeling well enough, get up and eat," Sosuke said, rising stiffly from the tatami mat, his back and waist aching.

Sitting in the same position for so long was bound to be uncomfortable.

He had considered lying down, but he worried that if Kanae woke up and found him beside her, it would be difficult to explain.

He also dared not sleep.

While awake, he could maintain self-control, but who knew what he might do in his sleep?

Some things are simply beyond human control.

For him, this was a double torment, both physical and mental.

Kanae remained seated on the tatami mat, seemingly unable to process what had happened.

Sosuke couldn’t help but chuckle softly, extending his hand. "Let’s go. Aoi has been urging us several times already."

"Oh." Kanae grasped Sosuke’s hand. It was large, calloused, and rough beyond measure... yet surprisingly warm.

Then she snapped out of her daze. "Does Aoi know you’re here?"

"...Probably many people do. After all, I can’t exactly turn invisible. The Kakushi saw me bringing you back."

Sosuke added, "They... won’t tell anyone, will they?"

"You’re worried they’ll spread rumors?" Kanae suddenly felt a twinge of displeasure, though she couldn’t quite explain why.

Sosuke nodded. "I’m worried it might have a negative impact on you."

Kanae’s lips curved into a faint smile, instantly erasing the earlier awkwardness. The sudden shift in her mood surprised even herself.

"They probably... won’t spread rumors, right?" she asked.

Sosuke paused, taken aback. "Probably?"

"Definitely?" Kanae’s uncertainty was clear in her tone.

Regardless, they still had to eat.

The two awkwardly left the estate separately, one after the other, a pointless attempt at concealing their connection.

The meal itself was surprisingly calm.

Shinobu was still in her room, waiting for her medicinal meal, so she wasn’t present. The others refrained from probing the pair’s expressions, maintaining at least a superficial peace.

After dinner, Sosuke and Kanae parted ways. Kanae went to check on Shinobu, while Sosuke returned to his courtyard.

He opened the tightly sealed Sword-Forging Shed. The iron ingot refined using the Poison Refinement Method lay quietly on the anvil.

Approaching, he examined it closely.

At least on the surface, there was nothing remarkable about it.

He tidied up, resolving to begin forging Shinobu’s Nichirin Blade tomorrow.

As for tonight... he’d better call it a day.

This afternoon, though he hadn’t accomplished anything tangible, the mental exhaustion was considerable, primarily from battling his own inner demons.

Moreover, this was the Butterfly mansion.

Nighttime sounds carried far too easily, risking disturbance to the patients’ sleep.

The night passed without incident, and before he knew it, morning had arrived.

The Sword-Forging Shed was a hive of activity. Sosuke rose early, lit the furnace, and conducted a test. He quickly confirmed that the Poison Refinement Method had succeeded.

The verification method was simple: measuring the amount of impurities.

The Poison Refinement Method served as the initial forging step, inherently removing impurities.

However, his Golden Finger offered no explicit guidance on this aspect, nor did the refinement process trigger any notifications like "+1 Poison Affinity."

This suggested that his Golden Finger still needed refinement itself.

Having confirmed the refinement’s success, Sosuke began forging the Nichirin Blade.

He spent the entire morning in the shed. By the time the blade’s shape had taken form, he noticed Kanae standing beside him, observing.

"I’ll be finished here soon," Sosuke said. "We can resume sword practice this afternoon."

"Alright," Kanae replied, producing a letter. "The Kakushi delivered this this morning. They said it’s from the Village Chief of Tecchin Precious Iron, addressed to you."

"A letter from the Village Chief?"

Sosuke pondered. It had been nearly half a month since he sent the first letter, and many days since the second.

This reply could be about either matter.

After finishing his work, Sosuke stepped out of the Sword-Forging Shed and took the letter from Kanae.

Noticing a smudge of soot on his cheek, Kanae instinctively wiped it away with the corner of her sleeve.

They exchanged a glance and couldn’t help but smile at each other.

Sosuke quickly focused on the letter. He opened it and scanned through it rapidly, nodding thoughtfully as he finished.

"What is it?" Kanae asked.

"Hmm..." Sosuke replied. " Mitsuri came by earlier, asking me to forge a Nichirin Blade for her using a rather unusual method. I consulted the Village Chief about it, and this letter contains his reply."

He paused, then added, "Besides that, I mentioned something else to the Village Chief before... this letter includes his initial feedback on that matter."

"About what?"

"A forging technique to suppress Demons’ regenerative abilities."

Tetsu no Sosuke briefly explained the contents of the previous letter, then said, "Combining Breathing Techniques with forging methods is extremely difficult to master. The Village Chief had ten young, physically strong, and technically skilled swordsmiths attempt it, but they all failed. My earlier absentmindedness was due to pondering the reasons for this."

Kanae nodded, thought for a moment, and replied, "Breathing Techniques themselves aren’t simple; they require significant natural talent, and not every technique suits every individual. There could be many reasons for the failures: perhaps the technique itself wasn’t suitable, or the smiths lacked the necessary physical capabilities, or they weren’t focused enough... any possibility remains."

"Hmm, I’ll write to the Village Chief and ask him to try again. In the meantime, I’ll experiment with the method he described, starting by forging a flexible sword from ordinary iron. If that succeeds, I can finally forge a blade for the Love Pillar..."

As he spoke, his gaze involuntarily drifted toward the courtyard entrance.

There, silently standing as if he had materialized from thin air, was a figure holding a sword, his eyes as calm and deep as still water.