"Otto, do you want some?"
Kallen, who had been dismissed by Francis, tore off half of the bread she had in her hand and gave it to Otto, as was her habit.
"No, I'm not hungry."
Otto said, as if she were already used to it.
"(Kaslana... she really does seem a bit foolish.)"
Void Archives commented in Otto's mind.
"(Your friend is clearly pure-blooded.)"
"..."
Otto was left speechless for a moment after hearing Void Archives' words.
"What does pure-blooded mean?"
"What breed of pet do you think Kallen is?"
No, rather, why has the Kaslana family's reputation for intelligence been so tarnished that even someone like you, who spends every day in confinement, knows about it?
"(The ancestor of the Kaslana family was one of the students of that old man...)"
Void Archives perceived Otto's confusion and joked.
"(That guy is a genuine super-old monster who has lived for at least 50,000 years... Do you really think he was just trying to scare you?)"
"..."
This news is truly explosive.
"(But in reality, most of you... or rather, most of you who are far from worldly affairs, are related to that old man, some more closely than others.)"
Although Void Archives is in confinement every day and was last released two thousand years ago, that doesn't mean they lack common sense.
It's no secret that those few "protectors" left by the previous civilization were all his disciples.
"(However, in terms of relationships, Kaslana is indeed the closest person to that old man... so I'm quite puzzled as to why that old man chose you in particular.)"
Although Void Archives complained that Kallen was not very smart, according to the characteristics of the Kaslana family, the less brilliant one is, the purer their lineage and the greater their combat power.
Tian Shi does not lack intelligence.
If Void Archives had to choose, they would certainly choose Kallen.
After what happened yesterday, Void Archives realized that Otto, despite her seemingly innocent and naive appearance, was actually capable of manipulating her mentality.
If she hadn't spoken frankly back then, perhaps she wouldn't have been able to convince that fourteen-year-old girl.
Although she was still immature, her temperament was already starting to show.
"Tsk, why does this girl seem so suited for palace intrigues... political struggles?"
"This must be the place Uncle Francis was talking about..."
Otto stopped in a small alley and looked at the building in front of her.
"This is..."
Otto was a bit confused.
The building in front of her was quite dilapidated, and the materials used... to put it bluntly, looked a bit like her small study.
It was just a small shed that had been built in a messy way.
But, on the other hand, Otto also thought that the architectural style of this small shed was questionable.
The word might not be the most appropriate to describe the shed, but Otto felt that it was a bit out of place with respect to the buildings she usually saw.
It doesn't look like the architectural style of Vienna.
"Far Eastern style."
Tian Shi said softly from the side.
This, however, piqued Otto's curiosity.
"Far East?"
This is a name that rarely appears even in storybooks; it is said to be located a bit further east than the so-called Divine Land.
(How did this style get here?)
"There's a metallic noise and banging inside."
Kallen said, also a bit curious.
"It sounds like a blacksmith shop."
Hearing this, Otto took a step closer and, sure enough, even before opening the door, she felt the air was hot.
"Is it really a blacksmith shop?"
"So, is the so-called expertise in weapon manufacturing actually such a simple expertise?"
My God, with her small body, what common ground could she have with a blacksmith?
She can only play with small hammers to drive nails; a forging hammer... that would probably kill her!
Thinking about this, Otto immediately wanted to turn around and leave.
However, the sound of banging inside the door stopped the next moment, and the door burst open, sending a wave of heat rushing out and nearly knocking Otto over.
"A customer? Finally a customer?"
Before Otto could react to the heatwave, she felt as if her hand were being held by iron clamps and pulled inside.
However, to her surprise... did the other person's voice sound like that of a girl?
"Wow... Is this a blacksmith shop?"
Kallen, who followed her, looked curiously at the small shed.
To be honest, she had never been in a blacksmith shop before; after all, there was no good food there.
"What would you like, ladies? A decorative knight's sword? Or a small dagger for self-defense?"
"Buy two and get one free, but if you want it inlaid with gemstones, you'll have to bring them yourselves."
Otto, after catching her breath, looked at the person in front of her who was still advertising.
A girl dressed in exotic clothes, with long black hair, who appears to be around twenty years old.
If it weren't for the fact that the other person was still holding a large iron hammer in her other hand and sweat was dripping from her forehead, Otto really wouldn't have been able to associate this foreign girl with the word "blacksmith."
"So, ladies, what would you like to buy?"
The black-haired girl put down the hammer with a fawning expression on her face.
(Judging by their clothes, these two are clearly from wealthy families; whether I can eat this month depends on this bet, if I can't get food soon, I might have to pack my bags and go back to my hometown...)
At the thought of this, the girl's smile widened.
"Um... we..."
Just as Otto was about to explain her purpose, she suddenly heard a "crack" sound from the side.
Otto's heart skipped a beat and she slowly turned her head.
Kallen, standing beside her, stared blankly, holding the hilt of a sword in one hand and the blade in the other.
Hmm... it's broken.
"Um, I didn't mean to, I just wanted to test it..."
Kallen realized she had done something wrong and looked at the broken sword in her hand with a stiff expression.
"Are you trying to cause trouble if you don't eat?"
Otto watched the expression on the black-haired girl's face cautiously.
"Hey, I'll buy this sword, is that enough?"
Otto watched as she took her money.
Otto is now quite skilled at cleaning up Kallen's messes and such.
"No, there's no need."
The girl forced a smile while pushing away the money Otto was handing her.
"If a customer breaks a sword that I forged myself, it only proves that I am not a good blacksmith..."
(No, you should know that this is Kaslana, the family famous for superhuman strength.)
Otto thought silently to herself.
Not to mention a normal knight's sword, even if it's a greatsword, Kallen could break it if she wanted to.
"If I'm not mistaken, the guests are from the Kaslana family, right?"
The girl showed a defiant expression and, at the same time, realized Kallen's background, which was not surprising, since the other party knew Francis, the head of the Kaslana family.
However, this only made Kallen feel more embarrassed, as it made her feel as if she had been caught doing something wrong.
"Then these swords outside are probably not worthy of you, Miss... Please wait a moment."
The girl said this coldly and went inside.
Shortly after, the other person came out with a sword in her hand.
"(Honkai Beast?!)"
The moment Void Archives saw the longsword in the other's hand through Otto's vision, she was immediately shocked.
"(Don't tell me this girl can actually turn Honkai Beast parts into weapons using such primitive equipment?)"
Blacksmith forge, bellows, hand hammer, anvil, sledgehammer, whetstone.
There's nothing special about them; you can find these tools in any blacksmith shop.
"Can these things... be used to turn Honkai Beast body parts into weapons?"
Thank God, the archives of the previous civilization have no record of how such a high-tech weapon was created using such primitive tools.
Yes, that's right.
Although it is just a longsword, in the eyes of Void Archives, it is a genuine high-tech weapon.
The kind of thing that can actually pierce the defenses of a Honkai Beast when you strike it.
"Please take a look at this precious sword that I, Nagafune Nagamitsu, spent a month forging: the Demon Knight Cutter, Nagamitsu."
The black-haired girl, Nagafune Nagamitsu, looked at Kallen with a defiant expression.
"(It took a month...? Believe me, in a way, the weapon technology of this kind is at least five hundred years ahead of yours...)"
Void Archives is convinced that this world might no longer be very scientific.
"Why would someone like this appear, using primitive tools to manually create this Honkai weapon?"
After a month of work, Void Archives had reason to be sure that this fellow definitely hadn't created this type of weapon for the first time.
"(It's not surprising, is it? Schicksal seems to have something similar.)"
Otto was quite surprised by this assessment from Void Archives.
"(Heh... Not that I'm looking down on you, Schicksal, but similar weapons from your Schicksal will definitely bring a lot of corrosion.)"
"(Like a child wielding a uranium sword to kill people... okay, you don't know what uranium is.)"
Otto felt her intelligence was being looked down upon by Void Archives.
This way of speaking is completely inferior to that of God.
If it were God, they would surely give her a detailed and patient explanation.
"(Furthermore, the knife in her hand has been minimized in its harm to people; even an ordinary person could hold it for a long time without endangering their life, but its power has not weakened much.)"
Not only Void Archives, but even Kallen, who is normally slow-witted, realized that the sword in front of her was extraordinary.
"This..."
"Miss, please try the knife."
Nagamitsu continued to hand her the longsword.
"You'll see how monstrous the Kaslana family's strength really is!"
"It's taller than me."
Kallen said weakly, looking at the longsword in front of her.
This sword, including the handle, is already more than two meters long!
She is only 1.6 meters tall!
At fourteen years old and 1.6 meters tall, she is already considered tall among her peers, but compared to this sword, she still looks like a little dwarf, doesn't she?
"..."
Nagamitsu, who looked serious, seemed not to expect to receive this answer and felt immediately embarrassed.
(So the other person is only fourteen years old... I really wouldn't have guessed.)
Fortunately, Otto had high emotional intelligence and immediately intervened to smooth things over.
"Um... Miss Nagafune, Uncle Francis told us about you."
"Francis?"
Nagamitsu would also take the opportunity to back down, casually lowering her longsword and showing a puzzled expression.
(Look how high the emotional intelligence of this eleven or twelve-year-old girl is!)
"This is a letter of introduction."
Otto handed her the letter.
"My name is Otto Apocalypse and she is Kallen Kaslana."
"Eh... Francis's youngest daughter? No wonder!"
Nagamitsu nodded knowingly, then took the letter and looked at it.
A moment later, Nagamitsu looked at Otto with a strange expression.
"Francis said you really enjoy craftsmanship?"
"Yes."
Otto nodded.
"You've created a super bomb?"
Otto continued to nod.
"Are you not valued at home?"
Otto continued to nod.
After three questions, Nagamitsu's previously indifferent expression instantly turned enthusiastic, and she even seemed to feel as if they had known each other for a long time.
It's so similar that it's almost exactly like her childhood experiences.
Nagamitsu was filled with mixed feelings.
Her family didn't value her for being a girl when she was young, and it wasn't until she grew up that that prejudice was reversed.
"However, this is still good for me, after all, my family is a family of blacksmiths, and no one will say anything if a girl is a blacksmith."
"But the person in front of me... comes from Apocalypse, the famous family of bishops."
It's easy to imagine how much more contempt she would receive than she actually would...
"A true friend!"
"Miss Otto! How about we become sworn sisters?"
"Eh?"
…
"I'm sorry, I lost my composure just now... It's rare to find someone with such a similar experience to mine, Miss Otto, please forgive me."
Nagamitsu said to Otto with an apologetic expression.
"It's okay."
Then the group arrived at the tea room behind the shop, which was much cleaner than the outside.
"I was a bit surprised... By the way, Miss Nagamitsu, how did you get to Vienna?"
"Well... I was traveling the world in search of forging techniques, and that's how I ended up here."
Nagamitsu scratched her head somewhat embarrassed.
"However, I'm also preparing to go home these days, I've learned almost all the forging techniques in the world."
"Here, your Schicksal is too strict, so I don't have a chance to get the corpses of the demon beasts... that is, the Honkai Beasts."
"On the contrary, at home, there are all kinds of great demon beasts like Ushi-oni and Koto-ni, maybe I'll have the chance to use them to test what I've learned."
"This kind of talent cannot be allowed to escape in any way!"
Otto shouted in her mind.
"But I'm still saving for travel expenses..."
Nagamitsu said with some discomfort.
"However, given the current turnover, it will probably take us more than two months to save... These two months should be enough for us to exchange ideas."
"No, no, no, I don't think that's enough."
Tian Shi's voice rang out in the air.
To retain the future director of the Saint 1504 Research Institute, Tian Shi decided to take matters into his own hands.
"My Lord God?"
Otto seemed surprised that Tian Shi would suddenly speak.
Nagamitsu was also surprised when she heard Otto address him as a god.
The next moment, the longsword "Demon Knight Cutter - Nagamitsu" that Nagamitsu had placed at her feet floated.
This caused Nagamitsu herself to rub her eyes.
"Her own knife started floating?"
"Did I get dizzy from striking iron?"
"Even if you rub them a lot, it won't fall down."
Tian Shi looked at Nagamitsu, who was rubbing her eyes, and was speechless.
"Is... is it really a deity?"
After confirming her suspicions, Nagamitsu immediately joined her hands in prayer, revealing a look of reverence.
"Please forgive my blindness... I am very sorry... I am very sorry..."
"..."
Um... Why did she feel that Nagamitsu, as a blacksmith, was much more devoted to the gods than Otto and Kallen, who came from religious families?