"I'll take this to my master. Wait here."
The young apprentice took the replica Incursio from Shirou's hands and headed deeper inside, leaving Shirou waiting alone in the outer chamber. Even Revolutionary Army members had to follow certain rules here—no exceptions.
After all, the master blacksmith who ran this workshop had crafted several notable Shingu weapons. The Revolutionary Army had wanted to secretly escort him away to protect him, but the master stubbornly refused to leave the capital, so they'd eventually given up.
Forcing him would only risk his refusal to craft more weapons for their cause. Besides, even his ordinary weapons were first-rate.
Left alone, Shirou didn't mind at all. He glanced around curiously, examining the rows of finely crafted swords on display. Though he'd seen countless weapons before, this was his first time inside a proper smithy. Drawn by their craftsmanship, Shirou began unconsciously analyzing the swords one by one.
Truly worthy of a master who could create Shingu…
Every blade he examined was top-notch, impressive not only in sharpness but in strength, flexibility, and balance as well. A lightweight sword forged here might even shatter the heavier blades made elsewhere in a direct clash.
Shirou quickly became engrossed in studying them.
Thunk—!
He accidentally kicked something, suppressing a cry of pain as he hopped on one foot, clutching his toe.
He'd been too absorbed to notice the large iron anvil directly in front of him.
Given how quiet it was here, Shirou didn't want to disturb the people working inside—especially since they were studying his projected Teigu.
Though he had no idea exactly who was in the back room.
He glanced at a stack of iron ingots nearby. Clearly, the young apprentice had been working here earlier, probably on an assignment or training exercise given by his master.
Shirou furtively glanced around the empty room.
If I just tried forging something myself…it should be alright, right? I'll pay them afterwards.
He nodded decisively to himself. Borrowing the equipment briefly wouldn't cause problems.
The gold coins Shirou had now were earned after he'd given copies of his projected Teigu to Akame, Bulat, and Leone. He had initially planned to give them out for free, but Night Raid had insisted on paying him, forcing a pouch of gold coins into his hands.
Only afterward did he realize—it was the exact same pouch of coins he'd originally given Lubbock, who apparently hadn't gotten around to spending them.
As for why Shirou had said he could only project two copies but ended up providing three—it wasn't as if he had to project them all at once in a combat scenario. He could simply rest, restore his magical energy, and project more again.
He'd even briefly considered teaching them Magecraft. Unfortunately, Shirou himself wasn't certain how to check if someone possessed Magic Circuits, let alone how to awaken them for others.
When he'd tried explaining the process to Night Raid, it was as effective as a martial artist instructing someone unfamiliar with qi to "draw energy from your dantian and circulate your internal essence clockwise." It was utterly incomprehensible.
So he quickly abandoned the idea.
"But...I don't actually know how to forge weapons," Shirou muttered awkwardly, picking up a hammer nearby and wondering how to begin.
"Should be something like heating, hammering, cutting, and sharpening?"
Scratching his head, he realized the irony: he had projected countless weapons but never physically forged one himself. Now, he felt an urge to genuinely craft a sword from scratch.
As far as he could analyze, the iron ingot was just ordinary metal—identical to the material of the swords around him.
---
"Strange, very strange indeed..."
In another room, a rugged, bearded blacksmith carefully examined the replica Incursio Shirou had brought with a magnifying glass.
The apprentice diligently stood by, recording every observation his master made.
"If it weren't for this weapon's bizarre composition, I'd really think Night Raid actually handed over the real Incursio for research."
He gently tapped the sword from multiple angles with a small hammer—one specifically crafted as a Shingu. It had no offensive capabilities but was specially made to easily damage Teigu weapons, perfect for examining their durability.
Though he'd never made an actual Teigu, he was convinced that if given one to dissect, he might unlock their secrets and create something similar. He'd asked the Revolutionary Army several times to let him dismantle one, but they never agreed.
And why didn't he approach the Empire instead?
He knew better. Informing the Empire would mean either death or being drugged and controlled long before achieving his ambitions. He simply wished to freely research Teigu without losing his life or independence—exactly why he'd refused to leave the capital and join the Revolutionary Army.
He had never expected the Revolutionary Army would dare hand him something as powerful as an offensive-type Teigu, thinking at most they'd give him an auxiliary Teigu like Gaea Foundation.
But as soon as he began examining the weapon, he realized something was off.
When metal fragments flew off from his hammer strikes, they immediately disintegrated into thin air.
His method was meticulous—he wouldn't immediately dismantle the weapon. Instead, he'd intended to first analyze these tiny fragments. Yet they disappeared instantly, confounding him.
Further examination using his Shingu revealed the weapon wasn't constructed from metal at all. Rather, it seemed formed from some extremely peculiar energy. If the weapon sustained significant damage or if its internal energy dissipated, it would simply vanish entirely.
A revelation like this sent his thoughts racing, theories rapidly spinning through his mind. The apprentice beside him suddenly noticed smoke—almost literally—begin to rise from his master's head.
"Master! Master, what happened? Please stay with me!"
The apprentice desperately shook his master as the older man abruptly collapsed to the floor.
"I... Let's go see the Revolutionary Army member waiting outside first."
The master, eager to learn more about the mysterious replica, began picking himself up.
But before they could move, a rhythmic sound echoed from outside, freezing both master and apprentice in place.
Clang! Clang! Clang—!
The master's eyes widened in confusion. His apprentice was standing right beside him, so...
Who else could possibly be hammering iron in his smithy?