"It's getting late. We should probably head back and rest," Muramasa suggested, looking at the sky. "We should leave early tomorrow morning, right?"
"Yes," Hailing nodded. "We have to leave at dawn, otherwise we might get back too late." Their return journey would be without the help of a horse. Fortunately, they didn't have much cargo or luggage, otherwise they would have had to spend another night on the road.
"Then, you can take a bath first when we get back. I'll go and…" Muramasa subconsciously started planning, but Yoimiya keenly caught on to something.
"Ehhh~~ you two are staying in the same room?" Given her emotional intelligence, the fact that she could say this out loud meant it was definitely on purpose.
"Yes." Before Muramasa could speak, Hailing nodded. A strange, unspoken understanding seemed to have formed between them.
"A single man and a single woman spending the night alone…" she said, deliberately drawing out her tone, making it sound a bit theatrical.
"If you have something to say, just say it. Playing games isn't your style, is it?" Even the densest person would have understood her intention by now. Muramasa was already prepared to be kicked out of the room.
"To make sure you don't do anything funny, Muramasa, I'll spend the night at your place too~"
"I know… huh?" The outcome was better than he had expected, but something seemed a little off.
"Why that expression?"
"Just to be clear, I'm sharing a bed with Hailing." She even moved closer to Hailing, as if to say, You're not getting any ideas.
"I wasn't thinking about that." Muramasa could sense a different mood from Yoimiya compared to during the day, though he couldn't fully grasp it.
"Pfft…" Hailing let out a giggle.
"Agh…" A helpless sigh from Muramasa followed the laughter, but it was quickly replaced by a slight smile. Being teased like this isn't so bad. It was certainly more pleasant than his previous commissions.
They walked to the end of the street and arrived at the inn. An unexpected figure was standing at the entrance. Muramasa didn't recognize him, but Yoimiya spoke first. "Ah, it's Master Juugo from the Amenoma Smithy!"
"Yoimiya…" The man, who looked to be approaching seventy, was a bit surprised but still nodded politely. He then turned to Muramasa. "Can we talk?"
The Amenoma Smithy. It must be about the wager.
"You two go on up," Muramasa said to the girls. After watching them disappear up the stairs, he turned to Amenoma Juugo. "The young ladies are going to take a bath. Would you mind joining me over there?" he asked, pointing to an open-air tea stall that hadn't closed for the night yet.
…
The two ordered a pot of tea and sat down.
"For my apprentice's rude behavior this morning, I would like to sincerely... apologize!" With that, he placed his hands on his knees and bowed his head at a ninety-degree angle, a standard gesture of apology.
"I was the one who provoked him, wasn't I? There's no need for this." Muramasa took a sip of his tea. It was light, which was nice at this time of night.
"No," he said, just shaking his head. "My apprentice may seem subservient, only concerned with his wages, but deep down, he has an untamable stubborn streak." The resilience of water dripping on a stone, the will to give it his all. To be able to forge a competent blade, how could he be as indifferent as he appeared?
"The problem is, he's been lying to himself for too long."
"He could have been better, but that life is too tiring, so he hid it from himself."
"Striving for perfection is like climbing mountains. To get to the next mountain, you have to go through a valley first, right? He doesn't want to go down, because going down means failure."
'This is all I'm capable of. I'll just do my job.'
'A better sword? Go ask my master.'
'A higher mountain? My master is on that mountain.'
'As for me, I'll just stay on this one.'
"'I'm perfectly happy just like this. Anyone can do my job'."
"So conservative it makes you want to fall asleep…" The old man had a belly full of pent-up anger. His frustration with his apprentice was pouring out.
Is everyone in your school this stubborn… though I suppose I'm not one to talk. Muramasa thought to himself. It was clear the man cared deeply for his apprentice and knew what his problem was. But he didn't say it. From what he had heard this morning, the man just repeated his "teachings" over and over again, as if praying for his apprentice to achieve enlightenment on his own. Maybe you should call your school the Stubborn Mule style instead of the Amenoma style.
"So, you created a lie, hoping to force him to cross that threshold. But you didn't expect him to get 'stuck' inside it."
Hearing Muramasa say what he had left unsaid, the old man nodded in agreement.
"If you want what's best for him, just say it! Eating is important, but your mouth isn't just for eating, and your body isn't just a rice bucket." Of course, Muramasa didn't say the part about, 'What only takes in and never gives out is a rice bucket. What takes in, lets it rot, and then excretes it is a slop bucket.' The ideas were the food, and the nagging was the slop.
These words left the old man speechless, choking back some of the gratitude he had felt. To prevent his respect for the man from turning into resentment, Amenoma Juugo quickly changed the subject. "By the way, about the wager. How much ore do you need? And which types…"
"Hmm, that… how much was the Yashiro Commission planning to pay you?" Muramasa asked in return. The man nodded and gestured a number. "This much."
"Is that so? Then take seventy percent of that and exchange it for an equivalent value of iron chunks, white iron chunks, crystal chunks, and Tamahagane, in a ratio of one, two, three, and four parts, respectively." During the forging this morning, Muramasa had gotten a basic grasp of the material types.
Hearing this reply, Amenoma Juugo's eyes widened. At this rate, the wager was just empty words. It was equivalent to just outsourcing the job to him.
"What's wrong? I have a big appetite," Muramasa said, a corner of his mouth curling into a grin. "Besides, there's no guarantee that sword will even be submitted, right? If it is, I break even. If it's not, I've gotten a lot of materials from you for free~"
His words were harsh, but to be able to observe and study a demon blade of that caliber was a priceless treasure for any smith.
"...Hah, with you being like this, how can I ever repay this kindness?" he murmured, then nodded heavily. "Then, allow me to ask one last question."
Seeing his serious expression, Muramasa's smile vanished. "What is it?"
"That sword, no matter what, I ask that you engrave it with your own 'name'." The fact that this sword could be lent to his apprentice for study was already a tremendous boon for the Amenoma school. They could not steal its true name.
"I see… then."
"Let's call it 'Yaegaki Muramasa'."
-------
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