Dragon’s Bloodline

The dwarven race was looked down on.

Until now, they hadnt met any dwarves. Dwarves were excellent blacksmiths and craftsmen, and without fail would have workshops set up in big cities. In metropolises like Anise, they would build up orderly communities.

However, the dwarves true home was different.

When dwarves didnt worry about the eyes of other races, there were like another race altogether.

To start with, the image of them being stubborn workers wasnt wrong.

Take their weapon shops for instance.

At least if you were to talk about what is said in their workshops Iron! Sometimes, mithril! Occasionally, orichalcum!

But this wasnt everything that the dwarven race was.

They were even more extreme if you went to their house. One sake, two sake, three sake, even five of them. They heartily enjoyed their sake, continuing on with their work the next day, silently waging war against metal.

The first to escape was Lulu. She was a delicate elf, so they ignored her.

Serge was trembling like a bouncy maiden, he avoided harm since he was a child.

Gig couldnt pass as a child. His huge build getting smashed was laughed at.

Carlos? That thing rolled into a ball like some garbage in the corner of the bar was his body?

Even though Shizuna was unexpectedly strong against the sake, she was still within the scope of a humans common sense. Drowning in the dwarven wives fruit liquors, she continuously vomited a mass of gold in the end.

Ria fought.

Only Ria fought.

Lets spell out the memories of that sublime battle here.

In a large dwarven settlement, where should one go to meet the highest ranking dwarf?

The answer: the largest smithy.

Getting information about it and going down the road they were told about, there was a large smithy made of wood.

Hearing the incessant strikes against metal from within, it wasnt likely that they would be able to normally get anyones attention.

Here, Ria leveraged her [Roar] Gift.

The wooden building shook. At any rate, it was at a volume that would stupefy the average human.

The heck, so noisy.

An old dwarf with a calm face came out, the head foreman.

Ria passed over the letter shed held on to from the Ogre King.

Its contents were simple. From having a bout against Cordova, to requesting the arrangement of weapons, to also offering their war potential if they could.

Hmm.

Bufuuu. The head foreman exhaled from his nose.

Bring it on. Cordova has been a thorn in our side for a while now.

They heard from him that dwarven slaves were forced to produce weapons.

The head foreman continued with a, However.

The dwarf village was an autonomous organization of a great number of foremen gathered together. Though he could more or less act as a mediator, he couldnt decide everything himself.

Dwarves were a race that werent suited towards having a structured system after all.

So, was that all?

The head foremans glance kept flickering towards Rias waist. More accurately, towards the katana sheathed there.

Right, take a look at this. What do you think of it?

Presenting Nagasone Kotetsu, still in its scabbard, she passed it to the head foreman. He smoothly unsheathed it.

A katana, huh

With earnest eyes, the foreman gazed at the blade.

His eyes were chilling.

This is a worthy specimen. It doesnt look like it can take in magic, but it should easily be able to cut through mithril. But just how was it forged?

The thick lumber was easily bisected.

Next was slicing through wood coiled with wet straw and paper.

Although iron was taken out as well, it was also easily cut in two.

Good, now for the real thing.

Forged by a dwarf, the steel sword was placed on the trial stand in front of Ria.

So? You might nick the blade, but

Hah!

The head foremans voice trailed off as Ria shouted, breaking the sword.

Nagasone Kotetsus blade wasnt marred at all.

Those inside the smithy were looking at the trial. Though the head foreman would usually shout to disperse them and get them to resume working, as expected, it was impossible for a dwarf to not watch this.

Next, a mithril blade was taken out. Its strength was improved with magic. Thinking sensibly, it wasnt possible to be broken by an iron blade.

Even so, Rias Nagasone Kotetsu sliced through it.

The heck is that? Even if you could cut through it, Id think there would be a nick or bend

Being returned to its sheathe, Nagasone Kotetsu showed no signs of bending.

Isnt it just normal iron? But it couldnt be that strong from normal forging I dont get it.

Then, the head foreman took out an orichalcum ingot.

It was called the metal of the gods, a metal far more expensive than pure gold.

As expected, she couldnt cut through it. However, Nagasone Kotetsu was still neither warped nor nicked.

Im going to give it a serious shot, that good?

Now that shed come this far, Ria wanted to know the limit of her beloved katana.

Well, it was more like she wanted to slice through it.

Something like metal with magical power should be able to be sliced through if she loaded the iron with magical power.

Iyaaaah!

Nagasone Kotetstu, charged with Rias magical power, met her expectations.

The lump of orichalcum cracked in half.

The head foreman raised his hands in defeat. He literally raised his hands.

Follow me. It seems youll understand my youngest son.

He then took Ria alone to a corner of the village, arriving at a small hut.

Foreman, the head foreman arrived.

Though an apprentice called out inside the hut, there wasnt a reaction for a while.

The sound of iron being struck continued ringing out.

The work process finishing at last, a still-young, yet also obstinate, dwarf came into view.

Urged on by silence, Ria and the head foreman entered the workshop. Though it was small, there was a beautifully arranged set of general tools. It looked like a house on the inside.

Your katana, please show him it.

Hearing the world katana, the foremans eyebrow twitched. Ria passed it over to him, still sheathed.

Oi you.

The foreman finally spoke.

What dwarf forged this? Tell me. Please.

Well, that was forged by a human.

That drew the attention of the other dwarves for a moment.

A-a human forged it? This? Who in the world?

Im sorry to say that that person is already dead

Ria began to tell the story of Nagasone Kotetsu.

However, Rias knowledge of it was limited. They were a lot of legends, as well. Opening with that, Ria spoke of Nagasone Kotetsus life.

Until he turned fifty years old, hed never made a katana. Only armor.

To destroy the magnificent armor that he himself had created, he began to forge

e a katana.

Before forging it, he first started by carefully examining iron as a material.

Then, when he became the greatest craftsman in the east, he caught the eyes of a lord. He was recognized as being the best swordsmith.

The consequences of his fame, including the forgeries that appeared on the market in his lifetime, Ria spoke about everything she knew of Nagasone Kotetsu.

By the time she realized it, it had already grown dark outside.

When Ria finished speaking, the dwarf and his son were overcome with emotion. Their arms were linked as they looked towards the ceiling.

Its a wide world out there.

When the head foreman muttered that, the foreman nodded as well.

As for me, I want you to forge a katana that exceeds this one.

Right now, thats impossible. I cant even hold a candle to it.

Although the dwarves were a race of proud blacksmiths, he said such a thing, lowering his head.

I beg you. Please, teach me anything related to this katana, anything is good.

I expected that. I also love katanas, after all.

Then, the fight started.

First of all, this iron is bad.

Ria declared.

Dwarven iron was pure, made by magic and a furnace. Although coal was added as well to turn it into steel, it was too pure.

There was a mixture. Hearing that, the dwarves had strange looks on their faces. Eliminating impurities from the iron, it was further hardened by the addition of carbon. That was the reasonable way to make weapons.

Though its an extremely small amount, rather than not lacking iron, you need a material that makes it not warp.

Though shed researched the areas around here as well as Anise, the ultimate steel hadnt been completed.

Like this. Here.

Ria created some titanium. It wasnt a magical metal.

In the manufacturing method of Japanese katanas in her previous life, this was something that was mostly lost as a secret.

In fact, there was a theory that the most excellent katanas were made between the Heian and Kamakura periods, even compared to modern ones.

The grounds for the theory was discovered in an old Buddhist temple. An analysis on the composition of an old and tattered katana found there found modern materials contained within it.

Though its said that they may have intentionally left things behind when they made the iron, since the exact method of iron refinement from those times hasnt been confirmed, it couldnt be brought to a conclusion.

At any rate, in order to make iron, they began with making another furnace.

Mixed in with the group of dwarves were also Carlos and Gig helping out.

The head foreman did his best to support them.

When the furnace was completed and the steel manufacturing was to start, the villages dwarves cooperated.

Pumping the bellows together with many heave hos, the three day long steel manufacturing began.

They failed many times. Perhaps the iron was bad, or maybe the soil, or maybe the coal. It could have been anything.

Dozens of kilos of iron was used before she managed to figure it out. A month had passed.

Still, Ria was satisfied. She felt like shed seen the dwarves potentials.

Profound, boorish lumps of iron. When you looked inside, it shined white like the moon.

This was iron. More valuable than gold, it was iron.

They then began to forge the katana.

The technique itself wasnt too different from her previous lifes. It was a problem of skill.

There was no one to rely on for feedback. Only the foreman had forged katanas in earnest among the dwarves, and his apprentices were definitely not at the point of being able to forge the iron.

Will I be fine?

Though Ria gripped the hammer and asked that, the foreman just nodded.

They then worked on forging katanas.

It was struck single-mindedly. For both the part that would become the heart of the iron and the part that would become the iron blade, various methods were used.

Simultaneously advancing, they both struck katanas countless times using separate methods.

Soil used for tempering, water used for tempering, they had arranged various things.

What kind of water to use? Well water or river water? What temperature for the water?

They failed many, many times.

Ria and the foreman hardly slept.

With endurances that could be thought as nearing infinite values, they continued forging katanas.

It was primarily the apprentices role to sharpen. They werent looking for a true sharpening. Simply a rough sharpening to see the color of the iron.

Yet another month passed by.

There was a single katana.

Its body was wide and the blade had a shallow curve.

The ripples along the blade werent something to boast of.

Ria stared fixedly at the katana, whose blade just finished its rough sharpening.

As though waiting for her to say something, the foreman stood quietly at her side.

Kind of similar to Kiyomaro.[1]

Ria muttered. The foremans eyes seemed to ask who Kiyomaro was.

He was born in an age after Nagasone Kotetsu, a swordsmith that was his rival. The appearance is different of course, but the katana has ambition.

The foreman nodded. In the corner of his eyes, something was gleaming.

Now then, Ive been meaning to ask something.

This was a true katana to Rias eyes and she was celebrating being able to just barely make one.

I want you to forge a katana with this.

This is a metal? I havent seen it. Though it looks like a dragons fang

Even the head foreman, who was the most knowledgeable of them all, couldnt figure out where it came from. Without putting on any airs, Ria told them.

His response? An immediate, Impossible.

What he wanted to say was to let him have a shot at it, but he couldnt make himself say it.

His eyes said that he wanted to do it.

First of all, we wouldnt need a furnace

The head foreman muttered to himself. He was motivated.

Another person muttered that charcoal from the world tree would be needed.

Another brought up the hammer that would be needed.

They were motivated.

The dwarf village was filled with motivation.

Ah, heres more or less my advance payment.

Ria took out a few objects. Gold bullions she made in her spare time.

You cant eat iron right?

Brandishing their cups of sake, the dwarves cheered.

Leaving the dwarf village the next morning.

Even when I grow up, Ill absolutely never go to the dwarf village.

Serge, who was a liberal arts youth in his previous life, didnt hide his true feelings.

Rather, never again

On the back of his favorite horse, Carlos was groaning as though dying.

Lulu quietly used recovery magic on him, but magic that perfectly removed alcohol didnt actually exist.

Theyre a bunch of good guys.

Even Ria was shaking back and forth on Matsukazes back.

Drinking and making a racket with the dwarven men, Ria was crushed.

Somehow waking up before sunrise despite the hangover was due to years of habit.

Still though, I really do think dwarves have sake flowing in them instead of blood.

Well, you were able to keep up with them until the end.

Lulu quipped. She was the kind of person that would get drunk off of a single glass of wine.

Although Ria had terrific abnormal condition resistances, she didnt have one for alcohol.

Right, even dragons would get drunk after drinking sake.

Rias strength against sake depended purely on her body.

Still, it took longer than I thought.

Though it was mainly because of her, Ria muttered so in a carefree manner.

A bird flew from the sky to such a Ria.

No, not a bird. It did have wings, but it was a bat.

The bats feet hovered in front of Ria, a letter attached to them.

As for who would use a bat like that, it was probably a report from Asuka.

A short sentence was written inside the letter.

[Cordova soldiers raiding the village. Return quickly.]

Spurring Matsukaze forward, Ria hurried down the road towards the village.