Playing the Perfect Fox-Eyed Villain Chapter 22

Episode 22. Clothes that fit your body (1)

Land, land──!

The sound of a blacksmith striking a hammer against iron. And the sight of red-hot iron being cooled in cold water.

Beyond the glass partition dividing the room, a blacksmith shop, which is often seen only in fantasy, was visible.

I felt my heart warming at the sight, but… … .

“That’s not a sword, it’s just a craft. My pride wouldn’t allow me to make something like that!”

I was soon brought back to reality by the sight of the old man sitting right in front of me with a frown on his face.

The name of the old man with white hair is 'Ruger Orland'.

The owner of 'Twilight Flame', the most famous blacksmith shop in the island.

And he is the blacksmith who made the sword of the blacksmith 'Hayden Reich'.

“It’s not a craft.”

“No, that’s just a craft. Take a look at the blueprints you brought!”

BAM──!!

In a fit of rage, Luger slammed his palm against the wooden desk. A sheet of blueprints he had placed there fluttered and shook slightly.

In fact, it is embarrassing to even call it a 'blueprint'. It is simply a list of a few things that can be used as reference when making a sword using 'Moonstone'.

“If this blueprint is followed, what you want to make is not a sword, but a craft. A sword made of jewels… How can you call that a weapon!”

The sharp eyes of Luger contained the blueprint I had uploaded.

“At our ‘Twilight Flame’, we only make weapons for knights. So, as I said before, if it’s crafts, you can find them elsewhere…….”

“I’ve said this many times, but I didn’t come here to make crafts. I came here to make weapons.”

Tingling.

Luger's eyes became sharper.

“A weapon? If you look at the blueprint you gave me… isn’t there a moonstone embedded in the center of the sword?”

"yes."

“The moonstone is a gem. It is much weaker than ordinary metals. Looking at the design, it seems to be engraved with ‘mana blood’, but it will easily break if you swing it once.”

“It doesn’t matter. Please proceed.”

Luger's face became distorted, as if he was angry at my attitude of not listening to him even when he spoke.

Then, a beautiful woman sitting next to me intervened in the conversation with an embarrassed look on her face.

Lupina Orlando.

The annoying old woman you see in front of you is the granddaughter of Ruger Orland.

“That, Sir Yulian… We put the blacksmith’s logo on the weapons we make very small. But if those weapons break easily, wouldn’t the brand value we’ve built be damaged?”

"hmm……."

“The moonstone is a gem. A sword centered on a gem is bound to break easily. I believe that even Sir Yurian knows what we are trying to say….”

It was a convincing story.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the most important factor in selling weapons to knights was strength.

If I were to swing the sword I received from the forge 'Twilight Flame' and it shattered, what would the other people watching think?

'That brand is trash.'

They even put a small logo on it so that it's easy to recognize.

I also thought that it might be okay to leave the work to another blacksmith.

But this forge called 'Twilight Flame' was quite an impressive place for me.

'After all, it's the place that made the sword of the Black Sword Master Haydn Reich.'

In other words, this is a place where quality assurance is guaranteed.

What should I do?

While I was thinking about it for a moment, an idea suddenly popped into my head.

Ultimately, what this person is trying to protect is brand value.

“Then, shouldn’t I just use that sword so that it doesn’t break?”

"what?"

If so, the answer is simple.

All I had to do was show that I could use the sword without breaking it.

“If what you say is true, then it should be possible to handle the custom-made moonstone sword without damaging it.”

“Yes? Oh yes…… Of course, that would be so.”

“Do you think that makes sense? Moonstone is a gem with lower strength than other gems. If you make a sword out of something like that, no matter how skilled a swordsman you are…….”

“If you’re worried, you can do this.”

Lupina is embarrassed by the difficult situation.

Luger glares at me as if telling me to try if I want to.

I looked at the two of them and took out my wallet, placed the amount needed for the custom order on the table.

“Please start custom production first.”

“What have you been listening to from what I’ve said until now…….”

“Then I will test whether I can handle the sword without breaking it.”

"what?"

I continued, leaving the bewildered Luger behind.

“If it breaks during the test, I won’t refund the cost of custom-made it. What do you think?”

“……You speak very confidently.”

“Oh, the test will cost money too. I’ll pay for that too.”

As I said that, I took out another coin from my wallet and placed it on the table.

It was half the cost of custom manufacturing.

If the sword were to break, everything would be blown away in vain, but it never occurred to me that a sword embedded with a moonstone would break.

Because I was that confident.

***

“Lord Yurian, I have completed the sword you ordered, but…….”

A few days later, I went back to the blacksmith shop 'Twilight Flame' and the Lupina I had seen with Luger was waiting for me.

In her hand was a beautiful scabbard.

“As expected, it lacks strength. They say the blacksmiths broke it several times during the process of making it. They say all they can do is shape it.”

“I see. It doesn’t matter.”

As I approached her, she handed me the sword.

As soon as I held it, a cool sensation spread through my fingertips.

'This is it.'

The moment I grabbed the handle of the sword, I felt the mana flowing from my body shaking.

I immediately drew my sword from its scabbard.

The 'Moonstone Sword', too beautiful to be called a sword, but too crude to be called a jewel, has revealed itself.

“As you can see, it seems to have sufficient value as a craft. However, as a weapon, as I said before…….”

“It means it breaks easily.”

"yes."

Lupina nodded at my words.

There was also a firm belief in his eyes that this black absolute could never be used as a 'weapon'.

“By the way, where is Lord Luger?”

“First, you said you would wait at the testing site.”

“Good. Then you take the lead.”

The employee nodded, stood up, and headed inside the blacksmith shop.

The place we arrived at shortly was a wide open space.

It appears to be a place to display weapons made in a blacksmith shop.

“There are quite a few people gathered here.”

The only strange thing was that the blacksmiths who worked in the forge were gathered in the vacant lot. And Luger was still frowning and looking this way.

“Yes, that… Sir Yurian wanted to see if he could really use that sword.”

“Is that so?”

I felt like a spectacle, but I didn't feel too bad about it.

Swords made from moonstone have low strength and break easily.

Even though I know that fact, I'm curious about the result because I'm wondering 'what if?' about the swordsmanship skills that 'Yurien' possesses.

If I had just become 'Yurien', I would have been out of breath from the tension, but I've gotten used to receiving attention.

On the contrary, I even thought, "Should I do fan service because of this body's strong desire to show off?"

“If Sir Yurian can cut through that armor with his Moonstone Sword, I think it would be a good idea for us to submit our own custom-made swords as well.”

I nodded to Lupina's words and headed towards where the armor was placed.

As I ran my hand over the armor, I could feel the solid texture of the armor.

Judging by the meticulously filled joints of the iron plates, it was clear that it was a high-quality product prepared by a blacksmith.

"……hmm?"

Around the stand were scattered pieces of iron.

Looking closely, I could see a few scratches here and there on the armor.

“That armor is only 1cm thick. Considering that regular plate armor is 2mm thick, it’s more like a lump of steel than armor.”

Armor that's only 1cm thick.

So are the scattered pieces of iron around here and there fragments from swords being swung at this armor?

“Okay, I’ve prepared the test. As you said, if the sword breaks as promised…….”

“I won’t refund the money you paid. The sword… if it’s broken, there’s no need to take it.”

I slowly turned my head and smiled faintly.

“I don’t think that will happen, though.”

Even though I was acting as 'Yurian', I usually avoided speaking in such a confident manner.

But the moment I grabbed the handle of the Moonstone Sword, a certain tingling sensation welled up inside my body.

I mean, the desire to experiment as soon as possible.

“Ssup…….”

Just take a few deep breaths.

He brought the drawn sword to the armor.

If you swing it like this, the black moonstone will shatter from the center in an instant without you even noticing.

However, the reason this sword was made was purely to use the Moonlight Sword. Naturally, the basis for using it is to breathe in 'Aura'.

To activate the Moonlight Sword, I activated 6 of the 38 mana veins.

The great vein of the heart, the 'dog gate'.

A 'rest gate' that connects the heart to the head.

Next are two 'sutra gates' leading to the two arms.

Two 'main gates' leading to the bridge.

As all the major blood vessels were activated, a soft light began to leak out from the Moonstone Sword.

“That’s the rumor…….”

“Still, that sword’s durability is just too poor. Even if it’s a glass mirror, it won’t work.”

I ignored the murmurs coming from behind me and focused on my sword.

Clearly, the area of the <Moonlight Sword> was so small that a crescent moon could rise before. If all the mana bloods were activated, it was obvious that the ordinary sword would not be able to withstand the mana of 'Yurien' and would be shattered into pieces.

However, the mana blood engraved on the sword prevented such mana gathering and made it easy to spread it throughout the sword.

What was needed to complete the <Moonlight Sword> was a path. This moonstone was acting as that path.

'So, what this means is that the sword can withstand using not only the major veins like last time, but also the minor veins.'

What we are opening this time are two of the four golden lines, which are the small blood vessels of the head.

Three of the six vital veins of the heart.

And the right hand holding the sword hilt. Four meridians leading to it.

'Ugh.'

From the heart to the moonstone sword. As I opened wide the passage through which mana could travel, I felt the mana draining from my entire body like pouring water into a bottomless pit.

That too for a moment.

“Oh…….”

Sighs and groans could be heard from around them.

'It's finally finished.'

The <Moonlight Sword> used by Yurian.

A sword that was so shiny that it could be called the original came into view.

==

⇒ Trait, "Imperfect Moonlight Sword" has grown into "Moonlight Sword".

==

An aura that ranks in the top 5 in the world of <Let's Kill the Demon King Now>.

The fact that I had completed this made my body boil like the furnaces scattered around me.

I slowly approached the armor and took the sword. I held it with both hands and swung it not with all my might, but naturally, like the wind blowing through a wheat field.

From tip to tip of the armor.

Lesser──!

The part where the sword had been taken began to be cut cleanly, and when he reached the other side in that state, the armor with the seams cut off fell to the ground.

“Wow, that’s ridiculous…….”

“It doesn’t seem like you used any force at all, yet you managed to tear that armor in two…….”

The special feature of Yurian's patented <Moonlight Sword> is that it captures the overflowing mana in the sword and makes it spin around without warning.

For example, like a chainsaw blade.

Ability to possess overwhelming cutting power.

The reason why I, who hated Yurian so much, knew this ability so well was simple.

'Because I've died many times.'

The protagonist of <Let's Kill the Demon King Now>, Haydn Reich's former disciple and arch-rival.

A guy who is like an axis of evil that opposes the protagonist in most routes.

That's why I knew the abilities that Yurian had, because he was such a difficult opponent to the point of being disgusting.

“Then Sir Luger, may I take this sword?”

He took a quick look at the fallen armor and then turned his gaze to Luger, who was watching from behind.

The blacksmith with the annoying expression still showed no intention of removing his frown.