CHAPTER 58: CHAPTER 58: FORGING MY OWN BLADE

The Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand arrived. Sosuke was surprised by the generous amount, especially since he wasn’t even a member of the Demon Slayer Corps yet.

’Well, if they’re giving it, I’ll take it,’ he thought. ’It would be rude to write a letter asking why.’

He lit the forge and picked up the Heavenly Artisan’s Forge Hammer, exhaling softly.

After nearly a month apart, the hammer felt surprisingly familiar in his hand.

’I guess that month of non-stop forging has ingrained the feel of wielding it into my bones, he mused. Plus, I’ve been practicing Gale Sun with a hammer while honing my swordsmanship.’

So, despite the month-long hiatus, the hammer still felt as natural as ever.

As the forge heated up, the iron gradually transformed.

Sosuke watched the upgraded gauge intently. When it reached the designated mark, he immediately withdrew the metal.

The next moment, the rhythmic clang of hammering echoed through the courtyard once more.

Kanae emerged from the courtyard. With Sosuke’s Total Concentration technique nearing completion, she no longer needed to watch over him day and night. She had come this morning to call him for breakfast.

Instead, she found him already hammering iron again.

She immediately stopped to watch.

Truthfully, there was nothing particularly captivating about blacksmithing. A bare-chested man, sweat glistening on his skin, hammering red-hot metal with a cold forge hammer, the air thick with the metallic tang of sweat.

Normally, women rarely found such scenes appealing.

But Kanae couldn’t explain why she loved watching Sosuke forge with such focused intensity.

She loved seeing him lost in his passion for blacksmithing, loved hearing his unique insights into the craft. Every time she watched him speak with such fervor and concentration, she couldn’t help but be drawn to the radiant aura that seemed to emanate from him.

It reminded her of the first time they met, back in the Blacksmith Village, when he had explained how swordsmen could make all sorts of requests for their Nichirin Blades.

Before she knew it, she would find herself completely absorbed, unable to tear her gaze away.

And as she watched, time slipped by unnoticed.

Kanae snapped out of her reverie when she heard footsteps approaching. Her face flushed crimson.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she turned to see Shinobu tiptoeing toward her.

Noticing her sister’s gaze, Shinobu froze, instinctively sticking out her tongue. "Caught!"

Kanae gave her a gentle glare. "What are you doing?"

"You hadn’t come to dinner for so long, so I figured something must have happened. When I came to check, I found you standing here in a daze, and I heard the sound of hammering from inside. I thought my sister must have had something important stolen again... so I came to call your soul back."

"..."

Kanae’s face alternated between red and pale before she finally chuckled softly, cracking her knuckles with a crisp pop.

"Sister... what are you doing?"

Shinobu retreated two steps, shaking her head. "Sister, you need to calm down!"

Kanae nodded. "I am calm."

As she spoke, she closed in.

"Sister, you can’t bully your own sister over a man!"

Shinobu finished her taunt and bolted.

But she barely took two steps before Kanae, graceful as a falling butterfly, swooped in and pinned her in a hug, her hands tickling Shinobu’s armpits. "Take that for your nonsense!"

A piercing, off-key scream echoed across the sky.

Meanwhile, Sosuke remained completely oblivious, utterly immersed in his sea of iron.

He hammered relentlessly with Gale Sun, refining the Yang Flame attribute and purging impurities.

It’s worth noting that the rewards for impurity removal had become pitifully meager lately...

Undeterred, Sosuke completely purged the iron material of impurities within a mere two hours.

This was thanks to his increasingly refined hammering technique, as well as the Heavenly Artisan’s Forge Hammer and Heavenly Artisan’s Iron Anvil, which significantly reduced the time required for impurity removal.

Moreover, the flames enhanced by the Heavenly Artisan’s Bellows ensured the iron material remained at the optimal temperature for extended periods.

Compared to other methods, this was naturally much faster.

Ah, the Heavenly Artisan’s Bellows... Just hearing the name, you can probably guess it’s one of the rewards for forging weapons. Anything crafted by the Heavenly Artisan is guaranteed to be a masterpiece!

Sosuke showed no signs of stopping. He immediately adjusted his breathing and began the second stage of forging.

The blade’s form required almost no thought; it was already perfectly clear in Sosuke’s mind.

The shape of the sun of genesis!

The difference was that while the sun of genesis was forged from ordinary iron, this blade... was made from Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand. Once completed, it would bear a different name... the Nichirin Blade!

By the time the second stage was finished, it wasn’t even noon yet.

After treating the blade’s body, Sosuke placed it into the furnace.

Turning around, he hadn’t even wiped the sweat from his forehead when he saw Kanae and Shinobu standing on either side of him.

Kanae wore her usual gentle smile, while Shinobu, standing beside her, had tears welling in her eyes and was muttering something unintelligible.

Shinobu held a tray of food in her hands.

"When did you two get here?" Sosuke grinned.

Kanae took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his face. "Just now."

Sosuke nodded, glanced at the time, then at the food in Shinobu’s hands. "I lost track of time again."

"Eat up," Kanae said with a nod. "We’ve already eaten."

"Alright."

Sosuke took the tray from Shinobu’s hands. Only then did he finally hear what she was muttering: "Sister’s a demon... Sister’s a demon..."

He stared at Shinobu in confusion. ’Aren’t you the one who loves your sister the most? Why are you suddenly saying this?’

He glanced at Kanae, whose gentle demeanor was almost unnervingly serene. How could she possibly be a demon?

Frowning, he said, "Kids just talk nonsense."

Shinobu’s eyes reddened, and with a wail, she burst into tears and ran off.

Sosuke stared after her, dumbfounded. "What just happened?"

Shinobu had never acted like this before. At first, she had disliked him, but later, after warming up to him, she had always acted like a little adult, her face perpetually stern as if someone owed her money.

’But now... why is she slowly turning into a brat?’

"It’s nothing," Kanae said with a light laugh. "I disciplined her today."

"Oh, oh," Sosuke nodded repeatedly, not asking why. "You did the right thing."

It was fortunate Shinobu wasn’t around; otherwise, she would have cried even harder.

The nonsense about "double the love" was clearly a lie—it was more like double the bullying!

Kanae led Sosuke to sit on the veranda and went inside to pour him a cup of tea.

As they sat facing each other, smiling faintly, Sosuke glanced at the food on the veranda and suddenly lost his appetite.

He sat cross-legged, propping himself up with his arms as he gazed at Kanae.

Kanae’s cheeks flushed. "What are you looking at?"

The tenderness in Sosuke’s eyes melted into honeyed affection. Just as he was about to speak, they heard footsteps. He turned to see...

Shinobu, cheeks puffed out and tears welling in her eyes, had returned.

Sosuke and Kanae both looked at her. The little girl huffed, "Don’t think you can just ditch me to go do those wicked things! I won’t give you the chance!"

"...!"