CHAPTER 69: CHAPTER 69: AN EXPERIMENT

Kotetsu noticed that Sosuke had been acting differently lately.

"How to put it... he seems even more driven? No, that’s not right. He’s always been driven."

The brat sat in the smithy, watching Sosuke work with feverish intensity. He darted between his desk, the Automaton, and the workbench, utterly absorbed in his tasks.

"Even though it looks the same as before, there’s something..."

As he stared at Sosuke, he saw him complete another arm. His eyes narrowed. "It’s starting!"

The next moment, Sosuke, having admired his creation, tilted his head forty-five degrees and gazed at the sky. "She’s waiting for me at home... Heh."

"I knew it!" Kotetsu muttered, rubbing his eyes through the Fire Man Mask, feeling too embarrassed to watch.

Ever since the Kocho Sisters had left that day, Sosuke had been in this lovesick state.

It wasn’t just during the creation and repair of the Automaton. Even during afternoon swordsmanship practice, any breakthrough would immediately plunge him into this infatuated trance, utterly unstoppable.

Of course, while the lovesick state was one thing, the adrenaline-fueled frenzy that followed was truly excessive.

Under this state, Sosuke’s abilities doubled.

He became utterly insane!

As if possessed by the Forging God himself, his precision in every aspect became unparalleled.

In such a short time, he had already completely replicated all six arms.

This gave Kotetsu a glimmer of hope.

But... he couldn’t help but worry about Sosuke.

"The Flower Pillar Sister is indeed very gentle and smiles often, but with a younger sister like that, won’t he get beaten to a pulp?"

Even after several days, Kotetsu still felt a faint ache in his head and grew increasingly concerned about Sosuke’s future.

Unfortunately, the man seemed completely oblivious to the danger.

"Sigh, there are so many fire pits in this world, yet some people insist on jumping into them. Fools, utter fools."

Kotetsu bounced off his chair and hopped down, approaching Sosuke with the air of a little adult. He tugged at his sleeve. "Brother Sosuke."

"Huh?" Sosuke stared blankly at Kotetsu. "Who are you?"

Kotetsu nearly coughed up blood in shock. ’As expected, men in their infatuated state recognize no one!’

"Oh, oh, Kotetsu!" Sosuke suddenly snapped back to attention, his face regaining its usual serious and focused expression. "I was just pondering a very important problem, so I got a little distracted."

"Mhm, mhm," Kotetsu nodded stiffly, pretending to believe him. "What should we do next?"

"Next?" Sosuke pondered for a moment before declaring, "Next, the legs!"

As Sosuke had suspected, the six arms indeed possessed different mechanisms. However, with the first arm serving as a foundation, the subsequent ones proved much simpler to disassemble.

Now, Sosuke set down the Automaton, picked up a massive leg, and examined it for a long time. Eventually, he applied a random amount of force, and with a click, the leg detached.

Half an hour later, Sosuke had reattached the leg, and the table was now covered with numerous diagrams.

"Overall, the leg’s structure is surprisingly simple," Sosuke remarked, studying the blueprints on the table. "The mechanisms themselves aren’t particularly advanced, but... judging by the gear and joint designs, the primary focus seems to be achieving greater speed and executing specific movements at precise moments. Hmm, these actions are likely controlled by a central system. The key challenges in crafting this leg probably lie in directional control, maintaining balance, and ensuring the mechanisms’ precision. If we can solve those, we should be able to handle the rest. In any case, let’s build a prototype first!"

Kotetsu nodded. "If we keep this up, it shouldn’t take too long to completely restore the Automaton."

TSosuke glanced at him, his mind churning with thoughts.

That evening, after sending Kotetsu home, Sosuke approached the Automaton. He stared at it for a long time before suddenly chuckling. "In the end, what does any of this have to do with me? I don’t need that sword, and I don’t care who ends up with it. So, I can just ignore the whole thing."

He shook his head, turned around, and went back to sleep.

With nothing more to say, time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, another month had gone by!

The peaceful Swordsmith Village once again welcomed a visitor.

But this time, it wasn’t Kanae or Shinobu. The Wind Pillar had come.

His primary purpose was to seek out Sosuke to repair his blade. During a recent mission, he had encountered a demon nearly on par with the Twelve Kizuki.

The demon’s Blood Demon Art was unremarkable, but its physical resilience was almost despair-inducing.

In their battle, the Wind Pillar’s repeated attempts to decapitate the demon proved futile. Only by sacrificing the integrity of his blade was he finally able to sever the demon’s head.

He deeply valued the Nichirin Blade forged by Sosuke. After the blade was damaged, he immediately went to the Butterfly Mansion to find Sosuke, only to learn that Sosuke had already returned to the Swordsmith Village.

He then sent a letter to the village, hoping for assistance.

To his surprise, the reply requested that he come in person.

This was different from before. Previously, they would simply take his sword away, repair or reforge it, and return it later.

Though somewhat puzzled, he followed the instructions in the letter and visited Swordsmith Village.

Seated across from him was Tecchin.

The Village Chief smiled gently and said, "Asking the Wind Pillar to come personally was actually for two reasons. We need your help with two matters."

Shinazugawa Sanemi, the Wind Pillar, looked puzzled. "If it’s something that needs to be done, couldn’t anyone else handle it? Why me specifically?"

"It’s not that it had to be you," Tecchin replied with a smile. "It just so happened that you wrote to me at this time. So, here you are."

"..." Sanemi was speechless. He had been summoned for such a trivial reason?

But since he was already here, there was no point in arguing. He forced himself to remain patient and said, "Then please explain, Village Chief, what exactly you need me for?"

"Help us with an experiment," Kawagen Chintetsu said with a smile. "Sosuke, come in."

Tetsu no Sosuke made a dazzling entrance. "Long time no see!"

Shinazugawa Sanemi frowned at him. "Are you behind this?"

"...I don’t have any weird interests like that!"

Tetsu no Sosuke’s face darkened. "And it’s not a Demon, it’s an Automaton."

Shinazugawa Sanemi’s brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Let’s go. I can’t explain it here. The venue’s been prepared, just waiting for you," Tetsu no Sosuke said with a smirk.