Chapter 39

39 New Weapons
And that was how the bought Maevis’ new sword(cheap).
That evening at the inn, Mile talked to everyone.
「How about we take a rest tomorrow?」
「What are you talking about, we barely even worked for one day! If we do things like that, we’ll never be able to save up some money!」
「W-Well, calm down a little….」
Pauline tried to calm down Rena who had become irritated by Mile’s words.
「Mile, I know you are trying to appear as hard-working, so there is some reason for this, right?」
「Trying to appear as hard-working…」
Maevis’ attempt at stretching out helping hand had instead dealt Mile damage.
「Huh, are you okay?」
Maevis asked the depressed Mile. She was totally unaware of the effects of her words.
「N-No, everything is okay… But it isn’t that good either…」
Whispering the last part, Mile recovered.
「Um, to be honest, there is somewhere I’d like to go with Maevis-san tomorrow…」
「「「Eh?」」」
The trio raised their voices in unison.
「M-Mile, it can’t be you…」
「T-That…」
「Yes, I don’t mind. What do you have in mind? Do you need to go to shopping? 」
It seems like 2 people thought of something strange on impulse.
The next day, inside the forest.
「Why is everyone here!」
And certainly, beside Mile and Maevis, Rena and Pauline were also present.
「I was only a little bit interested in what you two were going to do!」
「I was dragged along forcibly be Rena…」
「If it was like that you could have said so in the first place and just come with us! Why did you go as far as to hide yourself to follow us!」
「Then I couldn’t confirm what you two were going to do when nobody is watching.」
「Ugaa!」
It took a short while before Mile recovered from that.
「Have it your way then! Let us do this as we planned, Maevis-san.」
「Yes, let’s start. So, what am I so supposed to do?」
「Pull out your sword, please.」
「Okay, ….here.」
Saying this, Maevis handed over her sheathed sword after she had untied it from her waist.
Upon receiving the sword, Mile drew the blade and pierced it into the sandy ground.
「Eh…」
Although the reason behind Mile’s actions was also a mystery, ramming a sword into the ground all the way up to the hilt was nothing a normal person could do.
「Meavis-san, what do you think of this sword’s weight?」
「Hmm, well I am a speed type fighter, so with a lighter sword I could swing faster, but I would also lose power in return. And always using a light sword won’t train me, so I could get into trouble when I need to use a normal sword. In the end, the normal weight it has right now is quite good.」
「T-That’s right! As expected, being normal is the best!」
Mile’s strange focus on that part put Maevis off a little bit, but as it was the usual deal with Mile, she didn’t mind it that much.
Besides that, right now she was more interested in what was going to happen to her sword.
「So, Mile, my sword…」
「Ah, please wait for a moment longer.」
Saying this, Mile entered a thoughtful trance where her eyes lost focus.
When she returned from this state and her eyes focused on it, she grabbed the sword’s hilt and pulled it from the earth.
Blowing away the dirt clinging to the blade, Mile sheathed it before handing it back to Maevis.
「Here, finished!」
「A, okay…」
Meavis fixed the sheath to her waist before drawing her sword and closely inspecting its blade.
(I can’t really notice any change…)
「Why don’t you try it out? If you were to jump right into a real fight with a new sword, you would worry, right?」
「Hm, yes, you have a point there. It would be better to try it out for a bit. I want to have a good grasp on its cutting edge and get a feeling for its weight.」
「Great. I also have something I want to try out, so why don’t we go for a small hunt…」
「Hold it right there!」
Having been caught sneakily following them Rena had been keeping quiet, but that had finally come to an end.
「I overlooked the whole sword thing because that was something personal on a free day, but if you go hunting that’s a different story! We’re also members of this party so don’t leave us out!」
「Well, I don’t really mind, but since it’s only to test out our new weapons we won’t hunt that much. Is that alright with you?」
「I don’t mind. Since we’re comrades, we’ll hunt together! It’s as simple as that.」
Saying this, Rena places her hands on her hips, leant backwards and pushed her chest out in a boastful way. Like always.
「Then please try swinging it a bit first. Are there any problems with the weight or balance?」
Upon Mile’s urging, Maevis made some practice swings before replied contentedly.
「No, no real problems there. It lies comfortably in the hand and handles quite well-」
Hearing this, Mile smiled and pointed out a nearby tree to Maevis.
「Now, please try cutting this tree.」
「「「Eh…」」」
The trio of Maevis, Rena and Pauline was speechless.
The tree Mile was pointing at was around as thick as a grown man.
「There’s now way I can cut through that! And if I try that, the sword we just bought will get damaged! In contrast to my old sword, this one is of cheap make…」
Meavis’ broken sword was one she had taken from her family’s armory without permission when she had left so it was a quite good sword. And Meavis’ strong strikes that had lacked skill had shortened its lifespan considerably.
If she had taken a better sword or something she could have turned into money they wouldn’t have this problem right now, but neither was an action like that in Maevis character, nor did the others wish for something like that. But Mile confidently cut down Maevis counter arguments.
But Mile confidently cut down Maevis counter arguments.
「It will be fine! That’s why I earlier used Earth Magic to strengthen it. It won’t bend the slightest bit even if you use all of your strength, Meavis-san!」
「……」
Mile’s words made Maevis fall silent with a sulky expression on her face.
And Mile had not noticed that she had inadvertently said that 『Maevis’ slashes were not that powerful』.
「I will take you up on that and cut that tree. But I’m not gonna stand for this if it breaks!」
「Yes, if for some reason the sword gets damaged I will fix it, so don’t worry!」
Swords were more than just shaped iron. And no matter if it had been cheap, a sword was a sword.
Whether Mile knew about this or not, Maevis let it slide, took a stance and swung her sword.
Gashi!
With a somewhat dull sound the sword bit into the tree. About a fourth of its thickness deep.
And there was no sign of the sword breaking or having bent.
「「「Eh….」」」
Three people were surprised.
It was no wonder. It wasn’t like she had used an axe, and with a sword, which was intended for a totally different usage, cutting this deep into a tree was unthinkable.
If swords were this good at cutting down trees, lumberjacks around the world would gladly change from axes to swords.
「Wha…..」
「Can you try cutting this for me next?」
While Meavis hadn’t recovered from the surprise yet, Mile behaved as though she had expected just this and pointed out the next target, a 2 meter high boulder 7-8 meters away from the cut tree.
「M-Mile…」
This time, jumping in for the still out of it Maevis, Rena bit.
「No matter what, that is unreasonable! Just what do you think this sword we payed for with out hard earned money is!」
Pauline also wouldn’t be silent when it came to matters of finance. She nodded and supported Rena.
But, after worrying about it for a while, Maevis once again assumed her stance.
「Maevis!」
「Stop that, it’s impossible!」
Rena and Pauline tried to stop her, but Maevis was already resolved to do it.
「When I cut into the tree I felt it. This sword will return my effort.
And, the me right now is only here because of Mile… no, how can I call you comrades and not believe in you?」
「「……….」」
Hearing this from Maevis, Rena and Pauline fell silent.
「I get it, just do what you want! In exchange, if the sword does break, there will be no free days until you earn enough for the next one!」
Rena’s words made Meavis smile and Pauline look astonished.
「I don’t know how to deal with this anymore, really…」
Although she is usually quite reserved, when it’s about money, Pauline gets more assertive. But that too wasn’t enough to stop Maevis.
Meavis stood before the boulder, focused her spirit for a moment, and then swung her sword downward.
Pakin
……it broke.
「「「Mile!!!」」」