Chapter 165: Mikawa Province’s Burly Master Craftsman, Th-this Is Okabe Motonobu?!
Shangshan Che’s gaze was drawn to the pure, cold blade of the sword reflecting everything around him, his eyes following the beautiful temper lines that rose and fell like waves on its surface.
This daito was, without a doubt, epic grade!
That blacksmiths of the Sengoku Period could personally forge epic-grade weapons and armor?!
Although this daito was still far inferior to Kaga Kiyomitsu, and he couldn’t sense any spirituality from it.
However, Kaga Kiyomitsu was personally forged by the old blacksmith of Aragawa Ghost Village, a master craftsman, with a great deal of effort.
Naturally, the two couldn’t be compared.
But this was already enough!
Earlier, when he was at the Special Affairs Office, Shangshan Che had specifically asked Aoyama Yoshimitsu if he could forge epic-grade weapons, meaning those of similar quality to Kaga Kiyomitsu.
The answer he received at the time was no.
The highest quality equipment Aoyama Yoshimitsu could forge was around rare grade, perhaps touching rare plus if he was lucky, but that was about it.
Shangshan Che hadn’t expected that simply accompanying Imagawa Yoshimoto on a whim to acquire a tachi would lead him to such a skilled blacksmith.
— And if there was a blacksmith who could forge epic-grade equipment, perhaps they could forge Kaga Kiyomitsu again with suitable spirit gold!
With this thought, Shangshan Che, still standing at the doorway, maintained a calm demeanor and asked Imagawa Yoshimoto beside him,
“If they’re expensive, how much would a common finished wakizashi or daito cost to buy one?”
Imagawa Yoshimoto crossed her arms,
“I recall… any wakizashi here would cost sixty to seventy kan.”
Seeing that the young apprentice watching the shop had his eyes half-closed, seemingly not noticing them, Imagawa Yoshimoto whispered, “It’s ridiculously expensive. That money could equip over a dozen fully armed ashigaru.”
In the Sengoku Period, the market price for an ordinary tachi was around five kan, while daitos and wakizashis were even cheaper, with two or three kan being the absolute ceiling.
Even with spears and armor for the ashigaru, it would be less than ten kan per person.
“Not to mention daitos and tachis, which cost at least three digits, and if you want a fine piece, five hundred kan is quite normal.”
In other words, weapons of good quality would cost at least sixty to seventy kan.
And if one wanted to buy rare-grade knives from this shop, they would need to prepare at least three to four hundred kan to even have the confidence to enter.
Hearing these prices, even Shangshan Che, who was not particularly sensitive to the prices of the Sengoku Period, couldn’t help but gasp.
You must know that early firearms, or rather matchlock guns, only cost a hundred kan each.
These swords were so much more expensive than guns, it was like the world was turned upside down.
With prices like these… it’s no wonder the customers in front of this blacksmith shop were so few.
Most normal people would probably turn around and leave without a word upon hearing the price, and resolve never to come back again.
“However, these swords are expensive for a reason.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto continued, her voice finally startling the young apprentice in the shop,
“They can cut through iron like mud and easily cleave through ordinary o-yoroi armor’s shoulder guards, so they are worth the price. Motono has also frequented this place multiple times.”
“Ah, welcome!”
The young apprentice, dressed in plain clothes, first instinctively looked at the vermilion Kaga Kiyomitsu being held, the most striking Two-Foot Adult.
The apprentice then realized she was just a child and shifted his gaze to the tall Shangshan Che.
But after only two seconds, before he could utter the next sentence, he realized who the female voice speaking belonged to.
The young head of the Imagawa clan!
She’s here again!
So the apprentice hurried to Imagawa Yoshimoto’s side, led her inside, and said softly, “Please wait here a moment, Lord. I will fetch my master immediately.”
The apprentice’s attitude shifted from hazy to exceptionally respectful in just three to four seconds, which naturally didn’t escape Shangshan Che’s notice.
He was just a bit puzzled as to how this apprentice, who seemed so inattentive to his duties, could instantly recognize Imagawa Yoshimoto under her conical hat.
Imagawa Yoshimoto seemed accustomed to this, nodded, and then knelt on the spacious cushion that had been meticulously cleaned inside the shop.
“There’s no rush. If your master is still working, then wait until he completes this step.”
“Yes, yes! Thank you for your generosity, Lord!”
The apprentice memorized her words exactly, bowed respectfully again, and then, with quick and light steps, lifted the burlap curtain and headed inside.
Seeing the apprentice’s back disappear from view, Shangshan Che walked closer, admiring the epic-grade daito, and casually asked, “Lord Yoshimoto, can an apprentice who can fall asleep while standing at the doorway work here for so long without being fired?”
Shangshan Che asked this because, from their familiar demeanor, he could tell that Imagawa Yoshimoto had met this young apprentice many times before.
That’s why he was somewhat puzzled.
The Two-Foot Adult, holding the sword, followed him silently, her gaze straight ahead, pretending not to see Imagawa Yoshimoto gently patting another empty cushion towards her.
“This is just a blacksmith shop, not some important place or the Imagawa Residence.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto closed her knees together, placed her hands on her knees, and said somewhat lazily, “Usually, there might not be a single customer visiting all day, so it’s normal for him to doze off for a while.”
“Anyway, in Sunpu Castle, if you come to this blacksmith shop a second time, it means you have no other choice.”
“And the remarkable thing about this young apprentice is that he can remember the name, characteristics, personality, and preferences of every returning customer clearly, even if it’s been one or two years in between.”
Shangshan Che finally understood.
Customers who shop at this blacksmith shop have no other choice, so they don’t pay much attention to service.
And the young apprentice remembers every guest who has visited, which allows the blacksmith to have a psychological or verbal preparation for the guest when they are called out from the inner room.
For a moment, Shangshan Che actually felt a bit envious of this young apprentice.
He had a leisurely and boring everyday life, could take naps and slack off as he pleased, and the only thing he needed to do was to “shout ‘Welcome home, owner!'” when a customer arrived.
And because he had the special skill of “superb memory,” he probably didn’t get paid little.
It’s practically like taking a thirty-year shortcut.
During the brief wait, Shangshan Che surveyed the “earthen floor” part of the shop facing the road, used for business and receiving guests, and found the interior decor to be exceptionally clean and simple.
It wasn’t opulent, one could only describe it as a bare room.
Apart from the various swords of different lengths neatly arranged, spearheads, and simple armor, there were only dry wooden walls and floors.
At most, there was a small table similar to a counter… but calling it a table isn’t quite accurate, it’s just another surface for placing items.
— In contrast, the various tools and environment for blacksmithing inside were surely of the best quality, and perhaps any inconspicuous small item would cost tens or hundreds of kan.
Shangshan Che thought to himself.
After a short while, the apprentice emerged from the thick cloth curtain again and stood to the side, holding the curtain open with his hand.
The voice arrived before the person.
“Haha! A rare guest, a truly rare guest! What wind has blown you here, Lord!”
The cheerful and pleasant laughter from the passage suddenly filled the entire earthen floor.
The next moment, a young man, sturdy and tall, with a damp burlap cloth draped over his shoulder, but looking a bit unkempt due to not having shaved his beard, appeared and strode towards Imagawa Yoshimoto, who was wearing a conical hat.
A faint steam of high temperature was still rising from his body, his sleeves were rolled up significantly, and his forearms were red, clearly indicating he had just been hammering iron in the back room.
Imagawa Yoshimoto immediately stood up and exchanged pleasantries with this young blacksmith.
Shangshan Che blinked and noticed that this young blacksmith was much younger than Aoyama Yoshimitsu.
And this was the Sengoku Period…
This was truly, a young person with great potential.
“— I’ve come this time to select a tachi for this gentleman.”
After a brief exchange, Imagawa Yoshimoto stated her request straightforwardly, paused, and continued, “If you have any in stock, please also bring out a plain spear.”
The young blacksmith heard this and looked at Shangshan Che, appraising him for a moment before saying, “May I ask this gentleman’s name?”
Shangshan Che: “Please dispense with the honorifics. My given name is ‘Che’.”
“So it’s Mister Che.”
The young blacksmith first responded with a formulaic phrase, then it seemed the name sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.
He pondered for a moment, scratching his chin, but couldn’t figure it out.
After all, he spent years locked away in the back room forging and smithing, his entire mind focused on how to improve his forging skills.
In his daily life, he basically only spoke with the young apprentice and the boss of the nearby eateries, but he never paid much attention to these conversations.
But the young apprentice, who had been standing nearby, had already turned pale, his face contorting with shock.
If the head of the Imagawa clan didn’t strongly dislike being interrupted while speaking, he would have already run to his master’s ear to tell him that this was the currently most popular onmyoji, Che, and that his master should quickly try to build a good relationship with him!
The apprentice muttered in confusion, “Why would an onmyoji need to wield swords and spears?”
The young blacksmith had no idea what the apprentice was thinking.
He felt that Shangshan Che didn’t look like someone who could fight well, perhaps he was the son of some old vassal of the Imagawa clan.
As for the single character name, it was naturally a pseudonym…
So the young blacksmith returned to the back room, found several very slender and light tachi, whose aesthetic value outweighed their practical use, and laid them out on the counter one by one, saying,
“Mister Che, how do these tachi feel in your hand?”
Shangshan Che gazed speechlessly at several tachi emitting a faint green light, likely only of good quality.
Before he could speak, Kaga Kiyomitsu, from the arms of the Two-Foot Adult beside him, “swished” out, emitting a faint but high-frequency hum, indicating its displeasure.
It was as if it was saying, “Do I have to work with these third-rate goods from now on! No, absolutely not!”
The young blacksmith immediately turned his head, his eyes widening like copper bells, staring intently at Kaga Kiyomitsu.
His eyes turned green, as if Shiraishi, who hadn’t eaten a full meal in over a decade, was gazing at a banquet of imperial cuisine, drooling.
“Che, Mister Che!” the young blacksmith stammered, not daring to blink for a moment, “This daito, is it a spiritual weapon?”
“Indeed it is.”
Shangshan Che spoke, “Little Jia, we’re still at someone else’s shop, don’t cause trouble.”
He lectured, “Behave yourself when we’re outside, don’t always make the Two-Foot Adult who’s holding you worry.”
Hearing Shangshan Che’s words, Kaga Kiyomitsu, though it vibrated slightly in protest, obediently retracted into its scabbard.
This miraculous scene drew everyone’s attention.
The blacksmith’s eyes shone brighter. He swallowed with difficulty but managed to suppress the urge to touch Kaga Kiyomitsu, saying,
“If that’s the case, then Mister Che naturally wouldn’t be interested in these broken pieces of iron.”
“Please wait a moment.”
The blacksmith quickly rushed into the back room and brought out several more tachi, carefully placing them on the counter.
This time, they were all rare grade, and one of them even emitted a deep blue light, likely having a quality of “rare plus,” similar to the Five Thunder Pearl.
“Mister Che, what do you think?” The blacksmith smiled proudly, then continued to stare at the retracted Kaga Kiyomitsu, “These are my proudest works. Although they can’t compare to your daito, they are still quite usable.”
Shangshan Che feigned careful observation and agreed, but in reality, he wasn’t paying much attention.
Compared to rare grade, or even potential epic-grade tachi, he was more concerned about whether this young blacksmith could forge the suitable spirit gold into Kaga Kiyomitsu.
Because Kaga Kiyomitsu’s potential for growth alone destined it to be rarer than most epic-grade weapons.
Not to mention that it had developed sentience and possessed a ridiculously powerful trait called “Sorrow of Parting.”
So after touching them and roughly determining which tachi suited him best, Shangshan Che changed the subject and asked,
“Do you have anything similar to the daito placed in the center of the shop?”
Firstly, he needed to determine the blacksmith’s forging skill level.
— If the young blacksmith could casually forge epic-grade weapons, Shangshan Che would immediately produce suitable spirit gold and request the blacksmith to forge it for him.
After receiving permission from the Two-Foot Adult and being able to briefly touch Kaga Kiyomitsu, the blacksmith paused and regretfully shook his head,
“This daito can only be considered a once-in-a-lifetime accident.”
The blacksmith recalled for a moment, and said with some emotion, “It was a weapon I boldly forged during a thunderstorm, an encounter with lightning on a certain day, a miracle that I have been unable to replicate since.”
“However.”
The blacksmith moved his fingers, which he had specifically wiped clean, away from Kaga Kiyomitsu’s hilt, and said earnestly, word by word,
“In the future, I will definitely forge weapons that are more perfect than it, and even more perfect than your spiritual daito, Mister Che.”
Wow, he even got to hear a hardcore tough guy’s backstory.
Shangshan Che exclaimed with emotion, but in his heart, there was still a hint of disappointment.
This blacksmith was indeed young and could consistently forge rare-grade weapons, which was very impressive.
But since he couldn’t even forge epic-grade weapons, it meant his forging skill wasn’t much higher than Aoyama Yoshimitsu’s, and the latter had the assistance of modern equipment…
Perhaps, if he visited again in a couple of years, there might be a surprise.
So Shangshan Che picked up the tachi he had already chosen, and at Imagawa Yoshimoto’s urging, also bought a plain spearhead of the same rare grade, waiting to retrieve the fully assembled plain spear next time.
Seeing Imagawa Yoshimoto take out a gold leaf, the blacksmith shook his head,
“It’s not this amount.”
He only took a little less than half: “Seeing you again today is one joy, and Mister Che opening my eyes again is another joy. This is already a double blessing.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto did not refuse, but carefully put away the remaining gold leaf and tucked it back into her lining, saying softly,
“I’ll trouble you, Blacksmith.”
Blacksmith?
Shangshan Che noticed this strange appellation.
Imagawa Yoshimoto had certainly visited this blacksmith shop many times, but why would she still address him so formally?
The young blacksmith noticed Shangshan Che’s puzzled expression and smiled, “Until I fully acknowledge myself, I am not worthy of shedding the title ‘Blacksmith’ and possessing a unique name.”
Why did this sound familiar?
Shangshan Che narrowed his eyes and pondered for a while before remembering that the Zashiki Warashi had said something similar a long time ago.
And the Zashiki Warashi was a master craftsman’s apprentice.
Could it be…
Shangshan Che’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he cautiously asked, “Mister Blacksmith, have you heard of Master Craftsman?”
The smile on the blacksmith’s face disappeared.
He asked very seriously, “Where did you learn of this term?”
Shangshan Che’s eyes lit up. He took out the suitable spirit gold from his storage bag and blurted out,
“After I accidentally obtained this piece of spirit gold, I sought many blacksmiths to forge it together with Little Jia, but they all said they couldn’t.
Among them, one blacksmith told me that ‘a Master Craftsman could do such a thing’.”
The blacksmith fell silent. He first took the suitable spirit gold and examined it repeatedly for a long time, saying,
“Mister Che, would you be willing to part with it? I might be able to forge a wakizashi of similar quality to that Lightning daito with it…”
After saying this, the blacksmith immediately named an extremely high price.
Shangshan Che shook his head without a second thought, “This is for Little Jia.”
“Is that so? What a shame.”
The blacksmith carefully returned the spirit gold to Shangshan Che and added, “Of course, it’s only a shame for me.”
“However, about Master Craftsman…”
The blacksmith looked at the suitable spirit gold, and after a moment of deliberation, he said with some reluctance,
“I may have met one before.”
— Even if this incredibly precious spirit gold couldn’t be used by him, he hoped it would fall into the right hands and be put to good use.
At this moment, Imagawa Yoshimoto, who had been listening quietly for a long time, spoke up, “Blacksmith Your Excellency, if you can tell Che the ‘details of the Master Craftsman,’ I can grant you one wish.”
Although she didn’t quite understand what the spirit gold was for, nor what the words “Master Craftsman” meant.
But Imagawa Yoshimoto knew one thing.
She noticed that when the words “Master Craftsman” were mentioned, Shangshan Che’s expression became more serious than ever before.
This was very important to him.
The blacksmith’s eyes lit up at the remark; he was going to tell everything in detail anyway.
Now, to also gain the goodwill of the Head of the Imagawa Clan for free was simply too profitable.
Thus, after a long period of contemplation, the blacksmith slowly began to recount,
“The location was in a certain deep mountain within Mikawa Province… there was a ruined temple in that mountain.
I was young then, and I don’t remember all the precise details. I only recall getting lost in the mountains and reaching the doorway of that ruined temple. After I fell asleep, she found me in the temple.
According to her, there seemed to be a Mountain Whale Demon King rampaging in the mountains at that time, so I stayed in the temple for an unusually long time, more than ten days.
During that time, I heard her mention ‘Master Craftsman’ many times.”
The blacksmith smiled nostalgically, “Speaking of which, many crucial forging techniques were also taught to me by that person at that time.
I still clearly remember her forging iron, forging iron, forging iron, day and night, with unwavering concentration, as if she would never tire… Perhaps I owe my current dedication to it to her.”
Mikawa Province, mountains, a ruined temple, and a demon king who had once rampaged.
The information provided by the young blacksmith was quite clear.
But what was a “Mountain Whale”?
A whale in the mountains?
This was truly an unheard-of demon.
Shangshan Che pressed further, “What did that person look like?”
“Appearance…”
The blacksmith frowned, thought for a long time, and shook his head, “I can’t remember clearly. I only remember she was a bold and burly woman.”
“Other than that, I don’t remember more.”
Shangshan Che noted down everything the blacksmith said, “This is already more than enough. Thank you, Blacksmith Your Excellency.”
“You’re welcome.”
The blacksmith grinned at him, “If Mister Che can find that person, please thank her on my behalf for the kindness of taking me in.”
“I will.”
After asking the last question, Shangshan Che prepared to leave the blacksmith shop with Imagawa Yoshimoto.
Before leaving, Imagawa Yoshimoto’s steps suddenly halted, and she looked back at the apprentice in the corner, whose expression had changed countless times but who still hadn’t said a word.
“Blacksmith Your Excellency, could I borrow your apprentice for a moment? I’d like him to escort Mister Che to Motonobu’s place.”
“No problem, no problem! Please, feel free to borrow him, Adult!”
The blacksmith, who had already turned, waved his hand casually backward and then disappeared behind the curtain, seemingly intending to focus on blacksmithing again.
The apprentice, unexpectedly assigned the task of guiding someone, bowed with a smile, showing no displeasure, “I am honored to serve you, Adult.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto, however, pulled out a few dozen *mon* worth of broken silver from her inner lining and placed it in the apprentice’s hand.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
The apprentice quickly waved his hands, “A-Adult! This isn’t necessary!”
Imagawa Yoshimoto’s tone was calm, “I am giving it to you, so you should accept it.”
The apprentice immediately shut his mouth and after a moment said, “Adult, please rest assured and depart.”
“That’s good then.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto walked to Shangshan Che’s side and said softly, “Then, Tetsu-kun, we will temporarily part ways. See you again when we get back.”
“Lord Yoshimoto, take care.”
Shangshan Che wanted to give Imagawa Yoshimoto some items for self-defense, but after searching, he found that both the bell and the blood-stained diadem required spiritual power to activate.
Otherwise, they weren’t very useful.
If he were to ask the Two-Foot Adult to accompany her, it might seem too presumptuous.
He had no choice but to give up.
And within Sunpu Castle, Imagawa Yoshimoto’s personal safety shouldn’t be too much of a concern.
After watching Imagawa Yoshimoto slowly depart and merge into the crowd, Shangshan Che looked at the apprentice, whose face was beaming with joy.
“Please lead the way, Your Excellency.”
The apprentice, having received a windfall, patted his chest heavily, “Mister Che, rest assured! I will definitely take you to Okabe Adult’s residence. If you need anything along the way, just tell me!”
…
Even considering it was on the way, Okabe Motonobu’s residence was surprisingly far from the blacksmith shop.
Shangshan Che followed the apprentice for nearly forty minutes, moving further and further into sparsely populated areas until he could barely see anyone, before the apprentice finally stopped.
He asked with some confusion, “Okabe Excellency lives here?”
The apprentice replied nonchalantly, “Because Okabe Adult prefers a quieter place.”
He pointed to the only courtyard enclosed by a wall in the surroundings.
“Mister Che, that is Okabe Adult’s home.”
Shangshan Che nodded and walked to the doorway, gently knocking, “Excuse me, is Okabe Excellency home?”
There was no response.
Shangshan Che waited for a while longer and repeated several times, but he found that no one opened the door.
Could it be that no one was home?
To avoid a wasted trip, Shangshan Che had the Two-Foot Adult float up, intending for her to observe the situation from mid-air.
The Two-Foot Adult, carrying her sword, slowly floated up, causing the apprentice behind her to gape in shock.
A moment later, the Two-Foot Adult’s somewhat complex voice came out.
“Che Adult, I think you should push the door open and take a look… Hmm, it will be alright.”
Shangshan Che blinked and didn’t doubt the Two-Foot Adult’s words.
He tentatively raised his hand and slowly pushed open the unlocked wooden door.
Then, just like the Two-Foot Adult in mid-air, he froze in place with a blank expression.
This… this this this…
You’re telling me this is Okabe Motonobu?!
This can’t be right!
