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After this unexpected event, the steam in the room gradually dissipated.

Lily and Ehiro were not affected but a big section of the roof was torn.

The moonlight shone down from high above the sky, leaving its reflection on the water surface of the tank which had its volume decreased by several levels. The newly quenched sword was emanating an exquisite and brilliant light, just as though it was extracting the essence of the moonlight from both the moon in the sky as well as its reflection in the water.

At this moment, however, the horizon of the broken roof revealed a marble white colour of the dawn.
The sun was rising.

The weak morning sunlight passed through the damaged roof. The delicate light also sprinkled on the blade and the water surface, forming a rare reflection of sun and moon.

A whole day had passed since the hammering until the quenching process.

Ehiro’s sweaty chest was heaving and she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s done. The quenching is successful!” said Ehiro.

She pulled the sword out from the water that reflected the moonlight and positioned it in the air, with one side facing the sunlight and the other facing the moonlight. The crystal clear droplets that flowed down the blade reflected that light and revealed a pure beauty that was penetrating yet graceful.

The last incredible quenching made the sword form a nearly perfect final arc, just like the curve of the moon.¹

Ehiro swiveled the blade from side to side. She glanced at every detail and exclaimed: “Perfect! This is my proudest work! Although I still need to sharpen the blade and fix the handle, it’s not difficult for me. This sword is destined to be a top fifth-grade item! Kagami Lily, give a name to your beloved sword.”

“Ah? Did you say the highest quality?!” Lily also stepped forward and looked at this beautiful yet enchanting blade, which contained sword scripts corresponding to her runes. It was bright as a mirror on one side and hazy as a veil on the other. It had a luster that made her heart throb when turning slightly. “I would like to ask the master to name it.”

“Maybe one day, this sword, its master, and its swordmaker will be famous all around the world. I can feel that your temperament, your beauty, and your soul are all integrated into the sword. All I did was make your obsession into reality and nothing more. This sword can only be named by you!” Ehiro said firmly and gave the sword to Lily.

Lily’s slender fingers gently touched the cold and bright blade as if she could hear the sound of rune calling for her.

She raised her head and looked at the sun and the moon. Then she lowered her head to see the moon reflected in the water.

“Crescent Moon.” Lily blurted out softly and leisurely.

“This sword was fully illuminated by both the moonlight and sunlight during quenching, condensing the essence of the day and night. And it was immersed in the moon’s reflection in the water, covering it with a dream-like luster. I will call it… the Crescent Moon.”

Lily’s eyes also reflected the shadow of the blade. Her soul was originally that of a boy, but came to possess the gentle and gorgeous body of the elder sister Rinne. She also shouldered the responsibility of waking the soul of sister Rinner. Weren’t they also just like the sun and the moon? Then it was only fitting to let this Crescent Moon accompany her on this long journey and move forward with this mindset!

The next step was to sharpen the sword, install the handle, and make a matching scabbard.

Although the difficulty was relatively low, it was also quite laborious. Naturally, Lily also helped.

Ehiro engraved her name on the tang² and inserted it into the handle. After some final consolidation, adjustment, and beautification processes, the sword was finally completed. It took a lot of effort and Lily even risked her life to get the materials needed for making this sword!

As her best work —after being sharpened by Ehiro, and coupled with the scabbard and handle— this sword could also be regarded as the acme of production. It could be said that she took out the best wood and auxiliary materials in her collection to create this masterpiece at any cost.

When the swordmaker handed the sword to Lily, Lily felt her nose sore because of emotions. The weight of the sword in her hand was more than 120 kan. Regardless of whether it was by herself or together with Master Ehiro, she paid too much for it! There was also Nanako who willingly dedicated herself to help in drawing the sword script and also her own obsession with senior sister Rinne!

Sword Name: Crescent Moon.
Length: Three feet nine inches.
Blade weight: 127 Kan.

The scabbard was dark, emitting a cold moonlight like a glossy lacquered wood. It was engraved with golden and silver peony flowers, stylish, and decorated with some small bright-coloured red beans which provoked a sense of melancholy.

The armguard was made of dark gold and some leftover materials of the fifth-grade Tamahagane. It was extremely hard and carved into a clover shape with a simple and elegant hollow pattern.

The handle was made of black wood with black cloth wrapped around it. There was a gap in the middle of the handle, forming seventeen diamond shaped holes, revealing a little bit of gold and looking like stars. Their number was coincidentally similar to Lily’s age.

Looking at such an exquisite art-like sword, it was difficult for Lily to hide the fluctuation of her chest and her face was gradually warming and turning red.

Her slender fingers followed the smooth scabbard and brushed over the armguard. She held it by the handle which was just suitable for her small hand.

“Brandish it and see if it fits your hand,” said Ehiro from the side.

“Un.” Lily went to the open area and breathed deeply.

“Shing—!” with a bright flash of light between the sun and the moon, the shining blade came out of its sheath.

Lily held the long sword in the air. The weight was just right. Neither was it too light for Lily to exert all her strength nor was it too heavy to affect the speed. Master Ehiro’s sword forging skill was flawless!

In the room, Lily didn’t dare to brandish the sword randomly. After all, the roof of the house had been broken. Coincidentally a small pear blossom flew into the room because of the morning wind outside.

Lily moved the blade upward, across the position where the pear blossoms fell. The petal fluttered slowly and touched the blade. It split into two halves quietly without any change in direction.

“A clean cut,” Ehiro said in a low voice, expressing satisfaction with the sharpness of the sword.

Lily brandished softly and the sound of metal chattering when the air was cut echoed inside the room. The fitting feeling of the brandishing was exactly tailored to Lily.

She injected the red Blade Maiden Spirit Power into the blade. The sword scripts drawn by her own hand gradually filled up with scarlet looking energy. The surroundings were entangled with psionic energy fluctuations that took the shapes of lycoris radiata³, which added a bit of enchanting beauty to the original exquisite and appalling sword.

“That’s it!” Lily cried out in jubilation.

“Although it has just been forged, I feel like it has already been waiting for me for a long long time!
That enchanting beauty and obsession are like an extension of my own consciousness! Like a part of my body!
This is— my first Cursed Katana, the Crescent Moon!”

1. Robinxen: A bit excessive of a curve don’t you think?
2. A tang or shank is the back portion of the blade component of a tool where it extends into stock material or connects to a handle. The craftsman usually engraves their name on the tang of the blade.
3. The SAO plant: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycoris_radiata