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I made the grips and scabbards from the hide of a cow-like magical beast called a “Wild Bull” that was given to me. It’s a durable, non-slip material mainly used for weapon fittings and armor.

The short swords use the same material.

For Sufi’s, I made the blade thicker and wider. Increasing the weight to improve durability and single-strike power. Since Sufi uses mobility as her weapon and fights with hit-and-run tactics, this type is probably more suitable for her.

For Noche’s, I did the opposite—making the blade thinner, aiming for lightness and speed. Noche also fights in a hit-and-away style, but she seems to place more importance on feints and escape speed than on raw striking power.

For Filia’s, I hesitated a bit, but since she’s apparently been practicing with clubs lately, I went with a one-handed mace with a knuckle guard. She’ll probably fight with a shield as well, but she hasn’t found one that really fits her yet, so I plan to make one once she decides on a type.

“Oooh.”
“This one’s Sufi’s?”
“Yeah. Try drawing it… but swing it outside.”

I watched everyone pick up the weapons laid out on the table, feeling a little nervous.

Under the room light, the steel-gray blades reflected dully, with only the edges flashing sharply. Filia’s mace was entirely iron, with a round striking head at the tip, so it looked a bit distinctive.

“Alice, this is easy to hold.”
“Yeah. If anything feels off, tell me and I’ll fix it.”

Filia, checking the weight without swinging, seemed to like it, raising and lowering her arm.

“Alice! This is cool! Thank you!”
“Mm… I like it, but I wanna try swinging it, nya.”

After checking the weight, Sufi returned it to its scabbard with a big smile and hugged it.

Meanwhile, Noche was staring at her blade with a slightly troubled expression.

“Let’s go to the backyard.”
“Yeah, nya.”
“Ah, Sufi wants to swing hers too!”

Since these are things they’ll be entrusting their lives to, I have no intention of ignoring this kind of feedback. There are things you can’t tell without actually swinging them, and it would be a problem if they held back.

So we decided to do a bit of test cutting in the backyard.

■■■■■

The Alchemists’ Guild staff dormitory is fairly large, and if you go around from the entrance, there’s a backyard where you can see a well. Early in the morning or around evening, people are sometimes drawing water or doing light training, but everyone is working right now, so there’s no one here.

“Need a target?”
“You can make one, nya?”

Using “Forging,” I piled up the dirt from the ground into a humanoid shape, then hardened it with “Hardening.” An instant dirt dummy. At this level, it barely uses any mana.

“You just keep getting more and more convenient, nya…”
“Alice is amazing.”
“She is, nya. Then let’s test it, nya.”

While glancing at Sufi, who for some reason was puffing out her chest proudly, Noche lowered her stance and held her sword diagonally toward the ground.

“Hiss!”

With a sharp cutting sound, Noche’s right hand swung through. Maybe it only grazed it, but a cut appeared in part of the dummy.

“Hiss! Hah! Nya!”

She slashed horizontally with the return stroke, then diagonally upward from the lower right to the upper left, and finally diagonally downward from the right, slipping past the side of the dummy as she did so. All of them were grazing attacks, but each left a clear cut.

She was deliberately cutting shallowly.

Noche walked over to me while looking at her sword, slightly frowning.

“The part you hold is heavy, but the tip is light, nya.”
“…Want me to make the tip a bit heavier?”
“You can do that, nya?”
“Give it here.”

I’d shifted the center of gravity closer to the handle to reduce weight, but it seems I overdid it a bit. Using “Forging,” I slightly changed the thickness distribution of the blade, making the tip heavier.

“How’s this?”
“Mm… feels good, nya!”

The cutting sound had more weight to it than before. With the discomfort gone, Noche smiled.

“This is nice, nya.”

The dummy was gradually shaved away as she kept slashing at it with soft sounds.

“Filia, are you not going to try yours?”
“Ah, I’m swinging mine over here a bit…”

There’s not really such a thing as test cutting with a blunt weapon, and Filia was nodding as she cautiously swung the mace at a distance. It didn’t seem to feel wrong to her.

“Noche, switch out, Sufi’s next!”
“Okay, okay.”
“Use this when you wipe it.”

I saw Noche’s tail swaying happily as she wiped the blade with the cloth I handed her. At the same time as I felt relieved, a warm feeling rose up, happy that she liked it.

“Yaaah!”

Sufi charged at the dummy with a running start. She smashed down her raised sword as she passed by, cutting through it with a satisfying sound, splitting the dummy in two around the middle.

She ran through without slowing, then came back and split it in half again with another strike.

Then she looped around the dummy like it was a corner post, and finally swung upward from bottom to top with all her momentum. The ground was gouged, and the dirt dummy exploded apart.

“Alice, you’re amazing! This sword is really easy to use!”

She was in high spirits, wagging her tail wildly. We’re twins, after all—I can mostly predict the movements Sufi finds easy or is good at. Still, I was happier than anything that Sufi took a liking to it.

This is good and all, but—

The dirt dummy was made by digging up the backyard soil, so fixing it is my job.

“You should hold back a little, nya.”
“Ah…”

At Noche’s words, Sufi noticed the chunks of dirt scattered around the yard. Her tail, which had been spinning like a cheerful fan, stopped abruptly and drooped limply.

It made me think again that making Sufi, who has energy and stamina to spare, match my pace is kind of unfair to her.

Anyway, I’m glad they seemed to like their new weapons.

***

#Author’s Note:#

Sufi (7): After running a full marathon, she can hang out in the park until dusk (Stamina ???)
Noche (8): She has impressive stamina for her age (Stamina 120)
Filia (9): Healthy and energetic, typical of her age (Stamina 50)
Alice (7): People worry she’ll collapse when moving around indoors (Stamina 3)