You say this is a love game?

He thought again of Yiben's mission and the dream of the Damascus pattern... He glanced at the dagger blank that Yiben had just placed on it. It had not been post-processed yet, so the pattern was not that obvious, but it could be seen that it was a very complex stack of patterns.

...It seems like I should buy the dagger back!

Even though it's a small dagger without any special properties, it's still cool to hold!

The young swordsman shook his head vigorously, getting rid of his habit of collecting cold weapons from his mind, and then started talking about the topic of "Malaysian pattern".

"You said before that weapons forged from ordinary metals, even stacked Damascus steel, wouldn't meet your requirements for hardness, and it would also be difficult to impart extraordinary properties. So, that's not the forging art you want to pursue."

"Do you have any ideas about this?"

Yiben Taling pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "No."

"Look, little brother, when I'm forging ordinary metals, even the most complex stacks are easy for me to accomplish. But the materials used to forge extraordinary weapons are different."

"I'm sure you've noticed, little brother, that the metals used to forge these special weapons are generally specialized metals mixed with 'ore essences'. Some weapons aren't even made of metal, but rather monster scales, bones, flesh, and the like. These materials are much more difficult to process than ordinary metals."

"They each possess their own 'nature'. Forcibly stacking them together will only cause a conflict of nature, leading to the failure of the forging."

"That's why I delved into techniques, trying to bypass the stacking and fusion of materials and directly forge a blade with natural textures... But I've been thinking about it for a long time, and this idea hasn't made any progress so far. I guess it's a dead end, right?"

"In contrast, I might try to stack certain extraordinary materials in the future, guiding their properties to fuse, and then experiment with weapons."

In other words, my uncle needs special knife-forging techniques?

Or it can bring out the natural texture of the material.

Or let him master the sword-forging skills of stacking extraordinary materials.

Yiben Taling: "I'm afraid the legendary Tianmu, the incredible god of forging, can easily handle a situation like this, right?"

Mizutani Makoto: "..."

Isn’t that nonsense!

He is called the God of Forging, and is a god who is proficient in iron smelting, weapons, and armor. Are you still coveting his skills?

Uncle, I think you want to make progress too much.

But the follow-up of this task should be to ask him to help Yiben Taling find the "technique".

……Disaster!

"It seems that this task is actually the upgrade process of the blacksmith."

"Blacksmith Embers, huh?"

"Once he unlocks new techniques, can he provide me with new qualitative changes?"

Tsk.

Whether there is qualitative change or not is not very important.

The important thing is, he wanted it.

Ippon Taro took Mizutani Makoto to visit the "toys" he forged, which he called "fragile Japanese swords". Mizutani Makoto didn't care whether these swords were fragile or not. He only knew that his middle school heart was about to be aroused, and the patterns on those weapons were cooler than each other.

...My mouth is watering.

Yiben Taling also asked him with great interest if he had any idea of ​​learning how to forge swords.

Mizutani Makoto's answer was also very honest: "When I retire, I might want to pick up a hammer and forge swords."

Just like a certain giant tortoise who always wanted to go to Montalive Beach in France to sell sunscreen, people always have some strange ideas.

But that is the retirement life of an old man. He is young now and has a good soul that makes him work hard every day. How can he leave his soul alone and work as a blacksmith?

I looked up and saw that it was still early.

There was no movement from the amulet. It seemed that the little god of fortune was staying well at his mother's house and it was not time to pick him up yet.

"Can I practice with my sword?"

Mizutani Makoto looked at the courtyard built by the family. It was rare to have such a spacious space, so he asked Ippon Taro if he could practice with the sword.

Yiben Taling: "Absolutely."

Not only that, Ippon Taro also opened his forged horse-patterned swords to Mizutani Makoto, and said that Mizutani Makoto could pick two that he liked to take away. However, he also advised Mizutani Makoto that these swords were just ordinary weapons and iron. There was nothing wrong with using them to swing when practicing with swords, but he did not recommend using them to kill monsters, especially monsters of the same rank... It could easily result in loss of life.

What else can Mizutani Makoto say?

Great joy!

He rarely took a katana and a kodachi, and practiced the authentic Niten Ichiryu in the yard, but it didn't feel smooth enough, so he turned around and changed to two katanas of equal weight and length, and continued his ancient Niten Ichiryu.

It was not until after three o'clock in the afternoon that the young man, sweating profusely from training, walked back to the apartment.

Satori Yoshiko still didn't move, so he took the initiative to shake the amulet to make sure that Satori Yoshiko was not in danger, so he didn't disturb the family reunion.

Mizutani Makoto took a shower in the bathroom.

It was at this time that the security door of his apartment was secretly pushed open.

The noise made by the security door was actually not that small, but Mizutani Makoto was still playing songs in the bathroom. The sound of running water masked the movement of the apartment door, and he was completely unaware that a young girl had sneaked in.

then.

The boy, wearing a plain pair of shorts and a bath towel, walked out of the bathroom with a happy look on his face.

The first thing he saw was the nympho sitting at the small round table in the apartment, curiously observing his beautiful body.

——Mai Yajima.

Mizutani Makoto: "?"

No, sister, how did you get in? !

Chapter 132: Dating with cats, anticipation of new shikigami, and swordsmanship.

"How did you get in?"

"I have the key!"

Facing Mizutani Makoto's questioning, the girl proudly puffed out her chest, then showed her palm. A keychain was inserted through her index finger, and a familiar key was dangling in her hand.

Mizutani Makoto's eyes widened immediately.

"Where did you get the key?"

"I found it at the door!"

Facing Mizutani Makoto's questioning gaze, the girl puffed up her cheeks and glared at him with a hint of annoyance.

She crossed her index fingers and said, "Don't throw dirty water on me, and don't doubt my character, or I'll be mad, and it'll be hard to appease me later!"

Mizutani Makoto was still puzzled.

How could the key to my security door be at my doorstep?

Invite the thief in as a guest?!

But Mai Yajima handed him the key.

Mizutani Makoto took the key from Yajima Mai and fell silent. The keychain had a small Zashiki-warashi pendant attached to it, which was the spare key he had left for Satori Yoshiko.

Wait, how come Xiao Jiazi’s key is in her hand… ahem, outside the door?

Yoshiko came back quietly?

At this moment, Mizutani Makoto felt the amulet on his chest warm up slightly. He looked up again and found that at the entrance, the translucent little god of fortune made a face at him, then turned and ran away.

She came to see her stupid son.

Satori Yoshiko had been with Mizutani Makoto before, so of course she knew that he and Yajima Mai had agreed to go out at around four o'clock... In order to get first-hand information in time, she specifically reported her itinerary to her parents, saying that she had to go see her "big brother" for an urgent matter, and repeatedly assured her that she would have dinner at her mother's house tonight, and then flew out of Satori's house.

She came here early, wanting to quietly observe the two people's preparations before the date, or even wanting to watch their date, but unexpectedly, she ran into the sneaky Mai Yajima downstairs of the apartment building.

Hum, hum, hum…

The clever little goddess of fortune left the key at the door.

"You've wronged me, haven't you?"

Yajima Mai looked at him angrily, immediately causing the boy, who was still wrapped in a bath towel, to fall silent.

Oh no, she was really wronged.

I thought she was the kind of sneaky, furtive, sly girl with no sense of boundaries who would steal people's keys and make her lover's photo into a life-size pillow and act crazy in her room!

Oh my God, if I get entangled with a woman like that, my life will be doomed.

"But I think it's wrong for you to just barge in with a key."

“…Oh, a little bit.”

"Also, it's wrong for you to stare at others like that. You should be more aware of what's happening, cover your eyes and scream shyly, or turn your head away shyly. Could you please stop staring at me?"

The boy's cold expression and harsh words showed that he was pretending to be extremely expressionless.

If you don't keep it tense, it really won't work.

Mai Yajima is definitely someone who shines brightly with a little sunshine. If he gives her a good look or shows a shy expression, Mai Yajima's big pig's hoof will probably lean towards his abdominal muscles and pectoral muscles.

“Wow—”

Mai Yajima covered her face with her hands, her eyes showing through her fingers, and she cried out in a shy manner... but it had a bit of a sticky feeling.

"But speaking of which, Makoto, you have a great figure! I noticed it during gym class before, but looking at it now, the visual impact is much greater than I imagined... Can I touch it? Just the abdominal muscles would be fine!"

"Please, this is my request today! Even if you want an equal exchange, that's fine!"

At this time, true feelings are revealed again!

"..."

Mizutani Makoto ignored her.

Mai Yajima was jumping around, shouting that she wanted to blow-dry his hair, but he seemed to be completely deaf to her and just picked up his clothes from the side and put them on.

After he adjusted his collar in front of the mirror and blew his wet hair with a hair dryer, he studied his complexion in the mirror to see if it looked too bad. Then he slowly turned his head to look at the noisy girl.

There was a hint of disgust in his eyes.

But the girl's silly smile was as if she was saying "Bounce! Bounce!" She didn't look aggressive at all. Instead, she looked like a puppy that had just taken a bath, furry and wet, rubbing against him, which made him lose his temper.

How could she be so... clear?

This girl gave him the feeling that a meteorite that would bring the end of the world was about to strike. She would excitedly discuss which outfit to wear today and whether she should change her hairstyle. She would even jump twice at the door in front of you to check if her shoelaces were tied, and then call you over to watch the meteor shower that would bring the end of the world with her once in a thousand years.

Considering that she is good-looking, I can only give her a high EQ evaluation.

"Isn't it even four o'clock yet? Why are you going out so early?"

He couldn't help but ask.

"I looked up the information!"

Yajima Mai said confidently, "Shouldn't you arrive early for a date?"

Mizutani Makoto was stunned for a moment, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly: "Usually the man will arrive early."

"But I was the one who suggested this date."

The girl blinked her eyes delicately and said matter-of-factly, "So of course I have to get there first! What if you change your mind at the last minute?"

Makoto Mizutani looked at her confident look that said "I have arranged everything" and was speechless for a moment.

Anyway, with Mai Yajima's enthusiasm, she should have carefully planned a strategy... right?

It has nothing to do with him, a teenager addicted to the internet and obsessed with soul wandering.

He sighed, picked up his coat and walked towards the door: "Okay, then you win."

Mai Yajima immediately jumped after him, secretly glancing at his profile as she walked, with the corners of her mouth raised uncontrollably.

And what about Mizutani Makoto?

He didn't look at her, but faced the slightly warm air in the corridor and whispered, "...it shouldn't be too hot outside."

This voice no longer has the initial sense of distance. I have heard similar words from Yajima Mai many times, and it really sounds so doting.

嘻～

This person has a hard mouth but a soft heart~!

The sun was shining brightly outside, a gentle breeze dispelling the lingering midday heat. Despite being below an apartment building, the street was still sparsely populated. As soon as the two left the apartment, they headed for a quieter spot. In the distance, they could hear the gentle vibration of passing trains, a common sight in Japanese cities.