The Tale of A Man Who Believed That His Reincarnation Had Granted Him A Japanese Sword And The Greatest Battle Sense, Only To Have The God Finally Inform Him "Huh, I Didn't Give You Any Combat Sense… That's Scary…" - Episode 10

“Okay, then! From now on, Sophia will ask you a few questions, so remember how you always fight and answer honestly, okay~?”

Sophia-san, who had flipped the “Open” sign on the entrance door of the “Fast Horse’s Hearth” to “Closed,” brought two chairs from the back of the counter and had me sit in one of them. When Sophia-san sat in the remaining chair, the counseling session began naturally.

“This is a question to check what kind of weapons and armor suit you best, okay? So, here’s the first question: what’s the weapon you use the most?”

“Um… I think it’s a sword. It’s a type of sword called a katana, but do you know what that is, Sophia?”

Damn it. I thought I was just going out with Lyra, so I left the reincarnation bonus katana in the Grosvenor mansion’s room. Oops, I should have brought it.

“No, I don’t know. But I heard a bit from Lyra-chan when I got the money from her earlier. Apparently, it’s a curved sword similar to a scimitar that desert warriors often use.”

As expected of my master. Did you foresee this and arrange things in advance? Your planning skills are top-notch. In the furnace of the swift horse, it’s just me and Sophia, with only the sound of our conversation and the ticking of the grandfather clock quietly filling the air.

After that, the questions from Sophia, who had a soothing voice, continued. She asked whether I prioritized agility in battle, if I had any resistance to using materials derived from monsters, and if I had ever been cursed by anything in the past. Sometimes, she asked questions that were completely unexpected, but the counseling session ended after about thirty minutes.

And the conclusion reached was.

“Hmm, Enri-kun might not be suited for our weapons or armor. No, it’s more like he doesn’t need them.”

According to Sophia’s meticulous counseling, there are no recommended weapons or armor! While she sways her side tail back and forth, Sophia also has a troubled smile on her face. Such… I thought I could finally get my hands on the cool fantasy weapons and armor I often saw in games from my previous life, especially since Lyra left a large sum of money for equipment procurement…! What a disappointment.

“Hey, you know, I’ve heard a lot from you about how Enri-kun has been fighting until now, and from what I’ve gathered, I think ‘speed’ is crucial in Enri-kun’s fighting style.”

“Ha, speed… is it? I always felt like my body moved on its own, almost reflexively swinging the katana, so I don’t really understand what’s important, Sophia-san.”

“I see~. Yeah, from the way we talked, Enri-kun really gives off more of a vibe of someone who lives a normal life rather than a fighter. It’s like, ‘he can fight, but he doesn’t know about fighting,’ you know?”

I can fight, but I don’t know how to fight, huh? I was reincarnated in another world and lived in a forest. I swung a katana to save Lyra, who was captured by bandits, but I acted without thinking about how to fight, just letting my body move on its own. So, it’s not wrong to say that I don’t really know much about fighting.

“Alright then, Sophia will move around a bit and explain it to you in person!”

Ms. Sophia said that, then untied her apron and changed into more comfortable clothes. With her chest bouncing, she made her way to the weapon display shelf. With practiced ease, she took out a dagger, a longsword, and a heavy two-handed sword from the shelf, then brought a table close to where I was sitting and began to arrange the weapons she had just taken.

“Daggers are easy to conceal, easy to handle, and versatile, but they are difficult to deliver a fatal blow with.”

“The longsword strikes a balance between maneuverability and lethality, but it can easily be blocked by a shield.”

“Two-handed swords are difficult to handle and move with, but their destructive and lethal power is outstanding.”

While explaining, Sophia picked up each weapon one by one and lightly swung each one with a practiced ease.

To slash shallowly with the dagger, she twisted her wrist and moved quickly several times, while for the longsword, she kept her back straight and supported the sword with her back muscles, swinging it swiftly. At first glance, Sophia looked like a slender, busty older sister, but when she effortlessly took the two-handed sword from the table and swung it several times using her whole body, it was impressive.

After all, blacksmithing is a physically demanding job, so even if they don’t look muscular from the outside, they must be strong. Maybe they have a nice six-pack under their clothes. A fluffy, big-breasted older sister from the construction industry, hmm, sounds good. Just the name gives me a niche and naughty thrill.

“So, the Nihonto that Enri-kun is using seems to be a sword that combines the advantages of a longsword and a two-handed sword. It’s slim but heavy, with a sharp cutting edge that can easily cut through bones and flesh.”

“From my perspective, Enri-kun’s fighting style is already perfected, and if we were to add other weapons or armor to it, it might disrupt Enri-kun’s… how should I put it, rhythm of battle.”

I see, it’s kind of understandable, but also not really. I still don’t get it… After all, when it comes to combat, I just start moving on my own and slash people down, and that’s because of the reincarnation perks. So, I have absolutely no knowledge or experience in combat.

That feeling during combat… Should I say it’s like my body is being controlled by a manipulation-type ability, or should I say it’s like being able to move without thinking, like when riding a bicycle or driving a car? At the very least, what I can say is that my original self is completely powerless, and without this combat sense from my reincarnation bonus, I would easily be killed by the bandits hanging around.

While receiving an explanation about the weapons from Sophia, the door to the entrance of the Steed’s Forge opened. When I turned my gaze that way, I saw Utsuho, dressed in a black and white maid outfit, entering with something in her hands.

“Oh my, isn’t that Utsuho-chan? Hello~”

“Hello, Sophia. I was instructed by Lady Lyra to deliver this to the Steed’s Forge, so I came to deliver it.”

What Utsuho-san was holding was my katana. Lyra-san, you really are someone who pays attention to details—before leaving the mansion, you noticed I didn’t have my katana and told Utsuho-san to deliver it when Sophia-san’s work was done.

“Ah! Enri-kun, could this sword be the Nihonto weapon you were talking about?”

“Yes, the weapon that Utsuho-san just brought is the sword I’m using.”

“Wow, really? It’s true that I’ve never seen a weapon with such a shape in any requests from the Swift Horse Forge or at the market. Can I take a look at it?”

“Yes, of course, that’s fine.”

Utsuho handed the katana to Sophia, who approached with great curiosity. After saying that he would wait outside, Utsuho handed over the katana and immediately returned outside.

Sophia, upon receiving the Japanese sword, drew the blade from its scabbard and examined the edge from various angles, feeling the texture of the scabbard, staring intently at the sword as if trying to see through it. Then, with a puzzled expression, Sophia asked the following question.

“Enri-kun, has anyone ever maintained or sharpened this sword for you before?”

“No, not at all. I just wipe off the bl00d after using it and put it back in the sheath.”

“Wow, seriously? I should punch you and then teach you how to take care of your sword later… Oh, sorry, sorry.”

The moment I said I was just wiping off the bl00d and putting it back in the sheath, the usually gentle atmosphere of Sophia-san turned into something terrifying, like an Ashura…!

The moment when the program I worked on all night disappeared due to a blue screen on the computer, or when my friend messed up the room I had just cleaned and organized, or when someone deliberately closed the elevator doors in front of me while I was carrying things in both hands—I’ve experienced the maximum, most intense pressure a human can exert in those moments. I was genuinely scared and felt like I might unleash something I shouldn’t. Scary.

“Well then, this Nihonto weapon, if it were real, the blade would be all wobbly and there would be the worst kind of trouble like bl00d and blade sticking together in the scabbard… Hmm, I wonder why, it’s so clean, almost like a craftsman took care of it.”

Moreover, Ms. Sophia continued speaking.

“There’s an inscription on the blade, but it’s hard to see… ‘Ha, ha… Hashihime, Ichimonji… maybe?'”

Ms. Sophia raised the Japanese sword blade towards the store’s lighting and, peering closely at the blade, said such a thing. “Hashihime, Ichimonji, huh…? Huh, I didn’t even notice that there were characters engraved on the blade.”

With a mix of doubt and curiosity, I received the katana from Sophia-san and squinted to examine the blade closely. Indeed, I could see characters engraved on it. I could tell they read “Hashihime Ichimonji” in kanji. Wait, if I could read “Hashihime Ichimonji,” does that mean Sophia-san can read kanji…?

“Um, excuse me, Sophia-san, can you normally read the characters engraved on this blade?”

“Eh? … Ah, no, but this is the official language of the Retain Kingdom, right?”

When I reincarnated and arrived in this world, I could read the characters and words of this place immediately, so I didn’t pay much attention to the unique language of the Retain Kingdom or its official language. But could it be that the official language of the Retain Kingdom is kanji…?

Feeling puzzled, I approached the nearby display shelf and looked at the price tags and the paper with the notes on it, but the characters written there were completely different from kanji. Just by impression, they looked like cursive English writing.

Hmm, so that means the characters on the blade of that katana look like the official language to the people of this world, but they look like kanji to me… is that it?

“This kid hasn’t been maintained until now, so I’ll go to the back workshop and at least sharpen the blade! Enri-kun, wait here!”

Before I could finish saying “wait,” Sophia-san, already wearing her apron and with a spring in her step, slipped through the entrance at the back of the counter and disappeared inside.

By the way, it was four hours after Sophia-san had gone inside that she returned.