Now that I had taken all the measurements, it was finally time to cast my Magic!
How long had I waited to make this with my Magic...? Two whole years... The ability to fulfill a lifelong dream had been right in front of me, yet I had lacked the power to do it... But not anymore!
"I'm about to cast my Magic. Would you like to watch?"
"Is it all right for me to see it?"
"You're the owner of the weapon I'll be making with it, so why not? Besides, it isn't something you could replicate just by watching."
"Then, if you don't mind, I'll stay and watch."
"Just a moment, then... I'd like to bring the captain and Lady Hephaestus over too."
"I'll wait. Go ahead. I'm a guest here anyway."
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The young man goes to tell them.
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"Lady Hephaestus, Tsubaki. I'm about to use my Magic, so come take a look."
"Oh, is this finally Smith's first time?"
"I mean, you're technically right, but that wording seems like it could lead to a lot of misunderstandings."
"Enough. Let's get going."
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The young man returns.
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"It has been a while, Lady Hephaestus. And it's been a while, Tsubaki."
"It has indeed been a while, Loki's child."
"Has it been about a month? Is Gareth getting good use out of my weapon?"
"Haha, he's been swinging it around with great enthusiasm."
Seeing them gathered together like this really drove home just how incredible they were.
[The captain of Orario's largest current faction], [Braver] Finn Deimne.
The patron deity and captain of the Hephaestus Familia, the ultimate power among Orario's commercial Familias: Lady Hephaestus and [Cyclops] Tsubaki Collbrande.
Just considering the recognition and influence these three possessed... Whew... Burying one person would be nothing to them.
"Ahem. Then I'll cast my Magic now."
I slowly calmed myself and began the chant I had memorized every night before bed by looking at the paper.
Other Side
"This is an illusion."
They could feel mana stirring.
"This is my imagination."
Mana flowed from his body, drawing a circle on the ground around him.
"This is our ideal."
Another circle was drawn within it.
"A dream that shall endure eternally within fantasy."
A diamond was inscribed around the smaller inner circle.
"Depicting all creation."
As another square was drawn around the small circle, an eight-pointed star took shape.
"Containing all things."
Another circle was drawn within the smallest circle.
"Thus I forge the illusion born from a wondrous image."
Four small circles appeared near the vertices of the first diamond.
"All things bless that illusion."
Hieroglyphs densely filled the space between the two innermost circles.
"As an idol, it solidifies its form."
Hieroglyphs were inscribed outside the outermost circle as well.
"Everything is for one single end."
Finally, it shone brilliantly before being absorbed into his body.
Smith's Side
As I activated my Magic, [To the Stars in the Sky I Looked Up At], which activated automatically every day, made the mana I had grown accustomed to feeling flow out of me this time instead of flowing in.
When I finished the first stanza, the entire manufacturing process was hammered into my mind.
After finishing the second stanza, I learned the minimum grade required to complete this weapon.
After reciting the third stanza, I instinctively understood how to imbue it with [illusion].
And once I spoke the final line, all of it was organized in my head as though I had known it from the start.
What properties the wood needed to have, what metal I needed to handle at which moment, and at what timing I needed to infuse the illusion to complete it most efficiently. Everything needed to make this single spear was in my mind.
It did not feel forced. Rather, it felt as though this was not the only method, merely the most efficient one. If I followed this method exactly, perhaps I would eventually be able to enter the divine realm like Lady Hephaestus.
But that was not what I wanted. My goal might be to recreate illusions, but before that, I am a blacksmith. I must reach my own divine realm through my own methods. What could be more empty than reaching the divine realm with nothing but knowledge handed down by someone else?
That did not mean I would never use this method. If I had an ability and refused to make use of it, I would simply be a fraud. I would process this knowledge in my own way and use it. Rather than be controlled by knowledge, I would make it my own and use it my way.
When I finished thinking and looked ahead, the three of them were watching me.
"So? Any side effects?"
"I'm fine, aside from a mild headache from the sudden influx of knowledge. Ah, Finn?"
"Yes?"
"I'll bring the spear to Twilight Manor within a week. You won't be disappointed."
"I'll look forward to it. I'll have the Familia transfer the advance payment by the end of today."
After saying that, Finn exchanged a few words with Tsubaki before leaving immediately.
"All right, then. Shall we begin? My hands are itching so badly I can't stand it."
"Wait. Before you start, tell us about your Magic. What exactly does it do?"
"Hmm... It implants knowledge and sensations, and lets me know the minimum grade required for completion? More precisely, it first crams the knowledge of the process for making Durindana into my head, then gives me the sense needed to bestow [illusion] and create a Noble Phantasm. It also tells me that Durindana has to be completed as at least a second-class weapon. Though even if it is completed as a second-class weapon, this weapon's special properties and inherent grade elevate it in rank to first-class, I guess?"
"That is incredible Magic... I've never heard of Magic that implants knowledge before."
"Then we're done now, right? I'm off!"
"Wait!"
"Why?!"
"You're going to make it in your own smithy, aren't you?"
"...? Of course I am."
"If you make it there, it's obvious you'll go crazy over crafting again, refuse food and drink for a week, and collapse. If you're going to make it, either do it at the Familia workshop where we can keep an eye on you, or bring someone we choose and use them as your assistant."
"...Ehh."
"What do you mean, 'ehh'? Choose!"
"Then I'll bring an assistant... Sheesh..."
"Good choice. We'll send an assistant here, so be ready."
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The patron deity and captain return.
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And the person who came was...
"...Why are you here?"
"I-I'm sorryyyyy!"
It was Jian, the sole female Prum in our Hephaestus Familia.
Excuse me, Lady Hephaestus?!