New Weapons, and Then...?
"Whoa…"
While Tene and Felix were away, Rosaria followed Louis back into the fortress — and the sight that greeted her left her jaw hanging open.
Even when it had stood dark and dormant, the Dragon's Breath had radiated a certain grandeur. Now, charged with molten lava, it was beginning to show its true majesty. Steam rose from the dragon's head, its entire body sheathed in glowing red magma, looking for all the world like a real dragon had been set down right there in the forge.
"Well? The real thing's impressive, sure — but this isn't half bad either, right?"
"Well… she is a real dragon, but… she kind of gives off a goofy vibe. This one's definitely cooler, yeah."
Tene's true form was genuinely magnificent, but the Dragon's Breath carried a far more imposing presence than the pure, gentle face of the girl herself.
"Now just pour everything you brought into the mouth here."
"Here?"
Having properly introduced Rosaria to the Dragon's Breath in all its glory, Louis pointed to the bag hanging from Rosaria's back.
"So I just dump the whole thing in?"
"That's right."
"Okay."
With a clattering rush, Rosaria untied the straps of the bag on her back and, following Louis's instructions, began dumping every last one of Tene's scales into the gaping maw of the Dragon's Breath.
"What do I do now?"
Having packed in every scale as directed, Rosaria turned back to Louis with the question — and that was when it happened.
"Wait for it… now! Run!!"
"What? What-what?!"
Louis slammed something that looked vaguely like a button on the Dragon's Breath and bolted for the rear without another word. Rosaria, flustered but following on instinct, scrambled after her.
"What the hell are you suddenly—"
Rumble…
"Waaaaah!!"
The moment Rosaria caught up to Louis and started to ask, the Dragon's Breath roared to life.
KRAAAAAA—
The eyes of the dragon statue began to glow a fierce red, and then a savage torrent of flame billowed from its open jaws. In that instant, Rosaria understood exactly why it was called the Dragon's Breath.
FWOOOOSH—
A searing blast of fire erupted outward — truly no different from a dragon's breath attack — flooding the forge with an overwhelming wave of heat.
"Holy crap…"
"It has to melt ores that ordinary furnaces can't even touch, so the heat is insane. Anyone standing within about three meters would melt right along with the metal. Pretty amazing, right?"
"You could have warned me about that!"
"Gyaah?!"
Beside a dazed Rosaria, who had collapsed onto the floor in sheer awe, Louis was grinning like it was no big deal. That did it. Rosaria's temper finally snapped, and she drove a fist into her.
"Ah — damn…! Augh!! Ah, ssss…! My skull's gonna split open! Augh!!"
"I held back, so quit whining and get up."
"It really hurts, okay?! I don't have any mana — I can't reinforce my body like you can!"
"I accounted for that when I hit you. If I'd gone all out, I could've made your head and your ass switch places."
Louis's eyes spun as she crumpled to the floor, clutching her head and thrashing about dramatically. Still, Rosaria had hit her far more gently than she ever did during sparring sessions — or rather, "educational exercises" — with her fellow combat-track students.
"It really is incredible, though. Way more intense than anything in the movies."
"Sss…! Right? I thought it was seriously cool the first time I saw it, too."
"So how long does this take?"
"About… thirty minutes? Around there."
"Hmm… I could watch this forever and not get bored. Is this what they call fire-gazing?"
"Something like that."
The brilliant, violently beautiful flames pouring from the Dragon's Breath were as mesmerizing as a fireworks display even from a safe distance. Rosaria settled in and simply watched as the dragon scales melted away completely.
And so time passed.
"And there you have it — the finished product."
"They melted down just like molten iron."
At last the Dragon's Breath finished its work and the flames died down. Inside, Tene's scales had been reduced to a liquid form, fully processed and ready.
"What do we do now?"
"It's harder to work than ordinary ore, so we have to set it into a more precise mold first, then shape it while it's still molten."
"With most metals, quenching is about increasing hardness — but these are already ridiculously hard, so there's no need. We heat them the same way, but instead of cooling them, we just form the shape while they're hot."
"Ohh…"
"I prepared the molds yesterday. Once we pour this in, step two is done."
Louis pulled out the molds she had prepared and set them down in front of the Dragon's Breath.
"One's a gun… and one's an axe that looks like the one Mom asked for… but what's this?"
The original plan had been to forge Rosaria's gun and the axe Darian had requested — so when a third mold appeared, Rosaria tilted her head in confusion.
"This? For Tene. I promised I'd make her a weapon, remember?"
"Ah… for Tene."
"…Does she even need a weapon?"
Louis's answer finally jogged Rosaria's memory. On the way here, she had indeed promised to have a weapon made for Tene as well. Still, no matter how she thought about it, she couldn't shake the feeling that Tene hardly needed one.
"True… being a dragon kind of makes weapons unnecessary, but… she said she wanted one."
"Normally you'd design a weapon around the person using it, but since the user is a dragon, I figured I'd set practicality aside and just make something that looks badass."
"Fair enough."
Louis felt the same way. Matching the perspective of a student like Tene, she had decided to prioritize cool factor over practicality — and when it came to cool, nothing beat a sword. So she had resolved to forge one exclusively for her.
"Is there anything I can help with?"
"Not really? This part's all me, so you can head in and rest if you want."
Louis began skillfully pouring the molten scale-metal into the molds. Rosaria looked for something useful to do, but Louis insisted there was nothing left for her to assist with.
"…Even if I can't help, it's fine if I just watch from the side, right?"
Rosaria stepped closer anyway, her eagerness to keep watching plain on her face.
"Of course."
Louis glanced at her, then turned back to her work with studied indifference — though a faint smile had settled at the corners of her mouth.
Clang— clang—
Before long, the ringing of a hammer filled the forge that housed the Dragon's Breath.
"And… done."
Three days later.
Louis gathered Rosaria and the others, who had been staying at the fortress while the Dragon's Breath ran and the weapons took shape, and presented what she had made.
"First up — this."
"My gun?!"
The first thing she held out was Rosaria's new sniper rifle.
"Whoa… that finish is killer."
Where the old gun's body had been roughly carved wood — closer to a sculpture than a proper firearm — it had been transformed into something resembling dark-tempered steel.
"I planed down the outer wood to get the angles right, then layered the surface over it."
"No difference in performance, but the durability is way better!"
"Huh…? It's surprisingly light for how it looks."
The World Tree branch had delivered excellent performance, but its durability had been a problem — a flaw Louis's method had neatly solved. Rosaria lifted the finished rifle and blinked in confusion at how much lighter it was than she'd expected.
"That's because the scales themselves are the ideal material — hard and light at the same time."
Mithril conducted magic beautifully but was weak in strength. Adamantium had outstanding hardness and durability, but it was far too heavy. Dragon scales, however, were light, exceptionally hard, and tough enough to withstand a dragon's breath for a short time without so much as a scratch.
"And this is the real prize."
Thud—
"Hm? What's this?"
While Rosaria was still practically drooling over her new gun, Louis set a small box down in front of her.
"Open it."
"Mmm… alright."
Rosaria asked about the box, but Louis only gave her a meaningful smile. Half skeptical, Rosaria cracked it open — and froze.
"Th-this is… ammunition?!"
The box was packed full of rounds.
"I had a lot of scales left over while I was forging, so I made a few."
"I coated the tips with dragon scale to boost penetration and destructive power — and there are specialty rounds with various effects, too."
"This one, for example, is an Incendiary Round. It sets whatever it hits on fire."
"This is an Electro Round — shocks the target on impact. There's a Freezing Round that freezes them solid, too. The rest you can figure out by mixing and matching yourself. Have fun with it."
"O-ohhh…! This is insane!!"
Having decided to make bullets while she was at it, Louis hadn't been able to stop herself — every idea that popped into her head had ended up as a finished round. Rosaria marveled at Louis's skill in crafting elemental ammo that belonged in a video game, her fingers already itching to try them out.
"And this is for, uh… Father? Is 'Father' right?"
"'For now,' Father is correct, isn't it?"
"Well… anyway, this is the axe he requested… but I think it's better to unveil it once we're back home…"
"…………"
"You don't have to stare like that. I was about to show you next."
Having finished presenting Rosaria's weapon, Louis felt a burning gaze from the side and turned her head — to find Tene staring at her intently, practically snorting with anticipation.
"Here. This one's yours."
"Yesss!!"
The moment Louis handed over the large box containing Tene's weapon, Tene tore into it with the pure joy of a kid on Christmas morning.
"…..Whoa."
Shiiing—
Eyes wide, Tene lifted what lay inside.
"Is this… a sword?"
"Well? Cool, right?"
In Tene's hands was a massive longsword — the kind that sprang to mind the moment anyone thought of fantasy.
"Rugged yet clean. And it still doesn't sacrifice beauty. My masterpiece!"
"I-it's… it's reeeally cool!!!! Whoa! Whoa-whoa!!"
"Hey, you maniac! Don't wave that around! It'll slice a normal person open like tofu!"
"Ah. I'm sorry…"
She had asked for it and expected something good — but when the result exceeded even her hopes, Tene started bouncing with excitement. Louis had to scramble to rein her in, looking thoroughly alarmed.
"…Huh? What's this, though?"
Having finally calmed down, Tene glanced back into the box and asked. Nestled inside alongside the sword was a pair of iron bracelets, dyed a deep black.
"Ah, those? A little freebie from me."
"A freebie?"
"Come here a second — lean in."
"Okaaay…"
Whisper— whisper—
"Hmm… aha… hmmm… Wait? Wait, what…??"
"Got it? This is a secret."
"Uh, okay… But… for real? These are?"
"Of course. Absolutely."
Louis pulled Tene close and whispered something in her ear. Tene's expression shifted in real time with every word.
"What is it?"
"You have to tell us too."
"Still a secret. Stuff like this is more fun when you keep it hidden."
"*nod* *nod*"
Curiosity piqued, the other two crowded in — but Tene's mouth was firmly shut, and Louis just grinned, clearly enjoying herself.
"So… is that everything we came for?"
"Pretty much. I've already accomplished what I set out to do… and I still just want to get out of here. I respect the craftsmanship, but those damn yards and pounds are driving me insane…"
Rosaria's party had achieved their purpose in coming to the fortress. Louis, in particular, seemed desperate to leave as soon as possible. She had enjoyed her long-overdue visit home, but the measurement system here still refused to stick in her head.
"Then shall we head out tomorrow?"
"Sounds good."
—Are we going now?
"We're leaving tomorrow?"
"Time to go home."
Having decided to depart for the Evergarden Territory the next day, the group began to rise slowly from their seats, ready to wrap up the evening—
"Wait. Something feels off."
—but Felix turned his head, a strange sense of unease prickling at him.
"What's off?"
—Weird?
"Oppa. On your head—"
"On my head? Well, obviously Ariel is—"
—Mom. I'm over here.
"…..Huh?"
Feeling the familiar weight atop her head, Rosaria had assumed it was Ariel — but the spirit herself was fluttering near Rosaria's shoulder.
Which meant…
Whatever was sitting on her head was something else entirely.
—Hi. Mom?
"….Mom?"
The sensation on her head vanished, and a small red figure appeared before Rosaria's eyes. A salamander floated there, looking at her, its little mouth opening and closing.