130 5.19 The Formidable Odachi That Cuts Through Anything

The moment I left the house and beyond my knowledge, Hiko-sama went to my little bedroom and took my 'Shinrai to yujo-ga' down from the wall and wrapped it with a cloth since there was no sheath on it yet.

He carefully wrapped it up and carried it off to the marketplace where he had seen a Blacksmith that had just opened his shop for business for the day.

He entered the shop and was greeted by the Blacksmith. "Irasshaimase, what can I do for you, Samurai-san," the Blacksmith asked.

"Here, I have an odachi but the sheath was destroyed. It had not been used for quite some time and I need the sheath by today."

Hiko-sama unrolled the cloth and presented the odachi to the Blacksmith. He looked at it with full admiration and asked about this.

"Is this a new odachi? Where did you get this from? This is not from anywhere around Kitakata, am I right?"

"As I've said, this odachi was rather new. It had never been used before and was kept in my collection without its sheath. I won't be seen around carrying this without its sheath right? Patrolmen would have surrounded me already."

"Haa...haa...its true. But this odachi seems to emit its own aura by itself when I held it. It seems a bit special, unlike other weapons that I had held in my hands so far. Mind telling me a bit of this piece of history?"

"Well, all I can say that this was handed down to me some time back. I wanted to gift this away."

"Oh... If I offer you, would you like to sell it to me? The way the metal was forged it was definitely from some quality iron. As a Blacksmith, this was forged not from [Ordinary Iron] but was made from [Refined Iron] and this piece here can be considered being made by a Level 5 Blacksmith, at least. "

"I am sorry, but this is not for sale. I intend to gift this away after making a sheath for it."

"Ah... I see. You really don't want to sell it away?"

"I am sorry, as again I've said it, it is not for sale."

"Since this odachi had been with you, would you mind if I give you an example when I said this odachi had been made by [Refined Iron]?"

"Sure, go ahead. But please do not make a scratch on the odachi. I wished to have it the same condition as the way I brought into your honourable shop."

The Blacksmith gave a "Don't worry, I won't hurt your odachi" look at Hiko-sama as he took another katana that he was selling and place it in front of me. He held the odachi in his hands and he slashed down on the katana's blade.

"SHIIIINNGGGG....!!!" as soon as the odachi made contact with the katana that he had experimented on, a loud slicing sound was made and the odachi cleanly cuts through the katana in front of him in 2 pieces.

Omagai...!!!

The odachi effortlessly slices through the katana and this was said the katana was made by [Refined Iron] as well. But the quality of this odachi surpasses the quality of the highest weapon made by this Blacksmith.

Both Hiko-sama and the Blacksmith looked in total shock at the odachi and it surpassed the quality that was appraised by the latter.

"Look here Samurai-san, I could offer you 100 gold coins for this odachi if you could sell me. I understand that you do not intend to sell this to me, but yet my reputation in my shop will be two-fold if I could display it on my shelf. Surely once I buy this, I would not sell it to anyone else even if they offered me 500 gold coins for this masterpiece."

"Hmm, a 100 gold coins you say. How about this, you make me the sheath for free, and I bring you the person who originally forges this masterpiece to you at a price of 250 gold coins just by meeting him alone. However, I still get to keep the odachi and you will pay once you had met the person and maybe he can show you a piece or two weapons or even armour instead. "

"The price is very steep but it's worth it in my kind of trade. Have you shown it to any other Blacksmith in Kitakata here? I would make the sheath right now if you could wait. It won't take as much as one hour to make the sheath. When would I be able to meet the honourable person?

"Just as soon as you had finished making the sheath, I would go and inform him straight away. I am sure he would be glad to meet you and show you his pieces of work."

"Samurai-San, if I could meet a fellow Blacksmith that could forge this type of weapons, I am highly honoured with his presence in my shop here. I am sure my fellow apprentices in the back would also like to learn a thing or two."

"Sure, Mr Blacksmith, it'll cost you just 250 gold coins just to meet him. As for the weapons or amours, the price would be negotiable with him. I am sure he too, would be honoured to meet you too."

"OK, Samurai-san, take a seat here first. Take this odachi with you first and I prepare the standard sheath here in front of you. Trust is important to establish friendship in this business." the Blacksmith said as he handed the odachi back to Hiko-sama and went back to the shop to get the standard prefabricated sheath that he would work on the length of the odachi.

"Trust and Friendship" that's the name of the odachi that had been named by Himura. Is it a coincidence or he himself knew that this odachi would mean such a thing with a Blacksmith of this calibre.

By the way, I am sure not taking advantage of Himura since meeting this Blacksmith alone would be worth 250 gold coins. If every weapon or pieces of armour was to be made by Himura, then at 100 pieces of gold would definitely surpass the savings that I had.

This is his luck and the Gods are definitely smiling on him as well. This kid sure has a lot of potentials. I better speak to him during lunch time later when I presented his odachi that had been sheathed by then.

---Meanwhile at Miroku's house---

Washy... Washy... Washy... So much laundry to do... Oro ma! The pile of clothes left by Miroku-sama was definitely more than a week since I had to counter over 4 pieces of kimono, 6 pieces of hakama, 7 pieces of tabi. Since these clothes were not placed in a laundry basket or sorted out, certain dirt that was not supposed to be there was accumulated as well. Luckily his underwear was not included.

This is hard work... Pretty hard work for an 11-year-old kid. I had to wash everything separately which started from his kimono first. Once I had settled the kimono and hung it on the clothesline, I settled his hakama. Somehow Kitakata would make some hangars to hang these clothes not folded instead. Maybe I go and get some weapon parts and make some metal hangers for them instead. If one house is like this, I am sure the rest 3 would be the same.

Phew...! Luckily the soaking part gives me time to rest and breathe awhile. Since it's still in the morning, I should be able to complete the laundry first and then resumed with the kitchenette's unwashed bowls and utensils.

Once I've done that, I'd break for lunch and resume cleaning the interior of the house. I had opened up all the sliding windows and I was wondering when the stale smell of this house would be gone away.

Omagai...!!! This is how an 11-year-old kid has to survive in this world. Ok, better head back to the hakama now and then the tabi would be last. Better catch the morning sun and the laundry would be dry by late afternoon.

The trick to drying clothes faster in the clothesline was to actually flip the clothes a few times to shake off excess water. Rather than wringing it by the hands, flipping the clothes would also yield better results. Once the excess water had been flipped, these clothes would be best sun and wind dried when they were fully stretched on the clothesline.

If hangers were present then it would be much better and saves a lot of space. Once it's sun and wind dried, the clothes on the hangers could just be stored inside the wardrobe or hanged on the wall. There are no such clothes hook so maybe I forge some in the Realm of Mind.

Alright, it seems the water had been filled and the yellowish stone soap had made enough suds for me to run a few times on the washing board. Whoever made this yellowish stone soap is definitely a genius since the soap does not easily melted or dissolve away in the water.

Well, back to manual labour I guess. Luckily I am easily adaptable to changes in the environment and don't have to rely on washing machines at all.

Soak... Soak... Soak... Scrub... Scrub... Scrub... Rinse... Rinse... Rinse... And repeat.

---Meanwhile, back at the blacksmith shop---

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"Here, Samurai-San. The basics of the sheath are ready. Can I check the Odachi out and see if it fits the length? There should be a slight give for the blade and the sheath, too loose it would be rattling inside and if it is too tight, it would be hard to pull out."

Hiko-sama handed the Odachi to the Blacksmith as he adjusted the depth of the insides of the sheath to fit the Odachi snugly. The length was marked out and later sawn and tapered off. He handed the Odachi back to Hiko-sama and he kept it at his side.

After making sure the sheath was of the exact'outer protective skin' of the Odachi, he set it and then lacquered it before adding some mother of pearl decorations for it. He took it inside a kind of furnace oven to set the lacquer in and took it out some 15 minutes later.

He handed it to Hiko-sama once it had been air cooled and the wooden sheath would already be set. Hiko-sama inserted the Odachi and when it reaches its oval handguard he heard a slight click. The then withdrew the Odachi out and felt a very slight resistance but does not dampen the overall withdrawing effect of the blade out from its sheath.

The sheath was decorated with Mother of pearl taking shapes of fallen snowflakes and it accentuated very well with the black, shiny sheath. Hiko-sama was satisfied with the end results and he inserted the Odachi back in place.

"I will inform the person who made this Odachi and brings him here during dinner time. What time do you close your business?"

"Thank you, Samurai-san, I am truly honoured. I usually open till late at night since some adventurers would pass by and buy some other goods that I advertise here. I would be anticipating the arrival of the person you mentioned."

"Your welcome, Mr Blacksmith. Thank you for the gift of this sheath. I am sure the new owner would be very delighted by the craftsmanship. Thank you again, I would be taking my leave now and return by dusk."

With that, the Blacksmith bowed deeply to Hiko-sama and he was delighted that Hiko-sama was pleased by the sheath and also anticipated the arrival of the person who made this fine weapon.

Hiko-sama wrapped the Odachi in its new sheath with the cloth that he had brought it in earlier and went home. He dropped by Miroku's house to see how I was doing and I answered Hiko-sama from the bathroom when he called my name. Hiko-sama simply said to remember breaking for lunch and left.

Seems Hiko-sama was in a hurry just to leave a message like that to me. And I have not even gone for 3 hours already and Hiko-sama seemed overly concern towards me.

I sighed as I continue to rinse the hakama and brought it to the clothesline before I flipped it a few times to shake the water off. The floor of the house was intentionally made wet from the laundry because I intend to give it a good wipe afterwards.

Soon, I had completed the whole laundry process and took a breather first. The sun was already midway up in the sky and by the time I finished cleaning the kitchenette, it should be time for lunch already.

Another similar process for the next 3 houses for the next 3 days would be repetitious and when comes next week, it would be a lesser burden already.

Working as a housekeeper had given me some ideas to work on already. So it's best I need to find someone who would be able to make some moving parts and mechanisms for an idea that had popped up in my mind.

After taking a breather, I decided to clean up the kitchenette then break for lunch. Meanwhile, I was thinking of how to make things life easier for Hiko-sama and his Comrades.