DanMachi: The Epic of the Heroic Spirits of Emiya Shirou

Emiya's fingers traced the cold collar.

"Goddess Ishtar will agree."

He said.

"So, what kind of person was Miss Haruhime when she was in the Far East?"

"Lunova asked."

In the tavern, Yamato Mikoto, who had returned to the place, was somewhat flustered, with a strong man beside her.

It wasn't Takemikazuchi, but rather Sakura Kashima, the leader of the Takemikazuchi Familia, a recently upgraded Lv.2 advanced adventurer, a man with the heroic title of "War God Man".

Regardless of what Takemikazuchi, the chief god of the clan, thinks, Sakura Kashima is very proud of her title. Now, she is quite famous in Orario because of her tall stature, which is rare among humans, and her "handsome" title of "War God".

—In the eyes of humans in the lower realms, this is a particularly cool title. But for a mere Lv.2 to use such a title seems a bit too arrogant.

However, considering that there was an even more arrogant "Sword King" at the same time, titles like "Martial God Man," "Star Dragon Knight," and "Dark Warrior" were not so enviable in comparison.

"Lady Chunji... She is dignified and elegant, but she seems a bit detached from worldly affairs. Even the smallest things can surprise her greatly, as if she finds them very strange."

Yamato kept her head down and slowly recounted the information she knew.

Kashima Sakura also spoke up, saying:

"Moreover, Lady Haruhime is very gentle. Before we even met, Lady Haruhime had heard about the shrine behind our mansion... so she went to ask my father to share some food with us."

For Chun-hime, who lived a monotonous and comfortable life in her mansion, the sight of a group of children and deities dressed in shabby clothes, barely surviving by foraging for wild vegetables in the deep mountains seemed to have a great impact on her.

The cherry blossoms of Kashima tell the story of their brief but beautiful past with Haruhime.

He is 1.90 meters tall, a height that would make him a giant in the Far East.

However, both Yamato no Mikoto and the senior adventurer Kashima Sakura were very reserved in front of Lunova, who was dressed as a waitress.

In the past few days, they have gathered some information and gained a smattering of knowledge about the tavern "The Abundant Mistress." In particular, they also happen to know some news about "Black Boxing."

That legendary bounty hunter had only retired from the game a few days ago, and her story was still circulating throughout the underworld, including rumors that she had switched from underground boxing to becoming a waitress...

"My name is Lunova. I used to have the title of 'Black Fist'. Recently, Shirou-kun and the idiot Ryu have been very busy, so I'm here to receive you."

This was Lunova's opening line when she met Yamato and the others. This single sentence was enough to make the two feel apprehensive. Later, Lunova mentioned Haruhime, which made them even more uneasy.

However, amidst the tension, they couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation when they suddenly heard news from an old friend.

Yamato recounted the story of their encounter with Haruhime: "Someone delivered food to the shrine, which made us overjoyed. Then we became curious about the adult who distributed the food to us. Hearing that the food came from a mansion at the foot of the mountain, we secretly went down the mountain and climbed over the wall to peek inside the mansion..."

Runova already knows what happened next: Miss Megumi and the others became Haruhime's playmates, and then not long after, Haruhime was abandoned by her family and eventually ended up in Orario.

Runova jotted down the information with pen and paper, thinking to herself, "Judging from this, 'Sanjou Haruhime' is trustworthy and has a deep enough relationship with the Takemikazuchi Familia."

"Just as the goddess Astrea said, the righteous Takemikazuchi, and his retinue can help us, though not in terms of combat power..."

Yamato no Mikoto mustered her courage and asked, "Excuse me, do you know anything about Haruhime?"

Lunova replied, "Yes, I know."

Yamato no Mikoto: "Sorry, I acted impulsively... Wait, what did you say?"

“Sanjou Haruhime, there is a fox-woman prostitute in the Ishtar Familia, that is her name.”

Lunova said, "I happen to know about this girl; she was a 'valuable commodity' that the Ishtar Familia's pleasure quarters bought at a high price from a thief organization."

"Purchase? Goods?"

Yamato stood up, her voice filled with shock: "Does Orario allow something like 'human trafficking' to exist?"

Even in the Far East, the buying and selling of people is not allowed, at least not on the surface.

“The laws of the city, of course, do not allow ‘human trafficking’.”

Lunova said calmly, "But if the other party is the Ishtar Familia, so what if the rules are broken? Are you going to make enemies of the Ishtar Familia for this?"

"Do the Takemikazuchi clan have the courage to do this?"

97

Chapter Ninety-Seven: The Star Sword Box

"—Grow bigger,"

The fox-girl knelt on the bed, chanting something like a prayer.

"With their strength and actions, they acquire countless treasures and fulfill countless wishes. When the bells toll, they pray for glory and dreams."

She clasped her hands together in front of her, her voice was very soft, and her tone was somewhat hesitant because of the fear in her heart.

However, the chanting did not stop.

"—Grow bigger."

This body, having swallowed divine delicacies, is bestowed with divine golden light. Returning the gavel to the earth, it is granted blessings.

Chunji's voice paused for a moment, but at the last moment, she became more resolute.

"—Grow bigger."

Haruhime's magic, the "Treasure Hammer," has been activated.

A dazzling hammer of light fell, enveloping Emiya's entire body.

The flowing light brought him invigorating vitality and pure power.

A flash of light streaked past, leaving a trail of light particles clinging to his body.

Within a limited time, this ability allows an object to level up by one level, resulting in a massive increase in all its abilities. This is the long-held trump card of the goddess Ishtar—[Level Ascension].

After all the light particles dissipated, Emiya drew back the tightly closed curtains.

"Thank you, Haruhime. I will make good use of this power."

“Yes, yes, sir. You only want to use the power of [Level Ascension] to forge the sword.”

Chunji said nervously, "Please don't do anything foolish."

Haruhime knew that Emiya was strong, but the leader of the Ishtar Familia, "Man Killer" Frini Jamil, was a Level 5, Rank 1 adventurer.

She felt that even if Emiya had temporarily reached Lv.3 due to the [Mega Hammer], he would still be no match for Frey.

"Don't worry, I only intend to finish the forging today."

Emiya said, "I will come to see you again tomorrow, Haruhime."

He stood by the window and gently poked Chunji's forehead.

The next morning, Emiya arrived at the [Abundant Mistress] tavern.

As usual, Ryu woke up early and started her morning exercise in the courtyard. Even though she had leveled up to Lv.5, her habits remained unchanged.

Unlike before, Lunova was also in a corner of the courtyard, punching and kicking a metal training dummy.

Anya and Chloe were still sleeping in, after all, they were naturally carefree cat people, and it was really too much to ask cat people girls to get up early.

However, this doesn't mean they've actually been slacking off. Now, Anya and Chloe are going to bed at least an hour and a half later than usual, and they're doing intense training late at night—because of their racial instincts, cat people are often more energetic at night.

In short, due to the impact of Ryu's upgrade, the girls in the tavern are no longer as carefree as before. Stimulated by the "catfish effect," they have become more active, or rather, more competitive.

Last night, Ryu sparred with [Sword Princess] Ais Wallenstein and won, which once again shocked Anya and the others.

Each of these "Level One Adventurers" harbors a deep-seated fear of the pinnacle of adventurers in this city—Runova was nearly killed by Shakti, the Staff of Ganesha; Kroy narrowly escaped death during the siege of the Four Flame Warriors; and Anya also has a hidden past.

However, now, the fact that Ryu, who was not long ago at the same level as them, has suddenly become a first-level adventurer and even defeated the [Sword Princess] who had upgraded to Lv.5 earlier has shaken their worldview.

Especially Lunova, who was evenly matched with Ryu not long ago, and even if she lost, it was only by a small margin. But just a few days later, she suddenly became worlds apart from Ryu. The difference was just too great.

Moreover, seeing that even a "useless fairy" could level up to Lv.5, they suddenly felt that level 1 adventurers weren't so amazing after all.

"I'll go for it. It seems like I can do it too?"

As for the source of the change, Miss [Swift Wind] Ruriang was not yet clear about it. She was just happy that someone was finally getting up early to exercise with her.

As Emiya entered the courtyard, he saw Lunova smashing a metal dummy to pieces with a series of violent "Ora Ora Ora".

"The dummy is still too weak to withstand a beating..."

Runova muttered to herself, and when she saw Emiya arrive, she waved her hand.

"I'm going to take a shower first, you guys chat."

As Lunova spoke, she turned and left, leaving the courtyard to Emiya and Ryu.

The elf girl lowered her head somewhat shyly and whispered, "Shirou, you've come."

"Ryu, I brought this for you."

On his back, Emiya carried a heavy black sword case.

He took the sword case off and placed it in front of Ryu.

"This is the weapon I forged for you."

Emiya said.

Ryu was visibly taken aback: "...Me? So, it was for me?"

She knew that Emiya had been busy in the workshop all this time, but Ryu never expected that he was actually making weapons for her.

"This is a request from the goddess Astraea."

Emiya said, "I have fulfilled my mission and have finally completed it."

"Wait a minute, Goddess Astraea... Could it be that taking [Futaba] away before was also for...?"

Liu was somewhat taken aback.

She recalled that on the first day of her reunion with the goddess Astraea, the goddess took away the "Futaba," a relic of Kaguya Gojou.

【Futaba】 are two short swords, which are among the best-quality blades in the second tier of weaponry.

However, the second-level weapon is ultimately only suitable for Lv.3 and Lv.4 level 2 adventurers. After Ryu upgrades to Lv.5, [Futaba] is no longer of much help to her.

Furthermore, Ryu thought that the goddess Astraea was reminiscing about someone by looking at the object, so without much thought, she handed [Futaba] to her.

"That's right. I incorporated [Twin Leaves] into the new weapon as requested by the goddess. The other materials were also provided by the goddess."

The goddess Astrea had been planning for a long time to forge a suitable new weapon for Ryu, and for this purpose she went to the sword-making city. However, now the goddess has found a more suitable swordsmith.

He had prepared many valuable materials in advance, and for the missing parts, the goddess purchased them through the Hephaestus Familia and then gave them to Emiya—this was a gift from the goddess Astraea to Ryu, so the goddess insisted on bearing all the expenses herself.

With the blessing of the [Mega Hammer], Emiya completed the final forging of his weapon ahead of schedule. The upgrade of the [Mega Hammer] level could not improve his sword-making skills, but the Lv.3 stamina and magic power greatly accelerated Emiya's forging progress.

Liu gently stroked the sword case and asked, "What is the name of this weapon?"

"These are a pair of swords, named 'The Other Shore Flower' and 'The Return of the Swallow'."

Emiya opened the sword case, and a flash of cold light entered Ryu's eyes.

98

Chapter Ninety-Eight: [The Sword of Alexandra], [The Sword of Kaguya]

The pure black sword case, engraved with the emblem of a volcano and a forging hammer, slowly opened, and with a crisp click of the mechanism, a longsword, sheathed on each side, emerged from it.

The back of the sword case bears the emblem of the Hephaestus Familia, while the front features the Wings of Justice emblem of the Astrea Familia.

The fully opened sword case has ten slots, but only two swords are currently inside, leaving eight slots empty.

Ryu was shocked: "Shirou, did you forge this...?"

"The sword case is the work of Lady Hephaestus."

Emiya said, "The longsword among them was forged by me."

There is a long sword on each side of the sword case; the scabbard on the left is red, while the one on the right is pure black.

One black, one red, the longswords cut off the dawn, leaving long shadows on the earth. The two swords gave the impression of two raging dragons lurking in the abyss, currently dormant in their scabbards.

"This is... a Level 1 weapon, no, it seems to be more than that..."

A blacksmith's forging skills are not related to level. In theory, as long as you have the [Forging] development ability, you have the possibility of creating a level 1 weapon.

The dwarven blacksmiths of the Gnu't Familia are mostly Lv.2 advanced adventurers, and they have forged nearly half of the Tier 1 weapons in the Labyrinth City.

Once Emiya reaches Lv.2, he will one day become a top-tier blacksmith capable of forging first-level weapons. Ryu never doubted this, but she never expected that day to come so soon.