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[Finally, the day has come.] (Syrus)

A week had passed since the small incident in the street, and it passed without an impact. There was some chatter, as it wasn’t something that happened often, but people started talking about the closing of John's Temporary Home and Meals, one of the main street inns, after fifty years of service.

In response to Syrus, Luna replied very sarcastically, [Impossible, how could this ever happen.]

[Yay! I’m excited to see you use it.] (Eva)

Today was the day Syrus would finally get to complete the task she created for herself a long while ago–ordering a custom sword for herself.

Anlesa did have the opportunity to buy a ‘temporary sword’, but every time the decision came close to it, Syrus changed her mind. Either she wanted to save money for a professionally ordered sword and save in general, or she felt unhappy with the quality and specification of the swords available for sale.

[Kevin’s place is on the east side, right?] (Eva)

[Yeah, at the end of the street.] (Syrus)

The few blacksmiths of the city usually had their shops at the end of the branching streets.

Some places sold and did maintenance on weapons in the main street, but the places that smelt their own goods had their shops at the ends of the roads. This did put them further away from the market, but it was done for safety, as most of the buildings were made out of wood, resistant to firewood, but still very much flammable. They were also the buildings that had prominently stone material used for their construction.

[I hope your choice is correct, I’d rather not deal with a future mess.] (Luna)

[There won’t be one. There is a reason why it took me so long before requesting an order.] Syrus was adamant that the long wait for her to buy a sword was worth it.

[Really..?] Eva was not convinced by Syrus’ reasoning. Eva was very excited, but it had been a long song and dance to reach this point.

They reached the store, Kevin’s workshop. It was a small stone building with boxes of metal parts and a few weapons. None of the blacksmiths in the city specialised in weapons, doing so would be bad for business, and they made most of their profit through crafting parts for vehicles, houses, kitchens, belts, anything and everything that required metal to be bent into shape.

Weapons were a nice bonus to sell, because of how much metal was required for something like a sword, it could be sold a fair bit.

Syrus walked in and announced her request, “Hello Kevin, I’m looking to order a sword.”

Kevin was a middle-aged individual with brown, reddish hair and a clean-shaven beard. He wore a classic blacksmith apron over a dull red shirt. The smith in question was already over at his smithy, moving a complete order of nails out of the working area and into storage.

Kevin turned around after placing down the box. “Would you like to browse my wares then?” He began to walk towards the counter where the box of sheathed swords was behind.

“I’m fine, thank you, I already have the specifications I want.” Syrus handed over a small paper of measurements to the smith.

Kevin snatched the folded paper and opened it up to read over the details. He raised his eyebrow, looking at the details. It was about 10% longer than the standard maximum longsword length he crafted, which was usually in the range of 100-120 cm with a 90-92 cm blade. Syrus’ blades in her last life were even longer than what she was requesting now, but she didn’t feel like she needed to go that long again for this life. Her body was still in fact smaller now, and with Luna and potentially Eva participating in combat, she wanted to make some adjustments to her previous fighting style besides just using one weapon mainly.

Syrus did have some misgivings about the decision, a part of her even wanted the blade longer now that their body could be stronger than her previous life. Her Blood attribute’s physical enhancement reduces most of the major downsides anyway, and the extended reach it provided was something Syrus often exploited.

There was another reason she preferred longer weapons, mostly due to her repeated fights with monsters. A type of fight she rather not lose any advantage in, but it was also something that was far less likely to happen now than it was in her previous life.

“This will make the weight of the blade be further up the blade than normal for this type of sword, are you fine with that?”

Syrus eyed the smith, “Correct, any other questions?”

“Two. You fine waiting a week? I need to wait for my shipment of materials to come.”

“Yes, that is fine. Second?”

“Would you like to buy a scabbard with the sword?”

“No.”

Kevin did a disappointed shrug. “Okay then.”

[Why not?] (Eva)

[Because making one is funner, and it is easier than dismantling a bought one to do the modifications I want to make.] (Syrus)

[Any other reasons?] (Eva)

[It’s a lot cheaper.] (Syrus)

[Oh.] (Eva)

[Not too surprising, it’s not a standard-size sword, longswords are already less common here, and now we are asking for a custom-sized one that is longer than normal. So, there will be a whole process to cut and sew a new sheath. This is a very good opportunity to sell it at a much higher rate, so Syrus is correct, if she can, making one herself is by far the best option.] (Luna)

[I get it. I’m curious to watch you doing that, Syrus.] (Eva)

[Sure, we even have time thanks to the delay so I can do the process ahead of time.] (Syrus)

Syrus paid for the blade upfront and left without issue. Afterwards, she went on a small shopping spree to get the materials for the sheath, with an excited Eva who was ready to watch the manufacturing process.