Chapter 427: It… Doesn't Sound Entirely Impossible
"What's wrong? I thought your authority was related to forging, right? Shouldn't this kind of thing be trivial for you?"
Steven wiped the soup splashed across his face with a straight expression, then casually complained. From his point of view, Nian did have that title suffix suggesting she wielded the power of forging—exactly why he came to her in the first place.
If she possessed a divine authority over forging, shouldn't she at least know how to use it?
"Ahem— You think this is easy? Do you even realize that the only reason I have the strength I do now is because of this incomplete authority? And you just open your mouth and ask me to bless your weapon with a divine power—do I look like some kind of wishing machine to you?"
Nian rolled her eyes dramatically as she wiped the soup from the corner of her mouth.
No wonder he had been smiling so weirdly—what a ridiculous request. Why didn't he just go all the way and ask her to forge a god-slaying weapon? Or better yet, a weapon to rule the entire world? If he was going to dream, might as well dream big.
If she really could do such a thing, would she still be hanging around Rhodes Island, needing to ask him for help with anything?
"I'm just asking, okay? Hypothetically—if we don't worry about the cost—could you actually meet my requirements?"
As he waited for the bronze cauldron to heat up, Steven asked as though they were simply chatting about the weather.
"That depends. You need to tell me exactly what kind of authority you want your weapon infused with. How am I supposed to guess the result you're imagining?"
If she didn't know Steven wasn't the type to prank her with something like this, she would've already thrown him out of her room. What, did he think she was some kind of cheat code? "Son't worry about the cost"? As if anything that nice exists in the world.
"Hm… something like absolute sharpness—an authority that can cut anything?"
Steven thought for a moment and arrived at that conclusion. After all, the original Yamato sword basically had that power. And functions like "key to open the gates of hell"? He didn't need those… yet.
But before he even finished speaking—
PFFT!
He heard the sound of someone failing to hold back laughter and spitting soup. This time, however, he was prepared—and didn't take the blast to the face.
Sidestepping Nian's soup attack, Steven calmly moved to another spot and continued adding slow-cooking ingredients into the cauldron.
"Do you have any idea what the cost is to obtain a truly powerful authority? Do you even understand that a weapon with even a trace of the authority you just described could kill a god?"
Nian stared at him in disbelief. She could not fathom how he could so casually throw out a request she wouldn't dare think of even in her dreams.
If such a weapon could really be forged, the other gods would have silenced her long ago—no expense spared.
"But what if," Steven continued smoothly, "the weapon already has a similar ability at its core, and all it needs is a little… help to bring it out?"
Steven firmly believed that the Yamato in his hands possessed a similar function. As long as its name was [Yamato] and not [False Yamato], then in some sense, it had to share the same abilities as the original. It was simply restricted by the rules of a katana—unable to fully reveal its true power.
"You mean… that sword of yours?"
Nian instantly understood what Steven was implying. And she had a hunch: if it was that weapon, perhaps what he described really wasn't impossible.
After all, even before it left its sheath, she had felt that terrifying blade aura. She certainly hadn't imagined it.
Straightening up, Nian leaned toward Steven, suddenly serious for once, curiosity lighting up her eyes.
Everything she'd said earlier was true—she didn't have the means to forge such a weapon. But if given even the slightest chance, there was no way she'd stay out of it. For a craftsman, forging a god-slaying weapon was the ultimate dream, wasn't it?
Even knowing the trouble it would bring—knowing it would be difficult beyond measure—asking her to give up was absolutely impossible.
"So you want to grant—no—to awaken the power that already lies dormant within it?"
She pressed him, fully hooked, her eyes filled with nothing but a fiery obsession for such a creation.
"Yeah… something like that. That's why I asked if you knew a way. Why don't you take a look first?"
Steven nodded, watching this girl become even more excited than he was, and pulled Yamato from his inventory. Without ceremony, he drew the blade right in front of her.
The moment the sword left its sheath, the murderous sharpness that had been suppressed unleashed itself—leaving deep, slicing gouges carved straight into the ground.
Steven couldn't help thinking that ever since Yamato developed a conscience, its temperament had gotten a lot worse. Sure, it also became sharper—but it was still a pain to deal with.
Of course… it might also still be sulking about being stuffed into his inventory all the time.
Nian examined the blade closely, its edge so keen it felt like it might cut her gaze in half. She lifted her folding fan and gave the steel a gentle tap.
There should've been a clear clink.
Instead—her fan silently split cleanly into two, falling apart without resistance.
Nian's lips curled upward in a satisfied smile.
If this sword contained a dormant authority yet to be awakened… she could definitely believe it.
Which meant, this youngster's request might not be impossible after all.
And more importantly, she might truly have the chance to take part in forging a god-slaying weapon.
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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