It wasn't until a pale hand waved repeatedly in front of his eyes that Shane snapped out of his highly focused state.
"What's wrong?" He looked up somewhat blankly at the owner of the hand, Erza.
Erza bent down, leaning close to him, her expression a bit helpless. "Aren't you hungry? Look outside, it's already night."
Shane subconsciously wanted to say "not hungry," wanting to finish the last few pages of the book in his hand in one go. The record about a unique plant fiber weaving technique used in a remote ancient town was just reaching the critical part.
Erza looked at his reluctant appearance and found it even stranger. "Don't you have the 'Gale-Force Reading Glasses'? This isn't a magic tome that requires word-by-word analysis. You didn't finish it in a whole afternoon?"
"Of course not," Shane explained, his tone even carrying a hint of excitement to share. "There's a lot of interesting information in here. I feel like I need to read it a few more times to let my brain fully memorize and understand it."
"So how many times have you read it?" Erza pressed.
"This is the fifth time," Shane answered with a slight touch of pride.
"..."
Erza stared at him for two seconds, then without another word, reached out, grabbed his back collar, and lifted him directly from the chair. "Eat."
His body forcibly removed from the seat, Shane only then belatedly noticed that the sky outside the window was pitch black. The magical lights in the library were glowing quietly, and even Levy, who had been reading beside him, had left at some point.
"Wait, I haven't put the book back yet..."
"I'll do it." Erza closed the book neatly with her other hand and stuffed it precisely back into that corner in one fluid motion.
---
Too lazy to start a fire and cook, on the way back, the two randomly found a restaurant still lit up to settle dinner.
Chewing on a steak that tasted decent, Shane suddenly had an idea. He put down his knife and fork and said to Erza, "I want to stop by the blacksmith shop here later."
During these rest days, Saber's illusion never appeared again, and he didn't dare guess the True Name recklessly anymore.
Inspired by the travelogue's constant firsthand visits to Zeref's creations, he thought that if he wanted to crack the other party's True Name and trigger the illusion, perhaps he could try to get closer to the clues the other party revealed.
Like forging swords.
He happened to be very interested in this aspect too. Taking advantage of his free time now, it was just right to pick up this hobby again.
Erza swallowed the food in her mouth and asked, "You can already forge Magic Swords?"
"How could it be that simple..." Shane smiled helplessly, but his eyes lit up. "However, I do have some new ideas I want to try."
After the meal, the two went straight to a blacksmith shop in the city with a good reputation.
Although it was night, the furnace in the shop was still burning vigorously, and the clanging sound of hammering was incessant.
Shane didn't buy ready-forged iron billets directly like last time. Instead, he stopped in the corner where raw materials were piled and carefully selected some iron ore with good appearance.
When paying, he directly prepaid a deposit to reserve those ores, then politely asked an old master in the shop if he could spare some time tomorrow morning to help him build a simple forge near his residence.
The old master counted the coins handed over, a hearty smile appearing on his face. "No problem, young man! I'll haul the stuff over first thing tomorrow morning. I guarantee to set it up properly for you!"
On the way back, Erza looked at the empty-handed Shane and became even more curious. "You're not buying ready-made billets, but starting from ore? That's so much trouble."
"This is a necessary step." Shane nodded, his gaze looking toward the dark forest in the distance. "This time, I want to try without using magic shortcuts. Smelt iron from the flames with my own hands, then hammer it into the desired shape, strike by strike."
According to his conjecture, if he didn't use [Arrow Construction] but personally experienced every step from smelting to shaping, perhaps he could get closer to that Saber's origin.
Erza half-understood, but still asked, "Need my help?"
Shane retracted his gaze and smiled at her. "Take this opportunity to focus on learning Requip Magic first. Let me figure this out alone here."
Speaking of this, he laughed at himself a little.
Going in circles, the matter of going to the library to read was going to be delayed again. But on second thought, this wasn't a conflict. He could wait until the furnace was built, study in the library in the morning, and forge swords in the afternoon.
---
The next day, just as dawn broke, Erza finished washing up and went out to the library, full of enthusiasm.
Shane waited quietly in the yard.
Not long after, the old master from the blacksmith shop rushed over with materials and an apprentice.
Perhaps because Shane paid readily, the old master's attitude was exceptionally enthusiastic, and his hands and feet were nimble.
They chose the location for the furnace in an open space not far outside the yard, near the creek, convenient for fetching water for quenching.
The old master was experienced, directing the apprentice to mix mud and build the furnace with skilled movements.
Shane occasionally helped out, handing tools or asking about details like the furnace chamber structure and bellows angle.
Seeing that he asked knowledgeable questions, the old master was happy to say a few more words, telling him that although this furnace was simple, the fire power was concentrated, enough for forging small items.
When the furnace was built, the sun was already high. The old master helped test the bellows again, wiping his sweat and leaving only after confirming there were no problems.
Shane stood alone in front of the newly built furnace, the chamber still empty.
He reached out and touched the still rough furnace wall, the dry touch coming from his fingertips, feeling a bit excited inside.
He almost couldn't wait to ignite the furnace fire and pulled the bellows hard.
Whoosh—
The wind sounded, and flames shot up violently, licking the empty chamber. Heat waves hit his face, making his cheeks burn.
Shane patted his face hard, staring at the dancing flames, his eyes full of anticipation.
...
...
In the evening, Erza returned from the library. Before getting close to the yard, she heard rhythmic clanging sounds.
She followed the sound to the creek and saw Shane busy focusing.
The boy's face was stained with some soot, and his forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, shining under the reflection of the furnace fire. At this moment, he was holding a red-hot iron block with long tongs, placing it on the anvil, holding a hammer in his right hand, forging it strike by strike.
Erza didn't make a sound, just quietly watching Shane's profile.
His expression was taut, but his eyes were unusually bright, the corners of his mouth even carrying a trace of an imperceptible arc.
Erza felt that the other party's mood seemed very good right now.
So good... that he seemed even happier than when the two of them were usually together. This made her feel inexplicably unhappy inside, but she didn't know where it came from.
"And here I brought you food specially!" Erza placed the packed meal box on the rock beside her with some annoyance.
But the evening by the creek was chilly. She thought for a moment, afraid the food would get cold in the night wind, so she pursed her lips, picked up the meal box reluctantly, turned around, and walked quickly back to the house, planning to keep it warm indoors first.
When she came out again, Shane seemed to have just finished a stage. He picked up the piece of iron that had the rudimentary shape of a blade as if showing off, turning to her.
"How is it?" He wiped the sweat from his forehead, his eyes sparkling. "First time, and I succeeded!"