Proper recovery from an injury was very different from emergency treatment in the hunting grounds. Under the physician's strict orders, Altaïr was forced to remain in bed at the medical clinic for an entire week.
During that time, Isis visited him every day, bringing him meals and keeping him company.
In a sense, Altaïr had been grievously injured and nearly lost his life while preparing a birthday gift for her.
Although Altaïr repeatedly insisted that it had been his own choice and had nothing to do with her, she could not rest easy without doing something for him.
Altaïr found the situation rather troublesome too.
Ordinarily, he would have been perfectly content to lie in bed alone and read in peace each day, treating the whole thing as a vacation. But Isis insisted on sitting by his bedside and making painfully awkward conversation despite having nothing to say...
Could he really tell her to leave?
They already spent nearly every day together, and over the years, they had exhausted almost every subject worth discussing.
Altaïr knew exactly how many kilograms Isis had weighed at birth, while Isis knew all about the embarrassing time Altaïr had peed in Karin and Haifa's item box when he was a bratty child...
Rehashing old stories filled a day or two, but after that, they lapsed into the awkward silence of two people with nothing left to say.
Francesca and Nymera, the real "culprits," also dropped by from time to time to "check on" him. They never stayed long. They simply poked their heads through the window, grinned, and left, making the awkwardness even worse.
Altaïr eventually handed Isis a book and suggested that they enjoy the pleasure of "filling their minds with knowledge" together.
He had expected that to scare Isis away, but to his surprise, she gritted her teeth and persevered. Whenever she encountered something she did not understand, she grabbed him and asked about it, which at least gave them a new subject to discuss.
Over the next few days, Altaïr found the activity quite enjoyable, even gratifying.
Isis, on the other hand, looked more haggard by the day. The moment the physician allowed Altaïr to move around freely again, she dropped the book and fled like a prisoner whose sentence had finally ended.
Once free of the sickbed, Altaïr returned to his lodgings to tidy up, gathered the materials from the Taikun Zamuza, and headed for the smithy.
—--
With construction at Mangrove Outpost gradually nearing completion, Hubert, the head of the smithing team, no longer had to supervise every little detail and could finally return to his beloved forge.
Truthfully, he much preferred forging something more "interesting" with his own hands to leading smiths in construction work or mass-producing engineering components.
When he saw Altaïr enter the smithy, the bearded Troverian smith raised his chin and greeted him warmly. "Hey, Altaïr! All healed up?
"Your armor's over there. I've repaired all the damage, and I guarantee it's as sturdy as ever!"
Even as he spoke, his small eyes behind the goggles remained fixed on the large bundle behind Altaïr.
"Thank you." Altaïr gave him a grateful smile and, under Hubert's expectant gaze, placed the materials on a nearby workbench.
"Please take a look at these."
Hubert hurried over on his short legs. "I heard all about it. You took down a Monster with a danger rating of at least 6★ all by yourself!
"That's impressive, Altaïr! These are the materials you recovered from it?"
Faced with Hubert's praise, Altaïr explained somewhat awkwardly, "I just got lucky. That Monster's attacks were formidable, but its body itself was very fragile. I happened to catch a break."
"Don't be so modest. Dawn told me about it. Those attacks weren't merely 'pretty strong.' After seeing the damage it left behind, even he wasn't sure he could have blocked them...
"Whoa! Look at the size of these pincers. They're the makings of a magnificent weapon!" As Altaïr unwrapped the coarse cloth around the materials, Hubert's attention immediately locked onto them.
"Right? Don't they look just like a Long Sword?"
"...Not exactly. If you ask me, they look more like a scythe. Still, there are a few scythe-shaped Long Swords out there.
"The Ceanataur Cutter is an excellent weapon of that type, though few Hunters use it. A scythe-shaped Long Sword has a completely different center of gravity and edge alignment. It practically handles like an entirely different weapon, and many Long Sword users never adjust to it..."
"No problem. I can adapt."
On that point, Altaïr was utterly confident.
"Then it's settled!" Hubert rapped and prodded the pincer with fingers almost as thick as an ordinary person's wrist, examining it as he spoke. "Mm-hmm, the flesh and blood inside have been cleaned out too. Good, good. If they had been left inside, they would eventually rot and stink, and weaken the material as well.
"Ms. Meow-It-All and the others cleaned these up for you, didn't they? They did a meticulous job!"
Altaïr grimaced.
Isis had actually cleaned them... but there was no need to go into the details.
Hubert examined everything with great care. Nearly half an hour passed before he finally nodded in satisfaction.
"Both the hardness and sharpness are remarkable. These blue, crystal-like growths also contain an astonishing amount of Thunder Element energy.
"Give me twenty days... no, half a month! I'll forge a first-rate Thunder Element Long Sword for you. I guarantee it won't be inferior to your [Heaven Swallower]!"
"That quickly?" Altaïr looked surprised.
These materials were completely unprecedented for a smith. Altaïr had expected the process of designing the weapon, preparing the materials, and forging it into shape to take at least a month.
Hubert saw through his thoughts. "Actually, it isn't as complicated as you think. Like the Ceanataur Cutter, this is a weapon nature has already shaped.
"I don't need to redesign much of anything. I simply have to separate the hardest, sharpest portions of these pincers, reassemble them, and reinforce the whole structure.
"If I tried to impose an entirely new shape on them, I might keep the materials from reaching their full potential.
"The only concern is that the finished weapon will be a giant scythe. If you can't adjust to it, we'll have a problem.
"Maybe I should sacrifice a little performance and make it more sword-like..."
"No need. You can rest easy on that point." Realizing that words alone were not convincing, Altaïr looked around, picked up a freshly forged Iron Pickaxe from the corner, and grabbed a smithing hammer. Then, right in front of Hubert, he activated Demon Mode and performed a Blade Dance.
"...All right, all right, that's enough. I believe you." Hubert hurriedly stopped him, muttered, "What a little monster," under his breath, then continued, "Oh, right. If you have any special requests, tell me now. I'll accommodate them as best I can."
Altaïr's eyes lit up. "Could you make it like [Heaven Swallower], with both Long Sword and Great Sword forms?"
Hubert's face twitched violently. "Absolutely not. I'll admit [Heaven Swallower]'s special design is ingenious, but this crab pincer is only suited to becoming a scythe, and scythes don't have scabbards. At most, I can make it heavier so you can just barely use it as a Great Sword.
"Oh, that reminds me. If you want to wield a scythe-shaped Long Sword properly, you'll need to learn to use Iai without a scabbard. Be careful not to slice off your own fingers."
"All right, I'll be careful. Hmm... in that case, I have one more request."
"...Let's hear it first."
Hubert braced himself, afraid Altaïr would make another absurd demand like, "Can it split in two and turn into Dual Blades?"
"I specialize in thrusting techniques. A scythe doesn't have a sword point, right? Could you sharpen the end into a point so I can thrust with it?"
"That's no problem." Hubert breathed a sigh of relief.
That request was far more reasonable than any shape-changing nonsense. If the kid made another demand like that, Hubert would suggest that he go tinker with a transforming weapon such as a Charge Blade or Switch Axe.
After confirming the weapon order, Altaïr looked at the remaining materials. "Can you still make a set of armor from these?"
Hubert glanced over them and shook his head. "There isn't enough. Even light armor would be a stretch. The weapon will use more than a single pincer, after all, and I'll also need to select some of the best remaining materials to reinforce it."
"All right." Altaïr was a little disappointed.
On second thought, however, the Monster's own defenses had been rather mediocre. Otherwise, it would not have been cut down under his barrage. Even if he forced together a set of armor, it probably would not be very sturdy.
At his current level, the Regios Armor Set remained sufficient, so he could keep using it for a while longer.
P.S. The Zenith Taikun Zamuza Armor has an odd design. The main body is fine, but the sea-creature-like parts on its shoulders and arms look strange. Its stats are not a good fit either, so this set will not be used.
(Translated by yourtl.app)