Extra - Sword Art Online - Sound of Water, Sound of Hammer (Aincrad 48th Floor August 2024).pdf - Sword Art Online Novels 1-10 + Extra - Adamovix

ソードアート・オンライン – Sword Art Online

水音、槌音 Sound of Water, Sound of Hammer

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ソードアート・オンライン – Sword Art Online

水音、槌音 Sound of Water, Sound of Hammer

Aincrad 48 th Floor

August 2024

"Please reinforce it."

I stared hard at the face of my client, who placed a long sword in a white scabbard onto

the counter while calmly saying that line, for roughly two seconds.

"...Wh-What is it?"

Upper body leaning away, the other party finally responded with a single cough.

"It-It's nothing. ...It's just that, I was wondering how long you're intending to drag this

sword along."

It was a line meant as a light jab at that display of bashfulness, but with a—

"It-It's fine, isn't it, me dragging it about. I like it, after all."

I was rendered once again, speechless at that reply. If we were to continue looking at

each other face to face like this, that near unnoticeable reddish tinge on my cheeks

would be exposed, so I hastily averted my face and spoke.

"Well, it's just like you to not even update your equipment though. Well then, please

come along to the workshop."

Reaching my hands towards the counter, I lifted the long sword with my fighting spirit,

going "Yoisho!".

The reason my face turned red was simple.

It was because three months ago, this slender long sword in my arms right now, «Dark

Repulser», was what I—Lisbeth the smith, forged by swinging my smith hammer: a

player-made weapon; also, the black-haired, black-clothed one-handed sword user,

Kirito, who just made the "I like it" comment, was the person I am in love with. Ever

since the day we met, without ceasing.

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ソードアート・オンライン – Sword Art Online

水音、槌音 Sound of Water, Sound of Hammer

My shop, «Lisbeth's Equipment Shop» stood in the southern district of the main town

area on Aincrad's 48th floor. It was somewhat average among the manufacturing-class

player shops, with the sales area and workshop situated on the first floor, and the second

organized into four rooms for the kitchen and bedrooms.

As for the reason it was valued highly despite that house plan, it was due to the fact that

it was furnished with a large water wheel at the back of the house, connected to a

waterway. Various large-scale devices could be connected to the power transmitting

axle that pierced through the wall, reaching into the workshop. For a bakery, a flour

mill; as for a tailor, a weaving loom; and as such, for a smith, bellows or a sharpening

wheel. Considering the merit of automating these tools that would originally require a

player to push and turn them by hand, the thumping sound of its rotation that rang out

regardless of day or night could be said to be rather pleasant.

Kirito appeared at the shop early in the afternoon, in the second summer of Aincrad. As

it was a time when steadfast players secluded themselves in the hunting grounds or

labyrinth areas, while the converse sipped away at iced drinks after a meal at bars or

restaurants, there were no other customers within the shop.

I left the NPC, Hanna (female, estimated to be fifteen years old, surname, Heinemann)

to tend to the shop, and moved towards the workshop while carrying the heavy sword.

After Kirito, who came along, opened the door without requiring any additional

prompting, the sound of the water wheel's rotation became remarkably louder.

"...It's such a relief that Aincrad's summers aren't that hot, really."

His impression was probably due to spotting the furnace burning red hot in a corner of

the room, I thought, as I heard him speak from behind. I lowered myself onto the chair

beside the anvil, unintentionally broke into a wry smile.

"If you care about the heat, you should just take that off when you're within the area, at

least."

The trademark of Kirito, who possessed the cool second title of «The Black

Swordsman», was that black leather coat of his that extended below his knees; if one

were to take up that sort of appearance in the real world during August, it would

probably eventually result in heatstroke. Leaving the sheathed Dark Repulser on the

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ソードアート・オンライン – Sword Art Online

水音、槌音 Sound of Water, Sound of Hammer

anvil for the moment, I shifted my view to Kirito, who was leaning against the wall, and

he had a bitter smile on while scratching his head.

"It's like, well, aside from sleeping, I just can't calm down without this on nowadays,

you know..."

"That said, don't tell me you actually had the same one equipped since the first floor?"

Previously, when I was chatting with my close friend, Asuna, at this very spot, the topic

ended up being Kirito's only set of clothes. According to her, it seemed that he had the

same appearance ever since he got his hands on a unique rare, «Coat of Midnight», from

the floor boss on the first floor.

At my question, Kirito smiled once again and shook his head.

"I do have to update my armor every now and then. This «Blackwyrm Coat» is the..

fourth generation, I guess?"

"Oh... That's a monster drop too?"

"Nope, it's player-made..."

That somewhat complicated expression that flashed past Kirito's face as he replied did

not escape my gaze. Maintaining my smile, I pressed on without a moment's delay.

"Oh. Which shop is it from?"

"Well, that's... it's just something from A-«Ashley's»..."

"Ohh. Hehh. Is that so."

As I dragged my words out, Kirito made the truly conspicuous motion of averting his

eyes.

Ashley was a charismatic seamstress, widely said to be Aincrad's number one. Although

it wasn't like she was a business rival to me, a smith, she set up shop in Lindas like me,

in the northern section, and it was thrice the size of mine (with two water wheels), not to

mention the shop's name, «Ashley's», was one most could not help but to notice. In

addition, the person in question was a considerable beauty in her early twenties.

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ソードアート・オンライン – Sword Art Online

水音、槌音 Sound of Water, Sound of Hammer

Likely due to being aware that the defensive line-up in my Lisbeth Equipment Shop

included lightweight armor for swordsmen using one-handed swords as well, Kirito

babbled on with an expression on the verge of letting out a cold sweat effect.

"Nah, it's just that my build is based on leather armor and all, and the only tailor I knew

that could handle a high grade raw material like black dragon leather was Ashley-san,

so I really had no choice at all, you see..."

"I didn't even say anything, did I. But still, if I'm not wrong, wasn't it Ashley-san's

policy on custom-made items to only take up requests that interested her?"

"Re-Really? I was, you know, referred there by Asuna, her regular customer... oh right,

that's just like the first time I came to Lis's shop, isn't it. That time was a real disaster, eh,

smashing that sword you were selling when I tried swinging it and..."

Upon getting to that point, he froze up with an expression that said

"Oh-crap-I-stepped-on-a-land-mine", and I ended up bursting out in laughter, unable to

suppress it any further.

"Ahaha... there's no need to make a face like that, that's nothing more than a good lesson

to me now. Back then, I did make swords only focused on Accuracy and Quickness,

without much care for their durability, after all. Swords that are strong with the system

assistance are popular, but I realized that the swords that'll protect my customers' lives

in a pinch are the durable ones..."

After my laughter settled down and I turned back to the anvil, I lifted Dark Repulser up

once again. I gently pulled the sword out from its sheath, it was heavy enough for me to

have no proper way of swinging it in actual combat even if I could carry it around with

my STR.

The blade that was fairly slender for a one-handed long sword was silver, with a faint

bluish tint. Asuna's beloved sword, «Lambent Light», was of translucent silver much

like a crystal, but in contrast the appearance of this was exactly like that which often

appears in fantasy works, «Mithril Silver».

"If I'm not mistaken, this is +39 at the moment, right?"

"Yep. In short, I'm challenging for that +40 today."

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