At the start of the first round, the character controlled by Eriri launched a fierce assault, and the fight looked almost completely one-sided. (Continued)

"Do you know how to beg for mercy now?"

Hasegawa Izumi's eyes filled with surprise.

That thing's intelligence was probably on par with a six- or seven-year-old human's, wasn't it?

At once, he came up with a new idea.

As a Summoned Beast, this black bear wasn't bad. It could help strengthen the organization, and might come in handy someday.

"Since you're so willing to pledge yourself to me, I'll accept you. But from now on, as a Summoned Beast of our Far East Magic Society, you'll need to keep your wild nature under control. You mustn't attack humans without provocation, and you mustn't..."

Hasegawa Izumi walked over and patted the black bear's enormous head, laying down a few ground rules.

Its black fur looked smooth, and felt quite nice to the touch.

Satisfied, he patted its head and instructed it, "From today on, your name is Bear Big. If I need you in the future, I'll come find you. For now... you can go."

Though Bear Big couldn't clearly understand what he meant, it understood that he was letting it go. It took a few steps, glancing back each time, then headed toward a nearby hillside and disappeared over the ridge.

As he watched the black bear leave, he suddenly thought of something.

Wasn't this the part where he should say, "I've got a Pokémon"?

Ah, right. They were called Pals now.

"Hasegawa-kun!"

Not long after Bear Big left, Mr. Linye came running over with two lumberjacks. They were carrying a chainsaw.

"Why are you here, Mr. Linye?" Hasegawa Izumi asked in surprise.

"Hasegawa-kun, didn't you hear that bear roaring? It was terrifying," one of the lumberjacks asked with a strained smile.

"I heard it. I even saw the bear."

He answered casually.

Mr. Linye tensed up at once. "Really? Where is it? You're not joking, are you?"

"Don't worry. I just beat it into submission. It should be a fair distance away by now."

He pointed in the direction the bear had gone.

"You really know how to joke."

"Hahahaha."

Mr. Linye and the two lumberjacks couldn't help laughing.

He'd made them all laugh.

I'm telling the truth. Why does everyone think I'm joking? Could I have a talent for comedy?

Hasegawa Izumi frowned.

Forget it. He couldn't be bothered to explain.

One day, the truth would speak for itself, and the world would understand his foresight.

"All right, since you're all here, help me take this. This is the material I picked out."

Mr. Linye and the two lumberjacks followed his gaze and examined the tree, then marveled at it.

In their eyes, it was a rare piece of high-quality timber.

"Then let's get to work."

Mr. Linye didn't waste time. He got the workers started, and soon they had felled the oak.

They quickly drove back to the forestry bureau's base.

"This much should be enough for me."

Hasegawa Izumi sized it up, drew two lines on it with chalk, then took out the money he'd borrowed and handed it over.

"Three hundred thousand yen should be enough, right?"

"That's plenty, plenty."

Mr. Linye nodded quickly.

He'd wanted to offer it for free and earn some goodwill, but realized that might come across as presumptuous, so he didn't try to be clever.

"Then I'll be off."

Hasegawa Izumi wrapped the cut lumber in plastic sheeting to disguise it, tied it to the back of his bicycle, and pedaled away.

After a long journey and a few rather illegal maneuvers, he finally made it back to Tokyo at around eight that evening without incident.

"I'm a little later than I expected. Sorry for the trouble..."

He left the bicycle in the courtyard and took out his key, preparing to open the door. Just then, his heart gave a sudden lurch.

"Kukuku, My other half, you have broken your promise to me once again! It seems I'll have to bring down upon you a calamity unlike any in history!"

As soon as he entered the living room, his Little Sister sprang up from the sofa, one hand covering half her face as she leveled a heartfelt accusation at him with a dark expression.

"Uh, this time it really was my fault... How about I take Kōko out for tonkotsu ramen tomorrow?"

He gave an awkward smile and quickly offered to make it up to her.

"Really, big brother? That's great..."

Kōko's face lit up, and she immediately made peace with her brother.

"Kukuku, My other half, tomorrow you shall offer up the finest sacrifice as the price of your repentance!"

47. The Day to Test Its Edge Was Still to Come

"What exactly is My other half doing?"

Kōko had just finished watching an episode of anime and was curious. She cautiously stepped into the entryway and peered outside through the half-open door.

Beneath the gentle warmth of the sun, a breeze stirred the flowers and plants in the courtyard.

The boy sat quietly on a chair. In one hand, he held a piece of wood over a meter long; in the other, a knife, which he slowly used to carve it.

The scene had a certain poetic charm.

After gathering the raw materials yesterday, Hasegawa Izumi wasted no time. He started making his Noble Phantasm as soon as he'd finished breakfast.

With modern techniques, the wood was generally pressed in a mold first to ensure the blade's shape and evenness. Then it was refined by hand to make the blade smoother and give it the right curve. Finally, it was varnished to improve the wooden sword's appearance and durability.

A wooden sword made that way could best imitate the way a real sword handled.

As for the first step, which required a mold, he'd simply optimized it away.

It wasn't that he couldn't afford one. It was that he trusted his own hands more!

At first, he'd planned to use his hand as a blade and carve the wood into a divine weapon. But the laws of physics in this world were still too firmly entrenched, and he couldn't break through that limitation yet.

With no other choice, he had to make a little use of tools.

First, he split the wood into two pieces, one for the blade and one for the scabbard.

The work wasn't too difficult. With his steady hands, he didn't need guide lines to keep the measurements precise.

Wood shavings flew, and thin strips peeled away like curling paper. Before long, the shape of a long sword had taken form.

He slowed down a little for the finer details, but it still took him only an hour to craft a beautifully shaped wooden sword that seemed almost naturally formed.

"It's about 85 centimeters long, and three centimeters wide and thick."

He lifted the sword and estimated its measurements.

It looked like an ordinary wooden sword, but its blade was patterned like white clouds, making it quite beautiful.

That was enough.

Once the sword was finished, he started working on its scabbard.

He used the two separate pieces of wood to estimate the space needed for the hollow, then carved them accordingly. Finally, he joined the two pieces together and glued them into a proper scabbard.

At last, it was time to varnish it...

"We don't have any at home. I'll go out and buy some this afternoon."

After thinking it over, he tidied everything away and began sweeping the courtyard.

"My other half, can I touch it? Um..."

At lunchtime, Kōko sat on a chair, swinging her little feet as she gazed at the Noble Phantasm hanging on the wall, clearly tempted.

"Of course. You can play with it until it's polished smooth."

Hasegawa Izumi smiled and agreed.

His younger sister always came first, especially when she was asking for something so small.

"Then I'll give it a try, big brother."

Kōko moved her chair and stretched up on tiptoe, but couldn't reach. She brought over another chair and finally managed to take the wooden sword down.

"My other half, behold the technique I just created! Hee-yah! Blood Frenzy! Mountain Splitting Earth Shattering Slash! Soul Devouring Demon Sealing Slash!"

His little sister swung the wooden sword around wildly, feeling very pleased with herself.

She'd gone from vampire to berserker.

"How was that?"

Tired from swinging the sword, Kōko came over to him, looking expectant.

"My verdict is... a whole lot of random slashing. Kōko, you have great potential in this area."

He couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.

"Really?"

His adorably clueless little sister didn't catch his meaning and looked delighted.

That afternoon.

After making a few stops, Hasegawa Izumi bought some clear varnish to preserve the wood's natural color. The grain was so lovely that he didn't want to cover it up.

Then he used ink to write "Seeker of Defeat" on the blade and added a sword tassel to the pommel as a final touch.

At last, the wooden sword was complete.

"The day you test your edge is still to come."

Hasegawa Izumi murmured, raising the wooden sword in one hand and guiding its blade into the scabbard with the other. The clasp held it tightly in place. Then he hung it outside the window.

After it endured sun and rain and was infused with the power of heaven and earth, it would surely become even more wondrous.

As evening fell and the sun sank below the horizon, he remembered the promise he'd made to his little sister the day before.

To avoid messing things up, he needed to choose a restaurant carefully.

The problem was, he didn't know much about that sort of thing.

Suddenly, a lively figure came to mind.

"Right, Chika really likes ramen. I'll ask her for recommendations."

At lunchtime, Fujiwara Chika often ate her bento in the classroom. Sometimes, she'd come over and chat with him about food.

When she found out he made his own bento, the girl had been astonished for quite a while.

Chika: Huh? Why are you suddenly asking about this, Izumi-chan? But I do know a few places with the most authentic flavors! If you want to know, you'll have to ask me nicely! wink.jpg

Me: My little sister likes tonkotsu ramen, but I think it's too much trouble to make, so I've decided to take her out instead. So, please, Miss Chika!

Chika: Huh? You have a little sister, Izumi-chan?

Chika: ＼(`Δ')／ I had no idea! Let me meet her!