The Cane

This excited her somewhat.

"Are you... also a blacksmith?"

When he spoke, Fire God used honorifics when addressing Maria.

"... I wouldn't call myself that. Although I've seen it, I don't have any talent for it... I'm better at using and destroying weapons than forging them." Maria shook her head. Looking at Fire God's suddenly excited expression, she had a vague idea of what was going on... but she said nothing and just continued speaking.

"If it's alright, may I ask her for a favor?"

"Forging weapons? No problem."

Upon hearing Maria's request, Fire God agreed almost without hesitation.

Rhodes Island doesn't prevent its operators from taking on private jobs outside of their regular duties, and Fire God, as a senior member of the Engineering Department, clearly has more freedom. Of course, she has no problem with forging weapons for others!

Maria hesitated for a moment after such a straightforward agreement.

"What's wrong?"

Fire God noticed Maria's hesitation and was also somewhat curious.

Seemingly worried that her decisive agreement might make Maria distrust her, she quickly added...

"My time... my friend has plenty of time; she can easily handle forging weapons and all that!"

"... No, it's just that the weapon I'm forging might have a somewhat unusual shape..."

Maria hesitated for a moment before speaking softly again.

But seeing Fire God's confident gaze, Maria remained silent for a moment before finally stepping aside under everyone's watchful eyes.

She picked up her pen and slowly began to draw...

Chapter 141 The Cane

"This is... a cane?"

When Fire God saw Maria begin to write, he was stunned for quite a while.

Although Maria's drawing style was somewhat different from hers, she could still recognize most of the things.

But what puzzled her was that Maria's actions and words didn't seem to match up.

Maria had previously mentioned that the weapon she was going to make was a bit strange, and Fire God wondered what kind of challenge it would pose.

The result... was just forging a walking stick?

This isn't that difficult, is it?

"It's not just that."

Maria shook her head silently, and after a moment of silence, she began to modify the cane again.

In just a few moments, a cane transformed into a sharp, long whip covered in spikes.

This is one of the weapons that Maria frequently used in Yharnam.

Threaded Cane!

Fire God immediately understood what Maria meant.

"You want a transforming weapon?"

"... Um."

Maria nodded and looked at Fire God.

"Is it possible?"

"... It's hard to say."

Hearing Maria's words, Fire God also looked troubled.

She could roughly understand what Maria meant; the other party probably needed a weapon that was a cane in its normal form, but could transform into a whip after a mechanism was triggered.

It's basically a transforming weapon.

The problem is that while transforming weapons look cool, most of them actually only exist in fantasy.

The first issue is the weapon's strength.

As we all know, no matter what kind of weapon it is, even if it is a one-piece design, the weakest point is the interface.

The weakness of a spear lies at the joint between the shaft and the spearhead.

Once broken by the enemy, the spear instantly becomes nothing more than a stick.

Other weapons operate on the same principle.

The biggest problem with transforming weapons lies in the transformation itself... because to adapt to two forms, the weapon is destined to never be formed in one piece.

In other words, even if you use the best materials, it will only make the weapon less likely to break.

Weaknesses still exist.

Furthermore, because it was pieced together, it has more and more obvious weak points than other weapons.

Furthermore, there's the internal manufacturing process.

Complex manufacturing processes can cause weapons to lose their ability to deform upon impact, while simple processes can lead to overly direct force transmission between the materials, making them prone to damage.

Even after resolving these two issues, there are still many problems to be solved, such as mastering the feel and usage methods.

Forging a good transforming weapon requires more than ten times the effort of forging an ordinary weapon.

Just to be on the safe side, Fire God turned to Maria and asked.

"Are you planning to use it in battle, or... just as an ornamental object?"

"..."

Maria did not answer, but continued to gaze at Fire God.

Seeing her attitude, Fire God roughly understood what she was thinking.

Clearly, Maria wouldn't bring any decorative weapons.

She needs a weapon that can actually be used on the battlefield!

"I see..."

With a sigh, Fire God took the blueprints from Maria's hands, hesitated for a long time, and then silently shook his head.

"I'm not sure if this weapon will meet your expectations, but I'm sure... but my friend will definitely do his best to complete it."

Fire God scratched his head, his expression clearly showing some difficulty.

Maria felt much more relaxed after receiving Fire God's answer.

"Thank you for your trouble... I will give you the compensation you deserve later."

"It's alright. You're Ceobe's friend, which means you're also a friend of Rhodes Island. Forging a weapon shouldn't be a problem... If you really want to talk about payment, then tell me about your experience using weapons."

Fire God waved his hand, showing no interest in the reward Maria had mentioned.

What she was actually more interested in was Maria's knowledge of weapons... If a blacksmith wants to forge a good weapon, he needs to understand where that weapon will be used.

And she couldn't possibly carry her own weapon to the battlefield every day to check it... In a place like the training ground, there's no way to push the weapon to its limits, and you can't test out any problems.

Therefore, someone like Maria, with extensive experience in using weapons, is essential for a blacksmith's advancement.

Maria nodded in agreement and left with her entourage, not wanting to disturb the other party's continued work.

After carefully examining the drawings Maria had made and confirming that there was no movement behind him, Fire God slowly turned his head.

After seeing that there was indeed no one in the room, she shook her head with slight disappointment.

Ceobe used to love staying here and watching herself forge weapons... but this isn't really a place for leisure, so she always chased her away.

But when she actually saw him leave with another woman without any hesitation, she felt somewhat disappointed.

This was a very petty idea, but Fire God ultimately couldn't transcend to that extent. After shaking her head helplessly, she sat back down in her seat.

But at that moment, her eyes suddenly glanced to the side.

On the table, a packaged rice cake was left behind sometime during the day. On the simple packaging, there was a silly, cartoonish dog head drawn with an oil-based marker.

"Did... Ceobe drop this?"

Fire God was somewhat puzzled. Based on her understanding of Ceobe, she was capable of losing anything, but weapons and food were something she wouldn't normally lose, right?

But it was only after she picked up the honey cake that she discovered a cute cartoon version of herself eating it on the back of the packaging.

Because Ceobe isn't very good at writing, he often uses drawings to express his thoughts.

So... this is for me?

Fire God paused for a moment, then couldn't help but burst into a silent laugh.

Did he realize his own disappointment and try to comfort himself with something he liked?

Really...

That's her style.

After hesitating for a moment, she silently opened the package and took a bite.

"Tsk... too much sugar."

As she spoke, a silent smile crept onto her lips.

But right at the doorway, where she couldn't see, the little yellow ears twitched.

"Are you back?"

Not far from Fire God's room, Maria and Texas stood silently in place.

Seeing the girl rushing towards her joyfully, Maria affectionately ruffled her hair. Seeing the girl's silly smile, her mood improved considerably.

After all, it's hard for someone to be serious when faced with a child who's just smiling innocently.

Texas, on the other hand, had been gazing longingly the whole way, her disappointment practically written all over her face.

Maria glanced at it a few times, then curiously reached out her hand.

"Would you like to be touched too?"

"No, it's not necessary."

Texas blushed slightly when she saw Maria turn to look at her, and quickly turned her head away.

Its tail wagged rapidly behind it.

"Is that so? Yes, you're definitely not that kind of person."

Maria nodded silently, not noticing the other's tail suddenly drooping.

He continued to stroke the Ceobe.

The other person responded with a simple, silly laugh.

Texas felt completely out of place in the otherwise pure and beautiful atmosphere; she felt like an outsider... and inexplicably a little lost.

Ceobe, noticing the other's disappointment, also tilted his head.

"Huh?"

After hesitating for a moment, she smiled foolishly again, got up, grabbed Texas, and threw herself into Maria's arms.

"Huh?"

Texas was taken aback by this action.

Realizing how close she was to Maria, she was terrified and wanted to run away.

Unfortunately, although Ceobe was a bit slow, she was surprisingly strong. Texas tried to break free several times, but to no avail.

Texas was so anxious that her face turned bright red.

But when she turned around, she only saw Maria's eyes, which seemed to be smiling but not smiling.

Without saying a word, Maria simply reached out her other hand and gently stroked Texas's ear.

The erect ears gradually drooped under that gentle caress...