You Did a Great Job Repairing It

He straightened his clothes and carefully put his mask back on. As he walked down the mountain, he thought, The sword delivered today was probably a woman's. And tonight, I ran into a woman from the Demon Slayer Corps at the hot spring... She looked so familiar. She can't be from Swordsmith Village; in both the manga and the anime, they always wear Fireman Masks. So she must be a member of the Demon Slayer Corps. Wait... Could it be her?

He spun around, but he couldn't see the summit from here, let alone the hot spring or the woman in it.

At last, he frowned slightly. "She's still alive."

The Flower Pillar—Kochou Kanae!

The woman who would die at the hands of Upper Moon Two, Doma, was still alive and well.

"And though I don't know exactly what's going on, that sword must be hers, right?"

As Tetsu no Sosuke headed home, he kept turning it over in his mind. For some reason, a fierce sense of frustration welled up inside him.

Why does a good woman like her have to die at the hands of someone like that? Isn't there some way to stop it from happening?

But he was only a swordsmith. Even if he knew the Breath of the Sun, he was still just a swordsmith.

How could a swordsmith decide the battles of the Nine Pillars?

How could he control who won or lost?

He made it all the way home without coming up with an answer. After all, there was only one thing a swordsmith could do: forge Nichirin Blades.

"Forge a blade..."

He set down his basket and looked at the damaged Nichirin Blade on the anvil. A fire suddenly lit in Tetsu no Sosuke's eyes.

"That's right. There's a lot a swordsmith can't change. The one thing I can change is... the sword in a swordsman's hand!"

He stared at the Nichirin Blade before him. If I can make it better, could she defeat her opponent in that battle she's fated to die in? No, she doesn't have to win. She only has to hold out until dawn! Then she can keep living!

He took a deep breath, stepped up to the anvil, and picked up the Forging Hammer. "Whether it works or not, this is the only thing I can do as a swordsmith!"

Chapter 8: You Did a Great Job Repairing It

From that night on, Tetsu no Sosuke did not rest.

He didn't know what he was holding on for. Perhaps it was simply that fleeting glimpse of her in the hot spring.

Or perhaps he couldn't bear to see something beautiful—someone beautiful—destroyed by a creature like that.

Whatever the reason!

He had made his decision!

He would fight a battle against something he couldn't even name, a battle only he knew about!

With the Forging Hammer in his hands, he would make the impossible possible!

That was how a swordsmith fought.

And then... in the blink of an eye, it was the third day.

The Nichirin Blade in his hands was repaired.

Using the gauge to control the temperature had been crucial to repairing it.

He could see exactly how hot the forge was—not a degree too high or too low.