07 October 2017

Genjitsushugi Yuusha no Oukokusaikenki. Arc 4 Chapter 3A

Translator Corner
Minasan oideyasu. This is Yukkuri demasu!

Another chapter!
New Arc:
The Knight Commander and the Mad Scientist. Or how to increase technology.

DISCLAIMER: There is no guarantee that my translation is 100% correct. Please correct me if I was wrong.

Author:
Dozeumaru(どぜう丸)
Translator:
Yukkuri Oniisan
Editor:
So-Chintzy

Enlightenment Arc
Chapter 3: The Core of CoReform A[1]

――― 1547 Continent Era, Month 2

At the government affairs office in Parnam Castle, Liscia and I were looking at “a certain thing”.


Look at this. What do you think?(Souma)
It’s really…… thin, long, and curved.(Liscia)
……Do you want to try it?(Souma)
Can I? Then……(Liscia)

After she said so, Liscia temporarily left the government affairs office. I was thinking, what happened to her so suddenly, when she returned with something extremely outlandish. It was an iron pedestal with something like an antler attached to it. Furthermore that antler was not something from a common deer, since it was milky white and had a snake-scale-like iridescent luster.

Wh-what is this?(Souma)
A sword rack made from the Mountain Deer’s antler. (I hear later that it was a gigantic deer. A hit from its antlers could even smash through steel). It’s extremely robust.(Liscia)

Wait, why did she emphasize the robust part? Liscia placed “that thing” on the antlers and fixed it so it won’t move. Then, she unsheathed the sword at her waist and then swing it towards “that thing”. The next moment, immediately after the high-pitched sound, the tip of Liscia’s sword separated from the main blade and fell to the ground. Liscia for a moment was staring in wonder, but then she came to her senses and yelled,

M-my sword!(Liscia)

She was shocked and looked back and forth between the broken tip and the broken blade. I sighed when I saw her dismayed state.

I never imagined that you will slash at it.(Souma)
But! You said, I can try it!(Liscia)
What I mean was try to pick it up in your hand and swing it around. Why were you trying to test cut it?[2](Liscia)

Liscia sometimes had muscle-brain like thoughts. This might be the influence of her mentor Georg.

In the first place, if you strike a blade at another blade, it will be obvious what will happen next, correct?(Souma)
T-that is…… But, this is the “Nine-Headed Dragon Blade”[3] right? I was curious about its cutting ability……(Liscia)
Good grief……(Souma)

By the way, just like what Liscia had said, “that thing” that she tried to cut was a blade forged in the Nine Headed Dragon Archipelago Union, (A maritime country that governed the Nine Headed Dragon Archipelago Union, located in the sea eastward from Elfrieden), the so called Nine-Headed Dragon Blade. It was a single edged sword, the blade itself was slim, long and curved. There was a fuller between the ridge and the back of the blade.

I think there might be people who could guess the true identity of “this thing” from what I had said. This Nine-Headed Dragon Blade really resembled a Japanese Katana. It was different from the swords of this country that gave off a “let’s hack ’em” kind of impression (in Earth terms, it would be European swords). This blade was specialized to cut by a push-pull action. Perhaps the manufacturing method was also similar.

That Nine-Headed Dragon Blade had been unsheathed and fixed on the mountain deer (?) sword rack, with its blade edge pointing up. Liscia tried to cut it, but her sword’s tip was the one that got cut instead. Liscia stared at the Nine-Headed Dragon Blade’s edge with a bewildered expression.

At any rate, this blade has an amazing sharpness.(Liscia)
Since it’s similar to the katana of my country, it’s the top class if only in cutting power.(Souma)

Not long ago, I saw this on some TV program, it could cut a kitchen knife blade into two and even cut through a waterjet cutter (something that could cut through objects using a very high-pressure jet of water).[4] Its cutting power is no joke. Liscia hummed in admiration.

Amazing…… But why there is a Nine-Headed Dragon Blade here?(Liscia)
A present from Excel. It was from a fishing ship from the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago that they had seized not long ago.(Souma)
Fishing ship?(Liscia)
It seems that lately, the number of the fishing ships from the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago poaching fish in our coastal waters had been increasing.(Souma)

In this world, there were many gigantic marine creatures similar to the Thalassaurs[5] that pulled the iron warship. (The Thalassaurs were similar to huge plesiosaurs, but with horns). The Thalassaurs were relatively docile, but there were aggressive creatures like the Megalodons (huge sharks). However, since these gigantic marine creatures mostly lived in the deep ocean, it was inevitable that the fishing grounds would be limited to the coastal waters near the continents or the islands. Even so, the amount of fish there was plenty sufficient, so it wasn’t a big problem. But in recent years, the number of ships from the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago that had come to fish in our country’s coastal waters had increased.

The commonly accepted practice in this world was that the fishing grounds for a country was located on the coastal waters of that country and the open ocean (though of course, the open waters would be dangerous). To fish in the coastal waters of other countries would be an illegal poaching. They wouldn’t able to protest if the ships that did the poaching were seized or sunk. Regardless of this practice, the number of ships from the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago that fished in our coastal waters increased. And consequently, the incidence of conflicts between fishermen also increased.

Even though we had protested to the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Union, there was no reply. Even though fleets under Excel had patrolled the water, it was ineffective. The other side is an island country, a maritime nation. It could be said that their shipbuilding and seamanship are the best in the world. The Thalassaurs that pulled their ship had been improved by selective breeding and their ability couldn’t be matched by ours. Furthermore, their fishing sips are made of wood and since they aren’t loaded with cannons, their speed is faster than ours. The warships couldn’t catch up to the fleeing fishing ships. It seems that the seized ship this time was only possible since it had run aground.(Souma)
Then, how about we also use a fast wooden boat to chase them?(Liscia)
In that case, if the other ship is armed, then our side could receive serious damage, you know?(Souma)
That’s true……(Liscia)

At the very least, the patrolling side must be equipped with some armaments, so this was a tough situation. Liscia crossed her arms and thought deeply about this matter.

But, isn’t this a little strange? Certainly if they go to our coastal waters, then they could fish safely…… But, they must pass the ocean when going to and returning from fishing, right? Why would they brave that risk and poach the fish, even though they could be arrested?
I also don’t know. There might be something happening in the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Union, but I have no means to confirm this. Since they are surrounded by ocean, it’s hard to get any information.

Even if I send the Black Cat to infiltrate and perform an intelligence gathering operation, since the country was surrounded by ocean, it was hard to maintain an information connection. There was no place for the Homing Quis to rest, so they couldn’t cross the ocean, and a royal voice broadcast orb was too big and hard to transport. In the end, the only method to deliver information was with a courier’s help, but this would take several days. The freshness of the information was the most important thing. Even if they got some crucial information, it would be meaningless unless they had the means to report this immediately to their home country.

For the moment, I only had the stories that I had heard from the people who ran from the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago, like one of the Song Princesses, Nanna. But even though it was united by the its leader, the Nine-Headed Dragon King, each island had different livelihoods and conditions, so even when assembling the fragmented information together, it was quite hard to join them into a whole picture.

A country where we don’t know what they are thinking about is more troublesome than the clearly hostile countries, since we don’t know what we have to prepare.  (Souma)
That’s right.(Liscia)

Both of us sighed.

In any case, let’s return the topic of our conversation back to the Nine-Headed Dragon Blade. This blade greatly resembles my country’s sword. The sharpness is really amazing, but it needs skills to handle it. However, there is support magic in this world, right? This blade also could become sturdy enough to withstand the exchange of blows to some extent.(Souma)
For a sword-type weapon, it’s the top class, right? Well…… If it’s in the sword-type category “alone”, anyway.(Liscia)
Ah, so you noticed?(Souma)
Of course. We are not only fighting using a weapon’s power alone.(Liscia)

Just like what had Liscia mentioned, the people of this world could use magic to some degree. And most of them could manipulate the four attributes, fire, water, earth and wind. Hence, in a battle, they could clad their weapons with these attributes. If Aisha clad her great sword with wind, then its cutting power and attack range would be increased. While Hal could clad it in fire and throw it to the enemy and explode it. That’s why, the sharpness of the weapon wasn’t something that most people paid attention to.

Well, this blade might be exceptionally useful in sea combat where it’s hard to use magic other than water attribute magic. Actually, it seems that the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago’s sea combat tactic are mostly closing off the enemy with their great mobility and then raiding the other ship like pirates.(Liscia)
That method is just like something that a marine nation would do.(Souma)

While listening to Liscia’s admiring words, I looked carefully at the edge parts of the Nine-Headed Dragon Blade.

But…… I really want this blacksmith technology.(Souma)
A-re? But didn’t we just talk about how that the sharpness of a weapon is meaningless?(Liscia)
As a weapon, perhaps. But, there are many applications for a blade with a good sharpness.(Souma)

For example, as a kitchen knife. If we could mass produce kitchen knives with a good sharpness, then the chefs could create even finer and more delicious dishes.
Other examples, as a tool. If we have a cutting tool with a good sharpness, then we could use that tool to produce even more useful tools.
Then medical instruments, like a scalpel. This might be the most urgent one. During an operation, the sharper tools could lessen the damage incurred on patient’s bodies.[6] Hilde and Brad would like to have this.
This was a technology with many applications. I want to have it by all means.

For the moment, we are still researching it, but…… it would take a long time.(Souma)

My knowledge about the forging of a katana was mostly sketchy…… It’s lump of steel piled up atop another and then hammered, or something like that. Which one is a real metal? Tamahagane or Hihiirokane[7]…… Yeah my level of knowledge was only like this.

If we have a diplomatic relationship, even if we had to pay some compensation, we could negotiate for a technological transfer, but……(Souma)
But we don’t know the fundamental of what the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Union was thinking, right?(Liscia)
Precisely.(Souma)
What a difficult topic.

Indeed. Even to avoid needless conflict, I need to establish a diplomatic relationship…

……Well, there is nothing we can do, but leave it for now. The matter of our country is more important. We need to develop our own technology that doesn’t exist in other places like this blade. It will lead to an increase in national power and become the cornerstone of the country that is unshaken by the events of the era.(Souma)
That is a reasonable opinion…… But to be specific?(Liscia)
Soon it will be the time to take out “that person” to the front stage. Since we had done various preparations behind the scenes.(Souma)
By that person …… You mean, that person?(Liscia)

I made a great nod at Liscia, who made a puzzled face in response.

Now, let us go to call Ludwin.(Souma)

◇ ◇ ◇

The Royal Guards Commander, Ludwin Arcs.
Though he was only 30, relatively young, he was a genius who had been entrusted with the official position of the Royal Guards’ Commander, who will lead the 40,000 strong Royal Army during an emergency. Since the dismantling and reorganizing of the Royal Army and the Kingdom Army, Navy, and Air Force, into a single Kingdom Defense Force, he was recognized as the next Kingdom Defense Force’s Supreme Commander and was learning underneath the tutelage of the current Supreme Commander, Excel, as her second-in-command. An ikemen with matching straight blonde hair, he came from a family with good status, and his popularity was extraordinary amongst the people that worked in the castle. However, considering all of that, there was not a single rumor about his relationships with any women. Conversely, there was a rumor that he was homosexual, which bewildered the person himself.

But there was another strange rumor about Ludwin. It was thought that his actual family finances were not in a good state. Because for some reason, Ludwin always eat in the dining hall that was commonly used by the castle’s staff and guards. It was as if he was trying to suppress his expenses as much as possible. Considering his good family status and his high position, Ludwin should have received a stipend that suited his status and job, so it was unthinkable that he was witnessed over and over again only eating the cheapest bread in the dining hall.

Though there were some reasonable voices that explained this as, Ludwin-dono is eating the same food like the common soldier, so he could experience their joys and sorrows, He dedicated himself in self-temperance, so he could be ready in case of an emergency, there were also people who said, Isn’t he is just a cheapskate because he is a miser? But there were also people who whispered gossip, like Perhaps he has a lover or a secret child that he needs to financially support. Nevertheless, there was no story of Ludwin spending his money in a gaudy manner, but on the other hand, there was no sign of him having any savings. So, where did all of Ludwin’s stipend go into?

That answer…… is something that I know.

✦✧✦✧✦

――― 1546 Continent Era, Month 11

This was before Roroa pushed Amidonia to us. We had defeated the Amidonia Dukedom Army led by Gaius, finished the negotiation with the Sister General Jeanne from the Gran Chaos Empire, returned to Parnam after giving Dukedom’s Capital, Van and its surroundings, back to Amidonia, and finally concluded dealing with the domestic postwar problems. One day, while I was working in the government affairs office like the usual, suddenly he kneeled on the spot, and then deeply bowed his head until his forehead hit the floor. His pose was a bit different, but it was something similar to a dogeza. Then,

Your Majesty! Please forgive me!(Ludwin)

Suddenly he started apologizing. I was confused and asked.

Ludwin? Why are you suddenly apologizing?(Souma)
Did something happen, Ludwin-dono?(Liscia)

Liscia, who was helping me work, also asked with concern. Then Ludwin raised his face and spoke with carefully-selected words.

No, Your Majesty, this is not something about myself. However…… My acquaintance has done something unthinkable……(Ludwin)
Something unthinkable?(Souma)
About that…… Your Majesty, do you remember that not long ago, Your Majesty had said something of wanting to meet with my acquaintance?(Ludwin)

Ah, that’s right, not long ago I remembered saying that in the dining hall. Certainly, Ludwin was telling a story of his mad scientist acquaintance and I wanted to try meeting with them for once.[8]

I have been busy lately, so even though I wanted to meet with them, I couldn’t spare any time.(Souma)
Yes, I am very aware of that. It’s just……(Ludwin)

Ludwin seemed to be hesitating, but then he made up his mind and began to speak.

My acquaintance, who had done the unthinkable, is that person.(Ludwin)

☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽


Let me say this with you: CLIFF!
So, fellow readers: How should I translate: Kuzuryuu Shotou Rengou:
1. The current Nine Headed Dragon Archipelago Union (NHDAU)
2. Just: Kuzuryu Archipelago Union (KAU)
3. Or : Hydra Archipelago Union (HAU)

Also which do you prefer:
Archipelago Union or United Islands?

NEXT CHAPTER:
The secret behind Ludwin’s destitute: Is it a girl? Is it a daughter?




[1] The title is a homophonous pun. 革新の核心 Kakushin no Kakushin. The first means Reform, the second means the Core or Center or Crux. To make it almost similar in English, I use the CORE and COREform. It’s not that a pun that good…… Open for suggestion!
[2] Souma said 試してみる, Liscia took Souma’s words as 試し切り. To read about the latter, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tameshigiri
[3] Should I use the Localized: Nine-Headed Dragon or should I just call them simply as: Kuzuryuu. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuzuryū (E/N: Nine-Headed Dragon could work, but it’s kind of long. You could shorten it to “Hydra” instead. The official “fixed” version of the Hydra has it with 9 heads.) I’ll see what reader opinion about this.
[4] The show in question. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZsjh5D7eDE an Episode from The Fountain of Trivia トリビアの種
[5] The Japanese is 海竜類. Although it simply means: Sea-Dragon-Kind/Species, 竜類 is how Japanese describe some of the Dinosaur Taxa: Ankylosauria is 竜類, Stegosauria is  竜類, Ceratopsian is 竜類. You get the gist. So the author is basically creating a term for a new marine dinosaur-like animal/dragon. Hence why I mimicked the author and slapped Mare (Latin for sea) and Saur (reptile) into Maresaur. (E/N: The Maresaurus is a real extinct genus of pliosaurs, by the way. Maybe we should pick a different name? Or it could be like how the Rhinosaur vs Rhinoceros thing we had earlier.) Aw… Then, Thalassaur from the Greek word for sea: Thalassa. There are Thalattosaur, but the words are significantly different, so I think it will be alright.
[6] It’s really hard operate with a dull scalpel…… And it’s really hard to stitch skin wounds with a dull needle…… Also, how can I inject stuffs with a dull syringe. (E/N: plus those needles get damaged so easily that you have to throw it out after each use.)
[7] Tamahagane (玉鋼) is a type of steel made in the Japanese tradition. The word tama means "round and precious", like a gem. The word hagane means "steel". Tamahagane is used to make Japanese swords, knives, and other kinds of tools. Hiirokane (ヒヒイロカネ) means "Flame-Colored Metal" or "Brilliant Scarlet Metal". It’s an unknown metal/alloy that was said the base of Japanese Imperial Regalia was made from.
[8] The gender is not revealed.

82 comments:

  1. Thanks for the chap...

    in every Isekai novel, a "Japanese-like country" is a must it seems

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    1. Yet europe-like mixed with middle earth-like style is a lot more dominant.

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    2. And yet...they're all dumped in a western medieval like setting it seems...

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    3. its probably because it a parallel universe where the place is essentially the same but has 1 difference in this case magic

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    4. yea i understand the difference due to magic and the lack of science but there doesnt seem to be any isekai novel based on eastern countries

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  2. Ofc there had to be superior nippon steel reference...

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    1. Even more laughable when you know that european steel was just as good...

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    2. Which is funny because European forging technology was superior. They could actually get their forges hot enough to remove all the impurities, to make true steel. Because of that European swords don't break, they bend. The Japanese used folding to try and get around the fact they couldn't get their forges hot enough, but you can only get rid of impurities that can oxidize that way. Anything that can't bond with oxygen remains. Which is why Japanese swords break, but don't bend. Additionally, you can find European swords designed for cutting, thrusting, and bashing. The idea the author puts forth that European swords are just for bashing is a myth.

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    3. Yes and Blood furrow is Fuller. It was meant to add structural strength not to channel blood of the enemies.
      And regarding the relativity of edge to edge clashes it's all depending on their relative geometry shape and steel strength.
      The sharper it's angle the easier it deform under wider angle due to it's simply losing in mass. By steel the harder the steel the easier it chipped out although it's also mean that it's breaking threshold is higher.

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    4. Not bashing. But hacking. Unlike Katana which you need to cut through object by moving the katana by pushing or pulling it (I suggest watch the youtube video) by the virtue of it being a curved blade, a straight blade like longsword cut through things by the virtue of its weight and momentum of its slash. Also, Katana had only single edge, while longsword had two edges and more thrusting power than Katana. Hence why Katana and longsword had different sword slash style and stance (or so what my reference book says).

      Also, Katana is actually quite sturdy. It's laminated design prevent it from bending or breaking since the back side (which is stiff but soft) and the edge side (which is hard sharp yet brittle) compensate each other. As long as it don't get hit from the side or receive great lateral acceleration (like parrying with the side of the blade, but why you parry with the side of your blade?), the katana is as sturdy as European longsword. However, Katana's edge get chipped more easily than longsword, so the Katana need more maintenance to keep it sharp enough to cut things.

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    5. Ah, katana, the most overated sword ever!

      Though I understand how it would 'feel' superior than 'European swords'.

      Making katana is a labourous process. And is very romantized because of that. (And Japan being very sucessful at exporting its cultures.

      European steel manufacturing and tempering look not so romantic at a first glance. A blast furnance, a good smiting, and a good tempering. No rudiculously meticulous process.

      The details behind those techniques are fastinating though.

      But like how many mass produced products today are actually much better than hand made product, many could not understand what is 'emotional value' and what is 'actual performance'.

      And Europe has their own 'difficult' swords. The spiral forged swords made from twisting iron and pig iron togeter on the forge. These swords were treasures. And fall short to newer cheaper swords.

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    6. I didn't say a long sword. I said European swords. Long swords weren't even the most popular sword in Medieval Europe. That would be your arming sword. You can find European sword in just about every shape and size. Curved single edged blades among them.

      Maybe I came of a bit harsh on the Katana. It's not a bad sword. It's just not the godly sword a lot of people say it is. It's probably the best sword they could make with the technology they had.

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    7. Also good katana and 'european swords' both went through differential tempering.

      Katana commonly use some sort of special mixture on the blade to control the different heating / cooling speed. This is also why katanas have unique pattern on the edge.

      European swords are temepered with precicely controlled heating and quenching. Eiter to quench the whole sword then reheat the middle part to make it softer, or control the quenching to harden only the edge.

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    8. And I just noticed. Is fuller for 'increasing' the structural strenght? I thought it was only for minimizing the blade weight while having minimal effect on the blade strength.

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    9. My real problem here is that I felt Souma would have been aware of the 'myth', that weapons evolve to be most effective with enemy defensive gear and methods available, not that weaponsmiths strive to some 'absolute ideal' and how sharpness with disregard to anything else would even be it... What makes it worse is that the 'physics' of the novel supports this... Which goes beyond me, he even says it, the weapons are only sharp -'sharpest' here is arguable but let's not get into that- but somehow a weapon that is infamously brittle seems unbreakable, enough to be intact -through divine bias aura I assume - since they discuss magic its also clear that here both weapons are devoid of ANY magic influence

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    10. European technology did not produce quality steel til the end of the middle ages.

      https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2lx0za/was_medieval_europe_able_to_produce_exceptional/

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    11. Which is comparable to Japan's 'ancient age' so when they were making swords, European tech was still superior comparatively for that time period.

      I'm curious as to how a sword can cut a high speed water jet and be praised as sharp. Anything can cut through water. What that would really test is durability and even then it would ruin the sword since depending on the power of the jet, it can even cut through modern day tank armour. It's how they cut modern armoured vehicle armour to form.

      I'll just treat the 'katana bestest' as a bit of nationalistic chest thumping and forget about it.

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    12. They made quality steel with the introduction of the blast furnace sometime between 1200-1300. That's the high middle ages. Late middle age is 14-16th century, so no. Not at the end. Plus, the Katana did come into being until sometime between 1337 to 1573. So I don't see your point.

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    13. Honestly regardless of what's best or whatever,because you can say taht a weapon being sharp is its best quality, in which case A sword is better than B, the problem here is that the physics don't hold up, no matter how sharp a sword can get, it WONT -EVER- be unscathed from a strike, EVERY sword takes damage, stones, bones, hard metals, all of these damage weapons, and on a blade like a katana's, it means that you'll at the very least get a chip off, even assuming you can cut another weapon - which only feels like it could happen with 'Until Death do us Part' Bullshitana with their "molecular edge" and even blind badass was forced to literally throw away blades after every mission

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    14. The question is, how could you call it "superior" when Souma and Liscia clearly said it's only good at melee battle on sea where some magic are restricted or when you need it as a scalpel. **laughs**

      Please reread it again. He never said it's absolutely superior, only that its core has been strengthened with magic so it's quite sturdy with superb cutting ability. So basically, in this story it's not the material nor the katana itself that's superior; you can say it's like a katana-shaped sword that has good cutting ability, and Souma want to get its manufacturing technique so he can create a similar sharp weapons and utensils

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    15. And people who complained about durability and whatsoever, he also said about Supportive Magic to strengthen it, so really… I know you hate those "oh Japan so glorious"-type idea; even I do hate it. But this one is clearly isn't like that. This is a misplaced salt…

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    16. actually, close. We hate the 'Japan is so glorious'-type *people* lol.

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    17. to be clear. they say you CAN use magic to strenghten the sword, in a battlefield, with someone using supportive magic actively -never do they bring up supportive magic used to strenghten the materials in the forging - remember we can only talk about what the author actually says explicitly, and it all points to magic only being more temporary buffs rather than the enchantment type of thing you see in games, otherwise he wouldn't want to imitate the sword making only, but also the way to enchant the sword... so yes, the cutting ability is what they wanted to bring out, but being sharp actually makes you more and more brittle so the level of resilience the sword shows isn't supported by "logic", which is frankly a bit disappointing when you don't see any glaring points where the author made such mistakes

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    18. "They made quality steel with the introduction of the blast furnace sometime between 1200-1300. That's the high middle ages. Late middle age is 14-16th century, so no. Not at the end. Plus, the Katana did come into being until sometime between 1337 to 1573. So I don't see your point."

      Huh? I made no comparison between europe and japan at all so I don't get your comparison. I'm merely offering information on european metallurgy so people can see that european steel was not uniform during the middle/mediaval ages since it spans from the 5th to the 16th century. A very wide range. And I did not mention the term technical High or Late middle ages at all. I think the last third of a 1000 years can be pretty much commonly regarded as the end part of the middle ages.

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    19. actually, close. We hate the 'Japan is so glorious'-type *people* lol."

      I hardly think romanticizing the katana equates to 'Japan is glorious'. Probably because swords in general are romanticized in combat and the katana is way cool as a sword. That said, I think a spear would be more effective in combat unless its urban warfare. Swords were generally considered last ditch weapons.

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    20. japanese steel this, european steel that... even today the western nations are trying to recreate Damasqus steel, the best steel ever used in swords and spears
      you guys talk about forges and folding but are missing the most important factor to make good steel, the ratio of each metal and the timing of adding it, up until the 1700's the English believed that to make steel you had to melt a bunch of different metals AND THEN have someone who's redheaded piss on the melted metal
      it is true that the Europeans were far more advanced in terms of forging metal, mainly due to the experience in making so many cannons, but you can't exactly call the Japanese method inferior, in fact it is used today in the west as well
      don't know if you guys are aware of a show where smiths have to design and forge a weapon and then have it tested, the truth is that out of 10 you probably see 7 guys using the Japanese method to create sharp blades, for that reason their method of making steel cannot be that much worsethan the European

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    21. just want to clarify something, katana already been made at year 900 although it's still called jokoto or ancient katana. 1337 is when katana modernized into especially because the demand for war and trade with western nation make swordsmith improve their katana to another level called shinto or new sword. but even before that katana already come into being since 900.

      if you speaking western medieval sword with high cutting power probally it's sabre. in comparison sabre did have much durabilty compare to katana since western metal ratio are higher but as i remember they not as sharp compare katana. i believe because western people do have much raw power cause of his build so even using normal sword it's already enough for them to cut down enemy. in comparison japanese people focus on sharpness so they can compensate their small build.

      beside it's pretty dumb anyway to compare this 2 weapon. it's like compare a sniper with a rifle, both of them have different style and use.

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  3. Uuuuu... Damn cliffhanger!
    Anyways thanks for the chapter

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. thank you for the chapter. the cliff is real.

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  6. "blood furrow"

    Goddammit, that is called 'fuller'. Not blood groove, blood furrow or whatever other bloody thing.

    ANd japanese steel fap sound extra funny, considering how all the tamahagane and folded steel processes were meant to get "acceptable result using crappy resources", not some mystical lightwave-cutting superalloys.

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    1. Thanks. I kinda weak in the English weapon terminology part.

      Well, Japanese katana was famous for their sharpness and their curved shape deliver better cutting power than the straight edge of the European longsword.

      Oh, and Souma mentioned support magic that could increase the sword durability (which Japanese katana was not famous for).

      Delete
    2. The problem people on the internet have is that somehow it 'became a thing' that Japanese steel was superior for... Whatever reason, in Japan swords were made to slash and cut because of metal being scarce enough that seeing armors made of it was never a common thing, so weapons naturally evolve to take advantage of it, they're sharp, but brittle, in Europe instead iron and other metals were much more accessible, enough to make weapons evolve into different paths, to deal with what is more common, katanas were sharp due to necessity, weapons that were used to deal with full plates werent because swinging a sharp edge at armor like that means you'll just lose the edge anyways...
      And the Japanese steel cap here refers that somehow such a katana was able to 'cut' another weapon through sheer 'divine propaganda power' is all I can think of lmao.
      If we're talking historic comparison something more plausible would be the edge of the European sword bending/caving with the katana getting chipped. And in the first place striking weapons as a method of testing is beyond retarded and something purely 'theatrical'

      Delete
    3. This isn't japanese steel vs european steel, its Nine Headed steel vs Efreiden steel...

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    4. It's a 'katana bestest' problem. Just treat it as some Japanese nationalistic chest thumping and ignore it.

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    5. yes, and our only point of referral are european vs japanese steel, with the author clearly stating that nine heade steel sword shares the same characteristics katanas do, in which case the sword being completely unscathed after having another swung against its edge at full force is absolute bogus, they say its fragility is its weakness and that they can reinforce it with magic, yet somehow this one seems indestructible, also their they discussion about magic reinforcing it to overcome that makes it pretty safe to assume we're talking about just "normal" weapons, in a world where, other than magic and the more fantasy parts being a thing, every other law of physics seems to work. So yes it isn't "the same exact thing" but it's the only metric to go by the author gives us - Elfrieden uses European style swords, the Nine Head Steel one is basically a katana - is literally all we get

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    6. Then you guys are really reaching to argue something that wasn't there. It was not middle part of sword versus middle party of sword, it clearly stated that the tip of Liscia's sword was broken, we have no idea on how big the tip was or what type of sword Liscia was wielding. And nowhere did it state the 'katana' was completely unscathed. It didn't mention anything about the state of the katana, only that Liscia's sword tip was broken off.

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  7. Keep with the first one, its a mouthful but it feels appropriate for the nation.

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  8. Just who the hell is 'that person' is..........!?

    Thanks for the chapter.

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  9. Большое спасибо!

    "So, fellow readers: How should I translate: Kuzuryuu Shotou Rengou: ..."
    The current Nine Headed Dragon United Islands.
    Hydra is a different from the Dragon creature, with other features.

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    1. I change my opinion, because as a deity, Kuzuryū is also different from a dragon.
      The answer is: 2.Kuzuryu Archipelago Union (KAU)

      Delete
  10. Kuzuryuu one are good. Better than Hydra lol

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  11. Done what?
    Thanks for the chapter.

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  12. Thanks for the chapter!

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  13. "Nine Headed Dragon Archipelago Union" are fine so far, even though they're too long :D

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  14. I own both. Sharper blade edges did not make it capable to cut through another steel. On the contrary it make it easier to deform and break.
    Ironically the title is a realist.

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    1. Only the tip was cut. And realist only refers to the Hero's viewpoints and not the setting itself cuz you're already dealing with an isekai with magic and monsters in it...

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    2. You watch the provided video link or not..?

      Delete
  15. Thanks 4 the translation!

    As long as the truth is not widely known, rumors will persist.

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  16. Thx for the chapter o/
    my vote goes to: "3. Or : Hydra Archipelago Union (HAU)"
    Also i prefer Archipelago.
    and dang son this CLIFFF!!!

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  17. Thanks for the chapter!
    Also, I like Kuzuryuu Archipelago Union.
    Furthermore, United Islands gives the impression of the United States, when it already sounds like an older(younger?) era Japan. You should just drop the United Islands idea.

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  18. Just use the Kuzu for trash. Trashdragon

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  19. Nine Headed dragon sounds good enough for me
    Btw Liscia is best waifu !!!!!

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  20. My vote goes to Hydra Archipelago Union.

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  21. Thanks for the Chapter!

    I choose the Kuzuryu Archipelagic Union or something like that.

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  22. Maybe use the term "the" instead of archipelago.. Like "the Nine Head Dragon Union" "the Kuzuryu Union" "the Union of Nine Head Dragon". Like "the Maldives" "the Netherlands"? "the Philippines"..

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  23. I'd leave a firm decision on the Nine Headed Dragon whatever union until it's later revealed if hydra's are born with nine heads or just keep growing them over time. If the former then yeah, Nine headed Dragon is apt; if the later then Hydra is better as one describes a state of a member of a species and the other a species in general.

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  24. oh I thought ~~~~~~~ is an LN only character, seems like ~~~~~ is going to appear here to, but quite late, lol

    well, ~~~~~~~ appeared in LN ver around at start of vol 4.. so yea

    thanks for the meal~

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    1. Well, LN follow chronological order, so ~~~~a will appear earlier than WN

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  25. how about orochi but it only have 8 heads compare to hydra

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  26. European swords, Japanese katanas... If the one wielding it is a brainless skeleton, I think both are equally useless. A proper tool paired with skilled mind and body are deadlier than any weapons by far.

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  27. How about changing the title to "The form of the reform" like saying that the form of something is like a mold or a cast.

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    1. Also instead of using the word Nine headed dragon archipelago union which is too bizzare of a name. The Kazuryuu Union is better or The United Nine headed dragon archipelago

      Delete
  28. Next chapter :)
    Thanks for chapter

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  29. 「Wh-what is this?」(Souma) -> isn't this should be Liscia?
    「A sword rack made from the Mountain Deer’s antler. (I hear later that it was a gigantic deer. A hit from its antlers could even smash through steel). It’s extremely robust.」(Liscia) -> isn't this should be Souma?

    「A country where we don’t (you miss "know" here) what they are thinking about is more troublesome than the clearly hostile countries, since we don’t know what we have to prepare.」

    Thanks for the chapter~

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    1. Please read again:
      After she said so, Liscia temporarily left the government affairs office. I was thinking, what happened to her so suddenly, when she returned with something extremely outlandish. It was an iron pedestal with something like an antler attached to it. Furthermore that antler was not something from a common deer, since it was milky white and had a snake-scale-like iridescent luster.

      「Wh-what is this?」(Souma)
      「A sword rack made from the Mountain Deer’s antler. (I hear later that it was a gigantic deer. A hit from its antlers could even smash through steel). It’s extremely robust.」(Liscia)

      Wait, why did she emphasize the robust part? Liscia placed “that thing” on the antlers and fixed it so it won’t move. Then, she unsheathed the sword at her waist and then swing it towards “that thing”. The next moment, immediately after the high-pitched sound, the tip of Liscia’s sword separated from the main blade and fell to the ground. Liscia for a moment was staring in wonder, but then she came to her senses and yelled,

      Nope. It's not switched.

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  30. Thanks 4 the chap...
    And what the hell is with this pips that dabbles on Katanas and European swords. I'm not expert on smithing or stuff but you folks doing is pointless you know. It was already said that
    - in this world, foot soldiers does not mind whether the weapon they use is sharp or not because it can be supplemented by magic.
    - Katana (or somewhat Katana) they are talking about is somewhat useless than sea warfare, and the only thing they are interested is in the blade-crafting technology to produce sharp tools.

    Also comparing European Swords to Katana is somewhat dumb. It is like comparing a crossbow and a longbow.
    Both are made different, and their way of use are also different.

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  31. 'fishing sips'->'fishing ships'

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