"What did he mean earlier when he said he owed you a favor?"
Before the two of them had even reached the smithy, she asked Yoimiya curiously.
"A favor? Ah—Morihiko had an argument with his child before. I heard it got pretty serious, and when he happened to see me one day, he complained to me about it."
Yoimiya explained.
"So you helped them make up?"
She guessed.
"Mm... Rather than making up, I'd say they came to understand each other better. What's important is that two people can open up to each other about their feelings."
"After that, Morihiko kept thinking it was all thanks to me, saying that without me, who knows how long the two of them would've kept giving each other the cold shoulder. But that's not really true. All I did was act as a bridge between them. What mattered most was their own attitudes. Family should understand each other and look after each other, after all."
Yoimiya shrugged.
"...That makes sense."
She softly voiced her agreement.
"Are you always this busy?"
Looking at the girl ahead of her bustling about with a bag in her arms, she asked another question.
"Hm? What do you mean?"
Yoimiya looked puzzled.
"I mean, do you run around like this every year before the fireworks show? Going from place to place looking for materials?"
She clarified.
"Mm—pretty much. It's actually like this every year. Even if I've already planned out how many fireworks I need to prepare, plenty of extra orders always come in halfway through. So I have to make additional fireworks for those orders."
Yoimiya answered.
"So that batch at your house earlier was the quantity you'd already finished?"
"Mm, that's right... Dad made half of them. He's already getting on in years, but he works several times faster than I do. Not only is he fast, the quality is excellent too. Haa, I just can't compete."
Yoimiya spread her hands and laughed.
According to Yoimiya, they next needed to visit a smithy to have the ore she was carrying processed. Once that was done, she could begin making the fireworks. And the smithy they were looking for was none other than Amenoma Smithy—the most famous smithy in all of Inazuma.
It was said that its owner, Master Amenoma, was a descendant of one of the five schools of the Raiden Gokaden and possessed first-rate craftsmanship. Judging from his surname alone, it was not difficult to guess that he was the smith behind the Amenoma series of blades.
"Hajime, Mr. Amenoma, hello~!"
Yoimiya walked up to the counter of the smithy and cheerfully greeted the two people inside. Her tone alone made it obvious that she knew them extremely well.
"Ah, Yoimiya. If I'm not mistaken, this is about materials for your fireworks, right?"
Sure enough, Hajime, who was in the middle of forging, immediately guessed why she had come. He was clearly accustomed to her running around like this every year.
"Yep. Any chance you can make mine urgent?"
Yoimiya nodded and tried to negotiate.
"Uh, sorry. I've still got a large batch of weapon orders I haven't finished yet. Can you wait a while?"
The man looked troubled. The Shogun glanced at the bucket behind him containing weapon blanks that had yet to be forged. There were probably more than ten of them, and shaping the blanks alone would take around a day.
"That's fine—ah... no, wait. It's actually not fine at all. I'm in a hurry..."
Halfway through speaking, Yoimiya realized this was very much not "fine." In fact, it mattered a great deal!
"Oh, right! Do you need a helper? If I help you finish these weapon orders, then you can process my ore for me, right?"
Yoimiya came up with a rather dubious idea. More likely, it had simply popped out of her mouth in the heat of the moment.
"You know how to forge?"
The Shogun asked.
"Huh? Uh... N-No, I don't..."
Yoimiya answered awkwardly.
"..."
Hearing that, she narrowed her eyes and stared speechlessly at Yoimiya.
"S-Sorry... I just blurted it out without thinking."
Yoimiya grew embarrassed under her gaze, scratching her head as she muttered quietly.
"Th-Then how about letting me cut in line? Could you, Hajime?"
She turned back to the blacksmith and persisted with her request.
"Uh—well, that depends on Master..."
The man glanced awkwardly at the elderly man behind him, who had his back to them as he watched the forge fire. He was the owner of the smithy, Amenoma Tougo.
"Mr. Amenoma, I'm really in a hurry. You know the fireworks show is about to begin. If I can't finish everything in time, it'll be a disaster."
Yoimiya hurriedly explained to the old man.
"Haa... Isn't this because you didn't plan properly in the first place?"
She had clearly prepared enough materials for the intended quantity, yet had still accepted all those last-minute orders... The Shogun softly voiced a gentle complaint toward the girl.
"Uh... S-Sorry."
Yoimiya knew she had become somewhat flustered, and after being admonished by her, she looked especially dejected.
"Haa... Sir, do you have another forging station?"
"Hm? Young lady, could it be that you intend to—?"
Amenoma Tougo turned to look at her.
"Indeed. I know a little about the art of forging myself. Since none of you are free, I'll process it for her."
She lightly rolled up the furisode of her kimono, revealing a pair of slender forearms.
She did indeed know something about forging. After all, Inazuma's forging arts had originally been passed down by her mother, Raiden Ei, and Ei had once taught her some of that knowledge as well. Although her skills could not compare to Ei's, they were more than adequate. Ei had always been extremely strict when it came to matters like this.
"Oh? Young lady, you know the art of forging?"
Amenoma Tougo studied her figure and distinctive, beautiful face with his shrewd old eyes. In the next instant, he seemed to realize something. His pupils contracted before he gave a gentle smile.
"This old man understands. Please, come this way."
His tone abruptly changed as he respectfully gestured for her to approach.
"Much appreciated."
She understood as well and nodded to him, then motioned for Yoimiya to follow.
"...Shogun-sama?"
Yoimiya was still somewhat dazed.
"Give me the materials. Aren't you in a hurry?"
Hearing her, she urged Yoimiya on.
"Oh... right."
Yoimiya immediately handed over the ore she was carrying.
Hum~
Her forging technique relied half on heat and craftsmanship, while the other half required the support of elemental power. Unlike ordinary people, beneath everyone's gaze, she skillfully carved the crude ore bit by bit into exceedingly precise materials suitable for fireworks.
She incorporated elemental power directly into the forging process, using Electro to slice and correct the finer details in place of the knife work an ordinary craftsman would use. It was the first time any of them had witnessed such a unique forging method.
Amenoma Tougo smiled knowingly. Just as he had thought.
"That's amazing..."
Even Yoimiya, a complete layperson, was left staring in amazement.
Several minutes later...
Hum~
After the Electro glow on the surface faded, she placed the fully processed ore granules back into the bag and handed it to Yoimiya.
"Take a look. Will this do?"
She offered.
"Wow—! It's perfect! Absolutely perfect! Just look at the shape and size of these granules... As expected of Shogun-sama—!"
Yoimiya became excited as she examined the intact, finely processed granules in her hands. Unfortunately, she failed to stop herself in time and accidentally blurted out the Shogun's identity.
"..."
She was utterly helpless now and lightly rubbed her temple.
"Huh? Shogun-sama?!"
Hajime's eyes widened instantly.
The sudden revelation left him completely at a loss. Even his movements came to a stop.
"Yoimiya..."
She narrowed her eyes and softly called the girl's name with obvious helplessness.
"Ah—! I'm sorry... I-I..."
Yoimiya froze in panic, completely unsure what to do.
"But never mind... This gentleman had already figured it out, hadn't he?"
Rather than blaming her, she simply turned to look at the old man behind her, whose expression showed that he had understood everything from the start.
"Haha~! How could this old man fail to recognize the sacred features of Shogun-sama? The moment I saw your eyes, I knew."
Amenoma Tougo laughed.
Those were eyes concealing an intense Electro radiance... the very same lightning that belonged to this land.
"As expected, the elderly are rather more perceptive."
She lightly folded her arms as she replied.
"You flatter me... This old man has simply lived a long time, haha."
Amenoma Tougo laughed heartily again.
"Yoimiya, don't feel so guilty. For Shogun-sama to treat you this way is already a great blessing. Some people never even get the chance to see her. Besides, we've been rather short-handed lately. Otherwise, we'd have been able to work a little faster."
Amenoma Tougo advised the girl.
"Mm... I know... Thank you, Shogun-sama."
Yoimiya obediently thanked her.
"There's no need for that. Today, this body is not here as the 'Shogun.' I am merely an ordinary traveler."
She reassured Yoimiya, then once again rested her oil-paper umbrella against her shoulder and walked past her. Before leaving, she turned and swept her beautiful eyes over the girl.
"Are you not coming? If this goes on, you won't finish the rest of your work."
She gently urged her.
"Ah... I-I'm coming!"
Yoimiya snapped back to herself, immediately remembered her business, and hurried after her.
"Safe travels, Shogun-sama."
Amenoma Tougo bowed in farewell, then smiled as he watched the two figures disappear ahead.