"…a sword! Please, I really need a Zanpakutō! I want to change my fate! But my background is too poor. I don't have a famous master, and I don't come from any powerful family. But I have ambition! I want to become a hero! Lord Youtousai, please forge me a blade!"
After saying all that, the boy bowed deeply on the spot toward Rayleigh.
His behavior also drew the attention of adventurers passing nearby, who began to gather and watch.
They were all there for the spectacle.
Even though this sort of thing happened more than a dozen times a day, they never seemed to get tired of it.
Every time they ran into it, they watched with endless delight.
"I wonder what kind of razor-sharp words he'll use to tear into the rookie today."
"Shh. That newbie clearly doesn't know how vicious his tongue is yet. Don't spoil it."
"Heh heh, you guys are awful!"
The onlooking adventurers huddled together, whispering among themselves.
This was the intersection of several streets in the southwestern district.
At the center of the broad fork in the road, the first building that stood there was a three-story western-style house.
A home Rayleigh had commissioned the Goibniu Familia to build.
It had cost 120 million Valis.
The first floor covered about 840 square meters, with an outer corridor and walkways.
The second floor covered about 600 square meters. And while the indoor space on the third floor was not very large, it had a spacious terrace.
The interior was luxuriously decorated as well.
The first-floor corridor stood about 1.2 meters above the ground. Rayleigh would occasionally sit there, taking in the bustle of the city, reading the paper, and so on.
And because people could see him there, a growing number of self-important "warriors" had started coming by—all in the hope of catching his eye and becoming the owner of a Zanpakutō.
Of course, Rayleigh had no intention of paying attention to nameless nobodies like these.
Most of them were just childish dreamers.
If people like that used one of his blades, it would be an insult both to the blade and to him!
"You want a Zanpakutō?"
"That's right!"
"Do you have money?"
"Around a hundred thousand."
"That's not enough." Rayleigh let out a faint chuckle.
"Then how much do I need?"
"Hmm, let me think… one billion Valis."
After pretending to think for a moment, Rayleigh calmly named the price.
"—!? Huh?!"
The boy was first so stunned by that astronomical number that his expression management collapsed completely.
Then his face twisted as he shouted, "One billion Valis?! Are you joking?!"
The boy thought to himself, 'One billion Valis? If I had that much money, why the hell would I even be an adventurer? A single sword for a billion—has this guy lost his mind? Are the rumors about Zanpakuto even real? Could this all be some kind of scam? How could anyone spend that much…'
Then he paused.
'Wait. Could this be some kind of test? A test to see whether I'm really a great warrior? Yes, yes, that's it! Doesn't this kind of thing happen all the time in hero tales?'
"Ahem."
Having convinced himself he had figured it out, the boy's face quickly returned to normal.
Then he began speaking again.
"I don't have one billion. But I do have limitless potential and perseverance! Ever since I was little, I was the fastest learner in my village. Whether it was riding horses or swordsmanship, I mastered both in only half a year. And when I was fourteen, I even killed a goblin that came into the village to steal grain! Now that I've received a God's Falna, all I lack is a weapon worthy of me! So—"
'Sigh.'
Faced with the boy's passionate self-praise—or perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a speech—Rayleigh cut him off with a heavy sigh.
This guy was no good.
He was completely living in a dream.
Clearly, he had no idea what kind of place he had come to.
This was Orario.
The achievements he was so proud of were beneath even the average adventurer here.
Honestly—he had read too many hero tales until they had rotted his brain.
The hero tales recorded stories from the distant past, from an age before the gods had descended to the lower world.
Back then, without Falna, humans could only defeat monsters by risking their lives, drawing out their latent potential, and relying on luck.
In the era of those hero tales, even killing a maddened bull would have been considered an extraordinary deed.
This country boy had no idea that Orario was full of powerhouse.
He just happened to defeat a starving goblin desperate enough to sneak into a human village for food, and now he thought he was some chosen one, a future hero sent by heaven.
That sort of thing was not uncommon.
In fact, Rayleigh had already seen more than ten like him just this month.
"I see. So you're saying you have the makings of a hero?"
"I-I have courage!"
Seeing how the boy suddenly shrank back, the disappointment in Rayleigh's eyes was completely undisguised.
He had spent all that time boasting, and yet at the critical moment he did not even dare believe in himself.
His conviction was lacking.
Courage? Don't make him laugh.
"I heard this city just went through a war with evil forces. What a shame! If I'd gotten here earlier, I could've helped you beat those guys easily."
The moment those words left the boy's mouth, the mocking amusement vanished from Rayleigh's eyes.
He lazily rose to his feet, reached beside his chair, touched a sword hilt and casually tossed a blade out.
The boy's reactions were not very quick.
He fumbled awkwardly while catching it and almost dropped it to the ground.
But once he realized that what he had caught was a sword, his eyes lit up in surprise.
'Could this be a Zanpakutō?!'
However, Rayleigh's voice came from straight ahead. "You said you have courage, right? Then prove it. Take that sword and stab it straight through your own stomach. Right now."
The cold voice made the boy's mind go blank for a moment.
"Huh?" He looked at Rayleigh in disbelief. "Y-you're telling me to stab myself with this sword?"
"Stab through your stomach," Rayleigh corrected calmly.
This time, the boy was certain.
He had heard it right.
'Wait. Could this also be some kind of test?'
The boy fell silent.
His hands began trembling involuntarily. The shaking was so strong that the sword and scabbard rattled loudly against each other.
'Gulp.'
He swallowed hard, shut his eyes, clenched his teeth, and slowly drew the blade from its sheath.
A flash of cold light stabbed into his eyes, forcing him to look away.
'What a gleaming blade! This sword was definitely unbelievably sharp!'
'Am i really supposed to use something this sharp to stab through my own stomach?'
Seeing that the boy still had not moved after so long, one of the spectators called out.
"Hey, hero-kun, what are you still hesitating for?"
"Gasp!"
The sudden voice from the side made the boy jump.
In his panic, his fingers accidentally brushed part of the blade.
'It hurt!'
His hand jerked back as if electrocuted. Looking at the blood running from his fingers, his vision filled with red, and he let out a terrified scream.
"Blood, its blood! AAAHHHHHHHH!"
After panicking for a while, the boy suddenly realized something—if he had actually obeyed and stabbed himself in the stomach, wouldn't he already be dead?
At that thought, he finally understood.
This was not a test at all.
It was attempted murder! This guy was trying to kill him!
"Hey! You were just messing with me this whole time, weren't you?!" the boy shouted angrily at Rayleigh.
Rayleigh tilted his head, wearing an expression of exaggerated surprise.
"Oh? So you figured it out? Well, don't blame me. You were the one who came asking me to entertain you first. I merely played along until I'd had my fill."