So, I ended up buying Mavis's sword (a cheap one).
That night, in the inn room, Mile said to everyone,
"Shall we take a break tomorrow?"
"What are you talking about? We've only worked for one day! If we keep doing this, we'll never save any money!"
"Come, come now..."
Pauline tried to calm down the agitated Reina in response to Mile's words.
"Mile, if you, who consider yourself serious, say this, there must be a reason, right?"
"S-Serious...?"
Mavis's attempt to support Mile only made Mile more flustered, placing both hands on the table.
"Huh, is something wrong?"
Mavis, completely unaware, asked Mile with a puzzled look.
"N-No, it's fine... Not really, though..."
Mile, who had been somewhat shaken, regained her composure and continued, "Actually, I have something I need to do with Mavis tomorrow..."
"Wh-What?"
The three of them exclaimed in unison.
"M-Mile, you don't mean...?"
"S-Such a thing..."
"Ah, it's fine. What do you need to do? Go shopping or something?"
It seemed that two of them were imagining something strange.
The next day, in the forest.
"Why are you all here!"
Indeed, not only Mile and Mavis, but Reina and Pauline were also there.
"I just wanted to know what you two would do alone!"
"I was dragged here by Reina..."
"If that's the case, you should have said so from the beginning and come with us! Why did you follow us in secret!"
"Then we wouldn't be able to see what you two would do alone."
"Ugh!"
After a while, Mile finally regained her composure.
"Alright, let's do what we planned, Mavis."
"Sure, what do you need me to do?"
"Here, lend me your sword for a moment."
"Sure, ...here you go."
Mavis handed over her sword, scabbard and all, from her waist.
Mile took the sword, drew it from the scabbard, and plunged it into the sandy ground.
"Huh..."
Mile's action was puzzling, and even though the ground was sandy, it shouldn't have been easy to plunge the sword into the ground up to the guard with normal strength.
"Mavis, how do you feel about the weight of this sword?"
"Ah, well, I prioritize speed, so a lighter one would be faster, but it would lack power. Also, always using a light sword wouldn't help with training, and it would be dangerous if I had to use a different one. In the end, this is just right."
"Y-Yeah, that's right! Normal is the best!"
Mavis was a bit taken aback by Mile's strange focus but didn't mind too much since Mile was often strange. However, she was more concerned about what would happen to her sword.
"Mile, so, what about my sword?"
"Just a moment, please."
Mile said, looking unfocused as she thought.
After a while, her eyes refocused, and Mile gripped the hilt, pulling the sword from the ground. She then used wind magic to blow off the dirt and returned the sword to its scabbard before handing it back to Mavis.
"Here you go!"
"Ah, right..."
Mavis took the sword, attached it to her waist, and drew it to carefully inspect the blade.
(It doesn't seem to have changed...)
"Would you like to try it out? Using a new sword in actual combat might be a bit worrying."
"Ah, that's a good point. I should do some test cuts to get a feel for the edge and weight."
"Sure. I also have something I want to test, so let's go hunting together for a bit..."
"Wait a minute!"
Perhaps feeling guilty for following them, Reina, who had been silent, finally spoke up.
"I didn't say anything about your personal activities on a day off, but if it's hunting, that's different! We're party members, so you should include us!"
"Well, sure, that's fine, but the purpose is to test the weapon, so we won't hunt too much. Is that okay?"
"Sure, no problem. We're a team, so we hunt together! That's all there is to it."
Reina said, placing her hands on her hips and leaning back, as usual.
"Then, please try some practice swings. Is the weight and balance okay? Any issues?"
After swinging the sword for a while, Mavis answered satisfactorily.
"Ah, no problems at all. It feels good in my hand, and it's quite nice."
Hearing this, Mile smiled and pointed to a nearby tree.
"Then, next, please try cutting that tree."
"Wh-What..."
Mavis, Reina, and Pauline were speechless.
Looking at the tree, which was about as thick as a grown man's arms could wrap around.
"There's no way it can cut through! Besides, doing that will damage the sword! This is a cheap one, unlike the previous one..."
Mavis's broken sword was one she had taken from her family's armory without permission, so it was a decent one. It had a short lifespan due to Mavis's reckless use, despite her strong strikes and lack of skill.
If Mavis had taken a better sword or something valuable, it would have been easier, but Mavis couldn't do that, and the others didn't expect her to.
However, Mile confidently said to the protesting Mavis,
"Don't worry! I reinforced it with earth magic earlier. It won't budge even if you strike it with all your strength!"
"..."
Mavis fell silent, her face darkening. Mile didn't realize that she had essentially said, "Mavis's strikes aren't that great."
"Alright, I'll try. But if anything happens, don't blame me!"
"Sure, if the sword gets damaged, I'll fix it, so don't worry!"
A sword is not just a piece of iron shaped into a blade. Even a cheap one is still a sword, not just a piece of metal.
Mavis, either knowing or not, ignored Mile's words and readied her sword, then swung it.
*Thud!*
The sword sank into the tree with a somewhat dull sound, about a quarter of the tree's diameter.
The sword neither broke nor bent.
"Wh-What..."
The three were shocked.
It was understandable. A sword, not an axe, shouldn't be able to cut through a tree like that.
If a sword could cut through a tree that easily, all woodcutters would switch from axes to swords.
"N-No way..."
"Next, could you try cutting that?"
Before Mavis, who was still in shock, could react, Mile, without much surprise, pointed to a rock about 7-8 meters away, about 2 meters in diameter.
"M-Mile..."
This time, Reina, who was now the one in shock, spoke up.
"That's going too far! What do you think this sword is, after we spent money on it!"
Pauline, who couldn't stay silent when money was involved, nodded in agreement with Reina.
However, after some hesitation, Mavis readied her sword again.
"Mavis!"
"It's too dangerous!"
Reina and Pauline tried to stop her, but Mavis was determined.
"When I struck the tree, I felt a good response. This sword is responding to me.
Besides, we're where we are because of Mile... No, how can we not trust our companion?"
"..."
Reina and Pauline fell silent at Mavis's words.
"Fine, do as you please! But if the sword breaks, there will be no more rest days until we save enough for a new one!"
Mavis grinned at Reina's words, while Pauline looked exasperated.
"I don't care anymore..."
Pauline, usually reserved, became a bit more assertive when money was involved, but it wasn't enough to stop Mavis.
Mavis stood in front of the rock, focused for a moment, and then swung her sword with all her might.