"What's more..."
"You'll have to reimburse me in full for these top-grade materials."
With that said,
Hephaestus walked aside, pulled up a chair, and sat down with her legs crossed, looking every bit the supervisor.
"Don't worry."
"If I really mess this up,"
"you won't have to say a word."
"I'll pack myself up and send myself to your captain, Tsubaki, to work as a laborer."
"In that case, get started."
After hearing that, Hephaestus tossed the forging hammer back to Haimo.
With that,
Haimo stepped up to the forging bench.
Without another unnecessary word,
he reached straight into the furnace flames, hot enough to melt steel in an instant.
As Hephaestus watched, her pupils narrowing slightly,
he pulled out the ore blanks, which had already begun to soften and radiate a blinding light.
He placed them on the anvil.
Clang!
The first hammer blow fell.
Clear and steady.
Sparks flew everywhere.
Time
passed amid the ringing of hammer blows.
From late at night until dawn.
The first ray of morning light spilled through the vent into the Hephaestus Familia's workshop, dispelling the heat of the night.
Hiss!
As the final plume of white quenching vapor rose,
a longsword, dark gold from tip to pommel, appeared on Hephaestus's forging bench.
Its blade was long and slender, covered in rows of intricate patterns as fine as gossamer.
They were holy script, inscribed by Haimo using his own "Divine Blood."
"It's finished."
"Will this do?"
Haimo set down the forging hammer.
"Absolutely!"
In truth, he had no need to ask.
The instant the sword took shape, Hephaestus had stopped hiding her fondness for it. She walked over and snatched it up.
"This sword is mine."
"As for equipment for those children of yours..."
"Aside from the prized pieces hanging on my display wall, which aren't suitable for them,"
"your children can choose any other weapons they like."
"I'll tell Tsubaki to help you."
Hephaestus was brimming with generosity.
Chapter 25: The One-Eyed Giant Master and the Hephaestus Familia's Armory
In a corridor of the Hephaestus Familia,
"Yaaawn..."
an utterly unrestrained yawn rang out.
At the end of the corridor,
a figure leaned against the wall, idly tossing a gold coin in her hand.
She was an adult woman with wheat-colored skin.
She wore an eyepatch over her left eye, and her long hair fell over her shoulders with a prominent tuft sticking up. Her work skirt and chest wrap allowed for easy movement, leaving the strong, explosive lines of her shoulder muscles exposed.
-Captain of the Hephaestus Familia, Lv. 5.
-The "One-Eyed Giant Master," Tsubaki Collbrande.
Although she had dwarven blood,
she was taller and more slender than the average human, with none of a dwarf's short-limbed features.
Her height had earned her no small amount of envy from other dwarves.
Tsubaki caught the gold coin, glanced at the tightly shut guest room door, and couldn't help scratching her head.
"Honestly..."
"Lady Hephaestus, too..."
"She shut herself in her private forge first thing this morning and specifically told me to take these newcomers to pick out weapons."
"And she even said they could choose anything, all free of charge?"
Despite her grumbling,
there was little displeasure in Tsubaki's eye.
Instead, she was mostly curious.
After all,
as the Familia member who had followed Hephaestus the longest,
she knew her goddess's temperament all too well.
Hephaestus, who cherished every weapon like her own child, was actually being this generous?
This wasn't just giving away weapons.
It was practically throwing open her entire stock and letting people carry off whatever they wanted.
The miser hadn't just opened her purse-she'd handed over the whole thing.
Click.
Just then,
the guest room door opened.
Haimo came out first.
Behind him followed the girls, looking bright and energetic after a night's rest.
Of course,
there were also the two black bears, who still looked rather dopey even after being washed clean.
"Morning."
Haimo greeted Tsubaki with a smile.
"Looks like Hephaestus already filled you in."
"Yes, she made everything perfectly clear."
Tsubaki straightened up and planted both hands on her hips. Her single eye looked Haimo up and down before sweeping over the girls behind him.
Although these children were still Lv. 1 novices,
even so,
as a Lv. 5 fighter, Tsubaki keenly sensed something unusual about them.
"Just as I thought..."
"Lady Hephaestus has always had a sharp eye."
Tsubaki grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
"Since it's my goddess's order, I won't waste time talking."
"Lord Haimo, follow me."
"I'll show you what Orario's greatest armory looks like."
They passed through several corridors.
When Tsubaki pushed open the heavy double doors,
a collective gasp
rang out behind her.
Even the worldly Sasamori Aya couldn't help her pupils narrowing slightly.
A vast space lay before their eyes.
It was less a warehouse than a museum.
Thousands upon thousands of weapons were neatly displayed on racks stretching from the ceiling all the way to the floor.
Greatswords, spears, battle-axes, bows and crossbows...
Every weapon gleamed with a cold, menacing light beneath the magic stone lamps.
They could even faintly sense weak fluctuations of magical energy flowing through the air.
"Everything displayed here is a fine piece our Familia has forged over the years."
Tsubaki strode inside, casually took a dagger from a rack, and gave it an elegant twirl.
"From beginner equipment to high-end pieces that only someone at Lv. 4 or above can handle, we've got it all."
"Lady Hephaestus said,"
"as long as you can lift it and use it comfortably, take whatever you like."
At those words,
several Hephaestus Familia members arranging the nearby racks froze in place.
"C-Captain?!"
A young smith carrying a bundle of spears stared wide-eyed, nearly dropping them on his feet.
"Are we really letting outsiders take whatever they want?"
"Just like that... for free?!"
He wasn't the only one.
The other Familia members exchanged glances, their faces filled with bewilderment.