All the way, everyone was laughing and joking. The girls' beautiful figures and lovely faces attracted countless eyes, and at the same time… men within the same group were silently weeping inside.
"Damn life's winners, so jealous."
-----------------------------
The "Adventurer Street" was still bustling with life, its many adventurer-related shops lined up neatly along both sides of the road.
What drew even more attention were the high-grade pieces of equipment displayed in the transparent shop windows, any random one was priced so high that an ordinary adventurer could only look on from afar.
These were top-tier items, the exclusive gear of high-ranking adventurers.
Fron and the others strolled leisurely, visiting quite a few shops along the way.
Although their little group outwardly looked like nothing more than boys and girls, not a single adventurer, shopkeeper, or merchant who passed by dared to underestimate the four women and one man.
As cadres and main force members of the [Loki Familia], their portraits were known far and wide throughout all of Orario.
Any Familia members registered with the Guild had their information semi-public, and since the Loki Familia was one of the strongest in the city, they were the focus of everyone's attention.
In fact, knowing the names and faces of famous high-ranking adventurers was probably the bare minimum for anyone in the city.
"It's them!"
"The Loki Familia's Jormungand, Crusher, Thousand Elf, Flame Demon… and the Sword Princess!"
"The Guild's already updated the records, [Flame Demon] is now Level 4."
"The Loki Familia's gotten even stronger, huh?"
"Of course. Well, they are Orario's backbone after all, so the stronger the better. By the way, I heard from some merchants who just came to the city that the situation with the craftsmen's guild over in the west district is tense."
"Ah, I heard that too. The Kingdom of Rakia is preparing for war again, buying up supplies and food like crazy lately. No idea who they're planning to fight this time."
With Fron and the others' keen hearing, they easily caught all the hushed whispers around them.
Tione and Tiona teased the young man.
"Tsk tsk, just after reaching Level 4 and you're already the talk of the town, huh, [Flame Demon]!"
His face darkened, glaring murderously at the teasing sisters.
"Stop bringing up that embarrassing nickname, it makes my scalp crawl."
"Hahahaha, finally someone shares my pain!"
"Come on, Tiona, Fron's [Flame Demon] actually sounds pretty good. As for your [Crusher]… maybe let's just forget about it."
"Nani? Isn't your [Jormungand] even more chuunibyou?"
"My foolish little sister, are you looking for a fight?"
"Who's afraid of who?!"
They started bickering again, leaving Fron and the others half amused, half exasperated.
Especially Lefiya, who always trembled in fear whenever she saw Tione get angry.
Bantering the whole way, they crossed the crowded central plaza in front of Babel Tower from Northwest Street, then took Northeast Street, winding through alleys until they arrived at the headquarters of the [Goibniu Familia].
Fron didn't really have any business there himself, but he wanted to personally thank the craftsmen who had remodeled his magic workshop.
"Bad news, boss! The Crusher's back!!!"
"Nani(What)?! Didn't she just come here recently? Quick, what does she want this time?!"
And then… Tiona walked in.
"Make another great double blade? And a second-generation one at that~?"
The high-level blacksmiths of the Goibniu Familia were all dumbfounded, staring wide-eyed at her.
"What happened to the last one?"
With a finger to her lips and a playful smile, Tiona replied, "It got melted by a monster, bleh~"
"Nani-!!"
The blacksmiths' collective scream nearly blew the roof off.
Fron, watching from the side, could only feel pity for them.
Forging super-hard metal like [Adamantine] into such a massive, dense weapon was no small feat, he knew from experience as a smith himself that it was grueling work, probably requiring several hammers to be worn out before it was done.
Take the first-generation great double blade [Orga] for example, it likely needed at least five to ten high-level blacksmiths with [Blacksmith DA] to work non-stop for a week before it could be delivered.
No wonder they were collapsing in despair.
Skipping past the workshop's main hall, Fron followed Ais quietly into the inner room, where they met the well-built elderly god.
"You've come." The god's eyes were sharp as he calmly greeted the young adventurers.
"Lord Goibniu, it's been a while."
The two bowed slightly.
"Haha, it hasn't been that long. Speaking of which, congratulations on reaching Level 4."
"Eh? Even you already know?"
"Of course. Orario gaining a Level 4 adventurer, big or small, it's still news. After all, there aren't many children who can overcome trials and achieve great deeds to reach your level."
"By the way, what brings you here today?"
"Ah, I'm just accompanying Ais, she wants to have her weapon serviced."
"Oh? Sword Princess, then? Let me see the sword."
"Yes."
Ais was in casual clothing today, without her light armor, carrying only her beloved sword [Desperate].
The elderly god took the weapon from her hands, drew the slender blade from its sheath, and examined it closely.
The more he looked, the more his brows furrowed, until he seemed to recall something and sighed.
"This may be sudden, but… what exactly have you been cutting with this sword? For a weapon with the [Unbreakable] property to be worn down to this degree, it's practically like a stone now, it's a wonder you can still use it."
And that was even with Fron regularly maintaining it during their expedition, showing just how terrifying their enemy's corrosive fluids had been.
"A new type of worm, its whole body was filled with corrosive liquid. I cut that."
The god looked mildly surprised but didn't pry further.
"I see. Well, I'll have to keep the sword here for now. The wear is too severe, so repairs will take a bit longer, come back in about five days."
"And here, though this sword doesn't have the [Unbreakable] property, it's sharper than yours. Use it for now."
A new sword! Fron's brow twitched.
Let's not forget, the Loki Familia's reputation in Orario's forging circles was… complicated.
Everyone knew that every time they went on an expedition, they carried a mountain of spare weapons, and returned with none left.
From the top three to the main members, it was the same.
Forget Ais' wind magic, Tiona's great double blade was wrecked, Tione threw 50-million-valis curved Knives like kunai and shuriken, Bete kicked bugs with a 98-million special weapon until it became scrap, Finn's spear and Gareth's spear and axe were both destroyed by worms, and even Riveria's supreme staff [Magnus Avis] took a beating.
Counting the cost of remaking everything, it totaled over 600 million valis, not including the [Unbreakable] weapons they now had to prepare for the new monster species.
Their gear consumption rate was unmatched, they were the true destroyers of equipment. Fron's own main and secondary weapons had been ruined as well.
As for Ais' new sword, Fron could only wish it might last her a while… measured in days.
Once the equipment matters were settled, Fron bowed in thanks to the craftsmen before leaving.
"The workshop matches my needs perfectly, thank you all very much."
"Hahaha, we've done a lot of remodeling before, but this was our first time on a magic workshop, so we actually learned a lot. In a way, we gained more than you, no need to thank us!"
"But hey, if you ever get another job like this, make sure to call us!"
"No problem, leave it to me!"
"You're already our friend!"
"For the sake of gold?"
"For the sake of gold!"
"Hahahahahaha!"
After Tiona placed the order for [Orga]'s second-generation version, she teased Fron at the door.
"You've gotten pretty chummy with those blacksmiths."
"Well, we are colleagues after all!"
"Ah, for the sake of gold."
"…"
"Very much your style."
Tione called out to everyone.
"Alright, Loki's holding a banquet tonight, let's head back."
"Where at?"
"Her favorite tavern, 'The Benevolent Mistress.'"
"Let's go, let's go, we're drinking big tonight! I've had enough of dungeon food!"
"This time I'm eating tons of meat!"
...
The trip back followed roughly the same route and didn't take long, though the constant stares they got along the way made Fron a bit uncomfortable.
"This is just a day in the life of a famous adventurer. We're used to it."
Fron gave a wry smile and shook his head, it was nothing like what he had imagined. He hated being under the spotlight.
Then, as if remembering something, he pulled a pair of black-rimmed glasses from his pouch, put them on, and smoothed down his hair, his whole aura changed instantly.
"That's better." Lefiya blinked.
"Glasses? You can still be nearsighted after receiving a blessing?" Fron's mouth twitched as he explained,
"It's a disguise, Lefiya. I'm planning to turn these glasses into a magic item, they'll be a secret weapon."
"Eh? Really?"
"Mm-hm. Do you think [Perseus] Asfi is nearsighted? Her glasses must also be some kind of magic tool, after all, she's a holder of [Mystery] just like me."
"… Item-makers really are mysterious."
Chatting as they went, they soon arrived at their destination.
On the west side street, Loki, Finn, Riveria, Gareth, Raul, Anakitty, and Alicia were already there, it seemed only their group was missing.
"Here we are, 'The Benevolent Mistress.'"
"Everyone's here, let's go!!!" With a excited shout, Loki charged inside first.