A new day dawned.
Amidst the beautiful 'melody' composed of striking metal, Hephaestus opened her eyes in the workshop's rest area.
Taking a deep breath, the red-haired, one-eyed goddess couldn't help but show an expression of enjoyment as the scent of charcoal filled her nostrils.
After a simple wash-up and finishing breakfast, Hephaestus stretched languidly.
"Alright, time to start forging~"
Then, just as she pushed open the workshop's main doors, she saw a friend who had been waiting outside for who knows how long.
"Hestia?" A flash of surprise appeared in Hephaestus's eye, but it was quickly followed by a teasing smile. "Aren't you busy building your little love nest with your boyfriend? What brings you here to see this old, empty-nested friend?"
With that, she let out a feigned cough and began to imitate a secondhand account she had heard:
"Lady Hestia, I love you."
"Please allow me to join your Familia."
"Ugh~"
Hestia, who was about to say something, blushed crimson from her friend's teasing.
"Levi, he... he's not my boyfriend~"
"Alright, alright, 'not yet, not yet'."
Hephaestus crossed her arms, laughing, but her face wore the telltale grin of a dedicated shipper.
"Come on in," the red-haired goddess invited.
Once her friend was inside the workshop, she astutely closed the door behind her.
It wasn't until they were both seated that she asked in a softer tone, "So, you came here so suddenly today... there must be something you need my help with, right?"
Hephaestus used a declarative tone.
Having known Hestia for so many years, how could she not know what kind of person her friend was?
When it came to business, the blue-ribboned goddess's expression turned serious as well.
She gave a slight nod, not denying it, and went straight to the point: "That's right. I need your help—or to be precise, the help of one of your children."
Hephaestus raised an eyebrow. "A request?"
"I suppose so." Hestia averted her gaze awkwardly. "But as you know, my Familia was just established. I don't have the Valis to post a formal request right now, but I promise I'll pay you back the moment I have the money."
"But I heard from my children that your captain is raking in a fortune every day?" Hephaestus narrowed her eye, piercing through her friend's 'lie'.
As one of the largest forging Familias in Orario, the Hephaestus Familia's intelligence-gathering capabilities were in no way inferior to those of the Loki Familia or the Freya Familia.
"Er—" Hestia scratched her cheek, explaining vaguely, "Every family has its own troubles. Please allow me to keep this private."
Hephaestus shrugged. "So, what do you, or rather, your child, need my children to do?"
She had originally thought Hestia wanted to use their connection to have a set of third-grade or even second-grade equipment forged for the boy named Levi Bright.
But soon, the blue-ribboned goddess's answer left Hephaestus completely stunned.
"In a few days, Levi plans to head to the Middle Floors to accumulate the excelia needed to level up to Lv.2. I'm worried the Dungeon might target him, so I was hoping you could dispatch a high-level adventurer to watch over him."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Silence suddenly fell.
Neither of the two goddesses present spoke.
Inside the room, only the ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner could be heard.
After about ten seconds, Hephaestus finally asked, her voice a bit strained, "Your child... have his ability scores already accumulated enough for him to level up?"
Hestia nodded.
Just as she had mentioned to Levi yesterday, no one was a fool.
Especially not the gods.
"But that's just too fast." Hephaestus covered her face with one hand. "That boy, Levi... it hasn't even been half a month since he received your Falna, right?"
Without looking at her friend's reaction, the red-haired, one-eyed goddess continued to mutter to herself, "And given your personality, you would never let him level up rashly as soon as his stats hit D-rank."
"So, is it C? B? A? Or could it even be S?"
Hestia hesitated for a moment. Considering she had come to Hephaestus, even if she didn't say anything, her friend would likely figure out some details about Levi anyway, so she explained softly:
"He has a skill that accelerates his growth."
This was the truth, but not the whole truth.
"Does the lower world really have such an absurdly powerful 'Unknown' skill?!" Hephaestus's face was filled with astonishment.
An unprompted feeling of envy, even jealousy, toward her friend welled up in her heart.
Fortunately, the red-haired, one-eyed goddess wasn't a god who lived for entertainment, and her Familia was primarily focused on equipment forging. While she would want to recruit adventurers with great potential, she wouldn't dwell on it if it wasn't possible.
Of course, there was another crucial point.
—Levi was a member of her dear friend Hestia's Familia.
Hephaestus would never do something like forcibly snatching her friend's child, let alone her lover.
That being said, she still sat down next to Hestia, reached out, and gave her cheek a hard pinch.
"How did you get so lucky? You just descended and you already run into such a rare character, and the kid even likes you a lot."
"Ehehe~"
Hestia usually didn't say it out loud, but deep down, she really wanted to show off Levi's talent. However, his existence was just too extraordinary, so to prevent other gods from prying or even trying to steal him away, she had gone against her usual nature and kept it a secret.
Now that it was out in the open, she no longer hesitated. "Levi is really amazing. He dared to go into the Dungeon and fight monsters even before receiving the Falna..."
Hephaestus listened with a smile as her friend recounted the story, chiming in from time to time to keep the conversation going and play along.
Once Hestia had finished recounting the recent events, Hephaestus guided the conversation back on track. "Levi is your first child, after all. As your friend, I'm naturally willing to help out. How about this: my captain, Tsubaki, happens to not be on the expedition with the Loki Familia right now. Once you've confirmed a time, I'll have her take a trip to the Dungeon's Middle Floors with your boy."
Tsubaki, full name Tsubaki Collbrande.
She is Hephaestus's captain, a Level 5 smith.
Her strength is top-tier in all of Orario. Watching over a Lv.1 gathering excelia to level up wouldn't be effortless, but it would certainly be well within her capabilities.
Hestia had previously stayed at Hephaestus's workshop and of course knew about Tsubaki. Hearing this, her face lit up with a delighted expression as she hugged her friend's waist. "Really? Hephaestus, I could just die, I love you so much!"
________
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