Where the hell had this guy been hiding?!
"Haha, that look in your eyes says you're wondering where I was, doesn't it?"
"Do all Level 5s learn stealth techniques or something? Then please teach me too. I could use it to run up a tab with Mama Mia."
"Haha, you've got some nerve. If she catches you doing that, she'll work you like a rat under a lifelong slave contract, you know?"
"Ugh... Then I won't learn it after all. Come to think of it, I picked the wrong person to use it on—and there's nobody but Mama Mia I could use it on anyway..."
"You must be close to the owner of the Hostess of Fertility, if you call her Mama."
"Well, I'd say we're closer than most. Hahaha."
What was I even doing? I didn't know either. Sure, I was deliberately invoking Mama Mia's backing so I wouldn't be taken for a sucker... I genuinely liked her as a person, but Finn Deimne was someone who had thousands of old snakes curled up inside his mind...
"So where were you really hiding?"
"I was standing behind the door you came through from the very beginning. I listened quietly, then when Loki spoke, I used my Level 5 physical abilities to stand in front of you."
"Ah, behind the door..."
"Consciousness and unconsciousness are strange things. You came here to talk, so you naturally assume there can't be anyone else present, and you only pay attention to the people in front of you. If it made you uncomfortable that I was hiding behind you, let me apologize first."
"No, it's fine. Nothing really happened, and if the homeowner wants to be somewhere, who am I to complain? Hahaha."
"Thank you for understanding."
Ugh, why did every single word he said feel like it was digging into me...? So this was why people called him an old snake...
"Oh, and I have something to give you. Lady Hephaestus told me to hand it over if Lady Loki agreed."
"What is it?"
"It's a letter. Here."
"Let's see... Hmm..."
"Will you let me see it too, Loki?"
"Hmm... Oh... So that's what it was... This brat's something else."
So it probably explained my Magic and how I could make weapons accordingly. What I was going to make had already been decided; now I just needed to adjust the proportions to Finn Deimne's body...
"...Hey, why don't you come over to our side?"
"Fuck you."
"What was that?"
"Ah."
"Loki, no matter how badly you want him, trying to poach another Familia's member is something only Freya would do. Reflect on yourself."
"Ahahaha, sorry about that."
That was so absurd I nearly cursed her out. Trying to insult the patron deity in front of the captain... But judging by what he said, Finn Deimne seemed to want me too... I might need to watch myself for a while...
"I read the letter carefully. Now I understand why Lady Hephaestus went out of her way to send you here and first offer to make my weapon."
"Thank you for the praise."
"That aside, I was incredibly surprised. Despite not being of Crozzo blood, you can create armaments comparable to theirs—Noble Phantasms, as they're called here—through your own unique Magic."
She wrote that much in there...?
"If you've read that far, then only one thing remains."
"Mm, that's right."
"Price negotiations."
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A young man, in heated negotiation.
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"So if we set the base price no lower than this, I just need to send an advance payment, correct?"
"Yes. I'll begin production with the advance payment, then visit you once it's complete to receive the remainder."
"It was a good deal."
"It was a good deal for me as well. Please visit our Familia Home when you have time later. I'll need to take the gauntlet measurements and adjust the spear's proportions."
"All right. I'll visit sometime next week."
"I'll be waiting."
Whew... Was this what came from being a veteran...? I couldn't get the better of him even once. He led me around from start to finish... Though I barely managed to hold out at the end...
"Then I'll be going."
"Ah, wait a moment. Take this."
"What is this?"
"It's proof that you're a guest of Twilight Manor. If you bring Finn's item later and they leave you standing at the door because they don't know who you are, I won't be able to show my face. Keep it."
"Thank you."
I was sure it would come in handy someday beyond just this matter.
"Then I really will be going now."
"Take care. I trust you can find your way out on your own, so I won't see you off."
"Goodbye."
Once I finished talking and stepped outside, all the tension drained from me, and my legs started shaking.
"Whew... Whew... I thought my heart was going to give out..."
The captain of the Loki Familia, one of Orario's two towering powers, and its patron deity... They were terrifying...
But now, I was actually safer. I didn't know whether my goddess had intended it, but just the fact that I had made weapons for the captains of both of Orario's two great powers meant I effectively had backing now.
My name value had risen.
The problem was that people might start seeing my wares as too expensive... A shop can't survive on a single big spender alone. Big spenders mattered, but what formed the foundation were the ants—the people who spent little by little. I needed to win them over too... Once Durindana Pilum was finished, should I release the Silver Knight and Black Knight series? Even without using Magic, considering [Tempering of Steel], I should be able to give the Black Knight series a degree of fire resistance.
Someone might ask why I was making such a fuss already, but a merchant must always think about the future. You watch the current and either ride it or abandon it—and if neither works, you redirect it.
I was worried about what lay ahead. Really worried...