"Customer! That's very dangerous!"
Seeing a dagger worth 900 valis being picked up by a child who appeared to be under ten years old, with the blade pointed toward himself, even the highly professional shop assistant panicked.
This could already be called an emergency situation.
Noah felt somewhat apologetic seeing the shop assistant's nervous expression.
As expected, the scream from Hephaestus's shop immediately drew crowds from nearby.
Including the goddess who was here but whose exact location was unknown.
Watching a beautiful woman with red hair and her right eye covered by an eyepatch emerge from inside, Noah found his gaze completely captivated, unable to be drawn away by anything else.
A god.
For all rational beings in the lower world, when a god appears before them, they immediately recognize the noble existence standing before them.
Even without using divine power, the characteristics of a god don't disappear.
This is what's called revealing divine presence before mortals.
When he first saw Hermes, he too had been awestruck by his presence.
Now, the goddess Hephaestus was similarly radiating the unique aura characteristic of a god.
"What's happening here?" Hephaestus immediately asked the shop assistant after arriving.
Not wanting to continue tormenting the female shop assistant, Noah stepped forward proactively.
"Goddess Hephaestus! I, Noah, have come specifically to join your Familia! Please forgive me for causing such a disturbance!"
His resolute voice didn't quite match his youthful appearance.
When all the onlookers saw a child suddenly step forward and request to join Hephaestus's Familia, they suddenly seemed to find some entertainment, refusing to leave and gathering to watch the scene unfold.
In Orario, over half the population were pleasure-seekers.
If there was free entertainment to be had, there would never be a shortage of spectators.
Hephaestus.
Her attire wasn't particularly noble - as a god, she only wore a simple white silk shirt on top, black trousers below, and knee-high boots on her feet.
Black gloves extended up to cover most of her forearms.
This outfit seemed completely unrelated to femininity, with a despairingly low level of skin exposure, yet it still gave her an aura of beauty.
She looked at Noah, acknowledging his courage to declare his intention so boldly before so many people.
"Noah?"
"Yes, Lady Hephaestus."
"You wish to join my Familia?"
"Correct."
Hephaestus stared at him for a while.
Such a young child was quite rare in Hephaestus's Familia.
Blacksmithing was a profession where one's skill equaled their years of experience - this line of work required solid foundations and extensive experience, both of which demanded enormous amounts of time for study and wholehearted dedication to achieve even modest success.
Until now, her Familia had only recruited blacksmiths of outstanding caliber.
When facing a god directly, all lies become impossible to conceal.
Even without using divine power, gods could easily see through a person.
Hephaestus could tell that Noah wasn't the type to cling to power and influence - though such a young child probably wouldn't have such intentions anyway.
Noah looked directly at Hephaestus without averting his gaze.
Gradually, the corner of her mouth lifted slightly. "Alright, I'll let you join my Familia."
'After all, it seemed this boy quite interesting.'
"From today onward, you are a member of my Hephaestus Familia. From now on, become my family, bear my divine grace, and pursue your dreams upon the lands of Orario."
Noah placed a hand over his heart and bowed to his new goddess.
'Farewell... bridge underpass!'
...
In the evening, following Hephaestus' daytime instructions, Noah arrived at her workshop.
Knock, knock.
Two light knocks for non-urgent matters—this seemed to be common knowledge within the Familia.
After all, Hephaestus herself was a blacksmith who would often immerse herself in work, and once focused, she wouldn't be distracted by external matters.
This time, likely because they had arranged it in advance, the door was promptly opened from the inside.
"You're here."
"Yes."
As Noah entered the workshop, he could still feel the residual warmth from the furnace.
On the walls hung weapons whose exceptional quality was evident to the naked eye.
There were battle-axes, greatswords, scimitars, straight swords, and more.
However, the number wasn't large—no more than ten.
Noah guessed that the price of these pieces of equipment was absolutely incomparable to those displayed outside.
Perhaps each one cost over two hundred million valis, or even more.
"Oh—"
Hephaestus noticed something from his reaction.
She said in a somewhat surprised tone, "You can tell, can't you? The difference between these weapons and the others."
Noah nodded.
Although these pieces of equipment might not have extravagant designs and even appeared somewhat ordinary, the intense texture they exuded made his eyes tingle just from looking at them.
"These weapons are proof of the most outstanding children in the Familia graduating from my tutelage."
Hephaestus' voice was filled with pride.
"The children of the lower world are truly remarkable, always exceeding our expectations as gods. It is precisely because they can achieve such great feats that the God's Blessing holds its true value."
That's right.
The agreement from earlier in the day.
It was to visit Hephaestus in the evening and receive the God's Blessing she would bestow.
Regarding the Blessing.
It was essentially a form of potential.
But this potential needed to be drawn out by the gods.
No matter which god's Blessing one received, the effect was the same; what differed was the strength and resources of each Familia.
"Noah, don't you yearn for adventure in the Dungeon? At your age, wouldn't you aspire to be like the heroes in the epic tales?"
What Hephaestus meant to express was, 'Our Hephaestus Familia is a production-type Familia. Our exploration of the Dungeon is rather superficial, and our combat members' strength can't compare to true front-line Familias.'
For adventurers, especially a newbie one, they were generally more easily drawn to adventure.
"This is your last chance. If you have any regrets, now is the time."
'Was this Hephaestus' advice?'
Noah looked at the god, who was sincerely concerned about his future and his reply held no hesitation.
"The god i choose is Hephaestus—it has to be you."
Hephaestus gazed at the boy before her, who, despite his youth, appeared unusually mature and steady.
"Very well, then take off your clothes."