"Calm down, Hestia."
Himer reached out and patted the frazzled loli goddess on the head, while picking up the bag of fried potato rolls she'd dropped and blowing off the dust.
"What do you mean I secretly got ahead?"
"This is called accumulating strength for a big leap."
"And besides…"
Himer took a bite of the hot fried potato roll and pointed at the group of girls behind him with varied expressions.
"Isn't this perfect?"
"Since Hephaestus is treating, it's just a matter of adding a few more pairs of chopsticks."
"A few… a few more pairs of chopsticks?!"
Hestia looked at the room full of people—and those two bears—her mouth twitching wildly.
"This wouldn't even fit at one table!"
"And besides…"
"These kids…"
"Are they really your recruited familia members?"
"They don't look like Orario locals at all…"
"Don't worry about that."
"Let's hurry up and go; didn't you say we'd be late?"
"It wouldn't be good to keep Hephaestus waiting."
Himer waved his hand grandly, cutting off Hestia's interrogation.
…
And just like that,
after a flurry of chaos, this oddly styled group finally left the dilapidated divine hall.
Orario's dusk was the liveliest time of day.
The streets were brightly lit, with magic stone lamps emitting a soft glow.
"Wow… those ears! Are they real?"
Kikkakujo Mari, hugging her dictionary, pointed at a passing rabbit-person girl, her eyes wide as saucers, unable to hold back her exclamation.
"Shh! Don't point; it's rude!"
Onigawara Rin said that, but her eyes couldn't help drifting to the rabbit's twitching long ears, her hand constantly on her sword hilt, as if overly tense.
"Is that a beastman?"
Amane Zan spotted a burly, brutish pig-person adventurer passing by with a giant axe on his shoulder.
"Auugh…"
Hanazake Warabi's big black bear named Xiong Ren was completely entranced by the rich aroma wafting from a nearby barbecue stall, drooling all over the pavement until it was soaked.
"Come on, Xiong Ren! Don't embarrass us!"
It and the little bear refused to budge, so Hanazake Warabi had to flush red-faced, yanking the chain with all her might, nearly toppling backward like in a tug-of-war, to finally drag them away.
Along the way,
the girls were like country bumpkins fresh in the city—no, even more exaggerated.
They showed immense curiosity toward every magic stone lamp, every other-race passerby, even the roadside drainage ditches.
Their gazes
were as pure as a child's first sight of the blue sky.
Hestia walked beside Himer, watching the girls' wide-eyed wonder, her suspicions only growing stronger.
She elbowed Himer, lowering her voice with a look of disdain:
"Himer, be honest."
"Did you trick these kids who just arrived in Orario as newbies?"
"Look at them; it's like they've never even seen sub-humans before…"
Hestia crossed her arms, looking like she'd seen through everything.
Himer just shrugged, not denying it.
After all,
in a sense, saying they were tricked by him wasn't wrong.
Those grand promises about "vast horizons" and "the feeling of being alive" did smack a bit of pie-in-the-sky.
However,
looking at the sparkling eyes of the girls ahead,
Himer's lips curved upward slightly.
Because
they'd taken the bait.
Humans, from an evolutionary perspective, are inherently a bundle of contradictions.
Just as humans aren't born brave.
Fear of the unknown is etched into our genes as the first line of defense for survival.
But
over long periods of time,
another deeper, more primal instinct takes over, suppressing that fear.
And that is—curiosity.
Fear of the unknown keeps creatures trapped in their self-perceived safe shells, drawing boundaries around themselves.
But curiosity
can swiftly pull humans out of that fear and drive them to greedily seek all things unknown.
Precisely because it's a primal instinct rooted deeper in human genes than fear, even stronger and more ancient.
It's a driving force more enduring than hunger.
Because human migration history is a history sparked by curiosity.
From the first time Homo sapiens left Africa in ancient times; to later sailors repeatedly charging into the ocean on ships.
Behind every adventure in human history, besides survival pressures,
isn't it that primal urge of "wanting to see what's over the mountain" or "wanting to know if there's land beyond the sea"?
It's undeniable.
As the saying goes, "curiosity killed the cat."
—This death-seeking spirit seemingly carved into the depths of human genes
has led humans to die on the path of recklessness time and again, paying heavy prices.
But it's also this spirit
that allowed humans to conquer the land, the skies, and the oceans, ultimately turning their gaze to the stars.
"Don't worry; as long as they've got this drive,"
"I believe they'll soon shock all of Orario."
"We're here."
As Himer finished speaking,
after about twenty minutes of walking,
the group finally stopped.
Before them,
a majestic building came into view.
…
The headquarters of the [Hephaestus Familia].
As soon as they stepped into the area,
a heat wave utterly different from outside hit them.
It wasn't the heat of flames, but the passion of steel and forging emanating from countless furnaces operating day and night.
This was Orario's largest forging familia—the [Hephaestus Familia]'s workshop and base.
A massive signboard engraved with two crossed hammers.
Walls lined with weapons and armor, reflecting cold yet captivating gleams under the magic stone lamps.
Greatswords, battle-axes, spears, rapiers…
Each piece exquisitely crafted, with streamlined designs and perfect balance—even an outsider could tell their quality at a glance.
For a group of martial-obsessed girls,
this was simply paradise.
"Um…"
Onigawara Rin's steps immediately halted.
Her gaze was glued to a tachi in the display case.
The blade was entirely black, with cloud-like forging patterns on the edge, exuding a heart-pounding sharpness.
As a swordswoman,
seeing a named blade of this caliber was like an alcoholic spotting aged fine wine—she couldn't look away.
However,
when Onigawara Rin swallowed hard and shifted her gaze down to the price tag below,
[Named Blade: Black Raven]
[Creator: Hephaestus Familia · Senior Blacksmith]
[Price: 3,800,000 Valis]
"O-ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands…"
Onigawara Rin counted the zeros, her face turning pale, and she could only despairingly avert her eyes, dryly squeezing out:
"This price is way too outrageous!"
Though she didn't know the purchasing power of this world's currency—Valis—
thinking of the rundown divine hall they'd just left,
she suddenly felt that a named blade of this level was incredibly far out of reach.
However,
Himer noticed Onigawara Rin's gaze and couldn't help glancing at the blade again.
…
"Hey, Himer! Hestia! You're way too slow!"
At that moment,
a slightly husky yet magnetically feminine voice came from deep within the workshop.
Everyone looked toward the sound.
There,
a woman with short crimson hair strode toward them.
She wore a crisp white shirt and black pants, with a black eyepatch over her right eye, but it did nothing to diminish her beauty—instead, it added a touch of stern allure.
It was none other than the Hephaestus Familia · Main God—Hephaestus.
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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