"But more than that..."
"H-Heimdall... where did you get this thing from?"
"Don't tell me you sneaked into Hephaestus's armory in the middle of the night and stole it..."
Saying this.
Hestia guiltily lowered her voice even further and stole a glance towards the depths of the workshop.
Heimdall couldn't help but roll his eyes at Hestia.
"Relax."
"I got this through a trade with Hephaestus."
"A trade with Hephaestus?"
"That's right."
"Last night, I saw how interested the children of my Familia were in Hephaestus Familia's weapons."
"And you know,"
"Hephaestus, though generous, places particular importance on the weapons she and others forge. To get her high-quality goods, one has to show some sincerity."
"So..."
Heimdall paused, raising a fingertip of his other hand to lightly tap the spear shaft.
"I used a bit of my divine blood, a few strands of hair, and..."
"The [Divine Script] that only I can write."
"Using these as payment, I forged an extraordinary divine weapon in her private workshop."
"I gave that divine weapon to Hephaestus."
"In exchange,"
"Hephaestus agreed to give the children of my Familia the green light to freely choose a suitable weapon from her treasure vault."
"Since it was a free-for-all,"
"I originally intended to go through the motions and ask Hephaestus if I could also pick a weapon for self-defense."
"But the situation, as you now know,"
"is that Hephaestus locked herself in her workshop at the crack of dawn."
"So—"
"The matter was finally left to Tsubaki, as the captain, to handle."
"When I took this spear, Tsubaki happened to be right there, and she didn't say anything."
"Thus, I logically brought this spear along with me."
...
After saying this.
Heimdall lifted the spear in his hand.
Casually twirling it in a flourish.
After hearing this explanation.
...
A deathly silence fell over the hall.
Only the faint, distant sound of hammering could be heard.
The heart that Hestia had been holding up now sank completely.
She knew Hephaestus's personality all too well!
Once she encountered fascinating premium materials or divine-level craftsmanship she'd never seen before,
That woman would absolutely cast everything else aside!
Even if the sky were falling, it would have to wait until she finished her research!
And so it was...
"That idiot Hephaestus!!!"
"She must have been so excited that she forgot to tell Tsubaki the most crucial thing!"
Hestia let out a silent wail in her heart.
Tsubaki didn't know the inside story!
In Tsubaki's view, since her own god had nodded and agreed to a free-for-all,
Then what was the problem with Heimdall, as a deity, picking a handy weapon from the armory to play with or collect?
Absolutely no problem at all!
But this was a colossal misunderstanding!
But now, what's done is done; the weapon is already in Heimdall's hand.
And Ganesha definitely already knew.
That meant the news would spread through Orario faster than the plague.
Since that's the case.
...
Forget it!
Let it all burn!
I give up!
Hestia simply gave up thinking altogether, resigning herself completely.
After all, if the sky falls, there are taller gods to hold it up.
Could she possibly expect herself to make Heimdall put the spear back?
Don't be ridiculous.
She was just an innocent freeloader!
Thinking this, Hestia's little face instantly became much calmer.
Immediately after.
*Gurgle—*
A long, rumbling sound.
Most inopportunely emanated once more from that shriveled little belly.
Clutching her flat little stomach, Hestia's whole face instantly scrunched up into a little bun, looking at Heimdall with utter misery.
"Woo..."
"So hungry..."
"So hungry I'm starting to see heavenly illusions..."
Heimdall looked at Hestia's utterly lazy, couldn't-be-bothered-to-even-flip-over salted fish state.
He also sighed helplessly, then turned to look at the gradually darkening sky outside.
The afterglow of the setting sun had dyed the red brick walls of [Vulcan's Red House] an even deeper hue.
"Alright then."
"Since that's the case."
"It's getting late anyway."
"Dinnertime is almost here."
"Tell me what you want to eat now."
"My treat."
"Really?!"
Startled from her near-death state by those words, Hestia sat bolt upright, looking as if she had just been resurrected.
In that instant.
Heimdall even felt like he could see a green light beginning to glow in Hestia's eyes.
"Of course."
"As long as it's within today, you can eat whatever you want. After all, you don't have to pay, and neither do I."
"My sponsor for the day is right here."
Having said that.
Heimdall pointed at Shakti beside him.
Shakti: "..."
Although being treated as a sponsor left Shakti with rather mixed feelings.
She still maintained her usual unflappable demeanor, giving a slight nod to tacitly approve the upcoming expenses.
"Also, judging by the time, Tsubaki and the others should be returning soon too."
"Why don't we all have a meal together later?"
"Consider it a celebration of our move to the new place."
"YES!!"
"..."
...
Thus.
At the same time.
Beneath Orario, the 10th floor.
The spiraling passageway leading to the upper floors.
A group of people was climbing up the winding stone steps.
"Phew..."
"A miscalculation."
"A miscalculation."
"Had I known you little monsters were so good at farming..."
"I shouldn't have boasted in front of Lord Heimdall about not needing supporters."
"I should have brought a few more supporters along."
"Even hiring a couple of porters would have been better."
Tsubaki walked at the front of the group.
She stopped and looked toward the back of the line.
A flicker of helplessness passed through her single eye.
After all,
who could have imagined
that a simple plan to take the newcomers for a casual stroll in the upper floors, familiarize them with the environment, and let them kill a few Goblins for practice,
would end up with the group slaughtering their way all the way down to the 12th floor?
Not only did they kill,
—the path they took was practically like a plague of locusts passing through.
The respawn rate of the upper-floor monsters could barely keep up with their killing speed.
This led to an explosive increase in the number of spoils.
Fortunately, there was a big Black Bear in the party.
Not only could it tank and fight,
it could also double as a transport vehicle.
Thinking of this, Tsubaki couldn't help but glance back—at the big Black Bear named Fierce Person.
At this moment,
this big Black Bear was carrying an enormous pack as exaggerated in size as itself.
That pack
was crudely sewn together from the hide of a Silverback Gorilla that Tsubaki herself had slain on the 12th floor.
It was stuffed full, bulging with all sorts of random things.
With every step the Black Bear took, a crisp "clatter-clatter" sound would come from the pack.
—the sound of piled Magic Stones clinking against each other.
Furthermore,
beside the Black Bear,
another little bear hadn't been spared either.
It carried a small bundle on its back, trotting along behind.
The others also carried varying amounts of spoils, bundled together with monster tendons.
Just the Magic Stones alone filled several bags.
Not to mention the various valuable materials dropped by Orcs, War Shadows, and Killer Ants.
Lord Heimdall's reaction upon seeing the haul we brought back
should be quite a sight, right?
-------------------------------
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