In Rowan's opinion, something like a Magic Sword was not much different from a grenade or a missile.
It was not even all that different from a magic scroll.
Calling it a "Magic Sword" was practically false advertising. The name did not match the product at all.
Rowan simply could not understand it.
This world had gods, and even a God of Smithing like Hephaestus, so why were its weapons so disappointing?
Thinking this, Rowan could not help clicking his tongue.
"Is there something about my Familia's weapons that you're dissatisfied with?"
The moment Rowan clicked his tongue, a voice suddenly sounded beside him.
He abruptly turned his head and saw a red-haired, one-eyed goddess wearing an eyepatch standing in front of him, staring straight at him.
She was none other than the goddess of the Hephaestus Familia—
Hephaestus.
Seeing her stare at him so intently, Rowan casually replied,
"I'm not dissatisfied with anything."
"Oh, really? Then why do I feel like you were looking at the weapons in my shop with complete disdain?"
Hephaestus had just returned from outside when she saw an unfamiliar god standing in front of her weapon shop.
At first, she assumed he had come to buy weapons for the children of his Familia.
But she soon realized she had been mistaken.
Because whenever this fellow looked at the weapons displayed in her shop, his face was filled with disdain.
He had even clicked his tongue involuntarily.
Naturally, this irritated Hephaestus.
Every weapon in the shop had been forged hammer blow by hammer blow by the children of her Familia.
Of course she would be unhappy if some unfamiliar god looked down on them.
So she stepped forward and questioned him directly.
Faced with Hephaestus's accusatory expression, Rowan felt that his earlier reaction might have been a little careless.
Still, he was genuinely curious, so he simply told the truth.
"Actually, I'm not looking down on the weapons in your shop specifically."
"I'm looking down on the weapons of Orario as a whole."
"Huh?"
Hephaestus was completely stunned.
He looked down on all the weapons in Orario?
What god had crawled out of nowhere with an ego this enormous?
She had never even seen him before.
Rowan continued,
"Take Magic Swords, for example. I don't understand why they're treated as consumables."
"With your forging skill, shouldn't you be able to create a powerful Magic Sword that doesn't break?"
"You mean an Unbreakable Magic Sword?" Hephaestus asked.
Rowan shook his head.
"I mean a Magic Sword that doesn't consume the wielder's own power, can unleash tremendous destructive force, and won't break from repeated use."
Hephaestus immediately shook her head.
"How could something like that possibly exist?"
Rowan asked in return,
"Even a god like you can't forge one?"
"Of course I can."
Naturally, Hephaestus would not allow someone to underestimate her.
"But something like that would no longer qualify as a Magic Sword. It would be a semi-divine weapon, perhaps even a divine weapon."
"Huh?"
Rowan looked completely confused.
Something like that counted as a semi-divine weapon?
Shouldn't a semi-divine weapon be far more outrageous than that?
Had he perhaps overestimated Hephaestus's abilities?
Sensing that the unfamiliar god seemed to be looking down on her, Hephaestus became irritated.
She had never imagined there would come a day when another god would underestimate her.
"You're a death-related god. What do you know about forging?"
"The kind of weapon you're describing involves immortality, amplification, durability—properties that only a semi-divine weapon can achieve."
Rowan retorted,
"I don't think those are things only a semi-divine weapon should be capable of."
"It's just an ordinary weapon. Why drag divine weapons into it?"
"An ordinary weapon? How could an ordinary weapon possibly do those things?"
"Really?"
Rowan thought for a moment, then used Telepathy Magic to contact Esdeath, who was still inside the Dungeon.
"Give me some of your blood."
"Sure. How do I give it to you?" Esdeath agreed without hesitation.
"Just draw some blood. I'll take care of the rest."
Without another word, Esdeath scratched open her skin with her fingernail, allowing a thin line of blood to seep out.
In the next instant, the blood disappeared.
More accurately, Rowan transferred it away with magic and brought it directly into his hand.
He then handed Esdeath's blood to Hephaestus.
"What is this?"
"A drop of blood."
"But it's also a weapon."
"Huh?"
Hephaestus looked completely baffled.
She accepted the blood from Rowan and examined it.
Her expression immediately became more serious than ever.
Because she discovered a strange power inside that single drop of blood.
"Come with me."
She grabbed Rowan and dragged him into her Familia's shop, bringing him into her personal forge.
Then she began examining the blood.
Roughly half an hour later, Hephaestus finally understood what she was looking at.
"This blood contains the blood of some kind of monster, doesn't it?"
"That's right."
Rowan nodded.
"What kind of weapon is this?"
"Demon's Extract."
"It's a weapon created from the blood of a certain monster. Anyone who drinks it and survives without going insane can obtain the power to control ice."
Rowan calmly continued,
"If the wielder goes all out, they can even freeze an entire country."
"Would you call that a divine weapon?"
Hephaestus looked conflicted.
"If it can freeze an entire country, then logically speaking, that should already fall within the realm of a semi-divine weapon, perhaps even a divine weapon."
"But I can't detect any divine power inside this blood."
Divine power was the foundation of a god.
To forge a divine weapon, a god had to use divine power.
A god without divine power could not create a true divine weapon.
Yet the thing this unfamiliar god had brought before her completely broke that rule.
Hephaestus found it unbelievable.
"How did you do this?"
"I didn't."
Rowan shook his head.
"Someone else made it."
"That's why I'm confused."
"If ordinary people can accomplish something like this, why can't you, Hephaestus?"
Hephaestus: "Uh… Sorry for not being capable enough, I guess."
Rowan continued,
"And Magic Swords becoming consumables is equally ridiculous."
"Shouldn't a Magic Sword be the kind of weapon that lets its wielder slaughter enemies left and right with overwhelming power?"
"And the weapons you forge, aside from being durable, hard, and sharp, don't seem to possess any other special properties."
"Most don't even have magical attributes."
"Backward."
"Far too backward."
Hephaestus stared at Rowan as he grew increasingly passionate and became even more speechless.
Why was this guy getting so worked up?
Rowan quickly realized that he had become a little too emotional.
He coughed lightly.
"Sorry. I got carried away."
Hephaestus's gaze flickered.
She shook her head to show that she did not mind his outburst.
Instead, she looked at Rowan with appreciation.
"I can tell."
"You're a forging enthusiast too."
Rowan: "Uh…"
That was a huge misunderstanding.
He had only felt that Orario's weapons did not really match what he expected from a proper fantasy world, so he had instinctively complained.
He did not have much interest in forging.
In fact, one could say he had virtually no interest at all.
"By the way, did you just descend recently?"
Hephaestus asked curiously.
"Why have I never seen you in Heaven before?"
Huh?
Why did that line sound so familiar?
Rowan could not help retorting,
"There are so many gods in Heaven. Have you met every single one of them?"
"That's true."
Hephaestus immediately accepted the explanation.
Although the gods had spent hundreds of millions of years in Heaven, Hephaestus was only truly familiar with a handful of them.
Most gods were merely acquaintances she had met once or twice.
There were even some gods she had only heard of and never seen.
So not recognizing the god standing before her was actually perfectly normal.
After exchanging a few polite words with Hephaestus, Rowan got up and left.
He still intended to wander around Orario for a while longer.
Time passed quickly.
Before long, night arrived.
Esdeath, Mez, and Suzuka still had not emerged from the Dungeon.
Rowan used farsight magic to take a look and discovered that not only had they failed to head upward—
they had gone deeper.
They had already slaughtered their way down beyond the twentieth floor.
It was obvious that Esdeath had gotten completely carried away.
Monster corpses covered the Dungeon, with magic stones scattered everywhere.
At this rate, they probably would not be returning anytime soon.
Rowan could not be bothered to wait for them.
So he headed alone to one of Orario's most famous restaurants—
the Hostess of Fertility.
In the original story, the Loki Familia often held parties here, so Rowan figured the food had to be fairly good.
He came to try it for himself.
The moment he entered, a cheerful and optimistic catgirl came over to greet him.
"Welcome to the Hostess of Fertility, meow! Is this your first time here, meow?"
"My first time."
Rowan nodded and looked around.
He pointed toward a seat beside the window.
"Is anyone sitting there?"
"Nope! Please follow me, meow."
Under the catgirl's guidance, Rowan walked over and sat down.
She handed him a menu.
"What would you like to eat, meow?"
Without even looking at the menu, Rowan calmly said,
"Bring me every signature dish you have."
"Huh? All of them, meow?"
The catgirl looked surprised.
The portions served at their restaurant were not small.
After all, adventurers tended to have enormous appetites.
"That's right. All of them."
Rowan nodded firmly.
The catgirl looked at him again before taking back the menu.
"I see. Understood, meow. Please wait a little while."
With that, she turned and left.
Rowan waited for a while.
Soon, dishes began arriving one after another like flowing water.
Rowan picked up a piece of fried meat and took a large bite.
Mm…
How should he describe it?
It was genuinely very good.
But that was about it.
The main problem was that the quality of the meat itself was inferior to Danger Beast meat.
However, the seasoning was excellent and extremely appetizing, making up for the meat's lesser quality.
No wonder this restaurant was so popular throughout Orario.
It really did have genuine skill.
No wonder Loki liked holding celebration parties here.
If Rowan had not already eaten better food elsewhere, he probably would have become a loyal customer.
But now?
He could only say that it was very good.
He might come back occasionally.
As for becoming a regular—
there was no need.