[Chapter Size: 1343 Words.]
Lucius POV
Hephaestus's Shop.
"I'll ask again, what is going on here...?" It was the same question she asked before, but even I had to be careful with her tone now. We're talking about a goddess who might not have one of the strongest families in Orario in terms of strength, but certainly one of the most important, if not the most important, in this city. How do I know this? Take the Hephaestus family out of the equation, and you'll see Orario descend into chaos.
"This rude human has offended the prestige of our family and is causing a disturbance!" said the dwarf, who was still a bit cautious in the presence of his goddess, but there was still anger embedded in every word.
"HAHAHAHA!" I couldn't help but laugh at the idiotic dwarf in front of me.
"If offending your family is saying that you're a coward who hides behind the name of your goddess to insult people, then I admit, I offended this Goddess in front of us!" I said, pointing a finger at the red-haired woman crossing her arms.
I said with a mocking tone, leaving his face red with anger. Seeing that he expected me to behave like a dog in front of Hephaestus, his mistake, because I couldn't care less about all these gods in this city.
Hephaestus raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. She knew she could beat me and kick me out of here in seconds because I know she always walks with that bodyguard of hers when she's not on an expedition, the brunette who is the commander of her level 5 family exploration team, Tsubaki. She must be behind that door she just passed, and if she's not there, I'm sure there's someone at level 3 or 4 there to protect Hephaestus.
"How did this start?" She finally spoke, and I shrugged in response.
"I asked a particular blacksmith to inspect your swords, and this half-man here freaked out like a kobold in heat. I invite you, Goddess Hephaestus, to ask the name of the blacksmith I asked to inspect your swords, and you will understand how ridiculous your reason for anger is." I said with a smile, and the dwarf didn't know if he was more irritated by my insults or feared saying the name that started this mess to Hephaestus.
"Could you stop offending my family? I would like some respect..." She said, and her voice resonated with a certain anger. I know I'm stepping into this goddess's blacklist now, and maybe I can die here if I cross more of this line, but I wasn't going to let this dirty dwarf say whatever he wanted just because his goddess was here.
After the subtle threat, she turned her head and looked at the dwarf still on the table with the hammer, "So, Mr. Clayr, what was the blacksmith that this client was asking about, and that started all this?" She finally asked.
"Welf Crozzo... Hephaestus-Sama..." He finally said reluctantly. He couldn't lie to his goddess, so he really said who irritated him so much.
Hephaestus was surprised, not by the dwarf getting angry, but by a random adventurer asking about the pieces of this blacksmith, and she couldn't help but ask.
"Why Welf Crozzo, Mr. adventurer?" She said looking at me.
"Because I believe Mr. Crozzo has potential within his family, one that is not limited to just magic swords. I believe he will be a great blacksmith, someone I can buy armor and weapons from to protect me in the dungeon now and in the future." I said what I knew about Welf Crozzo.
He is someone who refuses to make magic swords, which was the branch of his family he curses after seeing all the destruction these weapons can bring. But even without magic swords, he still has the talent to make high-quality and still cheap equipment in this small deposit, which benefits me a lot, with my current financial status.
Hephaestus smiled at my explanation.
'An obvious reaction; I'm talking about your future lover. Of course, she's proud to see him recognized like this by another party.' I thought to myself while getting out of her blacklist at this moment.
But I couldn't say the same for the dwarf; however, he decided to stay quiet, as speaking ill of Crozzo in front of Hephaestus is a taboo in his family.
"This is very curious; may I know your name and family?" She asked me.
"I'm Lucius Drakenar from the Hestia family, Goddess Hephaestus." I said.
"The brat managed to get another member for her family?" She said genuinely surprised because Hestia had been with her for a few days making Bell's current knife. She had no idea about Lucius as a new member yet.
"I joined her family today, so it's quite recent..." I declared.
"I see. Interesting," she concluded.
"Follow me then; I'll show you the section where your work is." Following her, I finally saw the equipment I'm looking for with the Crozzo name emblem drawn on them.
Thanking her, I began to look for the best sword for me. Unfortunately, there wasn't a katana, the type of sword I like the most, but I was satisfied with one I found here.
Finally, I picked it up and took it to the counter, paying with just 3,000 valis to the grumpy dwarf. As I left, I didn't forget to say goodbye and thank her for the divine help.
"Thank you, Goddess Hephaestus!" I smiled and walked out the door.
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Third Person POV -
A few seconds later.
"What do you think, Tsubaki?" Hephaestus asked after seeing the slightly older man than Welf Crozzo leaving with the purchased sword...
"He seems ordinary in all senses, Hephaestus-Sama, but there's something deeper about him, something impossible to discover even for me. His physique and even his magical quantity are common for a newly leveled 1, but my instincts tell me to be a little cautious." Said her stronger daughter and captain of the family, who appeared by her side before uttering those words. She had been in this room the whole time, without Lucius noticing.
"Tell me again what you foresaw before we got to this shop." Hephaestus asked, recalling what Tsubaki quickly alerted her to as they approached the room, it was then that she had to hurry and stop this pointless fight.
"I felt that if we didn't get to this room as quickly as possible, the entire floor would start to enter chaos and slight tremors with explosions would come from this shop, well, this shop would be destroyed." She said with her ability to foresee some futures through her level 5 instincts.
"Did that brat manage to find another hidden gem... Hestia has damn luck..." Hephaestus said to herself while her two children were still present.
"Now, Mr. Clayr... Can you tell me why you started a fight with an adventurer just because he was seeking equipment from your fellow Crozzo?" She said with a bit of undisguised anger, and the dwarf began to break out in a cold sweat for what would happen to him.
Seeing that he was largely at fault in a senseless fight, even though the other party was quite rude as well, it wasn't every day that he encountered such a cheeky newcomer, especially one who wasn't intimidated by the name of his family, or worse, by the presence of his goddess in front of him. Still, he would make that kid pay one day.
For Hephaestus, the event/fight here was a big surprise. She came here precisely to look at Welf Crozzo's equipment since it's the only shop used to sell weapons and armor with the Crozzo symbol in the tower. She has always been concerned about the talent of her red-haired son and is very cautious about how her family treats the young blacksmith. But she was happy that his work began to be recognized by adventurers seeking his name specifically now.
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