Lars was kidnapped by Tsubaki and he never thought that he'd experience something like that.
'We're the ones that do the kidnapping.' Lars was exasperated.
"Hephaestus-sama's gonna love this." Tsubaki grinned at him.
"I don't think so?" Lars wasn't as enthusiastic about it all.
"Ey! Where's your eagerness?" Tsubaki smacked him on the butt.
"Lady, I'm going to get you arrested." Lars deadpanned at her.
Tsubaki ignored him and they barreled through Hephaestus' office door.
"Tsubaki! How many times have I told you to knock!" Hephaestus shouted at her.
"Hehe~ sorry about that. Look what I got here though." Tsubaki presented her Lars.
And he was in midair while Tsubaki held him on his sides. He had a really unimpressed look on his face.
"Hey, Hephaestus." Lars raised his arm in greeting.
"Lars? What are you doing here?" Hephaestus raised a brow.
"You've got to see how amazing this kid is, he just looked at how one of ours worked and Lars was able to make this." Tsubaki tossed her an unpolished knife.
"He made this!? You're not pulling my leg are you?" Hephaestus observed the knife.
'The blade's just a standard knife... But the mana coating it is exquisite. Equal on all dimensions of the blade.
Thicker coating on the edge. And all this on steel that isn't even that conductive towards mana.' Hephaestus was shocked.
"It was all done by him?" She pointed at Lars who was yawning. Waiting for Hephaestus to lose interest.
"Wanna join my familia?" Hephaestus suddenly asked and he choked.
"W-wha? Are you serious?" He was surprised and she looked like she wasn't kidding too.
"Uhh, no thanks. I like being in Demeter's familia." Lars refused immediately.
"Tch, what do you like there? It's a familia for farming. You're definitely the exploration type. Is it Demeter's fuwa fuwa appearance?" Hephaestus accused him.
"Well, Demeter does look nice and fluffy. But that isn't why, at all." Lars scratched his head.
'I can't even try to tell them that it's because of what we are doing.' He opted not to even talk.
After learning that gods can detect lies, he didn't want to say anything that can be used against him.
"Hmmm, okay... Demeter won't like it if I force you too anyways." Hephaestus sighed.
Master smiths like Tsubaki are extremely rare. So rare in fact that it's a miracle that Tsubaki managed to be one while she's in her 30's.
There's a reason why dwarves who live longer than humans become one. It takes a long time to get into the trade.
And seeing that Lars has the making of a master with his instincts, it lit a fire in her.
"So, uhhh. Can you still teach me how to smith?" Lars asked and he definitely want to make magical weapons.
Orario's magical weapons were in one word, crap. They are expendable weapons that are stuffed with spells.
Unlike the magic weapons in his head that are imbued with magic. Magic weapons in Orario is like if someone used a brick as a hammer.
Yeah, it would work. But why would you do that?
"Hoh? You want us to teach you still? What's in it for us?" Hephaestus raised a brow at him.
"Well, how about some materials?" Lars took out some item drops from the deep floors.
"How in the world did you get your hands on those?" Tsubaki was surprised, inspecting them closely.
"Well, a man's gotta be mysterious." Lars had a smug look on his face.
'Kuu! Look at all that orichalum, adamantite, and mithril...' Hephaestus was almost salivating.
Money wasn't the problem for familias like Hephaestus'
It was the supply. They were competing with the Goibniu familia for resources.
And to truly make master smiths, they would need a lot of materials.
After all, you can't call yourself one until you make something worthy of the title.
"Fine... Tsubaki, I entrust him to you." Hephaestus looked at her captain.
But Lars had to say something. "Wait a moment, she have her secrets to keep. Isn't that why all your smiths have their own smithies?"
Lars smirked. "Where are you going with this?" Tsubaki was confused.
"Well, she's the one making a deal with me, right? Then shouldn't she be the one teaching me?
Besides, she's a goddess of the forge. She knows every trick you know. But it would be fairer if I don't just steal your hard earned skills." Lars shrugged.
"You've got some balls, Lars. Trying to gaslight me into teaching you." Hephaestus squinted her eyes.
Being a goddess that deals with negotiations regularly, she of course won't fall for that.
"I'm just saying, Tsubaki would like that kind of consideration too." Lars looked at her.
There is greed in everyone. And Tsubaki isn't an exception to that.
"Well, I don't mind teaching you. But it'd be kinda... Dunno, cheap? If I just let you copy everything that I know." Tsubaki couldn't lie in front of her goddess.
"Tsubaki... I see, you're one great scammer aren't you?" Hephaestus sighed.
"Fine, I'll teach you myself. But I won't tolerate and laziness." Hephaestus huffed.
"Sure, who do you think I am? I'm a farmer you know?" Lars puffed his chest.
"Yeah, Demeter's children are all hard workers. But I'll expect double! No! Triple the effort!" Hephaestus was burning with eagerness.
"Yes ma'am!" Lars saluted and Tsubaki chuckled at them.
"I haven't seen you get that excited in years, Hephaestus." Tsubaki smirked.
"Ahhh, is that so?" Hephaestus fidgeted around in embarrassment.
'Is this the thing they call, gap moe? Hmmm. It's pretty nice indeed.' Lars nodded sagely.
"Oi, were you thinking of something rude?" Hephaestus narrowed her eye at him.
"Well, I think you're just a little cutie. I didn't expect that you'd be so fired up by getting a disciple." Lars chuckled and she blushed hard.
"W-wha!? Shut up! We start tomorrow at dawn!" Hephaestus pushed him towards the door.
"Heh? I didn't know you liked them that young, Hephaestus." Tsubaki chuckled and her goddess glared at him.
"Personally, I would've let him grow a few more years. Don't you think he'll turn out to be a hottie?" Tsubaki teased her.
"Shut up, don't you have a lot of work to do?" Hephaestus reminded her of her commissions.
"Ahhh! Shit, gotta go bye!" Tsubaki ran away as she remembered all her work.
"Geez, that girl... She's a bit too crude." Hephaestus sighed.
"Not that anyone would like me if they saw what's under my eyepatch anyways." Hephaestus rubbed her right eye.
__Guild__
"Heh, I'm Level 2 now, Rose. How about it, I broke Ais' record too y'know?" Lars pointed at his back with a smug grin.
"Yeah, yeah, you're the record holder if Airmid didn't exist. Are you happy now?" Rose rolled her eyes.
"No, of course not. You doubter, so I would like a reward." Lars demanded.
"Hah, fine. What do you want?" Rose thought he'd just like something that boys would want, like more information about the lower floors.
But she has miscalculated greatly. "You, your tail. Give me access to it." Lars looked at her seriously.
"Whu?" Rose was sent through a loop as Lars asked to floof her tail.
"You heard me, woman." Lars huffed at her and Rose just blinked dumbly.
"L-Lars-sama... You can just use my tail instead!" Haruhime who was a newbie that Rose is advising alongside him offered.
He learned from his mistake. Airmid was a special case. And others would've definitely cracked under the immense pressure.
His powerleveling isn't for the faint of heart. And even hardcore masochists would cry uncle.
The only reason that Airmid wasn't traumatized to hell was due to her magic that soothes her mental state as well.
So he took it slow with Haruhime who definitely didn't have the guts like Tiona and Tione.
"Are you crazy? You want to touch my tail?" Rose raised a brow at his request.
"Umu, the lord wills it." Lars nodded sagely and he created some lights that sparkled on him, making him look like the messiah.
"Hah, fine I guess?" Rose thought what could possibly go wrong?
"Then, let us begin." Lars took out some combs and brushes from his inventory.
He then began to untangle every knot, straighten every fiber, and comb the small amounts of matted fur.
'O-ooh... This feels nice.' Rose shuddered as Lars groomed her tail like an artisan that worked on his magnum opus.
"Muuu! Lars-sama, you haven't done that for me yet." Haruhime whined.
"You'll get your turn later, this is an opportunity that was blessed to me due to my positive karma.
Those who work hard and are against the evil of the world are rewarded. God is good indeed." Lars began rubbing Rose's tail.
"W-what are you doing?" Rose was shocked at the stimulus she felt.
"Oil is good for hair, it also smells nice. And I believe that it feels good as well, no?" Lars had a smug grin on his face.
"T-that..." Rose could smell the lavender scent from her tail and she relaxed at the pleasant sensation and scent.
"Now... For the grand prize." Lars' fingers wiggled as he reached towards Rose's ears on the top of her head.
"Auhhh!" Rose whimpered as Lars rubbed the base of her ears.
'Hmmm, so the nerve bundles here are the same with dogs. They get a natural high if I do this.' He nodded sagely.
"Enough! I don't think that's appropriate." Rose pushed him away and Lars shrugged.
He then went towards Haruhime instead, rubbing her ears.
"So, Rose. Anything interesting happen?" Lars asked while playing with Haruhime.
"Not really, Orario's pretty much stable nowadays." Rose reeled in her excitement by holding her tail.
She was still a bit high from earlier. "I see, then I guess our familia will be focusing on different things for now." Lars cooked up a plan.
He will teach the humanoid xenos how to smith. So they will be able to use metallurgy in order to create tools and other things.
Like the necessary parts for a fortress. Lars already found a mountain with a pretty large plateau.
And that would suffice. 'I wanted an island so the sea can be the only entrance. But I guess this is good enough.'
"Muuu~ Lars-sama. This is embarrassing." Haruhime complained with a blush on her face.
"It's fine, Rose won't bully you." Lars rubbed his face on her tail.
"Are you perhaps one of those?" Rose hid her tail and ears from him.
"You mean those who prefer beast people? Heh, guhahahaha! Naive! Naive, Rose." Lars shook his head wistfully.
"Does this guy have a loose screw or something?" She whispered.
"Fluffy or not, soft or firm, feminine or a bit more masculine. If you're attracted to them, then isn't it fine?" Lars huffed.
After all, a lot of the xenos looked pretty good in his books as well.
"Are you like Apollo?" Rose raised a brow at him and she shuddered.
"Who's that?" Lars didn't know Apollo from there.
"A pervert that loves men and women equally..." Rose looked at him suspiciously.
"Wha? I didn't say I'm interested in men though!?" He was outraged.
"Okay... I'm watching you though." Rose gestured with her fingers.
"I-it's okay! Even if you liked men, Lars-sama. I'll always support you." Haruhime said to him with determination.
Lars choked on his spit and Rose grinned at him.
"Just you wait, Rose. Revenge is best served cold." Lars squinted his eyes at her as she set that up nicely.
"Hmph, give it your best shot then." She smirked at him.
Lars then dropped off Haruhime at the wheat manor and he went towards Monstro.
Looking for a strong source of mana, he found Alfia pretty easily.
"So, you ready to go check out Bell's living condition?" Lars asked her and she sighed.
"I may never be." Alfia answered and he rolled his eyes.
"Then we'll go now. Otherwise, it won't get done." Lars pulled her and they began their quick journey to visit Bell's village.
__
Thanks for reading everyone, ciao.