At the Hephaestus Weapon and Armor Shop.
A beautiful red-haired girl with an eyepatch over her right eye, dressed in men's clothing, crossed her arms and stared at the unfamiliar man and woman in front of her.
Although the woman tried her best to hide her face, she could vaguely see an Elf's face from behind her hood.
Even though she could only see it briefly, she was definitely a very beautiful Elf girl.
And the young man there was even more striking. The fire in the stove illuminated the handsome young man's face, which made people marvel at the Creator's favor.
Especially his clear eyes, and any slight emotion he revealed would easily touch the heart.
From their first meeting, Hephaestus knew that the Elf girl hiding behind the hood would surely be eaten alive by the other party.
Many thoughts crossed her mind, and then Hephaestus asked:
"You said you have strange ore in your hand and want to exchange it for a practical weapon?"
"Yes, I think this is a material that Hephaestus Familia has never found before."
Shun pretended to take it out of his pocket, and some strange-looking ore appeared in his hand.
Although she didn't know how this person put so much ore in his pocket, after seeing these two strange materials, Hephaestus focused all her attention on the ore.
"This is Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand, and Scarlet Ore. It is ore that can only be collected in the mountains closest to the sun. Bathed in sunlight all year round, it absorbs enough sunlight and has extremely scorching solar energy."
Shun explained the ore he brought from the Kimetsu no Yaiba world, confident that the uniqueness of this ore must be unique in the Danmachi world.
Sure enough, as Hephaestus continued to touch and look at it, there was a deep interest in her eyes.
"Okay, I will ask Tsubaki to help you forge a weapon yourself. Tell me your needs first, and I will write them down."
Tsubaki Collbrande is the number one blacksmith in the Hephaestus Familia and the strongest blacksmith in Orario. She possesses the strength of a First-Class Adventurer and is known as the Cyclops.
Generally, there's no harm in having a blacksmith of this level do the forging.
As Hephaestus spoke, she reached out to shake the toy on the table, turned her head and shouted towards the door on the right.
"Hestia!"
"Don't be lazy! If there are guests, you have to do tea service!"
It seemed that Hephaestus was very unhappy with her always lazy friend. It was estimated that she would eventually kick her out.
She was a very beautiful girl.
A girl with shiny jet-black hair tied into twin tails hanging on both sides, but the length even reached her waist, with a round face and a childish appearance.
Judging from her appearance, the girl was probably around fourteen or fifteen years old?
However, the young girl with a naive appearance had surprisingly large breasts!
Seeing Hestia enter with tea, and her heart trembling, Shun showed a subtle expression in his eyes.
Although he was already shocked when he read the original work, he was still surprised to see such large breasts shaking with the girl's figure.
'Actually, no matter the size, I think she's more destined for me!'
Hestia pouted, placed three cups of black tea on the table, then sat down leisurely on the other side of Hephaestus with a bored expression.
Hephaestus, who had long been accustomed to her friend's appearance, helplessly rubbed her brow, picked up a pen and paper, and asked Shun's needs.
"Except for the appearance design, are there any requirements for the weight of the knife? Also, please reveal the estimated level and strength of the adventurer. Rest assured that the Hephaestus Familia is absolutely confidential in this matter."
"Just look at the weight of a Level 5 adventurer's weapon. As for the level..."
Shun said: "I haven't joined a Familia yet, so I don't have a level."
"Eh?!"
"No level?!"
The two gods across from him were stunned.
Hephaestus, who was holding a pen and writing notes, looked at Shun in surprise, and Hestia, as if thinking about something, jumped up and stared at the young man in front of her with wide eyes.
"Do you mean to say that you haven't received Falna, but you have the strength of a Level 5 adventurer?"
"That's right. I think the weapon doesn't need to be too heavy. It's enough."
Shun's words made Hephaestus and Hestia look at each other. At almost the same time, they recalled in their minds that thousands of years ago, when the gods had not yet descended to the lower world, humans had done extraordinary things with themselves, achieving incredible feats.
That was the glory of mankind that even the gods admired.
But now, in the era of the gods, such rare treasures still exist!
The next moment, before Hephaestus could say anything, Hestia, who was very attentive, immediately rushed over, not only hugging Shun's neighbor, but with her eyes sparkling, as if she was planning to kill him.
"Young man, I am Hestia, the Virgin Goddess. Actually, I've been planning to form my own Familia recently!"
Saying this, she kept winking at Shun, looking at him with hopeful eyes, as if this could convey her signal.
"Is it an exploration Familia?"
"Of course!"
Facing his question, Hestia nodded quickly.
"Well...it seems like I don't have any requirements for a Familia..."
Shun seemed to be really thinking about this invitation, which made Hestia, who felt like she had found treasure, even more excited. She hugged him tightly, and under the gaze of the other two people in the room.
Hephaestus had a subtle expression on her face, wondering if she should remind Hestia, but thinking that her lazy friend finally had to do something serious, she pondered for a moment and still said nothing.
On the other hand, Ryuu, who had initially decided to speak less and hide, suddenly couldn't sit still.
Her face darkened, and she immediately stood up and pulled Shun to her side, protecting him behind her like a hen protecting her chicks, staring sharply at the detestable goddess in front of her.
"You are the famous Virgin Goddess in heaven, Hestia, right?"
Ryuu's words made Hestia puff out her chest proudly.
"That's right, it's me. It seems you understand very well."
As a member of the Astraea Familia, Ryuu certainly understood. Astraea, Hestia, and Artemis are the three Virgin Goddesses, and they have a very good relationship with each other.
[Translator's Note: Isn't it Athena? Astraea is the Goddess of Justice...]
She had also heard the fact that her main god had a nice and lazy friend.
"How about you don't choose a Familia, join my Familia with him, as the first member and leader of the Hestia Familia."
Hestia was still speaking confidently, but Ryuu's eyes sparkled, and she had been waiting for this sentence and asked:
"That means the Hestia Familia doesn't get any help from its seniors and can only struggle and explore on its own, right?"
Hestia looked guilty.
Especially since her Familia had no financial support, so she had to buy equipment and weapons herself.
Hestia was immediately brought back to her true form and made a gesture of wiping sweat.
"In other words, the Hestia Familia is actually not as good as most Familias nowadays, right?"
Hestia felt so guilty that she almost buried her little head between her breasts.
"Does the Hestia Familia have its own residence?"
Hestia was completely sunk, and she knelt on the ground helplessly, as if she was about to turn into stone.
Although Ryuu didn't want to interfere with Shun's choice, she didn't want to see this foolish child being deceived by this unfortunate goddess.
She turned her head to look at Shun.
"That's the problem. If you join the Hestia Familia, you'll be like working alone and you won't get any support, either material or manpower."
"Joining a Familia is a very important thing. Humans have both good and bad strengths, strong and weak. So does a Familia. You must be careful in choosing this aspect."
At this moment, Ryuu was like a stay-at-home older sister, teaching Shun.
On the other hand, Hestia, who was already sunk, silently lowered her head. After Ryuu's words, she was worried that the young man would never join her Familia.
Even Hephaestus beside her thought so.
To the surprise of the three women, Shun nodded and then asked Hestia:
"Hestia, what is your philosophy in forming a Familia?"
"Familia philosophy?"
Hestia looked at Shun, not expecting him to ask her.
"Mm, for me as a solo, it doesn't matter if the Familia members are poor, famous, have enough manpower, or have weapons to help."
"Whether it's fame, wealth, or personnel, I have the ability to make this Familia the best."
As Shun said this, his voice was calm as if he was telling the truth.
"So for me, the most important thing is a Familia that matches my philosophy."
"In my opinion, so-called Familia members are friends who can appreciate each other's personalities and laugh together regardless of race or appearance. They are partners who deserve respect and trust, and they are Familia members who will never be separated."
"Hestia, this is the Familia I want."