Chapter 20 20: The Molten Festival

"Tsubaki, you're back?"

Inside the scorching hot workshop, the forging goddess Hephaestus heard footsteps behind her and turned to look.

What came into view was a tall woman with tied-back black hair and tanned skin.

Like Hephaestus, she wore an eyepatch over her left eye, almost like a mirror image of the goddess.

But her finely shaped features made it easy to tell that she came from the Far East.

"Yeah. I was out on expedition with the Loki Familia for several months, but I finally had some time to come back and check in."

The woman called Tsubaki spoke in an easy tone, revealing the familiarity she shared with her goddess.

In truth, she was the captain of the Hephaestus Familia—the adventurer known as the Cyclops.

"Where's that little guy who's always hanging around helping you at the forge?"

Tsubaki looked around the workshop for a moment but couldn't find the familiar figure from her memory.

"I gave him a few days off."

Knowing exactly who she meant, Hephaestus unconsciously glanced to one side of the forge.

Just a few days ago, there had still been a figure there who often accompanied her.

"He's officially joined the Familia now, so he has the right to choose whether he wants to become an adventurer or a smith."

"Oh?"

Tsubaki looked sideways at her goddess, her tone tinged with teasing.

"I think it'd be better if you just used some forceful methods to keep him by your side."

"When I came in just now, you were clearly spacing out. You weren't even swinging the hammer properly."

Hearing that, Hephaestus let out a sigh.

"…It's always sad when a child leaves the nest and becomes independent, but I can't command them to break their own wings just because of that."

"Enough about that. You came back at just the right time."

"How so?"

Tsubaki rolled up her sleeves and instinctively reached for her smithing tools.

"You want me to lend you a hand?"

"No. Today just happens to be the day of the Molten Festival."

Hephaestus patted the one-eyed girl on the shoulder in reminder.

"You interact with the Loki Familia quite a bit. Are you going to invite them to the festival?"

"Mm… better not."

After thinking for a moment, Tsubaki shook her head slightly.

"To be honest, they prefer working with the Goibniu Familia. I only happened to join them on that expedition."

The Goibniu Familia was also a Familia renowned for forging.

In truth, the quality of the products from the two Familias was about the same, the main difference lay in their approach.

Hephaestus specialized in producing standardized equipment with a consistent, high-quality finish.

The Goibniu Familia, on the other hand, leaned more toward custom-making gear tailored to an adventurer's strength and combat style.

Because of that, the more powerful members of the Loki Familia favored the latter.

The weapons and armor used by the elite upper ranks of the Familia were almost all forged by the Goibniu Familia.

Only the mid- and lower-tier members tended to use products from the Hephaestus Familia.

"Though I did hear that the Sword Princess was invited."

Suddenly, Tsubaki seemed to remember something and spoke with interest.

"The person who invited her is called Drake. If I remember right, that's the little guy's name, isn't it?"

"That's right."

Hephaestus froze for a moment, apparently unable to imagine how Drake had gotten to know a member of the Loki Familia.

And not just any member, but the highly popular adventurer known as the Sword Princess.

"Well, well… I knew the kid had it in him."

Tsubaki wore a look that said 'Just as I expected.'

"With a face like his, he can do whatever he wants. I wonder how much real skill he actually has."

"Don't make things too hard for him."

Hephaestus heard the excitement in Tsubaki's voice and sighed helplessly.

"You're a Level 5, a first-class adventurer. He only registered not long ago."

"What about in forging, then?"

"Compared to you, the best smith in all of Orario?"

"At the very least, he should be able to bring out something respectable at this year's Molten Festival."

The tall, healthy-skinned girl shrugged.

"After all, even I never got to stay by your side for as long as he did."

Hearing that, Hephaestus couldn't help retorting,

"And whose fault was that? You kept saying things like, 'A newly forged weapon needs real combat testing,' and then you'd run off into the Dungeon for months at a time."

"Well… my current level is thanks to that, too."

Tsubaki didn't care in the slightest. If anything, she sounded proud of it.

"When does the festival start? I can't wait to see the little guy's work."

"He specially invited the Sword Princess, so it can't be because he wants to embarrass himself in front of her, right?"

…

The venue for the Molten Festival had been set up by renting out the entire Colosseum.

Since the quality of forged works needed to be displayed properly, a wide-open venue was required, along with the most essential thing of all—targets.

The colosseum operated by the Ganesha Familia fulfilled all of those requirements.

Not only was it spacious and open enough that even thousands of people could attend without it feeling crowded, it could also provide live monsters captured from the Dungeon.

These monsters were kept firmly under the control of the Ganesha Familia to ensure they would not escape and cause trouble in Orario.

This kind of "monster economy" existed nowhere else in the Labyrinth City.

Because the Ganesha Familia also hosted the Monsterphilia, the Guild had granted them special permission to manage that business.

Once the Molten Festival began, aside from the Hephaestus Familia, who had reserved the venue, only those invited by members of the Familia would be allowed to enter the Colosseum and attend the festival.

At the entrance, a line had already formed, with people waiting to have their identities verified.

Just then, the line became restless due to the arrival of a certain adventurer.

"It seems Miss Ais is quite popular."

Feeling the burning stares coming from all around, Drake spoke with a straight face.

Walking beside him was none other than the Sword Princess in casual clothes.

Her golden hair swayed with her steps, and the glimpses of fair skin that showed between them, along with a beauty rivaling even that of a goddess, made quite the impression.

It was no wonder some male adventurers were glaring at Drake with murderous eyes.

"Is that so?" Ais replied lightly.

She probably wasn't even aware of what "popular" meant in that context.

"Still, thank you for inviting me."

"You already thanked me before, Miss Ais."

While registering their visit, Drake asked,

"By the way, why did you accept my invitation?"

The blond Sword Princess answered without hesitation.

"My weapon… was taken in for repairs."

"Before the next expedition, I need to find a spare weapon."

After thinking for a moment, Ais added,

"Preferably a cheap one. Repairs are expensive after all."

"Loki has already scolded me several times."

As one of the elite main combatants of her Familia, Ais's weapon was naturally a high-end custom piece made by the Goibniu Familia.

If equipment of that caliber was damaged… repairing it was both time-consuming and extremely expensive.

No wonder Loki had scolded her over it!

"So even the Sword Princess has trouble with money?" Drake asked with some curiosity.

Ais calmly looked at him and softly spoke a number.

"Forty million valis."

"What does that mean?"

"The repair cost of Desperate. Also my current debt."

"…All right, I think I understand."

Drake looked at the Sword Princess beside him with sympathy.

That amount of money was enough for any ordinary person in Orario, along with their ancestors for generations, to live in luxury.

Who would have thought that a beautiful girl her age would already be carrying such an enormous debt?

Still, with the Sword Princess's fame and strength, she would probably clear that debt in the Dungeon before long.

"In that case, I have a small request."

After thinking for a moment, Drake made a suggestion.

"The work I brought today for the Molten Festival just so happens to be a sword."

"So I was wondering… would you be willing to serve as its tester, Miss Sword Princess?"

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