/Back to the present…/

"I've been here several times, but I don't think I've ever entered this place." Said Silver as he gazed at the decorated wooden gate

/CREAAK!/

'With the sound of wood creaking, the big wooden gates opened, allowing Silver to enter the private house.'

'After the gate opened, two well-equipped guards appeared, one of them said:'

"We've been waiting for you, please follow me." Said one of the guards

'Silver nodded and followed the guard, soon enough, the guard stopped in front of a room in a deep section of the mansion.'

/Whispers… please… Whispers…/

'Silver heard the sound of what seemed to be a light argument coming from inside, however, the room's soundproofing was rather strong, so he couldn't really tell what the contents of the conversation were.'

/Knock Knock/

/Creak/

'Silver knocked on the door, and soon after, a small Goddess opened the door, and upon seeing who it was, grabbed Silver's arm and pulled without any hesitation…'

/CLACK!/

'After he was pulled inside, the door was closed and locked, deeply surprising the guard outside, but he closed his eyes, turned around, and left.'

…

/Inside the room…/

"SILVER!! Please… Help me here!..." Exclaimed Hestia as she clung onto Silver

'Behind Hestia was Hephaestus, the beautiful mature red-haired woman, watching all of this with a tired expression.'

'She looked at Silver and shrugged, she was clearly fed up with this.'

"..."

Even Hephaestus is fed-up with her...

"Calm down Hestia, explain to me what happened first…" Said Silver as he shook Hestia's shoulders

'As Hestia cried, Silver took a look at the place around him.'

'It was a nice office. It was greatly decorated, filled with all sorts of shelves containing all sorts of documents, probably smithing orders and papers related to her Familia.'

'Silver knew this was Hephaestus main office, and if he wasn't mistaken, somewhere behind one of these shelves is a secret room where she forges.'

'It also included her prized hammer, the one she used to forge her treasures…'

"T-Th-This… Demonic Paper!" She said with a dark expression as she raised a piece of white paper with her trembling hands to Silver, taking him out of his thoughts

'The paper was decorated with golden ornaments, the lines on the paper were a glossy black.'

"... I see what this is all about now." Said Silver as he read the paper

"What do we do now?!" Said Hestia as she trembled

"First, sit down and relax, let me say high to the lady over there." Said Silver as he patted Hestia's head

"..."

'Hestia suddenly froze in place.'

Why do I feel like a child?

"Because you keep acting like one." Said Silver as he turned towards Hephaestus

"OI?!" Exclaimed Hestia as she pouted and pulled Silver's sleeves

I swear… He is reading my mind!

'Whatever was the truth, Silver would never admit to it…'

'And while Hestia pouted on the couch, Silver did a magnificent bow and said:'

"It is my pleasure to meet the famous God of the forge, Hephaestus." Said Silver as he chuckled slightly

"You won't get anything by acting nice you know." Said Hephaestus with a thin smile

"What a shame." Said Silver as shook her hand

'The two exchanged a handshake.'

"Thank you for accepting me here today, I have always wanted to thank you for everything you did for us so far." Said Silver as he bowed once again

"Ho? You can still thank me after seeing that bill?" Said Hephaestus with a smile as she turned around to pick some tea

'Hestia nodded as she sat on the couch.'

"300 Million may be high, but I don't think it is that big considering the quality of that Halberd.' Said Silver as he sat on the couch next to Hestia

"True, I should have raised the value a bit more." Said Hephaestus as she filled two cups with tea

"But in reality, that weapon can also be considered to be worthless. Since it only has value in your hands anyway." She said as she shrugged

"But isn't that the case for most weapons anyway?" Asked Silver

After all, most of this high-end equipment is made on-demand, so it would be hard for it to fit someone else.

"That is true, but different from this Halberd, those have resale value, while this one doesn't." Said Hephaestus

"That's why I decided to price it at a modest, 300 Million Valis." Said Hephaestus with a smile as she placed the teacups on a small table in front of the couch

'She sat on a chair facing the couch and relaxed.'

'Hestia cringed as she heard that value once again, even after a few hours, she couldn't believe it.'

"Can I be blunt and ask what you two decided?" Asked Silver

'Hephaestus placed her teacup down and said:'

"Seeing your confident face reassures me that I was right in investing in you." She said with a smile

"You won't regret it anytime soon." He said with a smile as he tasted the tea

/Slurp/

BITTTTTTER…

'But his face remained professional.'

'All of this was noticed by Hephaestus.'

Did he actually… Drank this tea without adding sugar?

Oh my… He does have some unusual and refined tastes…

'She kept this as a note on her head before proceeding to say:'

"I am well aware that it would be very hard for the current Hestia Familia to pay for my work in a short amount of time, so we decided to divide the total amount and spread it across several years, free of extra fees of course." Said Hephaestus

This is quite normal, even a big Familia like Loki's would have difficulty in paying this amount at once.

It isn't uncommon for them to pay over several weeks to months.

Although, if they were to put in some extra effort, Ais and her group would probably be able to pay this amount within a month by working hard... Perhaps even earlier.

"Free of fees?... How long are we talking about?" Asked Silver

"Hum… 540 payments over the course of 45 years." She said as she placed her index finger on her cheek

/Ploft…/

'Hestia collapsed on the couch, her mouth foaming a bit.'

"..."

So much drama…

"I see, that would make it around 555 thousand Valis monthly right?" Asked Silver with a calm face as he shook Hestia so she could calm down a bit

"You seem pretty calm." She said, surprised

"Hum… We could say I am confident in myself, I guess. I may not be able to fork out several tens of millions of Valis, but I can fork out a few each month if I work to the bone."

I don't need to divide the loot with anyone, and if I go to the lower Middle floors with a few commissions every day, I should make quite an amount daily…

And as I level up and increase my daily earnings... It isn't impossible to pay her within a few years.

And considering this is a piece of gear I will use my entire life... It is worth it.

The problem is the Familia... I need to make sure this debt is kept a secret otherwise people won't join...

I will just say the debt is solely mine if someone asks.

"Since you said it is without fees, there must be some extra conditions, right?" Asked Silver

"Sigh… Unfortunately, yes, I do run a business here after all." Said Hephaestus

"As a front payment, Hestia has agreed to sell me Tityos properties for a little below market price and mortgage part of her assets." She said

'Silver frowned.'

"I do understand Tityos part, but I don't understand the second part, didn't we agree to not mortgage anything within the mansion?" He said he looked at Hestia on the side

We can't receive new adventurers if we sell most of our furniture…

"What can I do? The value we own is simply too much!" Sad Hestia in a low tone as she fondled her hair

"Sigh… If we add this to the properties, how many months would this pay for? Can we not pay with the furniture of the mansion?" Asked Silver as he dropped a few large bags on the table

'She already knew of his inventory ability, but seeing it always surprises her.'

'Hephaestus checked the contents with a surprised look and said:'

"This… Well, it's definitely enough." She said as she closed the bags

"How much is in there?" Said Hestia in a curious tone

"50 Million Valis." Said Silver as he took another sip of the tea

It's still fucking Bitter…

"5-5-50 Million?! Since when did we have this much money?!" She said as she pulled Silver's shirt

"Since after the War game." Said Silver in a calm tone

"But how?!" She asked

'Hephaestus was also rather curious.'

"Isn't it simple? I only had people bet on me... For a small fee. It was a Win-Win situation." He said as he chuckled

It is hard to carry a Mega Mind such as mine...

It's just a shame I couldn't gain more despite the odds...

Just because they were high that doesn't mean I can gain 30 times the value I bet...

Otherwise, I would've gone to a single casino and betted everything I had on myself and reaped hundreds of millions of Vallis... The odds were very high in some places after all.

But would a normal entertainment facility even be able to pay such a massive amount?

That was why I had to employ people to bet smaller amounts at different places... I will have to thank that Elf for his help later...

"..."

"..."

'Hestia looked at Silver with a blank expression while Hephaestus let out a long sigh.'

"What? What I did was ingenious! I knew I was going to win, so I bet everything I had!" Said Silver in a proud tone

"With the help of a certain friend, I contacted several people to bet all around Orario and in the end, I turned 10 Million Valis into 50!" Said Silver with a smile

"..."

'Hestia shook her head as she took a big gulp of her sweet tea to calm down, while Hephaestus just sweated a little as she let out an awkward smile.'

Sometimes he is very mature, and other times, he is just…

'Hephaestus shook her head as she smiled.'

"With this plus the properties… It amounts to around 55 Million Valis." She said

"Tityos mansion only costs 5 million?" Asked Silver in doubt

"Well, it isn't exactly located in a good area, it isn't far nor is it close to Babel." Said Hephaestus

"The price comes mostly from the good state of the house and the fact it was renovated recently." She said

A normal house costs around 600-800K Valis, so a mansion costing 7-8 times that seems quite fitting.

It's not on the same scale as Loki's Manor and Apollo's Mansion...

"I see… So, is it settled?" He asked

'Hephaestus shook her head as she went to her office table and took out a long object enveloped in cloth.'

"There is one more term to the contract between me and Hestia… Or should I say, between our Familias." She said as she unwrapped the object

"There is? Tell me then please." Said Silver as he gazed at the object

'It was a bow.'

"During the course of the payment, the Hestia Familia has an exclusivity contract with our Familia, you know what that is right?" She asked Silver

'Silver nodded.'

This can be… Both bad and good.

It can be good since now, the members of the Hestia Familia are now given priority over normal commissions given to the Hephaestus Familia, unless the blacksmith is working on something for another contract.

But it can also be bad since we can't give commissions to another blacksmith Familias… And some people may feel… Restricted by this.

I will have to properly analyze the contract with Hestia and see what are the terms.

"So, in order to commemorate our new re… Relationship… I had this made for you." Said Hephaestus as she gave the object in the cloth to Silver

'As she said that, she turned her face to the side to hide her embarrassment.'

'Silver accepted the bow and analyzed it.'

'The shaft was made out of wood while the string was made out of a pure white material.'

"This is?..." Said Silver as he recognized the material

"It's the material you gave me last week, I had one of my children turn it into a bow." She said

In truth, I was the one who made it, but since this is quite a simple work, I can't say that it was me… Arg!

How unsettling!

"This is too much you know… There is no need for extra gifts, now I feel bad for not giving you something in return." Said Silver as he thought deeply

'Hephaestus chuckled, expecting this reaction already.'

"There's no need for that, if you want to repay me then get stronger and pay for the previous item I forged, we can talk about other things after that." She said

"As for the bow itself, the shaft is made from the wood of a strong tree that grows in the Middle floors. The string came from the monster you hunted and the rest was the work of the manufacturer." She said as she pointed at the bow

"So honestly speaking, this bow was pretty inexpensive." She said

"It has the attributes, /Durable/ and /Hard/, meaning, it is pretty difficult to break this bow, but it also means its wielder will need higher strength to pull it." She said

"It can be used as a club in an emergency…" She said in a low tone

"Or… You could say the bow can say this bow is quite potent." Said Silver with a thin smile as he got up from the couch

"Thank you for everything." Said Silver as he bowed to Hephaestus

I will also have to thank Hestia later, I can just imagine how much she begged her so all of this could be possible in the first place…

Can't let her hard work go unnoticed… She did a lot of things recently, the pressure was in no way light.

'Silver raised his head with a confident smile on his face.'

'Hephaestus also smiled as she got up and turned around.'

"If you have any future commissions, you are welcome to come here anytime, I can always assign you a Blacksmith later." She said as she sat on her office table

"Ho? How difficult would it be to commission you?... Wait! I didn't mean it like that!" Said Silver when he noticed the two Goddesses expressions

'Hephaestus looked at the ground in shame while Hestia jumped and started to 'attack' Silver.'

"..."

'Hephaestus' red face slowly went back to normal as she chuckled and turned to face the two in front of her.'

'Hestia was now pinching Silver as she screamed: Even my friend?!'

'And Silver just tried his best to calm her down while he said: It was a mistake… Now, can you get off me?'

'She smiled as she felt the scene was really heartwarming since apart from Hestia and Tsubaki, she never had the chance to just relax like this.'

'So she opened her mouth and said:'

"Unfortunately for you I am a bit too occupied with my normal work already."

You are going to have to work a bit more before I am even 'allowed' to have you as a customer.

'Hephaestus wasn't anyone, if people were to know she was showing preferential treatment to a small adventurer like Silver, then her image would take a considerable hit.'

'Not only hers but her entire Familia's image. There was a lot at stake, even if it went against her personal wishes.'

'And in any case, she feels as if her time working for him isn't that far away…'

…

/Somewhere below Orario…/

'In a large dark room, a single man rested on a high up throne on top of a set of stone stairs.'

'The only light in the room where the pairs of magical torches on the left and right of the throne.'

/Step step…/

'The silence of the room was broken when a figure clad in a dark cloak emerged from the shadows.'

'The face of the person underneath could not be seen.'

'His feet were hidden under a long dark veil while he had a pair of metal gauntlets on his hands.'

"As you said, 'he' has returned." Said the figure as its voice echoed in the room

"..."

'The man on the throne opened his eyes and gazed at the figure clad in dark.'

'Now that his face was raised and under the light, you could see that he was only an old man.'

"Did he infiltrate the city? How did he enter?" Asked the old man

"He… He did not even try to hide, or perhaps, he expected that no one would connect him to this event." Said the figure

"However, I did lose track of him once he entered Orario, although I don't think I was found out." It said

"Hum… Does he think no one remembers? Just because a few decades have passed?" Said the old man as he thought

"What about the boy at the center of all of this? I have heard his name a few times in the past week." Said the old man

"Nothing out of the ordinary. After the War game, Mellios Silver has continued his daily activities such as going to the Dungeon. Currently, he should be preparing to recruit some adventurers into his Familia." Said the figure

"I see…"

'The old man thought for a while and said:'

"What do you think we should do?" Asked the old man

"Hum… Although the easiest course of action would be to just get the item from him in order to safe keep it, I do believe he is… Worthy of it… At least so far, he has proven to have the necessary qualities to hold it." Said the figure

"But that does not remove the fact he is currently not capable of holding onto it… And there are signs that Loki has taken an interest in it as well." Said the figure

"Even Loki… How troublesome…" Said the old man as he frowned

So that was why she visited me that day…

"Should I contact them?" Asked the figure

"... Not yet, I don't like to think about how Loki would react if she were to learn that the man behind everything that happened to her recently was in the city..." Replied the old man

What a headache that would be...

"I don't wish to turn Orario into a battleground for such powers. However, if things do start to look grim…" Said the old man as he nodded

"And to think all of this stems from the fact that he doesn't know what sort of item he has in his hands, else, considering how cautious he normally is, I am sure that item won't have even seen the light of the day." Said the figure

"Then why not say it to him?" Asked the old man

"... I do not think it would be beneficial to all of us if we just shared with him the origin of the item, I am still unsure of his personality and true motives." Said the figure

"That is the only thing holding me back."

'After thinking for a few moments the old man said:'

"For now, keep watch over him. If things take a wrong turn, it would be better to get in contact with him to see if he can pass it onto us." Said the old man

If you wish to believe in him, then I shall do it as well.

"Be it by force or not..."

Although I would like to avoid force…

'The figure nodded.'

"What should we do in regards to Hermes?" Asked the figure

'The old man in the throne frowned.'

"He is the last person that needs to learn about this… If he hasn't already." Said the old man

"For now, just cooperate with them in regards to the surveillance of that man and make sure to report to me in case they make any suspicious movements." He said

This should be enough to get his attention away from that boy for now…

"Also…"

'The old man had to stop there and think for a very very long time before he said as he let out a sigh.'

"Call Freya." Said the old man with a hesitant face

It's a shame that in all of Orario, the only Familia that is capable enough of dispatching such a powerful enemy without causing panic is hers…

"But would her Familia accept such a request?" Asked the figure

"They will, Freya owes me quite a lot."

I turned a blind eye to her 'hobbies' many times already…

"But I still find it difficult that the person at the center of all of this is just a young man…" Said the old man with a thin smile

Or is this the result of her meddling? Just another one of her 'Hobbies'?

"Perhaps this is what they call, "Jumping out of the fire into the tiger's mouth"?" Said the figure as he raised a finger

"That wouldn't be wrong…" Said the old man as he rested his head on the throne

"Than… I shall take my leave… Ouranos." Said the figure as he left the room

"..."

'And once again, the room returned to darkness…'

"..."

'The old man closed his eyes and entered into deep thought.'

"A lot of things have been happening recently…"

Be it 1000 years ago or today… 1000 years later.

"..."

When did it start?

'Ouranos remembered that day 12 years ago...'

... Heroes will rise amidst chaos.

"I pray that this time, not many lives will be lost…"

…

.

.

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Notes