The goddess nodded in approval, then stepped over to Xien and looked at the freshly forged weapon in his hands. With a tone of long-forgotten wonder, she asked:
"What is it called…? May I see it?"
"Candlelight."
Xien had no reason to refuse a request from a goddess like her.
Without hesitation, he handed the weapon over and gave its name. As if responding to the call, Candlelight trembled faintly in his hand.
"A lovely name. And as I thought… it is a holy sword. Tsubaki, to think you've already reached this level… congratulations."
Running her fingers lightly along the blade, Hephaestus understood its nature at once through the divine sight and perception unique to the goddess of smithing. Her face filled with admiration and disbelief. She knew exactly what a weapon like this represented.
"Thank you, Lady Hephaestus."
"So you're Xien?"
"Yes, Lady Hephaestus. It's my first time meeting you. An honor."
Xien offered a simple, respectful greeting. From what he knew, this goddess deserved his regard. Even among the gods, she belonged to the rare few who were truly pure at heart.
Seeing such a courteous child, the goddess smiled.
"Hello to you as well. And congratulations. You now possess a holy sword."
"A holy sword?"
"That's right. A weapon forged through craftsmanship that surpasses human limits and brushes against the domain of the gods. Normally, only a god could create such a weapon. They are also called divine-forged armaments."
She tapped the blade lightly, and a clear, ringing note echoed out, as if it resonated straight through the heart.
"Unlike ordinary weapons or magic swords, it combines the strengths of both while carrying neither of their weaknesses. These are sacred weapons—arms bestowed by the gods and used by the heroes of old to battle mighty foes."
"Candlelight may still fall short of the famous weapons of antiquity, but there is no doubt that, as something forged by mortal hands, it has undergone a qualitative transformation and touched that realm."
That was what moved Hephaestus the most.
She had never expected her own captain to take this step now. Whether the birth of this weapon had been chance or fate, the result was the same: Tsubaki had crossed the threshold and become someone worthy of being called a divine smith.
And she was only in her twenties.
The goddess's heart swelled with pride, though a trace of worry inevitably rose with it. Just as she was about to say something—
"So that's how it is. Then congratulations, Tsubaki. At the very least, this should count as enough of a great deed, right?"
Xien gave the dwarf smith a thumbs-up, his face full of genuine delight at her breakthrough.
Tsubaki lifted her chin higher than usual, a little smug as she answered,
"That goes without saying. And this time, I really owe you."
Unbeknownst to her, this was exactly what Xien had been aiming for. The next instant, he sidled up beside her with all the shameless energy of a lackey and asked with a flattering grin,
"Since it's turned out this well, how about waiving the forging fee? That bill has to be pretty terrifying, right?"
Tsubaki burst out laughing.
She truly had not expected to see this side of him.
Without the slightest concern for appearances, she looped an arm around his neck and pulled him close. His face was instantly pressed against something distinctly soft and impossible to ignore.
Only one thought flashed through his head.
So soft.
"Hahaha… what are you even talking about? There's no way I'd make you pay for something like this. I'm covering all the material costs this time, and on top of that, I owe you one."
"Seriously? Then that's great news. That bill nearly scared me to death just now… Wait, maybe mind the boundary between men and women a little? This is way, way too close!"
The moment he heard it was free, Xien relaxed in relief—but the softness grazing his cheek from such an intimate distance made his face go bright red. He could even feel his nose getting hot.
Tsubaki, meanwhile, had no intention of letting him off easy. If anything, she tightened her grip, pressing him even closer and making the experience feel like being shoved into the softest pillow in the world.
"You brat. The most famous healer in Orario, and you still care this much about a bit of money?"
"What can I say? I was poor for too long…"
Hephaestus looked at the two idiots in utter speechlessness. It was as though, in their eyes, a holy sword mattered less than the price of the materials.
And yet, seeing them like this, she let out a quiet, relieved smile.
The worst outcome had not come to pass.
Neither of them had been consumed by the power they now held.
She had worried for nothing.
If Xien had known what the goddess was thinking, he would probably have smiled with perfect confidence.
To him, even a holy sword was just that—a weapon. Nothing more.
What mattered to him was not that it was a holy sword, but that its name was Candlelight. It had been his companion for a long time now.
To Xien, his own strength would always matter more. Gaining a holy sword only improved his efficiency in battle. Nothing about it changed what truly counted.
After all, with the kind of secrets he already carried, any one of them was stranger and more terrifying than a single holy sword. Under those circumstances, thinking a mere weapon could make him lose himself was almost laughable.
As for Tsubaki, the rough-and-ready temperament of a dwarf combined with the realization she had gained through this experience had elevated her state of mind. In her eyes, Candlelight's completion simply meant it had become a finished work.
What mattered to her was never the work already forged, but the ones still waiting in her mind to be born.
A single holy sword was nothing but part of the road she had already walked.
It was not enough to make her stop.
When all was said and done, Xien left Hephaestus's shop without paying a single valis.
He even walked away with a beautifully made scabbard as a bonus, and on top of that, he was granted Hephaestus Familia's highest-tier guest privilege—the right to commission a weapon directly from the goddess herself.
After understanding the entire process, Hephaestus had been fully in favor of Tsubaki waiving the fee.
Money could always be earned again.
Insight and opportunity could not.
Tsubaki's breakthrough had been made possible in no small part because of Xien, and Hephaestus Familia was hardly short on funds. Waiving the costs did not hurt them in the slightest. If anything, they seemed almost eager for the chance to do it again.
If Xien could provide another such opportunity in the future, it felt like they might even be willing to pay him for it.
To fleece Hephaestus Familia in reverse was no small feat. Xien might well have been the first person in Orario to manage it.
Still, it was a pity that such a thing was unlikely to happen again.
Even if Xien wanted to provide another opportunity like this, Hephaestus Familia probably did not have a second person capable of grasping it. Their other members, no matter their talent or dedication, were unlikely to seize a chance on that level.
Back on his own side, it was time to talk about his newly reforged weapon.
Candlelight, after its rebirth, possessed not only thoroughly tested physical performance, but two additional abilities.
The first was transformation.
At Xien's will, it could shift into another weapon form within a second—blade, spear, bow, staff, and more. Each form would display the corresponding traits of that weapon, giving Xien far greater versatility in battle.
The second was something else entirely.
A cannon shot.
Yes, he could now use Candlelight to store magical power and release it as a large-scale energy blast. Its strength depended on the charging time and the amount of power poured into it, while the element of the attack would match the nature of the energy used.
The downside was its appetite.
One standard blast would consume nearly half of Xien's mana reserves, while the resulting attack was powerful enough to wipe out an entire squad.
Another savage mana hog.
As for why it had developed that ability, the answer lay in the perfect mutual understanding between wielder and weapon during the forging process. Guided by Xien's own subconscious sense of what a holy sword ought to be, Candlelight had grown in that direction when it ascended.
The explanation made Xien bury his face in his hands.
He had not expected his inner image of a holy sword to be that embarrassingly straightforward.
Still, it was undeniably a useful trump card.
He had already tested it and discovered that he could fuel it with Abundance power as well as magic. Which meant he could theoretically unleash a condensed blast of pure Abundance energy through it—something akin to the great attack of the Abundant Deer.
He had not tried it yet.
But the very thought was exciting.
This outing had yielded far more than expected, and Xien could not help feeling pleased.
Once he returned to the familia residence, however, he did not relax.
He immediately threw himself into the production of healing elixirs.
That, too, had been part of his preparations.
He wanted to make a batch large enough to be used in emergencies. Loki Familia's members did not have life-seeds inside them, which meant he could not support multiple separated groups as freely as he could with Astraea Familia. More potions would make a real difference.
The Astraea members may not have had much to do in the last few days, but that did not mean they had been idle.
Far from it.
The reason was simple.
Xien.
Without anyone quite realizing it, the little brother of the familia had gradually infected the rest of them with his relentless workaholic tendencies. Combined with his frightening rate of growth, it felt as though an invisible hand was constantly driving them forward, pushing them into the current whether they liked it or not.
By observing the way Xien approached things, they each began to understand what they ought to be focusing on, and before long they all slipped into a state of all-out effort.
The clearest examples were Ryuu and Kaguya.
Ryuu was desperate not to be left behind by Xien. She wanted the strength to protect him at any time.
Kaguya, meanwhile, treated Ryuu—whom she had long regarded as her rival—as the person she had to keep up with, and quietly threw herself into the competition.
The others, influenced by Xien and those two, gradually got swept up in the tide as well. Every last one of them became absurdly enthusiastic.
Even what used to be their ordinary days off were often traded in for more training.
It left Alise under immense pressure.
Being defeated by Xien, a blatant monster, was one thing. But now the rest of the familia was starting to challenge her "authority" as captain too? That was a disaster.
In a situation where standing still meant falling behind, Alise had no choice but to grit her teeth, put away her beloved "collection," and obediently join the grand army of internal competition.
And the culprit behind all of it—
Xien himself—
was completely unaware.
The next morning, Xien set off in full gear under the eyes of his familia—full of blessings and complaints in equal measure.
Once he disappeared into the distance, Ryuu went back to prepare as well.
Even if she could not accompany him, she had no intention of falling behind. She too would continue to improve herself.
And that, in turn, triggered yet another chain reaction.
Watching her own captain near tears as she was dragged into the torrent of competition, the goddess Astraea waved her people off with a gentle smile, doing her best to suppress her laughter. Seeing all of her children working so hard filled her with pride.
But once they were fully out of sight, she could no longer hold back and burst into delighted laughter.
Every last member of Astraea Familia had become more lively and lovable than ever.
When Xien arrived at the gathering point, he saw Finn and the others without surprise.
A quick glance around told him there were quite a few people—several dozen, easily—and the main force was largely present.
It seemed they really were mobilizing the full strength of the familia.
As expected, he also saw many unfamiliar faces. Judging by their ages and overall impression, these were likely the older generation of Loki Familia adventurers, different from the ones he remembered from the main story.
Walking up to the three leaders, Xien greeted them.
"I'm not late, am I?"
"Not at all. There's still time. Our supply inspection isn't quite finished yet."
Finn's smile was as confident and gentle as ever. His first impression was impeccable, and combined with that handsome face, it was no wonder so many girls admired him. His charisma really was maxed out.
"In that case, perfect timing. Go ahead and divide these up too. Think of it as my contribution."
As he spoke, Xien lifted a hand. The red pinwheel in his eye flashed, and space beside him split open under the astonished gazes of the three leaders. From the rift, he pulled out a sack nearly half a meter wide and set it gently on the ground.
"This is…?"
Sensing a familiar aura, Riveria could not help crouching down and opening it. Inside were rows of emerald-green vials.
The moment she felt the life brimming within them, she swallowed involuntarily.
"A batch of healing elixirs I rushed out. They're a little better than panacea. Consider them an extra layer of insurance for this expedition. There are always situations where I can't be everywhere at once."
Even in a large expedition like this, groups would sometimes end up separated. And Xien was only one person.
"So that's it… I see. These are the ones used in that incident before… Wait, you're telling me you made all of these?!"
Finn recalled the report from the earlier attack—Astraea Familia had used a special elixir to save the wounded. Had Xien made them back then?
And they were superior to panacea?
That was absurd.
His estimation of the boy rose yet another notch.
And that quantity… it looked like there were enough for every member of the expedition to have one, with more left over besides. To produce this much in such a short time—did that mean the process was simple? The cost cheap? Or both?
Since when had Astraea Familia become this well-off?
The more information Finn extracted from the situation, the more bitterly envious he became. Even leaving Xien's combat strength aside, this alone would make him the sort of person any familia in the city would desperately want to recruit.
At the same time, Finn understood even more clearly what Xien meant to Astraea Familia.
"Of course. I'm a healer. If I didn't have something special to show, how could I justify introducing myself that way?"
(You really didn't have to put it like that…)
All three leaders could only force awkward smiles at his shamelessness.
"From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. This is an important gift to us. We owe you—and Astraea Familia—a debt."
"There's no need to be so formal. Just fulfill my wish as a healer and bring everyone back safely. That'll be more than enough to repay me."
"Then I give you my word."
The two clasped hands with matching confidence.
The others around them did not know the details, but simply seeing that scene was enough to lift their spirits, and cheerful cries broke out among the assembled members.
A good relationship between both sides would make the Dungeon that much safer for everyone.
....
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