Ryu, however, earnestly placed the dishes on the table, then affirmed his actions in an equally serious tone:
"Returning alive makes one an excellent adventurer. I believe he'll grow a lot from this experience."
Lefiya, looking at her companions, nodded quickly in agreement.
"Mr. Fron is very strong, Miss Ryu, truly."
'It's worth noting that after the young girl said this, none of the first-tier adventurers of the Loki Familia refuted her—including that arrogant wolf——'
'There's something unusual here, meow——'
-----------------------------------
Ryuu straightened up and exchanged glances with the other girls. This time, it was their turn to be curious, wondering what exactly had happened.
However, the Familia companions didn't say a word, simply smiling without speaking.
It was all Loki and the three executives' idea — hoping to keep attention off of Fron before he fully grew, so as not to put too much pressure on him.
Everyone laughed it off and moved on to their own conversations.
Meanwhile, the protagonist, who had just finished reading at home, was completely unaware of everything that had happened in the tavern. He would never have imagined that he had become a topic of conversation, and that his only blemish had been exposed.
This incident might become quite a dark history for him.
He carefully set aside the precious book and got out of bed to move around a bit.
Perhaps due to the increase in his stats, his recovery was much faster than Riveria had anticipated.
Aside from his ribs, which still ached slightly, his body was mostly fine — at least, there was no problem with moving freely, as long as he didn't engage in intense combat.
Standing by the window, gazing at Orario's night view, Fron muttered to himself:
"Tomorrow, I'll visit the Hephaestus Familia. It's about time to put development abilities on the agenda."
After stretching a bit, he changed into a set of black clothes sponsored by Raul, grabbed a portable magic stone lamp, and once again slipped into the library to continue his studies.
He completely forgot about the side effects of the massive stat boost causing mind-body imbalance. When he finally remembered, he would surely regret it.
As the morning light began to shine on the city's giant walls, a figure was already training in the courtyard of Twilight Manor.
The figure continuously swung a wooden sword, golden hair flowing behind her, her clear golden eyes shining brightly.
'Sword Princess' Ais Wallenstein was swinging the wooden sword with strength worthy of her title, as the sound of the blade slicing through the air created a beautiful symphony in the morning.
She had kept up this diligent training for seven or eight years without fail, rain or shine.
It was clear that the glory of the strong standing on stage could not exist without the sweat silently shed behind the scenes.
Creaaak—
The mansion door was gently pushed open, and a figure appeared on the staircase, wrapped in bandages, sporting dark circles under his eyes, and stretching with a big yawn as he greedily breathed in the morning air.
"Huh?"
Noticing the movement, Ais stopped, slightly tilting her head while still holding the sword, her doll-like face showing confusion.
"?"
Fron noticed her as well.
The two stared at each other in silence for a moment before the slightly chauvinistic young man started the conversation.
"What a coincidence, Ais. Do you always get up early to train?"
The girl put down her wooden sword, turned around, pursed her lips, and nodded, letting out a cute "Mm" through her nose. Then, she asked in a rare move:
"Fron, did you stay up all night in the library again?"
"..."
The young man scratched his head awkwardly and forced a bitter smile:
"Uh… how does everyone know?"
The girl slowly walked over and pointed with her delicate fingers at his sunken eyes, dark circles, and pale face.
"It's… obvious, even I can…"
She spoke a bit hesitantly, clearly trying to find the right words — quite a challenge for the usually quiet doll-like princess.
"Well, everyone's so strong. How could I catch up if I don't work hard? If I did nothing, how would I have the right to dream?"
"——You're amazing, Fron."
Once again, he was praised by the girl who made his heart flutter.
Blushing slightly, he touched his neck and quickly changed the subject.
"Ais, your training isn't over yet, right? Then I'll get going."
"Heading out so early — do you have business?"
"Ah, I'm going to visit the Hephaestus Familia to find a blacksmith."
The girl nodded, understanding his meaning.
He was probably looking for a blacksmith to make him a weapon —
"Ah, I plan to learn forging myself, to craft my own weapon. Isn't that kind of romantic?"
"?"
Crack—
Ais faintly felt like her emotionless mask had been shattered once again—
"Huh??"
The girl tilted her head in confusion and decided to ask Gareth about it later. Surely the dwarf would understand this kind of romance.
"Hey— Ais! Breakfast is ready!"
At that moment, Tiona waved and called out to her from the open-air corridor upstairs.
"Coming."
"Speaking of which, isn't that Fron? Heading out this early— rookie boy's a bit too motivated, huh? Kinda makes my body itch to move."
Tiona blinked and muttered to herself.
The Hephaestus Familia was not only the top forging faction in Orario, but also one of the foremost forging factions in the entire world.
In the dungeon city of Orario, the magic stone industrial district was located along the northeast street — or rather, the whole area was dedicated to the magic stone industry.
It included both workers hired from the Guild and blacksmiths from forging factions.
As a forging Familia, the Hephaestus Familia's headquarters was also located here.
After passing through the industrial district and asking around, Fron stood before their headquarters.
"Hello, this is the Hephaestus Familia headquarters. How can I help you?"
A guard politely approached Fron.
As a prestigious forging faction, countless people visited them daily — among them, other Familias, merchants, and even nobles from outside the city.
Since it was still early, Fron hadn't run into such a crowd.
"Ah, I'd like to ask about someone — Welf Crozzo. Could you call him out for me?"
"—Him?"
The guard looked surprised — that guy was quite the weirdo, refusing to forge magic swords despite his skill.
"Ah, please just tell him I'm not here to ask for a magic sword — I just want to meet him."
"No problem. And your name?"
"Fron Argon, from the Loki Familia."
"The Loki Familia??"
The guard's eyes changed slightly. Fron felt that the Familia name was even more useful than his name.
"Alright, I'll contact him right away. Please wait a moment."
Inside the smithy, where the clanging of hammers rang endlessly, a red-haired youth continuously swung his hammer at the glowing metal.
The burning furnace was heated to an awe-inspiring temperature with precious minerals from the dungeon depths called "Flame Stones."
Sweat flowed down his cheeks like streams and sizzled as it hit the ground.
"Welf, someone's looking for you."
"Didn't I tell you not to bother me? I'm not—"
"Ah, you brat, listen first. He's not here for a magic sword. Seems like it's something else."
"?"
The red-haired youth frowned, glanced once more at the messy metal surface he had been hammering, and clicked his tongue.
When Fron first met the heir of the Crozzo family, the latter looked as if he was pondering a difficult problem, wearing a sulky expression.
"Though it's not really the best time — how about grabbing a drink?"
"Sure."
The conversation between men was just that simple.