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"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" - Lao Tzu
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Before Ryuta "invited" the Alchemist
Walking along the streets of Orario, a trio of women who attracted the gaze of men suddenly stopped-
"Syr? What's wrong?"
One of the women, an elf with long silver hair, asked the human woman with short light-gray hair, Syr.
Syr had suddenly come to a halt, her movements causing both her companions, two elves, one with long silver hair, another with short green hair to stop as well.
"Heather… that… I- I saw him…" (>/////<) ♡
The silver haired elf, Heather, stared at her friend and coworker, her gaze shifting from her to the man that she was staring at-
'Hm? Black hair and red eyes? She likes that kind of guy?'
Heather did not know what to say, the man was eye-catching, really, the clothes he wore were quite… eccentric to say the least.
'Though his face is quite… hm? He's handsome I'll give him that'
Her thoughts now ran wild but at this moment, the green haired elf spoke up-
"Isn't that the man you bumped into last night?"
Heather, her thoughts now messy and uncoordinated, after hearing the words spoken by the green haired elf spoke responded-
"Huh? Ryu, you mean that Syr fell in love with a guy and bumped into her?"
Ryu gave her fellow elf an apathetic expression, no reaction, but she did let out an exasperated sigh as she explained-
"Syr bumped into him by accident, she wanted to apologize but he ran off in a hurry."
The explanation was quite simple and considering Syr's personality, Heather did not find it stranger for her to feel bad but-
'That's not the face of embarrassment is it?'
Heather thought as she analyzed the expression Syr had but she only shook her head as she asked.
"So, wanna apologize now?"
But to her question, Syr only shook her head as she replied-
"No… I- I'm not ready yet, I need to prepare something- If I approach him now he'll run away again… yes- next time I'll invite to a free meal… for now-"
Hearing Syr's words, Heather gave her friend a confused expression, it was as if she was looking at a rare monster. On the other hand, Ryu only shook her head, her expression one of exasperation as she let out an exhausted sigh.
The trio then continued towards the market, their current task: Shopping for ingredients.
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Because of Ryuta's deal with Hephaestus, Hestia found no reason to work, in fact, with Ryuta being adamant that she instead manage their base, Hestia did not end up searching for part time jobs. Instead, she focused on cleaning up the abandoned church.
Although she was unable to fix the structure, the interior, already cleaned by Hephaestus familia took little effort to manage for Hestia.
Not to mention, the spell formation, the bounded field that had transformed, from one that was hinged on Ryuta's power, to one that was hinged on Hestia's authority had turned out to be quite… handy.
God's were unable to use their Arcanum, but Ryuta's bounded field acted like an isolated world. With its core being bound to Hestia's authority, what was supposed to be a simple protection barrier had turned into an automated housework spell formation.
Additional spells were automatically formed, using Hestia's authority as a base, but Ryuta had not discovered this effect yet, instead-
"Hehehe~ the bond between me and my child~ This is proof of deep bond!"
Hestia declared as she showed off the sparkling interior of the church to Hephaestus who had already returned after having a few of her familia test out the items Ryuta had made.
"I know Ryuta-kun's special, you're not the only one who saw him pop out of a the void"
"Guh-" (っ- ‸ - ς)
"Also- I was the one who registered your familia, if I didn't do that, Ryuta's application would have been rejected since his chosen Goddess was more focused on showing off her child's accomplishments than she was ensuring that her child would not be humiliated"
"gunununu" (>﹏<)
The two Goddesses were arguing once again, although it was not new to see the God's argue amongst themselves, if any of the God's did see Hestia and Hephaestus arguing, then they would have been shocked.
Of course, this argument did not come from thin air, Hephaestus, after testing out the creations that Ryuta had passed onto her, was shocked at the power they carried.
The gems were tested at the "minimum" amount of magic power- mind, input and the result was astonishing.
At the lowest level, the gem could output the power of an adventurer whose average magic stat was at 400. Moreover, depending on the level of the one who used their energy, the power released would also change-
Although the gems were one time use, they had the variability of power that depended on the user-
What made Hephaestus even more angry was the comment a certain member of hers made-
'If we could find a way to prevent the gem from being broken and use it as a core- we could create an unbreakable magic sword!'
Those words alone had caused a stir, although that child of hers was hated by many, his talents were the real deal.
His words may have received scornful remarks but his words were imprinted in the minds of all the other children who had heard them-
Hephaestus herself saw the gem as an endless source of possibilities- but-
'This is just the tip…'
Aside from the gems, the weapons he had created, daggers, gauntlets and braces made from monster materials-
These creations did not use mind, instead, they depleted the users stamina, it was like a curse but the depletion was not extreme, moreover they could be controlled.
What was interesting though was the fact that these creations of his had "magical properties", they were "items".
But unlike normal items with specific uses based on their material, the items that Ryuta had created carried various properties, moreover-
When the items were used, they seem to have a near parasitic nature that binds them with their user.
She had seen blue-green "veins" appear on the items and on the user's body.
After those "veins" appeared, the user claimed that they had "learned" how to use the item. Being able to use various "spells" that were "integrated" into the item.
Hephaestus could not really understand how it worked, she tried to use it but found that no matter how she tried, the items just wouldn't bind with her-
As she thought about those items she recalled the swords that Ryuta had shown her and the other "weapons" she had caught a glimpse of and knew-
'That kid is hiding something…'
Turning her gaze towards the magic circles scattered all over the church, her eyes sharpened, trying to memorize all the mysterious symbols on them-
'The others did not see it but the gem had a similar magic circle inscribed inside it, even the spells that were activated through the various items had some of these- symbols on them- I'm sure, whatever source Ryuta's power comes from, it originates from this magic-'
When she thought about it that way, Hephaestus recalled the scenes she had witness thousands of years ago-
"But… it really brings back memories doesn't it?"
Hestia said as her gaze landed on the magic circles, a look of nostalgia appeared on her face, a look which Hephaestus truly empathized with.
'Were we wrong in giving them our blessings? Or were they too complacent to rely on us?'
Hephaestus couldn't help but think of the question many Gods had thought once or twice throughout their stay in the mortal world.
"I thought that staying in the mortal world would be boring but- I think I'm starting to like it here!"
Hestia exclaimed, a smile appearing on her face. Hephaestus could tell that her friend was having fun but her words were-
'You really… haa~'
Hephaestus kept her words to herself, for now she was waiting for Ryuta to return.
*Bang*
At this moment, the door to the church opened-
"Ryuta!"
"Why do you have to come back the same way everytime?"
Hestia jumped towards the entrance while Hephaestus complained at the repeated scene from yesterday but as the two Goddess saw Ryuta they quickly froze-
"..."
"..."
Unable to say anything the two Goddess just stared at the young man who was carrying an unconscious blonde man on his shoulders.
"Ryuta you-"
"Don't worry Hestia-sama, this kid was not kidnapped, I promise you, once he wakes up, he'll be elated to learn that he joined the Hestia familia!"
"Then why is he unconscious?"
"He passed out, Eina-san told me that he asked about the Hestia Familia the moment he came to Orario but you were still in heaven then so- he ended up as a drifter but now I brought him here!"
Ryuta's explanation shocked Hestia while Hephaestus frowned-
"I heard about him, I thought of having him be the first member of Hestia's familia but-"
Hearing her friend's words, Hestia turned to the Goddess of Smithing, a look of betrayal on her face.
"He was really unsuited to be Hestia's first familia member because-"
Hephaestus then explained that the blonde man had tried to enter various familia's. He even tried to get into her own familia but the man was quite adamant in two things-
First, he would be a member who will enter the dungeon regularly, a red flag for a familia of smiths.
Second, he would be allowed to leave once Hestia Familia appeared.
These two were already pushing the bar too much, the first was still acceptable as combat power was necessary for any familia but-
The second one was just a roundabout way of saying- "Train me so I can be strong enough to support another God!".
Of course, many God's rejected him outright but those that tested him-
They were not so thrilled-
The man was known to be a loudmouth, he would constantly talk about how his abilities would make him a powerful asset to have and yet-
Despite having a monstrous ability, even without Falna- the man was- pitifully weak and cowardly.
No matter what kind of test he was put through, his ability always shone, yet he was also quick to turn tail and run, turtle under pressure and overall, he just didn't show the "spirit" of a warrior.
Of course, not everyone could be a warrior, but the fact that he wanted to enter the dungeon- moreover, that was his main goal for joining a familia… the God's didn't even need to think, the members of the familia had already blacklisted him.
He just didn't show the "resolution" that was necessary for those who enter the dungeon. Which was why he ended up being nothing more than a handyman, it was also the reason why Hephaestus never told Hestia about this… weirdo-
"I see… but you still should have told me though!"
"And what? You take him in? Then what happens next? He enters the dungeon, gets killed and you lose your first child?"
"..."
Ryuta listened to the conversation of the two Goddesses, at the same time he had silently set the unconscious young man down.
"Now, now Goddesses, I know that he's… quite a problem child but I promise, I will mold him into a fine adventurer!"
Ryuta's declaration caused the two Goddesses to pause, they did not know where Ryuta got his confidence from but they were still willing to hear him out-
Facing the silent stares of the two Goddesses, Ryuta maintained his calm demeanor as he explained-
"This young man may be a coward, but unlike the other established familia who need personnel who are already capable of entering the dungeon, as a newly established familia, the Hestia familia is very open to risks. What we need is people and talent, and I am more than willing to take the responsibility of building our forces."
Ryuta's words caused two different reactions, Hestia found herself clapping, praising Ryuta for his boldness and strong will. Hephaestus on the other hand, gave him a glare, her thoughts complicated as she did her best to hold herself back from saying anything.
The three individuals had such an exchange, unaware that the young man had already woken up, his mind was just blank as the things he had heard and seen confused him.
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[email protected]/lonelymountainsage