The forge was quiet when Hephaestus returned—quiet in a way that meant something terrible had either just happened or was about to. The air was heavy with smoke and magic.
Then came the crash, followed by the dragging of boots. A figure emerged from the side workshop like a ghost that had lost a bet.
"I told you to rest," Hephaestus said flatly.
Tsubaki looked like a disaster sculpted out of soot and madness. Her coat was tied around her waist, her hair a wild, tangled mess. Her face was streaked with forge grime and desperation, her hands trembling from overwork. She smelled of singed cloth and stubborn pride.
"You went to him, didn't you?" she growled. "You saw the weaponsmith firsthand!"
Hephaestus raised a brow. "I did."
"What did he do?" Tsubaki stormed forward, brandishing a soot-covered blueprint like a cursed scroll. "I've burned all the Mythril and every time I raise the strength of the magic bullet—it explodes!"
Hephaestus exhaled, brushing ash from her shoulder. "He never used Mythril."
"What?" Tsubaki blinked. "Then what—?!"
"Iron and steel. Something he calls 'assembly.' I don't know what it means. But the craftsmanship was real."
"Iron?" Tsubaki gasped. "That thing held shape under a full burst!"
"Yup."
Tsubaki let out a strangled cry—somewhere between a wail and a profanity—and dropped to her knees. "Please! Please, Lady Hephaestus, I'm begging you—let me go to that lunatic's forge! Chain me to a wall! I'll sweep the floor! Just let me watch!"
Hephaestus leaned forward, staring down with narrowed eyes. "Are you sure you want to go there?"
Tsubaki nodded so hard her head nearly came off—like a chicken possessed by divine inspiration. "Of course I want to go!"
"Well then," Hephaestus muttered, pausing for effect, "I can send you—officially, in the name of helping him."
She gave a sideways glance. "I'll be watching too. Might even guide both of you."
Tsubaki's eyes lit up with unholy joy. "You mean I get to observe how he makes his weapons—and maybe, just maybe—steal his techniques?"
"You'd better ask instead of steal," Hephaestus deadpanned. "I don't want to lose you."
Hephaestus watched Tsubaki's fervent display, a small smile tugging at her lips. Foolish girl, she thought. The raw desperation in Tsubaki's eyes, born from her inability to replicate the quality of Luther's weapon, was a familiar drive for better craftsmanship. Sending Tsubaki to help Luther was a convenient excuse to observe him—and to guide them both.
Annoyance flickered across her face. The Guild would need reports, and exploring official channels for Luther's work was becoming urgent. Tsubaki also needed a bath before they went anywhere.
Her expression darkened. Whispers of Luther's weapons had already spread. The Guild wouldn't contain the rumours forever. And if Hephaestus Familia wasn't the only one chasing that fire—
Then somewhere else in Orario, someone else would already be burning.
---
Across the City…
In a quiet alley behind the Loki Familia manor, another fire was smouldering—this one kindled not by ambition but by guilt and reckless curiosity.
Gareth didn't usually sneak. He was a proud dwarf. He didn't like sneaking around like a cat or a liar. But here he was, hunched under his cloak like a child stealing from the kitchen, a long cloth-wrapped bundle under his arm. He moved like a man trying to outrun both his conscience and his captain's fury.
He had only meant to look. Maybe ask a few questions. Certainly not buy the thing. And definitely not test it.
But oh, it fired so smoothly. Just a blue light—and a hole in the stone target. It was like magic, the kind he never had.
Now he was cursing himself for being weak to such temptation.
Just as he reached the side entrance, a shadow flickered across the doorframe. He froze. The cloth-wrapped weapon hung heavy in his hands.
"...Gareth," came Riveria's voice, sharp and suspicious. "What are you hiding?"
Behind her, Loki leaned in, grinning like a fox sniffing out a cornered chicken. "Oooh, you've got that look. The 'I have something and don't want mom to find out' look."
Gareth turned slowly. "It's nothing. Just some... scrap."
Riveria narrowed her eyes. "Scrap? You'd better show me before I get mad."
Seeing no escape, Gareth sighed and revealed the gun.
"…Is that one of his?" Riveria's voice dropped, suddenly serious. "You bought a weapon from that shop, didn't you?"
Loki's grin faded as well. "Wait. Weren't those supposed to be under Guild review?"
"I heard they were planning to ban them," Gareth mumbled. "Thought I'd get one before the rules came down. You know. For... testing purposes."
Riveria's palm met her forehead.
Loki just laughed. "You really couldn't help yourself, huh? Dwarves and dangerous toys—it's a curse."
Riveria exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You realize if the Guild finds out you own an unregistered weapon, they'll drag you into a hearing. And us with you."
"It's not unregistered," Gareth muttered. "It's... pre-registered. Probably."
"That's not a real thing," Riveria snapped.
Loki, meanwhile, had crouched beside the bundle, eyeing it like a wolf examining a ticking puzzle box. "You know, I've heard adventurers are buying weapons without enchantments and still beating monsters way above their level."
Riveria's gaze sharpened. "I'm more concerned if he can make weapons with range—like magic weapons."
"Then all the elves will want to kill him," Loki added, rising. "He's either a genius or a walking disaster. I vote we find out which."
"If we want to meet him, we'd have to go to the church," Riveria said flatly. "That place reeks of nonsense... and something worse."
Loki gave her a sideways grin. "Come on, better to get familiar with him now before he becomes famous."
Riveria sighed, the kind of sigh that precedes a long report and an even longer apology. "Fine. But we go quietly."
Loki clapped her hands. "Ooh, I have an idea! You can pretend to fall in love with him so we don't have to pay for the weapons. Just imagine how much we'd save—more wine money for me!"
Riveria chose not to respond. If she did, she might hit her. Again.
And so, with a suspicious elf and an overly enthusiastic goddess, the Loki Familia prepared to leave.