"Reversing cause and effect. It’s a more advanced application of Runic script—redirecting any damage the user would take onto the talisman instead."
"It completely bypasses the fatal threshold that would normally trigger forced repatriation for a god, allowing the talisman to absorb the deadly blow in their place."
You could call it cheating, but to Bell, this was the best way he could ensure Hephaestus’s safety.
’"Transfer" and "Conceal" can be used manually, but "Substitute" is different—it activates automatically. The mont you’re in real danger, the "Substitute Talisman" kicks in and triggers "Transfer" and "Conceal" at the sa ti, ensuring you’re taken to a safe location.’
And by "safe," Bell was naturally referring to the territory of the Hestia Familia.
As a fortress built entirely by his own hands, it was practically impenetrable to outsiders.
For a mage, the safest place was always the stronghold they built themselves.
Bell’s domain wouldn’t even flinch at sothing like Kiritsugu Emiya’s ""blow-it-up approach"." The external barriers were designed to absorb damage, and even that absorbed damage could be converted into usable energy.
That’s why Bell was absolutely confident that the Hestia Familia’s territory was the most secure fortress in all of Orario.
Hephaestus looked down at the talisman in her hand and couldn’t help but sigh with admiration.
"You really can pull off so incredible things."
She had thought she understood Bell well enough—but this child always managed to surprise her.
"Do you realize how many gods would be willing to go all in just to get their hands on a talisman like this?"
"I do."
Of course Bell knew.
"But I never intended to release these to the public."
"Hephaestus-sama, you should know by now—I would never sell sothing that could threaten , nor anything that would give other factions a guaranteed advantage."
"This isn’t business. It’s slow suicide."
To Bell, business was business.
And if you wanted to sustain it, you couldn’t be too calculating or greedy.
That said, before doing any real business, Bell always screened what could safely be put on the market—eliminating anything that might pose a threat to himself.
"Ha..."
Hephaestus exhaled softly, thinking to herself, ’This kid really is still being cautious,’ and let the thought go.
"You’re right to do so."
"There are always a few restless gods looking for amusent—and the way they seek it is downright revolting."
She didn’t na nas, but it was obvious she ant the twisted gods who delighted in stirring up trouble in Orario.
As one of their own, she understood exactly how their minds worked.
At the end of the day, gods weren’t divided by good or evil. They were just a bunch of bored lunatics looking for sothing to keep themselves entertained.
"If we gave sothing like this to those lunatics, they’d go even more overboard than before."
Hephaestus glanced down at the talisman in her hand. Her mood now was even more lifted than when she first received a life-saving artifact.
Still, she hadn’t forgotten about the order Finn had delivered earlier that day.
"If you hadn’t shown up today, I was actually planning to go find you."
"Here, Loki had Finn bring the full paynt."
"The full amount? I thought it was just the deposit?"
"What’s the difference? Loki paying the full price is basically her way of trying to win you over. She’s hoping this could lead to long-term cooperation—building trust is never a bad thing."
Hearing that, Bell didn’t see any problem with it.
The truth was, he hadn’t fully grown yet. What he needed most right now was ti—and the resources that would help him grow quickly.
The next batch of Gacha draws promised all sorts of good stuff.
Powerful Craft Essences... maybe even Heroic Spirits.
Of course, if he managed to summon a Heroic Spirit card, he’d have to be prepared to extract a portion of the Spirit Origin’s concept since it would be incomplete.
Still, even a partial Spirit Origin would be an incredible boost to him at this stage.
...
Hephaestus turned to her desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a money pouch. She walked over and handed it to Bell.
"This is the full amount."
Bell checked inside the pouch and confird it was indeed the total sum.
He stored half of it—790 million Valis—into his four-dinsional space, then returned the pouch to Hephaestus-sama.
"I’ve verified it. It’s the full paynt. I’ve taken half, the other half remains."
Hephaestus shook her head slightly as she took the pouch back.
"Wasn’t it all ant for you?"
"Hephaestus-sama, this is business. And business is built on rules."
From the start, it had been agreed that Bell would get 55% from the Rune Stone deal. There was no way he could just go back on that now.
If he went back on his word over sothing like this, how could he ever face the Hestia Familia again?
"What if it’s my sponsorship?"
She glanced at the pouch, a smile glinting in her eyes.
Bell paused for a mont before giving his answer.
"Emotionally, I should probably accept it."
"Oh~"
That was a pleasant thing to hear.
"And rationally?"
"Rationally speaking, our Familia doesn’t have a need for that much money."
Bell certainly wanted the near 1.6 billion Valis, but after his last experience, he understood one thing—Gacha wasn’t sothing that could be rushed.
The stronger the Craft Essence, the harder it was to absorb.
Even if he did draw a top-tier Craft Essence, it wouldn’t necessarily beco usable power right away. If his foundational conditions weren’t t, the process of accepting a Craft Essence could cause all kinds of complications.
But that was normal.
Gacha had already given him an enormous shortcut. It only made sense that using it required eting certain conditions.
Because of that, he had to space out each Gacha attempt—and couldn’t draw too many cards at once.
He simply didn’t know if his body could handle receiving more than a certain number of Craft Essences.
Seeing that Bell had made his position clear, Hephaestus didn’t press him to choose between emotion and reason. Instead, she placed the money pouch on the table behind her, then took a seat on the sofa.
Bell watched as she patted the spot next to her.
"Bell, let’s have a talk."
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