Hephaestus’s new product had spread throughout Orario in just three days, drawing the attention of gods and Familias alike.
At the peak of Babel Tower, inside the residence of the goddess who reigned over Orario, slender fingers gently brushed over three small stones that, in her eyes, looked rather cheap.
In that mont, Freya—the goddess of beauty—beca deeply intrigued by the identity hidden behind these seemingly ordinary ores.
"Ottar, what did your investigation uncover?"
"There’s a result."
Freya noticed the subtle shift in Ottar’s expression and smiled.
"Looks like you hit a wall."
Ottar’s face darkened slightly. To him, it felt like he had failed to carry out the goddess’s request.
Freya found the rare glimpse of complexity in Ottar’s expression amusing and lingered on it for a mont longer, though she resisted the urge to laugh—no matter how much she wanted to.
"So, what did you find?"
After a brief pause, Ottar bowed his head.
"As you suspected, the one who created these Rune Stones isn’t a mber of the Hephaestus Familia."
"Hmm, not a surprising outco."
The Hephaestus Familia might be a production Familia, but crafting Rune Stones of this caliber required far more than manufacturing skills alone.
Freya’s gaze settled on the stones. The runes carved into their surfaces were strange—similar to inscriptions she had seen before, yet distinctly foreign.
They weren’t divine characters, nor any form of script known in this world.
The letters themselves were inherently special. Even when lightly infused with magic, they could remain intact indefinitely.
And more than that, each rune radiated a power far beyond what its simple form suggested.
"Ottar, tell —who made these stones?"
"A newcor from the Hestia Familia."
Hestia?
Freya blinked at the answer. Through Syr’s eyes, she recalled seeing that white-haired boy sitting beside Hestia. He must’ve been her child.
But this revelation sent Freya into deep thought.
’That boy had no radiance of his own.’
’So why is he surrounded by letters that shine so brightly?’
Freya had always trusted her ability to judge people.
It was that very confidence that had led her to so many children with souls beautiful enough to break.
But now, soone had escaped her gaze—soone she’d overlooked.
That alone stunned her.
’It seems... there’s sothing about that child I failed to see.’
’What a surprise. I never thought I’d misjudge soone.’
Her look of shock gradually faded, replaced by a spark of curiosity.
"Interesting."
"I didn’t expect sothing like this to fall into my lap."
This rare mont of excitent made Freya feel genuinely entertained, but she quickly reined in her emotions.
"Ottar, tell the others to stop watching Hestia and Hephaestus."
"If you keep your eyes on them too long, they’ll eventually notice."
Seeing Freya’s amused expression, Ottar gave a slight nod and stepped back.
...
Freya wasn’t the only one paying attention to the Rune Stones from the Hephaestus Familia.
As one of Orario’s twin kings, Loki’s Familia was equally interested.
Today, all three of Loki Familia’s Level 6 elites had gathered in a room, seated around a table.
At the center was a Rune Stone—purchased straight from the Hephaestus Familia.
Their deity, Loki, leaned forward with her chin resting on her hands, eyes locked on the Rune Stones before her.
"So, do you all really think those Rune Stones from Phae-Phae’s side were made by her own Familia?"
The three of them glanced at the stones on the table and subtly shook their heads.
Finn Deimne, captain of Loki Familia and the one who understood the Hephaestus Familia best, gave a clear and certain response.
"No. Based on everything we know, there’s no one with that kind of talent in the Hephaestus Familia."
"More accurately, there’s no one like that in all of Orario."
"Soone capable of temporarily boosting their own ’attributes’ to that degree with enhancent magic wouldn’t stay unknown in this city."
"That’s why I did a bit of digging."
Finn let out a helpless sigh.
"My investigation confird that this person really has been living quietly in Orario for the past half-month."
"Almost no one knows his na, no one’s seen him in the Dungeon, and not a single person has solid intel on him."
"It’s like he’s living a completely secluded life."
"My conclusion is that he doesn’t have the usual ambitions an Adventurer is supposed to have."
"Hmm..."
"He doesn’t care about fa or power, right?"
"Exactly."
Loki picked up where Finn left off.
Finn nodded again, still finding it difficult to believe.
"What about wealth?" asked Gareth Landrock, one of the three core mbers of Loki Familia.
But Finn shook his head.
"I asked around through Tsubaki. Apparently, the Hephaestus Familia and the Hestia Familia have developed a significantly deeper relationship."
"Wait—are you saying...?"
Everyone in the room was shocked by the news, even Loki herself.
Finn gave a weary nod.
"As of now, the Hephaestus Familia and the Hestia Familia have ford a formal alliance. It’s sothing we’ve never seen before."
"This isn’t a rger, just a closer bond. So it won’t affect the Guild’s rankings for either Familia. And since it’s a partnership between Familias, the Guild has no authority to interfere."
"Still, from what I can tell, this alliance is heavily tied to the Rune Stones that Hephaestus Familia recently launched."
"So I’d say this person doesn’t have any real desire for wealth either."
"Otherwise, with the value of those Rune Stones, he could easily make a fortune beyond imagination."
An Adventurer who wasn’t driven by fa, power, or money—this was sothing far beyond what Finn could have imagined.
But then, Loki—who had been quiet all this ti—suddenly stood up.
Unlike Finn and the others, who still hadn’t figured it out, Loki had already realized the reason.
"So that’s what it is..."
Now she understood why that white-haired kid of Hestia’s had stood up so boldly that day at the Hostess of Fertility.
She finally knew why.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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