Upon receiving Ethan's positive answer, the three men felt relieved. The innkeeper, however, looked worried. She approached Ethan and asked,
"Are you sure it's okay for you to go with them?"
Ethan smiled at her and asked,
"Didn't you say you know one of them?"
"Yes, I do, but even so..."
"Don't worry. They're going to help me with a problem."
"Is it a serious problem?" she asked, deeply concerned.
Ethan appreciated how worried she was about him. Before leaving, he made sure to spend several minutes talking to her to calm her down.
Once the woman had finally calmed down, Ethan went upstairs to his room and put on his hoodie.
He came back downstairs with both his hair and face hidden beneath the hood.
"Shall we get going?" one of the three men asked.
Ethan then followed the three of them, looking around with concern. After walking for some time, he happened to run into Welf.
He was accompanied by two other people.
Welf looked at Ethan, and their eyes met.
For some reason, Welf felt nervous looking into those golden eyes. There was an uneasiness that he hadn't felt before, probably because of the bodies he had found in his workshop.
Ethan had told him that he had killed many people in the past, but seeing those bodies made it clear just how violent Ethan truly was. Welf knew the killings had been justified, but he still felt uneasy around him.
Ethan noticed this and didn't speak to Welf.
He simply continued walking with everyone in silence while thinking about what might happen.
'Since they know about my abilities because of Welf, will they try to take advantage of me? Or will Hephaestus treat me with respect and invite me to join her Familia?'
The men had said they would help Ethan deal with his problem. That problem was the Alecto Familia's presence in his life.
If they were truly willing to deal with the Alecto Familia, Ethan would gladly join the Hephaestus Familia. Of course, that was only if they treated him well and with respect—not like the worthless slave the Alecto Familia had treated him as.
Eventually, they arrived at the Hephaestus Familia's home.
It was an incredibly large mansion. Not only that, but the entire district belonged to the Hephaestus Familia. Shops, workshops, houses—there was an enormous number of buildings. Ethan was surprised by just how vast the Hephaestus Familia was.
He had already imagined the Familia to be large and powerful, but it had exceeded his expectations.
"What do you think?" one of the men asked as soon as they reached the entrance to the Familia's main residence.
Without giving it much thought, Ethan replied,
"It's big."
"Yes, it's very big. Now come on, the Goddess is inside. The rest of you don't need to follow us. Only you, Welf. You're coming with us."
"Me!? Why?"
"You know very well why."
Then Ethan, one of the Hephaestus Familia's men, and Welf entered the house and slowly walked through its corridors. Ethan looked at every detail, carefully taking everything in. He was truly amazed.
He had never seen anything like it in his entire life.
When they stopped in front of Hephaestus's office, the man said,
"Please treat her with respect."
Ethan said nothing. He simply continued staring at the door as though he hadn't heard a word.
Then the door opened.
Ethan's eyes met the eyes of the red-haired woman sitting behind a large, expensive-looking desk.
The two stared at each other for several long seconds.
When the door closed behind Ethan, he finally removed his hood, revealing his long blond hair.
Hephaestus then thought,
'He's handsome.'
####
"You must be Ethan," Hephaestus said as she stood up.
She walked over to him and extended her hand, acting as though she held him in very high regard. Ethan was surprised by that. He took Hephaestus's hand and shook it.
Ethan was surprised by how calloused Hephaestus's hand was.
"Yes, that's me. Welf must have told you about me."
Ethan glanced at Welf, who merely looked away without saying a word.
"Yes, he told me about you."
Hephaestus then looked at the man who had entered the room alongside Ethan and Welf, and he left without saying a word. She then sat down.
"Have a seat. Make yourself comfortable. If you'd like something to eat or drink, just let me know."
"I'm fine."
Ethan sat comfortably in the chair across from Hephaestus's desk.
"You too, Welf. Have a seat."
"Ah, right."
Once the two of them were seated, Ethan got straight to the point.
"Those three said you're willing to help me with my problem. Do you know the Alecto Familia?"
Since she was a goddess, Ethan expected her to know quite a lot.
Hephaestus smiled and replied,
"Yes, I know the Alecto Familia. You've gotten yourself involved with some very difficult people, haven't you? How did you end up in that situation?"
Ethan had no memories of his past. His memories of this world began from the moment he appeared inside that forge and was forced to work. He had no idea how he had become a slave.
He hoped those memories would return someday.
He needed to know what had really happened.
He needed to know who had brought him into that hell.
He might have been kidnapped, he might have made some mistake and been forced to work to pay for it, or perhaps he had been sold by his own family. Ethan didn't rule out any of those possibilities.
"If I told you I don't know, would you believe me?"
"Yes, I would."
"Then I truly don't know how I ended up in that situation."
"I see. Did you lose your memories or something like that?"
Hephaestus made an accurate guess that surprised Ethan. His eyes widened slightly.
"So that really is what happened."
Hephaestus realized she had guessed correctly.
"I do have memories of the past. But the memories I have don't answer that question. I want to find out how I ended up in the Alecto Familia. I want to know how I became a slave."
"A slave?"
Hephaestus's eyes widened.
She knew the Alecto Familia leaned toward the "immoral" and "criminal" side, but were they treating adventurers and blacksmiths as slaves?
"What do you mean by that?"
Hephaestus looked at Ethan seriously.