Ethan left his forge and headed to the Familia's main house. He and Tsubaki made their way to Hephaestus's room, as she was home. As soon as they reached the door, Tsubaki knocked and said, "It's me, Tsubaki. Ethan is here to talk about the forged items."
"Oh, of course. Come in."
The two entered the room, and the moment Hephaestus looked into Ethan's eyes, she thought, 'His eyes really are beautiful, aren't they?'
Before Hephaestus could say anything, Ethan spoke first.
"I've forged a lot of swords, knives, armor, and even axes. They're all in the storage. If we don't clear it out soon, it's going to be completely full."
Hephaestus listened to him and was genuinely shocked.
How had he already nearly filled the entire storage with equipment?
"How many items are in there?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but probably more than sixty."
Hephaestus was speechless. A moment later, she smiled.
"So you've really been forging all day long, just like Tsubaki told me?"
"Yes. It's the only thing I have to do."
"I see. You must be getting bored."
"Not really. Since Tsubaki is with me, I don't get that bored. I've been studying a lot with her help."
"Oh?" Hephaestus widened her eyes. "Tsubaki never told me she was helping you with forging. This is the first time you've ever taught someone." She smiled at Tsubaki before asking, "How's it been? Having fun?"
Slightly embarrassed, Tsubaki cleared her throat.
"Y-Yeah. Of course. It's been fun."
"But these past few days, I've gotten a little tired of forging all day. I want to do something else today."
"What do you want to do?"
"I want to go to the Dungeon."
Ethan said it while looking at both of them with a serious expression.
"..."
"..."
Tsubaki and Hephaestus were both left speechless.
After several long seconds of silence, Hephaestus finally spoke.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes. I'm serious."
He wanted to test his strength, and exploring the Dungeon seemed like the perfect way to do it. As long as he was careful, no one from the Alecto Familia would recognize him, and he could explore without any problems.
Hephaestus sighed and rubbed her forehead.
"I don't think that's a good idea, but I can't keep you locked up in the house. You're not planning to go alone, are you?"
"She's coming with me."
Ethan pointed at Tsubaki beside him.
Since he hadn't discussed it with her beforehand, she was completely caught off guard.
"Huh? Me? What? I never agreed to that. We didn't even talk about it."
"I didn't think I needed to ask. You're my friend, aren't you? I figured you'd agree without thinking twice."
Ethan smiled at her.
Seeing his smile, Tsubaki ground her teeth.
Before she could say anything, Hephaestus interrupted.
"Go with him. Keep him safe. I don't know exactly how strong he is, but if he managed to kill so many members of the Alecto Familia, then he's clearly capable... Even so, I think it's best if you go with him."
"Ugh... Are you serious?"
"So, you don't want to go?"
Ethan asked again while staring at Tsubaki.
Feeling cornered, she let out a long sigh.
"Fine. I'll go. But only today, okay?"
"Thanks."
Ethan replied.
Only then did they finally begin discussing the items Ethan had stored in the storage.
Hephaestus said she would send someone to retrieve everything. Once the items were brought over, she would personally inspect each one before putting them up for sale.
However, she would need Ethan's help during the inspection.
He was confused at first, but soon understood why.
He was the only person capable of seeing an item's abilities and its true potential.
Hephaestus needed to know which items were worth selling and what abilities they possessed. She couldn't exactly sell items with "mysterious abilities".
Ethan said he could help the next day, and Hephaestus agreed that tomorrow would be fine.
The two then left Hephaestus's room.
Before they walked out, Hephaestus smiled and said,
"You two seem to be getting along really well. Have fun."
Tsubaki felt slightly embarrassed by Hephaestus's words, but Ethan didn't seem to care.
"So you really want to do this? Why?"
Tsubaki asked.
"I've only been to the Dungeon once in my entire life. I killed a few monsters, but they were just goblins and kobolds. I want to try fighting different kinds of monsters."
"That's a strange thing to hear coming from a blacksmith."
"You know very well I'm not an normal blacksmith. I know how to fight, just like you do."
Ethan looked at Tsubaki as he spoke.
"Alright, alright. But don't get too full of yourself. You need to be careful inside the Dungeon."
"I know."
"And find a good way to hide your hair."
"Don't worry. I won't be recognized."
Ethan answered confidently.
####
While Tsubaki and Ethan prepared to head to the Dungeon, Alecto sat in her room, staring intently at Dina, Ravinas, and Vena.
With anger evident in her voice, she asked,
"So, you still haven't found out anything about where he is?"
Over the past few days, none of the three had reported back to Alecto regarding Ethan, leaving her increasingly impatient.
She had ordered all of them to focus on finding him.
Unable to lie to their goddess, Dina stepped forward.
"We found him... but we can't get to him."
Hearing that, Alecto stood up.
"What do you mean?"
"He's being protected by the Hephaestus Familia."
Dina answered bluntly.
Alecto remained silent for several long seconds before speaking.
"So?"
"Huh?"
Dina looked surprised.
"You think I care about that? Figure out a way to bring that man to me."
"Wait a second, Goddess. We can't invade the Hephaestus Familia's home. You know perfectly well that could start a war."
"You don't need to invade the Hephaestus Familia's home to get to him. If you used those tiny brains of yours, you'd understand that."
Dina, who had already decided she wanted nothing more to do with this matter—or with Ethan—clicked her tongue in irritation.
Alecto heard it, but said nothing.
"I'm giving you two more weeks. That's the maximum. If you fail to bring him to me within two weeks..."
She paused.
"...you'd better not find out what I'll do."
The threat in Alecto's voice was unmistakable.
The three girls left the room and exchanged uneasy glances.
Their "tiny brains" couldn't come up with any way to capture Ethan.