"Hephaestus-dono, here are the recent order increases."
Tsubaki handed over the latest order records. A quick glance revealed a surge of requests for high-grade weapons.
"The orders have been this strong lately?"
"Yes. Most are from the Ganesha Familia, Freya Familia, and Loki Familia, and the majority are for first-class weapons. On top of that, even some mid-tier Familias have placed quite a few orders."
"..."
Hephaestus gave a slight nod. Clearly, everyone had already realized it—the restless factions could no longer sit still.
"Tsubaki, don't take any new orders for now. Finish these first."
"Work through them in the order of Ganesha, Freya, and Loki."
"Understood."
Tsubaki nodded.
Setting down the ledger, Hephaestus rubbed her forehead briefly before asking about another child.
"How is Welf doing?"
"Hmm... he's finally started forging magic swords again."
At the mention of Welf, Tsubaki couldn't help but smile. It was probably the result she was happiest to see—like watching a foolish younger brother finally return to the right path.
"He finally stepped out of it?"
Hephaestus let out a breath of relief. For a talented child clinging to such unrealistic ideals, all she could do was hope he would eventually face reality himself.
A weapon is a weapon.
Its value isn't in gathering dust on a display shelf, but in being wielded by an adventurer as their closest companion.
Yet that child treated weapons as something to mourn over, completely missing the point.
"It's fine to have ideals, but he needs to learn the difference between ideals and reality."
"To throw away his talent for such an empty dream... it's painful to watch."
Hephaestus couldn't stand the thought of her child wasting his gift for that reason.
Welf's talent lay entirely in magic swords. But he had abandoned that gift for a meaningless ideal, trying instead to compete with others in crafting ordinary weapons and armor. It was the height of foolishness.
"Yeah."
On this matter, Tsubaki felt exactly the same.
"Welf could have focused on improving his forging through magic swords first. Once he'd reached a certain level, going back to ordinary weapons and armor would have saved him so much wasted effort. But instead, he threw away his natural gift for magic swords to take the long road of common equipment."
It was a baffling mindset, one Tsubaki couldn't wrap her head around.
Most smiths would kill to have Welf's talent for forging magic swords, yet he didn't seem to treasure it at all.
"Maybe that's just the sickness of geniuses."
Still, now that the "illness" was finally cured, Hephaestus was glad she'd assigned Welf to the expedition. If that foolish boy had stayed locked in his own little world, he might never have broken free.
The other children in the Familia didn't pose such problems. Their forging talent might not rival Welf's, but they didn't carry nearly as many worries.
"Tsubaki, anything else?"
"One more thing... Rune Stones are starting to run short."
Hephaestus's fingers, drumming lightly against the desk, froze for a moment as an odd thought crossed her mind.
"Many buyers?"
"Mm. Rune Stones have been in short supply since the moment they hit the market. But Bell won't be increasing the supply, will he?"
"He doesn't need to worry about selling them."
"True enough..."
Rune Stones practically sold themselves. Once people understood what they could do, no Familia in Orario could afford to ignore them.
Now of all times?
Hephaestus leaned her chin into her hand and gave an order to her captain.
"Tsubaki, start recording the identities and Familias of anyone buying Rune Stones recently."
"Huh? ...Alright, I'll do it."
Though puzzled, Tsubaki nodded. It was just one more step added to her routine work—easy enough to handle along the way.
After making her report, Tsubaki left Hephaestus's office with her papers.
Only then did Hephaestus finally have a chance to let her mind unwind.
"Damn it, Ikelos. You can't even die properly."
The memory of what had happened at the Denatus still made her head ache.
Bell's strike had been clean, perfect—yet Ikelos's children, left topside, had exposed the one thing that shouldn't have been revealed.
The massacre on the artificial floor should have erased Ikelos Familia completely. But somehow, survivors had slipped through the cracks.
Worse still, those children had stepped forward and even pointed fingers at Hermes.
From her position and with her influence, the last thing Hephaestus wanted was for Hermes to become everyone's target.
But things were only growing more complicated. She had to prepare.
At the very least, she needed to help Bell gather intelligence.
She shook her head, crimson bangs sweeping across her vision, carrying the weight of her unease.
She had full confidence in her beloved, but Evilus was vile beyond measure. She couldn't shake the fear that those scum might still manage to trap him.
The goddess rose from her seat.
"I'll head back."
Right now, Hephaestus only wanted to see her beloved as soon as possible, to speak her worries aloud to him.
Leaving her office, she took the passageway back to her quarters within the Hestia Familia.
As she entered, a faint, soothing fragrance filled her room, easing some of the fatigue and irritation weighing on her heart.
She straightened her collar, then stepped out, eager to meet him.
In the main hall, the sight was the same as always.
Her beloved sat quietly, bathed in the glow of the setting sun.
For a moment, Hephaestus found herself staring in a daze.
Snapping back to herself, she quickened her pace, a bright smile blooming on her lips.
"Bell."