With the agreement settled, Goibniu clapped his hands as he turned to his fellow familia-men.
"Alright, that's enough gawking," he said, as he stood up from his seat.
"Liam, go and inform the others. I want one piece of every known metal we've got access to and bring them to my forge."
Liam straightened instantly. "Y–Yes, Lord Goibniu!"
Without waiting for Liam to give them the orders, the other smiths began moving, some rushing toward their own forge or vaults, others headed back to their forges and shops as they had left them to follow their god.
Within seconds, the whole area descended into silence.
"…I guess…I don't have to tell them myself…" Liam scratched his head.
He quickly left to help the others since he had nothing to do.
Goibniu glanced back at Kaelis. "You're coming with me. No point waiting around."
Kaelis rose from his chair as Goibniu grabbed the swords from the table.. "Lead the way."
They walked back towards the old man's forge.
Unbeknownst to them…
Somewhere further back, far enough outside of Kaelis's reach, two figures watched the scene unfold.
One was a handsome blond haired man, leaning casually against the wall, tugging at his feathered hat as a carefree smile etched his face.
His name is Hermes. The patron god of the Hermes familia.
The other beside him—a woman with aqua blue hair wearing glasses that gave her a serious look on her face.
She is the current captain of the Hermes familia, Asfi Al Andromeda.
"…So that's him," Asfi said, eyes following Kaelis' back as he disappeared further down the street as she adjusted her glasses.
"The one who made Goibniu drop everything and sprint."
Previously, for unknown reasons, they had been roaming the streets of the Goibniu familia before they came upon the scene of a crowd forming around a building.
Curious as usual, Hermes had tried sneaking around to better get a read on the situation and even though they could neither see nor hear what was happening inside, the smiths were loud enough for them to get enough information.
B Hermes chuckled softly. "A mortal creating a perfect sword…" He tapped his chin thoughtfully.
"That's not the kind of thing you keep quiet about isn't it."
Asfi shot him a look. "You're planning to spread this, aren't you."
"Spread is such an ugly word," Hermes replied with a grin. "I prefer share. With the right people."
Asfi sighed. "You're going to cause trouble."
Hermes' smile widened. "Oh, definitely."
Trouble is an understatement to what such news might cause.
Word of it already began to spread from the smiths but it was only circulating with the smithing familia.
Once Hermes started spreading it himself, the story was sure to spread all across Orario—and probably beyond—and knowing him, his version would be a lot more dramatic than what actually happened.
He peeked around the corner one last time, eyes gleaming with interest.
"Orario is going to love him," he mused.
Asfi adjusted her glasses as she sighed. "…Or tear him apart."
Hermes chuckled.
"Well," he said lightly, turning away, "that's half the fun."
And just like that, Kaelis's visit which had been just to trade is about to become something much bigger—whether he liked it or not.
…
"So, what do you think?"
Goibniu waved a hand toward a large table inside the forge, now neatly covered with a variety of metals.
They had already reached the forge and the old man had already put up both swords on display on the wall.
Safe to say they won't be seeing a fight anytime soon.
Kaelis leaned in, examining the display.
Within the pile, he saw few he was familiar with.
"What's the name of this?" He pointed at one he studied before.
"Hm? Ah! That's mythril. It's pretty light but extremely durable."
Mythril, huh.
"And this one?" He pointed at another.
"Regular dungeon ore."
"And this…"
They continued as Goibniu listed off each item on the table.
There were few that Kaelis had already had before but it seemed they were the low tier materials.
From regular steel and iron all the way up to the strongest one on the table, adamantite.
Goibniu tapped the table lightly as he took a puff of his quellazaire.
"All of this has been gathered by my children. Took them a little while, but they managed."
"There's one more metal. Called Orichalcum. Stronger than the adamantite you see here, but it's super rare. We don't have any in stock."
He reached under the table and pulled out a small, sturdy box.
"Since we don't have Orichalcum, I'm giving you this instead—Valis. One hundred fifty million. Consider it a placeholder, or… you could check with Hephaestus. She might have some Orichalcum lying around, if you want the real deal."
Kaelis nodded, accepting the box. "Fair enough," he said, his tone appreciative.
With this much, he should reach close to the 100 mark.
Goibniu leaned back slightly, watching him with a mix of amusement and intrigue.
"Well then, that's that for now. And don't tell me you're planning to make another perfect blade with just these few pieces."
Kaelis smirked faintly, setting the box down on the table. "We'll see, Lord Goibniu. We'll see."
The god chuckled, clearly entertained. "Alright then. Let's see what you do with this. I'll be honest… I'm more curious than I've been in a millennia."
Kaelis moved without much ceremony and touched each item.
One by one, they vanished from the table, along with the small box of valis, disappearing into thin air right in front of Goibniu.
The god froze.
He stared at the now-empty table, then slowly looked back at Kaelis. "…Where did…they go."
"Storage."
Goibniu blinked. "Storage…?"
"Yeah. A tool. Made it myself." Kaelis showed him the key chain.
That got a sharp laugh out of him. "Of course you did," Goibniu said, rubbing his beard.
"Let me guess—doesn't take space, doesn't weigh anything, and doesn't care about limits?"
"Pretty much."
Goibniu stared at him for a long moment, then leaned in slightly.
"You wouldn't…happen to be able to make one for me too, would you?"
Kaelis raised an eyebrow. "What are you offering?"
That stopped him.
Goibniu straightened, arms folding as he actually thought about it.
Then he clicked his tongue.
"…Damn it. I don't think there's anything I can give you that you don't already have."
He paused, then peeked sideways at Kaelis, voice lowering just a bit.
"How about a place in my forge once you get to heaven?"
Kaelis laughed, genuinely this time. "Tempting offer."
"Worth a shot."
As the chuckling died down, Kaelis's expression shifted slightly, something thoughtful crossing his face.
"Actually… there is one thing."
"Oh?" Goibniu looked at him.
"The church I'm staying at. It's falling apart and needs repairs. Probably a full renovation, honestly."
The god waved a hand dismissively. "That's it?"
He grinned. "We do that sort of thing all the time. I'll send some of my people over. Materials, labor—free."
Kaelis paused, then nodded. "I'd appreciate that."
"Done," Goibniu said easily. "Consider it thanks for showing me a creature better than mine."
Kaelis smirked. "Try not to tear it down out of curiosity."
"No promises," Goibniu replied, laughing again.
The forge settled into a comfortable quiet after that—no tension.
"Well then, I'll be going." Kaelis turned and walked out.
"Mm, sure. I'll see you around."
Goibniu waved him off before turning to gaze at the two new additions to his collection.
Chapter 82 end.
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Merry Christmas to you folks.