Loki knew very well that Emiya could have done this without telling her. After all, it was his secret, and he could tell whomever he wanted.
But the fact that he was informing her beforehand showed his respect for her. She couldn't just get angry and force him to give up the idea.
First, she wasn't that kind of god, and more importantly, forcing him would only anger him and cause a rift between them.
So, after thinking it over, Loki nodded and agreed. "Just be careful. Hephaestus isn't a gossip, but I hope you'll still be discreet."
"Don't worry, I will." Emiya nodded. He vanished from the room and used his power to travel to the world of Food Wars!.
Since he was going to see Hephaestus, he might as well bring Erina Nakiri with him and have her join the Hestia Familia.
This time, Emiya found Erina with almost no effort. She had just finished her latest exam and was relaxing in a massage chair. When she saw Emiya appear before her, she immediately stood up.
"Lord Emiya."
"Erina, change into some clothes. I'm taking you to meet someone," Emiya said.
"Yes." Erina didn't object and immediately walked
towards her bedroom.
Emiya followed her. Halfway there, Erina suddenly asked, "Um, Lord Emiya?"
"Yes?"
"Can Hisako come with me?" Erina asked tentatively.
Emiya didn't even think about it and agreed without hesitation.
"It's not a problem at all. Maybe Hestia will be happy.
Tell her to change her clothes and meet you in your room."
"Thank you." Erina said happily, pulling out her phone to call her secretary.
Soon after, Hisako Arato, who was now dressed, knocked on Erina's door. Emiya opened it.
"Lord Emiya." Hisako bowed and then asked, "Where's Lady Erina?"
Emiya pointed to the closed bedroom door. "She's still changing. Go find her."
Hisako nodded, walked across the living room, and knocked on the bedroom door. "It's me, Lady Erina."
The bedroom door opened, a hand reached out, and pulled Hisako inside. Emiya shook his head with a helpless smile. He wasn't going to peek, so why were they so cautious?
Ten minutes later, Erina, dressed in a white dress, came out of the bedroom, followed by Hisako, who was wearing a blue top and a black skirt.
"Are you ready?" Emiya asked.
The two girls nodded.
"All right, let's go." Emiya snapped his fingers, and he, along with the two girls, entered the DanMachi world.
The sun was setting in the west, and its light bathed the vast market streets. The lazy sunset gradually spread across Orario, which was enclosed by the towering city walls.
The clean air circulated through the fantastical city, which was free from industrial pollution.
Emiya looked at the two girls, who were slowly becoming entranced. He smiled faintly and said, "Welcome to another world, the Labyrinth City of Orario!"
It took a while for the two girls to snap out of their daze.
"This... this is another world?" Erina, who often read manga, couldn't help but get excited. This wasn't a scene from a comic but a real, true-to-life otherworldly landscape.
Hisako couldn't help but ask, "Lord Emiya, what kind of world is this?"
"Let's talk while we walk," Emiya said, taking a step forward. As he walked, he explained the details about Orario, the Dungeon, the gods, and the Familias to the
two girls.
Erina remembered the goddess named Loki from the
previous day's Shokugeki. "So, Lord Emiya, are you an adventurer of the Loki Familia?"
"That's right. But this time, I'm taking you to the Hestia
Familia. Unlike the mischievous Loki, Hestia is a wonderful goddess. I'm sure you'll get along well."
Emiya smiled and reassured the two girls.
Erina asked, "Hestia must be the goddess of the hearth from Greek mythology, right?"
"She's the goddess of the hearth, yes, but this is not Greek mythology. This world is Earth, and mythologies are not separated here." Emiya replied.
Erina and Hisako nodded at the same time.
Afterward, the three of them asked around and finally found out how to get to the Hephaestus Familia. There was no way around it.
Emiya was new to the city and didn't know the way, and there was no navigation system in this world, so they could only ask for directions as they went.
Fortunately, the people in this fantasy world were friendly.
Of course, not "friendly" in the way people in Gotham City are, but genuinely friendly. After Emiya paid them some Valis, many people were willing to show him the way.
But halfway there, Emiya suddenly realized that while he might not know the way, a carriage driver would. So he decisively hired a carriage and smoothly arrived at the Hephaestus Familia's headquarters.
Unlike the Loki Familia, which was a purely adventurer-based Familia, the members of the Hephaestus Familia also went into the Dungeon, but most of them were blacksmiths.
Therefore, their headquarters was a large weapon shop that sold top-tier weapons crafted by dedicated blacksmiths.
Throughout Orario, the weapons forged by the Hephaestus Familia were known for their quality and brand, enjoying fame throughout the city and even the world. There was no other Familia that could match them, except for the Goibniu Familia.
Of course, even if the weapons and armor forged by the Goibniu Familia were on par with the Hephaestus Familia, they were still smaller in scale.
In Orario, they could only rank second. The Hephaestus Familia was the true leader.
Emiya and the two girls entered the Hephaestus Familia's headquarters, and a few employees immediately came over, seemingly wanting to pitch the weapons and armor to them.
But before they could speak, Emiya stated his purpose.
"I'm here to see the goddess Hephaestus. I have something
very important to discuss with her."
The employees were stunned and said they couldn't make that decision. They had to find someone who could talk to him.
Emiya nodded. "Hurry back."
The employee left immediately and returned with a girl with black hair and red eyes.
The girl had long black hair tied in a ponytail with a white ribbon. She wore a long red skirt like a shrine maiden, but her upper body was only covered by a white cloth wrap.
From her appearance, she was dressed quite daringly.
Emiya had seen her in the manga, but seeing her in person, he couldn't help but be amazed. She was stunning.
Standing behind Emiya, Erina and Hisako's faces were already flushed.
"Shameless," Erina couldn't help but whisper. For a proper lady like her, the outfit of the red-eyed, black-haired girl was simply unacceptable.
The girl obviously heard Erina's words but showed no change in expression, as if she hadn't heard anything.
But that was impossible.
This was Tsubaki Collbrande, Orario's best blacksmith besides the gods themselves, and the leader of the Hephaestus Familia.
She was a First-Class adventurer at Level 5. No matter how quiet Erina's voice was, it couldn't escape her ears.
The reason her expression didn't change was probably that she didn't take Erina's words to heart.
She wouldn't care about what a weak person who wasn't even an adventurer said. This was the demeanor of the strong.
However...
"Erina," Emiya suddenly said. "Apologize."
Erina, Hisako, and Tsubaki were stunned.
Emiya said, "Whatever clothes she chooses to wear is her personal preference. It's not for an outsider to judge. It's foolish to judge a person based solely on their appearance, especially when you don't know their personality or history. Erina, I hope you understand this.
Now, apologize."
Erina's face turned pale at his words.
Tsubaki quickly said, "Sir, I appreciate the thought, but there's no need for an apology. I don't take it to heart. My clothes are a bit revealing."
"I'm sorry. I was foolish to judge you by your appearance.
Please forgive me." Fortunately, while Erina was a bit of a tsundere, she wasn't someone who refused to admit she was wrong.
Especially after hearing Tsubaki's words, she apologized in shame.
Tsubaki was stunned for a moment.
She nodded and said, "I accept your apology. You can lift your head now."
Then she explained to Erina that she wore those clothes so that sparks wouldn't burn her clothes when she was forging weapons.
Erina became even more ashamed.
Tsubaki smiled and said, "All right, let's put this behind us. Sir, I heard you want to see our goddess and have something very important to discuss. Is that right?"
"That's right. It's about whether your Hephaestus Familia can continue to flourish," Emiya said confidently.
Tsubaki's expression became serious. "I apologize. My name is Tsubaki Collbrande. May I ask your name, sir?"
"I'm Emiya from the Loki Familia. These two are Erina Nakiri and Hisako Arato. They're not adventurers yet and haven't joined a Familia."
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