5 Chapter 3

Sorry guys! I just returned from a business trip. Don't really have time and I'm too tired to write something.

Chapter name: A virgin Goddess's anguish

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"Do exactly as you like. That is the true meaning of pleasure. Pleasure leads to joy, and joy leads to happiness." -Gilgamesh, Fate/Zero.

Who was the most famous blacksmith, you ask?

Hephaestus was the Goddess of blacksmiths, metalworking, carpenters, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metallurgy, fire, and volcanoes. However, here in Orario, most Adventurers only knew her as the Goddess of the Forge.

After all, the Hephaestus Familia's primary source of income was other Familia's Adventurers. A Familia of Blacksmiths.

KLANG

On the northeast side of Orario City, you could hear the sounds of the forges at work. The workshops of the Hephaestus Familia, the worldwide distinguished blacksmiths Familia. And they also shipped their product globally.

KLANG

"Hey! Hey! Hephaestus! Listen to me!" a woman cried out.

"Hmm!? What is it again, Hestia? If you're bored, just go outside and find a member for your Familia." Hephaestus remarked casually.

"Stop freeloading at my place! Go outside and touch some Grass! You lazy midget!"

"Geh!?" a phantom pain struck the now-named Goddess, Hestia, as she was lying on the couch, twitching in agony.

Once again, the Goddess returned to her work: a commission from a Loki Familia member.

"You're the one that needs to go out, you shut-in goddess! How long have you stayed in here!? Two whole weeks!" Hestia fought back in desperation.

"For your information, an Adventurer commissioned me to make this weapon. About 200 million Vallis." Hephaestos said. " If you could pay for this, I'll stop and listen to you."

'200 million Valis! How many Jagaramukuns could I buy with that amount of money!?'

Hestia then began calculating the number of sweets she could buy with 200 million Valis. Smokes came out of her head, and her eyes began to swirl. The noises of conversations died out and were replaced by the clankings of metals.

Suddenly, the redhead Goddess spoke out as she stopped her hammer.

"If you want someone to join your Familia…there's one man you could find about half a day journey on a horse. If you follow the trails, they will lead you toward a forest, where you will witness a sight you can't forget for a lifetime! A field of blades that span a horizon. Weapons of different types and cultures: from the most common to the most esoteric and unknown. Additionally, all of them exude traces of magic. Magic weapons! From the holiest to the vilest of swords were left outside, at the mercy of the weather!"

Hephaestus's voice began to increase the longer she talked. She was furious.

"Who the fuck leaves good weapons outside!? AHHHHHH! I can't!"

"I want to strangle that guy!"

The redhead Goddes had a mental breakdown, and Hestia was too shocked to reply. After all, Hephaestus was a chill and laid-back person. So this reaction was just too strange to see.

"Wait! Calm down for a sec! How did you know about this guy?" Hestia tried to distract Hephaestus from further outrage.

"Hm? Oh, I heard it last night from a traveling merchant at the Hostess of Fertility."

"The guy seems scared out of his mind. The aura permitted from those magic weapons can affect an unblessed human." Hephaestus explained casually.

"Uhm…did you visit the place, Hephaestus?" Hestia asked.

"No. I planned to visit it and judge those weapons for myself, but work stopped me."

"How's about his name? Do you know it?"

"Muramasa. His name is Senji Muramasa." the redhead Goddess answered.

At that moment, Hephaestus realized something. The once brightly hot orichalcum metal that she'd been working on had cooled down. Hephaestus screamed.

"NOOOOO!" the Goddess cried out in desperation. "My weeks' worth of work!"

Her scream echoed throughout the bustling streets of Orario.

Elsewhere*

Location: Muramasa's forge.

"Ahhh…Choo!" Muramasa suddenly sneezed. "Someone must have been mentioning me."

Without any care for the world, he promptly returned to his work. There was no time for distraction. Only work.

A day passed*

As the sun reached its peak, you could see the figure of a petite woman riding a horse. She had traveled as soon as the sun began to rise. The woman, Hestia, was heading toward the place mentioned by her dearest friend, Hephaestus.

A place she couldn't miss even if she had trouble reading maps or following basic directions.

As Hestia began to recount her talk with Hephaestus yesterday. Her anger rose steadily.

The cheeks of that woman. She just had to rub it in.

So what if Hestia couldn't read a map or follow directions?

Then, Hestia remembered. When she still lived in Tenkai, the Goddess rarely stepped a foot out of her temple. She only left when her friends, Artemis and Athena, invited her to a tea party for some girl talk.

Not even Apollo's attempts to seduce Hestia could budge her front gates. That horndog

GAH! She has been a shut-in the whole time.

As Hestia still wallowed in embarrassment, she did not realize her horse- which she borrowed from Hephaestus, suddenly stopped and began to lift his front legs.

Something has threatened the horse.

After all, animals have always relied on their instinct and senses to survive and reproduce. Whenever a herbivore felt threatened, it would immediately try to run away from the danger, especially in an environment where monsters are inhabited.

Survival of the fittest.

And Hestia's destination was such a place. The aura exuded from it was too thick with murderous intents that even monsters had fled from it.

So, Hestia fell to the ground. Head first.

"AHHHH! She screamed at the top of her lungs.

As if time began to flow slower, Hestia realized something.

'Ah! The sky is beautiful today.'

She closed her eyes and mentally braced herself for impact.

1 second has passed

2 seconds have passed

3 seconds have passed

Yet the pain never arrived. Hestia opened her eyes in surprise. The sceneries around her were the same, only upside down.

"Have I awakened some superpower?" She asked herself in confusion.

"No." An unfamiliar voice spoke out. "You're lucky I'm here, brat. Or you gonna have the worse concussion ever."

Then, Hestia realized something. She began to feel lightheaded. As if all of her blood rushed toward her head, like that one time Hestia tried a hands stand. And she felt someone holding onto her legs.

SHE WAS UPSIDE DOWN THIS WHOLE TIME!

"OI! Release me! What kind of gentleman saved a helpless woman like this!" the Goddess yelled out in embarrassment and anger.

One hand held onto the hem of her white mini dress, and the other began to smack the man. She tried to escape his hold.

After all, Hestia wasn't wearing any undergarments beneath her dress, and her purity was threatened by the pull of gravity.

"As you wish, brat."

The man finally released her leg.

This time, for real, Hestia fell.

"Ah…"

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