Hearing his direct refusal, Tsubaki merely grinned and stepped toward Judas anyway, her arms spreading wide.
"Don't be like that~ A hug from a cutie like you will give me more than enough energy to help with my smithing."
Just as she was about to pull him into an embrace, a translucent barrier snapped into existence around Judas, stopping her dead in her tracks.
"...Alright. Noted."
Tsubaki peered at the barrier, lips curling upward.
"No sense of cuteness at all."
She reached out and lightly tapped the surface with her finger, instantly realizing she would need to exert some serious amount of strength to break through it.
'Are level threes really this ridiculous these days?'
The thought only made her smile wider.
'This kid's full of surprises.'
Turning away at st, she smoothly shifted the topic.
"Well then... since you brought me such a rare drop from the deep floors, I assume you want me to turn this thing into a proper sword?"
She jerked her thumb toward the massive bck bde resting on the anvil.
"But from what I can tell... your posture, the way you held that crude thing earlier... you're not a swordsman."
She paused, eyes narrowing slightly.
"You've got some skill, at the very least... but not enough to call the sword your main weapon."
"So I don't really get what you need a sword like this for."
She tilted her head.
"Unless it's a gift for someone?"
"Or... are you pnning to properly learn swordsmanship? Switching your main weapon altogether?"
She added, studying him more closely,
As a skilled bcksmith and a veteran adventurer... she could often tell at a gnce what weapon an adventurer typically use just from the smallest of details.
Their posture, their breathing, how they wield certain weapons... she could instinctively tell if someone is proficient with a certain type of weapon or not.
Judas answered calmly.
"I have my reasons. Just make me a greatsword... something you'd expect someone Ottar's size to wield."
Tsubaki blinked once.
"...That's an oddly specific request."
She rubbed her chin, clearly intrigued.
"Can't say I'm not curious about what you're pnning... but I won't pry."
She shrugged lightly.
"As long as I get paid and get to work with material this rare, that's good enough for me."
After all, once Judas had hired her, it was her duty as his personal smith to see the job through... no matter how strange the request might be.
"I think I can have it finished by the end of the week."
Hearing this, Judas nodded before the two moved on to discussing the price.
According to Tsubaki's calcutions, the cost would come to roughly four hundred million valis, taxes included.
Under normal circumstances, such a figure would've made Judas hesitate.
But now, he didn't even blink.
Having more than enough funds at his disposal, he accepted the price without compint.
Tsubaki, for her part, didn't bother questioning why someone who had only been an adventurer for a little bit over a month possessed such absurd wealth.
She simply raised her thumb in approval.
As long as the payment cleared, that was none of her business.
...
A single day passed in a fsh.
By then, the news of Ais Wallenstein's rank-up to Level 6 had already spread through the city like wildfire, becoming the centerpiece of countless street-side conversations.
"Hey, hasn't the Loki Familia been on fire tely?"
"Seriously. First that super rookie and record-holder, Judas Spade, and now the Sword Princess herself reaches Level 6..."
"At this rate, it feels like the Loki Familia has already left the Freya Familia in the dust when it comes to becoming Orario's top faction."
"Haha, don't get carried away. The Freya Familia still has the only Level 7 in the city... Ottar, the warlord himself."
"Who's stronger between them isn't something people like us are even qualified to debate."
Nearby, a certain goddess manning a fried potato stand twitched her ears.
"Tsk... that ft-chested monkey."
Hestia clicked her tongue, annoyance clear on her face as she listened in.
"Everyone keeps talking about her familia tely."
Her gaze drifted away as she muttered under her breath.
"If only Judas had joined my familia..."
After a long day of work, Hestia finally returned to the Abandoned Church—only to be met with Belle rushing straight toward her, eyes shining as she asked for a status update.
"Alright, alright. Take off your shirt."
Seeing the enthusiasm of her one and only child, Hestia couldn't help but smile.
========================================
Belle Cranel
LV 1
STR: SSS 1324 ---> SSS 1470
END: SSS 1640 ---> SSS 1889
DEX: SSS 1338 ---> SSS 1497
AGI: SSS 1407 ---> SSS 1615
MAG: C 651 ---> S 908
SKILLS: [Tenebris Vitalis]
[Liaris Freese]
MAGIC: [Firebolt]
========================================
No matter how many times she saw it, Hestia couldn't help but sigh in amazement at those numbers.
"They really are monstrous..."
She handed over the parchment with a proud smile.
"Here you go, Belle. Your updated status."
"Thank you very much, Goddess."
Belle returned the smile before lowering her gaze to carefully read through the sheet.
"Oh... it's finally S-rank. It looks like my MAG stat is starting to catch up a bit."
Belle nodded in quiet satisfaction as she looked over the parchment.
"Most adventurers never reach S-rank in any parameter their entire lives... and this is your weakest stat."
Hestia puffed out her chest proudly, hands pnted on her hips.
"There's no doubt about it. If anyone saw your status right now, their jaws would drop straight to the floor."
She snorted.
"I bet none of Loki's kids have stats anywhere near this. I almost want to show it off just so I can wipe that arrogant grin off her face."
Although she cked experience as the patron goddess of a familia, Hestia wasn't completely ignorant.
Thanks to advice from her closest friend, Hephaestus, she knew how things normally worked.
For most adventurers, their parameters naturally pteaued around D-rank.
No matter how hard they trained or how desperately they struggled, they would eventually hit a wall... one that no amount of effort could break through.
That wall represented the limit of their potential.
Yet that so-called universal rule didn't seem to apply to Belle.
No matter how much she grew, there was no sign of her progress slowing down.
It was as if her limits simply... didn't exist.
"Still..."
Hestia muttered, folding her arms,
"I can't believe that heartless, tyrannical woman actually gave you a grimoire."
She clicked her tongue.
"I've heard those things go for millions of valis."
Her thoughts drifted back to that day.
Alfia had arrived without warning, pced an unremarkable thick book into Belle's hands, and said only one thing:
'Read this. Then get your status updated immediately.'
She hadn't bothered expining anything further.
The moment Belle opened the book, she colpsed onto the floor... face down, ass up.
When she woke up minutes ter... and after Hestia updated his falna... the magic slot that had always been empty now held a single spell.
A no-chant magic.
Firebolt.
The smile Belle wore that day had been so radiant it was almost blinding.
"Sre you sure you don't want to rank up already? Your stats are more than enough."
Hestia continued, fixing him with a serious look.
She tilted her head slightly.
"What are you waiting for?"
"Ah... well, to be honest, my mother won't let me."
Belle replied, scratching the back of her head awkwardly,
"She told me to reach the absolute limits of my stats first before ranking up."
Hestia stared at her for a moment.
Then she sighed, saying nothing more.
---
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