The bustling night scenery gradually faded behind them, and the surroundings grew calm.
Bell and the others crossed the streets and headed toward the mansion.
"It's too late, so I won't go with you. I'll co by tomorrow and have Hestia-sama update my Status."
Welf said his goodbye.
He had chosen not to live in the mansion, instead making the forge his place to stay.
At first, Bell had suggested building a small smithing hut for Welf in the mansion courtyard.
But Welf had said that sotis, once he got absorbed in forging, he would completely lose track of ti.
With Artemis and so many other won living there, he would probably end up disturbing their rest.
So Bell found a relatively secluded spot nearby and asked the Goibniu Familia to build a new workshop.
Compared to the forge assigned by the Hephaestus Familia, that place was not only fully equipped, but the living conditions were on a completely different level.
Goibniu had finished the job in just one day.
When Welf moved in the day before yesterday, he had been overwheld with excitent.
"Bell... is this really a Workshop?!"
Welf excitedly pushed open door after door.
Besides the luxurious forge itself, there were several spacious rooms outside it, all furnished with everything needed for daily life.
Even an entire family could live there quite comfortably.
"That's right. This is your own personal workshop."
Bell repeated himself.
For blacksmiths, workshops generally ca in several tiers.
At the lowest level were the huge communal forges everyone shared. If you wanted to use one, you had to pay rent regularly.
A step above that were private forge huts like those in the Hephaestus Familia. To keep a smith's techniques from being exposed, the Familia granted special privileges and prepared dedicated smithing spaces for their mbers.
Welf's old workshop had been like that.
It had been located in the industrial district where Magic Stones were processed, and whenever Welf did not feel like going back to rest, he would just spend the night in the forge.
"Bell, this kind of treatnt is for a top-class blacksmith. It's way too wasted on ."
Welf looked around, the excitent still clear on his face.
"It's already built. The Goibniu Familia definitely won't allow refunds."
Bell replied with a smile.
"But this must have cost a lot, right?"
Welf asked worriedly.
The Hestia Familia had only just begun getting on its feet, yet Bell had not only indulged his selfish request, he had even made the workshop this luxurious.
Welf could not help worrying that he might be dragging Bell down.
"You don't need to worry about that. This land was abandoned to begin with. Since we saved Artemis, the Guild awarded it to us as a reward."
Bell answered honestly.
"As for the construction money, it was provided by the Artemis Familia."
After the battle with Antares, the Artemis Familia had received a great deal of money.
The Goddess of the Moon upheld justice. As they journeyed across the world, they had helped countless people.
Such a kind goddess had nearly died together with her Familia in order to protect the ruins for the sake of the world.
When people in many cities learned that, they sent money to express their gratitude.
And Artemis had only taken Bell's hand gently and said one sentence.
"Everything I have belongs to Orion."
Just like that, the goddess handed all of her money over to Bell.
Bell used a small portion of it to build Welf's workshop.
"You were going to have one sooner or later anyway, so just think of it as saving the cost of renovating it later."
Bell was already looking far ahead.
Welf had helped him more tis than he could count.
During the battle with Antares, if not for the Magic Sword and Mikoto's magic buying ti, Argonaut would never have been able to reach full charge.
From that point of view, aside from their normal compensation, Welf and Mikoto should also have received a share of the money Artemis had gained.
But when Bell brought that up, both of them refused.
That donation should have belonged to Artemis in the first place. Even if it had ended up in Bell's hands under the na of being his lover, Welf and Mikoto still felt it would not be appropriate.
"If you really feel bad about living here, then I'll just have to rent it out to so other blacksmith."
Bell smiled lightly.
Besides Welf's share, Bell had also donated part of the money in Artemis's na to the Takemikazuchi Familia shrine.
For that poor shrine far away in the Far East, that sum was enough to guarantee the children food and warmth for several years.
Of course, Bell had not told Mikoto about it.
Only when a letter ca back from the shrine would she have a chance to find out.
"Rent it out to soone else? No, no, no, don't do that. I'm seriously going to cry."
Welf hurriedly said.
He truly did not know how to express the gratitude in his heart.
"If you think this place is too luxurious, then beco a top-class blacksmith."
Bell encouraged him.
"And even in the worst case, this [Ushiwakamaru] might break soday, and when that happens, I'll still be relying on your skill."
"Break? No way that's happening!"
The soul of a blacksmith burned in Welf's eyes.
"This is my masterpiece. Even if you took it into a fight against a Floor Boss, it still wouldn't break."
...
Welf never could have imagined that just one day later, the crimson dagger would shatter into countless fragnts.
"It broke... it broke..."
Welf murmured the words like delirious nonsense as he turned to leave.
The battle was already over, yet he still could not get that scene out of his head.
Other than cutting down a few minor monsters, [Ushiwakamaru] had not even managed a single real strike.
That short blade had been like so ignored little nobody. Before it could even touch Goliath's hide, the storm had completely crushed it to pieces.
"It actually broke that easily..."
Welf kept muttering to himself.
"Wait, there's sothing I forgot to say."
Bell called out to stop him.
"...What is it?"
Welf turned back, his face full of confusion.
"Because of the weapon and the Floor Boss, we'll probably be resting for the next few days."
Bell paused for a mont, then added,
"And Cecil will be visiting Orario in the next couple of days."
"......"
Welf's head was still full of [Ushiwakamaru].
It took him a short while to realize who Cecil was.
"...The blacksmith from the Astraea Familia?"
Welf sucked in a sharp breath.
A mont later, his eyes blazed with fighting spirit.
Cecil had feelings for Bell, and she had even once proposed replacing Welf as Bell's personal blacksmith.
The shattered dagger, the ti off, the rival who was about to arrive...
All of those factors piled together and turned into a fire burning in Welf's heart.
"I'm heading back first. Good night, everyone!"
Welf turned and hurried off.
Under the cold moonlight, the young man's figure disappeared into the night.
"Welf-sama will probably stay up very late tonight..."
"The Captain really is a demon..."
Lili and Daphne muttered their complaints under their breath.
"Oh, right. Even though tomorrow's a rest day, Cassandra-san's morning run still can't be skipped."
Bell said with a light laugh.
"Eh?! Captain!"
"Bell-dono, I'll keep an eye on her. Let's do our best together!"
With Mikoto's words bringing things to a close, everyone returned to the mansion.
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