After the celebration, everyone naturally went their separate ways. Charles made a point of finding a spot where Ais couldn't see him before finally enjoying a proper al in peace.
That night, at Twilight Manor, Finn finished settling the rest of the mbers—especially the drunkards—before heading to Loki's room.
Seeing who it was, Loki instinctively hid the bottle in her hand behind her back, then relaxed and grumbled, "Oh, it's just Finn. I thought it was Riveria."
Finn, long accustod to his goddess's antics, said, "If you wanted to drink, why didn't you co join the celebration?"
Loki pulled a sour face and said, "Bla Riveria! She found out I bought Somas Wine while you guys were on expedition and took away all my good liquor. Then she even banned from joining the party!"
Finn sighed. "You really are a handful, you know that?"
Loki took a deep swig from her hidden bottle, then asked, "So? Did you have fun at the celebration?"
Finn nodded. "Everyone's been on edge during the expedition. The party was mostly to help them relax.
But I did et soone… interesting."
Loki raised a brow. "Oh? It's not often you say that. Who is it?"
"A newcor from the Hephaestus Familia," Finn said. "Apparently, he has the ability to forge magic swords. I suspect he's the one who defeated Jara."
"Magic swords, huh!"
Loki instantly arrived at the sa conclusion Finn had: "No wonder he could beat Jara. Damn, Hephaestus always finds the good ones…"
Just then, soone knocked on the door.
"Co in!" Loki called.
The door opened, and Ais walked in.
"Loki, you said I could co tonight for a status update," she said calmly.
Loki's face imdiately lit up with a pervy grin, her fingers twitching ominously. "I've been waiting forever! If I accidentally do sothing I shouldn't, please forgive !"
Finn let out a helpless sigh and was about to excuse himself, but paused as a thought occurred to him. He turned to Ais and asked, "By the way, Ais… why were you staring at that Hephaestus kid during the celebration?"
Ais's stare had been far too obvious. There was no way Finn hadn't noticed.
Ais thought for a mont and said, "I've seen him before."
"What?!"
Before Finn could react, Loki was already losing it. "When?! Where?! Damn it, is he trying to seduce my Ais-chwan?!"
Finn ignored Loki's outburst, but he was equally interested in the answer.
"In the dungeon, during the expedition," Ais replied. "I saw him on the 18th floor."
"The 18th floor…?"
Finn imdiately realized he'd overlooked sothing.
Hephaestus had only told Loki that her Familia mber had encountered Jara in the dungeon—but she hadn't said where.
Reaching the 18th floor ant Charles was at least Level 2.
If he could forge magic swords, that ant he'd unlocked the [Forge] skill, which only activated after a successful "feat." In other words, Charles had already leveled up.
Loki reached the sa conclusion. Her smile vanished, and she exchanged a serious look with Finn.
Then Finn asked Ais, "But you wouldn't have stared like that just because you recognized him. Was there sothing else?"
Ais nodded. "He's… special."
Finn massaged his forehead. "And what exactly makes him special?"
Ais tilted her head, as if to say "special is just special, what's there to explain?"
Finn sighed harder. "Okay, is there sothing about him that feels different from other adventurers?"
Ais's expression brightened as if she finally understood. "He's dangerous. More dangerous than you."
Finn and Loki both froze.
Ais's words were simple, but they triggered all sorts of alarms.
"Dangerous," in Ais's mouth, ant "strong."
For Ais to say Charles felt more dangerous than Finn—who stood atop Orario's adventurer hierarchy as a Level 6—was staggering.
Finn, after all, had unlocked one magic and two skills the mont he received Falna. He was a genius among geniuses, one of the few standing at the very top of the city.
Even so, Ais still thought Charles was stronger?
They couldn't help but suspect Ais was mistaken.
But Finn was more puzzled by sothing else: Why hadn't he felt anything dangerous when he was face to face with Charles? Why only Ais?
The truth was—Ais herself didn't understand either. Perhaps it was the faint resemblance she sensed between Charles and her father. Or maybe it was sothing only those with a shared goal could detect.
After all, both of them had the sa ultimate goal: defeating the Black Dragon.
…Even if they weren't aiming at the sa one.
Of course, Charles had no idea that Ais's irrational intuition had reignited Finn's earlier suspicions.
But even if he did, Charles wouldn't have been too worried.
He had only been keeping a low profile to avoid distractions while studying and training. But now that he'd completed his foundational learning, he was confident he could handle whatever trouble ca his way.
The day after the celebration, Charles's workshop was finally repaired.
However, he was out of materials, and his research on divine script had stalled. With nothing urgent to do, he decided to head out and unwind.
Co to think of it—aside from his first day in Orario, when he ran around trying to join a Familia—he'd never really taken a good look at the city.
Orario was divided like a compass rose into eight sections. The Hephaestus Familia's headquarters and forge district were located in the northeast.
Right next to it was the northern comrcial district—Orario's bustling shopping and fashion zone. It also had countless food stalls and street vendors.
This was Charles's first real visit to the area, and he had to admit—it was the most "otherworldly" place he'd ever seen.
People strolled about clad in armor, weapons at their sides, and most of their conversations revolved around dungeon escapades.
As he walked, Charles spotted a particularly popular food stand.
One of Orario's most famous street foods was fried potato balls—nicknad "Potato Puff-senpai" by adventurers.
Like crepes in his previous life, these potato balls ca in countless flavors. Ais was known to be especially fond of the red bean cream variety.
But Charles wasn't drawn by the snack itself. His attention was fixed on the one selling them—a goddess.
The vendor behind the stand was none other than Hestia, who'd been kicked out by Hephaestus.
Though Hephaestus had done so harshly on the surface, she still cared deeply for her old friend.
She had found Hestia a place to stay—a rundown church—and even helped her land a job.
Still, Charles had heard that Hestia had blown up an entire street half a month ago by misusing a fla spell.
Since then, she'd earned the nickna "Calamity of North Street."
Hephaestus had supposedly covered the damages on her behalf, too.
Seeing the familiar little goddess, Charles suddenly rembered: Bell Cranel should have arrived in Orario by now.
For reasons he couldn't quite explain, Charles suddenly found himself wanting to et this boy who dread of becoming a hero.
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