Everything that happened inside the Dungeon had been etched clearly into their minds.
The moment Izumi unleashed his power, the Dungeon itself had responded with fury.
What should have been a single Floor Boss multiplied into several.
There was no doubt about it—the Dungeon was actively trying to drive Izumi away.
Now that they had left, the Dungeon's rage was gradually subsiding.
From this alone, it was obvious how strongly the Dungeon rejected Izumi's presence.
And the reason was simple.
He was far too strong.
It was like trying to stuff something enormous into a narrow space—the Dungeon felt uncomfortable, so it forcibly expelled him.
Having reached that conclusion, Riveria decided that once she returned, she would report everything to Loki.
As for how they should deal with Izumi in the future, that was no longer her responsibility.
That decision belonged to their goddess.
With their task complete, Riveria took her leave, leading Ais and the elf girl who clung to Ais like a devoted puppy away from the scene.
Before leaving, Ais cast a curious glance back at Izumi.
The power he had shown just now…
It was overwhelmingly strong.
If she could possess power like that, then surely she could—
That thought made Ais's heart stir.
Should she go and ask him if he would be willing to teach her?
"…Hmm…"
The usually expressionless Ais Wallenstein actually began to ponder seriously.
After all, growing stronger was something she thought about every single day.
Especially since she had been stuck at her current level for such a long time.
Of course, Izumi was completely unaware of her inner struggle.
At that moment, he had already returned to the shop with the girls.
The instant they stepped inside, Hestia came rushing down from the second floor, shouting anxiously.
"Izumi-kun!"
"Over here, over here! My friend is here—she wants to meet you!"
She had spotted Izumi from upstairs and immediately dashed down in excitement.
Izumi blinked in surprise.
Hestia's friend?
…Hephaistos?
With that thought, he nodded.
After letting the younger girls go play on their own, Izumi followed Hestia upstairs.
In the living room on the second floor, a woman with short crimson hair sat on the sofa, carefully examining a weapon she had purchased.
It was one of the weapons Izumi had projected.
One of her eyes was covered by a black eyepatch.
Her expression looked fierce, yet her figure was undeniably impressive.
So people with great figures really do tend to hang out together, Izumi thought.
That probably explains why Loki and Hestia never get along.
As he was thinking that, somewhere else in Orario—
Loki suddenly sneezed.
"…Huh? I feel like I was just insulted."
She shrugged it off without much thought, continuing to grin to herself in a locked room.
Green light flashed intermittently, accompanied by a mechanical voice.
"BOOST."
Ever since acquiring the Boosted Gear, the goddess had been holed up, experimenting nonstop.
A, B, C, D… all the way to G.
She tested every stage.
G was too heavy.
B felt too small.
After endless trial and error, she still wasn't completely satisfied.
But she had confirmed one thing about the Divine Weapon's properties—
As long as she didn't cancel it manually, the power boost would remain active.
That alone made her extremely happy.
Being able to switch freely at will?
Perfect.
Absolutely perfect.
Back at Izumi's shop.
After Izumi and Hestia sat down, the red-haired goddess placed the weapon aside and slowly looked him up and down.
"So you're the one who's keeping Hestia."
"You're pretty handsome."
"Not bad at all—Hestia did well."
"H-Hey! Don't put it that way!" Hestia protested indignantly.
"It's cooperation! Cooperation!"
"I told you already!"
But Hephaistos ignored her completely, instead studying Izumi with clear interest.
Hestia had already told her everything.
About this otherworldly man.
About how he treated her as a tool god for forging.
And yet—
Hephaistos hadn't objected.
As long as her foolish friend hadn't been deceived, that was all that mattered.
Judging by Izumi's shop alone, deception was out of the question.
She had personally examined the weapons Izumi sold.
Without true ability, such weapons simply couldn't be made.
Some of them couldn't even be explained by materials alone.
They clearly involved some form of special power.
Which meant—
This man might very well be a god himself.
A god from another world.
Hestia had never told anyone about the matter of godslaying.
If that information got out, Orario would explode into chaos.
So in Hephaistos's eyes, Izumi was simply another deity—
One who specialized in weapon creation.
Whether Hestia was being "kept" or not didn't really matter.
As long as she was doing well, that was enough.
Izumi, meanwhile, was also observing the goddess before him with curiosity.
He had long been interested in Hephaistos's self-growing weapons.
He couldn't reproduce them on his own.
But if he could get a few from her to analyze…
Then he could replicate them with his Authority.
With that thought, Izumi spoke politely.
"Nice to meet you, Lady Hephaistos."
"May I ask what brings you here today?"
Hephaistos shook her head.
"Nothing special."
"I just wanted to see who the man 'keeping' Hestia was."
"And while I'm here—"
"I'd like to exchange some knowledge about weapon forging."
As she spoke, her expression grew increasingly fervent.
Izumi's weapons were simply too impressive.
She wanted to know what kind of insights he had.
Hearing that, Izumi twitched at the corner of his mouth.
Then, without hesitation, he casually manifested a golden sword in his hand.
Excalibur—
the Sword of Promised Victory.
"This is how I make them," he said calmly.
"No particular诀窍."
Hephaistos froze.
"…That's it?"
"You make them like that?"
"You're not just pulling them out of some spatial storage, are you?"
Her brain completely shut down.
What the hell?!
No materials.
No forge.
No hammer.
And you're telling her this counts as forging?!
Izumi simply smiled.
Then, one after another, he manifested more weapons, placing them neatly in front of her.
Watching him casually produce weapon after weapon, Hephaistos's face completely collapsed.
"...!!!"
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"I bust my ass forging for ages and can barely complete one!"
"And you just casually mass-produce this many?!"
"You're serious?!"
"Are you the God of Weapons or something?!"
Her pride, refined over countless eons, shattered instantly.
She had come here to exchange knowledge—
And instead, she'd been utterly crushed.
The weapons he produced in bulk were superior to even her finest masterpieces.
In that moment, the mindset she had maintained for billions of years…
Completely exploded.