Chapter 25: The Shy Goddess of Blacksmithing
With that, Hephaestus's tone sounded somewhat helpless.
"Doing that kind of thing with a god who could potentially become hostile would make the Familia unhappy too... That being said, I suppose the moment Freya smiles, adventurers wanting to become her Familia members would rush over like madmen."
Hephaestus let out a soft sigh, scratching her right eye patch with her slender fingers.
This was a little habit of hers.
She could say whatever she wanted, but whenever she couldn't psychologically accept something or felt dissatisfied, she would frequently make this gesture.
Shirou suddenly put down his wine glass.
"Regardless of how much longer this banquet goes on, I'm planning to leave. What about you?"
"I'm about ready to leave too..." Hephaestus replied.
"Together?" Shirou asked.
Hearing Shirou's invitation, Hephaestus paused for a moment, then nodded.
"Let's go together, then."
Just as the two of them intended to leave the banquet together, they suddenly noticed the figure of an elderly god appearing near the entrance.
"Ouranos!?"
"No way? That gloomy old codger from the [Adventurer Guild] actually walked out of his basement..."
The newcomer was an elderly god with silver hair and a silver beard, possessing a robust and sturdy build.
His gaze was filled with sharp radiance, making people dare not meet his eyes directly.
The deities present were all surprised by Ouranos's arrival.
Although an invitation letter to this Banquet of the Gods had also been sent to this deity, based on his past habits, even if he saw the invitation, he would simply ignore it and continue staying shut away in the basement of the [Adventurer Guild] without stepping outside.
Yet today's situation left a crowd of gods feeling astonished, unable to understand what purpose this elderly god, who had lived for who knows how many hundreds of millions of years, could possibly have in coming here.
"A pleasure to meet you, deity from another world. This old man is Ouranos, serving as the main deity of Orario's [Adventurer Guild]."
"Oh?"
Shirou looked at this elderly god.
"Did you need something from me?"
It wasn't as if he hadn't considered that the other party might be here to cause trouble, but Shirou could sense that this old god held no malicious intent; he had come carrying more of a sense of question and inquiry.
"This old man would like to ask a question. As a deity from another world, what on earth is Your Excellency Orihara's purpose in descending upon Orario?"
Ouranos's gaze was as sharp as a falcon's, staring intently at Shirou.
"A visitor doesn't call unless it's an emergency. Even I cannot see through your strength. This can only mean that your power is far beyond mine, reaching even the level of a being like the 'Primordial God' Chaos. Therefore, I want to know... what exactly do you want to do by coming here? Or rather, do you intend to harm Orario?"
As soon as these words fell, the surrounding deities all quieted down.
That's right, setting aside the novelty of an otherworldly deity, they were still completely in the dark regarding Shirou's purpose for coming to this world.
This was Genkai, the place where they lived together with their children. An otherworldly deity possessing terrifying power far surpassing the gods, completely free from any restrictions—with just a slight wave of his arm, he could sweep everything away like a natural disaster.
The gods did not fear death, but they worried about their incredibly precious children—those who spent several years together with them, and even if they could not walk hand-in-hand into eternity, remained filled with human flaws and yet were still endlessly adorable.
Hearing Ouranos's inquiry, Shirou gave a light chuckle.
"Hahaha, you can rest completely easy about that. I won't do anything that would harm this world... or Orario. I didn't come here for destruction, nor for hegemony. If I had to state a purpose, it would be to roam freely and enjoy this world to the fullest, experiencing everything it has to offer."
As he spoke these words, Shirou's pale golden eyes remained fixed on Ouranos. A gaze completely devoid of a shred of hostility allowed Ouranos to let out a breath of relief.
"Is that so... This old man understands."
Ouranos nodded, a smile appearing on his face.
"Then, please forgive this old man's misunderstanding. Deity from another world, Your Excellency Shirou Orihara, please experience everything this world has to offer to your heart's content. I hope it brings you joy."
"It is an honor."
Shirou nodded.
The conversation concluded, and Ouranos did not linger any longer, departing directly from the Banquet of the Gods.
Unlike the other gods who had nothing to do and spent all day eating, drinking, and making merry, this elderly god shouldered a heavy responsibility.
Through the altar and divine will, he suppressed the will of the dungeon, preventing monsters and the existing order of Orario from running amok.
"Is it over...?"
Hephaestus walked over and asked.
"Should be..." Shirou spread his hands, then said to Hephaestus and Lili, "Well then, let's go."
"Mm..."
Hephaestus nodded.
Lili obediently followed right behind Shirou.
The three of them bid farewell to the gods' banquet, left the [Ganesha Familia], and walked toward another block.
Beneath the night sky, magic stone lamps illuminated the city, and the gleaming colors reflected all around turned Orario into a city that never sleeps.
Pedestrians kept coming and going on the streets; compared to daytime, there were even more people out.
The three of them walked along a street as lively as the day.
"Speaking of which, Shirou, did you run into Hestia earlier?"
Hephaestus asked curiously as they walked.
"Yeah. Being curious about the Goddess of the Sacred Fire, I treated her to a meal. She seemed to be living rather frugally, and even borrowed some money from me."
Shirou replied indifferently.
Hephaestus nodded, casting an apologetic look toward Shirou.
"I hope my friend didn't cause you any trouble."
"No, she didn't cause me any trouble at all. If anything, I'm rather glad she did."
Shirou said with a smile.
If that really were the case, he'd have an even better reason to lure this goddess over.
Though things were fine as they were now too; having Hestia change from her lazy ways made one quite look forward to her future performance.
"That girl said some things to me today, and that's how I found out she changed so much because of you."
Hephaestus said with quite a bit of emotion.
Shirou suddenly looked at her face with a hint of playful interest.
"Wh-What is it...?"
Feeling that Shirou's gaze was somewhat strange, Hephaestus asked with a nervous flutter in her chest.
Shirou looked at her with a smile and said:
"Compared to Hestia, you—someone who kept caring about her even after having been disappointed—I find you quite cute, you know."
"C-Cute...!? "
Hearing those words, Hephaestus's cheeks flushed red uncontrollably, and she immediately averted her gaze.
"Wh-What on earth are you saying!"
Seeing that they were already close to reaching the encampment of the [Hephaestus Familia], Shirou also slowed his pace.
Meanwhile, Hephaestus walked up to the entrance of the shop, turned around, and smiled as she waved goodbye to Shirou.
"We had a really nice chat today. See you next time~"
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