50 Chapter 50: Official Meeting

"..."

"This is making me tense…"

"You struck gold yet again, Nobu-kun."

Hearing that, my excitement began to bubble up.

"Ubiquitous… It temporarily bestows the developmental ability of a weapon."

Hephaestus-sama began explaining its effects.

[Ubiquitous] is a one-of-a-kind ability. By using a certain weapon, I will temporarily gain the developmental ability related to it.

Immediately, I tried its effects. I took out [Sora] and held it in my grasp.

"There's a new [Samurai] ability in your status."

Hephaestus-sama told me about the changes in my status. Eagerly, I replaced Sora with the modern gun I brought over.

"This time, it's… [Marksman]."

Holy…

I struck the jackpot.

"How in the world…"

I could only blankly look at the ceiling. I was so out of it that I met Hephaestus-sama's gaze and nearly fell off the chair. I am currently sitting with the back of the chair in front. She is right behind me, which made me wonder if something interesting might have happened if I fell.

"You do get childish sometimes." She said with a mix of laughter. "Everything you've said made me forgot you're still a child."

"I am not a child… technically. How could someone with centuries worth of memories be considered one?"

"In the eyes of gods, you are a child."

Well… That's true. Beings who lived for thousands of years considers the mortals of Orario a bunch of children. It is why they call them as such when they join their familia.

"Ahem. I just got too excited. This ability will assist me a huge deal. I don't need to worry about future job-related abilities."

[Ubiquitous] allows the switching of developmental abilities. With my fighting style of using different kinds of weapons, it'll be a huge boost to my current strength. Add to that my current status being level three, I might be able to fight level fives now—at least clash in a proper fight.

According to Lady Riveria, [Mage] boosts the mind and mana of mages. It is a fundamental skill if they wanted to fight across levels. It could overlap with [Sirius] and even [Mana Furnace].

Soon, Hephaestus-sama finished locking my status. She gave me the paper containing my status.

[Level 3]

Strength: I0 Defense: I0 Dexterity: I0 Agility: I0 Magic: I0

Hacker: G → F Ubiquitous: H

<<Magic>>

[Orionids]

[Memoir Manifest]

<<Skills>>

[Miracle Maker]

[Child of Constellations (星座の子)]

[Proof of Combat (F)] (51% to be upgraded)

[Mana Furnace]

"Having SSS in all status… Loki will go on a rampage if she knew about this."

"Uhm?"

From what I know, Loki is a terrifying god. Hephaestus-sama told me that she killed many gods in Tenkai. At the same time, she acts like a drunkard based on what I saw on Benevolent Mistress. Except for that, I never met her personally.

Actually, I find it weird. I come and visit Twilight Manor from 6:30 AM to 8:00 AM yet she never appeared. Though it is also reasonable if she is still sleeping at this time. As for Finn-san and Gareth-san, they might be busy with familia-related matters. I never met the other executives and top executives.

Other than them, we always trained in the same place without Loki familia members. Perhaps they are abiding by the 'no other familia involvement' and only made an exception when they saw I'm teaching Aiz-san and Tiona-san something useful.

It could also be for another reason.

"Aiz has been her pride and joy. Knowing there's someone with better results will earn her envy."

"I see."

I know I will meet her one day. By then, I hope it'll be a manageable one.

*****

A few hours later.

'What a coincidence…'

I was saying this hypothetical scenario early in the morning, but I didn't expect it to truly happen. After five days of 'observation', they are finally willing to make an official appointment. I am currently being led to their captain's office.

I glanced at Lady Riveria's back. Now that I 'officially' entered the Twilight Manor, I could feel the people's gazes on me. It is not similar to that time when I am only with Tiona-san, Lefiya-san, Aiz-san, and Lady Riveria. It is more formal.

I am used to this. As the son of one of the richest men in the world, I inevitably gained attention. It is only through tou-san's work that my face is not plastered everywhere.

I decided to exhibit a very formal gesture—the one used for formal events.

After passing through many rooms, we arrived at our destination. The Twilight Manor is bigger than our familia home, mostly due to their familia members using it. Most of the Hephaestus Familia live on the forges in the northeast district. Their willpower to create a masterpiece is not a joke.

"Do you want to ask something?"

Lady Riveria broke the silence.

"No. Everything I should need to know will be told during the meeting. There's no need to bother Lady Riveria for this."

"I understand."

Seeing her smile, I briefly appreciated her beauty. Her charm is on par with Aiz-san—a literal spirit. I guess High Elves are the 'highest' in their hierarchy for a reason.

The door to the office was opened. After going inside, I saw three people: a blonde pallum, a bulky dwarf, and a red-haired goddess.

Deimne-san is sitting behind the desk while Landrock-san sat on one of the chairs. Lady Riveria chose to stand behind me—a considerate gesture to not place me under greater pressure.

I recalled them from my memories.

The goddess who sat on the desk spoke first.

"It's nice to meet'cha, Sirius!"

*****

"Greetings, Loki-sama."

Nobu respectfully returned her greetings. He showed respect that should be directed to a god.

"Deimne-san and Ladrock-san as well."

"Greetings."

"Hello."

Finn and Gareth also greeted back.

"It's a bit late, but we finally meet."

From the moment he entered, Finn observed the white-haired boy. He was vastly different than his bloodthirsty self in the dungeon. Nobu is more of a well-educated prince than anything.

"I share the same sentiment." Nobu swiftly added, "I apologize for my behavior that time."

"So you already know... You don't need to worry about it."

"That's a relief."

Finn gestured for him to sit down, in which Nobu did.

"Well, well~!" Loki observed the rising star closely. "You are as special as the rumors say."

"They're exaggerating. I am not that special. I simply had the time to learn things." Nobu replied.

He didn't lie. He is rather mediocre before he honed himself with the cheat. With it, he managed to experience many things that sharpened himself. That was how he managed to have exaggerated skillsets. Through the help of time, he mastered many things.

Of course, his accumulations turned into something ridiculous upon receiving falna. He broke his limits in a swift manner.

"The rumors would disagree with that, y'know?"

"That's how it is." Nobu replied to Loki.

After that, Finn began speaking.

"I have to thank you for training the two. It is very effective."

"It's not a big deal. It is mostly Aiz-san's and Tiona-san's efforts."

"Ye undervalue yourself. I never heard of trainin' your senses like that until now!" Gareth added with a grin, "I see why yer a rising rookie."

In the morning, Finn is responsible for the deskwork while Gareth trained the rookies. These were partly the reasons that they haven't met Nobu until now. Nevertheless, they saw the effects of their training.

During their spars, they saw how swiftly Aiz and Tiona reacted compared to before. The latter was even dodging her sister's serious blows easily compared to before.

"It's all thanks to my travels. I have more experiences than the norm."

"Speaking of your travels… I'm interested." Loki said. "How was Gekai in your eyes?"

"Hm… It was nothing short of amazing."

Knowing he couldn't lie to a god, he described his week-long journey with the Artemis Familia.

"It subverted my expectations the more I saw."

It is true.

When he first arrived in this world, he noticed how jumbled the progress in this world. For instance, the people of this world have chocolate, coffee, and croquettes. They know the concept of 'taxis', 'cafes', and 'street lamps'. However, Gekai is still in its medieval era.

The cause of these was the gods who descended from Tenkai. Based on them, there are things in Tenkai.

Meaning, this could be seen as several time-travelers who went to the past and spread the present time's technology.

"Subverting expectations… What a great way to say it!"

For some reason, Loki felt these words are suitable to describe Gekai the most. Time and time, many 'heroes' rose during the age of gods.

One such person is the 'self-made' hero, Finn Deimne.

"Deimne-san, about the reason for this meeting…"

"It is a proposal."

"A proposal?"

Nobu immediately guessed it has something to do with his unbreakable magic swords. By now, everyone in Orario went in a frenzy to buy one of these. It is a rarity—a one-of-a-kind—in the entire Gekai itself.

"A proposal for cooperation. We want to do a mass purchase of your magic swords and possibly a long-term agreement."

"I see. How much do you require? If it's around thirty, it'll take a month to complete a batch. If it's on a level of a Superior, it'll take four to five days to finish one."

Finn was surprised at how easily he agreed. It led to him guessing that Nobu already knew the reason behind this meeting.

Immediately, the two began talking about business. Nobu kept with Finn's pace like a seasoned veteran. He spoke eloquently and retreated when necessary.

Finn expected for his response to be shorted as 'I'll ask Hephaestus' or 'I'll decide later'. His current performance is nothing less of surprising. It is his first time seeing a twelve-year-old with this level of eloquence. Not even princes of most kingdoms could match him—it's as if he is facing against an old man with a hundred years of experience.

In the end, the two met an agreement. Finn wanted fifteen magic swords suitable for Level fours and two Superiors—one for Aiz and Tiona. He intended to check its efficiency personally before ordering en masse. Managing the familia's funds is of great significance. Losing several million valis will be painful for them.

Loki Familia is under the misconception of them being 'rich'. Since they are one of the strongest familia, they are 'wealthy', or so they say. However, most of their wealth were spent for supplies. With how big the familia are, their expenses are eight digits in every expedition.

"Then, can Deimne-san write the characteristics of each magic swords?"

Nobu handed out a blank paper between his notebook. He also handed over a pen.

"Ah, right. The [Durandal] attribute will be a freebie for the Superiors. The requested magic is separate from it." He immediately dropped a bomb.

One has to know that [Durandal] could increase the price of a weapon to ten million valis. Also, there aren't any predecents of [Durandal] weapons having another magic.

Finn processed this information considerably as he knew how Nobu used a [Durandal] sword as training weapons. It was still a shock for the others, nevertheless.

"Are you planning on wooing one of my children? I'll let you know that you can't!"

Nobu silently looked at the flat-chest goddess. Her playfulness never changed from what he could remember.

"You are mistaken, Loki-sama. I have no such thoughts."

"Really~? We are not sure about that."

"You can stop now, Loki-sama."

Unexpectedly, Riveria took Nobu's side.

"Eek~?! Even Mama—"

Loki was instantly shut down by Riveria's threatening eyes. Mentioning 'that' to her familia members are embarrassing already, more so when there's someone from another familia present.

Sensing such 'malice', Nobu affirmed to not anger her. The High Elf could threaten someone with a single glare. That's undoubtedly scary.

"Haha! Yer on the wrong this time." Gareth commented.

"I'm sorry~!"

Loki apologized with both of her palms stuck to each other. It is a traditional apology in Japan.

Seeing these happen, Nobu fell silent. He hadn't expected for even the Loki Familia to have a goofy side. Then again, they are also mortals. Considering how Tsubaki acted around him, this is completely reasonable.

"My apologies that you have to see this display." Finn said.

"No, it's fine. Tsubaki-nee could be like that sometimes. I totally understand."

The two sent a sympathetic gaze to one another.

"She's still like that?" Gareth laughed as he heard about Tsubaki.

"Unfortunately, yes. Landrock-san should be familiar with her. She won't change."

Hearing this, Gareth said with a chuckle, "That's how Tsubaki is. Anyways… Ye can forgo the formalities. You can call me Gareth just like her."

"I can't completely forgo the formalities… Gareth-san."

"No problem. It's yer culture, ain't it?"

Nobu is born in Japan. He couldn't simply call them without any formalities, more of when they haven't known each other much. Filvis and Ein were the exception. He saw how unstable Ein was, thus he gave in to her request. As for his friends in Artemis and Hephaestus Familia, he still attaches a suffix after their first names. They are older than him, after all.

"You can also call me with my first name."

Finn succeeded Gareth with the request.

"Then… Finn-san."

Loki saw everything happen. When Nobu called Finn with his first name, she sent a questioning look at Riveria. The latter saw this and explained:

"I already asked Sirius to call me as such."

"Eh?!"

The drunkard goddess felt Nobu's influence growing slowly.

"Everyone can also call me with my first name. It's a bad thing to not reciprocate."

In the end, this led to their familiarity growing upon their first meeting. It completely undermined Nobu's expectations of the meeting being fully formal. Fortunately, he easily adjusted to the flow.

Whe the entire meeting ended, Nobu left the office to continue the magic study with Riveria.

"Sigh… That boy will start aiming for the girls soon. Even if it's unintentional, he will capture their hearts..!"

"Look who's talking…" Finn sighed exasperatedly. "If that comes true, I could trust him better than you."

"Finn?! You're already switching sides?!"

"It's not untrue. From his manners and wisdom, he doesn't look like a kid. He's far mature for his age. Haven't you seen it?"

"True…"

In the first place, it was Loki's plan to let Nobu familiarize himself with Riveria first before this meeting. She wanted to understand his personality. By the time this meeting occurred, her deliberate words loosened the formal atmosphere.

Nobu only became this close due to his prior familiarity with Aiz, Tiona, and Riveria. If not for that, it would have felt more formal to him.

"Even so, I won't give up—!"

After her ramblings, Finn asked something to the other two.

"When I was talking with him, did you see it?"

"His senses? Yeah. It was sharp enough to feel Riveria's gaze from behind." Gareth replied.

Loki stopped fooling around as she added, "You're right. That kid went through a lot."

She wasn't the god of tricksters for nothing. Her scheming eyes could see that there was a lot more to Nobu than on the surface. Coupled with what everyone from Loki Familia saw, it is not difficult for them to deduce it.

Still, they would respect their partner's privacy by not digging further. After all, Loki Familia wanted to sincerely cooperate with Nobu, and in turn, the Hephaestus Familia as well. It will definitely help if the creator of unbreakable magic swords chose to do business with them.

Thinking of him, Loki couldn't help but anticipate the 'surprises' he would further bring to Orario.