Is It Wrong to Explore the Dungeon Even Though I’m Overpowered? (Danmachi SI- WC)

Chapter 66: Forged Bonds and Friendly Spars

Breakfast passed quickly after the introductions, and I was pleased to see that the four new recruits, including Bell and his sister, were already getting along well with everyone.

Once the meal ended, I asked our new members to stay behind while the others cleared the kitchen and went about their day. Only Hestia, Hephaestus, and Rem remained.

Hephaestus had come to check on my blacksmithing progress and offer tips if needed, while Rem stayed as my usual helper in the smithy. Hestia’s reason was obvious, she still needed to grant Aisha and Haruhime her Falna. The same might be true for Bell and Lucia, since Artemis and her had been quite busy yesterday.

Looking at the expectant, and somewhat nervous, faces before me, Haruhime and Bell being the most anxious, I offered them a gentle smile.

“Thank you for staying behind, everyone,” I said, hoping to help Bell and Haruhime relax.

“T-There’s no need to thank us, Reinhard-san!” Bell exclaimed, waving his hands quickly. “You’re the Captain of the Familia, after all.”

“T-That’s right!” Haruhime agreed, nodding cutely as her tail swayed back and forth.

“Thank you,” I replied with a soft chuckle. “The reason I asked you to stay is that now that you’re officially part of the Familia, I need to know what kinds of weapons and armor you prefer so I can make some for you.”

Surprised blinks greeted my words.

“You’re telling me that someone as strong as you is also the Familia’s main blacksmith?” Aisha asked, her eyes widening slightly.

“Yes,” I answered with a smile. “Blacksmithing is something I enjoy doing in my spare time. It helps me relax on stressful days. There’s just something soothing about hammering away at a piece of metal for a few hours.”

Hephaestus nodded in agreement beside me. “Spoken like a true blacksmith. I know the feeling well.”

Aisha noticed that Haruhime, Bell, and Lucia still looked a little confused, so she turned to them.

“Usually, adventurers who specialize in blacksmithing fall behind pure combat specialists,” she explained calmly, “since a lot of their time goes into making weapons and armor.” The others nodded in understanding as she continued.

“What’s surprising about Reinhard is that I know for a fact he’s only been an adventurer for less than three months, and yet he’s already Level 5,” Aisha continued. “It’s nothing short of miraculous that he still has time to spend on something as time-consuming as blacksmithing.”

The others’ eyes widened in amazement as they turned to look at me in awe.

“Now I’m curious about what you can make. Consider me interested, Reinhard~” Aisha said with a teasing smile.

Not quite sure how to respond, I simply nodded and turned to the other three.

“I’ll be in the smithy most of the day, so please feel free to stop by and let me know what you’d like,” I explained calmly. “If you have any questions or aren’t sure what kind of weapon and armor to specialize in, you’re welcome to ask anyone here, including me, for some tips.”

I received several excited nods in return.

“Though I can tell you that experience will be the real teacher, so don’t worry if you can’t think of anything right away,” I added with a reassuring smile. “If that’s the case, I can fit you with something basic until you decide.”

“Spoken like a true Captain,” Aisha said with a pleased smirk and a small nod.

“Of course~ There’s a reason my Rein-kun is the Captain after all,” Hestia declared proudly, puffing out her rather bountiful chest causing it to bounce in her tiny dress.

“Yep~ Reinhard-kun is the best!” Rem agreed, cheerfully copying Hestia’s pose.

“It’s the least I can do, since I have so many others counting on me,” I replied sheepishly, scratching the back of my head while trying to ignore the starry-eyed looks coming from Bell and Haruhime.

“Ahem. Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say. You’re free to do as you like for the rest of the day, just don’t forget what I mentioned, alright?” I said, gently moving the conversation along with a light cough into my fist.

Once everyone nodded, I turned to Hephaestus with a smile. “I apologize for keeping you waiting, Hephaestus-sama. If you would please follow me, I’ll lead you to the smithy.”

“No worries, I understand,” Hephaestus replied with a small shake of her head and a warm smile.

With that, Rem and I led the goddess to the smithy, chatting lightly between ourselves as we walked.

Behind us, I heard Hestia take charge, announcing that she would be granting her Falna to everyone.

=====

Several Hours Later

Working on something you enjoyed always made time pass much faster than you realized, and that was exactly what happened today.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, several hours had already flown by. I had taken everyone’s requests and finished their items.

In the end, Bell and Lucia weren’t quite sure what weapons to choose, so I made them some light armor along with a small but sturdy dagger each. For Aisha, I forged another greatsword that she seemed to really enjoy. For Haruhime, I made a pair of war fans for now.

Once they gained more combat experience in the Dungeon, I would craft them more personalized weapons. But since most of them were still beginners, this would have to do for the time being.

Hephaestus had stayed with us the entire time, quietly observing from the side without saying much, which felt a little strange. Still, I didn’t press her about it.

As lunchtime drew near, I finished the last item for now, some sandals for Haruhime that silenced the wearer’s steps.

“Hah, done for now,” I sighed softly, setting the hammer down. I smiled at Rem, who was already holding out a towel for me.

“Great job as always, Reinhard-kun~” Rem chirped happily.

I took the towel and wiped the sweat from my forehead before accepting the glass of cold water she offered next.

“Thank you, Rem,” I said, letting out a content sigh as the cool liquid slid down my throat.

Normally I wouldn’t sweat at all thanks to my various Divine Protections and Company Defenses, but I liked turning them off while smithing. It made the experience feel more rewarding, like truly feeling the heat of the flames with my own body.

“…May I see it?” Hephaestus suddenly spoke up. She had been quiet until now.

Turning toward her, I saw her studying my latest creation with an unreadable look in her eyes.

“Please, go ahead,” I replied with a smile and a nod.

She gave me a small nod in thanks, gently picked up the sandals, and inspected them closely for several long moments.

Seemingly satisfied, she set them back down and tilted her head at me. “These are very well made. I assume you were able to create magic items thanks to your Mystery Development Ability?”

Blinking at her question, I shook my head, which only seemed to confuse her further. I quickly explained, “Even before I gained that ability, I could already make magic weapons and armor if I wanted to, thanks to my other abilities.”

Hephaestus blinked, then widened her eyes in understanding and nodded.

I had told her about my otherworlder status some time ago, and she had accepted it rather easily, probably thanks in no small part to all the impossible things I could do, including healing the disfigurement on her face.

“To think that you’ve only been a blacksmith for less than three months and you’re already this far along,” Hephaestus muttered with a small, happy smile and a faint flush on her cheeks.

“At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if you eventually surpassed me as well,” she added, shaking her head. The joy in her voice was undeniable.

“Even if I could, that would take a long time,” I replied with a humble smile. “I’m more of a fighter, after all.”

While I could have tried to lie and say it was impossible, that would have been nothing but a sweet falsehood.

My power was growing at an absurd rate, even without counting all the Company talents and perks. If I tried even a little, it would probably take me less than a year to completely surpass her.

If I actually put in real effort, I could do it in half that time, or maybe even less. That was how ridiculous my current templates were. There was no point in lying to her now when she would figure out the truth soon enough anyway.

My words only caused Hephaestus to chuckle in amusement. “Always so modest. Anyways, I’m curious. The sword you made for Aisha-san was also a magic one, right? What can it do?” she asked, her expression turning eagerly cute.

After finishing cleaning my hands, we walked out of the smithy as I answered her. Rem happily clung to my left arm while Hephaestus walked on my other side. If one looked closely, every now and then she would send Rem some envious glances.

“Yes. Aisha’s sword has the ability to amplify her attacks by a factor of two. It can go up to four times if she channels mana into it, though that’s more of a last-resort attack,” I explained calmly.

“Impressive. Huhuhu, now I’m curious how your magic items would stack up against the ones made in this world. Those are somewhat unreliable and tend to break most of the time,” Hephaestus said with an impressed look, giggling cutely.

“Only time will tell, I suppose,” I replied in a relaxed manner.

At that moment, Lili walked out of the door leading to the back with a small frown on her face and made a beeline straight for us. We all raised a curious eyebrow.

“Reinhard-sama, a member of the Loki Familia is here to see you,” she informed us, mostly me, with a cute pout. “She said you invited her, and Ram-sama verified her words. She seemed to know her.”

Tilting my head, only one name came to mind.

“Is it perhaps Ais Wallenstein?” I asked curiously.

Lili’s pout grew even bigger as she crossed her arms and nodded. “Yes. Why would you invite her to our home, Reinhard-sama? What if she’s just here to spy for her Familia?” she asked in a stubborn tone.

At the mere thought of that almost emotionless girl doing something like that, a small laugh escaped my lips, which only made Lili pout harder and huff.

“Sorry about that,” I said with an amused smile. “But if you knew even the tiniest bit about that girl, you’d know she has nothing but fighting and getting stronger on her mind.”

‘Well, that and vengeance… but I have a feeling if I say that, Lili will only get even more upset,’ I thought silently to myself as I reached down and gently patted her head.

Lili immediately stopped pouting. A deep flush spread across her face as she lowered her head and muttered quietly, “Reinhard-sama is being unfair again…”

“Sorry, but it’s become a habit by this point,” I said a bit sheepishly as I moved my hand away, causing her to cutely huff again.

“Anyway, did Miss Ais say anything?” I asked as we resumed our walk toward the inside of the mansion, waving to several girls from Artemis’s Familia as we passed.

“She said she was here to train under you,” Lili replied with a reluctant sigh. She took hold of my free hand and hugged it gently to her chest as we walked.

Once more, I didn’t notice the way Hephaestus grew even poutier, sending envious glances at both Lili and Rem.

“Hmph. Seems that girl didn’t learn her lesson the first time,” Rem huffed cutely from my other side. “If you want, Rem can teach her in your place, Reinhard-kun?” she suggested helpfully.

“Thank you, Rem, but it’s alright,” I said with a small shake of my head. “Besides, it was I who told her she could come and spar with me anytime she wanted.”

Nothing more was said after that as I was led into the entrance hall. There, I could see several girls lightly surrounding a familiar head of blonde hair.

Apparently she sensed me too, because Ais’s usually detached expression flickered slightly as she turned her head toward us.

Her golden eyes immediately zeroed in on me with an eager look that made her look really cute.

Stepping forward calmly, Ais came to a stop in front of me and surprised us all by bowing respectfully.

“Reinhard, I’m here for training,” she muttered in her calm, somewhat detached voice. When she raised her head again, her eyes were clearly shining with excitement.

“Welcome, Miss Ais,” I said with a warm smile.

She nodded slightly, but a moment later she frowned. “Is something wrong, Miss Ais?” I asked, my confusion growing as she pouted a little, looking quite adorable.

“…Ais,” she muttered quietly, her eyes narrowing just a bit. “Call me Ais. Remember?”

My eyes widened slightly. “Haha, sorry about that, Ais,” I apologized immediately, switching to her name without honorifics. She gave a pleased little nod.

“Anyway, I know you came here to spar, and while I wouldn’t mind doing that, would you like to eat something first?” I asked with a friendly smile. “We were just about to have lunch.”

Ais blinked before shaking her head, about to reject my offer. Then she paused as her stomach let out a quiet rumble. Her cheeks flushed a soft pink as she shyly held her stomach and nodded instead.

“…Okay,” she muttered quietly, clearly embarrassed.

“Great. Then please follow us,” I said with a smile, choosing not to tease her. She looked relieved as she nodded.

With one more guest joining us, we headed to the dining room and sat down. The table was already partly full though curiously Hestia and Artemis were absent but was reassured when Naaza said they would be skipping lunch for something.

Ais ended up sitting across from me. Rem quickly joined her sister and served everyone in record time, earning a sigh of relief from Ram, Rem had always been the better of the two at maid duties.

I introduced Ais to everyone, and we chatted lightly as we ate. I couldn’t help but notice that Bell had been staring at her for most of the meal with a blush and glassy-eyed look, the clear expression of a boy experiencing his first crush.

Thankfully, Lucia was sitting beside him. Every time his staring lasted a little too long, she elbowed him in the ribs.

Unfortunately for him, Ais hadn’t glanced in his direction even once. Her focus remained entirely on the food in front of her or on me. That caused Lili and Naaza, who were sitting beside me, to frown in jealousy and scoot even closer.

Est also made a scene when she came downstairs, probably from resting or watching anime, as she had taken to doing lately. Seeing who was present, she walked straight over, sat on my lap, and all but demanded I feed her earning a curious raised eyebrow from Ais.

Once our meal was finally over, much to my relief, we headed outside again. Hephaestus said her goodbyes, mentioning she couldn’t stay any longer but would visit again soon.

As we stepped out, quite the crowd had gathered: our new recruits, the rest of the Hestia Familia, and even some members of the Artemis Familia, all making themselves comfortable. Ais and I found an open area in the yard.

Standing a good distance apart, I saw that Ais’s expression had grown even more emotive. A small, genuine smile now graced her face, she was clearly looking forward to our spar.

Matching her smile, I settled into an open stance, which she immediately mirrored.

“Mind if we start with hand-to-hand combat, Ais?” I asked lightly.

“Yes,” Ais replied quickly, her smile widening just a bit.

“Then here I come!”

With that, our spar began.

The start of something that would become a regular occurrence in the near future.