When he woke up again, Bell saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
"This isn't the church ruins."
Bell immediately realized that he wasn't in the ruins of the church.
He remembered that he and Hestia went to Hephaestus to forge the "200 million" knife.
However, Bell couldn't recall whether the knife had actually been completed. He must have passed out before it was finished.
"I've been working nonstop for several days, no wonder I passed out. If I had my old body, I might not have even woken up from something like that."
Sitting up in bed, Bell carefully observed his surroundings.
There was a window right beside the bed, and it was already night outside.
Bell wasn't sure how long he had slept since he didn't even remember when he had lost consciousness.
He focused his attention on his hearing. The sound of metal being hammered, "clang, clang, clang," reached his ears, and that helped Bell quickly figure out where he was.
"I'm still in Hephaestus-sama's Familia?"
Bell's head still throbbed slightly—probably a side effect of not sleeping for days.
Pulling off the blanket, Bell got up from the bed. It wasn't time to sleep anymore.
As he opened the door, the sound of footsteps caught his attention.
The footsteps were somewhat heavy, and Bell instinctively slowed down his own steps, especially when the footsteps stopped.
However, Bell wasn't particularly worried because this was Hephaestus's territory. He was sure that whoever was standing outside wasn't someone he needed to be especially concerned about.
He didn't believe that anyone not affiliated with the familia would dare to act recklessly here. Without hesitation, Bell opened the door.
Standing outside was a bold and confident-looking girl. She looked tan, and an eyepatch covered her left eye.
If she wasn't just acting like she had chuunibyou, then she was likely actually blind in that eye. But even so, it didn't hide the strong presence she gave off.
Just by facing Bell directly, the overwhelming presence hit him like a wave.
It might have been subtle, barely noticeable, but that strange feeling of pressure still made Bell clearly sense the difference between him and this girl.
'So this is what a Level 5 feels like. Even if she's not a fighter, just a blacksmith under a Hephaestus, her presence is still terrifying.'
Tsubaki noticed Bell's reaction clearly.
It was obvious he had sensed the difference in their abilities, but something puzzled her.
She had been deliberately suppressing her presence, something most people couldn't detect.
How had this boy managed to sense her?
Even though she was just a blacksmith, Tsubaki had full confidence in her ability to conceal her level and presence from others. And yet, somehow, he had sensed it anyway.
However, Tsubaki didn't dwell on it for long.
After all, every adventurer has unique skills, and perhaps this boy simply had an unusually keen sense for detecting presence.
She had come here this time on a mission from Hephaestus-sama to check on the situation and tell Bell what was happening.
"You're awake, huh? Perfect. Since you're up, I can go ahead and deliver Hephaestus-sama's message. Hestia-sama is resting with Hephaestus-sama right now. If you want to see her, you'll have to wait until tomorrow."
"Sorry, but… can I ask—when exactly did I pass out?"
"Oh, that was this morning. I was the one who carried you here."
Tsubaki replied casually.
Bell gave a slight nod.
That meant he had probably slept the entire day. After staying awake for three days straight, he ended up sleeping for an entire day.
He realized he shouldn't recklessly push too deep into the Dungeon again in the future unless he could guarantee to reach the 18th floor in a single day.
This day had taught him just how dangerous it was to run out of both stamina and mental energy. He couldn't allow himself to become that vulnerable in the Dungeon.
"Thank you for the help. May I ask, who are you?"
"Ah, I'm Tsubaki Collbrande. You can call me Tsubaki."
From their conversation, Bell could tell that Tsubaki spoke openly and was the type of person who was easy to approach.
Tsubaki seemed a bit carefree, almost like an older sister, but Bell didn't mind this kind of personality because people like her were easier to talk to.
After the brief introduction, Tsubaki pulled out a contract she had prepared in advance from behind her back.
Even she was surprised when she first saw it, not because of the "200 million" debt listed but because it stated that Hephaestus had personally forged the weapon.
Tsubaki recalled that this was probably the first time in years that Hephaestus had crafted a weapon for an individual, and it had only been sold for "200 million" valis.
Even though Tsubaki didn't know exactly what kind of weapon it was, she knew that this price meant it was definitely a top-tier weapon.
So, who was this top-tier weapon for?
Tsubaki immediately thought of the boy in front of her. He was a newly recruited member of Hestia's Familia and had just recently become an adventurer.
"This is the contract. It's about the cost of the weapon—and the amount of debt you'll owe afterward."
Bell took the contract, glanced at it briefly, and confirmed the debt amount of "200 million."
He didn't look too surprised, but it wasn't exactly a shock either.
However, when Bell looked more closely at the contract, he noticed that it did not mention interest or a deadline to pay it back.
It seemed that Hephaestus-sama was being very generous.
"You don't seem shocked by the 200 million debt."
"It's not that I'm not shocked. I'm just surprised it's so cheap. The weapon personally crafted by Hephaestus-sama is undoubtedly the most powerful weapon in Orario right now. I imagine the 200 million valis is just the material cost, probably discounted because of Hestia-sama's involvement. Otherwise, the weapon could easily be worth 2 billion, and people would still be willing to buy it."
Now Tsubaki was really interested. It seemed like a weapon made by Hephaestus-sama truly was something special.
If she ever got the chance, she really wanted to see what kind of weapon Hephaestus had made.