'This kid is seriously not cute! He completely fails to understand the charm of this peerless beauty.'
'When he grows up and thinks back on today's events, he'll definitely regret it so much that he'll pound the ground and cry!'
Ryana snorted and turned her face away.
Seeing her start to act up like that, Noah's expression darkened, and he deliberately spoke in a cold tone.
"I'm here to deliver the goods. But let me make this clear first—your Familia has already paid 9 million valis as a deposit. Or would it be totally fine with you if I just leave right now?"
'Na, nani! Nine million valis!!?' Ryana completely short-circuited.
She was absolutely stunned by the enormous amount, because this was a number she couldn't even begin to imagine as a mere Level 2 adventurer.
After briefly going offline, Ryana successfully rebooted, simultaneously switching her entire personality as she began bowing and scraping shamelessly.
"Ah, what are you saying! Please come right in, this way please, this way please! Ah, watch your step, the road right there is a bit uneven, so please don't let it bother you."
Seeing her utterly flattering expression, Noah sneered inwardly.
'Miss Eina should really see this shit—this is the absolute power of money!'
There was once a street interview from his past life that went exactly like this: If someone slaps you and gives you a hundred bucks, would you be willing to... Before the reporter could even finish speaking, the interviewee had already started violently slapping themselves, managing seven or eight slaps in just three seconds.
So you should never try to test human dignity with money, otherwise you'll definitely end up despairing at this world.
"Is that weapon in the box really worth 9 million valis?" Ryana couldn't help but ask while leading the way, but then she saw the young man shake his head.
Even though she didn't know why, Ryana suddenly felt hugely relieved, thinking that maybe this was exactly how movers felt when they were carefully carrying priceless antiques.
However, after shaking his head, Noah didn't just stop there but casually continued speaking.
"The 9 million is just the initial deposit for this thing. Of course, there's still the final payment to be made, so the actual value inside is way more than just 9 million."
'Aaaaaaaaah!!!!' Ryana felt so stupid, because after asking, the unease in her heart only grew even stronger.
She really shouldn't have opened her big mouth in the first place!
Under Ryana's guidance, Noah finally entered the exquisite Western-style house.
"Please wait here in the living room for a moment. I'll go upstairs to find Alise and the others."
Noah nodded, then leisurely sat down on the comfy sofa, but even during this brief bit of free time, he couldn't help but think about the different parts of the "Empowerment Protocol" that still needed some serious modification and optimization.
He suddenly caught the sound of light footsteps.
Noah's ears twitched slightly, quickly detecting someone approaching him from behind.
The other party clearly wasn't trying to hide their presence at all, and judging purely from the sound of their footsteps, they definitely didn't seem to have any sort of martial training.
As the sound approached, a deeply soothing fragrance that completely comforted the soul made Noah's tense muscles naturally relax.
"What a cute blacksmith."
...
'This was absolutely a goddess's voice.'
Just hearing that single line made anyone instantly think so.
Noah stood up from the sofa and turned around, taking in the full appearance of the voice's owner.
With flaxen hair like premium silk, an exquisite face wearing a gentle smile and skin so damn smooth it literally seemed to glow—even Noah couldn't help but be slightly captivated by her beautiful form.
'The goddess, Astraea.'
"Nice to meet you, Goddess Astraea. I'm Noah, a blacksmith from the Hephaestus Familia."
"I know." The goddess smiled warmly and said, "You're the only man our Alise can't stop thinking about. Even though you're not quite mature yet, you'll surely grow into a truly remarkable man someday."
'Can't stop thinking about? What the hell was she referring to?'
Seeing his total confusion, Astraea simply chuckled softly and said, "You'll understand soon enough."
Bang! Thud! Thump!
A series of chaotic, loud noises suddenly erupted from upstairs.
Goddess Astraea just maintained eye contact with him, looking exactly as if she had completely anticipated this all along.
Frantic, hurried footsteps violently echoed from the staircase as a figure wearing a fluttery, home-style nightgown came rushing down the steps as if practically gliding just above the ground.
"Where's Noah?!"
The fiery red hair that was usually tied up in a high ponytail now cascaded loosely over the girl's shoulders.
Her extremely well-endowed figure was totally evident even through her casual clothing and Alise's loud, vibrant voice resonated throughout the entire mansion.
The girl completely burst into the first-floor living room, her eyes immediately locking onto Noah sitting on the sofa as her bright emerald eyes practically sparkled with crazy excitement.
"Noah, you really came!"
Before Noah could even react, the girl had already dashed right up to him with the insane agility of a high-level Level 4 adventurer and tightly grabbed his hands.
He was genuinely startled by the sudden rush.
After all, in his memory, this was technically his very first time actually meeting the captain of the Astraea Familia, the famous "Scarlet Harnel."
"Hello, I'm Alise! Thank you so, so much for agreeing to craft a custom weapon for me! If possible, let's just seal the deal right now!"
Her words were overwhelmingly, aggressively straightforward and her entire approach was just way too familiar.
Noah, with both his hands being held tightly by her, felt utterly and completely bewildered by the situation!
"Uh, yes, I'm Noah. Nice to meet you, Miss Alise."
"No, no! Just call me Alise!" The red-haired girl shook her head vigorously before she suddenly noticed the sleek weapon case sitting on the coffee table, boldly emblazoned with the Hephaestus Familia emblem.
"Wait, could this be it?!"
Seeing Alise's completely unrestrained, raw excitement, Noah felt an inexplicable fire suddenly ignite within him.
This burning emotion was a clear testament to her total recognition and anticipation of his hard work.
"That's right. This is the custom weapon I forged specifically for you. I've named it the Crimson Guardian!"
For a split second, Alise seemed completely stunned by the name, but that shock quickly transformed into profound, deep emotion.
'Guardian... huh.'
'What an absolutely wonderful meaning.'
She completely and utterly adored it!
"Hey, hey, can I open it right now?" Alise was exactly like a little kid who had just received a brand new toy—both in her eager questioning tone and her totally innocent expression.
After Noah nodded in agreement, the girl hurried right over to the weapon case.
Despite her crazy eagerness, the wildly excited girl handled the outer box as carefully as if it were a priceless, fragile treasure.
"So excited, I'm sooooo excited!"
Alise popped open the case and saw the exquisite Fire Spirit wrapping cloth, which was very clearly enveloping something heavy within.
Layer by layer, she carefully unwrapped the expensive cloth.
When the exquisitely crafted, mysterious gold-and-red hilt finally appeared from the folds—the girl's breath completely caught in her throat.
"This is... the one I saw back then...!"