"You really do get involved in all sorts of things, don't you?"
"..."
After a moment, Hephaistos woke up, rubbed her head, and looked back and forth between me and Urrs, who had emerged from my left arm.
"...So it really is a great spirit."
Before the gods descended, spirits were said to sometimes help people.
But once the gods came down and Falna gave mortals power, there was no need for them to step forward anymore. They withdrew on their own, and now seeing a spirit was almost impossible.
"...Bellf."
"What is it?"
"In two days, the divine meeting will be held. Your rank-up will be revealed then."
"Yes."
"And if it becomes known that you made a contract with a spirit, there'll be quite a stir."
"...I suppose so."
Like it or not, there might come a day when I'd have to borrow Urrs's power.
It was better to take the blow now than have the truth come out later and cause a commotion.
"More importantly, have you thought about taking over as captain?"
"No."
Following Hephaistos's advice to keep a low profile for the time being until a new epithet was decided after my update, I decided to stay in the forge for now.
"By the way, why did this end up in the hands of a woman like Evilus?"
"Ah, that... should I say it was taken by force...?"
"Taken by force?"
"I don't remember the details. It was sealed away by someone on the deepest floor of the Dungeon."
"...Explain that properly."
"So... you remember how Evilus attacked Orario a few years ago, right?"
The Seven Days of Death...
"Back then, some god stole Excalibur, and that god took it to the deepest floor of the Dungeon."
"..."
The deepest floor, then...
"I don't remember anything after that. I was sealed by some strange magic stone and a bizarre something or other."
"Was a great spirit really taken down that easily?"
"I was asleep, so there was nothing I could do."
"Anyway, I broke the magic stone and that let you out?"
"That's right! Thanks to you, I was able to escape that tentacle-like thing!"
"Hmm..."
Tentacle-like thing...?
Was it connected to that female-type monster I'd seen before?
The divine meeting was held, and my epithet was decided.
The adventurers' epithets were hung on the board in front of the Guild, as if someone wanted to make a spectacle of them.
"What a pain."
"Wow—this is completely different from a few hundred years ago."
"You didn't go sightseeing in the meantime?"
I headed to the Guild to check my new epithet.
"Those looks are sharp."
Hephaistos had apparently gone around telling the gods that I had made a contract with a spirit.
Thanks to that, the stares around me were especially sharp.
Gazes filled with jealousy and curiosity were fixed squarely on my left arm.
"As if any of you had a spirit willing to make a contract with you."
Ignoring the stares, I looked over the Guild's board.
"Let's see..."
"Bellf Crozzo"
"Epithet: [Swordsmith]"
"...?"
That was more normal than I expected.
"There he is!"
While I was looking at my epithet, an unfamiliar voice rang out. I turned my head and saw dozens of elves glaring at me with furious expressions.
"Urrs."
"What?"
"Those guys are definitely here to complain, right?"
"Who knows..."
"Damn it..."
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