Emiya wasn't surprised.
He had already been mentally prepared.
From everything he'd seen, weapons in the Labyrinth City of Orario were outrageously expensive.
For example, after meeting Bell, Hestia had gone as far as kneeling and begging her friend Hephaestus to forge him a proper weapon. In the end, moved by Hestia's resolve, Hephaestus agreed.
Even without using divine power, she created a weapon that could grow alongside Bell.
Its value reached hundreds of millions of Valis.
There was also Ais Wallenstein from the Loki Familia.
During the monster festival organized by Ganesha, her longsword had been destroyed.
That sword alone was worth forty million Valis.
From this alone, it was obvious.
Anything related to adventurers' weapons and armor in Orario was never cheap.
So a weapon costing a few hundred thousand Valis wasn't expensive at all.
By the way, those kinds of weapons were only meant for Level 1 or Level 2 adventurers.
Higher-level adventurers wouldn't even consider them.
Once you reached deeper floors and faced stronger monsters, using cheap equipment was the same as courting death.
Emiya himself didn't need a weapon.
Telekinesis was enough.
Still, that didn't stop him from appreciating these items.
To be honest, while these weapons were considered low-end here, in a martial arts world-or even an ordinary world-they would be divine weapons.
At the very least, they were on par with famous blades like the Heaven Sword or the Dragon-Slaying Saber.
More expensive weapons would completely crush them.
Of course, martial arts worlds also had hierarchies.
While the Heaven Sword and Dragon-Slaying Saber were famous, they were low-tier in many worlds.
In the Storm Riders world alone, which weapon wasn't superior?
The Peerless Sword.
The Unparalleled Sword.
The Blood Drinker Sabre.
The God-Slaying Blade.
The Fire-Lin Sword.
Shocking Silence.
The Great Devil King.
Any one of them surpassed those two.
And that wasn't even counting the divine and demonic weapons from the Heavenly Gods and Demonic Weapons world.
Even weapons used by minor gods there would far exceed the Heaven Sword and Dragon-Slaying Saber.
If brought to this world, they'd be super weapons worth hundreds of millions of Valis.
...Ahem.
He'd drifted off topic.
After browsing the shop for a while, Emiya's attention was drawn to a bracelet.
It wasn't really a weapon.
More like an auxiliary tool.
A magic item designed for mages.
Wearing it sharpened the mind and increased the power of magic by at least ten percent.
The problem was the price.
Three million Valis.
Emiya picked it up and put it on.
He immediately felt his telekinetic power become more active.
...This thing works.
His interest was piqued.
"Do you like it, customer?"
A cat-eared girl in a uniform approached enthusiastically.
"This is a masterpiece crafted by the Hephaestus Familia! If you like it, we can even give you a discount. How about 2.9 million Valis?"
Emiya simply smiled.
He put the bracelet back in its place, said nothing, and turned to leave.
That price was completely out of his reach.
After leaving the shop, Emiya realized something.
He needed money.
A lot of it.
Going back into the Dungeon wasn't an option.
Yes, it was fast.
But with his current strength, going too deep was dangerous.
More importantly, Emiya didn't like fighting.
Today had just been about experiencing adventurer life.
If adventuring became a daily routine?
Hard pass.
So how else could he earn money?
A job?
Emiya shook his head.
Three million Valis wasn't a small sum.
Earning that through ordinary work would take at least one or two years.
He had no intention of staying in a single world for that long.
Besides, a three-million-Valis bracelet was only a low-tier magic item.
What he really wanted was something far more powerful.
Preferably something personally forged by the god of blacksmithing, Hephaestus.
But Hephaestus was a powerful deity.
She wouldn't act for just anyone.
Unless-
Unless Emiya could offer her something she couldn't refuse.
Trying to earn that level of money through work was nothing but a fantasy.
So the best approach was obvious.
Persuade Hephaestus directly.
Emiya thought for a moment.
Then an idea formed.
He vanished from the bustling street and returned home.
"Loki, I need to talk to you."
"What is it?" Loki asked lazily, eyes still on the screen.
"I saw a magic item in Orario that enhances mental power. I'm planning to ask Hephaestus to forge a powerful magic item for me."
"Huh?" Loki finally turned to look at him. "Hephaestus? Do you have the money? That blacksmith god isn't cheap."
"I don't," Emiya replied calmly. "But I don't think she'll refuse me."
Loki immediately understood.
"You're planning to reveal your secret to her?"
"Well," Emiya shrugged, "other than that, I don't have anything that could impress her."
That was the truth.
Aside from this secret, he had nothing that could persuade Hephaestus.
Loki felt a headache coming on.
Hundreds of millions of Valis wasn't a small number.
She could order the Familia to raise the money.
But using it to buy a magic item for Emiya?
That would look like blatant favoritism.
To everyone else, Emiya was just a newcomer.
Forcing the Familia to raise that kind of money for him would make anyone uncomfortable.
It would plant seeds of resentment.
And discord.
At the same time, Loki couldn't simply forbid Emiya from doing it.
That would be unreasonable.
Which left her stuck.
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