With Hephaestus stepping in, Loki finally released Hestia.
Realizing she couldn't win, Hestia retreated to a corner and glared at Loki as if she were her sworn enemy.
Loki did her best not to look at Hestia.
If she did, she was afraid she'd lose control.
After all, that was something she could only dream of.
"Welcome to Earth, Fi-Fi."
After forcing herself to calm down, Loki, acting as a half-host, greeted Hephaestus.
Hephaestus nodded. "So this world is called Earth?"
"To be precise," Loki replied, "the ground we're standing on is Earth. Beyond it is a vast, endless universe filled with mysteries and unknowns. Unfortunately, neither humans nor gods can fully explore it."
She sighed, sounding a little helpless.
The gods were powerful, but compared to the infinite universe, they were still insignificant.
She could reach the moon without tools.
Even Mars.
With some effort, she could reach Neptune, the farthest planet in the solar system.
But even then, she couldn't truly leave the solar system.
No-more accurately, she could.
But she would get lost.
Drifting endlessly through the universe.
The vacuum of space wouldn't kill her, but the silence would.
Decades.
Centuries.
Millennia.
She would go mad.
She would probably choose death herself.
"Can you tell me some basic information about this world?" Hephaestus asked.
"No problem."
Loki used her divine power to condense her knowledge into a glowing orb and tossed it to Hephaestus.
Hephaestus touched it with her finger.
The information flowed in.
In just a few seconds, she knew as much about Earth as Loki did.
Even more than Emiya.
Hephaestus then unsealed a portion of her divine power and created another orb, handing it to Hestia.
Loki said nothing.
Hestia touched the orb as well and quickly became familiar with Earth.
Emiya watched with envy.
The gods were far too convenient.
"This is indeed an interesting world," Hephaestus said. "I now understand what a cell phone is. But modifying Earth's phones to work in Orario won't be easy. To be honest, Orario's current technology level makes producing cell phones extremely difficult."
In her view, Orario lacked many necessary precision instruments.
"Even you can't do it?" Emiya asked.
"I can," Hephaestus replied, rubbing her temple. "But I'd have to unseal my divine power. A god with sealed divinity can't produce those instruments in Orario."
Loki's eyes lit up. "Wait-what? Fi-Fi, you're going to make cell phones in Orario? I'm completely on board!"
If she could browse the internet in Orario, she'd be thrilled.
She wouldn't mind staying there forever.
"I already told you," Hephaestus said irritably. "To make that kind of thing, I'd have to unseal my power. And if I do that, I'll have to return to the God Realm according to our agreement."
Emiya spoke up. "You can make the instruments here, then bring them back to Orario. That wouldn't violate the rules, right?"
Hephaestus paused.
Then nodded slowly. "If we do it that way... it wouldn't count as breaking the rules."
"That's great! I'll help too!" Loki said enthusiastically.
Hephaestus didn't refuse. Even as the goddess of blacksmithing, having another god assist would save time.
"All right. Hestia, you help as well."
"I know," Hestia replied.
After learning what cell phones could do, she was curious too.
She accepted without hesitation.
Hephaestus then turned to Emiya. "When will you give me the manufacturing technology?"
"I've already asked Erina Nakiri to prepare it," Emiya said. "In about a dozen hours, we'll go to the Food Wars! world. She'll give it to you then."
"Understood."
Hephaestus wasn't in a hurry.
To a god who had lived for hundreds of millions of years, twelve hours passed in an instant.
Before that, she asked Emiya what kind of Divine Item he wanted.
There were many Divine Items that enhanced mental activity and increased mental power.
The most common was a magic wand.
It was the first choice for many mages in Orario.
Riveria Ljos Alf, the strongest mage in the city, also used a magic wand.
It amplified magic power and could double as a close-combat weapon.
Very practical.
If he didn't like a wand, it could be made into a bracelet.
A necklace.
Even earrings.
After listening, Emiya thought for a moment and asked tentatively, "Can it be a ring?"
A ring was light.
Easy to carry.
Didn't take up space.
Hephaestus nodded. "It's a bit more troublesome, but not a problem."
"Thank you very much, Goddess Hephaestus," Emiya said sincerely.
"I see," Loki said with exaggerated interest. "So, Fi-Fi, you're making a weapon for this kid? A Divine Item?"
"That's right," Hephaestus replied plainly.
Loki burst out laughing and slapped Emiya on the shoulder.
"You're ridiculously lucky. The Divine Items Fi-Fi makes are top-tier even in the God Realm. Even gods want them. If the others found out you had one, they'd go insane with jealousy."
Emiya thought about it.
On the surface, it sounded like praise.
But it was really a warning.
If even gods could be jealous, what about adventurers?
If people learned he possessed a Divine Item, they would stop at nothing to take it.
People die for wealth.
Birds die for food.
That truth never changed.
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