Njord's dependents, in terms of Falna Level or combat power, might indeed be lacking. However, when it came to fishing techniques and boat handling skills, through years, or even more than a decade of constant repetition and practice, they had long since honed them to perfection.
From taking the modified boat out of the port to entering the deep sea area, performing fishing operations to confirm that the Runes carved on the boat were effective, and finally returning to Melin.
In total, it consumed just over three hours.
During this period, not a single monster appeared within a hundred meters of the ship.
Even the monsters wandering beyond that hundred-meter range were mostly weak existences of Lv.1 or Lv.2. Coupled with Magic Swords, they could be killed with ease.
As for monsters of Lv.3 and above, because they possessed greater strength and keener five senses, they were fundamentally unwilling to approach the source of those infrasonic waves that made them feel nauseous and uncomfortable.
"Lai... no, Lord Lind, thank you for your help."
Seeing the children disembark from the boat with expressions of excitement surfacing on their faces one after another, how could Njord not understand that the Spirit girl before him had indeed solved a massive problem for him and for Melin?
"From now on, whenever the Hestia Familia has a need, the Njord Familia is willing to assist with all our might."
If it were anyone else hearing such a promise from the mouth of a deity, they might have been overcome with excitement long ago. Even Levi, whose strength had reached the pinnacle of Orario's adventurers, could not help but control Lind to reveal a faint smile upon hearing this.
"Speaking of assistance, I do indeed have a matter that requires the prestige of the Njord Familia."
The shirtless male god was already sincerely intending to befriend the Hestia Familia, or rather, Levi. Hearing that the other party had a request at this moment, his expression immediately turned serious, and he made a gesture inviting her to speak. Ganesha, standing to the side, also turned his head.
The expression on Lind's face remained unchanged, her tone indifferent and distant: "I intend to open a shipyard in Melin, specifically to build special ships that can spontaneously repel monsters."
Njord was stunned upon hearing this. Being a deity, he naturally understood the meaning behind the young girl's words immediately.
Although the port of Melin contracted almost ninety-nine percent of Orario's aquatic products, there were only four Familias specializing in fishing, including his own. The number of special fishing boats needed by these four Familias was between ten and twenty vessels. To open a shipyard specifically for this would certainly not be cost-effective.
But...
If, from the very beginning, the Hestia Familia intended to sell these special ships to the entire Lower World, then the situation would be different. A ship capable of avoiding monster threats at sea was inherently sufficient to destroy the entire current shipbuilding industry.
However, as they say, the first step is always the hardest. And there is also the saying, 'even the fragrance of wine fears a deep alley.'
"You want me to help with promotion?" Njord asked, a thought turning in his mind.
Lind nodded her head, not denying it.
"I do indeed need Lord Njord to stand on the stage and advertise. In addition to that, I also need to borrow your prestige here in Melin to hire a batch of shipbuilding workers, or perhaps directly acquire a shipyard."
As a harbor city, Melin naturally had specialized shipyards. Njord, along with the other three main gods of Familias involved in the fishing business, had all invested shares in them.
If it were anyone else proposing a shipyard acquisition plan at this moment, Njord might not even bother giving an answer. But Lind, or more accurately, Levi standing behind her...
"Acquiring a shipyard might not be possible, but I can promise on behalf of those other old fellows to give you 40% of the shipyard's shares."
Business, after all, is about asking for a sky-high price and settling on the ground. Levi hadn't thought of truly becoming a fat cat in one bite; mainly because it was indeed impossible to achieve.
After pondering for a moment, he went with the flow and agreed.
Njord had extensive connections in Melin. In just an hour, he had called over several shareholders of the shipyard. After hearing from him that the Hestia Familia could solve the problem of sea monster harassment and could even help the shipyard sell ships to all parts of the world, the latter agreed to the gifting of shares without even a hint of hesitation.
The two parties found the Guild Branch Head, and under the joint witness of him and Ganesha, signed the contract for Levi's technical investment.
With this, the Hestia Familia had gained another avenue for income besides sparkling wine. No one would complain about having too many Valis. Levi was naturally no exception.
Moreover, considering that after completing the 'Third Magic', there was a significant probability that he would no longer be able to enter the Dungeon, there were naturally many matters he needed to prepare in advance.
In fact, in Levi's original plan, he hadn't actually intended to open or invest in a shipyard. But since he happened to encounter the problem in Melin, he naturally wouldn't foolishly push money away.
However...
Inside the Hestia Familia residence, the pale-gold-haired youth, who was currently controlling Lind to walk back toward Orario, narrowed his eyes slightly.
The investment in the shipyard was an unexpected delight, but even without this matter, he planned to cooperate with Hephaestus next to open a garment processing factory. The flagship product would be cloth clothing and cloth armor possessing strong defensive effects.
For this purpose, the two Familias would hire quite a few ordinary workers without Falna, and would place Hephaestus Familia members holding the Development Ability 'Swordsmith' at certain critical manufacturing nodes.
Of course, if it were just that, the finished garments produced would certainly not sell well in Orario. If the price was set too high, why wouldn't adventurers go buy products from professional blacksmiths? Conversely, if the price was set too low, it would lead to expenses exceeding income.
So from the beginning, Levi prepared to introduce the 'assembly line' concept from his previous life into the factory to reduce cost expenditures. He also planned to specifically manufacture a type of machine that could assist ordinary workers in weaving fabric with enhanced defensive effects.
As for the design blueprints, he had actually already been researching them after developing 'Three Flashes'. Now, it was just a matter of building an extra machine outside the original plan to replace himself in inscribing Runes or Primordial Runes.
Compared to the former, the manufacturing difficulty of the latter was undoubtedly much lower. Levi burned through just over 100 Proficiency Increase Tickets from start to finish before successfully drawing the blueprints.
He then broke it down slightly; he personally forged the core parts, while the remaining parts were handed over to the blacksmiths of the Hephaestus Familia.
Because they had all heard more or less about the matters regarding the Hero King and their own patron goddess, aside from a minority of blacksmiths who were already processing orders, almost all the remaining idle crowd mobilized one after another.
With the fully coordinated assistance of a group of blacksmiths who were at the very least Lv.2, on the morning of the third day after solving the Melin harbor problem, a machine specifically used to imprint partial combinations of Runes was slowly assembled like building blocks by Levi, right in front of Hestia, Hephaestus, and Artemis, who had rushed over to watch upon hearing the news.
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