Inside the tavern, maybe because they'd grown closer over the past week, Welf finally opened up about the real reason he refused to forge magic swords.
It all came down to his past with the Crozzo family.
"My family, the Crozzo clan, used to be known as the 'Forging Nobles.' We were super important to the King because we were the only ones who could make Crozzo Magic Swords," Welf explained, staring down at his drink.
"Before I came to Orario and switched to the Hephaestus Familia, I belonged to the Phobos Familia. The Goddess Phobos lost a war the kingdom started, so she became a subordinate god to the God of War, Ares."
"A subordinate god?" Noah frowned.
That was a new term for him.
Gods didn't just live in Orario. The world was huge, gods just flocked here because the Dungeon made it the center of the world.
Sure, some gods in Orario were rich and others were broke, depending on their Familia's size, but they didn't rank each other.
To the mortals down here, a god was a god.
A subordinate god? He'd never heard of a god being ranked lower than another.
"What, you haven't heard of it? It's pretty normal in country-sized Familias." A nostalgic look crossed Welf's face when he mentioned Phobos.
It seemed like they got along well.
"The kingdom's founder, Ares, wanted to turn every single citizen into a soldier to build up his army. He kept adding people to his Familia until he had nearly ten thousand troops. Even for a God of War, updating the Status of ten thousand people by himself is impossible, right?"
"I see."
So that was the point of a subordinate god.
After the gods locked away their divine power, they could die from something as simple as blood loss.
Their power was tied to their divinity, not something they trained for.
Without it, even a God of War or a God of Strength was just a frail mortal who could get stabbed by a sword or taken out by a bad cold.
Using "subordinate gods" as middle managers to run a massive army made perfect sense for Ares.
"Phobos looked after the Crozzo family. Her Falna brought out my talent, and she was the one who helped me escape the kingdom... I just don't know how she's doing these days."
Noah narrowed his eyes.
Based on Welf's story, Phobos might have already been sent back to heaven.
For a subordinate god to help a valuable asset escape the God of War? Ares wouldn't let a stunt like that slide.
"Phobos seemed a little spacey sometimes, but she was a good goddess. My clan, though... they thought serving under her was a huge disgrace," Welf spat, his grip tightening on his mug.
"If someone talented popped up under a subordinate gods, the rules said they had to be handed over and converted to Ares's Familia right away. Basically, to figure out a family's status in the kingdom, you just had to look at which god they served."
Followers of a subordinate gods were the kingdom's rejects.
The proud Forging Nobles were stuck serving a lesser god instead of Ares himself.
Why? Because the power to forge magic swords had vanished from their bloodline.
Everyone called it the "Spirit's curse."
For Welf, his family's fall from grace meant growing up getting the cold shoulder. The other noble kids picked on him all the time.
But he didn't care.
He had a dream: he wanted to be the greatest blacksmith in the world!
Even without their magic sword powers, his dad and granddad never gave up the hammer.
To bring the family back to the top, they decided to combine three generations of skill to forge a normal weapon that could rival a Crozzo Magic Sword.
Welf thought that was awesome, that was pure romance.
They weren't relying on some cheap bloodline trick, they were going to use their own blood, sweat, and tears to forge a masterpiece.
"Grandfather wasn't a noble, he was a true blacksmith. I felt his pride. It was supposed to stay that way... Tsk!" Welf slammed his fist on the table.
His face twisted with pain and bitter regret. "But the second I forged a Crozzo Magic Sword, everything flipped!"
His voice shook.
"I used to look up to my grandfather. Seeing a general swinging his work moved me. He always told me to listen to the sound of the iron, to pour my soul into the hammer... but even a man like that lost his mind when he saw my magic sword. We made a promise! Three generations working together to forge a masterpiece, and it ended like that!"
Welf took a heavy gulp of his drink, his eyes wild.
"Even if I make magic swords, does it fix the family? No! This power is gonna vanish again someday! Those idiots can't even see it! Blacksmith's pride? Creating the ultimate weapon? It's all bullshit!"
Welf slammed his fist down again, rattling the mugs.
The booze was clearly hitting him hard.
"It's the magic sword's fault! That kind of power rots people from the inside out, whether you forge it or swing it. Relying on a cheap trick to bring back the good old days? Give me a break! The pride, the hard work—they threw it all away the second they saw that sword. I refuse to give in to that kind of power!"
Thud.
After getting it all off his chest, the alcohol finally knocked Welf out.
His head rolled to the side, and he slipped right off his stool, falling toward the floor.
Noah sighed and used a quick burst of wind magic to catch him before his head hit the wood.
Now Noah got it.
Welf hated magic swords because they broke his family. Watching the people he respected throw away their beliefs over a shiny weapon must have been brutal.
The Crozzo clan was way too shortsighted.
Noah looked down at Welf, who was out cold and snoring.
He sighed again and pulled out some coins to pay the tab.
"This guy... he said he was taking me out to say thanks for the past week, and I still end up footing the bill."
Noah hauled Welf to a nearby inn, dumped him on a bed, and headed back to his own workshop.
...
The next morning.
Noah woke up with a fuzzy head.
Welf's yelling gave him a headache, and he drank a bit too much without realizing it.
He was a lateweight, so the booze didn't hit him until way after the fact.
Bam!
Tsubaki barged into the workshop like she owned the place.
The heavy wooden door groaned against her insane strength.
"Yo, Noah! Heard you've been playing babysitter for Welf all week!"
Cold air rushed in from outside, killing the furnace's heat in a heartbeat.
Noah had to pull in more fire mana to stoke the flames back to life. He glared at Tsubaki, who was standing in the doorway with a big, goofy grin.
"Who do you think I was covering for?" Noah grumbled. "If you didn't run off to hide, I wouldn't have been treated like a pack mule. I haven't even been in this Familia that long, and I'm already training the rookies. You got any idea how annoying that is?"
The Captain ran away and dumped her job on the new guy.
Even though his "Artisan Spirit" title made him famous around town, he was still pretty new to Orario.
Tsubaki's smile froze.
She paused for a second before throwing out an excuse. "Uh, well... that just shows how much Hephaestus trusts you! You're super clever!"
"Tsk."
Noah's glare deepened, and Tsubaki shivered.
She knew this kid held a grudge like nobody else. Good thing he remembered favors, too!
"Okay, okay, my bad! I'm here to make it up to you today!" Tsubaki winked, flashing a knowing smile.
Noah figured she brought some good news, but she wasn't going to hand it over for free.
Noah sighed and called over his shoulder. "Haruhime, get some tea and snacks for our guest."
"Yay!" Tsubaki cheered.
Watching them bicker, Haruhime covered her mouth and giggled.
She trotted into the kitchen to plate some sweets and brew a pot of hot tea.
"So, why are you really here?" Noah asked, getting straight to the point the second Tsubaki sat down.
Tsubaki ignored him. She grabbed two cookies, stuffed them both in her mouth, and started chomping away.
She stared right into Noah's eyes, chewing... and chewing.
Noah's face got darker by the second.
A drop of sweat rolled down Tsubaki's forehead. She got a little too greedy and couldn't swallow the massive mouthful of dry cookies!
"Gulp."
"You done?" Noah asked, his voice flat.
"Ah, um..." Tsubaki waved her hands. "I'll tell you, I'll tell you! Don't be so grumpy, I was just enjoying the food!"
"Haruhime, show the guest out."
"Wait, wait, wait! Noah-boy, why are you so cold? I said I'm telling you right now!" Tsubaki wiped her forehead and cleared her throat, finally dropping the joke.
"It's a business trip," the Captain said. "To Solingen."
Noah raised an eyebrow.
'The City of Swords.'
He'd heard stories about the famous forging town. But a business trip?
"You're going to Solingen?" Noah asked, frowning.
Tsubaki was a Level 5 and the Captain of the Hephaestus Familia.
Letting a high-tier fighter like her leave Orario was always a massive headache for the Guild.
"Of course not," Tsubaki smirked. "Not me. You!"