The students were immediately surprised by Ren Isana's words. Asuna thought for a moment before speaking up, "Why don't we set a price limit? If anyone wants something better, they can pay the difference themselves."
After all, there would always be some who weren't satisfied with standard gear. Since Ren was using the funds to outfit everyone, it made more sense to give them a set allowance and let them choose for themselves.
Hearing Asuna's suggestion, Ren glanced at Sora, who was currently digging out small gold coins, and nodded. "That works. Everyone gets an allowance of 500,000 Valis. Anything beyond that is on you."
Ren quickly made the decision. At 500,000 Valis per person for a class of 42, it would only cost a little over 20 million Valis, leaving plenty of money leftover for operational funds.
The rest of the class heard this and had no objections. If they wanted better gear, they would just pay out of pocket. Ren distributing the funds and letting them cover the difference was already generous enough.
This money was provided by the school, so Ren had full authority over how to allocate it. If he wanted to be a bit more ruthless, he could have easily made everyone buy their own equipment.
No one would have been able to complain. After all, Director Ken hadn't specified how Ren should spend the money; he hadn't given a single instruction.
In other words, Ren could have pocketed the entire batch of gold from the very beginning, but he simply wasn't that corrupt.
Hearing Ren's arrangement and the given allowance, everyone started doing the math in their heads. Since that was the case, they might as well go all out and get the best gear possible in one go.
In truth, everyone had brought quite a bit of gold with them specifically to exchange for currency in this world. Now was the perfect time to put it to use.
The group followed in Hestia and Hephaestus's footsteps, heading toward the Hephaestus Familia in the northeast district.
The area where the Hephaestus Familia resided was essentially an industrial zone, packed entirely with various weapon and armor shops.
Just entering the district, they were greeted by the constant clanging of hammers against anvils. As far as the eye could see, blacksmiths were hard at work, and the air was thick with various pungent, metallic smells.
Hephaestus's Familia was located right here, and she was the largest forging merchant in the area. She led the large group back to her Familia's headquarters.
This headquarters was actually a massive forging workshop. Aside from this location, she also had a storefront over at the Babel Tower.
Stepping inside the Familia grounds, the surrounding members constantly called out greetings to "Lady Hephaestus," while simultaneously casting confused glances at the large entourage trailing behind her.
Before long, a black-haired woman wearing an eyepatch walked out from within the compound. She didn't look very old and had a darker complexion, but her figure was absolutely explosive.
The students in the class cast sidelong glances, looking like they wanted to stare but didn't dare to. Fortunately, Ren was different. He stared openly and brazenly, even marveling inwardly. *Those are some massive baby cafeterias. That's enough to feed a whole litter of kids, isn't it?*
"Tsubaki!" Hephaestus called out upon seeing the young woman. Hearing Hephaestus's summons, the girl named Tsubaki jogged over.
This sight made quite a few people's eyes go wide. The girls in the class were especially bewildered. *How is that even possible? What did she eat growing up? Is this the legendary 'naturally gifted' physique?*
"Lady Hephaestus." Tsubaki jogged up and bowed respectfully to Hephaestus.
Hephaestus waved her hand dismissively and said, "This is Tsubaki, the captain of my Hephaestus Familia. These guys are from the Hestia Familia."
"Hello, everyone!" Hearing this, Tsubaki immediately greeted the crowd. She was quite puzzled inwardly. *The Hestia Familia? Is this the Familia Lady Hephaestus mentioned to me yesterday?*
"Hello!" Seeing this, Ren nodded and returned the greeting. *This girl has Dwarven blood, yet she grew this tall? That's really something.*
"Tsubaki, you come along too. You can introduce our armor to these people in a bit," Hephaestus instructed, bringing Tsubaki along as she led the group toward a nearby warehouse.
Hearing Hephaestus say this, Tsubaki understood her goddess's intentions. *These are major clients.* She hurriedly caught up with Hephaestus's pace.
Under Hephaestus's lead, everyone arrived inside a massive storehouse. The interior was densely packed with all sorts of exquisite armor and weapons.
"The gear in this warehouse is all mid-to-high tier. See what you need; I'll give you a flat fifty percent discount on everything," Hephaestus said generously with a grand wave of her hand.
Tsubaki pursed her lips upon hearing this. She didn't interrupt Hephaestus's decision. *We're going to take a massive loss on this batch,* she thought, but since it was her Goddess's decision, there was nothing she could do about it.
"Please, everyone. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me at any time," Tsubaki began to host them. Seeing this, the crowd eagerly walked in. The enormous warehouse was filled with rows upon rows of shelves.
Various armors and weapons were neatly arranged without a single speck of dust on them, clearly having been meticulously maintained. Looking at the armor inside, everyone felt their horizons had been broadened.
They all began to pick and choose. With Ren providing a 500,000 Valis allowance and everyone covering their own differences, the crowd quickly got a feel for the armor prices and scattered toward the appropriate sections.
Ren was naturally no exception. He took a lap around the warehouse, his gaze eventually landing on a set of soft armor. In truth, Ren didn't have much need for heavy armor; it didn't really matter to him whether he had it or not.
But since he was already here, he figured he might as well buy a set of soft armor. After browsing the warehouse, his eyes locked onto a thin, lightweight piece of armor.
It didn't have any standout features overall, but it was clearly made from some special material. Ren reached out to weigh it in his hands. It was incredibly light—probably weighing less than a kilogram.
"You want that? Not many people around here like that sort of thing." Hephaestus was quite surprised by Ren's choice. She had forged that piece a very long time ago.
However, there was virtually no market for it, so it had been left sitting in the warehouse. After all, the adventurers in Orario vastly preferred plate armor, as that was what gave them a sense of security.
Hearing Hephaestus's words, Ren nodded. "Roughly how much is this thing? What tier is it?"
*No one wants it? Then I'll take it.* Wearing it wouldn't affect Ren's combat mobility in the slightest, so he had no reason to refuse. It would be very comfortable for him to use.
"Aside from the top, there's actually a bottom piece too. I remember it being right... here. This is an advanced-tier set, top and bottom. As for the price, just give me one million Valis." Hephaestus rummaged around for a moment and pulled out another equally unremarkable-looking bottom piece.
The entire set of soft armor was pitch black, woven from some unknown material. It looked pretty good, though Ren was a bit disdainful of the pants.
"Can I just take the top half?" Ren now somewhat understood why no one wanted this thing. If he wore this bottom half, wouldn't it basically be like wearing long johns?
"You brat, don't push your luck after getting a good deal. If you're buying it, take the whole thing. Are you just going to leave me with a pair of pants to throw away?" Hephaestus rolled her eyes in exasperation.
Who buys a full set of armor but only takes one piece? How was she supposed to sell the hardest-to-sell pants left behind? Moreover, the true value of this armor set was far higher than the price she had quoted.
"Emm... alright, I'll take it. But it seems a bit ill-fitting? Can it be altered?" Ren felt a bit awkward hearing that. After thinking it over, he decided to take the whole set.
After all, there were only a few sets of soft armor, and the others weren't as high-tier as this one. Advanced gear usually ranged between 1.5 to 5 million Valis, so getting it for 1 million meant Ren definitely wasn't losing out.
"Hold on, I'll alter it for you personally." Hearing Ren's agreement, Hephaestus nodded. As long as he took the whole thing, it was fine. If she was left with just a pair of leggings, she probably would have just thrown them away.
"Deal!" Hearing that Hephaestus would personally alter it for him, Ren's heart skipped a beat. *This works out perfectly. While she's at it... I can secretly learn from her.* A deity's craftsmanship, and one that didn't require Divine Power at that.
Wasn't this perfectly suited for him? If he used [Jianjigu] to learn this, he could just gather materials and forge things himself in the future. He wouldn't need to buy whatever gear he wanted anymore.
With Ren's decision finalized, the others also gradually finished selecting their desired gear. Most people opted for breastplates, kneepads, and bracers, rather than full-body suits of armor.
Furthermore, aside from a few who chose intermediate gear, those from wealthier families all selected advanced armor and prepared to settle the difference with gold.
Ren didn't bother managing that part. Tsubaki quickly tallied up the prices, and Ren directly paid the initial 20-plus million Valis. The rest was up to everyone to cover the difference for their own armor.
Ren ignored the subsequent transactions. He and Hestia followed Hephaestus into her personal workshop, where Hephaestus began altering the soft armor for him.
Hephaestus modified the soft armor according to Ren's specifications, but the requests he made left her thoroughly exasperated. "I'm taking a massive loss selling this set to you!!"
Good grief, not only did she give him a steep discount, but she also had to alter it entirely to his exact demands. How was this any different from custom-tailoring? If it were anyone else, she would have flipped out long ago.
But with Hestia watching eagerly from the sidelines, she had no choice but to agree. What else could she do? She still had to give her best friend some face.
Following Ren's instructions, Hephaestus directly modified the top half into a T-shirt and the bottom half into a pair of shorts. The leftover scrap materials were fashioned into kneepads and bracers.
Using her incredible craftsmanship, Hephaestus easily finished the alterations. Looking at the final product tailored to Ren's needs, she couldn't help but complain, "Making it like this leaves certain areas completely unprotected, you know?"
Because of the modifications, many parts of the body were no longer covered. It hardly looked like protective gear anymore. At this rate, he might as well have just worn standard light armor.
"Some places don't need protection!" Ren silently withdrew his gaze. He had just used [Jianjigu] to completely copy Hephaestus's tailoring skills. He had to admit, her techniques were truly formidable.
If given the materials, Ren could now craft this kind of soft armor himself. Thinking of this, he felt quite excited.
*However... there's still her forging skills.* Ren wouldn't be satisfied with just tailoring. With that thought in mind, he directly pulled out his Tang Dao.
A Magic Circle appeared in his hand, and Ren drew his Tang Dao from it. This scene instantly drew Hephaestus's attention.
Seeing Ren take out a weapon, she raised an eyebrow. *What is he trying to do?* But looking at the weapon... *It seems to only be intermediate-tier. The base materials really aren't that great.*
"Miss Hephaestus, could you help me upgrade this Tang Dao?" Ren directly stated his request. If he wanted to learn her forging techniques, he had to get her to work the forge.
Therefore, reprocessing this Tang Dao was the perfect excuse. And if possible, Ren genuinely hoped she could give it a solid upgrade.
"Are you sure? My services are very expensive!" Hephaestus looked at the blade in Ren's hand. Upgrading it would simply require adding some new materials into the mix.
But doing so was a bit counterproductive. He would be better off just buying a new one. The cost of reprocessing it, plus a little extra, would be enough to buy a brand-new weapon. Why bother upgrading it?
"I'm sure. I'm already emotionally attached to this Tang Dao. If possible, please help me enhance it." Ren's excuse was so high-sounding that Hephaestus couldn't find a single flaw in his logic.
"Fine. Ten million Valis. I'll forge this weapon into a top-tier one, and I'll cover the materials," Hephaestus said, looking at Ren. After a moment of thought, she agreed.
Since he was so insistent on doing it this way, she had nothing more to say. Naturally, she would satisfy his request, though she quoted a terrifying price.
Hearing this, Ren agreed without any hesitation. He had enough money on hand, and turning it into a top-tier weapon was a net positive. There was nothing to hesitate about.
"Can you give a discount?" Hestia, who was standing to the side, subconsciously tried to haggle for Ren upon hearing Hephaestus's quoted price. After all, this was ten million Valis! Even a slight discount would save millions.
Hearing Hestia's words, veins instantly popped on Hephaestus's forehead. She charged forward, grabbed the little goddess, and ruthlessly pinched her cheeks.
"If you want to fleece a sheep, don't just keep shearing the same one! I've already given you over twenty million in discounts today, and now you want another one?! Do you want me to discount your bones by breaking them?!" Hephaestus was absolutely furious.
This little bastard! Did she not realize how many discounts she had just handed out? And now she was asking for more? Did she want her to just gift the entire Hephaestus Familia to her while she was at it?!
"Let go ob me!!" Hestia felt a bit awkward. Doing this really was a bit shameless of her. All the gear purchased today had already been discounted by fifty percent, meaning Hephaestus had already lost out on tens of millions in profit.
Ren watched this scene somewhat speechlessly. With a chuckle, he handed his Tang Dao over and said, "I'll leave it to you. There's no need for a discount this time."
For the sake of learning her techniques, Ren couldn't be bothered to haggle. He had the money—provided by the school, no less. Besides, Director Ken had explicitly told him to learn as much of this world's technology and skills as possible. Wasn't this exactly what he was doing?
"Hmph, that's more like it." Hephaestus snorted coldly at Hestia. She was quite satisfied with Ren's behavior, as he hadn't tried to continue taking advantage of her.
If Ren had also asked for a discount, she would have had to reevaluate her opinion of him. Giving a discount was a favor, not an obligation. If he were insatiably greedy, then he truly wouldn't be a good person.
Taking Ren's Tang Dao, Hephaestus examined it for a moment before speaking. "The base material of this blade is decent. I'll add some new materials to it and imbue it with a few enchantment properties."
She already had a few ideas when she first saw the blade, but now that it was in her hands, she completely finalized her plan.
Due to the limitations of the base materials, this was the only way she could upgrade it. Forging it into a Magic Sword was impossible; she could only add properties like enhanced sharpness and self-repair.
That would be more than enough for practical use. As for anything else, there was nothing she could do unless she completely melted it down and reforged it from scratch. But the cost of doing that would be far too high—he'd be better off just buying a new one!
Hephaestus explained her upgrade plan. After listening to her explanation, Ren nodded. Naturally, he had no objections. Upgrading it exactly as she described was perfect!