"You've lost me. Are you saying you don't want to be the next Zeus or Hera familia?" Ariande asked confused.
"Yep, too much of a hassle. We aren't rulers, didn't ask for it, don't want it. My personal goal was always higher than playing house in this city. As for Hestia she was just lonely and wanted a big warm family. Simply as that." I said with a shrug.
"Hey!" Hestia exclaimed with a reaction like a cat that had been startled.
"Oh hush up. Theres nothing to be embarrassed about." I said with a chuckle as she pouted for outing her motivations so easily.
"It seems congratulations are in order then." Artemis said with a smile to Hestia.
"Anyways that's the way things are with me and Ottar. What about you lot, anything interesting happen while you were gone?" I asked curiously.
"Not really, bandits and roaming monsters that were bothering the roads or small villages like normal. Still can't believe you are a higher level than me despite being years my junior as an adventurer." Rethusa said with a shake of her head.
"Don't take it to heart, I'm a freak of nature, Bell is too. The rest are much more normal, well except Haruhime but that's for a whole different reason." I said with a grin.
"Only you'd say something like that with a smile. Still can't say i'm not jealous in any case." she said with a sigh.
"Up to you, now then let me take a look at those weapons of yours." I said eyeing the weapons curiously.
"We can't afford you." Artemis said with a shake of her head.
"I didn't ask for payment. Call it a craftsman's curiosity but I am just interested in what a familia like yours uses on the regular. Fork em over already." I said impatiently.
The girls all remove their weapons and hand them over one after another letting me look them over. I grimaced at what I saw as I did though. The gear was all worn down from long use and even then only of third rate quality with the exception of Rethusa's bow that was a second rate item. It wasn't even a good one either but then again my standards ARE kinda high.-
"Not going to sugar coat it, your gear is dreadful. It's worn almost to the point of irreparable damage and while there are plenty of signs you all try to maintain it in the field none of you are craftsmen and it shows. I'm not even going to talk about the quality of the stuff since I know your familia isn't exactly rolling in valis so it is understandable." I say seriously after handing the stuff back.
"Wilderness jobs pay barely enough to support the familia. We don't have much extra for better gear." Artemis says helplessly.
"I know. Normally I'd offer to remake your weapons pro bono on account of us being friends but you've caught me at a moment where that's not possible." I said with a tinge of irritation.
All the girls looked surprised at this with the exception of Hestia who already knew what I was talking about.
"What do you mean?" Artemis asked with a frown.
"I don't craft like every other craftsmen in the world but rather use my first spell to do so. Due to a lets say spiritual injury I can't use the spell without a heavy cost until I recover." I said honestly.
"What could even cause an injury like that though?" Artemis asked with a concerned look.
"Carelessness and a rather annoying misunderstanding. Regardless I cannot at this time reforge your gear. Not all is lost though as I am not the only craftsman in the familia. You'll probably need to stick around for a few days in the city while it gets sorted out though." I said honestly.
The entire Artemis familia looked at their goddess at this even while she looked uncomfortable with the idea. She caved to the pressure though and agreed to stay in Orario until the reforging was done. Welf's face when he learnt I volunteered him for this was hilarious but he didn't argue, much.-
Besides it wasn't even as though this was bad for him as I generously allowed him to use my refined materials for this matter. Much like Tsubaki and Hephaestus he was practically drooling as he looked at my hoard of materials. He was smart and didn't go overboard though and only grabbed what he felt he could justify using, even if he pushed that limit a bit. For example the tendons from Amphisbaena were taken alongside some of the horn to make the bows for Rethusa and Artemis herself.-
Yes unlike most gods or goddesses Artemis actually hunted alongside her familia rather than staying behind. She was quite effective too as she could more or less keep up with a level four with nothing but pure skill. While Welf worked on that I spent most of my day either keeping Freya or Hephaestus company. I sparred with Ottar without any of my cursed techniques as well and while it wasn't a total beatdown it wasn't far off either. Whether it was skill in hand to hand combat or raw power he had me well trumped and I lost miserably.-
This didn't stop him from being thrilled to pieces as even if I couldn't fully match him I was at least strong enough he had to really work for it. I didn't even bother trying to keep these spars a secret as we did it out in the training area of the manor or even Folkvangr under the not so nice glares of the other members of Freya's familia. After one of the brothers tried to challenge me and got beat into the dirt none of the others made that mistake but my being unwelcome there was quite clear.-
It ended up taking Welf two weeks to go through the reforging process of the gear but the final result was pretty good even by my standards. Not perfect or anything but most of the gear had reached between low and middle second grade quality while the bows for Artemis and Rethusa both reached low first grade quality. The whole familia was in love with their new gear and Artemis herself thanked us profusely even promising to pay us back. I waved that off though as this was hardly anything as all it cost was a few materials and a bunch of work by Welf who had already been complaining he didn't forge enough so really everyone won here.
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