SWNOVELXO Chapter 205: Sleeping in Each Other's Arms!
Chapter 205: Sleeping in Each Other's Arms!
The ability values that defied common sense shocked Ais, and the fact that Luke could rank up at any time stunned her.
For a moment, the girl couldn't think of what to say, only able to stare blankly at him.
After a while, she finally spoke:
"Then you..."
After just two words, Ais stopped speaking.
Seeing her conflicted expression, Luke smiled.
"Surpassing me won't be that easy."
As Luke's words fell, it was as if a light suddenly illuminated Ais's heart.
All the confusion and pressure dissipated instantly, leaving only peace and relief.
That night, Ais slept together with Luke.
Just like in the past, they slept holding each other.
...
The next day, after breakfast, Luke and the others had to start handling the expedition's aftermath.
Converting spoils to money, repairing and purchasing equipment, replenishing items and potions - the tasks after returning from an expedition were mountainous.
Due to the familia's growth, these matters had increased considerably, so almost all elite team members were mobilized.
Well... the reason it was 'almost' was because someone needed to guard the base when everyone else went out.
So Finn gave this job to our poor tool man Bete, with the reasoning that he could help handle some familia work at the time of need.
As members of Loki familia, Luke and the others walking on the street drew much attention.
But, no one dared to block their path.
Soon, the Loki Familia members arrived at the Guild headquarters on Northwest Main Street.
"Riveria, Gareth, and I will go exchange the magic stones for money."
"Everyone else split up according to your assigned tasks."
"Also, absolutely no pocketing any of the exchanged money, you hear that, Raul!"
There was a reason Finn specifically mentioned Raul.
This naive boy had once been seduced by a prostitute and became so addicted that he eventually couldn't even afford food.
At that time, being desperately short of money, Raul had once tried to steal from the familia's expedition earnings.
Although the matter was eventually resolved satisfactorily, it became a joke that others would occasionally bring up to tease Raul.
...
Having been on multiple expeditions, everyone was well-versed in these matters.
Tione took Lefiya to handle the adventurer requests from the Dian Cecht Familia, while also dealing with precious drop items like 'Cadmus's Membrane' and 'Unicorn Horn'.
Hearing Tione mutter things like "After risking our lives fighting that dragon, we'd better get a good price for this drop item."
Everyone who knew the drop item was actually just picked up felt somewhat speechless.
Not to mention others.
On Luke's side, his team consisted of himself, Ais, and Tiona.
They were responsible for equipment repair and purchases.
Because of those worm monsters, weapons and armor suffered the most losses this time.
Without wasting time on the road, the three quickly arrived at the Goibniu Familia's smithy.
"Welcome... Oh my god! It's the 'Great Destroyer'!!!"
Someone came to greet them as soon as they entered the smithy.
However, upon clearly seeing Tiona, the Goibniu Familia member who came to greet them started wailing.
Moreover, his cry triggered a chain reaction.
"What?! The 'Crusher' is here?!"
"Waaah, I see her! It really is the 'Crusher'! We're done for!"
"Gods above! The 'Crusher' has appeared!!!"
Their reaction, as if they'd seen a ghost, made Tiona glare and become upset.
"Hey you all, could you stop screaming my nickname like that? Really..."
But Tiona's displeasure was clearly ignored by the Goibniu Familia members, as several smiths immediately surrounded her.
"Damn Amazon! What are you planning to do today?!"
"Huh? Oh! I'm here to have you make another weapon~"
"An-another one?"
The surrounding smiths almost thought they'd misheard.
"Wh-what about Urga?! That was a masterpiece of a weapon we forged using huge amounts of the finest adamantite, working without rest!"
"Um... it melted."
"WHAT——???"
...
Ignoring the wailing crowd and somewhat embarrassed Tiona, Luke and Ais went directly to the innermost room.
God Goibniu was sitting in a chair polishing a short sword, and upon seeing them enter, he put down his work and asked:
"What do you need?"
"I've come to request weapon maintenance."
Ais spoke up, while Luke stood aside waiting for the girl to handle her personal business first.
Luke and Ais's personal orders would always be reviewed by God Goibniu first, a rule established since their first meeting with the god.
As for whether it was because he particularly appreciated these two or not, in any case, Luke and Ais's personal commissions had much higher priority than other matters at God Goibniu's place.
Although Luke never had the chance to use this preferential treatment.
With Ser-Veresta, he had no need to change weapons.
Of course, Luke had also considered the issue of a second weapon, but unfortunately the Goibniu Familia's forging standards couldn't meet his requirements.
Or rather, the currently available materials couldn't meet his expectations.
The main reason Luke needed a second weapon was because of 'Dual Life Sword'.
But the core concept of 'Dual Life Sword' was 'balance'.
To use this style of swordsmanship, first the strength of both weapons must be similar.
However, compared to Ser-Veresta, even first-class weapons like Desperate and Urga, masterpieces among the Goibniu Familia's forge, still fell far short.
In Luke's view, perhaps only the 'Supreme' level staff in Riveria's hands or the yet-to-be-born 'Hestia Knife' could possibly compare to Ser-Veresta.
So Luke hadn't commissioned any weapons from God Goibniu.
"...You've been rough with it again."
"How many times have I told you, even if the weapon won't break, its sharpness will decrease."
Taking the Desperate sword Ais handed over, God Goibniu examined the blade and sighed: "It's deteriorated so badly, what did you cut with it?"
"Monsters that could spit out corrosive liquid that melted anything, I cut quite a few of them..."
Seeming to feel she had caused trouble for the god before her, Ais bowed slightly in apology.
"Sigh... It'll take about five days to restore it to its original condition."
"The repair fee will be the same as usual, in the meantime you can make do with this."
Probably knowing that any words of advice would fall on deaf ears with Ais, God Goibniu didn't say anything more.
He reached up to the weapon rack on the wall and took down a rapier no inferior to Desperate, handing it to Ais.
"This sword doesn't have the 'unbreakable' attribute, consider it a loan, just remember to return it to me in perfect condition."
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