Fairy Tail: Igneel's eldest son in Anime Multiverse

The voice from behind made Charles and Welf pause mid-conversation. Charles turned to see Finn standing there.

Welf, perceptive enough to sense the mood, quickly said, "I'll go find Tsubaki. You two talk."

With that, he got up and headed toward Tsubaki's table.

Charles watched Finn sit down across from him and asked, "What can I do for the Braver?"

Finn smiled politely. "No need to be so formal. Just call me Finn."

In general, adventurers referred to each other using the divine titles or nicknames bestowed upon them after leveling up. Only close companions from the same Familia or long-time allies would call each other by their given names.

Charles knew full well that he and Finn weren't that close—so Finn insisting on using first names definitely had a deeper purpose.

"In that case, I'll take you up on that. So, what brings you over, Finn?"

Finn began, "I was just wondering—when did you arrive in Orario, Mr. Charles?"

Though unsure of Finn's true motives, Charles instinctively remained cautious and replied, "I've been part of the Hephaestus Familia for quite some time now. But I've been focused on studying smithing, so I rarely leave the workshop."

"All that time spent learning forging, huh?" Finn mused aloud, then said, "No wonder you're capable of crafting magic swords. You must have trained extremely hard."

Charles offered a modest smile. "It's all thanks to my goddess's guidance, really."

His diplomatic deflection made Finn mentally clench his teeth. A young man this smooth and guarded with words? Suspicious in itself. But it only made Finn's suspicions stronger.

Revving up his own game, Finn pushed a little harder. "But guidance from Lady Hephaestus alone isn't enough to produce magic swords. Speaking of which, I'd love the chance to see one of your creations sometime."

Charles suddenly said, "I've actually got a recently completed magic sword. One I'm quite proud of. If the price's right, I wouldn't mind selling it to the Loki Familia."

The truth was, Charles had brought up selling it because he was running low on funds.

He had spent a small fortune on rare materials for crafting, and again to repair and upgrade his workshop after the explosion.

On top of that, the high-grade equipment he'd previously forged hadn't sold due to being too advanced for most adventurers, so he was legitimately broke.

Finn remained composed. "I'd really love to acquire one of your weapons, but we just finished an expedition, and the Familia budget's tight. I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to afford a magic sword right now."

Charles raised his glass. "No worries. I'm sure there'll be plenty of opportunities to work together in the future."

Finn clinked his glass with Charles's and said, "Then it's a deal. Tonight's a party—just enjoy yourself."

He got up and left.

Charles watched his back as he walked away and let out a quiet sigh. Talking to someone with a thousand schemes behind every smile was mentally exhausting.

Still… Charles glanced over at Tsubaki. He couldn't help but wonder if her decision to bring him here had been calculated from the start.

After all, Hephaestus had already warned him that Loki might've caught wind of his existence.

Most things could be explained away—but defeating Jara in the dungeon? That was a clear red flag. No rookie adventurer should've been capable of such a feat.

But a powerful enough magic sword could make it possible. With a weapon of that caliber, taking down a Level 4—or even Level 5—wasn't unthinkable.

By framing himself as a magic sword smith, Charles could hide far more dangerous secrets.

Very clever, Tsubaki… No! Knowing her personality, she wouldn't think this far ahead. Could it have been Hephaestus's plan?

Yes, that would make sense. A deity's foresight was on a different level entirely.

Meanwhile, back at the Familia headquarters, Hephaestus suddenly shivered and glanced at the tightly closed window. "Strange… why does it feel chilly all of a sudden?"

In truth, Charles was completely overthinking things. Tsubaki had brought him to the party on a total whim. There were no secret instructions from Hephaestus, no grand strategy.

Maybe this was the downside of being smart—overcomplicating simple coincidences and spinning elaborate theories out of pure happenstance.

Still, even if the "divine wisdom" he imagined didn't exist, the outcome remained the same.

In Finn's mind, he had already concluded that Charles was the one responsible for defeating Jara and uncovering the dark faction's trail.

And the explanation that he was a powerful blacksmith capable of creating magic swords? That made perfect sense. For a Level 4+ combatant and a magic sword smith, the approach would be very different.

Just as Charles finished bluffing his way past Finn, he suddenly felt someone's gaze locked on him.

He looked up—right into the expressionless eyes of the Sword Princess, Ais Wallenstein.

Charles was utterly confused. It made sense that Finn had come to probe him, possibly based on intel from Loki. But why was Ais staring at him like that?

Her gaze wasn't heated or intense, but having her stare at him so openly was still uncomfortable.

Just as Charles was about to look for somewhere to hide from her view, someone stepped into his line of sight.

"Miss Ryuu, it's been a while!" Charles greeted first.

Indeed, the waitress who had just brought him food was none other than the long-absent elf.

"Yes, it has. You haven't visited us since that day. Was our food not to your liking?"

Her tone was cold and devoid of emotion.

Charles cautiously glanced at her expression and said tentatively, "Of course not. The food here is delicious, and getting to see Miss Ryuu is always a treat. I've just been really busy lately, that's all."

Ryuu turned slightly away—but not before Charles caught the faint blush on her cheeks.

The elf blushed!

Charles froze. Had he said something inappropriate? He didn't think so.

Before he could figure out what to say, Ryuu had already briskly walked away like she was escaping.

After she left, Welf leaned over and said, "No way… you know Ryuu from the Hostess of Fertility? Spill it—how'd you two meet?"

Charles pushed Welf's nosy face away. "There was just a little misunderstanding before. Once we cleared it up, we became friends. It's not what you think."

Welf leaned in again, whispering, "Forget that—did you not notice the Sword Princess has been staring at you this whole time? Don't tell me… you've got something going on with her too?"

Ais's gaze was so direct that even Welf had noticed it.

Charles sighed. "I wish I knew why. I've never even spoken to her. Who knows why she's staring at me like that."

And as if that weren't enough, even Lefiya, who was sitting beside Ais, had started glaring at Charles with increasingly unfriendly eyes.

This was getting out of hand…

What did I even do to deserve this?

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