Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

Despite the booming business, she was still very busy and could only chat with customers for a few minutes before continuing to work.

However, she seemed to be enjoying it.

"Hmm—! It tastes just like regular pork."

Emiya Shi took a small bite of the meat in front of him. Although there were many creatures in this world that he did not recognize, they did not seem to make much difference.

"Guest, how are you feeling—"

With a cold expression, the girl named Ryu walked up to Shirou Emiya and asked him a question.

After all, Emiya Shirou was one of the customers she brought in, so unless there were special circumstances, it was naturally her who would go and greet him.

For them, attracting more customers brings extra bonuses.

"It tastes great!"

Emiya Shirou answered the girl's question with a smile.

"Really? Then eat more!"

A hearty voice suddenly came from beside Shirou Emiya, and another huge dish was placed in front of him.

"what?"

Looking at the unfinished meat in his hand, Shirou Emiya looked at the old woman who appeared in front of him with a puzzled expression.

"Young man, you must be an adventurer. You explore dungeons every day, which consumes a lot of stamina. Besides, you're so young, it's good for you to eat more!"

The middle-aged woman patted Shirou Emiya on the shoulder with a hearty smile.

"That's just how Mia's mom is, please don't mind, this is on the house."

The girl was quite enthusiastic about this matter; Mia often treated people she liked to meals in this generous way.

"Thanks!"

Emiya Shirou looked at the two portions of food in front of him and was already thinking about packing them up.

"Oh right, we still don't know your name, bro! It's not good to keep calling you 'bro' all the time—"

"My name is Mia, you can just call me by my name!"

"Shirou Emiya"

"My name is Liu Liang".

Liu introduced herself in a calm voice.

"I've got it—"

Emiya Shirou nodded and responded.

"Use less force, and aim the strike in the direction of your body's swing—"

"If you need to achieve a sharp blade, in addition to normal sharpening, you also need to hammer it—"

"The temperature is wrong!"

"There are certain patterns to the quenching process!"

In the dimly lit workshop, with each beat of the hammer, Shirou Emiya's forehead was covered in sweat as he hammered away at the iron block in front of him.

A spirited female voice kept coming from beside Emiya Shirou.

It was Hephaestus, wearing an eye patch, observing Shirou Emiya's forging process while offering verbal guidance.

Emiya Shirou only seriously forged a sword once, when he was in the Imperial Capital.

Most of the time, he only thought about how to forge in his mind and never actually did it himself.

No one had ever formally taught Shirou Emiya anything about forging.

Therefore, Shirou Emiya relies on his intuition to make judgments in many aspects.

For example, the quenching method, melting temperature, and hammering direction were all forged by Shirou Emiya based on his intuition.

Although Shirou Emiya's judgment on weapon forging is incredibly accurate, even to ordinary blacksmiths.

However, compared to Hephaestus, the goddess of forging, Shirou Emiya's forging skills were entirely flawed.

Everything seemed very immature.

He figured out many things about forging on his own.

But forging is not something that can be mastered simply through intuition.

"Unqualified—!"

"Unqualified—!"

"Unqualified—!"

For almost the entire morning, not a single sword that Shirou Emiya forged was approved by Hephaestus.

However, she did not simply throw away the weapon that Shirou Emiya had forged.

These weapons were merely substandard in Hephaestus's eyes; among adventurers, the weapons forged by Shirou Emiya remained top-tier.

In Orario, a large number of blacksmiths cannot reach the level that Shirou Emiya currently possesses.

Even though they had spent decades forging their craft, they were still surpassed by Shirou Emiya in such a short time.

"I still don't understand, why is it that all you know how to do is forge swords?"

Hephaestus held the armor in her hand, which was vastly different in appearance and quality from the sword forged by Shirou Emiya, and couldn't help but feel puzzled.

It's not that the armor Shirou Emiya forged was bad.

In terms of quality, it's passable, but compared to the swords forged by Emiya Shirou, it's far inferior.

"sorry--!"

Panting heavily, Shirou Emiya struggled to put down the hammer in his hand and quickly apologized to Hephaestus.

He hadn't managed to forge a piece that satisfied Hephaestus all morning.

Emiya Shirou was extremely apologetic about this.

"No, if you can really forge a work that satisfies me in just one morning, then I can only describe you as a prodigy, a talent that surpasses even that of a god."

Even though Shirou Emiya is very talented, he is still human.

However, looking at Shirou Emiya, who was engrossed in forging, Hephaestus believed that even without her guidance, Shirou Emiya would be able to forge a weapon comparable to that of a god after decades, or even longer, of exploration.

His ability to comprehend the forging techniques of the gods is enough to prove his extraordinary nature.

Even just a little bit.

Although Emiya Shirou, with his superhuman talent and terrifying learning speed, absorbs knowledge like a sponge.

However, Hephaestus's knowledge of forging was like an ocean; even with Shirou Emiya's diligent study, he had only learned less than one-thousandth of Hephaestus's knowledge.

Seeing Shirou Emiya already panting heavily, Hephaestus couldn't help but admire his incredible willpower.

The hammer that Emiya Shirou wielded while forging was no ordinary weapon.

That was the hammer she had always used for forging.

Each swing is not only forging of the weapon, but also a test of the user's body and mind.

Despite her declining mental strength and continuous loss of power, Hephaestus managed to hold on for almost a whole morning, and her attitude towards Shirou Emiya changed slightly.

At such a young age, he already possesses a mind as strong as steel, or even stronger than steel.

Even without receiving the blessing, Hephaestus believed that Shirou Emiya would definitely become a hero.

Such perseverance is something that countless people in this world could achieve.

In all the years Hephaestus had lived, she had seen very few people with such perseverance.

"Take a break. Are you going to eat here later, or go back?"

Hephaestus looked at Shirou Emiya, who was almost completely exhausted, with a smile.

Chapter 432 Hestia

"Hephaestus!"

"Hephaestus!"

Accompanied by a shout like that of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl, the wooden door of Hephaestus' workshop was pushed open with a thud.

A girl with long, glossy black hair, tied into twin ponytails that reached her waist, and a round face with a childlike appearance, entered the room.

She skillfully bypassed the front desk and headed towards the workshop at the back.

"not here?"

"I brought meatballs!"

The girl shouted into the workshop, seemingly unconcerned that she would disturb Hephaestus, who was forging weapons.

"Hestia! What do you want now?"

Just as she was about to push open the wooden door of the forge, a spirited voice came from behind her.

"Eek!! Hephaestus, how did you suddenly appear behind me!"

The girl named Hestia seemed to be startled, her twin ponytails stood up as if defying gravity, and she quickly jumped up and turned around.

"It's because you have something to hide that you didn't notice me!"

Hephaestus seemed to know Hestia very well, and almost immediately understood what she wanted to do.

"What? Don't talk nonsense. We are inseparable friends. I just came to see you and brought you some dumplings!"

Hestia pouted, seemingly quite dissatisfied with Hephaestus's explanation.

"Thanks, I'll go up now!"

Hephaestus's lips twitched slightly as she took the bag from Hestia and walked upstairs, her eyes showing no trace of lingering affection.

"Wait a moment!!"