Emiya Shirou doesn't want to work overtime

Hestia called out to Hephaestus.

"Anything else?"

"Shouldn't you reciprocate with something? Like treating me to a meal?"

"You've revealed your true intentions!"

"No, it's just a normal thing to return a gift!"

Hestia turned her head away and argued.

"Ha! Hestia! How many days have you been mooching off me? And when are you going to return the Valis I lent you?!"

"Well--!"

Hearing Hephaestus's words, Hestia immediately burst into tears.

"I have no money, no home, and not even a job. I'm just a goddess who can be abandoned in an alley at will!"

Hestia seemed to have suffered a great blow, and collapsed to the ground, looking at Hephaestus with incredibly pitiful eyes.

It was as if Hephaestus had abandoned him.

"Ugh! This is the last time, the very last time. If you can't find any adventurers and come here to freeload, I'm kicking you out!"

Seeing Hestia feigning pitifulness, Hephaestus, in despair, scratched her head and headed upstairs.

"Yay! I knew Hephaestus was the best!"

Hestia, who had looked incredibly pitiful and charming, instantly composed herself and followed Hephaestus.

"It seems like the last time was also the last time—"

"Shut up!"

Hephaestus looked at Hestia, who was smiling beside her, with some annoyance.

"What does this meat taste like?"

Emiya Shirou asked the maid beside him who was preparing ingredients.

Regarding the choice proposed by Hephaestus.

Emiya Shirou naturally chose the second option without hesitation: to go out and eat.

The intense fatigue left him almost unable to move his body after he relaxed.

Both mentally and physically, a profound sense of weakness surrounded Emiya Shirou.

He never imagined that relaxing like this would make him so weak in an instant.

However, this is also related to Shirou Emiya's strong perseverance during the forging process.

His physical and mental strength had been on the verge of collapse for a long time.

But Shirou Emiya kept gritting his teeth, telling himself to hold on for just one more second, just one more second.

It was through this accumulation of second by second that Shirou Emiya was able to persevere for such a long time.

Even Hephaestus was startled.

As a result, Shirou Emiya was so relaxed that he didn't even have the strength to move his arm.

So Shirou Emiya was forced by Hephaestus to choose the first option.

After more than half an hour, with his breathing regulated and the Holy Relic and Avalon slowly healing him, Shirou Emiya finally got off the bed, albeit shakily.

After all, Avalon isn't always running at full power.

As for the one who carried Shirou Emiya to the bed, it certainly wasn't Hephaestus, but rather Hephaestus's maid.

Hephaestus is not Hestia, and she doesn't have to live a life of hardship every day.

Since he was staying for dinner, Shirou Emiya also went to the kitchen to get acquainted with some of the ingredients in this world.

Although he knew he probably wouldn't be staying in this world for long, he was still very interested in the ingredients here.

Shirou Emiya prefers to cook for himself rather than eat at pubs.

Moreover, the challenge lies in transforming unknown ingredients into delicious food.

Emiya Shirou was also very interested in this.

So now he is observing the steps and methods the maids use to prepare food in the kitchen.

Based on the way many ingredients are prepared, Shirou Emiya can roughly deduce that they are similar to ingredients from his own world.

"Emiya—!"

The shouts came from the restaurant.

That was Hephaestus's voice.

"Let me introduce you to Hestia, the goddess who spends her days idly, often coming to me to freeload and pretend to be pitiful!"

Hephaestus waved his hand, seemingly to show off Hestia's grand entrance!

"Hephaestus!!!!!"

Hestia blushed and shouted at Hephaestus, wondering how she could introduce herself to others like that.

"Hello! My name is Emiya Shirou!"

Shirou Emiya could only watch the two who had an incredibly good relationship, scratching his head and responding to Hestia with an awkward smile.

"Emiya? Emiya Shirou!"

Hestia seemed to remember something, and suddenly her eyes lit up with golden light.

"You're the adventurer who barged into the tenth level of the dungeon without any favors!?"

Like prey, Hestia stared intently at Shirou Emiya, drool dripping from her mouth.

"Uh, yes, is there a problem?"

Shirou Emiya was startled by Hestia's reaction and couldn't help but take a step back.

"Oh? Is that so?"

Hephaestus pinched her chin, looking at Shirou Emiya with some surprise.

"I told you not to stay in your workshop all the time. This morning I went to the guild to see if there were any people who could become my familia, and I heard this. It has been confirmed by the guild. Now almost all the gods are looking for him, hoping to have him join their familia. I never expected that he would be here with you!"

Hestia explained while complaining about Hephaestus.

In order to find her own family, Hestia had to travel to various places every day in addition to her normal work.

She naturally received the news immediately that it would become an instant sensation throughout Orario.

I also hope to meet such a talented person and have them become a member of my family.

only----

"Does Shirou's presence here mean she has become one of your kin?"

Hestia thought about it carefully and realized that since Shirou Emiya was with Hephaestus, it must mean something.

Shirou Emiya has become a member of Hephaestus's kin.

However, Hephaestus's answer greatly surprised Hestia.

"No, Emiya is not a member of my clan—"

Chapter 434 The Limits of Exploration

"boom--!"

Blood splattered once again in front of Shirou Emiya. The skull holding the shield and longsword was cleaved in two by Shirou Emiya's sword, turning into ashes and disappearing into the air.

Only crystals and some bone fragments remained.

In addition to the chance to drop magic crystals that can be exchanged for money, monsters in dungeons also drop materials that are closely related to themselves.

It's becoming more and more like a game.

Unfortunately, unlike those who received the blessing, Shirou Emiya could not gain the so-called experience from these monsters, nor could he obtain the so-called ability to improve his stats or achieve great things.

Every step he took forward was solely due to his own efforts, constantly honing his skills through countless battles and rigorous training.

"We're not far from the eighteenth safe level!"

Emiya Shirou picked up the magic crystals and fragments from the ground, threw them into his night hat, and spoke softly.

After dozens of days of exploration, Shirou Emiya has finally reached the seventeenth floor.

Ever since that unimaginable siege on the tenth floor, when Shirou Emiya went down into the dungeon again, the monsters he encountered, both in number and quality, became completely normal, just like those encountered by ordinary adventurers.

It was as if a serious bug had appeared in the dungeon, which is why Shirou Emiya encountered that situation when he first entered the dungeon.

Then this serious bug was fixed.

However, this is not a game, and the dungeon is not even an inanimate object, but a living entity.

Shirou Emiya also asked Hephaestus, and she said she didn't know what was going on, but just told him to be more careful.

The worst thing for adventurers is arrogance and complacency. Countless adventurers have become arrogant and restless after gaining a little fame, and eventually died in the dungeon.

"Let's go back first, otherwise we won't be able to get out of the underground city until late at night."

Emiya Shirou drew back his bowstring, and countless arrows burst forth, striking with unparalleled precision the lion-like body with crimson fur in front of him.

They lay dead on the ground, their eyes wide open in disbelief.

Emiya Shirou collected the materials and magic crystals from the ground one by one and put them into the Night Hat.

Although Shana's hat has the function of storing items, it is not as convenient as one might imagine.

Shirou Emiya would also project some of his frequently used weapons into his Night Hat.

However, under normal circumstances, only a few of the weapons that he frequently uses will be projected. In most battles, he still uses various weapons through projection.

As a storage item, the night hat is not like some strange spatial artifacts.

The weight of everything placed inside the hood will be added to the trench coat.