Danmachi- The Heroic Legend of Emiya!

Although she didn't have much expectation for Shirou's forging skills, Yamato Mikoto still told him her requirements due to his insistence.

In short, what Yamato Mikoto wanted was a tachi longer than standard weapons, with decorations in Far Eastern style, and it needed to be durable, at least a Level 4-grade weapon.

Other than that, she didn't have much opinion, nor did she ask for any special effects for the weapon.

It was clear she didn't expect a weapon forged by Shirou to have any kind of special ability, so she didn't request any. Shirou could only indirectly ask: if she wanted a weapon with a special effect, what kind would she hope for?

After thinking for a moment, Yamato Mikoto said she would like an effect that increases speed and agility, to enhance her combat capabilities.

Shirou listened seriously and recorded all of her thoughts—not just out of a blacksmith's sense of responsibility, but also to repay the god Takemikazuchi, who had helped him in the past.

If not for Takemikazuchi's help back then, Shirou wouldn't have been able to obtain enough money or heal his serious injuries so easily.

Now that Takemikazuchi's Familia was in trouble, Shirou naturally wanted to offer all the help he could.

"By the way, Miss Yamato Mikoto, you're a Level 2 adventurer, right?"

Shirou learned her adventurer level during their conversation.

"Yes, though I've only just recently leveled up."

She nodded quietly. While she didn't trust Shirou's forging skill, she had a fairly good attitude toward him as a person.

That could be due to Shirou's natural charm, or perhaps because he seemed to be of "Far Eastern" descent like herself, which made her feel close to him.

Taking this opportunity, Shirou asked, "Perfect. May I ask how you managed to level up to Level 2? Do you have any useful insights?"

"Experience leveling up, huh…" Mikoto hesitated, not expecting such a topic. "I can't really explain how exactly, but in that moment, I had a strong intuition. I knew that if I killed that monster, I would be able to advance."

She quietly told her story.

She also shared her experiences as an adventurer: starting years ago, working with her Familia all the way until recently, when she finally found a breakthrough and advanced to Level 2 in one go.

"From what I know, most people who reach Level 2 go through a similar process," she explained. "After a long period of accumulation, they develop a strong goal—something they really want to accomplish. Then, they fight desperately to achieve it. Once they do, they level up."

"Like receiving a quest and completing it?"

"More or less," she said with a smile.

They continued chatting for a while. Eventually, Shirou and Hestia said their goodbyes and left the Takemikazuchi Familia base.

Before leaving, Shirou noticed several members wearing Far Eastern garb gathering in the courtyard. Some were injured, others looked grim—clearly discussing something serious.

Although curious, Shirou didn't pry. Since Takemikazuchi hadn't asked for help and Shirou was about to embark on a dungeon expedition, he left it alone for now.

That said, Shirou planned to investigate the crisis facing the Takemikazuchi Familia thoroughly after returning from the dungeon.

After leaving, he went as usual to Hephaestus Familia.

Originally planning to spend the whole day training in forging, he was surprised when Hephaestus herself suddenly came to speak with him.

"I have something to say about the upcoming dungeon expedition."

"Yes?"

"You haven't really been getting along with my other Familia members, have you?"

That caught Shirou off guard. He felt awkward, but it was true.

Despite visiting many times, he hadn't managed to form good relationships with the Hephaestus Familia members.

He understood why: to them, Shirou was ultimately an outsider, not one of their own. Even if they shared the same profession (blacksmith), being from another Familia made him a natural target for exclusion.

Not that Shirou particularly cared about that.

Hephaestus understood his attitude, but spoke seriously:

"When it comes to personal relationships, I usually don't interfere—but when it involves dungeon expeditions, I must say something. If something happens in my forge, it's fine. But if something happens inside the dungeon, it could cost lives."

"You think I'll come into conflict with other adventurers?"

"Not exactly conflict. But it's very likely you'll be excluded or targeted."

And that made sense. The Hephaestus Familia clearly didn't hold him in high regard—both because he was only Level 1, and because he belonged to the tiny, infamous Hestia Familia.

In Orario, the biggest difference between people was their Familia affiliation.

Strong Familias meant strong backing and more opportunities for advancement. Over time, this led to discrimination, with powerful Familia members looking down on weaker ones.

It wouldn't matter if Shirou were exploring solo like Bell. But in a multi-Familia group, prejudice and isolation were inevitable.

That's likely why Hephaestus brought it up.

"Originally, I wanted to send someone trustworthy from my Familia with you," she said with some regret. "But everyone's busy with forging. Even Tsubaki has hit a bottleneck and can't go… So, I'm sorry, Shirou."

"You don't have to worry about me."

Shirou was confident in his strength. Even in the deeper levels of the dungeon, he didn't think he'd be in danger—much less with a group of low-level adventurers.

Hephaestus misunderstood, thinking he meant he would avoid conflict with others.

Though she felt bad for him, she had no choice.

"Humans have great potential, but relationships are truly complicated. Whether you're too strong or too weak, it can cause problems," she sighed. "Whether it's you or that boy, I hope you both can successfully reach Level 2. After that, everything will be easier."

"That boy?"

"A guy named Welf. He's similar to you—my Familia, but on bad terms with others. Because of that, he can't go on expeditions and hasn't reached Level 2, so he can't get the [Blacksmith] skill."

Hephaestus looked troubled.

"His situation is even worse than yours. That's why I didn't assign him to this team. He would definitely cause issues."

"I see."

Shirou was curious about this Welf person, but Hephaestus clearly didn't want to say more, so he didn't ask.

Instead, he spent the day training in forging and thinking about how to craft Mikoto's custom weapon.

.

.

.

The day of the dungeon expedition arrived.

Shirou went to the agreed-upon location near the dungeon entrance. Since he had gone to the dungeon before with Liliruca and Bell, he was fairly familiar with the process.

He wasn't early or late, but when he arrived, the others were already there.

There were 7 to 8 adventurers, both male and female.

At the front stood a young elven girl with orange hair tied in a ponytail, holding a staff and looking oddly lacking in confidence.

But when Shirou arrived, she stepped forward and said:

"Ahem, since everyone is here, let's do introductions. I'm Lefiya Viridis, from the Loki Familia, Level 3, and the leader of this party."

After Lefiya introduced herself, the others did as well:

2 from Ganesha Familia 2 from Freya Familia 3 from Apollo Familia

Their levels ranged from 1 to 2—clearly all new adventurers.

When it was Shirou's turn:

"I'm Emiya Shirou, Level 1, a supporter from the Hestia Familia."

"Hestia Familia?"

The others were shocked. They hadn't expected such an unknown Familia to be part of this joint expedition.

Some even thought they misheard.

But someone soon revealed that Shirou was recommended by Hephaestus.

Because Hephaestus and Hestia were known to be close, the adventurers stopped doubting Shirou's presence—but replaced their doubt with contempt.

Most of them came from powerful Familias with strong backing. Compared to them, the Hestia Familia seemed pathetically poor and weak.

They quickly began to ignore Shirou, treating him as if he didn't exist.

But Lefiya reacted differently.

"Your name is Emiya Shirou?" she said with surprise. "Aren't you the rumored chef of the Hostess of Fertility?"

"You know?"

Unlike the general public, adventurers usually didn't care about such things. So no one else reacted.

But Lefiya's attitude was odd.

Instead of being happy, she showed hostility toward Shirou.

After scrutinizing him, she suddenly scoffed and said:

"Hmph! I'm not going to lose to someone like you!"

Then she stormed off, leaving Shirou completely confused.

In any case, introductions ended, and the adventurer party officially headed into the dungeon.

Thanks to their individual strength—and especially with a Level 3 adventurer like Lefiya leading—they advanced quickly and soon reached the 10th floor, the same area Shirou and Bell had reached before.

But the team was in complete disarray.

There was no coordination, with members from each Familia doing whatever they wanted.

The root cause was obvious: Lefiya's incompetence as a leader.

To be fair, she wasn't a weak adventurer—her Level 3 status was real, and Shirou even felt her strength might be above that.

But as a leader, she had a fatal flaw: she lacked the ability to communicate or coordinate.

She couldn't guide the team, nor get them to follow her directions.

She was easily pushed around by others.

As a result, the group turned into a chaotic mess, each Familia acting independently.

The Apollo Familia members were especially bad—they treated the whole expedition like their personal playground, stirring up trouble and angering the Ganesha members.

The Freya Familia members didn't behave badly, but also ignored Lefiya's orders and frequently acted on their own.

Lefiya was clearly frustrated and exhausted, but completely powerless to change anything.

To Shirou, this entire situation felt extremely strange.

There was nothing reasonable about this team.

Lefiya's appointment as leader was the biggest flaw. She couldn't possibly manage the group.

If this setup was meant to help Lefiya "grow," the reasoning was incredibly sloppy.

Shirou thought it was more likely Lefiya would end up traumatized than improved.

This kind of poorly planned team shouldn't even exist—unless there was a deeper reason behind it.

Considering the identities of everyone present, Shirou couldn't help but suspect:

"Is Loki testing me? Or perhaps… are the gods behind each of these Familias already keeping their eyes on me?"

Shirou's gaze swept across every adventurer there—as if trying to uncover the true purpose behind this so-called dungeon expedition.