Danmachi,The Legend of Emiya

"I trust Ais as well," Finn said nonchalantly. "Not just Ais, but every member of our Familia. They might still be immature, but one day, they'll surpass us."

Riveria couldn't help but joke. "And when that day comes, we'll be able to lay down our duties, and you'll finally fulfill your dream of building a grand harem, right?"

"Exactly," Finn replied seriously. "My ultimate goal has always been the revitalization of the Pallum race, courageous and determined successors are essential. What better way to ensure this than having me personally educate my descendants and letting them inherit my mission? To do this, a harem is a necessity, and I'm still earnestly searching for outstanding Pallum women."

Like most male adventurers in Orario, Finn had a dream of a harem. However, his motivation was a bit more unique. For Finn, the harem was just one part of his larger ambition to restore the Pallum race. 

Due to this, he will only sought women of the same race, even though he was quite popular among other races, especially the Amazons.

From a logical standpoint, Finn's plan made sense. Revitalizing a race required enough people, and as the most powerful and renowned Pallum in the world, Finn intended to lead by example.

To revitalize a race, the wrong approach: one husband, one wife.

The correct approach: A vast harem.

"I have to admire how openly you can speak about such things," Riveria commented. "By the way, you've been staring at that letter for a while now. Is there something important about it?"

Finn folded the envelope and handed it to her. "It's quite important, actually. Take a look."

The back of the pristine letter bore a golden crest—a volcano crossed with two forging hammers. It was the emblem of the Hephaestus Familia.

"A message from the Hephaestus Familia?" Riveria accepted the letter, her curiosity piqued. "We don't have much interaction with them outside of joint expeditions."

In terms of equipment crafting and repairs, the Loki Familia mainly worked with the Goibniu Familia, which, though much smaller, specialized in high-end custom gear rather than standard equipment.

"Rather than calling it a message, it's more of an announcement," Finn explained. "I'm sure the Hephaestus Familia didn't just inform us."

As Riveria opened the letter and began reading its contents, her eyes quickly widened in surprise. "If this is true… it could change the balance of power in the city."

"Yeah," Finn nodded in agreement. "The Hephaestus Familia has created something truly remarkable."

The letter detailed the latest creation of the Hephaestus Familia's captain and the city's most skilled blacksmith, Tsubaki Collbrande—[Magic Sword: Spiral Sword].

Magic swords were highly valued by all of Orario's Familias, large and small alike. These weapons didn't consume the wielder's magic power and could cast magic instantly, making them vital as trump cards or life-saving tools. 

Even the Loki Familia, which boasted the city's strongest mage [Nine Hell (Princess of Nine Magic)] Riveria, along with a group of elven mages, always prepared a large stock of magic swords for expeditions. After all, no matter how powerful [Nine Hell] is, casting magics still required chanting, and the more powerful the magic, the longer the chant.

Magic swords, while less powerful than high-level mage's offensive magic, had the advantage of being instantaneous. They could also be wielded by even the weakest members in a party, like the supporters.

Even the most basic magic swords, capable of only firing a few fireballs, could cost tens of thousands of valis, with high-end magic swords often worth millions.

Up until now, the most powerful attack-type magic sword in Orario was crafted by [Cyclops (One-Eyed Giant Craftsman)]Tsubaki. Its power was equivalent to a Level 4 mage's offensive magic and was priced at a staggering 40 million valis—if you could even find one for sale.

Now, however, the Hephaestus Familia had broken through to a new level of craftsmanship.

The [Spiral Sword] had three uses, each with power equivalent to a Level 5 mage's wide area offensive magic. Furthermore, by overloading its output, it could expend all of its uses at once for an even more devastating attack.

This final strike was comparable to a Level 6 mage's long-chant wide-area annihilation magic.

"If it's true, it's almost too much to believe," Riveria said, her feelings mixed as a mage known for her powerful magic. "A wide-area annihilation spell without the need for chanting…"

"This is the result of Hephaestus' own evaluation," Finn reminded her. "We can't doubt the appraisal of the goddess of forging."

"Riveria, you realize it too, didn't you?"

"Yes, if we had this magic sword, we could reach even deeper floors during our next expedition," Riveria agreed.

 "But…"

"I know…"

The two leaders of the Loki Familia exchanged a glance, silently acknowledging the inevitable truth—they couldn't afford it.

As a Familia focused on exploration, the Loki Familia wasn't particularly wealthy. Even when they did profit from an expedition, the funds were quickly reinvested into their members to strengthen the Familia as a whole. Not every expedition yielded riches either; their last one, due to Ais losing control, had resulted in significant losses.

Hephaestus had surely sent similar letters to other powerful and wealthy Familias capable of purchasing the magic sword. 

Finn could easily guess who they might be: not just the Loki Familia, but also the Freya Familia, Ganesha Familia, and those with significant financial power, such as the Ishtar and Dian Cecht Familias.

The Ishtar Familia thrived by running the Entertainment District, while the Dian Cecht Familia ran the city's hospitals. As powerful as the Loki Familia was, when it came to making money, they simply couldn't compete with such Familias even if they try.

"Hephaestus is playing this smart," Riveria said with a sigh. "She's clearly trying to make the Familias bid against each other to maximize her profits."

Finn nodded. "It's a classic seller's market. This isn't like ordinary equipments; they had a complete monopoly."

"I wonder how many of these magic swords they've forged," Riveria mused. "But for now, only one is on offer."

"Regardless, we have to try our best to acquire it. A magic sword with Level 6 power could prove invaluable for our next expedition," Finn said, rubbing his right thumb, which had started to ache slightly. "I've got a feeling this [magic sword] might just be the beginning of a new era."