Outside the city of Orario, a "grand war" (fake) was supposedly raging on, an elaborate play of adventurers battling against the Rakia kingdom's civilian army.
If common folk or passing merchants found the spectacle endlessly entertaining, for the people actually involved it was pure torment.
The goddess Freya, punished by the Guild, had no choice but to stand by and humor Ares in his childish war.
On the side of the Rakia Kingdom, the nobles and royals were already at their wit's end.
"Report! The 1st through 12th battalions, completely annihilated!"
"Report! The ambush unit didn't even make it out of the forest, they ran into those damned adventurers stationed there!"
"Report!"
One after another, commanders, once resplendent in their shining knightly armor, now reduced to tattered rags, knelt trembling on one knee before the divine figure clad in blazing crimson armor.
That god sat sloppily on his oversized chair, his left foot tapping irritably on the blood-red carpet, each grim report stabbing at him like needles. The contrast between his frustration and the composed elegance of the goddess nearby was striking.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!!! Why is it all failures?! You! Tell me, why the hell is this happening?!"
"T-this… Lord Ares, sob sob… the adventurers from Orario are all monsters! We, we can't possibly fight them!"
"…."
"Aaaaaahhh!!! Adventurers, adventurers, always adventurers! Don't you have my blessings too?! If you have blessings, then why can't you win?!"
"This…"
One of the kneeling knights nervously glanced up at the furious god and stammered:"Because their levels are too high! Most of us can barely reach Level 2, and the strongest in the kingdom, the prince himself, is only Level 3! But those adventurers? They casually field Level 4s, Level 5s, even Level 6s! With what are we supposed to fight that?!"
"…" Our god has lost his mind, this was the thought of Marius Victrix Rakia, crown prince of the kingdom and captain of Ares' Familia.
"Besides, our goal was never to actually defeat Orario. And we're up against the Freya Familia and the Loki Familia no less. Don't think too much about it, Lord Ares." Marius calmly shuffled through his papers as he spoke matter-of-factly.
"What!? Are you saying I'm weaker than those two hussies?!"
"Lord Ares, I must seriously remind you, if either of them hears you call them that, your fate would be… well, you wouldn't dare imagine it. So, once our spies bring back that Welf Crozzo, let's just go home, alright?"
"…." Remembering the terrifying gazes of Freya and Loki, Ares froze, fear flashing across his eyes.
...
"Hehe, how amusing. Ares is playing around again."
The goddess elegantly displayed her figure, her amethyst eyes gazing across space itself toward the source of the disturbance, danger glimmering in their depths.
"Allen."
"Your orders, Lady Freya?"
"Tell Ottar to give them a proper lesson. Also, any merchant Familia daring to trade with them must have our approval. The Familia's finances are tight lately… you understand my meaning, don't you?"
In other words: we has no money left. She was demanding tribute under the guise of permission.
Perhaps this was why Exploration-type Familias stood higher than purely Commercial-type Familias, no matter how poor they were.
Unless it was one like the Hephaestus Familia, both wealthy and strong in combat, or the Demeter Familia and Njord Familia, whose influence was so foundational to Orario that no one could shake it, pure merchant Familias could only tremble beneath the might of the explorers.
And needless to say, the Freya Familia was the absolute pinnacle among them all.
...
From his workshop, Fron finally emerged after days of closed-door training, seeking a change of mood.
Upon hearing that many wounded soldiers and officers had been captured nearby, an idea sparked in his mind.
He quickly packed a support backpack, unused for ages, with the large stock of potions he had brewed for practice, donned his gear, and grabbed his staff and short sword before rushing out.
Snatching a few loaves of bread from the cafeteria, he stuffed them into his mouth as he ran, drawing confused stares from passing Familia members.
"Huh? Fron? I haven't seen you in almost a month! Weren't you shut away studying? What brings you out today?" Raul, Cruz, and a few others spotted him in the courtyard and called out in surprise.
"Ah, I'm just heading out to sell some goods. I spent all my resources and coin stockpiling materials for practice. If I don't sell something soon, I won't even be able to afford meals!"
Hearing this, everyone nodded in sudden understanding.
"Hahaha! Even you can go bankrupt, huh? Tsk tsk… the only adventurer in Orario with both 'Mystery' and 'Blacksmith' development abilities, and yet you're struggling just to make a living. How pitiful! If that were written into a fairy tale, it'd be a joke told for centuries!"
Fron's face darkened and he glared daggers at Raul.
"Idiot! Whether it's alchemists, blacksmiths, or item-makers, anyone trying to improve their craft or innovate techniques needs to fail hundreds, even thousands of times before succeeding!"
"Sure, the Hephaestus Familia is wealthy, probably the richest Familia in Orario, but that's because of Lady Hephaestus herself. Do you think the blacksmiths under her are all rich too?!"
Just then, Ais, Alicia, and Lefiya walked over, overhearing Raul's teasing and immediately backing Fron up without hesitation.
Raul and Cruz were left dumbfounded.
The catgirl Anakitty flicked her tail playfully, making Fron want to grab and pet it badly.
"Hmph, isn't it obvious? Blacksmiths need to forge constantly to improve. Going into the dungeon themselves to gather materials wastes too much time, so they have to buy from adventurers. That means spending huge amounts of valis. In other words, they trade money for time. No smith would be stupid enough to do otherwise."
Fron gave Anakitty an approving look, then waved with a piece of bread in his mouth.
"I'm off now! The wounded won't treat themselves!"
"You're heading to the battlefield? Then we're coming too!" Anakitty and Alicia quickly abandoned their trays and rushed after him.
After all, it was rare to get time with Fron, they weren't going to waste it.