Marcus' eyelashes trembled as he opened his eyes. He could see the ceiling of his bedroom.
Then he sensed that his left hand and a portion of his body had been submerged in a valley between two mountains.
'Probably the best way to recover~' The Alchemist sagely thought to himself. He should had a girl the whole time in his old world.
Worst case, he could create a hot maid. It's not a hard thing to do.
But then he returned to the present, closed his eyes, and submerged himself into his consciousness. White surroundings replaced him.
When he opened his eyes again, bookshelves emerged around him.
He was standing in a large library.
For someone like him who has been around for a while, recalling everything is difficult, which is why he has spent a while improving his mental abilities.
It was mind magic. Marcus developed some new tricks for using this magic, and he could also influence people.
Though he never had a chance, maybe he could utilise this to some extent if he trains someone.
After walking through the library, he exited it and looked at the whiteness on all sides.
Eventually, he looked down.
Below him was his psyche. What he needs to protect is right there.
So he continued to layer 'concrete' and other 'imaginary' things to ensure no one influenced his personality.
He hasn't seen Freya yet, but he has heard from Alfia that the Goddess of Beauties is very dangerous just from their looks.
'Honestly, all of them are just sluts.'
After tinkering with his protection, he does that daily. He returned to his body.
A sigh escaped him as he could feel the imbalance between his soul and body.
It causes friction in his body. This friction caused much higher mana consumption.
The day he fought Evilus and Zald, he used nearly half of his resources, which is stupid.
It should have been around 20% at most of all of his mana consumed.
But because the body and soul don't match, it causes friction.
'In that case, a synchronisation ritual is a must.'
He could accelerate his growth as well.
"Hmm… isn't it too early for you?~" The maid next to him snuggled into him. Since he is treating her like a toy, she is doing similar things from time to time.
Like now, she pulled him into a bigger hug.
"Yeah… you are right."
~~~
As Marcus was doing some equations to fix his mana reserves and his body, he sensed someone had passed his barrier.
It was a familiar golden blonde girl who he had not seen for several weeks.
Second later, she knocked on the door.
The alchemist walked over and opened it.
"What can I do for you, Ais?"
Him knowing that it was her has surprised the girl.
"...I-I… I mean… my sword broke, and you are the best weaponsmith I know. I could pay for repairs…" She poked her fingers while saying that.
Marcus chuckled at hearing that; the girl already knew how to sweet talk.
"Sure~ come in."
As he allowed him to walk in, the girl swiftly looked around. For the first time, she saw how his place looked.
What she saw was much different from her place or any other place she was.
It was not built from stone or bricks, but instead, the walls were smooth blue, and light came from somewhere. She can't see torchers or mana stones.
Regardless, he led her to his workshop, where she saw more magical stuff.
A workbench with glowing letters. It was a forge like no other, with letters on fire and tools she had never seen before.
Though her eyes ended up on mannequins next to a wall.
One of them was dressed in armour she saw him wear in the conflict against Evilus, but another was full of simple-looking material.
'Is he making clothes?'
For a second, she wondered what he could make. Some special clothes with special properties?
'Could clothes improve my magic further?'
She wondered midway, but then his voice brough her back.
"Show me your weapon."
"R-Right!"
The girl pulled out a cloth and placed it on the workbench.
Then she opened it and showed him her sword broken into 6 pieces.
Marcus swiftly inspected them.
"I see… so it's metal quality."
"...Metal quality? I bought it from a Familia who makes weapons. They are run by a Smith God." Ais explained to him. She slightly pouted as she spent quite a bit of money on this weapon, which only lasted a single dive!
"Don't get me wrong. The quality is not bad, but you are channelling your magic through it, right?" He quickly found out the cause.
Her eyes sparkled when she heard that. He already knew just by looking at it once!
"Yes. My Ariel is strongest when used through a weapon." She replied with a nod.
"I see. Then let's make a weapon and magic conduit." Marcus said to her as he placed his fingers on his chin.
When she heard that, she imagined Riveria's staff, then her sword, and then put them together. What did she get?
Some sweat appeared on her forehead.
"...Is that going to work?" She asked with confusion.
"Well, you saw my sword, don't you?"
Her eyes slightly widened as she never imagined that sword to be a magic conduit! But then she recalled him just killing a bunch of people in an instant when he stabbed his sword into the ground.
'So he channelled a spell back then…'
"...Okay. If you think it's for the best." Ais nodded. Internally, she was gushing at the idea of having a weapon like that!
Marcus nodded as he rearranged the weapon pieces before drawing on paper and preparing to make a mould.
Once that was done, he swiftly removed the handle and dropped the metal pieces into a pot for melting. He then dropped some more steel bits as he saw that the steel parts were missing since the weapon had broken.
As the metal was melting and the impurities were getting burned away, Marcus proceeded to design the runes on the sword.
"Hmm… your magic is wind, yes?" He double-checked with her.
"Yes."
"I will include wind manipulation assistance. It should assist you in control."
'He could do that!?'
The girl didn't know what to say as he continued to design the runes which would go on the sword.
"Done. Come over here and try channelling your magic."
Ais stiffly nodded at him as she got up, walked over, and placed her hand where he asked her to.
The girl channelled a little bit of her magic. The letter on the rune lit up. But she nearly shredded the whole thing.
"S-Sorry."
"Hmm. So you lack general control. I could teach you how to control it better."
At that moment, she nearly passed out from happiness!
"T-Thank you. I don't know if I can repay you." She swiftly became self-conscious, as Riveria had always taught her to be humble.
"Yes. Well, there is a way. I do want to see if you will get another magic in your Falna. You could say it would be an experiment.
Marcus was thinking if he is to teach her some mind arts for control and resistance against charms as he doesn't trust Freya at all, and since she lost a bunch of members, she could start indiscriminately brainwashing everyone to regain lost members.
He doesn't want this girl who has great talent to be turned into a drone.
"O-Okay. I can do that. At the moment, I only have my Ariel in the Magic category." She replied. Besides, she will have more reasons to come and see him!
"Good. In that case, let me teach you the routines."
"... 'Routines'?"
"You will understand once you start practising."
As Marcus said that, he poked her forehead, and at that moment, Ais was transported somewhere.
"Let's begin."
…
…
…
~~~
When Alfia returned from shopping, she nearly dropped her shopping bag as she saw that blonde girl sitting on the couch, swinging her legs.
The girl closed her eyes as she was doing something.
While Marcus was working at the forge, it appears he was working on a weapon for that girl, no doubt!
'Damn that fox!'
Alfia's eyebrows trembled as she was ready to kill.
"You are back. Did you see anyone suspicious?" He asked her maid.
"...No. not yet." She slightly huffed at him.
"Heh. Don't worry I will be returning to make your maid uniform soon." Marcus thought she was jealous that he was working on Ais' weapon and not her uniform.
It's quite cute how she is envious.
"Good. So what happened." She placed the bag and walked over.
"Her weapon can't handle her magic" He said to her as he took the liquid metal and then poured it into the mould.
Soon enough, the liquid spread through the mould and took the form of the rapier.
"...That is given…" Alfia snorted. The girl is a half-spirit, and her magic should be impressive.
It's one of the reasons why the silver-haired girl feels threatened. Not anyone can surpass her or threaten to be more useful to Marcus. Only someone special, like half a spirit or actual Goddess.
"Yeah…" As Marcus nodded, he took the mould away and placed it in a specially prepared magical circle.
Once there, the metal rapidly cooled down.
Minutes later, he pressed his finger on the mould and sent a pulse of magic.
The mould shattered and turned into dust.
What was left was the blade.
Marcus swiftly took it and started to work on it.
He quickly inspected the form, took it to the forge, pulled out a hammer, and started to smack it.
For this process, he is using mana to reinforce himself, which is quite difficult given his frame and size.
After getting what he wanted, he started to sharpen it.
For that, he used an array of stones.
By this point, Ais stopped practising the mind arts as she found it very interesting, considering this was the first time that she used magic, which was not instinctual.
It was refreshing and new.
However, for now she forgot about it. Instead, she walked over and watched how Marcus was carving runes on the blade.
He used glass to magnify and used a small pen with a glowing tip to carve small letters on the blade.
It was something she had never seen before. She had seen Smiths before, but… Marcus's work looked more meticulous, precise… and magical. He had more tools to make those weapons.
After a while, he turned the blade on the other side and carved identical texts! This was where her eyes slightly widened as she realised that all that text had to be put in an exact location only on the other side! It's simply absurd how precise all of this is!
On top of all that, he channels his magic the whole time.
'...I only wanted my sword fixed, but this…' She gulped down as she realised that the weapon would most likely cost hundreds of millions of Valis.
Is he trying to bankrupt her Familia!?
Once both sides were finished, Marcus proceeded to put on the guard, which looked like the wind and had some gold on it.
All of this only made Ais pale as she realised that gold is quite expensive.
Lastly, he made a blue handle for it.
"Done." Marcus took the blade and took a couple of swings. The balance was exquisite, and the blade was light but could pack a punch.
"Now, you need to drop blood on the blade." He pointed a magical circle close to the handle.
But Ais shook her head.
"I-I can't accept such a masterpiece!" She shook her head again.
"So I should trash it then?" He grabbed the blade and was about to bin it.
"Nooo!" The girl, like a whirlwind, grabbed his hand.
"Then?"
"...B-But it's too expensive and… I don't have that much Valis." She explained with blushing cheeks.
"Haah… so that is what you are afraid of. The thing is, I don't care for Valis. Money for an alchemist is not important." He pointed at the gold on the blade's handle.
"But since you insist. How about this? I will lend the blade to you. You shall wield it to become strong. Think of it as I am helping you become strong." He said with a thoughtful look.
But his reply only made her more infatuated with her 'Hero'.
Ais dashed through the streets of Orario with a huge grin on her lips. She rapidly arrived at the Tower of Babel before jumping from a ledge instead of descending the stairs.
She swiftly entered the dungeon.
Inside the first floor, the girl pulled out her new sword. The blade hummed with power as it sensed her mana.
The girl spotted her first victim: a kobold. The dog-like creature noticed her and proceeded to attack her.
"Ariel!"
Letters on the blade hummed with power as waves of wind gathered around her blade. Instead of cutting, she simply made a stab motion, and a horizontal tornado slammed into the monster. There was a hole in the creature.
The girl stopped in her tracks as she looked at her weapon with wide eyes.
'The response, the power… wow…'
A weapon alone increased her power by several times!
'Right! Those mental arts made my mana flow so much easier to control!'
Ais gushed from sheer happiness that she was growing in strength! But she quickly calmed down as she realised that this was just the beginning.
She remembered that he was living with a level 7! That means she needs to surpass that woman! Otherwise, she can't even think of asking anything personal!
It's too embarrassing for her!
After collecting the mana stone, she decided to dive deeper.
~~~
"Ais! What did I say about sole diving?" Riveria saw the state of Ais as the girl returned from her dungeon trip. She had a large bag of Valis.
"I didn't go beyond the 12th floor." The girl puffed her cheeks.
"Besides, I wanted to test my new sword." Ais sounded almost arrogant as she patted her sword.
Riveria looked confused as she looked at the weapon. She could see that the hilt looked different.
"Did Goibniu Familia make this for you?" She sounded confused as she recalled that Ais went somewhere else after her previous sword broke. They were about to order one made just for Ais.
"No. it was Marcus Goldman." The girl almost puffed her chest as she was proud that she was able to persuade him to help her.
But Riveria's reaction was strange. She wanted to bang her head from frustration. That man was dangerous, and seeing this girl act like this made her wonder if Ais had any sense of danger.
'What I am kidding… of course she is clueless…'
The elf girl recalled how self-destructive Ais was two years ago. They were able to help her slowly heal up, but Marcus' appearance and his show of power fundamentally affected the girl.
"Ais… he is dangerous. How much did this weapon cost you?"
"Nothing."
"...Y-You… what did you promise!?"
"Nothing. I promised to grow stronger and tell him about my progress." Ais said with a straight face.
"Why?"
"As he said. His weapons have to be used, and only the best should use them." She once again puffed her chest. The girl sounded proud that he had chosen her to allow her to wield one of his creations.
Sure, he could have just fixed it and let it be how it was before, but instead, he made a proper weapon and let her use it.
"You do realise that he now has the favour of our Familia…" Riveria massaged her forehead.
Ais furrowed her eyebrows.
"You assume that he needs it." She got really defensive all of a sudden.
"Not now. Maybe in the future, you should not forget that he is a very powerful person." The green-haired elf tried to explain to her that she should not casually interact with that man.
"I understand, Riveria. That is why I went to him. Because he is the best Weaponsmith I know."
Ais casually brushed aside every other Smith God who works in the city…
"Ais…"
Riveria wanted to tell her just because he blew up things…
As if knowing, Ais pulled out her sword and showed it to her. Her magic surged as winds slowly gathered around her blade.
"...This…" Riveria stopped in her tracks and saw glowing letters span through the blade.
"This is Ariel. A Weapon created to empower my magic."
"You named the weapon after your magic?" Riveria asked as she tried to understand what she was seeing. This was nothing like a magic sword that breaks after use. No, what she was looking at was an artefact of some sort.
"Yes. It helps me control the wind." As she said that, she showed her how she could create a ball of wind in her palm.
"...This is…Ais…This is Artefact… do you know how expensive these are?" Riveria realised that as she had a sweaty forehead.
"I know. But it's bound to my blood. Only I can use this weapon."
"I see…"
Riveria motioned for her to go as she needed to speak with her Goddess. If this continues, they will be in financial ruin…
From what she had heard, he might not have asked anything now, but that man lived longer than most elves. Even she is just a baby in front of him. For him to manipulate, Ais is nothing but a child's play.
She had already seen him influence Ais in the dungeon with just a few words and even help her overcome her revenge to some extent, but now, with this sword… He might have fully won her over.
~~~
"Damn that brat!!!" Loki was biting a piece of cloth as she was throwing a furious fit.
To think that someone would sneak in so deep into her Ais' heart like this! That is not good! Not good at all!
"I want you two to bring him over so that we can talk!"
"Goddess…" Finn looked nervous. He had already heard how Freya's most elite members simply disappeared. Only a dumb brick would not put a connection there.
"I know, I know. I won't provoke him. I know what he did." Loki eventually sighed as he threw the piece of cloth away.
"But I won't stand and won't be doing anything either. I want to see him with my own eyes and figure out if he is a good influence on my Ais."
'As long as he doesn't join any Familia, it should be fine.'
What Loki cares about is that Ais is with her Familia. If he is not with a Familia, then it's fine with her. As long as there is no other God involved, she can… barely accept the idea that a foreign person is interacting with her precious Ais.
But at the same time, as someone who used to scheme, she can accept the idea that if he is talented, his creations could assist her in conquering the Dungeon.
"That sword. Is it that impressive?" Loki asked after being silent for a while.
"... It's nothing we have seen before. It reminds me of Falna, only on a blade. At the same time, it's simple steel." Riveria explained to her Goddess.
"Hmm…call Ais. I want to see it."
A few moments later, the girl with her weapon walked over. She looked quite defensive with her weapon.
"Show it to me."
The blonde stiffly nodded as she pulled out her blade.
Loki watched the whole thing with wide eyes as she wanted to see everything.
The moment she got the weapon, all of the magic simply vanished from the weapon.
"... I see… So it is true." Loki sighed as she just confirmed for herself what Marcus was saying to everyone.
"What is it."
"What you see is another language which interacts with magic. It is foreign to me, but I understand the basics of what it does just by sensing magic in the weapon." She sighed again. She doesn't like it, but it appears that her Familia will need to interact with him.
If she does not, other Familias will take this opportunity. She already has an advantage as he knows her Familia, and Ais has gotten her weapon from him.
But… the thing is, she doesn't want her Ais to interact too much with him!
He will corrupt her!
Hell, he already did corrupt her!
Damn him!
"In a sense, it is similar to Falna in terms of quality." Loki dropped a bombshell on her children.
"If it's true…" Riveria dropped her act as her mouth slowly opened. She knew what this meant in the long term. It was revolution…
"Yes. At the same time, it has the same quality. It's not Falna. It does not collect extella or any of that. But what it does is support the wielder. I assume this weapon gives you superior control over your Ariel?" Loki discerned what the letters do just by looking at them.
"Yes. I feel like Level 3 may be even stronger." Ais said to her as she eyed her weapon. She wanted it back.
"I see."
Loki handed the weapon back, and at that moment, the weapon was back in Ais' hands… the letter had ignited.
'Damn, why he has to be this good?'
"As I said before. Bring him to me. Invite him to our house for dinner or something. Use your brain's Riveria. You are used to such a thing." Loki waved her hand in a lazy manner. She wants to talk with him.
Now that she has seen the quality, she can't deny she wants it for her familia. What she saw was borderline godly weaponsmithing. No doubt a God could do it, but no god is allowed to use Arcanium. In other words, if she gets this, it is like cheating with arcanium without using arcanium.
'For some reason, this makes me all tingle. My Authority over Michief… ugh…'
Loki felt like she was back to her old self.
~~~
"You don't need to come with us, Ais," Finn said with a sigh. He could sense Ais' gaze; the girl was watching everything very closely.
"I do. It's because of me. So I don't want some sort of misunderstanding."
The pair looked at each other. Since when did she start to use such big words? Now that they realised something was strange about her.
"Did Marcus teach you anything while you were with him?" Riveria asked curiously.
"Yes. he taught me how to defend against charms. As well as sorting memories and improving my overall mana control."
Honestly, in that single afternoon, she learned more about magic than in years… Maybe it's because his magic is different from the one she knows.
"Curious…"
"Yes. Though I can't teach you, Riveria."
"I didn't even ask."
'Damn, this girl… she is already defensive about him.'
"I know. I just promised him not to share his arts without his permission."
"You said 'arts'?"
"Yes. It's not just one spell; it's more like an entire branch. It was originally invented by the Alchemists of his world. Over the years, he has significantly expanded on them."
The more the elf heard, the more she wanted to study these magic arts.
After walking for a bit, the trio ended up standing in front of a barrier.
Ais placed her hand on it before walking inside. Finn sighed before stepping in as well. After them, Riveria was very curious, and she inspected everything as she walked inside.
The elf could sense magical fluctuations everywhere around the area. She could sense mana flow.
'He is a magic engineer… I never thought I would meet someone like that.'
She realised that Marcus was not just some powerful smith, but he could engineer with magic. As an elf from a magical forest, she never thought she would see such quality in a human of all people.
"Well, well. I thought I would see you guys soon." Marcus walked out as he was ready for a walk.
"Oh, you thought we would come to see you?" Riveria enquired.
"Indeed. I did my first investment and want to see what kind of ripple I have caused." He said that while looking at Ais, who was hugging her new weapon. She had already become obsessed with it.
Oh… an actual castle. That is so Loki." Marcus hummed while saying that.
"You know about our Goddess?" Riveria asked as she heard his comment.
"Loki was a God in my world, too. Only that she was a myth, and she was he in my world." The inventor replied to her as they entered the Twilight Manor.
"...Interesting."
As they entered the manor, Marcus noticed that the entire Familia was there to greet him, which was something else.
"You are already getting royalty treatment," Alfia whispered.
Leading at the front was a red-haired girl with a grin.
Marcus didn't need to use his senses to know who it was.
"There you are. I wanted to meet you for a while." Loki walked over.
The Goddess looked at Riveria and Finn.
"Tell the cooks to start working on that dinner. In the meantime, I will speak with our guest," the goddess said to her children as she looked at Marcus.
But, this was where Ais looked at her Goddess with a heated gaze.
"Don't worry, I won't embarrass you, Ais." The God of Mischief sighed as she realised that Marcus' claws in her Ais were deep.
Marcus snorted upon hearing that. He was amused that a God was listening to a child.
"Sure, let's talk. I do want to hear what you want to say."
Loki nodded as she motioned for him to follow her.
The Goddess noticed the shadow, a level 7 from Hera's Familia is following Marcus.
They got into a spacious room with comfortable seats. The Loki immediately got to the point.
"I do wonder what is your connection to Hera's Familia."
"Never meet her." Marcus plopped into a seat opposite Loki.
"If you are wondering about Alfia, I educated her not to barge into people's houses." He said with a small smile.
"And I haven't seen her since she disbanded our Familia," Alfia said from behind Marcus as she was just standing there with closed eyes.
"...Hmm, I see."
Like Alfia, Loki looked like she always closed her eyes, but this time, she opened them and looked at Marcus.
"Now I do wonder what you want with my Ais?"
When Marcus heard that, he raised his eyebrow.
"Ah, I see. You are concerned that my assistance has an ulterior motive."
The Goddess simply nodded as she was looking at him like a hawk. After all, a God can tell when someone is lying.
"I don't have a motive. She was like me. Unlike me, who became obsessed about something by myself, it was forced on her.
Unlike me, I never had help, as it was self-imposed. I lasted more than seventy years. By that point, I realised all of my generation were dead of old age, including my relatives.
So, when I saw someone like her struggling with her obsessions, I decided to help."
"Hoh… I see." Loki relaxed as she leaned into her couch.
"So it's a form of pity."
"Not really. It's more like I've been there before. I know what it feels like, so I will help. I am more surprised that a God of Mischief could not see how she is struggling."
Humph!
"I knew. However, I don't have the same abilities as you. I can't just give a powerful artefact that would assist her."
"Magic?"
"I already gave her my falna, and my children are helping her."
"But it's not enough?"
"Precisely." Loki nodded as she crossed her arms.
"As you know personally, it's not enough, isn't it?" The Goddess expanded on it.
"Yes, it's like an all-consuming fire." Marcus nodded at her.
"Yes. Whatever you call it, revenge is a powerful motivator. You should have seen how she was the first time I saw her."
Loki sighed loudly before smiling at Marcus. Her smile was a wicked one.
"But since you are willing to help, my burden will lessen."
Snort
"Aren't you afraid I will make her join me?" Marcus joked.
"As long as you don't join any Familia, I do not care." Her smile turned into a smirk.
"But from what I saw. You will never join anyone, I am right?"
Loki guessed it right as Marcus nodded. His reply only made her smile widen.
"Indeed. Falna is not enough to make me join a Familia." He told her in a bored tone.
"Good. That is all I needed to hear." The Goddess said while looking at the door.
Marcus followed her gaze as he knew that presence. It was Ais…
The girl was listening to all of it.
"...You should teach her some alternative things to do." He said with crossed arms.
"You think I haven't tried?"
"You are a God of Mischief. Can't you use your honey tongue?"
"I don't do that to my children." She huffed at him. It felt like an offence towards her character!
Sigh
"I assume as Gods you never had proper children."
"Gah! Where does this come from!?" Loki was taken aback.
"Hmm, interesting." Marcus looked surprised as he realised that these Gods couldn't have kids.
It made sense now. It appears they are disconnected from mortals because they are eternally young and very old beings.
"Hey! What are you mumbling about!"
"Nothing. I realised that you Gods never had children on your own, meaning that you have no idea how to deal with their issues."
He has hit her and all the other Gods' sour spots.
"..."
"...Yes. well, having Familia and a good environment will help her, but it is an infested wound that will never heal if it's not treated." Marcus said to her.
"...Yeah, Yeah, I guess you are right." She huffed at him. It appears humans with a lot of life experience are even more annoying than she originally thought.
"Let's go get something to eat."
"Sure, I want to see how good are your cooks."
~~~
Ais swiftly rushed away as she heard them walking to the door.
The girl internally was all gushing over what she just heard.
Some part of her worried about why Marcus was helping her, but now she knows. She no longer worries! Now, all she needs is to get strong, not just in one sense but in several, just like he is.
Swordsmanship, magic, maybe learning how to cook? Yes, then perhaps some other things.
Yes. She will become incredibly strong. Strong enough for him to notice her in a different way!
As the girl was cooking some wild ideas, the dinner started.
In a way, Loki was flexing how big her Familia has become.
~~~~~~Meanwhile~~~~~~
The Goddess Freya was pissed that Marcus had not appeared in the marketplace as she had hoped. All she saw was that annoying black-clad girl going to shop instead of him.
She is getting frustrated, as soon enough, everyone will know that she has lost six elite members.
It was frustrating…
But then…
As she was pondering her next move, she saw a group of girls.
'Aren't those…'
The Goddess' eyes gleamed as she just saw a perfect catch.
There were four girls around level 4 walking together in one place.
She could use them to bring Marcus to her place and recruit them to her Familia ranks.
It would work as a surprise as Marcus won't realise that these girls are no longer with their old Goddess but with her!
By then, it will be too late for him, and she will use her charm!
As she revealed herself, she walked towards the four girls.
"May I have a moment of your time~?" Freya said with a hypnotic voice as she got closer to the four who were about to split up to start their patrol shift.
These were Astraea Familia members. Quite a small Familia compared to Loki, Freya or Hephaestus, but they were an elite group.
So if Freya is to capture the four right now, almost all of Astraea Familia will be gone.
The worst thing about charm is that it is hard to prove anything unless someone has special means to detect it.
That is why Freya doesn't care. She will use them to make Marcus come to her.
All she needs to do is make them find him and tell him that their Goddess wants to see him.
Marcus would think that it is Astraea who wants to see him, but it will be her.
"Now~ Why don't you four assist me with something~." Freya giggled for a second as she saw how the girls' eyes turned misty.
They all were under her spell.
"As you wish, Goddess." The red-haired girl nodded at her request.
~~~
After dinner, the pair walked back to their house.
"It was not bad. But I can see that people are missing several versions of cooking," Marcus said to his maid, commenting on the food he had in Loki's castle.
"Not everyone comes from a technologically advanced civilisation," Alfia complained out loud.
"Right~"
As they were walking back, the pair sensed several people.
"?"
"?"
Sure enough, four familiar girls greeted them.
"Marcus, our Goddess, would like to talk to you about something." The leading red-haired girl spoke in a strange tone.
She was weirdly too nice. While she is nice from what he remembers, this time, she was strangely TOO nice.
"Something is off," Alfia whispered.
"...Yeah…"
As the four approached them, Marcus gazed at Alise's eyes.
'Here goes. Let's see if I can do a mental probe.'
Marcus focused his mana and sent a pulse right into Alise's eyes. This was the first time since he used mental arts from a distance and delivered a direct mind invasion like this.
Once inside the girl's mind, he noticed that it was misty, and her mind was clouded. After exploring for a bit, he saw a recent memory of the girls meeting a woman with silver hair and purple eyes. She was a Goddess… that's for sure.
After seeing this, he slipped out of her mind.
"They are charmed." He said to Alfia.
"I see. What should we do?" The black-clad girl whispered her question.
"Let's play along." He replied to her.
"...Alright." After replying, she pulled back and stood behind him.
"Very well, take me to your Goddess." Marcus smiled at them as he motioned to lead the way.
"Follow us."
The four proceeded to walk towards a location.
~~~
The group arrived at a Restaurant. It was an empty building with only a few staff members doing something. They took the stairs to the upper floor, where one woman was waiting for them.
"Welcome~," The woman with silver hair said in a sweet voice.
"Goddess Astraea, I didn't know you changed your hair colour." Marcus played dumb. His 'dumb' reply made her frown for a second. Being confused with someone else makes her annoyed.
"Sadly, I am not Astraea."
"Huh. Surely, I would have noticed that." Marcus showed her a smirk. There was not that much respect for the Goddess coming from him.
"But it appears it's not a Goddess but a Slut. So tell me, slut, what can I do for you?"
"...Watch your words…boy." With a frosty tone, the Goddess replied that whatever playfulness there was now was gone.
"...I need a reason to watch my words, slut." Marcus didn't give her an inch as he moved his head to the side and crossed his arms.
"I see. So you won't cooperate. In that case…" Her eyes glowed as she used her charm. But Marcus just kept on staring at her.
"Now kneel."
"..."
"..."
"...I said kneel!"
"Fuck off, slut." Marcus replied to her.
"!!!"
"...You…"
"...As I thought, your inborn power is magical in nature. Considering you have no Arcanium, its power is mediocre at best." He snorted as he realised that his barrier scheme worked. Now it's time to go on offence.
As he made up his mind, he kicked the table, which shattered upon impact. The Goddess was about to move, but everyone except him and Alfia dropped to their knees.
"Since it has been ages since someone punished you. I will do it in their place." As Marcus said, his eyes started to glow.
"W-What you going to do!?"
"Take something you hold very dear." He smirked before grabbing her chin and made her hold a direct eye contact.
Marcus grabbed Freya's neck as his eyes gazed directly at hers. The Goddess tried to understand what he was planning to do. In her eyes, the only thing he could possibly do was damage her looks.
However, she never imagined what would happen next.
She started to shake her head as she sensed that he was in her head somehow!
This terrified her the most as he could do something to her mind!
"G-Get out! Get out of my head!"
The Goddess tried to resist but had no idea where even to start!
Eventually, cold shivers washed her over as she felt something had changed for her!
Then he released her.
Freya coughed as she could finally move. The beautiful Goddess touched her neck as she felt that there was something written on her neck.
"W-What did you do!?"
"I removed something from your psyche." He shrugged at her without care.
"W-What did you remove!?" She asked with some dread.
"Something you value the most~~~" Marcus smirked. He didn't clarify. Instead, he walked over to Astraea girls and removed the Charm.
"W-What?"
"Where are we?"
"...Marcus?"
"What is going on?"
As the girls snapped out, they all looked confused. Eventually, they recalled something!
"Goddess Freya! How could you!?" The blonde Elf exclaimed with fury.
"Charming us like this!?"
The red-haired Alise exclaimed with anger, too.
"I expected more from such a Goddess." The sword-wielding, black-haired girl from the Far East snorted in disgust, too.
"Don't worry, I punished her enough. She will find out soon enough; for now, leave her to brood."
Marcus motioned for them to move on.
"B-But we need to report…"
"You could. But what kind of proof do you have?" He asked them with a raised eyebrow.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
The four left the building with brooding looks as well.
~~~
'What did he do!? What did he do!?'
Freya was holding her head in frustration as she swiftly returned to her home at the top of the Tower of Babel.
After thinking for a while, she went to see herself in the mirror.
The moment she did, her anger rushed to the surface as she threw things into the mirror.
What she saw were glowing letters on her neck which said: 'I am a slut, please choke me!'
"Damn, you bastard! I will kill you! No more games!!!"
Freya swiftly cloaked herself as she was ready to move again.
She swiftly left her home and was ready to cause chaos by charming everyone. But the moment she approached the first person which she wanted to charm, she forgot how to do it…
But then she stopped in her tracks… wait…
"What was I thinking of doing?"
She forgot an array of things at that moment.
The beauty placed her hands on her face as she realised that…
If she tries to use her charm, she will lose an array of memories!
"D-Damn him!"
But this was not all…
After all of the torture she experienced, she wanted to relieve some stress…
But that night, she found out that she couldn't get a sexual release. It's like her brain doesn't acknowledge pleasure anymore.
Whatever Marcus Goldman did has terrified the Goddess to the point that she doesn't want to leave her room anymore.
~~~
"I see. So that's what happened." Astraea looked pale as she heard how four of her prized children nearly lost themselves to Freya.
'So the rumour of her losing all of her elites was true.'
"We will go and visit Marcus Goldman. We need to thank him properly." The brown-haired goddess said to her Familia members.
"Yes, Goddess." Alise nodded, and her fellow Familia members nodded as well. They all feel very grateful for that rescue. One could say that he has rescued their lives. They were planning to leave Astraea and join Freya full-time.
It was a betrayal of the highest calibre.
"Shouldn't we do something to Goddess Freya? She has brainwashed us!" The blonde elf asked with growing annoyance. Not getting justice served is rubbing her in the wrong way.
"Ryuu, all we can do is complain to the guild. They could fine them." Astraea said with a sigh. That's the thing about Familia's in this place. Someone like Freya has a lot of supporters. All of the male and even female Gods like her thanks to her charm.
All she can do is file a complaint.
But then she got an idea, and a small smile appeared on Goddess Astraea's lips.
"...Or we could make it into a war game." She suggested.
"...Would she even agree?" Alise asked with a frown.
"This is the perfect time to strike back at her. Considering she recently lost her top adventurers." The Goddess clarified.
"But even so, she still has at least two to three level 5's…" Kaguya said with a small frown. All they have is level 4s at this moment.
Regardless it was a great suggestion to cripple the overreaching Goddess and get some justice done.
~~~
The next day, Marcus once again had guests.
It was not Loki's Familia which confused him!
How the fuck everyone knows where he lives! He wanted to be hidden!
If this continues, he shall alter his barrier, damn it!
Seconds later, someone knocked at the doors, and sleepy Marcus walked over and opened them.
"Yes?" he asked in a half-asleep tone. He spent most of the night tinkering away to build his ritual site for soul and body synchronisation.
"Marcus, I would like to thank you for your assistance yesterday." Astraea thanked him with a bow; behind her, four girls were doing the same.
"Okay… no problem…anything else?" He asked while scratching his stomach.
"...Is it possible to place an order?" Astraea asked as she stopped bowing.
"...Order? For what?"
"We would like to switch to you for supplies like armour or weapons; of course, we would pay a premium," the Goddess suggested to him.
"Hmm…And I will have creative freedom in this?" Marcus' sleepy looks disappeared as he looked fully awake.
Astraea looked at her girls, more specifically Alise, who was the captain of her Familia.
Seeing that she agrees, the Goddess replies to Marcus' suggestion.
"Yes. We agree. However, I do request some minimum input?" The Goddess said with twitchy lips
"Of course." Marcus smiled.
This request arrived at a convenient time as he will give these girls some of the prototype systems he plans to incorporate later into his gear.
Not to mention, he will get Valis out of this.
"Come in~ we can discuss the details~" Marcus got friendlier and more energetic as he motioned for them to come in.
"The five girls walked in as they started to look at his home. They quickly realised that there was a silver-haired girl in the house and that there was only a single bedroom!
Alise and Ryuu slightly blushed as they realised that this kid had scored one of the deadliest and most pretty girls to be with him!
"Y-You two are living together?" Alise asked with red cheeks.
"Yep, after making her my maid, I have been using her as a hug pillow, or more like we both are using each other as hug pillows," Marcus replied after having a thoughtful gaze.
"I-I see."
'To think that he would use one of strongest known Adventurer in such fashion…'
Alise looked at the floor as she pondered what this meant.
As this was going on, other girls looked at this working area. Kaguya, the girl from the far East, looked at the Katana on display next to the armour she saw him wear at the battle against Evilus.
"May I touch it?" She asked Marcus with a polite tone.
"Of course."
The girl took the sword slowly and pulled it out from the sheath. There was some wonderment in her eyes as she saw the letters on the blade.
She recalled this blade cutting down a bunch of Evilus members, but now she couldn't feel any of that power.
Instead, all she saw was a meticulously crafted weapon.
"That abilities you performed…They didn't come out from the blade." Kaguya pointed as she realised that herself.
"Indeed. What you are holding is a conduit and a simple sword." Marcus clarified to her as he proceeded to pull out a piece of paper and a pen to write. He is about to take orders from the girls.
"So all power was you doing?" Kaguya exclaimed as she looked at him as if he was a freak. Up till now, she thought all of his actions were done by his weapons!
"It was my mana, as I haven't created weapons which could generate energy by itself yet." He said that as he sat down in his chair.
"Impressive. You are quite powerful. I assume that young body is only detrimental to you." Astraea realised that this human was more special than she originally thought.
"Not quite. Young bodies are growing bodies, which means that I can impact their potential." Marcus shook his head in denial. His situation is better than it was with his original body. He predicted that this time around, he would be even more powerful.
"...I see…so you are not just a weaponsmith."
"I was Grand Sorcerer of my world." He clarified to her.
"Alchemy, Rituals, Biology, Destructive, Creative spells. I studied quite a bit. But my specialty is Technomancy." He expanded to her as he decided it was time to take orders.
"Now red. Tell me, what is your weapon."
He pointed the pen at Alise.
"...Me?"
"Yes. Tell me what you want, and then I will take your sizes."
"...W-W-What!? M-My sizes!?" The girl blushed and stuttered.
"Well, yeah? Are you expecting me to make armour for you which won't fit after you spend a premium amount of Valis on it?" Marcus replied with a raised eyebrow.
"...Ugh…" Alise looked like she just swallowed a lemon.
"He is right, Alise," Astraea said with a thin smile.
"Come now. It's not like he will undress you~" The pink-haired fourth girl teased the redhead.
"I could. For specific measures." Marcus chipped in, making the red-haired captain nearly pass out from embarrassment.
"Oh. I like you." The pink-haired Pallum smiled slyly as she realised that Marcus doesn't mind teasing!
"Good for you."
"Ugh! A cute girl is praising you! Show a bigger reaction!"
"Lyra. let him do his work." Ryuu said with a sigh as she finally stopped checking out his workshop and stood behind her Goddess.
"...Fine."
The short girl groaned as she looked away.
"Regardless, back to your weapon…"
Alise started to explain to him that she was like a magical swordswoman who employed her magic with her sword.
After her, it was Kaguya who requested Katana from him. Then, it was the blonde elf who asked for a blunt sword.
"Blunt? Hmm, maybe I suggest a Magic conduit." Marcus pondered on her request as he drew a circle around her request.
"By conduit, you mean like how mages use a staff?"
"Precisely. As you are an actual fighter, having a weapon that can do two things, so it is a better choice." Marcus explained what he meant.
"Can I have one as well?" Kaguya chipped in as she recalled what he did with a Katana against Evilus.
"That depends if you have money. I could make a golem army for you. That is as long as you pay me back." Marcus chuckled. He can take a mountain of requests. It's only beneficial to him as he would test the limits of mana.
"...Don't worry! We recently levelled up! We can dive deeper to get more mana stones!" Lyra fist bumped as she was itching to see what he would cook for them!
"Good, in that case, Magic conduit it is." The alchemist typed that down and proceeded to ask what else Ryuu wanted.
"That reminds me, Marcus." Astraea chipped in as she recalled something.
"Could you make something which could increase resistance against Charms? I don't want to lose my girls." The Goddess asked him.
"Hmm. I know the general idea. I could add it to some sort of jewellery. Like ring, or earring or necklace."
He replied after pondering for a bit.
Goddess… do you think it's fine? I mean… we will be in debt for years…" Ryuu said with a nervous tone.
While they didn't show it, they all were worried, as they knew they were basically buying high-quality artefacts, not weapons.
While the Familia is considered second class, they do have money—but not first-class money, not something like Loki or Freya Familia money.
"That is why we will declare War Game to Freya for charming you four.
She won't be able to pull off from this as I will go to Guild."
"So we will be taking money from their Familia?" Alise doesn't know what to think about that.
"Its fine. After all they will be fined by the guild but I doubt we will get much money as we don't have a physical proof."Astraea said reasoned with her girls.
"But even so…"
Kaguya had this feeling that it won't be enough. As someone who comes from nobility she has seen what people bring to court.
'That Katana… from balance to craftsmanship, I have never seen such style before. It's unique.
The weapon is not just perfectly crafted; those letters are crafted with exact precision. By all means, it's two weapons in a single weapon. Such a price could be between 150 thousand to 200 thousand. If the metal could be better, it could be close to 300 thousand to 400 thousand.'
Though Kaguya is not weapon expert she didn't include the fact that mana is completely conductive and it has inbuld spell…
The price is much more than that.
"That Katana I had… I would price it around 150 to 200 thousand. That is more than any of our things."
"...Hmm, but it's not like first-class weapons, which are in millions," Alise reasoned.
"...You forget that it was regular steel. Most steel weapons don't go beyond 40 to 50 thousand."
"...But…"
"Are you guessing that with those enchantments, it would be around 150 to 200 thousand?" Astraea commented.
"Yes. It was a rough estimation." Kaguya said with a sigh.
"Magic induction should increase the value severalfold. If those weapons have magic elements, not just conducting magic, it will be in hundreds of millions," Ryuu said with a stoic voice, as she was a little bit nervious for the price.
"...Well, in the end, we can pay back in instalments." Astraea smiled; all she cared about was that her girls would be protected.
~~~
"...Those poor girls, now you are planning to rip them off." Alfia brought a cup of tea to him."
"...Hmm, Who knows? They are quite the Girl Scouts. Helping them is a must." Marcus joked while saying that.
"What does girl scouts even mean?" The black-clad girl asked him, as she had no idea the terms of these words.
"Basically innocent and inexperienced city girls going to the wilds for the first time, unaware of all the predators and dangers of the woods." He clarified to her.
"...So, in a way, you are making fun?" She frowned while still not understanding.
"Not quite. I am more like an adult who tries to keep the challenge going but pampers them as much as possible with powerful items."
He clarified to her even more.
"Hmm, you are just weird. If it were me, I would rip them off and then send them to the dungeon until they get all the needed money." She snorted in a pouty manner.
It would seem she is jealous again. But this time slightly less as she doesn't think that these girls will reach the hights needed to challenge her.
"Besides! You still need to finish my clothes!" Her cheeks were slightly inflated.
Normally she would crush anyone who annoys her. Being one of strongest females alive she would abuse her magic until she gets what she wants. But Marcus showed to her that she was powerless in front of him.
It leaves her with only one option…
And that is pouting!
"Yes, yes, I know." He motioned with his hand that it was nothing.
"I will finish the first set today."
After drinking his tea, Marcus went to work on her clothes.
As he said, he spent the entirety of the day sewing her clothes. But it was not a simple process either.
Alfia noticed something crazy as she saw him weave three times magic along the way into the strings that made the cloth.
It was extremely meticulous. As once the pieces were done he started to put the whole thing together even then she saw some sort of reaction the moment the clothes come together.
By the time the sun was down, Marcus was done as he presented the clothes to her.
"Your first maid set is complete."
Alfia inspected the material for the first time.
"Its so smooth, but I saw you weave metal into it." She commented on that as she was slightly concerned that she would need to dress in metal!
"That is because, at this moment, steel is the best conductor for magic as it's refined in mana flames.
I have no doubt I will get something even better in the dungeon." He explained to her.
"Now you see these clothes are good because they are very magic conductive and it assist you with recover, they are sharp object proof and quite fire and water resistant.
In other words, you will be super maid with this uniform." Marcus said with a smirk.
"Oh, and… if it actually gets damaged, it will recover on its own."
"...That's impressive."
Alfia was impressed but then she was quite annoyed that he went that far for maid clothes. They were almost indistructible.
"Does it mean they are quite the magic proof?"
"...Yes, but it's a side effect. I heard you have magic that gives you armour, so it was created with that in mind."
"...oh… so thoughtful." Alfia nodded at him. She didn't remember speaking much about her abilities. It was more like he treated her like a pet and just cuddled her.
But it appears he does listen.
"Yep. Now go switch~" He smirked at her as he wants to see her in uniform.
"...Fine."
A few minutes later she came out from the bathroom dressed in her maid uniform. It was classic black and white uniform with long gloves and black stocking. It made Alfia feel professional. But same time she felt that she is dressed in thin clothes which could rip apart at any time.
"Well?"
"Gorgeous~ what you are dressed in is Victorian style maid uniform. I will make some other cultural ones as well." He said with a small smirk as he will couple lewd ones too. Like the bikini variant for summer.
"I don't like that smile." The maid said with a nervous frown.
"Your Master is only thinking about how to get most of it." He smiled 'innocently'.
"Right."
~~~
After the uniform was done, the next day, Marcus proceeded to work on the orders, but he stopped midway as he had no idea of the pricing.
So he spends a couple of minutes thinking about what to do.
In the end he decided to go visit Hephaestus as to him she looked like someone who knew what his stuff could cost.
But empty handed going there doesn't fit his style, so he went over and forged another steel sword, but this time he decided to make it into a conduit.
After a couple of hours of working, he was ready to leave.
"Are we going somewhere?" Alfia asked him as she saw him getting ready to go somewhere.
"Yes. We will see Hephaestus. I want to figure out pricing for weapons and armour before I can sell anything." He said to her as he took his Yamato and the steel sword. This time around, he had a sheath for the newly forged weapon.
"Let's go, Alfia."
Marcus motioned for her to come with him.
The pair proceeded to leave their house.
The Alchemist placed some extra security after realising that everyone knew where he lived.
He decided to change some of the parameters of his barrier, as hiding is pointless.
'Pretty sure the guild registered me at this location.'
He pondered as he walked towards where he thought Hephaestus' headquarters were.
~~~~~~Around a Half Hour Later~~~~~~
"So what can I do for you?" The red-haired Goddess looked at Marcus in front of her.
She was pleasantly surprised to see him all clean and dressed properly.
Her eyes stayed on Alfia for a second which made her confused before she realised who it was dressed in maid clothes.
What she was looking at was 'Silence' from Hera's Familia… it was so weird tbat she needed to double take at what she saw.
After recovering, she looked at what he had for her.
"I am here to ask for your assistance." Marcus sighed as he placed the sheathed sword on the table.
"I need to figure out pricing for my stuff. I have Astraea Familia and Loki Familia wanting stuff made for them." He clarified.
He pushed the sword towards her.
"This is my payment for your assistance."
Hephaestus looked at him for a second before taking the blade. She pulled it out from the sheath. For a moment, she inspected the craftsmanship before feeling something.
Her eye scanned the letters on the blade.
For a while she looked at them, then send a pulse of mana. The letters reacted and glowed.
"...You are one crazy bastard." She sighed as she realised what she was looking at.
"...Why so?"
"Alfia, did you tell him how magic works in our world?" Instead of replying, Hephaestus asked him maid.
"I did. But from what I understood, he ignored everything." The maid replied with a blunt tone.
"...You are making shortcuts to magic. Even more than any Falna could. That alone makes this weapon worth over a million Valis.
Not to mention it has something more?" She asked him as she realised this kid could make revolutionary items that would change society forever.
"It can conduit spells, meaning you can use it as mage staff or a wand. In another sense, by wielding this sword, one can become a battlemage or magic swordsman." Marcus explained with a raised finger.
He finds magic swordsman cool, so he is keeping on magic swords!
"...all spells?"
"In all spells, the metal is very conductive, meaning that nothing stays behind to damage the structure. On top of that, as long as mana flows through the weapon, it won't break."
"...Damn…" Hephaestus placed the weapon down and looked at him with a weirded-out look.
"You did that with a steel weapon?" She gulped down.
"Yes? I mean, what I added is elementary. I could try making mithril, but it takes a while." He sighed.
"I could switch to titanium-carbon, but again, I need to build up infrastructure for that."
"...No. what I mean is these letters, they should burn and melt the weapon."
"Not really. I simply spread out the excess energy to fortify the metal." He clarified how he did it.
**Sigh**
"I will help, but at the same time, I will pay for this weapon." She said with a resigned sigh.
"...Why?" Marcus frowned while hearing that.
"Otherwise, I won't be able to sleep at night." The Goddess shook her head.
"...fine." The Alchemist pouted. Here he was, trying to be gregarious. But people can't take his gifts. He needed to honey talk Ais to take her blade, which was a basic weapon!
And now Hephaestus doesn't want a basic conduit weapon!
"Good, then, let's start with market prices." As she said that, she got up and motioned for him to follow.
"We will visit one of my best stores."
"Alright."
Marcus didn't thought that they will go to Tower of Babel. He was plesantry surprised that they do have lift technology. It reminded him of the pictures he saw from lifts in early 20th century.
It was quite out of place in a medieval society.
Eventually they ended up in a big weapons and armour store. The Goddess proceeded to give a tour guide.