After returning from the temple, they stayed with Jane and the others for the day, but by the next morning, they had said their farewells.

They left traveling to Solingen by carriage.

"So this is a place you saved before?" asked Ai.

"Yeah, it took me a few months to plan everything out to ensure the maximum number of people didn’t die."

"Any reason in particular other than going to revisit a city you saved?" asked Nox.

"My blacksmith and spear master are in the city, also a friend of mine."

"I thought Eupheme taught you both?" said Ai.

"She only taught me the basics of spearmanship. She then taught me smithing after Lord Lugh did."

As they approached the city, Ai and Nox could see the large city wall. Cirrus could see how much it had changed since he last came.

When he entered the city, he was surprised by the number of golden antlers scattered about the city on doors and on streetlights.

"Huh? That’s pretty cool." said Cirrus.

"Seems you really made an impression on them, huh, Cirrus." said Nox.

"Wow I've never seen so much gold in my life!" said Ai.

"Well let's go find Lugh, I don’t want the city to know I’m here."

Cirrus led the way to Lugh’s shop but found it closed.

"Is it closed?" asked Nox.

"Hmm…" Cirrus looked around to find it had been closed for a while. "Nox do you think you can find him and his child?"

"Tell me some descriptions and I’ll be right on it."

Nox turned into a bird and flew around to find Lugh, with a description of what he and Ibic looked like from the last time he saw them. Ai and Cirrus moved through the city with their invisibility cloaks until Nox found Lugh.

‘Found him! He’s in that building way up on top!’

"Chernobog’s former home. Hm, let’s go."

Arriving at the home, Cirrus found Lugh’s Familia emblem on the home’s gate.

Knock! Knock!

"Hey!! Lord Lugh!! It’s me!!" Cirrus shouted.

After a while, the gate finally opened.

"Who is…Cirrus!!" said Ibic, now grown and more muscular. "Ha-ha!! it’s good to see you again!" He said, hugging Cirrus.

"Ibic? You’ve grown!" he said, hugging him back.

They let go and looked at each other.

"I thought you were taller?" Ibic said.

"And I thought you wouldn’t be so dammed muscular?"

"Pretty built yourself, man!"

"Is this your blacksmith friend?" asked Ai.

"This is Ibic, Lord Lughs’s first apprentice."

"And the head of the Familia now! But first, who is this beauty?" He said, looking at Ai.

"This is Ai, my girlfriend."

"G-girlfriend!?" he said, shocked, falling to his knees.

"What? Jealous? Well you should be!!" Cirrus said proudly. "Look here at her! beautiful, cute! Smart! Kind and-!!"

Ai punched him in his shoulder.

"Stop embarrassing me!" she said. with a red face. "Don’t worry, Ibic, I’m sure you’ll find someone!" she said with a warm smile.

"A-an angel!" he said.

"So could you show us inside?"

"R-right! Ahem! Sure thing! Follow me."

Coming inside, Cirrus and Ai enter the Familia home, Cirrus finds the home to have changed.

"Keep hammering! If you let that sit still, it’ll ruin the quality!" Lugh said at his children.

"Lord Lugh! I brought someone!" said Ibic.

"Who did you…Cirrus!!! My boy!!" Lugh said, coming up to him and hugging him. "It’s been a minute since I've seen you! And you grow to be a fine man!"

Several of the students stopped what they were doing to look at them, and murmurs started to go around the Familia.

"It’s good to see you again, sir. Did you get my gift?"

"I sure did! I was impressed by it!! I never thought a human as young as you would make a weapon that could capture a smith god's heart! Hahaha!!!"

"U-um Lord Lugh who is this…" said one of his children.

Lugh smiled as he turned around.

"This here is my second apprentice! Cirrus Zephyr! The Uncrowned Emperor and the Golden Hide of Solingen!"

"!!!"

All the smiths' eyes widen as they look at their city’s hero.

"So Cirrus, what brought you here?" said Ibic.

"I came to see how you all were doing?"

"Then come in! We can share that with one another over a drink- oh? Who is this pretty lass?"

"My name is Shirakusa Ai. This guy's beloved." She said, a bit nervously.

"…You have great taste! Come on Ibic! My children, let us toast the return of your senior!!"

"URAAAAA!!!!!!!!"

As they all cheered, Nox landed on Cirrus’s shoulder.

‘He’s a rather fun god!’

They spent the day having fun and sharing a drink with Lugh and Ibic, with Ai joining in the fun.

The next day, Cirrus looked at the open plaza and he could remember what happened there.

"You know, they are all currently in jail." Said Lugh, sitting beside Cirrus.

"…Is he still armless?"

" ’Fraid so, but it’s not like he didn’t have it coming, but to be fair, it’s a mercy you gave him, all the other ones are working to the bone to make up for what they did."

"Hm…well that’s at least good to hear."

"Say…did you not bring any weapons with you? Last I remember, you barely have anything on you?"

"Oh, that hold on."

Cirrus walked in the direction of his room and, after a bit, came back with Gram in hand.

"Cirrus…let me see that blade?" Cirrus holds it out and Lugh examines it. "Could you draw it for me?"

Cirrus obliges and draws it.

"I know it’s cursed by Odin; I already went through the trial to wield it."

"That it is. I can tell what the curse is and its effect is, but what a woozy of a curse this is, and from Odin no less! From what I heard back in Heaven, that guy was a real pain in the ass. Do you not have any other weapon?"

"Well not really. I’ve been using this to get used to the pain and sensitivity of it and the last weapon I had was well... is on the moon."

"So it was you who put a dam crack on the moon! I’m sure many moon gods won’t like that."

"I know, Lady Artemis gave me a mouthful and she said she would come up with something for the damage I did to the moon and for, umm "taking" her celestial maidenhood or something along those lines."

"Ah…did she do or say anything?"

"Umm…well she did fire arrows at me, and she told me she was going to think of a punishment for what she was going to do, but I left before she could come up with one."

"You’re not afraid of a goddess's fury?"

"I mean… no? She would have to find me, and I made sure to cover all my tracks. But knowing her, finding me is only a matter of time. Which is why we will be leaving in two days."

"2 days huh…alrighty! Until then, you will be safe here! None of us will dare sell out our hero!"

"Thanks but please don’t call me a hero."

"If that’s what you want, then I’ll tell everyone to refrain from saying it."

"Thank you."

 

Later that afternoon.

"Alright, you bought the materials, Ibic?" said Lugh.

"Hm, I did Adamantite, Mithril, and some Orichalcum. This material set us back a lot."

"Then it was a good thing we were Hephaestus’s contacts here then, no?"

"Hm, so what are we going to make?"

"A spear."

"A spear? Well, we will save up on material, but what about the material for the shaft?"

"We have that Fusang Wood we bought from the eastern goddess in a white dress."

"W-with this much 1st-grade material, who can even buy-"

"I’m giving it to Cirrus."

"…Was it because-"

"It’s because he gave us an almost divine weapon, yes."

"Well… let's get to work then."