At that time, the blonde elf went to the kitchen and then walked back with a tray of drinks. Well, if you could call cups of water drinks.

She placed one in front of Welf and then handed one towards me. "Apologies for the delay. And for Syr."

I grabbed the cup, smiling. "Thanks."

The blonde elf woman nodded and turned to leave. But before she did, I reached out to grab her hand.

Welf gasped.

The blonde elf flinched, quickly pulling her hand back.

I realized what I did and then groaned. "Sorry about that. Bad habit."

Spending so much time with Hestia and Eina made me forget that not everyone was comfortable with physical contact. And people that worked in a place like this even more so.

...Damn. Maybe I really was becoming a natural lady's man like Tia said... Definitely gotta reel that back. I might be in an Anime world, but I would rather not have to deal with romcom drama.

The blonde elf slowly nodded, a strange expression on her face. "...It is fine. Unlike certain other patrons, you at least appear to be sincere about your apology."

I frowned.

...Adventurers really were a rowdy bunch, huh? Maybe that explained why the waitstaff working here were mostly powerful people. It was necessary to keep people in line.

I shook my head and said, "Anyway, I meant to ask you to tell Syr that she doesn't need to hold back on what she chooses. If it's too much for us to eat, I can bring it home. It'll save me some cooking time at least."

"Of course." The blonde elf woman nodded and then walked back in the kitchen.

When she was gone, Welf looked towards me and let out an exasperated sigh. "Every time I'm with you, I keep realizing that you're different, Pal."

I sipped on my water and said, "I'm just me, Bro. That's all I can be... Though, I really should have been more considerate." I glanced back towards the kitchen and said, "Beautiful girls in places like these already put up with a lot. I didn't want to add to that girl's list of troubles."

"Beautiful girls, huh?" Welf let out a sly grin.

"What?" I frowned and said, "Don't tell me you have higher standards than this? They're all beautiful, you know? Objectively. Ah, but Tia's prettier."

Maybe I was biased there though considering she was my goddess, kind, and took me in when I didn't know what I was going to do with my life after waking up as Bell.

Welf stared at me and then sighed. "Never mind."

"Anyway, do you have a thing against blondes or something? You kept glancing at that waitress like you were worried she was going to rip you apart." I took another sip from my water and said, "Did an ex-girlfriend threaten to kill you or something?"

"...Your mind goes to weird places, Bell. Did you know that?"

"I mean, considering what I've been through..."

"True." Welf sighed. "If that stuff in the dungeon is what you dealt with in your first few days of being an adventurer, I'm surprised you're still functional."

"Mm. So, scary blonde ex?"

Welf laughed. "Nothing like that. It's just..." He hesitated and said, "Let's just say me and elves don't really get along very well."

"Hm?" I frowned. "Why's that? Do elves hate blacksmithing or something? Or is it the old thing where they can't stand steel or man-made iron so they hate you because you're a blacksmith? Do they hate all blacksmiths?"

Welf blinked and then he let out a loud laugh.

I frowned. "Oi."

Welf waved his hand. "Sorry, sorry. It's just..." Welf calmed down and gave me a wide smile. "You really did come from out in the countryside, huh?"

"Hey, I don't make fun of you because you're a struggling blacksmith. I'd appreciate not being made fun of for being a humble farmer boy before coming here."

"My bad. It's just... I keep forgetting that you're not a veteran adventurer."

"...Should I take that as a compliment, or-"

"Definitely a compliment. But anyway... Just for your information, elves don't appreciate being touched by other people."

"Hm?" I frowned, remembering Eina. "...Is that really true?"

Welf let out a serious nod. "It's a serious taboo." He paused and then stared at me. "...Well, it might be a bit different for you since you managed to get a goddess's affection, but still, try not to do it in the future alright?"

Seeing that he was being serious, I nodded and said, "Alright. Thanks for the heads up, Bro."

"No problem. Though..." He glanced back at the kitchen and said, "You really got off lightly there. Most elves tend to react ah... rather violently to being touched."

"...You seem to have personal experience, Bro."

Welf let out a dry chuckle and said, "Yeah... I'll just say that elf customers tend to not come to blacksmiths to get fitted for a reason. And the few that did come to me..." He trailed off.

I waved my hand and said, "Well, don't worry. I'm sure that you'll be good enough that even some uptight elves will trip over themselves for your wares in the future."

Welf smiled. "You really have a way of cheering people up, Pal."

"I try. Better to have people happy than upset and miserable, right?"

Welf sighed. "If only more people were like that."

After that, Welf and I continued on with idle chatter. Mostly about what he did in his spare time, some goals in the future... and then blacksmithing.

"...And that's why I need the Blacksmith skill." Welf sighed and said, "I wish I didn't, but-"

"Why?"

Welf shook his head. "You probably don't realize it, Bell, but developmental abilities just help you do things on a whole 'nother level. Two blacksmiths with the same ability could make the same item, but the one with the Developmental Ability would just be better. If it was a sword, it would be sharper. Armor, more durable." He paused and said, "If I had Blacksmith, I could have made an ordinary set of iron armor and it would have the same performance as Black Demon."

I frowned. "...That doesn't seem right."

Welf shrugged. "That's just how it is. It's unfair... but that's-"

I waved my hand. "No, no. I don't mean the fairness of it. I meant that it doesn't seem right that just having a skill would let you outperform everyone axiomatically. There has to be a process to it that's letting that happen."

Welf laughed. "Well, if you figure it out, let me know. Because I'd love to be able to make things on that level without the skill too."

I placed my hand on my chin to think. "...You said that Blacksmith lets someone make the same item, but just somehow magically better?"

Welf nodded. "That's right. It's why the Hephaestus familia is so strong, actually. We have a lot of people with blacksmithing in our familia, so others can't compete."

I wrapped my fingers on the table. "But that doesn't make sense. At a certain level, there shouldn't be any way to improve the process. Skills are built off of excelia, which come from our experiences. So even if they seem impossible, they should still operate according to a certain logic."

Like my Compilation and Energy Manipulation abilities. They let me do ridiculous things, but they weren't impossible for others to copy. Someone who trained their memory and visualization skills enough could do Compilation, like Eina with photoreading. And Energy Manipulation... I was sure that there were people who figured out how to manipulate mana at its source.

So it didn't make sense that a skill called Blacksmith would automatically make items better by following the exact same steps. Something had to be different.

If skills were born from our experiences and developmental abilities were the crystallizations of our efforts, then Blacksmith should be-

"Here ya go." A booming female voice echoed, followed by the sound of dishes slamming against the table.

Welf flinched. But he quickly schooled his expression and nodded towards the speaker. "Thank you, Miss..."

"Mia Grande." The speaker, a tall woman with a brown ponytail and a boisterous air, grinned and looked to me. "I hear that you promised Syr to go all out." She laughed and said, "You're a brave one, aren't ya?"

Syr popped out from behind Mia, holding a hand to her chest and letting out an apologetic smile.

Mia looked to me and said, "Mm... Looks like you can eat well enough. But can you pay for it all?"

I reached for my bag and filled it up with valis before setting it on the table. "I think I should be fine, assuming you don't overcharge me. But since this place is called the Hostess of Fertility, I'm sure you'd be fair on that, wouldn't you? Especially someone as 'grand' as yourself?"

Mia's expression shifted. It was fast, barely a microsecond.

I had to admit, that was impressive. She was clearly someone used to schooling her emotions... Though that probably came with being just as strong as the waitresses she employed.

She laughed and said, "You talk tough, Kid." She glanced at the bag and said, "But I guess you can walk it, so I'll let it slide. Syr!"

"Y-Yes!" Syr flinched and looked at Mia.

Mia handed her the bag and said, "Run the total for your friend. And remember to not play any tricks this time or you're washing the dishes all night."

Syr laughed. "Who do you think I am, Miss Mia?"

"It's Mama Mia, you impish girl." She looked around at the other waitresses and said, "And what are you girls doing standing around and eavesdropping? Anya, Chloe, get back to work or you're on dish duty too!"

"Hai~!"

"Yes, Mama Mia..."

After that, the staff cleared out to leave me and Welf to our meal.

"Well..." Welf looked at me and said, "That was something. I'm starting to get why you wanted me to come along though..."

I nodded and started on a pasta dish in front of me. "Yep. Anyway, eat up. Can't go home on an empty stomach if you're planning to forge through the night again."

"Ahaha... you saw right through me, huh?"

"I'd like to think I know you well enough by now as well, Bro."

Welf chuckled.