"Is there anything you wanted to seek?" As if noticing my intention, Hephaestus hide the purple knife inside the table's drawer and speak.
"I'm here for the 'one time first time' discount"
"Right now? Alright, come!" She's almost standing from her seat but immediately freezes after my gesture to stop. "Then what?"
"From your reaction just now, you won't give me any of your work, right?" I said as I look from all the items hanging in here
"Of course not, my 'art' even without arcanum is more expensive than a rarest Grimoire. But that is only the first prerequisites. Second is, it depends on me if I let them have it. After all, my work is like my own limb. I have my pride who I can give it"
"In a nutshell, I can't have them, yes?" I finish her sentence.
"Correct"
I sigh...
Yeah right. I talked to Astraea-sama with this and she only told me 'are you dreaming?!'. Meaning, its almost impossible to buy any gear crafted by the godsmith herself.
"Tsk alright then. I won't buy any" perplexed, she raised her head while still staring back at me.
It seems like she was pissed off even before my arrival. Her eyes is gleaming with slight of irk yet dazzling with its crimson sparks.
"I will only want to restore my gear. And it should be Hephaestus-sama herself who fix it"
"Hmmm? It's not that I can give any of my blessings even if I were the one who restores it" Her words is terrifying. Why is that anger? I wonder.
"To keep it a secret between us, of course. And I don't want others to find this secret"
"Hoh, you've turned into a mystery man now?" This time, she smiled as if measuring me.
Did she really think I'm always joking? Am I a joke to you? Is what wanted to ask but this time, I know I am serious.
Without wasting another word, I swept my hand and successively, multiple snapped of gear fell down unto the ground. Making her room created loud noise of clanking metals.
"K-kami-sama? Are you alright?" Asks by a blacksmith from the outside as they heard the sound of dropping metals.
"I'm okay, Agwin is here" Hephaestus answers.
But...
"W-bhoa!" Ultimately after, she strides her body towards the ground and picked all of the gears I dropped and start knocking them.
Hey lady, you're not surprised where it came from!? Its not that I will explain that to her though, so its good that her attention is towards the battered armor that I dropped.
"This is the first time I encounter this kind of armor! It's as light as mithril, yet tougher than adamantium! What the hell is this!?"
She looked at me with sparkling eye. Oh yeah? Where's that anger from your eye just now?
Ahh. Why am I too obsessed questioning such trifling matter? I wonder.
"I'll tell you if you promised to keep it a secret. To all of the people. It's only between me and you"
I stated, which she gulped first before nodding. As a blacksmith, its a common behaviour to boast your work from others. Especially for the mineral you're not familiar with! Even god is not an exeption in this behaviour.
"But. . .looking at it. I'm afraid its impossible to restore it to its original form"
"I see, then smelt it and create anew"
"That's what I like!" She happily clenched her fists while holding the gears.
"A chest plate and a back plate fitted for me, of course, not that big nor too small. As for the black plate. I want the symbol of our familia"
"The design?" She questioned which made me think. Well, I'm not picky on design so:
"You decide, Hephaestus-sama. I'll wear it no matter how ugly it was"
"Hey hey hey! Don't underestimate a godsmith! You think I'll let myself make it ugly!?"
Thats it! Ha ha. I intentionally ignite her pride and she replied according to my plan! Well, I'm sure I will like its design no matter what the outcome.
"If only that, you still have many left, correct?" So she questioned.
Hmm, for now, I still have my greaves and an arm guard intact, so. . ."If you can create a total of 12 pieces of palm-size placate with the symbol of my familia. Then I'll give you the remains"
"R-really!? I can take the remains?"
"Of course! As long as you are not stingy when making them. I'll give the remain to you!"
"D-don't worry, I won't! I still have my pride after all!"
"Deal then?"
"Deal!"
"He he, good good"
With that, I told her the name of the mineral but she doesn't have the idea what it was. Not just its name but also where it can harvest.
Of course not. It doesn't belong in this world to begin with!
"Alright then, I'll start with it!" She was overwhelmed by her blacksmith spirit that she didn't pry any more question, huh. I guess, we have the long talk later. After all, we didn't even talk how much it all costs.
●○●○●○
"I can't believe it!"
In an area where the [Denatus] is always been held, no more than 10 gods gathers in circle and looked at the small piece of metal resting at the table. They all looked at it one by one.
"I don't know. Yes, it was light and at the bery best, durable, but I don't know how to evaluate it. I'm not even a blacksmith!"
"Me, as a blacksmith, this is the first time I witnessed such mineral!"
Hermes, Freya, Loki, Ganesha, Goibniu, Ouranos, Hephaestus and even Astraea herself are all here.
All ears at the one eyed crimson lady as she explained. Of course she's none other than Hephaestus.
Even her competitor, Goibniu who works as a blacksmith is also here so he can evaluate the said mineral but he only sigh in defeat.
Now, all of them look at Astraea. Of course she's calm and compose and is only forming a smile.
"I guess my Agwin is unfathomable after all"
She knew Agwin's deepest secret. Even his past and his current ordeal. But Astraea didn't tell the tale it to noone. Not one bit. She's also surprised from the current surprise meeting but never thought it was about her Agwin.
Ouranos then starts to talk: "I don't know why he suddenly got your falna and won't question anymore than this, nor let others from any of this god to bully you, Astraea. But. That boy. He seemed to know what we didn't. What we cannot. And we even call ourselves a god...So, if he elwere to pull any string behind our back, not only I will banish you out of the Orario, even your remaining child won't escape from the consequences. That is because, the bond they created? we cannot break. There's also a promise we cannot bend. I warn you, please put him where he belonged"
It isn't a warning or a threat. Just that, Ouranoud is genuinely afraid of what is to come. Espcially after finding a mineral, not belonged in this world. Not only unheard of, but it is neigh impossible to obtain such item by an ordinary man---no less.
Astraea while still faintly smiling, twitched the one side of her mouth. She didn't even dream to hear all of this word coming from the person she trusted the most.
She then glared at Hephaestus too but the one-eyed godsmith veer out. Maybe afraid.
She didn't know what to say other than: "Unless you didn't trigger his wrath. He will remain neutral. But if he ever felt that you turned out to be his enemy. Please prepare for the worst"
After then did she stand up and exited. Hermes followed suit and only let out a faint word: "Interesting, the current Orario turned out to be more interesting like what you presume, huh"
Freya touches her lips using the tip of her index finger and muttered: "A sleeping catastrophe under the banner of justice? Interesting"
"Kah! I don't care anymore! Just...don't disturb my familia!" Loki snapped back.
"Ganesha-desu!" Said by Ganesha.