Chapter 41 – Goddess, I Don't Want to Try Anymore!
After his chat with Tsubaki that afternoon, Hephaestus gave Shin Akira a brief glance before turning around and walking deeper into the shop.
Akira followed behind her, and before long, they arrived at the Goddess's private quarters—a personal space divided into three sections: a cozy rest area, a small sitting room, and, tucked in the back, a compact blacksmithing workshop.
Even within her own Familia's store, Hephaestus kept her own forge and living space. As the Goddess of the Forge, it only made sense.
"So, mind telling me what brings you here?" she asked, casting a sideways look at him.
"No particular reason. I just came to discuss a bit of business with Captain Tsubaki," Akira replied casually.
"Business?"
"She's got a stash of defective weapons in storage. I'm thinking of buying them all."
"All of them? What for?"
To Hephaestus, defective weapons were failed products—nothing more, nothing less. She didn't despise them, but she certainly held no affection for them either.
Without a word, the shadow beneath Akira's feet began to ripple unnaturally. Then, as if rising from liquid darkness, a weapon slowly emerged from within.
But that wasn't all.
A humanoid figure—cloaked in pitch-black, ninja-like form—surfaced along with the weapon. Under Hephaestus's watchful eyes, the shadowy warrior picked up the weapon from the ground and assumed a combat stance, blade held firm.
Seeing this, the goddess instantly understood. Akira's summoned shadows could wield weapons.
"How many of those… can you summon at once?" she asked seriously.
"Sixteen. I can summon sixteen Shadow Warriors at the same time. I also have sixteen Shadow Claws."
Even without further explanation, Hephaestus could piece together what those names meant—warrior types and claw-based attackers. Both types... and in such numbers?
"No need to bother with Tsubaki's stash. I've got plenty of defective weapons and failed prototypes of my own. The quality's even better than hers," she said offhandedly.
"Wait, what exactly are you trying to say, Hephaestus?" Akira asked, his expression flat.
"What I said is what I meant," she huffed, turning her head away.
"Oh... so what you're really saying is... you're offering me a sugar mama lifestyle?" Akira teased, flashing a cheeky grin.
Hephaestus's face lit up red instantly, realizing her words were just a little too transparent.
"Ahem! Who's offering you a sugar mama life!? It's just... a form of investment and support! That's all!" she barked out, clearly flustered.
"Got it. I totally understand your divine intentions," he nodded sagely.
"Urrghhh, you—!" she groaned, both irritated and embarrassed, seeing his relaxed smile that practically screamed he didn't believe a single word she'd just said.
Then, without warning—Akira attacked.
In a completely literal sense.
He lunged forward and wrapped her in a tight embrace.
At the time, Hephaestus was wearing a simple white blouse, fitted black pants, and thigh-high black boots. The outfit accentuated her tall and slender figure with elegant precision.
Her petite waist—so slim it could be circled with one hand—was now caught in Akira's firm hold. Describing it as "serpentine" wouldn't even begin to do it justice.
And to top it off, Akira's face ended up nestled squarely between a pair of incredibly soft, heavenly—
"Let me go, Shin Akira!" Hephaestus shouted, pushing against him with both hands. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't budge him an inch.
She could feel his warm breath grazing her skin—and it sent a wave of heat rushing up her neck.
"I love you, Hephaestus," Akira whispered earnestly.
Hephaestus froze.
She hadn't expected that. Not in this moment. Not like this.
The strong, proud Goddess of the Forge suddenly found her mind going completely blank. For the first time, she didn't know what to say or how to react.
"T-That's... way too sudden..." she mumbled, voice barely a whisper.
Feeling her body tense up, Akira quickly realized he had probably taken things a bit too far.
He loosened his embrace and let her go. The moment he stepped back, the air between them turned... complicated. If this were an anime, little pink heart-shaped bubbles would've started floating around the room by now.
"Sorry, Hephaestus. That was a bit reckless of me."
"How dare you touch a goddess like that... You're really pushing it, Shin Akira," she muttered, her tone somewhere between a scolding and a flustered whisper.
"Come on. We already kissed, didn't we? Isn't this just a natural next step?" Akira murmured under his breath.
After all, she was the goddess who had officially made him part of her Familia. Technically, this was an "internal affair"—or at worst, a case of "unauthorized affection."
"What was that you just said?"
Hephaestus narrowed her eyes.
Uh oh. She definitely heard that.
"Nothing! I didn't say anything!" Akira said quickly, waving his hands.
"Hmph!"
At this point, the intimidating aura of a goddess had completely vanished. What remained was more like a pouty girlfriend mad at her overly clingy boyfriend.
The strange part?
Hephaestus didn't even realize that whenever Akira got close to her... she never truly pushed him away.
In fact, the more it happened... the more she found herself enjoying it.
"Anyway," Akira began casually, "since you're so generously offering me the 'good life'… how about lending me one billion valis?"
"Huh? Still thinking of buying those weapons from Tsubaki?"
"She already gave me twenty-four of them as a starter. Sure, they're flawed and not up to Level 1 standard, but they're not useless either. That's a big favor. And you know what they say—debts of gratitude are the hardest to repay."
"Fine. Take this. It's got two billion valis."
A moment later, Hephaestus handed him a card—a Guild-issued card that functioned much like a debit card. It could be used to make purchases or withdraw cash directly.
Only the wealthy or high-ranking individuals in Orario were ever entrusted with something like this.
Akira blinked. Two billion!?
A goddess worth worshipping, indeed!
But then again, in the original story, Hephaestus had once helped Hestia create a special dagger that was worth a full two billion valis. This wasn't out of character for her.
And don't forget—every member of Hephaestus Familia contributed a portion of their income to the goddess. If you summed it all up over the years...
She could probably buy half of Orario.
"Oh, Goddess! I give up! I don't wanna work hard anymore! Please let me be your kept man!" Akira declared, dramatically hugging her slender waist again, nuzzling into her like a spoiled pet.
"Let go of me!" she yelled, this time sounding genuinely panicked.
She had never experienced anything like this before.
And that phrase—"kept man"—sent her thoughts spiraling into realms far too inappropriate for innocent ears.
"Hephaestus! Shin Akira said we're having a feast tonight! You—"
The door burst open.
And in came the other Hestia—the short one—bounding into the room.
Of all the people in the Hephaestus Familia, only this goddess had the freedom to barge into Hephaestus's private quarters unannounced.
And then… she saw it.
"Oh… I saw nothing. This didn't happen. Carry on…"
With the most respectful and awkward exit in divine history, she slowly closed the door and tiptoed away.
Leaving the two of them in the middle of the room... frozen in embarrassment.
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