Athena was very satisfied with Perseus's answer.
She now somewhat understood why Hecate, Ares's teacher and the Goddess of Magic, had gone to subdue and raise a hellhound right at the beginning of the Age of Gods.
For women under a lot of pressure like her, sometimes raising a dog is indeed a good way to relax. When you're upset outside, coming home and letting your dog lick your hand can make you feel completely at ease.
Honestly, Perseus's current obedient demeanor really effectively alleviated the anger Ares and The Fates had caused her earlier.
"Put these Noble Phantasms away."
Athena said,
"Also, next, you can go find Hephaestus and have him modify your weapon. With the weapon you currently have, it will probably be difficult to effectively kill the monster queen Medusa."
"Yes."
Perseus agreed while using the dog-skin bag to store his equipment and luggage, then stood up and replied to Athena,
"Goddess, I shall depart now."
Perseus's efficiency in action had always pleased Athena. After she issued a command to Perseus, he immediately stood up, packed his luggage, and left Athens.
Under her guidance, Perseus smoothly found Hephaestus, who was gathering ore materials near a certain volcano on the ground, and reported his name to him.
"Perseus?"
Hephaestus moved the goggle-like equipment he wore over his eyes, carefully looked at his face, and then replied,
"Alright, I do seem to have promised Athena about this. Hand your weapon over to me."
Perseus, with a respectful but distant manner, took out his staff and handed it to Hephaestus. Hephaestus took it and examined it carefully, then asked with some surprise,
"Where did you get this staff?"
"My magic teacher, Hecate, gave it to me when I completed my apprenticeship," Perseus replied.
"This... this deformable structure and forging technique, this should be a weapon made by my brother, Ares. Hecate is also his magic teacher, so this should have been given by him to Hecate, and then Hecate gifted it to you," Hephaestus said.
"What? Ares?" Perseus's face changed drastically, as if he had just learned that the wooden stick he had been holding for over twenty years was covered in dog feces. He repeatedly waved his hand and shook his head, saying, "Esteemed Hephaestus, I don't want this staff anymore. Can you melt it for me?"
"Melt it?"
Hephaestus pondered for a moment, then nodded,
"If you want to, that's fine, but if you do that, I can only make you a new weapon. Will you be used to it?"
"It's fine," Perseus said with a look of disdain, shaking his head. "Anything is better than using this thing."
"Alright."
Hephaestus nodded and then directly blew out a stream of flame from his mouth. Under the scorching heat of this flame, Perseus's staff in his hand quickly melted and deformed, turning into a puddle of molten iron, which Hephaestus held in his palm.
"Huh?"
Just as Hephaestus was intently watching the melting process of the staff, Perseus suddenly heard him utter a sound of surprise.
"Hephaestus, what's wrong?"
Perseus feigned ignorance and asked.
"Nothing," Hephaestus glanced at him, then shook his head, and extended his index finger, quickly stirring up some of the patterns that had appeared in the molten iron in his hand.
Just now, he had seen what appeared to be a message left by his brother Ares in the molten iron. This message told him what kind of weapon to forge for the person in front of him.
This method of hiding messages, aside from Hephaestus, should only be known by Ares, who had learned his forging methods. Hephaestus also knew about the animosity between Ares and Athena, so in front of Perseus, Athena's hero, he did not tell him what he had seen.
Of course, all of this was seen by Ares through Perseus's eyes, and he cooperated with his elder brother in putting on this act.
At Ares's prompting, Hephaestus thought for a moment and already had a draft in mind.
He took out two diamonds he had just obtained from this volcano from the basket behind him, softened them with fire, and then, without any tools, directly used his hands, like molding clay, to begin shaping the weapon.
Under his skillful hands, the appearance of the weapon quickly took shape. It was a dark, scythe-like, abnormal weapon, and the end of its long handle had a long iron chain attached. For the Greek World, this was not a common weapon style.
After the weapon's shape gradually formed, Hephaestus took out several of his magic rings, and used the magical sparks from the rings to engrave complex runes on the surface of the weapon.
Finally, he blew hard, blowing away the impurities clinging to the weapon, and then a brand new, powerful Noble Phantasm was freshly forged.
"Take it, try it out and see if it feels right," Hephaestus handed the scythe to Perseus and then began to pack his things.
Perseus swung it by the chain, then gripped the scythe's long handle, wielding it with impressive force, and then used it to cast several spells. Finally, he nodded with satisfaction, "A very good weapon, thank you, Hephaestus."
"It's nothing, it's something I promised Athena at the banquet," Hephaestus said, carrying his belongings and struggling to stand up. His limp looked a bit pitiful. He stood outside the volcano, not looking at Perseus, but at the sky, then said to Perseus without turning his head, "Young man, the path of a hero is not easy, especially being a goddess's hero. Listen to my advice: if goddesses don't like something, no matter how good you are to them, they won't take it to heart."
Who is this older brother trying to educate, putting on such a dramatic front?
Although Hephaestus's back looked very weathered, Ares, who was controlling Perseus, knew about the unfortunate things that had happened to him and had even advised him not to jump into the fire pit.
Therefore, Hephaestus's current weathered appearance, in the eyes of Ares, who was in the know, truly could not cause any emotional fluctuation. However, the act still had to be played out, so he controlled Perseus and smiled at Hephaestus, "I think what Hephaestus said is wrong. As long as we work hard, goddesses will eventually feel our sincerity."
"Oh?" Hephaestus turned his head and asked, "What if she never understands your feelings in the end?"
"How could that be?" Perseus replied without hesitation, "It must be that I haven't worked hard enough!"
Hephaestus looked at him, sighed deeply, and then praised, "Simps are truly amazing."