Hephaestus — Affection Level
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A moment passed.
From behind the heavy velvet curtain came the rustle of clothes being changed.
Then.
The curtain was carefully pulled aside, opening a gap.
Hephaestus, face flushed and head lowered, walked out of the dressing room somewhat awkwardly.
Then.
In the spacious clothing store, the several elven shop assistants who had been chatting quietly all looked over in unison, their eyes going wide and their mouths falling open in an instant.
At this moment, even Hestia couldn't help but widen her eyes slightly.
There—
The gown Haimer had picked out for Hephaestus was an off-the-shoulder dress with a pure-black base.
Without any cumbersome lace frills, its minimalist cut fit perfectly against Hephaestus's body,
showing off Hephaestus's already tall, statuesque figure to perfection.
Below her slender neck, her gracefully shaped collarbones were on full display.
Dark-patterned roses in deep blue wound their way down along the mermaid-style hem of the skirt, blooming like flowers in the night with every movement she made.
The most lethal part was the mature aura Hephaestus had honed over years of working with forge fire, blended with the self-conscious unease she felt now at being unaccustomed to such a revealing outfit.
Her red hair draped down on one side, and that signature black eyepatch, far from diminishing her beauty, instead added a touch of allure to her splendor.
"This... this is just too strange...."
Hephaestus pressed one hand above her chest, trying to tug up the neckline that dipped a bit too low, her right eye darting elsewhere in a fluster.
"The hem's too tight—I can't even take a proper step."
She complained softly, her face red.
"What's strange about it?"
Haimer casually tossed the magazine in his hand aside and walked over.
He circled around Hephaestus once, looking her up and down with an appreciative gaze.
"The cut's just right, and the fabric hugs you nicely, doesn't it?"
"This dress really suits you—you look absolutely beautiful, Hephaestus."
"You...!"
The moment he said it, Hephaestus's cheeks visibly flushed crimson, and her right eye shot Haimer a fierce glare.
But that supposedly fierce glare, paired with her current blush and that gown, instead came across as utterly charming, like a coy pout.
"Don't give me that!"
Hephaestus bit her lower lip, lowered her voice, and ground out the words through clenched teeth.
"Back in the Heavens, you used this very same line to sweet-talk the other goddesses too."
"And every single time you tricked me, you used this exact same line! Do you think I'll still fall for it?"
"Well, the past is the past, and now is now."
"I'm only telling the truth."
Haimer chuckled softly, not bothering to argue.
As a result.
At this point, Hestia, standing off to the side, suddenly widened her eyes.
She looked at Haimer, then turned to look at Hephaestus.
"Wait! What's this about 'back in the Heavens'? You two! Just what exactly did the two of you get up to behind my back in the Heavens?!"
Hestia was so worked up she stamped her feet, grabbing Haimer's sleeve and shaking it wildly.
"Haimer! You big idiot! You'd better explain yourself!"
Haimer helplessly clamped a hand on Hestia's head and ruffled her hair.
"All right, all right, don't be mad."
With that said.
Haimer turned to look at the elven shop assistant who was still standing there dazed.
"We'll take this one."
"We'll wear it out as is—please pack up the clothes she took off."
"Ah... y-yes! I'll take care of it right away!"
When she saw Haimer take out a card,
the still-dazed elven shop assistant finally snapped to and scrambled off to ring up the purchase.
"While it's still early and the Denatus hasn't started yet, let's go browse around some other districts a bit—it's not often we get out like this."
After taking back his card, Haimer casually smoothed out the wrinkles that had appeared on Hestia's shoulder, his tone relaxed.
Then.
Half an hour passed.
On the bluestone-paved road of Northwest Avenue.
Crowds bustled to and fro.
Ryu, wearing the green tavern uniform, was carrying a large paper bag in her arms, filled with the freshly baked, still-warm bread that Mama Mia had told her to go buy.
Head lowered, she followed the main road and wound her way into the edge of a relatively secluded alley, trudging along glumly.
Sunlight spilled through the gaps in the eaves onto her pointed ears.
Yet Ryu felt as though her mind were a tangled mess.
She bit her lower lip, and as she recalled that scene from the early morning, her cheeks couldn't help but start to burn again.
"What... what am I even doing.... Am I... am I being... a little... too fixated on... Kami-sama..."
Ryu muttered to herself, coming to a stop and leaning against the alley wall, lost in a daze.
And it was right at this moment.
A considerable commotion suddenly broke out on the main road outside.
"Hurry up! Hurry up!"
A familiar voice drifted into the alley on the wind.
Ryu started, instinctively leaning half her body out to look.
With just one glance.
Ryu froze on the spot.
In the middle of the avenue, three figures walked side by side.
Hestia, wearing a starlight evening gown, clung tightly to Haimer's left arm.
On the other side was Hephaestus, in her pure-black gown with deep-blue roses; though her expression was still a little unnatural, her stunning figure was every bit as breathtaking.
Most importantly of all.
Ryu's eyes went wide in an instant.
Haimer had shed his usual casual wear and changed into an exquisitely tailored, full-length pure-black formal suit.
It made Ryu instinctively shrink back deeper into the alley, terrified that radiant group would notice her in such a sorry state.
Hestia and the others indeed didn't notice Ryu huddled in the alley's shadows.
But Haimer did, tilting his head slightly.
His gaze cut past the crowd and locked precisely onto the green figure at the alley's mouth—the one poking half her head out, staring at him blankly.
Seeing the look Ryu cast his way,
Haimer's lips curved up slightly, and he gave a very casual wave toward the alley's mouth, flashing a smile.
"Eh?"
"!!!"
But the latter's reaction was intense.
Ryu's eyes instantly went perfectly round.
Her emerald-green eyes were filled with panic.
S-she'd been spotted?!
Before Ryu could even gather herself to react,
"Haimer! What are you still dawdling for?! That ice cream shop's about to run out of spots in line!"
Hestia's disgruntled, coquettish voice rang out.
Mustering every ounce of strength, she yanked hard on Haimer's arm and dragged him forward.
Seeing this, Haimer could only cast Ryu a helpless glance and, going along with the momentum, was pulled back onto the main road.
The three figures soon vanished around the bend at the street corner.
Leaving Ryu standing all alone, dumbstruck, at the alley's mouth.
For a good long while.
A gentle breeze blew past.
"Poof!"
Ryu felt as if steam were rising from the top of her head.
She abruptly crouched down, buried her face deep in the bread-filled paper bag, and let out a mournful whimper.
It's over, I've already been seen....
Then.
After leaving Ryu behind,
Haimer and his two companions strolled leisurely southward.
During the Denatus, the shops lining the streets were a dazzling array, and the cries of all sorts of vendors rang out without pause.
Hestia was clearly in high spirits, tugging Haimer to a stop in front of a ring-toss stall.
"This one! I want to play this one!"
She pointed at a stall where you threw to hit targets, her eyes sparkling.
Haimer handed over a few Valis, and the stall owner immediately bowed and scraped as he handed over the rings.
In truth, the stall owner's forehead was beaded with sweat.
As one of Orario's lower-class residents, though he didn't recognize every single god, he had most certainly heard of the appalling exploits the [Haimer Familia] had pulled off these past few days.
Facing this fearsome god rumored to be "more monstrous than the monsters themselves," the stall owner's hands trembled so badly he nearly fumbled taking the money.
Haimer sighed helplessly.
"Don't be nervous—just do business as usual."
Then.
There—
Hestia rolled up the sleeves of her starlight gown, took a few bamboo rings, and fixed her gaze intently on a crystal ball in the distance.
"Watch this!"
Hestia hurled a bamboo ring with all her might.
"Aah! So close!"
Seeing that she'd missed, Hestia was thoroughly vexed.
Hephaestus, meanwhile, stood to the side with her arms crossed, watching Hestia carry on and shaking her head helplessly.
"With aim like yours, it'd be a miracle if you hit anything."
"It's fine, take your time."
Haimer gave a helpless smile.
Although Haimer stood by, watching Hestia fool around,
his mind wasn't entirely on it.
Gazes.
There were gazes everywhere.
Ever since leaving the [Velvet Iris], gazes had been falling on him from time to time along the way.
This was all perfectly normal in itself.
But.
At intersections, on rooftops, or in the shops on street corners—
there were always different people in different positions, observing his movements.
And they switched out frequently.
Cross-covering.
This was clearly an organized, premeditated rotation of personnel keeping his movements under surveillance.
Haimer let out a soft sigh inwardly.
Truly, the moment a single cockroach appears, it means countless more are already lying in wait, itching to crawl out.
"Yay! I got it on!"
Just as Haimer was lost in thought,
Hestia's cheer suddenly cut through his musings.
Haimer came back to himself.
There—
Hestia, holding up a crudely carved little wooden bear, came running up to him brimming with excitement.
"Haimer, look! I won this with my own skill...."
Hestia was just stuffing the wood carving into Haimer's hands.
When—
The next second—
"Heyyy——!!"
"Haimer!!! Hephaestus!"
Character Details
An extremely piercing, even somewhat over-the-top voice suddenly carried over from beside the crowd.
Upon hearing this voice,
the smile on Hestia's face froze in an instant.
Stiffly, she turned her head and followed the sound.
There—
Loki, dressed in a high-end black formal gown, was rushing over toward them.
"Heh heh heh!"
"I've been searching for you lot for ages."
Grinning from ear to ear, Loki walked straight up to Haimer, raised a hand, and slapped it onto his shoulder.
The whole motion was smooth as flowing water, and along the way she bumped her hip to shove aside Hestia—who'd been standing in front of Haimer and whose face had already turned livid.
"Oh, Hephaestus, so you're here too."
After greeting Haimer, Loki turned her head to look at Hephaestus, who stood off to the side.
Seeing Hephaestus dressed in the gown,
Loki's eyes immediately lit up. She at once circled around Hephaestus, sizing up the pure-black mermaid gown from head to toe, and threw in a whistle for good measure.
"Not bad, not bad—Hephaestus, this getup of yours is really something."
"Usually, seeing you in your overalls, you look like some middle-aged blacksmith fellow, but today, dressed in this gown, you're like a whole different person."
Hearing Loki's praise,
Hephaestus merely raised an eyebrow in response.
She couldn't help glancing at the well-tailored gown Loki wore, then at the black formal suit Haimer had on.
Noticing that the styles of the two outfits seemed surprisingly well-matched,
and recalling that Haimer's formal wear had also been bought by Loki, the expression on Hephaestus's face couldn't help but turn peculiar.
"Yours isn't bad either."
"Come to think of it, it really has been a long time since I last saw you in a gown, Loki."
"Are you planning to attend the Denatus too?"
Hearing Hephaestus's question, Loki broke into a smug little snicker, planting her hands on her hips and deliberately thrusting out that flat chest of hers.
Then, she finally deigned to lower her head, casting a condescending, provocation-laden look at Hestia, who was already on the verge of erupting.
"But of course."
"It's all because I heard that a certain little runt is going to attend the Denatus too."
"If I don't dress up nice and proper, how am I supposed to outshine a certain someone who can only draw eyes with those two lumps of meat on her chest?"
Loki drew out her words, deliberately raising her pitch, and tilted her chin up triumphantly.
However.
The next second.
"Go to hell!!!"
Upon hearing this, Hestia, still clutching the little wooden bear, planted her feet hard against the ground and instantly drove a fierce headbutt straight into Loki's stomach!
"Ohohh——!"
Caught off guard, Loki took the headbutt and instantly let out a dry retch.
Clutching her flat stomach, tears nearly spurting from her eyes.
"You—you little runt! That was a downright dirty move!"
Loki ground her teeth, rubbing her stomach as she lifted her head.
"Hmph! That's what you get for not being able to keep your mouth shut!"
Refusing to back down, Hestia put her hands on her hips, raised her chin, and huffed.
Haimer stood to the side, watching these two goddesses—whose combined ages amounted to who-knows-how-many years—bicker like children, and could only press the bridge of his brow in resignation.
"All right, all right—we're out on the street, so mind your image as gods a little."
Haimer offered the advice offhandedly, though he knew it was basically a waste of breath.
"Image? What image do I need in front of this flat-chested girl?"
Sure enough.
Hestia curled her lip.
"Who are you calling flat-chested?!"
Loki instantly bristled, rolling up her sleeves to charge over.
"Want to fight? Bring it on!"
Hestia, not to be outdone, stepped up to meet her.
And so.
The originally three-person shopping party became four, thanks to Loki's sudden intrusion.
Except.
The scene up front was rather rowdy.
Hestia and Loki walked in front, shoulder to shoulder.
You shove me, I bump you, their mouths never letting up on the constant sniping.
Haimer and Hephaestus, meanwhile, walked a few steps behind.
Hephaestus walked very slowly.
She still seemed not quite accustomed to the form-fitting gown she wore—pure black with deep-blue patterned roses.
Right now the gown wrapped her tall, slender figure snugly, and the mermaid-style hem further restricted the range of her strides.
This made every step she took look a bit stiff and constrained.
Watching her like this, Haimer gave a soft smile.
As they passed a small jewelry stall by the roadside,
Haimer came to a stop, his gaze sweeping over the dazzling array of trinkets on the stall before settling on a slender dark-red necklace.
The necklace's design was simple: a ruby, polished perfectly round, set at the center of the metal chain.
Though it was no precious magic item, its color was very pure.
Haimer casually tossed down a few silver coins.
The stall owner was an elderly beastman, whose hand paused slightly as he took the money before he immediately offered his thanks.
Haimer, for his part, picked up the necklace, turned his head, and looked at Hephaestus, who had stayed behind to wait for him.
"Try it on."
Haimer smiled faintly, speaking up all of a sudden.
Hearing this, Hephaestus couldn't help but be taken aback.
Before she could react,
Haimer had already leaned over slightly, his hands reaching around her neck.
When his fingers brushed the delicate skin at the nape of Hephaestus's neck,
Hephaestus's whole body went rigid for half a second.
Then.
Accompanied by
a soft "click,"
the dark-red necklace settled securely around Hephaestus's slender neck.
Haimer withdrew his hands, took half a step back, and nodded in satisfaction.
"The neckline of this gown was a little bare—this pairs with it just right."
Hephaestus was left somewhat dazed. Her right eye looked at Haimer, blinking, as if she wanted to say something; she parted her lips.
In the end, she bit down hard on her lower lip, unable to keep her face from flushing, and looked away.
"Th-thank you...."
A tiny voice drifted out from Hephaestus's lips, so quick it almost seemed like an illusion.
Seeing Hephaestus's flustered state, Haimer didn't tease her any further. He waved a hand, signaling that they should catch up with the two who were still squabbling up ahead.
Seeing this, Hephaestus couldn't help letting out a relieved breath; nodding as she glanced at the necklace on her neck, she followed along.
Time slipped by bit by bit as they strolled.
The daylight grew brighter and brighter.
When the sun gradually climbed to its noon position.
Scene change.
At the base of the [Ganesha Familia].
——I am Ganesha.
A giant statue of Ganesha seated cross-legged.
This was the venue where the Denatus was held.
The entire Denatus was organized by the [Ganesha Familia].
By rights, in the past, there had always been gods who—whether due to all manner of trivial matters, factional conflicts, or simply finding it too much of a bother—would come up with every kind of excuse to skip the Denatus.
And since a large number of gods had departed recently, the Guild's upper echelons had even predicted that the turnout for this Denatus would absolutely hit a historic low.
Even the Guild personnel in charge of assisting had braced themselves for an empty venue.
However.
At this moment, it was the complete opposite.
The plaza before the [Ganesha Familia]'s base was now packed with a sea of heads.
Those gods who would normally make excuses to neglect the Denatus for various reasons—being absorbed in smithing, obsessed with brewing divine wine, or harboring serious conflicts with other gods—now all showed up one after another, as if by prior arrangement.
For instance, in one corner of the plaza.
The wine god of the [Soma Familia], who always shut himself away in the brewery, paying no heed to anything in the outside world—
the wine god Soma, his face veiled behind his long hair, had, against all expectation, actually stepped out of his base, standing alone and silent in the shadows without a single word.
Looking even further to the other side—
even the ruler of the Pleasure Quarter, Ishtar, the beauty goddess of the [Ishtar Familia]—who always paraded through the streets in a revealing, seductive manner, who was especially hostile toward Freya, and who never attended the Denatus—had come.
Character Details | Supporter | Stats
C [Queen of the Night] Ishtar ★★★★★★ Proficiency 60/60 Next: 0 Limit Break +
HP 554
Ability — Strength: C 244→140 (+0) | MP: E 244
Endurance: 114 (+0) | Physical Attack: D
Dexterity: 188→244 (+0) | Magic Attack: rank C
Agility: B 114→263 (+0)
Defense / Magic: C 244 (+0)
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