Chapter 22: Weapon Plans (2)

AN: I hate no, rather I dislike work I can't I say I hate it as that's too strong of a word. However, it has been tiring me out.

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Du~Du~

The knocking of the door quickly made me and Artemis quit goofing around. The door opened, and the person knocking revealed themselves; it was Hephaestus with an eyepatch around her right eye. Its size covered most of the right side of her face. She is the same height as Artemis, standing at 5'5", and her skin was slightly tan.

Similarly, like Artemis, she was blessed in all aspects of being a woman but instead gave off more of a strong-willed aura compared to Artemis's original refined aura. She was also wearing a white dress shirt with the buttons slightly unbuttoned on top, giving a good sight for any eyes that lay upon her chest. Her red eye and hair looked dull, but maybe that was due to a lot of work stressing her out!

"Good morning, Hephaestus!" Artemis became all cheery, which to me didn't seem all that weird, but at Hephaestus's face scrunched up. 'Did she sense Artemis's intentions?' I thought, but I couldn't be too sure as the Artemis I was familiar with wasn't very fond of men, so seeing me next to her probably seemed very weird to Hephaestus.

"I heard that you were warming up to men, and now there are even rumors that you've finally experienced the bedroom. I can't say I blame you if I had someone like him at my side!"

Me: 0_0 ---> 'I can't believe she just went straight to the point.' I looked over towards Artemis, and her face was a new shade of red I hadn't even heard of.

"I-I haven't l-lost t-that yet! So, don't say anything more, or I'll take my once-in-a-lifetime offer away!" Artemis tried to sound threatening, but to both Hephaestus and me, it wasn't convincing, considering her stutter and red face.

"Is that why you've asked for a meeting? No offense, but I highly doubt you can help me."

'Ah. Hephaestus is egging Artemis on to try and get an advantage in the negotiation! I should take over before Artemis actually does something stupid. I doubt though that Hephaestus will stay calm after hearing our plan!'

"Ahem!" I coughed loudly, gathering the attention of both women. 'I'll just get straight to the point.'

"Hephaestus, we came with a request, and honestly, it's way too expensive, but we can fix that eye of yours as one form of compensation." I dropped the bombshell and let it sink in. The room became so silent that you could hear a pin drop!

The red-haired goddess's mouth opened and closed, with her face showing signs of anger, hope, and conflict. I can understand hope and conflict, but I didn't understand the anger part! 'Was I too straightforward?'

Artemis didn't say anything. As for why, I don't know, but I'm sure she understands Hephaestus's struggles more than me, as both are women and divine beings. I figure the struggle comes more from being a woman than necessarily a goddess, but I'm not either, so whatever! I just need the weapon made. Wait a second...

'Does Hephaestus feel the same connection that Artemis feels towards me?! Isn't this a perfect time to get some answers?!' I observed her every reaction and action. We made eye contact a few times, but never did she flinch or turn away, unlike Artemis! This woman didn't even seem affected by anything else but what she just heard.

'It's a little too early to make a call, but Hephaestus doesn't seem to be affected by the same connection. I'll figure out more when I cure her, but if this really is the case, then I figure that whatever this connection is with Artemis, it should really relate to the Six Eyes and not to me specifically.'

Obviously, I wouldn't get all the answers through mere observations since Hephaestus isn't anything like Artemis personality-wise, but I felt there should have been some visible sign. I didn't let anyone notice anything strange and kept my composure. My answers would come in due time, after all.

"Are you serious?" The red-haired goddess stared us down, or more specifically, stared me down. She tried acting imposing and all that, but against someone like me who had obtained some traits from the King of Curses, that didn't affect me one bit. Just natural confidence when you know you can at least send her back to heaven easily!

I nodded at her words though. I didn't need unnecessary drama and theatrics.

"Do it, and I'll give you a 90% discount on whatever it is you need!" She exclaimed with a lot of hope and desperation lacing her voice. This curse did more damage to her mentally than one could realize from just hearing about it!

Artemis stepped in before I could respond, "I wouldn't be so loose with that promise before you hear what he needs! It's quite the concept, and honestly, you are the only one that could create something like what he designed."

"It can't be that hard. He clearly isn't a blacksmith, and I doubt he has much understanding of advanced runes." Hephaestus bluntly insulted my intelligence, which is fair when you remember what I look like, but still, she didn't need to say all that!

"Sure, I don't, but I still have a brain with a vision. This weapon of mine is the vision I need materialized!" I handed her a bunch of notes that were written in the basic language of the world. I had to do some translating, but everything I wanted is still on there. A bundle of 54 pages of everything I could possibly make work and that would be able to adapt to myself!

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AN: I'm trying to catch up guys. You may see an influx of releases but with work and all that you guys can understand ;-; Anyways thanks for reading and sorry you guys have to bare with slow releases.