CH. 468: Exclusive right

The first to appear was Hephaestus with her smiths, who wore her eyepatch. After all his hard effort, the goddess of smithy seemed scared to show her face. The sharp yet feminine face that could render mortal beauty irrelevant.

'I have to try harder.'

He shrugged and motivated himself to do better. It was short-sighted to assume he could solve her confidence issues in one sitting. She had lived for so long that any small change would take time. A lot of time, in fact. He was ready to invest however much she'd need.

Hephaestus' first course of action was sneaking a glance at Asahi, the man who loved to harass her but still deeply cared about her. The disappointment on his face puzzled her until she saw the object of his gaze—her eyepatch.

'No… don't think that. Please don't misunderstand.'

Hephaestus wanted to dissuade whatever doubts Asahi was having but she couldn't bring herself to speak about their private life in front of thirty plus people and her smiths. She would rather lead the people into the dungeon than show people about her budding relationship with Asahi.

It was impossible for the socially awkward goddess.

Astraea walked up to Hephaestus and pulled her inside the mansion. She closed the door to block any prying eyes. "Why do you look troubled? You aren't leaving without telling me."

Astraea was rather forceful. How could she not when she saw visible worries on Hephaestus's face?

"This." Hephaestus pointed at her eyepatch. "Asahi is sad that I'm still wearing it."

"I am also sad." Astraea rolled her eyes. "He did so much to treat you… and give you confidence. If anyone has the right to be disappointed, it's him."

Hephaestus scratched the back of her head. "I know, Astraea. I know. It's not what you think… I… I don't know how to say it."

The words on her tongue just wouldn't come out. She found it hard to admit that… she only wanted Asahi to see her face as an exclusive right for his help. She couldn't say that to the woman who was going to be Asahi's wife soon.

Astraea rubbed her head. "You can tell me when you feel ready."

In all honesty, Hephaestus wanted to give the relationship a try but felt afraid to take the first step. If Astraea supported her, she might be able to do it.

She just needed a last push.

"Astraeaaaaa." A wild Loki appeared to spoil the party. She hugged Astraea, pressing her petite body against mature Astraea. "Did Asahi go?"

Loki had become a completely different person once she started spending nights in the Stardust Garden. Come afternoon she became the playful head of her Familia. At mornings and nights, when she was fully wasted, she became a spoiled princess vying for Asahi's attention.

"He is outside."

"Great!" Loki stopped in her path to look at Hephaestus. "Fei Fei? Why the eyepatch, Princess?"

Hephaestus shook her head, clearly not in the mood to tussle with a drunk Loki. She exited the mansion and assumed a strict expression.

"Tsubaki, keep them in check."

Most of the blacksmiths in her Familia were hotheaded. Letting them grow was necessary but keeping them alive was a bigger priority. An adventurer relied on the dungeon for living. The smith could still earn a boatload and contribute to the Familia.

"Don't you worry, my goddess. I'll bring them all back even if it costs me my arm."

Asahi didn't bother correcting Tsubaki. The looming threat would force them to push themselves harder. He felt a bit guilty to leave Saeko to look after all of them. But she was the most capable in the family.

"Saeko, I'll leave them to you."

Saeko nodded, giving a pleasant smile. "Shiori will join me after she finishes with the store duty."

In Yuriko's absence, Shiori had taken up the manager's duty. Yuriko was still messing around in Klyscha's dreamworld to test her powers. That was precisely why Ddraig hadn't spoken a word. The dragon became a perfect candidate to test the 'destructive power' of Yuriko's spells.

Saeko unsheathed her katana and slashed, cutting the space apart. A vertical rift opened like the eye of a reptile; the same one which Saeko used to throw Grim Reapers around. With an abundance of KP, Klyscha gave Saeko a special katana to teleport the men around. A handy tool that worked best as a makeshift transportation device.

The mysterious rift got a quick reaction from everyone. Saeko didn't bother reacting to any comment and went through the rift.

"Oi, don't act like fools," Tsubaki hollered and jumped after Saeko. The smiths followed the Captain of their Familia.

Kaguya walked to Asahi's side and hugged his arm. "Let's hope they keep that enthusiasm after Saeko's lessons."

"I'd bet on no," Asahi said.

Loki came out of the mansion and helped her Familia. Riveria and Finn went through the supplies for the umpteenth time. After confirming the sharpness of their weapons and the count of their arrows, Riveria walked to Asahi.

"Everything's good on my side."

"So diligent." Asahi smiled and glanced at Aimi. "Take care of them."

Aimi gave a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Yes, Asahi-sama."

She took out a golden dagger and twisted it in the air. The simple action gave way to a rift similar to the one Saeko's katana created. Aimi walked in, followed by Riveria and Finn as well as the rest of their Familia.

Except for Ais who smiled as she gazed at Riveria's back. While Asahi prayed for the high elf princess' safety, Ais hoped that Riveria got traumatized by this training. In the same vein as her trauma for water.

At that moment, everything became still as water. Even the birds stopped chirping on the trees.

Freya had arrived, silencing everything with her charm.

***

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