CH. 348: Fire

Hephaestus threw her leg across the other and sharpened her gaze on the redhead goddess. "I said your order will be done in a week. Don't pester me every day."

Loki chuckled at the duo. "I came here to see this fluffy li'l thing."

She pushed a sweet candy to lure Chiaki, who was sitting on Hephaestus's shoulder. The fairy crossed her arms and humphed as though trying to appear intimate.

Hephaestus's smile softened a bit. "Liar, you want me to take over the order."

She knew many sides of Loki. As cunning as a woman Loki was, she cared too much for her Familia. This made everything more annoying for Hephaestus since she couldn't hate her for this.

Loki clicked her tongue. First Asahi, now Hephaestus. When did she become so easy to read?

"Trust Tsubaki, would you? Her techniques are second to none among my children."

Cyclops wasn't better than Hephaestus in techniques, but she was an adventurer. Where Hephaestus's strength was ordinary, Tsubaki could crush the strongest of metal under her hammer. Hephaestus was restricted by her strength.

"I do trust her," Loki sighed. "But she's too busy with her last orders. She oughta take a couple of weeks to do them."

Freya will catch up with her by then. She wanted her Familia to explore the 60th floor before Freya. Getting the Goddess of Beauty tangled with the corrupted spirit's problem was the last thing she wanted. She took Ais out of the dungeon, so it was her problem to deal with.

'Asahi must be finished with sixtieth already.'

How she envied his strength and the freedom it brought. It could be the reason she made the offer to become his. Matters such as love and affection weren't for her.

"I can't help with that."

Hephaestus shrugged and took a tiny chunk from a sweet to feed Chiaki. As the fairy bit into the sweet, a strand of crimson hair stood upright on her head. She covered her head in panic before she dove in the sea of crimson hair—Hephaestus' hair in other words.

"What happen—"

Her words remained stuck in her throat when a glowing magic circle appeared on the floor. Asahi and his maid teleported as if the rules of space and time meant nothing to him. Asahi cupped his maid's face and gave her a lingering kiss that made Hephaestus uncomfortable. The blatant show of affection was a deadly blow to her single self, giving her a wake-up call about her lonely romantic life.

'This man is… the worst.'

Hephaestus glanced at Loki, only to find the redheaded goddess staring at Asahi. Her eyes were open like any ordinary mortal. It only happened when the goddess was in utter shock—it happened the day Loki descended and found the amazing entertainment mortals provided.

'Why is she shocked?'

Hephaestus couldn't understand her friend-cum-rival anymore.

"Take care of yourself," Asahi said as he gently rubbed Grayfia's face. She was going to become a mother, so warning her about this was a good start.

'I can't believe she'd rest once her belly swells.'

The devil maid might need some spanking to cure her workaholic condition.

"Bye, My Lord."

She vanished with her magic circle.

Asahi turned around and revealed a wide smile at the two women. "Sorry for showing that. Chiaki, come out. How dare you abandon me!"

Chiaki poked her head out of Hephaestus' hair. With a sheepish smile, she pinched her ears as though apologizing for not returning yesterday. Hephaestus fed her so much that she fell asleep around her. Hephaestus' fire made her too comfortable, even more than Asahi's warmth.

"Jeez, I was joking. Come here."

She flew towards him and obediently settled her tiny butt on his palm. "Did you have fun?"

She glanced at Hephaestus and nodded her head. "Un!"

Asahi couldn't wait for the day she started talking. He could already imagine her cute, childish voice.

"Asahi, stop ignorin' me?" Loki growled, squinting her eyes again. "I'm also here."

"I didn't ignore you," he said and rubbed her head. "Happy now?"

He, of course, remembered to restrain his power, or Loki would become the second woman to fall prey to his hands today.

Loki looked up at him, a frown apparent on her face. The fuzzy feeling in her head was the result of a skill.

Whatever it was, she knew one thing.

It felt damn good!

Hephaestus blinked her eyes in surprise. "Loki?"

"Don't disturb me." Loki was going to see how good it could make her feel. "Is this the best?"

Asahi raised his brow at her challenge. "Are you sure about that?"

A provocative grin danced on Loki's lips. "Do your worst."

In the worst-case scenario would be a ticklish feeling, or so she thought.

Asahi smirked and poured a tiny bit of mana into his hands. His hand grew warmer, and a jolt of electricity traveled down her body. She gasped as tears gathered in the corner of her eyes. Fire bloomed in her heart, slowly making its way down.

'What?!'

Despite asking that, she found it unable to resist the urge to rub her thighs as though trying to scratch the itch deep within.

"Ummmm."

The smell of her arousal was getting thicker with each stroke that hit her head. He could definitely make her mad enough to start masturbating right here and now.

'I'm a gentleman.'

He leaned down, brushing his cheeks with her. "Is this enough?"

His playful voice roused her from her fantasies. She grabbed her right hand that was about to enter her shorts and glared up at him. Despite the fact he saved her from humiliating herself before Hephaestus, her heart wasn't relieved. Something inside her was curious about the limits of his ability. How far could he take her? Could he make her orgasm without going anywhere near her stimulative zones?

"No." She grinned. "I want to see more."

Asahi forgot he wasn't dealing with a normal woman here. She was Loki, a goddess who knew no shame and embarrassment.

Hephaestus watched the whole drama with her arms folded on her chest. With her right eye, she saw the strange white energy in Asahi's hand when he patted Loki's head. It had a similar aura to a goddess she knew all too well.

'Freya… Asahi has divinity related to sex.'

A doubt arose in her chest.

'Is this why Astraea fell for him? Is this why I feel comfortable around him?'

Her eyes sharpened in an instant. Even if Asahi saved Astraea's Familia from the jaws of death, Hephaestus didn't approve of the use of divinity for making her friend fall. She never poked her nose in others' business, for it brought nothing but trouble. But she couldn't stay idle if she felt that her friend might be getting manipulated.

'I'm sorry, Asahi and Astraea.'

A sincere apology echoed in her heart. If her suspicions turned out to be wrong, she'd lower her head and apologize to him for this mistake, but she won't let it turn into a regret. She had seen many goddesses ruined in love, for love, by love. She will never let Astraea fall into a similar state.

For the first time in years, the fire in her heart burned for something other than forging weapons.