( Yuuki's POV )
The goddess Hephaestus already knew us, so when we arrived at her base we were guided directly to the goddess's office, Upon entering, I encountered the same two women as the other day; Hephaestus was sitting at her desk and Tsubaki was on the floor using Sif as a giant pillow.
Hephaestus: Well, this is an unexpected combination. How come you're with Yuuki, Hestia?
Hestia: Hey, what do you mean by that?
Yuuki: I met her under similar circumstances to yours.
Hephaestus: I see. I'm glad you're well, but you shouldn't be working. You haven't forgotten your debt, have you?
Hestia: uhg Of course not, I was about to go.
Yuuki: Wait, Grimm will stay with you for protection.
Hestia: eh who?
When I mentioned the name of our family's guardian, Hestia was somewhat confused, but that changed to surprise when the dark hound Grimm emerged from my shadow.
Hephaestus: How many powerful creatures are at your disposal?
Yuuki: Only four more. You can leave now. Grimm will keep you safe.
Grimm jumped into Hestia's shadow, then she prepared to leave but when she turned around, Hephaestus looked at her back and frowned, she could see at once that she was under the special effects of Hydra's weapons, and when Hestia left the room, Hephaestus spoke to me.
Hephaestus: ...Is Hestia in danger?
Yuuki: No more than you or other Hydra-targeted gods. They wouldn't risk attacking someone near me after all the agents they lost the other night.
Hephaestus: You keep yourself busy, and if Hestia is as lively as ever, I suppose I don't have much to worry about.
Yuuki: That's true, by the way, has there been any progress on what I asked you for?
Hephaestus: There has been. Tsubaki is about to pay a visit to the house of a possible suspect.
Yuuki: I'll go with her then.
Hephaestus: Thank you, that will make me feel better.
Tsubak: Let's not waste any more time then, let's go.
When Tsubaki stood up, Sif transformed into her puppy form and jumped on my head, we left the Hephaestus Familia base and moved away from the busy area of the city, curious about the person we were going to visit, I questioned Tsubaki.
Yuuki: So who is the suspect we're looking for?
Tsukiumi: He is an old, mostly retired blacksmith who specializes in magical weapons.
Ryuu: mostly retired?
Tsukiumi: When you dedicate your life to a craft, you never really leave it; he continues creating weapons to this day, and sometimes he takes special commissions.
Yuuki: I understand that feeling; I regularly find myself thinking about the next weapon I'm going to create.
Tsubaki: Oh, I didn't know you were a blacksmith too. I'm curious about what someone like you can create.
Yuuki: I have something with me, it's not finished yet but you can have an eye full on it.
Ryuu gave me a sideways glance for the words I chose to use with the woman with an eyepatch, but I didn't pay attention to it; Tsubaki seemed entertained by it though.
Then I took out a black gauntlet from my storage, which was a sacred gear I was working on for Saji, and the moment she took it, her lively attitude changed to a completely serious one, she inspected the gauntlet very carefully; I suppose it was to be expected that a blacksmith could appreciate the quality of that sacred gear.
Tsubaki: ...What did you use to create this?
Yuuki: That's a quality piece, don't you think? I can show you more, but we'll have to leave that for later. We're on a mission.
When Tsubaki returned the gauntlet to me, she quickened her pace, wanting to finish this task as soon as possible. We followed behind her, and Ryuu whispered to me as we were walking.
Ryuu: Is this also part of your plan?
Yuuki: Yeah, on the path to true strength you can't forget to have the right weapon. I'll have to give them a push here too.
Tsubaki took us further and further away from the city to a place as secluded as our base, as we approached a solitary workshop/shack, I knew we were in the right place because I was feeling Hydra's energy signature in the air, but these were not the barriers I had encountered on previous occasions.
Tsubaki approached the door and knocked, but no one answered, she tried knocking again, but when there was still no response, I kicked the door open, with one glance to the other side of the door we realized that something was wrong, the place was a mess.
Ryuu: Was this place attacked too?
Yuuki: The door was closed and there were no signs of forced entry; I would say someone left this place in a hurry.
We conducted a thorough investigation; Ryuu found several empty crates ready for transport, and Tsubaki confirmed that the forge and tools on site had been recently used, aside from that, we didn't find any more clues, but it was safe to say that the weapons Hydra was using came from this place.
We returned with Hephaestus and she pondered the information we had given her.
Hephaestus: umm It is possible that the old blacksmith is being forced to forge weapons for the enemy.
Yuuki: Or perhaps he is a true believer in the cause; either way, he is necessary to them, so he is not in danger, at least for the moment.
Hephaestus: ...What are you going to do now?
Yuuki: I'm going to put the final pieces of my plan in place and let Hydra fall into the trap. Other than that, I'm going to enjoy my time in the city.
Hephaestus: Well, if there's anything else we can do, let me know.
Yuuki: Oh, I'll do it, don't worry.