(Hephaestus POV – Valka's Crimson Chamber)
'That black smoke… is it a spatial storage skill, or some part of his forging skill?' I wonder silently as the last of the materials vanish into it. My mind turns over possibilities, but I can't confirm any of them.
I glance sideways. Tsubaki's eyes glitter with the hunger of seeing something exciting. I know that look. She's already imagining how convenient such a skill would be. Expeditions would change overnight if we could store every last scrap of material. We could dive deeper, harvest more, return without needing to haul it all back…
Even I feel the temptation, enough to glance toward the smug Hestia lounging nearby. She catches my look and smirks knowingly, chin raised as if saying, that's my child, not yours. I huff a breath, half exasperated, half amused.
'Asking Hestia the Familia can take Riven on expeditions isn't unreasonable, is it? I don't Riven would mind if he's compensated, and Hestia would probably help me convince him.'
But my musings shatter the moment Tsubaki snaps forward, putting herself between me and Riven with startling speed. Her stance is sharp abd protective, like she's bracing for war.
I raise an eyebrow. "Tsubaki? What's wrong?"
Her one visible eye narrows on him. "I felt Riven use a lot of Mind. I'm just making sure you're safe if anything happens, Lady Hephaestus."
Her voice is calm but her body is primed for action. 'I don't think she actually expect Riven to attack me, but she won't take chances either.'
Riven exhales as though unaware of Tsubaki's unease, before a sly smirk tugs his lips.
"I'm done." He says casually.
I open my mouth to caution him against rushing the process when—
"Let me see! Let me see!" Hestia squeals, darting forward. She nearly bumps into Riven, eyes shining like a child begging for candy.
I catch the confident gleam in his eyes, and the corner of my lip curls despite myself. Then, instead of pressing, I murmur lightly, "Yes, Riven. Care to show us the finished product, if you truly think it's finished?" My words give him the chance to back out if he was bluffing and needs more time.
'Although, that'd be quite disspointing…' I sigh internally. 'I really hope he didn't cut any corners.'
But Riven only nods, raising his hand. The black smoke pours out once more, coiling and expanding, sculpting itself into a shape that makes my heart thunder as the haze slowly dissolves.
And then—
A greatsword gleams before us, and my eye goes wide.
Blue. A deep, heavy blue, shimmering with the metallic glow of pure adamantite. But laced through it are rivers of argent light—mithril. The two metals, merged seamlessly, running like veins of silver lightning across the blade.
My throat goes dry.
'That's… not possible.'
Adamantite is extremely hard to forge, much less making such diverse and fine ridges to pour Mithril into. And it's unlikely it was performed that way, given there aren't any deformations on the blade.
Beside me, Tsubaki's mouth hangs open, words lost. Any knowledge of smithing seemingly thrown out the window.
And before either of us can speak, Hestia cocks her head.
"Ohhh… so this is the sword?" She says, peering at it critically like she's judging fabric at a market… then, she nods. "It's really pretty! Just like our bracelets!" She lifts her wrist beside the blade, grinning at the comparison. "Maybe we can hang it up in our room as decoration? That'll really rub it in Loki's face. There's no way she has a prettier sword. Hah!"
I nearly choke. 'You'd use it as decoration?!'
The corner of my mouth twitches and I bite down a frustrated sigh and summoning all my willpower not to lash out. Instead, my voice grinds through clenched teeth. "...Riven. May I see the sword?"
Tsubaki's nod is frantic, her eagerness spilling where my composure holds.
"Sure thing." His tone is easy, but when he sets the weapon in my hands—
The weight, the balance, the harmony of metals that can't be forged together—
My fingers tremble as I trace the blade.
"It's…" The word slips out before I can stop it, breathless, reverent. "It's seems perfect."
The only thing stopping me from declaring it as such was me having been humbled a few minutes prior.
The chamber falls silent around me, save for the faint hum of divinity resonating from steel.
Tsubaki inhales sharply beside me, unable to resist. "This… this forging…" She steps closer, eye riveted to every seam. "It's flawless. No joints, no weakness… Lady Hephaestus, the two metals… how did he—"
"I don't know." I whisper, because I truly don't.
I even hesitate to correct Tsubaki when she marvels aloud at the blend of Adamantite and Mithril, biting my tongue before adding that there's a third metal at play, which is Seiros hidden within the intricate Mithril patterns—and perhaps even more that I haven't identified yet.
'If I'm wrong, it would be… humiliating.' I sigh inwardly, letting the thought go, and allow myself to simply admire the blade.
Riven, meanwhile, seems utterly unbothered by the reverence surrounding him. He drifts away from our scrutiny, speaking idly with Hestia. I catch fragments of their conversation. Something about using the sword himself, against larger monsters like orcs.
I glance up curiously. 'He's already planning to fight monsters that deep only a few days after receiving Falna?' My chest tightens, not with fear, but with a bewildered sort of respect. The more I learn of him, the less I understand.
Beside me, Tsubaki and I continue our quiet, feverish analysis, turning the blade over, hunting desperately for imperfections that simply aren't there.
(Riven POV – Valka's Crimson Chamber)
"I guess we can use it to decorate our room… if you don't mind me fighting orcs and infant dragons barehanded."
Hestia freezes, then pouts, her cheeks puffed and arms crossed like a sulking child. "That's not fair! It's too pretty to just… bash things with!" She huffs, and then turns away with an exaggerated sniff. "Fine! But you have to make me something even better next time!"
I blink at her, dumbfounded. 'What do you want? A sword forged out of Orichalcum just so you can show off to Loki?' The thought makes me groan inwardly. 'Maybe I'll just remake this one an inch longer. That technically counts as better, right?'
Still, I smile and bow my head slightly. "Sure thing, Goddess. One day, I'll make a better one." I say it seriously, because I know she'll never drop it otherwise.
Her eyes narrow. "...Something's suspicious."
"What do you mean?" I ask, genuinely confused. "You can tell I'm not lying."
She squints at me for a long moment, searching for some crack in my mask, but I keep my expression as sincere as possible. Eventually, she sighs in mock defeat. "Alright, fine. I'll believe you."
Her words drip with reluctant acceptance, but her smug little smile betrays her satisfaction. I stifle my laugh and let the atmosphere calm down.
When I look back, Hephaestus and Tsubaki are still locked on the blade like starving wolves. Their fingers trace every groove, every impossible seam, eyes shining with scholarly hunger.
And me? I feel nothing regarding the blade. No pride. No thrill. I don't even consider it my accomplishment, even if GS and Predator are parts of me.
'They'll never replicate it. Not with the method I used.' I sigh inwardly. 'Which makes all this dissecting feel… pointless.'
Hephaestus chooses that moment to lift her gaze to me, one eye gleaming with curiosity.
"What are you thinking about, Riven?"
I blink. 'Do the gods have some sort of divine intuition, or is her timing just cursedly good?'
"What makes you think I've got anything to say?" I counter lightly.
She smiles faintly. "Even if you're good at hiding your thoughts, staring silently at someone with that expression is enough to make them assume you do."
I quirk a brow. "Couldn't I just be waiting for you to finish your appraisal?"
She shakes her head. "No. You're not that impatient. So… was there something you wanted to say?"
I pause, then nod once. "You can tell, can't you? The sword, and the method I used, can't be replicated through smithing. So what's the point of studying it?" I ask, genuinely curious.
Her lips curve into a knowing, almost maternal smile. "We don't study to copy. We study to learn. Even if your method can't be reproduced, it may inspire a new one. A spark can become a fire in someone else's forge."
I stare at her for a long moment, and against my will, I feel the corner of my mouth twitch.
'…I can't help but admire that.'
So I let them be, letting their hungry curiosity burn while I turn back to Hestia.
Time slips by. Minutes stretch until we eventually reach half an hour, and they're still poring over the exact same section of blade, utterly absorbed.
Hestia, of course, has grown bored. She sulks dramatically, then plops herself in my lap without warning, curling up like a cat and nuzzling into my chest… and within minutes, she's fallen asleep. Hephaestus notices it, but chooses to ignore us.
I don't mind being a pillow for Hestia. If anything, I… enjoy it. But still—
'They're never going to finish, are they?'
"Lady Hephaestus." I sigh finally. "I don't think we're needed here. Would you like to keep the sword for the night?"
Without even glancing up, she answers, her tone firm. "Thank you for your consideration. We'll deliver it once we're finished."
I can only sigh. "Then we'll be leaving."
Carefully, I adjust Hestia in my arms, lifting her without waking her, and turn toward the door.
Hephaestus and Tsubaki don't even acknowledge us, lost in their obsession. 'But that's fine. I achieved what I came for.'
Hestia can now lock my Falna. And I can imbue items with Durandal.
'Hm. Could I just make a really sharp stick, enchant it with Durandal and call it a blade? Maybe I'll slice through Ais's Desperate with it, just to see her expression.'
The thought makes me chuckle to myself as I leave the forging room.
**************
A/N: Hello Everyone. How are you all? If you've enjoyed the chapter and book thus far, please consider leaving me some comments, reviews, or power stones. It really helps the book out.
So, let's jump right into the chapter (I'm so sleepy, so please forgive me😭).
I'm a bit unhappy with this chapter. Lots of things I wanted to do, but decided to abandon. I wanted to stretch Riven appreciatkng Hephy's passion, and turn that into some romance building, but no. I also wanted to maybe stretch the lap sitting and turn it into romance, but no.
I've realised trying to do everything in a day is tough, so I'll slow down and return to once every second day. As for other things, I wanted the spatial storage stuff to be more exciting, but didn't know how yet. They'll confirm its spatial storage, and there'll probably be more reactions there. As well as Hephy getting her chance soon.
I actually also want to confirm the love interests soon, so the voting on Discord and here (Patreon), should happen in a week or so. Please suggest characters to nominate. Other than a few popular ones, I suppose I won't add those who aren't nominated.
Then, I guess, I'll be doing more action soon. A bit of dungeon diving, before finalizing everything that's been set up these last few chapters (like the shop, the Familia home, Lili, etc.). So yeah, that's my plan.
You can also read 10 chapters ahead, and support me at [email protected]/AMV_WEAKLY
Anyway, that's all from me, hope you all have a great day/night 😁