After a long and surprisingly honest conversation with Ddraig, the lingering tension between Akira and the dragon finally began to lt away. The old grudge that once sat between them was fading—bit by bit.
Once he finished getting dressed and freshened up, Akira realized that Hephaestus was nowhere to be seen—not in the living room, not in the kitchen, nowhere.
But it was still early in the morning. It wasn't like she'd gone out or anything.
Knock, knock, knock...
With a small sense of anticipation in his chest, Akira gently knocked on Hephaestus' bedroom door.
The sudden knocking made the goddess freeze in place, still wrapped tightly in her blankets like a cocoon.
"W-What is it?"
Her voice ca from behind the bed, calm on the surface—but internally, she was flailing in panic. She was a goddess! She had to stay composed. This wasn't the ti to act like so love-struck teenager.
Outside the door, Akira smiled faintly. Good. She was ho.
After the showdown with Ottar yesterday and the brutal struggle in the Dungeon before that, he was confident his status had gone through a massive update.
"Hephaestus, I want to update my Falna."
"Now? Uhh... I haven't even gotten up properly yet. Just wait a little longer, okay?"
She tried to dodge his request with a gentle excuse. Honestly, she was in no shape to et him face-to-face right now—not after what happened last night.
Unfortunately for her, Akira was not the type to take no for an answer.
Click.
Completely ignoring her polite rejection, Akira pushed the door open.
"It'll just take a minute, Hephaestus. I'll be quick, promise."
As the door creaked open and his footsteps approached, the goddess nearly leapt out of her skin.
"W-Wait—! Don't—!"
Too late.
By the ti she finished her sentence, Akira had already stepped inside.
Their eyes t.
To Akira, it was nothing special—just Hephaestus looking a bit flushed, which, honestly, made her even more attractive.
But for Hephaestus… that brief glance hit her like a lightning bolt.
Her thoughts imdiately spiraled back to the night before.
To what she had done.
With her own hands.
And then… with her lips...
Just rembering it made her want to vanish into another dinsion.
What was she thinking last night? How could she go that far?!
Fwoop.
Startled by the swirl of thoughts, Hephaestus yanked her blanket up and buried her entire head inside.
"Feeling embarrassed, huh, Hephaestus?"
"Wh-Who's embarrassed?! I'm a goddess! I don't get flustered over silly little things like this! I've seen… l-lots of things like that before!"
Her muffled voice ca from under the blanket, trying way too hard to cover up her panic.
"I didn't say anything about what happened last night. You're the one who just spilled everything, Hephaestus."
"Mmmpf—!"
An awkward groan leaked from under the covers.
Even Akira couldn't believe what he was seeing. This was Hephaestus, after all.
The ever-calm, composed goddess of the forge—reduced to a blushing ss over a simple conversation.
This was… kind of fun.
Swish!
Driven by equal parts mischief and curiosity, Akira grabbed the edge of the blanket and yanked it off in one smooth motion.
And there she was.
Hephaestus, in nothing but her thin undergarnts, sitting upright in bed—her mature, elegant figure practically glowing in the morning light.
Akira's brain blanked for a second.
He did not expect this kind of divine blessing today.
"W-What are you trying to do?!"
Her voice was flustered, angry, embarrassed—and sohow still adorable. Her entire face was flushed a deep scarlet.
"Nothing... I just wanted to see your expression a little more clearly. I've never seen the great Goddess Hephaestus flustered before."
"I told you—I'm NOT flustered! I'm a goddess!"
"Alright, alright~ Then, how about this? As a reward for risking my life yesterday to protect you, can I get a divine blessing... in the form of a kiss?"
"A kiss? Th-That's... that's... Wait—Mmmph?!"
Before she could finish her sentence, Akira leaned forward and captured her lips in a soft, sudden kiss.
Hephaestus froze.
Her hands instinctively reached up to push him away… but for so reason, they stopped halfway. Her strength failed her.
The air in the room grew heavy, thick with tension and sothing else—sothing intimate. The mont stretched on, longer than either of them expected.
Minutes passed.
Ten, to be exact.
"Haaah..."
Finally, Akira broke the kiss with a slow breath.
He wiped his lower lip with his thumb, only to find a trail of fresh blood.
"Geez, Hephaestus... Don't you think biting was a little excessive?"
"You've got so nerve! Barging into my room, kissing without permission—and for that long, too! You've gone too far!"
"But... didn't you kiss back just now? Why'd you bite at the end?"
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!"
Now she was well past flustered. Hephaestus grabbed a nearby pillow and hurled it at him with all her might.
Still, from a certain angle... her reaction didn't feel like pure anger.
It felt like frustration. At herself.
Because deep down, she hadn't really resisted him. She even responded. And that realization only made her angrier—with herself.
She was a goddess! Why was she constantly getting pushed around by this ridiculous man?
Shouldn't she be the one on top?
"So, Hephaestus… does this an we're officially a couple now? I an, you did take responsibility for last night..."
"W-Who said anything about being your lover?! That was an ergency procedure—purely to save your life! Don't think you've won over with sothing like that!"
"But usually, only a lover or wife would help a man with sothing that personal. So doesn't that an you—"
"YOU REALLY WANT TO DIE TODAY, HUH?!"
Her divine fury exploded once again. She practically lunged at him this ti, ready to silence him permanently.
Akira wisely zipped his mouth shut and retreated to a safe distance. He quietly sat down, content to just enjoy the heavenly view in front of him.
Because truly, this was a rare sight.
A private, intimate scene of the great Goddess Hephaestus—in full embarrassed-girlfriend mode.
Still fuming, the goddess started putting on her clothes, completely forgetting Akira was still there. She moved with flustered frustration, muttering under her breath the entire ti.
And Akira?
He watched with a soft smile on his face.
Because no matter how much she denied it, sothing had changed.
She no longer saw him as just a mber of her Familia.
To Hephaestus now, Shin Akira was soone far more important—
The only man who had ever broken through the armor around her divine heart.
If phones existed in this world, Akira would've snapped a picture of this mont without hesitation.
Today, in this quietly chaotic morning light, the bond between a goddess and her Familia child had clearly taken a step deeper than either of them expected.
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