"You brat… since when can you forge something this precious—magic tools like this?"
Hephaestus handed the talisman back to Takumi, her expression full of disbelief.
Turns out she still understood far too little about him. A once-in-a-millennium, born hero… was there anything he couldn't do?
In response to her questioning, Takumi casually demonstrated the process.
Watching him forge it, Hephaestus looked even more stunned.
"Directly rewriting the structure of matter… creating something from nothing…? If I didn't use divine power, even I couldn't pull off something on this level."
Seeing Takumi casually handcraft artifacts like it was nothing genuinely shook her.
This was an absurd natural-born forging genius—honestly, the kind of talent that should've been her familia's pride and joy.
"Hephaestus! Takumi-kun is my kid!"
Noticing her best friend's obvious bad intentions, Hestia immediately jumped in to block.
Unfortunately, with her tiny body bouncing in place, the only truly threatening thing about her was the way her big, stimulating curves jiggled when she got worked up—otherwise, she was just… cute.
Hephaestus pressed Hestia down with one hand, deadpan and exasperated—though, in her heart, she really was a little guilty.
Because yeah… she'd absolutely had the thought. What if I stole him?
The regret hit hard.
Damn it—why didn't I open my mouth earlier?
Hephaestus wanted to slap herself twice. She could only sigh.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Takumi is your kid. I'm not fighting you for him. But he's got insane potential. If he's willing, I can teach him some forging techniques."
She looked straight at Takumi and tossed the decision to him.
Faced with a forging goddess offering unconditional benefits, Takumi nodded immediately.
"That'd be amazing—thank you. I'd love to learn!"
A forging goddess's craft? You'd be crazy not to take that deal.
What Takumi did was less forging and more creating, but there was still overlap. If learning actual technique could sharpen and strengthen his creation… why wouldn't he?
Seeing how quick he was to say yes, Hephaestus smiled with visible pride.
Hestia pouted, jealous as hell.
But after a few seconds, she exhaled and—somehow—looked like she'd made peace with it.
Because at the end of the day, Takumi was the one benefiting.
If it helped him grow… then fine. She could sacrifice a little.
Even if watching her best friend and her precious kid get close was—was—was—
…Ughhhh!!
The more she thought about it, the more it felt like she was getting NTR'd.
Tears welled in Hestia's eyes as she looked up at Takumi, all pitiful and green with jealousy.
Takumi's face twitched.
"I haven't even done anything yet—why do you look like you're about to cry? Come on. You know you're still my favorite goddess~~"
He pulled Hestia into his arms, grinning, and slid his hand over her butt in a teasing squeeze.
"Mmnh…!"
Hestia let out a soft whimper, her cheeks going bright red as her body melted into him.
That immediately made Meteria jealous.
But before she could act, Takumi leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips.
They'd kissed plenty of times before.
But Meteria remembered clearly—this was the first time Takumi had initiated it.
A sweetness hit her that felt different than usual—warmer, more intoxicating—sending her heart fluttering hard.
"Takumin…"
Meteria's eyes shimmered, her voice turning soft and sultry without her even realizing it.
Takumi winked at her, then smoothly passed the limp, flustered Hestia into Meteria's arms.
"Meteria, Haruhime—Hestia's yours. I'm heading out for a bit!"
And with that, he straight-up bailed.
Hearing Takumi call her by name like that, Meteria didn't get mad—she actually smiled, sweet as honey.
Watching from the side, Hephaestus could only mutter, "…filthy pervert."
Still, the thought of teaching him forging later lifted her mood.
When the time came, she'd use her top-tier skills to thoroughly conquer him.
Even if Takumi never joined her familia, building a close relationship like that was more than enough.
Not long after Takumi left Hephaestus's shop, he was immediately swarmed by passersby.
"Takumi—thank you for saving me! This is just a little fruit from our family, please take it!"
"Takumi, do you have a girlfriend?!"
"Would you consider joining our familia?"
The crowd included starry-eyed fangirls and gods trying to recruit him.
Standing in the center of all that enthusiasm, Takumi felt his head start to ache.
They weren't malicious—half of them were just grateful, and the rest were gods.
He couldn't exactly use something like dream magic to mess with their minds and make them leave.
Just as Takumi was about to use a force to break out—a soft, delicate hand grabbed his.
In the next moment, Takumi met the elegant, breathtaking face of a girl.
"Ais?"
"Come with me."
Ais only said three words, then dragged Takumi through the crowd.
The two of them sprinted down the street and vanished from sight—moving fast enough that the mob could only stare.
They didn't stop until they reached a quiet forest with no one around.
Ais finally released him.
Takumi smiled brightly at the stunning girl in front of him.
"Thanks, Ais. I was about two seconds away from getting trapped in that mess."
"No problem. You looked like you were really struggling, so I pulled you out."
After that ordinary exchange, silence fell.
To keep it from getting awkward, Takumi asked, "So… why'd you bring me here?"
Ais stared at him for half a second, then parted her lips and spoke in the same calm, even tone.
"I want to get stronger. So I want to know how you got strong."
Ever since their first meeting, Ais had kept Takumi in the back of her mind.
And during the war with the Evilus remnants, she'd seen him like a star—bright enough to burn into her vision.
He'd faced down a tyrant head-on.
He'd turned the entire battle around by himself.
There was no doubt about it.
The Takumi standing in front of her was the kind of hero that only existed in the storybooks she'd read as a child.
And with that hero standing so close, something deep inside Ais pushed her forward—almost instinctively.
She hadn't even waited for Loki to update her status.
She'd slipped away and come looking for him.
And just now, she'd happened to run into him at the perfect moment—and brought him here.
This was the place she usually came alone to train.
Normally, no one passed through here.
Looking at how pure and blunt her request was, Takumi asked softly, "You want to get stronger?"
"Yes."
"You want me to teach you how?"
"Yes."
Takumi's lips curled into a devilish smile.
"Alright. I'll teach you."