endless path, infinite cosmos

chapter 50

Hephaestus was surprised at seeing the 'eternal flame' imbue a fragment of its essence into Vahn's heart. She could now feel the rhythm of his heartbeat gently echo within the interior of her soul. It was almost imperceptible, but when she focused she was easily able to detect its presence. Since the 'eternal spirit' was a part of her and had now imbued itself into Vahn, they now had a permanent connection with each other that could never be severed. This thought caused her own heartbeat to accelerate as she looked at the young boy that had introduced so much mystery and intrigue into her life.

Vahn could feel something within him draw his gaze towards Hephaestus. He saw her aura was gently radiating like the warm glow of the sun. It had a mellow yellow color tinged with pink. When he made eye contact, she gave the most radiant smile he had ever seen on her face...

//[Hephaestus]: Affection +8//

//[Hephaestus]: Affection has reached Affection:90[Fated Bond?], Intrigue:100[Overprotective]//

Within his mind, Vahn could see her affection update and the notification for the heart's desire quest now had two active notifications. Though he was confused about the sudden change in the situation, Vahn returned the smile since he was able to feel her care and concern and wanted to reciprocate the feelings.

---

After Vahn had subordinated the 'eternal flame', Hephaestus was relieved seeing that the core of the flame still existed within the forge. She would still be able to continue her livelihood in the future and had one fewer concern to deal with. Now she could focus her attention on resolving the biggest problem before her, dealing with Vahn's unique circumstances.

"Vahn, as we discussed previously, you need to protect your identity until you are strong enough to defend yourself against outside threats. Once you are exposed as a demi-god that can activate a pseudo-divine state, many Familia will actively try to get their hands on you. In the worst case scenario, they may even try to have you assassinated to prevent future troubles. I will do my best to protect you and provide support, but for now, I will leave your protection and training to my most trusted child, Tsubaki."

Vahn nodded his head and listened in silence. At this point, they were both sitting on the couch in her office, and they were in close enough proximity that he could feel the body heat radiating from her. To prevent himself from being distracted, he pushed his focus to the limits while trying to maintain his facial expression. Ever since the event with her Divinity earlier, Vahn was overly conscious of her presence.

As she continued explaining, Hephaestus started to blush slightly because she was able to feel Vahn's heartbeat accelerating. Though he was showing a stoic and honest appearance, she was aware he was putting a lot of effort into maintaining his demeanor.

"Tomorrow morning, I will accompany you to her residence. Once we arrive, I want you to live there from now on. She will be able to train you in smithing while helping improve your combat abilities. Since she is both a Master Smith and Level 5 Adventurer, she is the most qualified person in the City to help increase your strength. I have already let her know of our visit, and she has closed her workshop to all but her contracted clientele until you are capable of defending yourself."

Hearing that he would be staying with a master blacksmith and level 5 adventurer, Vahn was pretty excited. However, once he heard she would be closing her workshop to help him, Vahn began to worry. "Wouldn't it hurt her livelihood if she drops everything just to help me train? I'm capable of increasing my strength on my own, I don't want people to have to sacrifice their wellbeing at my expense."

In response to his concerns, Hephaestus covered her mouth and simply laughed. Vahn wanted to ask why she was laughing, but Hephaestus took the initiative in explaining. "Tsubaki has accumulated quite an amount of wealth over the years. If she wanted to she could retire at any time and live the rest of her life in luxury without any concerns. As one of the few Master Blacksmiths in the City, she can make several tens of millions of Valis on a single contract. Right now she manages seven active contracts and earns more than 300,000,000 Valis a year without having to leave her workshop."