9 A talk with Hephi

Alvar looked at her expression and noticed that she was looking in his direction, but not directly at him. That's when he realized what she saw. She was able to see his armor. He was unsure if she could see everything or not, but this was still a cause for concern.

"Hephaestus," Alvar said, causing Hephaestus to snap out of her shock and look at him.

"If possible, can we talk in private?" he asked, glancing at Tsubaki.

Tsubaki wanted to say something when Hephaestus nodded.

"I'm sorry, Tsubaki, but could you leave us to talk?" Tsubaki hesitantly nodded and walked outside, leaving the two alone.

"Please, take a seat," Hephaestus said, pointing to the chair in front of her office desk.

Alvar took his seat and stared at Hephaestus for a moment before letting out a sigh. "What are you able to see?"

Hephaestus wryly smiled. "Only the outlines. All I can discern is that it is made out of unknown materials and that the craftsmanship is of divine tier."

Alvar breathed out. "Well then, this mask isn't necessary anymore since you are able to tell me a part either way."

'I didn't expect her divinity to be that strong even while sealed, but it should be fine. We are more or less the same in nature after all.' Alvar smiled as he took off his mask and removed the hair dye. He stood up and stretched his hand out for a handshake.

"My name is Alvar, a mortal. It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, leaving Hephaestus even more shocked. She absentmindedly reached out to shake his hand.

"...My name is Hephaestus, the goddess of the Hephaestus Familia," she said as she stared at Alvar, deep in thought.

They shook hands and sat down.

"I can't tell if you're lying to me... You have god-like equipment that I can't fully see... I highly doubt you are a mortal but I will ignore that for now." She rubbed her forehead.

"Might I ask why you came here?"

"I wanted to ask for a workshop," he said, leaving her more confused.

"A workshop?" Alvar nodded in response.

"I am a researcher and a craftsman at heart, but I am too poor to purchase a workshop of my own. So I came to you so that we can make some sort of deal." Alvar's calm smile still stretched across his face while this deal piqued Hephaestus' interest.

"...I am listening."

"I was mainly planning on giving you some materials every month for the workshop and your protection, mainly to keep all the annoying deities from snooping around in the future. But now I have a better idea." His smile grew wider as he stared at her eyepatch.

"Can I look at that eye of yours?" Hephaestus looked concerned, but she got caught up in Alvar's momentum.

Her brain couldn't keep up with all of this at the moment, so she slowly reached for her eyepatch and took it off, thinking that his face would turn into disgust. But instead, she saw a helmet... Her face turned into one of fear and fright, staring at his equipment's full glory. But after that, it all disappeared... No outlines nor armor, only Alvar and his current outfit were visible.

She couldn't even remember what it all looked like.

"That eye of yours is quite dangerous; I am assuming that's why everyone is afraid of it." He said, his smile never leaving his face. The only difference now is the look of curiosity on his face.

"...What is that armor of yours? And why does it make me feel so scared?" Her breathing is erratic. Alvar handed her a small glass bottle filled with a light purplish liquid.

"Drink this; it should help calm you down." She slowly nodded and drank a little bit first; the calming effect worked instantly as she drank the rest.

"It's a calming potion. And the armor gave off that effect because..." Alvar thought for a bit but then shook his head.

"Are you sure you want to know?" She nodded, curiosity also on her face.

"The reason you feel fear is that you felt the divinity from the armor; this in turn gave you a sense of fear." She was confused at first, but realization dawned on her.

"...Does that mean..." She briefly felt a sense of danger from the person in front of her before it disappeared.

The calming potion was still in full effect, lessening her sense of danger.

"It is made out of the blood and parts of those who wanted to kill me or those close to me. It was necessary to make this from where I came from. Do note that it was mostly made out of monster parts." Alvar's facial expression never changed, while on the inside he felt a sense of nostalgia for the past. That nostalgia quickly turned into anger that in turn got pushed back.

"...I see..." Hephaestus sighed, she was unsure of what to do currently.

"That aside, how did your eye end up like that?" Alvar asked as he stared at the eye; the area around the eye was burnt as the center of her eye had a flame flickering in it while the area around the flame seemed to have intricate lines that seemed to move and pulsate towards the flame.

 "I have to say, as a researcher, that eye of yours is quite beautiful." He said as he kept staring. Lost in thought.

"...I was born with the eye, but the more I started smithing and crafting items. The burning got worse. Other gods don't like my eye because they-"

"Feel vulnerable." Alvar cut in and smiled wryly afterward.

"Sorry for cutting you off. The only thing I can do is help you heal the burnt area. The eye itself can't be 'fixed' since there isn't anything to fix." Alvar said as he took out another potion.

This potion was in the shape of a sphere as golden strands were produced out of it so that it could stand. A bit of gold goes up the bottle till it reaches close to the top and stops near the cork, placed there to keep the liquid inside. The liquid itself is mostly red, while a mixture of purple is also mixed into the color.

"This is an omega healing potion... Don't question the name, I called it that when I was still young." He handed it to her, who shakily took the potion, uncorked the top, and took a sip. The taste filled her mouth as she continued to drink the rest. The burnt skin around her eye healed at a quick pace until there was nothing left to heal.

For the first time in a long while, she felt comfortable in her own skin. Alvar gave her a mirror that she looked into. The fire in her eye still flickers and burns brightly, yet nothing on her face burnt.

"The potion healed everything that was wrong with your body. When you were born, that eye shouldn't have harmed you since it was a part of you. So the potion fixed those inconsistencies." Alvar said with his usual smile on his face.

"No deity is 'perfect' at first, those born first are the unlucky few 'tests' that the world births to see how things should work out and to move on from there. Some of the first generations are luckier

 than others, with fewer inconsistencies. At least that is my theory.

"If you want, I can also make something that would make your eye look normal and limit its effects like that eye patch of yours."

"You can... make something like that?" She asked with disbelief and a hint of expectation in her voice.

"I can, but I want you to know that hiding that eye is the same as hiding a part of yourself, keep that in mind." She nodded slowly as she kept staring at the mirror, smiling a bit.

"So... you wanted a workshop?" Alvar nodded in return, deciding to change the subject with her.

"I am currently staying at The Hostess, so I want to be somewhere near there."

"Why not just move into the workshop? Staying at the hostess would only increase the chances of you being found out." She asked with a bit of confusion on her face.

Alvar was about to say something but instead stayed quiet for a bit to think about the answer.

"It gives me a sense of nostalgia. I was something akin to an adventurer in the past, and being able to return to a place filled with that same sense of joy, adventure, and stories is something that I don't wish to move away from anytime soon." He said as Hephaestus smiled at that, but a question popped up inside her mind.

"If you don't mind me asking but... Where are you from?" She had a feeling she knew the answer.

"A place called Terraria."

"Terraria..." She muttered and was about to ask something else when Alvar said.

"Does it matter?"

"...No, it doesn't." She sighed.

"I'd like it." She said with a small pause.

"That item to hide my eye."

Alvar nodded, "I'll get that made once I get that workshop,"

"Alright, I'll get all the suitable ones ready for you, then you can pick one you want out of the list. What are the specifications?"

"Three rooms, one for crafting and smithing, one for writing and documenting, and lastly the main room where people can buy the weapons. The smithing room should be big while the rest can be moderate-sized. The final specification is to be near the Hostess." Hephaestus nodded to that and wrote down the specifics.

"Alright, I'll get the list of available workshops ready and send them to you or you can come to pick them up tomorrow."

"I'll come back tomorrow, as for the materials, I can give you a batch of all the ones you already have with a couple of exclusive ones that shouldn't exist. In exchange, I would like to know of all the current smithing techniques that you use." Alvar wrote down the amount that he would be delivering.

"Don't worry about me running out of ores since I have ore trees... Don't ask." Alvar said he saw the concern on her face turn into confusion.

"It isn't necessary for all these metals and materials, fixing my eye is enough payment for a workshop and protection. Even if you want those smithing techniques, it won't amount to this much."

"I know."

"Then why give me all of this?"

"Because you remind me of myself... You are bored, aren't you?"

"..."

"I was the same, I already that I already found all of the metal combinations, I already maximized the efficiency in making items, already made all the armor types necessary, and even combined all their properties into one set. My nature and race can't really live without experimentation, research, and creation. When I saw you, I saw that same boredom and decided to give you something to play around with to elevate that boredom." Alvar said as he looked at the stunned Hephaestus.

"...You really are dangerous..." She mumbled quietly as she calmed down her heart.

"With that aside, can I look at your smithy? I am quite curious what it looks like." Alvar pretended not to hear her words and stood up from his seat.

"Sure, but I'd also like to look at yours when you get your workshop." She smiled as Alvar nodded with a chuckle.

"Can your heart take that shock?"

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"..." Tsubaki waited outside for a bit, thinking that the talk wouldn't take too long. But after an hour of waiting, she started getting bored and wanted to listen in on the conversation but couldn't hear anything at all.

"..." Her lips twitched as another hour passed and nothing happened.

'There is no way that that Cyrus guy would harm Hephaestus since that would anger the entire Orario...' She thought.

"They didn't forget about me... Right?" She thought as she began to get impatient.

After another hour passed she got pissed.

'They definitely forgot about me.' She barged inside and saw an empty office. Hearing noise from the side, she knew that they were at Hephaestus' forge.

'...Letting him inside your hidden forge aye? Hephaestus~'