Danmachi: Hephaestus is my Wife

When I got home, I went straight to my room. It was already nighttime, and I just wanted to shower so I could go to sleep. For some reason, I felt exhausted. I need a skill that improves my stamina.

I walked through the hallways, making a list of what I needed to do tomorrow in my mind.

I could keep training to forge better armor, but that wouldn't help me improve. So, I decided to forge just one sword or piece of armor per day and then head to the dungeon.

That's the ideal place to increase my rank.

I earn far more points farming ores and defeating bosses than I do by forging weapons.

It would be different if the system gave me a big bonus for each item I forged, but that's not the case.

When I reached my room, I opened the door. Hephaestus was lying on the bed, waiting for me. I thought she would be working late again, but that wasn't the case.

"You got back later than I expected," she said with a smile.

"I spent too much time talking and ended up staying there longer than I planned."

"So, how was it?" Hephaestus sat up and approached me. She was wearing a light white shirt and just a pair of panties. I glanced at her thighs and started feeling a little excited. Hephaestus placed her hands on my chest and then kissed my lips.

When our lips parted, she started sniffing me.

Sniff~~

Sniff~~

After taking two sniffs, she looked into my eyes.

"What's this?" she asked.

"What?" I was confused for a moment, but when I heard her next words, I understood why she was bothered.

"This smell… Isn't this a woman's perfume? Why do you smell like a woman?"

"Ais, Tiona, and Tione were there, didn't I tell you?"

"I know that! But why is their perfume on your clothes?"

"I don't know. I didn't even touch them."

"..." Since I was telling the truth, Hephaestus calmed down. "I know you're not lying, but I still don't like it. Go take a shower and change your clothes."

"I was going to do that anyway."

Still a bit annoyed, Hephaestus lay back down while I headed to the bathroom.

I took a hot shower, put on clean clothes, and then climbed into bed.

"Hey, are you mad?"

"I'm not mad."

"Your expression says otherwise. You're definitely mad. I didn't do anything, okay? Why would I look at another woman when I have you?"

"I know you wouldn't, but it still bothers me."

"You're being really jealous." I got under the covers like Hephaestus and hugged her from behind. "You don't need to be jealous. I'd never betray you. I only have eyes for you," I whispered in her ear.

Hephaestus turned to look at me.

"I trust you. I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize. I know it's hard not to be jealous of such a handsome and amazing man like me."

"..." Hephaestus was speechless for a moment before turning away. "Arrogant idiot."

"But am I not handsome and amazing? Hahaha." I hugged her and laughed.

"... Yes, you are handsome."

"And amazing?"

"I'll only call you amazing when you become the best blacksmith in the Familia like you promised."

"Are you serious?"

"Of course not. You are amazing—the most amazing man in the world, and that's why I chose you to be by my side."

Hephaestus turned to look at me again, this time with deep affection in her eyes.

I felt my heart race and suddenly got flustered.

"Why are you embarrassed now? Didn't you want to hear that?"

"I'm not embarrassed," I replied.

"Hahaha, you are embarrassed~~ You're so cute."

"I'm going to sleep." I turned to the other side, and this time, Hephaestus hugged me from behind. She wrapped her leg around me and pressed herself against me.

"Good night," she whispered in my ear, sending a shiver through my body.

"Good night."

####

When I woke up the next morning, Hephaestus was no longer in bed. I washed my face and headed to the dining room for breakfast. As soon as I walked in, Nina greeted me with a smile.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I had a great night."

"You look happy. What happened?"

"I had a conversation with Hephaestus last night that made me really happy. I guess I'm just really in love."

"That's adorable."

Nina walked closer and served me breakfast—toast with red jam. For drinks, there was tea, coffee, and a fruit smoothie. Of course, I chose the smoothie.

While I ate, Nina stood in the corner of the room. I turned to her and asked, "Nina, have you ever been in love?"

At my question, her smile briefly disappeared before quickly returning.

"No, I've never been in love," Nina said in a light, casual tone. "I never really had time to fall for someone."

"What do you mean?"

"I've always worked a lot, so I never had time to meet someone special." Nina looked into my eyes before glancing away. "It must be nice, right? The feeling of being in love."

"If you fall for the right person… It's the best feeling."

"I hope I find the right person someday."

"You're a beautiful, kind woman, and you're an amazing cook. It won't take long for you to find someone special."

I was being honest. Nina is the kind of woman many men would love to date.

She was speechless.

She stared at me for a few seconds, then, with a sad expression, said, "Thank you."

She lowered her head slightly in gratitude.

But she still looked sad.

####

I went to the training room and gathered some materials to forge. Today, I decided to use iron since it's faster. I heated the metal, and as I began shaping the sword, I realized everything felt easier.

With each strike of my hammer, the effort I needed to put in decreased significantly. Everything was moving much faster than usual.

I dropped the hot metal into the oil basin, and a loud hiss filled the air.

I lifted the blade and examined it—there weren't many imperfections.

"It's almost perfect."

After treating the blade and finishing the polishing, I took another look. My reflection shone in the metal. Even without the system activating, the sword looked beautiful!

Satisfied, I began sharpening one side of the blade.

Slowly, the sword took shape.

Once I finished the hilt, the system activated.

[Probabilities have been temporarily increased.]

Due to the quality of the forge, probabilities have been enhanced.

Then…

[You have forged a Level 1 Legendary Sword]

When I saw the system message, a wave of excitement hit me.

At the same moment, a golden light burst from the sword.

I shielded my eyes with one hand, unable to see the transformation. When the light finally faded, new system messages appeared.

[The skill "Magic Enhancement LV3" has been added to the sword.]

[The skill "Movement Boost LV3" has been added to the sword.]

[The skill "Low Regeneration LV3" has been added to the sword.]

"Three skills… and amazing ones at that."

I felt like I had reached my peak… Even though I knew I was still far from it.

####

Read more chapters on my patr eon: patr eon.com/parodygirl

Next chapters: Chapter 42 - Training with Tsubaki. / Chapter 43 - Practical lessons. / Chapter 44 - Much faster. / Chapter 45 - Did I kill Tsubaki? / Chapter 46 - You learn very quickly. / Chapter 47 - Do you have a lot of ores? / Chapter 48 - Leveling up.