Danmachi: Is It Wrong to Be the Main Character in Orario?

Hephaestus' right cheek was no secret among many gods.

Even though it had returned to normal, she still wore a mask to avoid drawing unnecessary attention—otherwise, she'd definitely end up being watched by a swarm of curious gods.

"I'm not like Loki or Freya, always craving the spotlight."

"Even if my right cheek has healed, only you and Hestia know about it."

Not even a single member of the Hephaestus Familia had noticed.

"Hephaestus-sama, I didn't think you'd be the type to hide things like me." Bell had never expected Hephaestus-sama to have such a habit. Hearing that, Hephaestus rolled her eyes with mild exasperation.

"Don't compare my desire for privacy to your kind of hiding."

"I just don't like people knowing so much about my current state."

Gods rarely changed, so even the slightest shift in them would immediately attract attention. Hephaestus was sure that if any of the gods learned about her situation, they'd fix their gaze on her and try to uncover the cause behind the change.

In truth, it wouldn't even require much of an investigation.

They only needed to look at who she regularly interacted with. If she hadn't changed in the past, they could eliminate those people entirely, then just check whether there was anyone new in her life. The answer would come easily.

That's why, whether for her own sake or for others, Hephaestus didn't want anyone finding out her right cheek had recovered.

Seeing that Bell still looked clueless, Hephaestus let out a small sigh and reached over to firmly pinch the little pervert's cheek.

"So? What brings you sneaking over here all of a sudden?"

Honestly, Bell felt a bit embarrassed to bring it up. He'd taken Hephaestus-sama's words to heart—especially what she'd said about the "blessing."

It was that "blessing" she left on his face, combined with her sudden shift in demeanor, that made Bell feel like it hadn't been a joke.

After all, would a god really joke about something like that?

Hephaestus was a god of craftsmanship, not a goddess of beauty.

There was no reason for her to tease him just to get a reaction.

So maybe... that "goddess's blessing" really wasn't just a playful gesture.

"Hm? What's wrong? You sneak in here and now you can't even talk?"

Hephaestus had a pretty good idea of what was going on in Bell's head. Clearly, she'd hit him with a bit too much all at once.

Still, his reaction was kind of amusing.

"Ahem, Hephaestus-sama, I made something today—something to help keep me alive."

"Oh~"

As the god of craftsmanship, Hephaestus knew exactly what life-saving tools entailed.

Solid gear was the best form of protection, but that was something only blacksmiths typically said. Bell, on the other hand, specialized in magic—his creations were usually Rune Stones.

Which is why Hephaestus couldn't help but feel a flicker of anticipation.

Bell's face twitched slightly as he offered a reminder.

"Hephaestus-sama, it's really just a small creation."

"So? What is it?"

Hephaestus knew full well how versatile Bell's mastery of magical script could be. Whatever he'd made this time certainly wouldn't be anything ordinary.

Under Hephaestus-sama's eager gaze, Bell pulled out three talismans.

But that overly expectant look in her eyes made Bell feel like what he brought out looked rather unimpressive.

"They're just three specially crafted talismans. Please don't get your hopes up too high, Hephaestus-sama."

Still, that didn't dampen Hephaestus's interest one bit.

Bell usually made Rune Stones. It was definitely rare to see him crafting talismans instead.

"Why talismans?"

"Rune Stones are kind of cumbersome to carry. I've never made talismans before, so no one would suspect these are my work."

So that was his angle. Hephaestus nodded knowingly. She'd been wondering why he made them into talismans—especially ones with no magical script.

Looking closer at the talismans, she saw they bore common characters that anyone could read, not sacred script.

Each one was inscribed with a single word: "Transfer," "Conceal," and "Substitute."

Bell picked up the one marked "Transfer."

"This one's for directional teleportation. After using it, there's a cooldown period before it can be used again. I embedded script inside it that lets it passively absorb mana, so you can just leave it be—after an hour, it'll be ready to use again."

Next, he picked up the "Conceal" talisman.

"This one hides your presence and aura—just like how I usually move around. After activation, even if you bump into someone, they won't notice. It also has a cooldown and is self-charging with embedded mana-gathering script."

"Both of these are active-use talismans. All you need to do is drip your blood onto them, Hephaestus-sama. After that, a small use of divine power will trigger them when needed."

"They respond to my divine power? That's an interesting safety measure."

Clearly, that was to prevent anyone else from using them.

Without hesitation, Hephaestus pulled out a needle from her drawer, pricked her finger, and smeared her blood onto each talisman.

Before their eyes, the blood was swiftly absorbed, leaving the white silk exteriors clean and untouched.

Suddenly, the "Substitute" talisman—which hadn't been explained yet—reacted as it absorbed her blood, forming a faint connection with Hephaestus.

It was subtle, but she could feel it.

She picked up the "Substitute" talisman, studied it carefully, and immediately sensed something unusual.

Her gaze snapped up to Bell, eyes filled with disbelief.

"A death-substitution talisman? You actually managed to create something like this? No—what you made actually works on gods?"

Normally, when a god in the Genkai suffers a fatal wound, a forced repatriation spell activates, sending them back to Tenkai. But this talisman... it could absorb that fatal blow in the god's place.

Hephaestus's breath caught in her throat.

This little pervert probably didn't grasp the true value of this talisman—but she did.

If it were ever released publicly, the gods would lose their minds fighting over it, no matter the cost.