Comprehensive Manga: Hope in Another World

The next day.

At three in the morning, Shun walked out of Hestia's room.

Hestia, who worked too much, was fast asleep at this moment, while Shun, who had eaten the leftover breakfast on the table, walked towards Hephaestus's forge.

The flames were burning brightly in the furnace.

Hephaestus looked at the flames burning the same color as her hair.

This was a workshop, with an anvil and other equipment, and a large forge was installed in the corner.

The black blade that had formed rested on the anvil, containing the highest light.

Hephaestus was wearing a jumpsuit, stopping holding the hammer.

The sound of forging was interrupted, and only the sound of the flames could be heard in the workshop.

"Although the weapon is almost ready, if nothing happens, don't interfere."

"Sorry, I came here to tell you that Hestia and I will probably be here on the last night today, and we plan to move out tomorrow."

Shun's words made Hephaestus fall silent.

Although she always said that Hestia was messy, Shun immediately took out his main god so as not to bother her.

However, after hearing the news of these two people leaving, Hephaestus felt reluctant.

She didn't know whether this emotion was caused by Hestia or Shun, or both.

However, when she thought about the long-term pleasure, the house was always messed up by this couple. If they suddenly disappeared, she would be very lonely.

Without the sound of sighing coming from next door at night, she always felt much more empty.

Hephaestus recalled the noisy times they three had experienced together in her mind and couldn't help but purse her lips.

"Hephaestus, will you be lonely if we leave?"

"Stop talking nonsense, I've experienced being alone with the stove for thousands of years. This is nothing."

"But, being good at enduring loneliness doesn't mean you like it, right?"

Shun asked rhetorically:

"Do you want to come and stay for a few days? Apollo Familia's residence is quite nice. I always welcome the beautiful Hephaestus."

Shun looked at her sincerely, especially his clear eyes that seemed to be able to speak, showing the most sincere love and admiration.

Even Hephaestus averted her gaze when looking at his eyes, for fear of staring at them too long.

She turned around in a panic, and only became a little calmer when she grasped the hammer and forged the black sword again.

"Let me tell you first, I'm Hestia's best friend, not one of those flamboyant goddesses. You better be careful and don't say misleading things like that!"

Hephaestus said this while swinging the hammer and hitting the black sword.

Amidst the deafening sound of forging and the blazing flames, she stroked the eye patch on her left side and whispered softly to herself:

"A god like me… can't be called beautiful like you said…"

Hephaestus's voice was very soft, but it contained the severe scars caused by repeated mockery from the gods and the disgusted words from the male gods.

The usually most serious and inhuman Goddess of Forging, actually felt inferior and hated herself in her heart.

Hephaestus touched her right eye – the dark eye patch.

"Underneath it, there's an ugly face that will scare you when you see it."

"Huh?"

"Hard to believe. I'm clearly a god. I've thought about it many times, but I also attract disgust and ridicule from other gods in heaven." She put her hand on the eye patch covering the right side of her face and smiled bitterly.

Hephaestus, the goddess in charge of forging, had an ugly appearance that a god shouldn't have. The gods who were considered perfect had flaws, and her original appearance that couldn't be changed by Arcanum. Regardless of whether it was a god or goddess, other gods mocked and insulted her as an "ugly face," which made her suffer greatly.

"Seeing the face under the eye patch, the only one who wasn't mocked or scared was Hestia."

That's why Hephaestus and Hestia maintained a bad relationship to this day, and that's why they were friends. Hephaestus's cheek lines softened, and she uttered her heartfelt words to Shun:

"You'll have many goddesses pouncing on you if you flirt with me. Hestia is the famous Virgin Goddess, she has been seduced by you, so don't say nice things in front of a woman like me."

After saying that, Hephaestus ignored Shun but lowered her head and concentrated on forging.

"Don't deny yourself too much."

Shun knew it was rude, but he still held Hephaestus's shoulder with his right arm and forced her to face him. He faced the startled Hephaestus directly and extended his left hand to touch her dark eye patch.

"W-What are you doing!"

Ignoring her panicked voice, he touched her soft red hair and removed her eye patch at the same time. Hephaestus stood there with a blank look, and for the first time, Shun saw her eyes at the same time.

Then the true appearance appeared in his field of vision. If Hephaestus wearing the eye patch had a charming beauty, then what was covered by the eye patch was an ordinary face that had lost its brilliance. It was clearly beautiful, but for the bright and beautiful gods, this loss of color was "ugly." In particular, her right eye was not a beautiful red color but a light green. The strange pupil that had lost the brilliance of the gods was considered strange by the gods.

But Shun stared intently at her, his expression unchanged, and he moved closer. He silently cursed the gods for their lack of understanding of style, and at the same time, he couldn't help but stroke his right eye that was covered by the eye patch.

"To be honest, you who are shy now are much more beautiful than Freya and the others. Hephaestus, you are now the most beautiful Goddess of Forging in my judgment. Be more confident."

Hearing these words, Hephaestus opened her eyes wide, and a faint blush covered her cheeks. She stared at Shun for a moment, then slowly smiled and put the eye patch back on her right eye. Covering the right side of her face, she flicked her red hair left and right, then looked at him.

"Stop talking so sweetly, I still have work to do, get out of here!"

"Eh?! Why did your face suddenly change!"

After forcibly kicking Shun out, Hephaestus crouched on the ground after closing the door. She covered her cheeks with her hands, showcasing the appearance of an innocent girl.

"Hestia… I'm sorry… I couldn't hold it back anymore…"

❀❀

After being kicked out, Shun went to eat lunch at the Hostess of Fertility, and after flirting with two cat girls in the pub, he casually walked away while thinking about Loki Familia.

Shun didn't bring Ryuu, although she also joined his Familia, but he knew that the girl was living happily with her friends at the Hostess of Fertility.

Therefore, he had no intention of bothering Ryuu. Instead, after paying off his debt, his room was still booked. Mama Mia and the cat girls welcomed him back to the pub to help whenever he wanted.

At this moment, the sound of a sword piercing the wind could be heard in Loki Familia.

The subtle sound of the wind that could be heard after the strike proved the speed and sharpness of the sword. Only one sword carved several silver traces in the air.

Aiz started her daily sword-swinging practice alone in the headquarters' atrium. No one taught her this sword-swinging training. She started it herself nine years ago. Perhaps to improve her swordsmanship, she practiced repeatedly day after day, almost every day while she was at headquarters. Compared to the results achieved in the Dungeon, learning this kind of skill seemed insignificant, but she didn't slack off even for a day. It must be said that she shouldn't slack off. Because like most people, the most feared thing is stagnation and being unable to move forward.

Cutting vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, to correct the mistakes caused when using the rapier, she stopped in the corner of the green grassy courtyard and continued to swing her beloved sword. Controlling her lower body movements as minimally as possible, like a conductor twirling a baton, she played a melody of sword flashes alone.

Finally, Aiz swung her sword upwards and cut the green leaves falling from the tree in two.

After finishing all this, she didn't continue her practice but turned to the person behind her.

Although it wasn't long, the young man behind her had become familiar to many people in Loki Familia. Now, even though Shun came to see Aiz in the morning, he wouldn't be stopped by the guards or patrols.

It seemed that he looked very happy after being promoted to Level 3 and defeating Apollo Familia. No matter who saw the smile at the corner of his mouth, their mood brightened.

"If the warm-up is almost finished, I'll start."

Aiz nodded, then they both swung their swords at each other mercilessly as a silent agreement.

The sound of gold and iron clashing sounded very clear in this courtyard.

The adventurers who were initially still a bit lazy couldn't help but feel a little ashamed of their laziness after seeing the fierce competition of swordsmanship between the two through the windows of the building.

Most of the adventurers who were used to doing their own thing, like Bete who was concentrating on training Bell.

The white-haired woman was teaching the innocent rabbit step by step how to avoid attacks, without paying attention to the expression of enjoyment on Bell's face under her fierce body.

Besides, there were three other people in Loki Familia who were paying close attention to Shun and Aiz's sword practice.

Tiona, who was always enthusiastic and bold in choosing candidates, looked at Aiz with a defeated expression on her face. Tione also followed her unintentionally.

Beside them, Lefiya was biting her handkerchief, looking confused.

"I admire Aiz-san so much and want to be close to her. However, I also like being with Takema-san and having my head touched by Takema-san."

"Of course, both of them are objects of my admiration. If their relationship is good, I would be very happy…"

"But, now I… why am I so entangled?"

"I really want to join them. How nice it would be if I could lean on Takema-san on the left and Aiz-san on the right…"

I don't know what kind of scene was in her mind, but a cloud of water vapor suddenly appeared above her head, and Lefiya fainted from embarrassment, and even her eyes turned white.

In the shadows in the distance, Riveria was silently watching with the same complex expression.

"What's going on?"

"Aiz, you and your potential stepfather are too close…"

Riveria was a little confused for the first time, especially when she saw the strange appearance of her beloved student Lefiya on the grass, her expression became more subtle.

"And you, Lefiya…"

"Don't you like Aiz? Why are you looking at Shun with such a red face!"

Riveria rubbed her eyebrows in annoyance and couldn't help but sigh.

"Our relationship has developed like this, what should we do going forward?"

❀❀❀

That night.

Riveria didn't go to the cafeteria to join Aiz and the others, instead, she buried herself under the blanket in confusion, not knowing what she was thinking.

Back to Hephaestus's side, the three of them happily had dinner and opened a few bottles of fine wine.

After Hephaestus heard the familiar voice next to her again, she didn't fall asleep.

Only after she heard the sounds next door gradually subside did she open her mouth and walk into the next room gently, as if possessed.

Hestia was curled up in bed, fast asleep.

And she fixed her gaze on Shun, and removed her clothes and got into his blanket.

"I'm sorry… Hestia…"

She whispered.

"But… I couldn't hold it back anymore…"

Sensing something strange, Shun opened his eyes, only to find a different kind of fire burning in Hephaestus's red eyes.

"Hephaestus?"

Shun spoke softly in surprise, but then his lips were awkwardly covered by her.

He immediately understood what the other party meant and silently brought Hephaestus to his room.

The moonlight outside the window moved with time.

That night, Hestia was fast asleep, while her best friend slept very tiredly.

When Hestia left the next day, Hephaestus didn't come to see her off.

Next to Hestia, Shun looked very happy after obtaining his new weapon.