Aphrodite's Choice

Chapter 9 – Notoriety’s Falseness

As they followed a straight road devoid of a labyrinth of tricks, another iron gate, which boasted heavy weight, appeared. And when Aphrodite opened the door, the ripening heat greeted her. Aphrodite faltered and frowned.

Moskils’ lava was stronger than she had expected. The air trapped in the workshop was beyond hot, harassing her flawless skin. If one were human, he would have died instantly as soon as he set foot in the workshop. Of course, Aphrodite wasn’t harmed and only felt a little uncomfortable, exhibiting her godness.

It seemed she had arrived at an entirely disparate place, a mere door between the two worlds.

But somehow Aphrodite was not unfamiliar with this extreme atmosphere. She even breathed a short magical language as if a reflex, which then startled her. The magic, which she didn’t even know she knew, suddenly refreshed herself. She became unaffected by the air in the workplace.

What’s going on here?

It wasn’t the first time that abilities, which she did not know of, spontaneously trickled from her tongue. Uranos’ little tricks, or remnants, caused Aphrodite to become a wizard on par with the other gods.

But what occurred just now was different. Aphrodite couldn’t precisely distinguish the difference, but she felt it wasn’t something she possessed since she was born.

It was as if someone had taught her. There existed no such person, but strangely enough, there appeared someone who didn’t blame her for making mistakes, patiently reciting the spells to her from the beginning.

Was it her memory, or mere hallucinations?

Aphrodite frowned, squinting her eyes, as she groped a lingering afterimage in her head. However, she was not in the right place to do so.

Clang! Clang!

There was a loud bang on the metal from the inside of the blacksmith’s workshop, disrupting her concentration. Aphrodite sighed, but the fleeting thoughts did not return.

She moved her steps on the pavement for her original purpose: meeting with Hephaestus. Passing through a pile of rare ore masses, she beheld a huge furnace, more than twice the height of a man. The blazing lava fell sharply, and the terrifying heat that flowed from it was twisting the space like water.

It was dizzying, even though the magic which protected her from the extreme temperature cloaked her body. Aphrodite looked for Hephaestus only with her eyes, not with any closer approach.

He was easy to find. The sound of knocking on the metal drowned any other noise, but in a space where everything seemed to be melting, only he was as clear as a wedge.

Aphrodite called Hephaestus.

“Excuse me, He…”

Clang!

She called him, but her voice was buried by the sound of hammering. Even if she shouted louder, he wouldn’t hear it.

Should I approach him? No, but are you sure you don’t know? No matter how focused you are, how can you be so calm when there’s another god in your space? Aphrodite glared at Hephaestus, who never gave her a glance.

It wasn’t her intention, but Hephaestus’ body, which was clearly revealed, came into her sight. He was wearing only a short tunic without a cumbersome coat, baring almost all of his body

Aphrodite opened her eyes wide. She couldn’t think of a nickname that was lame and laced with contempt.

Hephaestus’ physique, sculpted by fire and hammering, was surprisingly toned. It felt different from a warrior made of fighting, but she felt a force that was unlikely to fall behind anyone.

His broad shoulders and powerful arms boasted strength, and the outline of his muscles was as though they were forged. The silhouette of his chest, which glimpsed slightly under his thin clothes, was also surprisingly solid.

On the other hand, his thighs seemed to be harder than a lump of metal. Whenever Hephaestus moved back and forth to hit the hammer, the pronounced muscles of his thighs shook as if they were dancing.

She couldn’t believe he was hiding such a body! It would be difficult for even Ares to combat against Hephaestus if they were to compete only with pure strength.

Aphrodite observed Hephaestus in a fresh mood.

Unexpectedly, the face. It didn’t feel ugly, even though there might be some discrepancies.

It was certainly not enough to hear the praise of handsome. However, Hephaestus was not horribly hideous like the most famous nickname that followed him.

Notoriety has an exaggerated nature and judgment is relative.