Inside Twilight Manor, Finn and Riveria were waiting for Loki to return. Aiz was there as well, though her attention seemed to be elsewhere.
The moment Loki entered, Aiz straightened slightly and looked at her expectantly.
Loki raised her empty hands and sighed.
"No, I didn't bring the chainsword. Hephaestus kicked me out before I could even talk about that."
Aiz's shoulders lowered slightly in quiet disappointment.
Finn watched the exchange before clearing his throat.
"So," he said calmly, "should I assume your conversation with Hephaestus didn't go well?"
Loki dropped into a chair and stretched her arms. "Yep," she said. "I tried to follow Hephaestus inside the forge, but she wouldn't let me."
Finn remained thoughtful. "Did you at least learn anything useful?"
Loki leaned back in the chair.
"Does Hephaestus having a strange reaction count?"
Riveria raised an eyebrow. "Strange how?"
Loki shrugged. "I joked about world domination."
"And?"
"She looked like someone who had already crossed that off the list."
Finn didn't react immediately.
"And Luthar?"
"Still in the dungeon," Loki said. "She made it pretty clear nothing important moves until he comes back."
Riveria folded her arms.
"What about Hephaestus and Freya?" she asked. "Are they really working together?"
Loki leaned back in her chair and shrugged.
"Pretty much. Together like a sandwich," Loki grinned. "Freya on one side, Hephaestus on the other, and Luthar in the middle."
Riveria frowned slightly.
Finn, who had been watching Loki closely the entire time, finally spoke.
"You seem remarkably relaxed."
Loki tilted her head.
"Should I be worried?"
Finn's expression remained calm, but there was clear tension in it.
"If two powerful goddesses are cooperating around a single individual, that should be concerning, not relaxing."
Loki waved a hand dismissively.
"I asked them to join."
Riveria blinked once.
"And their answer?"
"They said it can be decided after Luthar comes back."
Riveria sighed quietly.
"So nothing is settled yet."
Loki shrugged. "We're back to zero."
Finn remained silent for a moment before speaking.
"Then waiting changes nothing."
Loki glanced at him. "Meaning?"
"If the decision happens after Luthar returns," Finn said calmly, "then we gain little by sitting here until that happens."
Riveria looked at him. "You want Loki to involve herself earlier."
Finn nodded slightly.
"If you intend to join them, it would be better to do it quickly. Opportunities rarely remain open for long."
Loki leaned back in her chair and scratched her head.
"…You're saying I should stop watching from the sidelines."
Finn gave a faint smile.
"I'm saying arriving late is rarely advantageous."
"Easy for you to say," Loki muttered.
For a moment her thoughts drifted back to the first time she saw him. One glance had been enough to tell her he was a troublesome child—the kind that could not be guided.
Back then she had wanted him as far away from her familia as possible.
Now she had to join the group forming around him.
Funny how things change.
Finn watched Loki quietly for a moment before speaking again. "Instead of waiting," he said calmly, "I have a better suggestion."
Loki glanced at him. "And that is?"
"You can ask Hephaestus to call him back."
Hearing this, Riveria leaned slightly toward him. "You believe she would agree?"
Finn folded his hands together. "If Hephaestus truly wanted to keep Loki out of it, she wouldn't have allowed her to poke around that much. The fact that she did suggests something else."
Riveria considered that. "You believe she was testing Loki."
"More likely attracting her," Finn replied. His gaze returned to Loki. "Which suggests recruitment was already under consideration."
Loki tilted her head slightly. "…You're saying she let me investigate on purpose."
Finn allowed himself a faint smile. "I'm saying the hook is already in the water."
Riveria sighed quietly. "And Loki is the fish."
Finn nodded once. "Exactly."
Loki leaned back in her chair and snorted. "Great. Now I'm seafood."
Riveria allowed herself a small smile. "Then let's serve you while you're fresh."
As the tension in the room eased, far from Twilight Manor Apollo was having a very different conversation.
Apollo stood beside the workbench, staring at the dismantled weapon pieces.
"Well?" he said impatiently. "Can you make it or not?"
The blacksmith scratched his beard and shook his head.
"Not like this one."
Apollo's expression hardened. "Explain."
The blacksmith tapped one of the metal components.
"Look at this," the blacksmith muttered. "The pieces inside are too small and too precise. No smith could craft something like that by hand."
Apollo folded his arms.
"So what does that mean?"
"It means one of two things," the blacksmith replied. "Either the man who built this has some kind of unique crafting skill..."
He paused, then shrugged.
"...or he has tools we don't."
Apollo narrowed his eyes.
"Skills exist," the blacksmith continued. "Some of them can do strange things with crafting. But if it isn't a skill..."
He gestured toward the weapon pieces.
"...then those tools are doing most of the work."
Apollo remained silent for a moment, watching him.
The blacksmith rubbed his chin.
"If those tools exist and we could get them," he said slowly, "then copying this would become much easier."
Apollo leaned against the table, clearly thinking.
"You're saying without those tools you can't replicate those weapons."
The blacksmith nodded.
"For now," he said, reaching under the workbench, "you should stick with something simpler."
He placed a small sealed cylinder filled with compressed magic-stone powder on the table.
Apollo looked down at it.
"They're banned," the blacksmith said with a shrug. "But I doubt legality is your concern right now. Either way, they explode just fine."
Apollo studied the device for a moment, irritation still visible on his face.
"...Make more."
The blacksmith nodded and began gathering the materials.
Apollo remained where he was, his gaze still resting on the explosive.
He said nothing, but the thought had already shifted. Perhaps Luthar himself was not as important as he had first assumed. If those weapons depended on special tools, then obtaining those tools might be enough.
With them, the weapons could be reproduced. An army equipped with such weapons would quickly change his current situation. For now he was the one forced to remain outside the city like a fugitive, but that would not last forever.
The idea settled quietly in his mind.
------
Back in the workshop, the man still hung from the chain above the barrel.
His face was red and sweat ran into his eyes as he struggled weakly against the restraints.
"…Little girl?" he called out. "Aren't you supposed to untie me?"
There was no answer.
"…Is anyone still here?"
The workshop remained silent
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