After leaving Hephaestus's forge, Eros scratched his head with a helpless sigh.
In the end, he still couldn't escape the fate of hunting down rare materials.
Sure, he could wait. Hephaestus might be able to get those metals eventually. But since he had nothing else pressing to do right now, and since she had already told him where to find the materials, he figured why not go himself?
Wandering the world sounded like a great excuse to look for new encounters anyway.
"Looks like your foresight paid off again. I'll need to trouble you to take me to a few more places," Eros said to Prometheus with a smile.
Maybe she had foreseen that Eros's matters wouldn't be over so quickly, and that's why she insisted on dragging him along.
"I just made a reasonable guess," Prometheus replied, nodding slightly. "Either way, whether your forging ends smoothly or not, you'd still have to travel elsewhere eventually."
After all, Eros had no permanent home, or you could say he had many homes.
Maybe one day he'd settle down with a goddess and build a life together. But for now, Eros had zero plans to put down roots.
That was precisely why Prometheus had invited him to travel together in the first place.
If nothing else, following Eros meant you'd always witness something interesting.
"I have to ask, how did you manage to win over that hot-headed blacksmith in such a short time?" she asked curiously. "Don't tell me you just happened to guess her weakness on the first try?"
Even Prometheus couldn't help but admire Eros's incredible scumbag skills.
This was only his first meeting with Hephaestus, yet he had already pinpointed her deepest vulnerabilities.
It really proved that being a first-rate scumbag took more than just a pretty face.
"You flatter me. It was just luck and coincidence," Eros said modestly.
He wasn't always able to lock onto someone's weak points so quickly.
Take Prometheus, for example. To this day, he still had no effective approach.
A woman who didn't care about the present, neither suffering nor love, was the hardest type to seduce.
Even Athena, for all her wisdom, could be baited by playing to her pride.
But Prometheus had no desire for anything now, only for what would be.
That kind of mindset required a completely different strategy.
"Anyway, where should we head first? We need to gather Orichalcum, Stardust Silver, and Gamanion, right?" Prometheus asked, changing the topic.
"Each of those metals is incredibly rare, only used in forging divine artifacts for the gods."
Hephaestus definitely wasn't taking this project lightly. If she were just going through the motions, she could've easily substituted with common materials.
Eros nodded in agreement.
He knew his charm points hadn't been wasted.
Had he not built rapport with Hephaestus, who's to say she wouldn't have skimped on the ingredients, overcharged him, or pocketed some of his divinity on the side?
Eighty-eight Saint Cloths could have ended up as a crude, rushed batch of eighteen.
But now? He trusted her.
Even if Eros himself asked her to "just make do," Hephaestus would refuse.
"Aight, let's find Orichalcum first. On the way, we can drop by and visit Amphitrite."
Among the three materials, Orichalcum was the most abundant, especially within the Domain of the Ocean Gods.
The Abyssal Capital of Oceanus was practically built with the stuff, and Poseidon handed out Orichalcum-forged shields like candy to her soldiers.
Hephaestus wasn't sure where to mine it, but she knew who had it.
So between Oceanus and Poseidon, the answer was clear.
As for Stardust Silver, ever since the death of the Star Deity Astraeus, it had been managed by the daughters of Hyperion: Helios the Sun, Selene the Moon, and Eos the Dawn.
The most mysterious of the three, Gamanion, was a divine metal crystallized in the depths of the Earth, typically given only by Gaia as a gift.
Given those options, Eros naturally chose to head for the Oceanic Domain first.
The two returned to the small volcanic town below the mountain. As Prometheus prepared to board the ship, Eros suddenly walked off in another direction, swiftly weaving through the crowd.
He was heading, of course, back to the temple, back to the Oracle.
When he appeared again before her, the Oracle named Huperciberé visibly froze.
She hadn't expected to see Eros again so soon.
"I... I asked about your issue," she said, clearly flustered. "Hephaestus confirmed it, it's indeed the curse of the Goddess of Love. She's the one who caused the marriages on this island to crumble."
"She said it was likely because the people here spoke in Hephaestus's favor, while disrespecting her."
Behind Eros, Prometheus's expression subtly shifted.
She was starting to understand how Eros managed to capture the hearts of so many goddesses so quickly.
It wasn't just slick words or casual flirting, he genuinely remembered people.
Even a nameless oracle like Huperciberé, he still remembered her troubles.
Yes, this was something he could've simply asked Hephaestus in passing. No effort at all.
And yet... neither she nor Prometheus had thought to ask.
Only Eros had remembered.
Such thoughtful attention. I cannot match this man.
And Huperciberé?
Her heart was already overflowing. The affection in her eyes was so deep, it was practically leaking out.
At first, she had been captivated by his beauty.
Then, overwhelmed by the shock of his name and the awe it brought.
But now, she had fallen, truly and completely.
Sometimes, all it took for a woman to fall in love was a small act of genuine care.
Where countless grand gestures might fail, a single heartfelt kindness could succeed.
"Ero, "
"Shh," Eros interrupted gently, flashing that warm smile. "Don't say my name. I just happened to ask in passing, that's all."
"Hephaestus said, if you want to break the curse, you just need to build a temple for Aphrodite and begin worshipping her."
"She won't hold a grudge. And worshipping both her and Hephaestus at the same time won't be a problem."
He claimed it was no big deal, just something he asked on a whim.
But he had already gone out of his way to get the solution, too.
Textbook tsundere behavior, saying one thing, doing another.
The essence of a tsundere wasn't just being aloof, it was being transparent enough that people could see through you.
And tsundere wasn't just a personality trait to be targeted. It could be a weapon too.
Eros's soft words struck Huperciberé like a critical combo, multiple layers of emotional damage.
He said the cold words, but did the warm deeds. This man... was way too charming.
No matter how hard she tried to suppress it, her imagination spiraled out of control.
If Eros had shown even the slightest romantic interest, she would've offered herself completely.
But Eros hadn't. And Huperciberé dared not act on her feelings.
In fact, she felt... guilty.
This perfect, divine ancestor had shown her such kindness.
And here she was, harboring these sinful desires? How could she be so unworthy?
No... he only treated her this way because she was human. Because all humans were his children.
Standing before such a divine being, all she felt was reverence, and the fear of defiling that holiness.
Yet all of this, Eros had triggered with just a few simple gestures.
His looks, charm, fame, and behavior, all of it played a role.
If Eros ever decided to truly "go all out," there'd be no telling how many women would fall for him like Huperciberé.
"Well, I've told you what you needed to know. I'll be going now."
Eros gave a casual wave.
He had no further intentions toward this beautiful oracle. She was just a side encounter, nothing more.
He had standards, after all.
Just before he turned away, Huperciberé finally gathered the courage to ask:
"Will we... see each other again?"
She was more nervous now than she had been when meeting her own god.
Even knowing she wasn't worthy, she still wanted to see Eros again. Just one more glance. Just one more second.
"Of course," Eros replied with a smile. "I'll be back eventually to visit the god you serve. I'll be counting on you then."
He knew exactly how much this single promise would hurt her.
But he was an arsonist of hearts. He set them ablaze, but never stuck around to put them out.
Besides, she was just a priestess.
A woman forbidden to marry.
What harm was there in giving her a taste of love?
"A little bit of fire for a heart already buried in the grave," he thought.
"Honestly, you're starting to scare me," Prometheus murmured behind him.
"But I suppose... I'm also a bit intrigued."
Eros only smiled at her hidden meaning, saying nothing.
"Come on. Time to visit the Oceanic Throne."
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100 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter