Changing the subject, Takumi followed Meteria into Hephaestus's quarters.
This time, he wasn't here to learn forging. He'd already picked up most of it last time.
What he lacked now was what Hephaestus truly held—the Authority of forging.
And since Takumi already had her half in his pocket, he wasn't in a rush. He planned to let it happen at the right moment—clean, natural, inevitable.
For now, he was here to discuss business.
"You want to forge a divine artifact that can grow, right? Any other requirements?"
Hephaestus didn't refuse. In fact, her eyes lit up as she asked directly.
Takumi didn't waste time either.
"I want a divine artifact that can absorb other divine artifacts and evolve. I already have several."
He showed her without hiding anything: Boosted Gear, Holy Mother's Smile, and the Coffin of Abilities.
"…You little bastard. You've been hiding this many divine artifacts?"
Hephaestus was genuinely shocked.
Holy Mother's Smile and the Coffin were one thing, but the Boosted Gear on Takumi's arm was on another level entirely. Even Hephaestus couldn't confidently say she could forge a divine artifact of that caliber.
Takumi wasn't surprised. His Boosted Gear had evolved alongside him multiple times already.
"My alchemy technique can mass-produce ordinary divine artifacts. So I want to create one that can absorb divine artifacts and evolve. That way I can feed it endlessly and push its quality as high as possible."
Hephaestus gave him a thumbs-up, equal parts impressed and annoyed.
"Using your dumb meme logic… Takumi-kun, you really do have endless ideas."
Left-foot-stepping-on-right-foot to spiral upward—she had no words.
If anything, she wanted to see if his insane plan could actually work.
"It's hard," she said frankly. "But your alchemy technique makes it possible."
Then she rattled off a long list.
"Orichalcum. Starflow Sand. Gold-Eater Ore…"
She handed Takumi a full material inventory and told him to handcraft it.
She didn't have much stock left—but she had at least a little of each. Once Takumi analyzed the characteristics and data, he began producing them in bulk.
While the metals were melting and refining, Hephaestus shot Meteria a look, then turned back to Takumi.
"Takumi-kun… you can plunder power from Dungeon monsters, can't you?"
"And do you have a way to conceal our presence? I'll need to use my divine power next."
She didn't even pretend she was ignorant. She asked straight out.
Takumi wasn't surprised.
With everything he'd shown so far, anyone smart would start connecting dots. The only thing they couldn't guess was how absurdly wide his "plunder" range really was.
"Limitless."
Takumi spread a technique barrier using his own mana.
Pushing that paradox-concept power to its limit, he even twisted the time flow inside the room.
From the outside world's perspective, the "two-person world" inside this room was running at tens of thousands of times the speed.
Trusting Takumi, Hephaestus released the divine power sealed within her.
Behind her eyepatch, her eye flared with blazing firelight.
Divine flame spilled from her body, staining the hammer in her hand with arcane crimson patterns.
Then she brought it down.
BANG!!
The molten metals and materials, under her strikes, fused into a single perfect whole.
Strengthened by divine power, the mass began to "ascend" in a way that bordered on nonsense.
"So this is the Authority of forging…"
Watching the divine artifact take shape at ridiculous speed, Takumi finally tasted the difference.
A divine artifact, at its core, was basically a law made tangible.
Hephaestus was using the forged materials as a vessel, then using her Authority to draw in the laws Takumi wanted: Evolution. Devouring. Growth.
With Hephaestus going all-out, the artifact quickly completed.
"Whew… done."
Hephaestus wiped sweat from her brow and looked at Takumi, who was fanning her like the world's most attentive assistant.
But Takumi… wasn't really looking at the hammer.
He was staring at her.
Fine sweat soaked into the fabric near her collar, outlining a lush, mature curve.
Firelight danced across her skin, giving it a soft, hypnotic sheen.
If the artifact hadn't just finished forming, he honestly might've lost control and taken her right there.
Noticing the hunger in his eyes, Hephaestus's cheeks turned red—but inside she felt a quiet satisfaction.
Other people mocked her "flaw," her eye.
But Takumi liked her.
That was all that mattered.
"Mmph—stop staring, brat," she huffed, trying to sound tough. "Here."
She handed it over.
"I tweaked it. It can merge into your gauntlet. As for the rest of the surprises—figure it out yourself."
"Now I'm going to take a bath. And about tomorrow's festival…"
Hephaestus's tone started drifting toward tomorrow, and Takumi immediately heard the danger.
He didn't even let her finish.
He shoved the door open and escaped.
"If you're bathing, I won't disturb you, Hephaestus-sama!"
He dropped the barrier, stepped outside, and pretended he hadn't heard the second half of her sentence.
Tomorrow he already had a date with Syr. The timing was awful.
He could juggle schedules—sure.
But he still wanted Syr to have a beautiful memory.
"Tch… brat."
Hephaestus pouted, face full of resentment as she watched him run.
Takumi looked exactly like the kind of scumbag who finishes and leaves.
But then she remembered: he still owed her one favor.
Her mood lifted again.
"Whatever. I don't even like festivals—too many people."
"It's better somewhere quiet. Somewhere private. Preferably outside Orario… where Hestia can't interfere."
Hephaestus started plotting instantly, a new plan already forming.
Outside, Takumi greeted Meteria quickly, then took the amber-like divine artifact and fused it into Boosted Gear.
The integration was smooth—clearly designed for that purpose.
On his panel, [Boosted Gear (Gold)] flickered.
The quality didn't rank up, but the gold glow deepened—so dense it was now rivaling [Ultimate Lifeform (Gold)].
After fusion, the armor's color gradually shifted toward a gilded finish.
And the jewels—once green—turned a deep, vivid blue.
"…This barely even resembles the Red Dragon Emperor concept anymore."
Takumi didn't bother renaming it.
Instead, he focused on sensing exactly what had changed.