Of loves and reasons 1.96

At the same time that Viggo went to the courtyard of the mansion, Hera went to the room that Viggo had pointed out to her. She knocked on the door twice and from the inside she heard Hephaestus say "pass". So, she took the doorknob and turned it open. She entered the room and found nothing, but mannequins attached to the walls, forming a U. The windows were open, and the breeze came in rocking the semi-transparent white curtains. At the same time, Hephaestus was surrounded by two women and two girls, all of them beautiful in appearance.

Hera walked in and closed the door behind her. Then Hephaestus turned her face and saw her. She stopped her explanation to the girls and led them in front of Hera.

-Good morning, Hera- Hephaestus said in a cordial tone of voice.

-Good morning, Hephaestus- replied Hera.

Hephaestus looked at his daughters-in-law and then looked at Hera and told them -she is Hera, the goddess with the greatest influence on Orario-

-Glad to meet you- they all said, bowing.

Hephaestus continued to look Hera in the eye -they are my son's wives– she said – tell me, how can I help you-

Hera examined the girls more closely; they were all beautiful without a doubt. She nodded approving of each one and said -much pleasure, ladies, I am Hera, as Hephaestus says, the goddess with the greatest influence on Orario and Kain's wife-

-One of them- Hephaestus corrected, to which Hera stared, frowned, but let it be.

Hera nodded and continued –I would like to take a moment of your time, Hephaestus-

-I'm busy-

-You don't need to take it so seriously; you just must listen to my proposal-

Hephaestus looked Hera in the eye and scrutinized her intentions. None had an enmity, but Hephaestus held the grudge of those years when Hera and Zeus did what they wanted in Orario. Well, Hera only followed Zeus' directions, but to Hephaestus, she was his accomplice.

-Okay, but be brief, please- Hephaestus said.

Hera nodded without taking this enmity that Hepahestus kept so seriously. After all, they were the wives of the same man and Hera did not want to cause problems within the family.

At the same time, Semiramis, Scheherezade, Sakura and Ana noticed the somewhat complicated atmosphere between the two. They all preferred to remain silent and watch the conversation unfold.

Hephaestus walked ahead and the girls followed. Hera went to the last one and as they approached the mannequins in beautiful dresses, she began to tell Hephaestus about her plans a year from now. Their three main adventurers, Jason, Odysseus, and Achilles had been level nine for six years, so they were already used to the strength that levelled up providing them. At the same time, Maxim, from the Zeus family, had reached level eight. All this in turn, gave them the certainty of being able to go down in the dungeon and consider the idea of putting a forward position.

-There is already an outpost- Hephaestus said, looking at a yellow dress. She takes it by the hem at the bottom and show it to the girls.

-What would that outpost be?- asked Hera, raising her eyebrow in confusion.

-Rivira-

-That thing can't even be called a village or a resting place. There are no monsters, but there is also no order or comfort. Not to mention that it is too high, and any petty adventurer can camp at ease. I'm talking about a real outpost-

-Eeeh? So what floor do you aspire to?-

-A fortress on the 50th floor-

Hephaestus froze with the hem of the dress in her hands. Then she let go and looked back with a funny smile -is that a joke?-

Hera kept her character serious and shook her head -no kidding- she said -if we want the main families to get much further down the dungeon, we need an outpost where high-ranking adventurers can take refuge and get supplies safely. All these years, the capstone has always been the same; when they reach the 50th floor they begin to run out of supplies and must be returned-

-Rare monsters that are too powerful have also appeared- Hephaestus added as she turned around and folded her arms.

Hera also folded her arms and continued -I know, but those times when a "rare" monster has appeared are the least. If we have an outpost, adventurers will be able to rest and regain their strength. Then if an overly powerful monster appears, they will be able to confront and defeat it-

Hephaestus looked away and let out a sigh of tiredness just thinking about this task. It required many resources on her part, not counting the valuable lives of her blacksmiths and master craftsmen.

Hera noticing that Hephaestus was getting stressed and there was a good chance that she would say no, she preferred to smile kindly and say -I already told you, don't take it so seriously, these are my preparations. My plan is only known by my three main adventurers, Kain and you, plus these girls- Hera looked at the four of them and said to them -so please, not a word of this. I only tell you this because Hephaestus told me they were the wives of Viggo-

They nodded without uttering a word and Hera showed a faint smile.

On the other hand, Hephaestus let out another sigh and said -okay, I'll think about it-

Hera smiled and then looked at the girls -Were they preparing for the auction?-

-Yes- replied Hephaestus, turned around and looked back at the mannequins wearing the beautiful dresses in soft colors -I have all these dresses, but they must be modified so that these girls can wear them. Well, to begin with, the dressmaker must arrive-

-Have you chosen any yet?- asked Hera to the girls and they denied. Hera inspected them further and two of them stood out for their large breasts. She already understood where to start. The other two purple-haired girls had a more moderate bust, but since they were a little shorter than Hephaestus, the dress of their choice would have to be made a bastille.

-If the dressmaker does not arrive soon, I can take you with my personal dressmaker. In her shop she has everything, and we can take all morning preparing the dresses. For the price there is no problem and for the delivery, I tell you that it has never failed me, even when I have taken a last-minute order-

Hephaestus frowned, she knew that Hera was being so kind to earn some points and then collect them when giving an answer regarding her bizarre "outpost" project. However, just then, Esther knocked on the door, Hephaestus told her that she could pass, and she entered the room accompanied by an older woman and two young girls (the dressmaker and her assistants). Thanks to this, Hephaestus felt calmer when she could decline Hera's offer. Nothing is free in this life.

Hephaestus went to meet the dressmaker and began to converse with her. The next time she called Sakura to be the first and told the rest to give her half an hour. Once they complete the details of Sakura's dress, Ana, Scheherezade and Semiramis would follow. This in turn seemed quite strange to Hera, who paid a lot of attention to interpersonal relationships.

The fact is that Hephaestus and Sakura were busy while Ana, Scheherezade and Semiramis dedicated themselves to looking at the twenty dresses; all of elegant design and fine fabrics that they had never seen. Even the fabric exported from Alexandria would be just a rag next to these wonderful fabrics and soft colors.

-Hello- Hera said as she approached Semiramis and Scheherezade. They both looked back and bowed their heads in a brief bow.

-They don't need to be so formal- Hera said with a business smile -if you will allow me, I can advise you, I have a lot of experience-

Scheherezade also showed a business smile and denied -no, thank you, I have already seen one of my liking- she said pointing to the other side of the room. Then she began to walk and passed looking at Semiramis, she gestured with her eyes to follow her, but Semiramis ignored her.

Scheherezade kept walking while Semiramis and Hera stared at her for a moment. Then Semiramis looked at the beautiful yellow dress again and waited for the words of the goddess. Semiramis was not stupid, she saw the cunning in people and knew that to be the most influential woman in all Orario you had to have social friction, meet important people, and handle a large sum of money, in addition to knowing the dirty rags of the most powerful.

-Your friend seems a little quiet- Hera said, looking at the dress next to her.

-It is not, what happens is that it is cautious. You and my mother-in-law don't get along- Semiramis replied directly while smiling cunningly.

-Ouch- Hera replied with a flirtatious smile -that hurt. Well, you can't like everyone. Also, I'm not going to deny that I'm partly to blame. On the other hand, if you say that about your friend, then you are the little cautious-

Semiramis denied keeping her business smile as she took the cloth and stroked it with her fingers -just like you, my mother-in-law doesn't like me-

-People who don't know how to deal with someone more cunning than them are always like that. They isolate themselves and justify themselves by showing themselves as the victims. Don't take it personally-

-I don't. I just wonder why are you approaching us? Above all, to me. I already told you that my mother-in-law doesn't like me, so I doubt she will listen to me or even take into consideration my words regarding your business-

-Knowing how to discern a person is a fundamental part of a good leader-

-And do you discern me?-

-Not at all, I don't know you, but I do know the young Viggo. He is my husband's passionate son. Very energetic and full of aspirations, but like all inexperienced young people, it crumbles at the first hurdle-

Semiramis went blank for a moment and then shouted in a firm tone -Viggo is not like that!- drawing everyone's attention. Then she realized where she was and apologized. At the same time, Hephaestus frowned, but Hera ignored her and continued to look at the dress in her hands without being disturbed at any time.

-Men change- Hera said, keeping her business smile -but as I told you, the young Viggo is a passionate man. However, he has always had the ability to surround himself with good friends. So, thinking that you are such a person's woman, I wanted to see if you had any good abilities. Your mother-in-law, no matter how powerful she is in Orario, will not put you in a position of importance. So, why not try your luck with me-

-I don't know- replied Semiramis, looking at the dress, but without touching it -I'll think about it-

-How shy. I see, you are still young, should you be in your twenties?-

Semiramis nodded, she felt that was talking to a real snake. That woman in Persia who took everything from her looked like a kitten next to the presence emitted by the goddess.

Hera left the dress she was seeing and moved forward past Semiramis. The latter felt the gaze fall on the back of her neck and shuddered. Hera arrived at the next mannequin who was wearing a one-piece dress of light blue color.

-I have always questioned the likes of Hephaestus- Hera said -but we may have some coincidences. For example, I like this dress, it matches my eyes Don't you think?-

Semiramis looked to her left and saw how the goddess stretched the cloth and made it cover her neck down. Semiramis had to admit that those beautiful heavenly eyes matched the beautiful blue of the dress. She nodded, and Hera smiled sincerely.

Then Hera left the dress and passed by Semiramis -I like you, if you want work or need help, you can always look for me. No, better yet, I will come in the afternoon to look for you. If you're feeling a little shy, you can always tell Viggo to come with you. I will also be accompanied by my trusted adventurer, who could also be counted as a brother of Viggo-

Semiramis nodded in some fear, and Hera let out a chuckle as she moved towards the exit. Semiramis turned to see her and admire her elegant way of moving. She was a true goddess or queen goddess as the myths of Greece said. Hera, the queen of Olympus.