Chapter 145: My Face... It's Healed? (Bonus)

After taking care of everything and confirming that nothing was amiss in the basement, Bell left for the time being.

Not long after he left the room, Hephaestus, who had been sound asleep, slowly opened her eyes.

She didn't sit up right away. Instead, she glanced at the person still sleeping soundly beside her. 'This girl really has some nerve.'

Hephaestus wasn't even sure whether to describe Hestia as thick-skinned or simply carefree.

But when she felt the coolness on her legs, she shot a sharp glare at the idiot still dozing next to her. Just remembering that gaze she'd sensed earlier made her legs shift awkwardly—she didn't even know where to put them. The whole thing was just embarrassing.

Once again, she glared at Hestia, who was still completely out cold.

If that idiot hadn't stolen the blanket, she wouldn't be in this ridiculous situation.

'Right... what was that kid doing standing by my bed earlier?'

Only now did Hephaestus recall that Bell had been by her bedside just moments ago, doing something she couldn't quite remember.

Adventurers have sharp instincts, and Hephaestus had forced herself to stay in a state of light sleep. Because of that, she hadn't been fully aware of what had just happened.

But she vaguely remembered something—her hair being brushed aside from the right side of her face.

That thought made her instinctively reach for the hair covering her right cheek.

"!?"

As soon as her fingers touched her cheek, her hand trembled slightly. She didn't feel her mask.

'Where's my mask?'

It had vanished. That meant... when Bell brushed her hair aside, he must've seen her right cheek?

A sudden wave of panic hit her. Her right cheek was the one part of herself she never wanted anyone to see.

It was where all the ugliness of the world seemed to gather—something she had always hidden away.

'So, he saw it?'

She instinctively covered her right cheek with her hand. But the moment her skin made contact, she froze.

'Is my right cheek... this smooth?'

That thought snapped her fully awake. With trembling fingers, she carefully touched the skin.

The rough, jagged texture that had always been there was completely gone, replaced by smooth, ordinary skin.

'This... is this real?'

Hephaestus knew exactly what had plagued her right cheek.

It had been there since the moment of her birth—something parasitic, something grotesque.

She had once begged other gods to help her heal it, but nothing worked. Worse, any god who touched her right cheek ended up cursed.

Eventually, she gave up entirely on trying to fix it.

Because of its hideousness, she always wore a mask that covered half her face, never letting anyone see it.

But today, something was wrong—very wrong.

Hephaestus carefully, meticulously ran her fingers over the surface again. After checking several times, it was clear: the disfigurement was completely gone.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly sat up in bed and walked over to the wardrobe nearby.

Next to it stood a full-length mirror—Hestia's, used every morning to fix her clothes.

Hephaestus had never kept a mirror in her own room. She couldn't stand looking at that part of her face.

Closing her eyes, she approached the mirror cautiously.

She took a deep breath—then slowly opened her eyes.

And the reflection that stared back at her left her utterly stunned.

Her once grotesque right cheek now looked just like her left—so... so ordinary.

'It's actually healed...'

Hephaestus could hardly believe her eyes.

Back in Tenkai, she had done everything she could, but nothing had ever worked on her right cheek. So why—why was it different now? Was it that child?

Her thoughts stalled for a moment, then her mind caught up, and she understood who had helped her.

'That child... he was standing by my bed to do this.'

Now she knew why Bell had been standing next to her—it was to heal her right cheek.

...

Staring at her smooth, porcelain-like skin, Hephaestus couldn't help but break into a radiant smile.

There wasn't a single goddess who didn't care about her appearance.

In fact, rivalry over beauty among goddesses was notoriously intense.

Hephaestus was no different. But because of her right cheek, she had always buried those feelings deep inside. From that time on, she poured everything into blacksmithing. Her craft had grown stronger, yet the shadow of her disfigurement had never left her.

And now, a child from Genkai had healed it. How could she not be overwhelmed?

She touched her smooth, fair skin again, but a flicker of hesitation crossed her face.

'Then... how should I thank that child?'

'Forge him a new weapon?'

She dismissed the idea immediately.

The "Hestia Knife" she had crafted for him was already the most perfect weapon tailored to him. Making another would serve no real purpose, and in ordinary battles, it wasn't used all that frequently.

As a master blacksmith, Hephaestus knew this too well—which only made her more conflicted.

Forging weapons and equipment was all she was good at. Beyond that, she had no idea what to do. So she found herself at a loss as to how to thank Bell—or at least how to express her feelings.

'Maybe... I could give him my blessing?'

But as soon as the thought surfaced, Hephaestus remembered Hestia.

A god's blessing wasn't something to be given casually. In truth, a "blessing" was a form of expressing one's love.

Her face twitched slightly as she glanced at Hestia, still fast asleep on the bed.

But she had made up her mind.

That child had given her something she never thought she could have. So why shouldn't she give him her blessing?

'Hestia, I'm just giving him my blessing. It doesn't mean anything.'

Steeling herself, Hephaestus pulled on her pants, gave it no further thought, and headed upstairs.