Danmachi: Hephaestus is my Wife

A few more days passed, and I continued my daily routine of training and gathering minerals inside the dungeon.

"You're improving fast. It won't be long before you finish your training," Tsubaki said as we had lunch together. Today, we trained for longer than usual—four straight hours.

I wasn't that tired.

I had been exploring the dungeon every day to collect ores, killing many monsters in the process, so my stats were a bit higher now. When I updated my Falna last night, it was much better than before.

My stamina is much better than before.

"I'm going to miss this," I said.

"Stop lying," Tsubaki smacked my head. "I'm sure you're happy. You can't stand losing to me anymore, so you just want the training to be over already."

I smiled bitterly.

I hadn't won against Tsubaki even once, and that was frustrating. However, I didn't care as much as she thought I did. I made that clear to her, but she didn't believe me.

"Sure, sure, I'll pretend to believe you," Tsubaki said, stuffing the rest of her food into her mouth before standing up. Still chewing, she added, "How about one last match before we call it a day?"

"We just ate. We'll get stomachaches."

"And you believe in that nonsense? Come on, hurry up."

I hadn't even finished eating when Tsubaki dragged me to the center of the training field. I was wielding my legendary sword.

"Let's see if you can at least land a hit on me this time," she said with a smirk.

I let out a long sigh and attacked.

With my "Movement Boost LV3" skill, I closed the distance in an instant and swung my sword with all my strength. Even without gripping it too tightly, I was able to attack with immense force.

My blade sliced through the air with a sharp sound.

Tsubaki easily avoided my strike by taking a step back.

"Wow, that was a good one. I would've died if you had hit me," she said casually. "Are you trying to kill me again?"

"I just couldn't control my strength," I replied with a grin.

"Ah, sure. I have trouble controlling my strength too," she said before launching a relentless assault, forcing me back.

I managed to block all her attacks, but it was getting tough.

Tsubaki didn't let up for even a second, pushing me further and further until I was out of the training field.

Tsk!

I clicked my tongue and tried to counterattack, but suddenly, I lost all footing. It was as if the ground had disappeared. The next moment, the world spun, and I crashed backward with a loud thud.

Tsubaki looked at me, then burst out laughing.

"Pfft… Hahahahahaha! What the hell was that? How did you even fall?!"

I glanced at where I had been standing—there was nothing there that could have tripped me.

We locked eyes for a few seconds, then Tsubaki started whistling as if nothing had happened.

It was her.

"I'm going to kill you," I said, getting up quickly and literally trying to murder her.

But my attempt failed. I was knocked out in seconds.

####

Hephaestus's POV

I finished organizing some things and headed home. First, I went to my room to take a bath. Eryk wasn't there.

"Is he still training? It's still early, so probably."

Leaving my room, I decided to check his training hall, but he wasn't there either.

That left only one place.

"They must have trained later than usual today. It's already past lunchtime."

So, I decided to go to the training field to check on Eryk's progress and surprise him. As I got closer, I slowed my steps.

I hid behind a wall and looked toward the training field from a distance.

Eryk and Tsubaki weren't there.

"Did they go out for lunch or something?" I thought as I approached.

But as I walked closer, something caught my eye. I quickly hid behind a pillar and observed.

There was a bench, and Tsubaki was sitting on it.

That wasn't the problem.

Eryk was also on the bench—but lying down, his head resting on Tsubaki's lap. His eyes were closed, clearly enjoying the softness of her thighs.

Tsubaki was gently stroking his hair.

The moment I saw it, my heart pounded.

At the same time, rage started building inside me. I bit my lip and walked toward them with heavy steps.

Tsubaki hadn't noticed me yet.

By the time she did, I was already too close.

She had been gazing at Eryk's face with a soft smile, but when she lifted her head, our eyes met.

I glared at her coldly, trying to contain myself.

Tsubaki was speechless.

"What's going on here?" I asked in a freezing tone.

Eryk, still resting on Tsubaki's lap, didn't open his eyes.

"Goddess? When did you get here?"

"I just arrived. Now, tell me what's happening here."

With every passing second, my anger grew. Whenever my eyes landed on Eryk's peaceful expression, the fire in my chest burned hotter.

"What?" Tsubaki glanced down and finally realized the situation. She immediately stood up, causing Eryk's head to drop onto the bench. Raising her hands in surrender, she stammered, "Nothing's happening! Eryk passed out during training, so I laid him on the bench, that's all!"

"..."

I listened to her explanation, then looked at Eryk.

"Then why were you looking at him like that? Why were you stroking his hair?"

"It was just instinct! While unconscious, he looked like a child, and I started petting him without thinking!"

"I see."

Realizing Tsubaki wasn't lying, I calmed down almost instantly.

However, I made myself clear.

"Don't ever do that again."

"Are you really that jealous?"

"Do you want to die? Or maybe lose a hand?"

"No, no! Alright, I'm sorry!" Seeing I wasn't joking, Tsubaki took a few steps back.

"I'm taking Eryk to his room. His training is canceled."

"But—"

"His training is canceled. Understood?"

"..."

Tsubaki didn't argue any further.

I picked Eryk up in my arms. Even though he was taller and more muscular than me, I did it with ease.

"We'll have another conversation later," I told Tsubaki before walking away from the training field.

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Read more chapters on my patr eon: patr eon.com/parodygirl

Next chapters: Chapter 51 - Ex-girlfriend. / Chapter 52 - Hephaestus is so cute. / Chapter 53 - The darkness consumed my entire body. / Chapter 54 - Excessive jealousy. / Chapter 55 - Does Nina like me? / Chapter 56 - What did she mean by that? / Chapter 57 - Kicked out. / Chapter 58 - I want to reach the next boss. / Chapter 59 - Fight with the giant frog.