He looked so serene and beautiful in his sleep.
But he was a man.
His skin was also very fair and delicate, and the outline of his body in the black robe was slender.
But he was a man.
He looked perfect in a JK uniform, also great in a shrine maiden outfit, and his long, straight black hair was totally my type.
But he was a man.
His mouth was slightly agape, drooling, revealing snow-white teeth and a pink tongue—looking incredibly seductive.
But he was a man.
Hephaestus couldn’t help but cover his face as he looked at the beautiful person sleeping defenselessly before him.
Yes, this peerless, captivating sleeping beauty before him was his brother-in-law—King of the Underworld, Hades.
Hmm.
He was a man.
Good heavens—to be able to sleep so soundly here, should he be called good-natured, or simply careless?
Hephaestus looked at the sleeping Hades, utterly dumbfounded.
He walked forward helplessly, reached out, and placed a hand on Hades’s shoulder, shaking him awake.
“Lord Hades?
Lord Hades?”
“Mm?”
Gently shaken by Hephaestus, Hades opened his eyes, revealing a pair of round, deep, yet bewildered eyes like black pearls.
It took a full three seconds for those black eyes to refocus.
He looked at Hephaestus before him, a clear expression of confusion on his exquisite face.
“Hephaestus?”
Hades’s voice was very pleasant—clear and sweet, like pearls dropping onto a jade plate.
Very melodious.
But he was a man.
Suddenly, Hephaestus somewhat understood why Zeus had arranged for Hades to be here.
Even if he was a man—with the blessing of this appearance, he believed it would be no problem for that pervert.
But the key was that this beauty was not just beautiful, but also very capable in a fight.
Even if Zeus held his lightning scepter, he might not be able to take down Hades unscathed—let alone Hades, who possessed the Helm of Invisibility and could escape or sneak attack at any time.
This made Zeus look at a piece of beautiful meat every day but couldn’t eat it—wasn’t that tormenting him?
Naturally, he had to send him far away—out of sight, out of mind.
“Great Hades, please forgive my intrusion.”
Seeing that Hades had woken up, Hephaestus took two steps back, bowed, and respectfully greeted him.
“I followed Zeus’s command to come to the Underworld to find enough building materials.”
“Building materials?”
Hades tilted his head, his confused expression looking particularly adorable.
“Cough, cough—that’s right.”
Hephaestus steadied his almost wavering heart, coughed, and explained his purpose to Hades—including asking for his opinion on his temple on Olympus.
However…
“Oh.
Do as you please.”
Hades said indifferently, then let out a cute little yawn.
“As for my temple—just do what you think is best.”
“Uh…”
Hephaestus looked at Hades’s indifferent expression, speechless.
He now had a completely new understanding of this Lord of the Underworld.
Although he hadn’t interacted much with Hades before—their conversations were only when he crafted divine artifacts for them—at that time, Hades had given Hephaestus the impression of someone who was ruthless and spoke little.
Rarely speaking, always concise.
Now it seemed… was this guy simply too lazy to talk much?!
Seeing the other party looking drowsy, Hephaestus didn’t have the bad sense to continue disturbing him.
“Then, please allow me to take my leave.”
“Go on, go on.”
Hades waved his hand calmly, then closed his eyes, tilted his head, and fell asleep again.
Good heavens.
Hephaestus just kept saying good heavens.
This ability to fall asleep instantly was comparable to a certain four-eyed elementary school student next to a blue robotic cat.
Hephaestus took a deep look at the sleeping Hades and his [temple], then quietly left.
Although he had received permission from the master, Hephaestus still couldn’t wander freely in the lands of the Underworld.
After all, before Hades—the King of the Underworld—had come to the Underworld, other gods had ruled here.
Hephaestus left Hades’s [temple], but then turned in a different direction—heading directly toward the abyss of Tartarus.
As he walked further, the surrounding environment became increasingly harsh.
However, for Hephaestus, these conditions were already commonplace.
He casually traversed this barren and dangerous land, finally reaching his destination—a temple.
Unlike the luxury on Olympus, and unlike the [simplicity] of Hades’s [temple], this temple was more like a library than a temple.
Yes.
A library.
And it was a library built by Hephaestus himself.
Hephaestus walked forward, reached out, and grabbed the door knocker, striking the hard door panel with force.
Knock, knock—
The dull thuds were particularly abrupt in the silent environment.
As the third knock sounded, the heavy door opened automatically.
“Hurry up and get in here.”
A slightly impatient voice came from afar.
Hephaestus calmly entered the library.
As he listened to the sound of the door closing behind him, he continued walking forward.
The walls inside the library were inlaid with gems that emitted a gentle white light, making the interior of the library as clear as day.
This allowed Hephaestus to take in the vast internal space—completely different in size from what was shown outside.
Countless bookshelves filled his entire vision.
On those wooden shelves, stone tablets were neatly arranged, one after another.
The characters inscribed on the tablets were profound and complex—if people of later generations saw these, they would probably have their brains explode at first sight.
Yes.
A literal explosion.
Not just the divine script, but also the content recorded on the tablets.
These were things that the frail humans of later generations could not bear.
Even the demigod heroes of the Heroic Age would suffer terrible pain upon seeing these stone tablets.
And here, a small figure was writing furiously at a huge desk in the center of the library.
Tap—
Hephaestus’s footsteps echoed, causing the figure to stop her work.
She looked up, revealing an exquisite face somewhere between a girl and a young woman.
The striking contrast of her light purple long hair and light purple eyes made Hephaestus’s heart skip a beat.
“Hmph—little one, what do you want?
Hurry up and say it.”
The girl put down the stone tablet in her hand with dissatisfaction, looking annoyed as she urged Hephaestus.
“I don’t have time to accompany you—wait a minute?”
As she was urging him, the girl’s expression suddenly changed—instantly shifting from impatience to keen interest.
She leaped up and landed directly in front of Hephaestus.
In front of Hephaestus, who was 1.78 meters tall, the girl barely reached his chest—making her appear even more petite and delicate.
However, beneath her loose robe, some impressive contours could vaguely be seen.
“You… why do you feel different to me?”
The girl tried hard to look up at Hephaestus, her expression growing more and more surprised the more she looked.
Her excited, gesticulating demeanor was like an elementary school student who had received a new toy.
In response, Hephaestus looked down and greeted this goddess with a smile.
“It’s been a long time, wise and powerful Hecate.
Your majesty is still so abundant.”