Ch. 79: Sharing A Drink Of Vodka (Hermes POV)
I stood alone in the dimly lit workshop, left behind by Hades and Talos. Now, I was stuck with the brute of a god, Hephaestus. Great. If you could imagine a living embodiment of hammers, it was him. His frame was massive, his shoulders hunched over an anvil that looked like it had borne the brunt of a thousand thunderstrikes. I glanced around, wondering how to escape before he decided to use me as a stress ball.
“Cripes,” I muttered under my breath, my body tense as Hephaestus finally turned his gaze on me. His piercing eyes, gleaming with a strange, unreadable emotion, locked onto mine for a long moment. He did nothing, just stared. I was almost at the verge of peeing myself, and he could probably tell. His silence was louder than the constant clanging of metal behind him. Then, without a word, he returned to his work, his expression unreadable, though I caught a brief flicker of pain on his face.
For a second, I breathed a sigh of relief. Good thing he seemed more interested in his daughter than in me. Thank goodness. But now, I needed to get out of here before he had time to reconsider and vent his anger on me.
He went back to hammering the steel. I couldn’t help but notice the archaic nature of his process. Here was the god of invention, and yet he was beating metal like an ancient blacksmith. Why not use one of his machines?
“Um, you’re an inventor, right?” I asked, my voice shaky as I tried to make small talk. Sparks lit the air as his hammer hit the metal with the precision of someone who had been doing this for centuries. He didn’t answer at first, but I wasn’t about to be deterred. “Why not build something to do that for you?”
His hammer paused mid- swing. “You’re naive,” he said, his voice a low rumble. “Your aura is like molten steel, raw and unmolded. There’s no way you’re Hermes. If I had to guess, you’re one of those otherworlders.” He resumed hammering, barely sparing me a glance.
I froze, my heart skipping a beat. Crap! How did he figure that out so quickly?
“Whoa, you’re smart, inventor guy!” I exclaimed, hoping the fake enthusiasm would mask my panic. This wasn’t good. He’d seen through my disguise almost immediately. Now I was in trouble.
He stopped hammering again and looked at me, his eyes gleaming under the thick lenses of his goggles. “You’re not a smart one, are you?” His voice was laced with disappointment, and I felt the heat rise in my cheeks.
Damn it, this man was dangerous. Too perceptive.
“Why are you with them, anyway?” he asked, his tone shifting to something more probing. “Hades and Talos— they seem distant from you. You’re not partners. You don’t even know what you’re doing, do you?”
That was very obvious!
Shit. He was playing mind games, trying to unravel me. I couldn’t let him get inside my head. “What about you?” I shot back, feigning indifference. “What’s your relationship with Talos? You seem pretty distant yourselves.”
The moment the name left my lips, I knew I had hit a nerve. His expression darkened, and I instinctively took a step back.
“Hrrm!” He grunted, his frustration evident, the sound reverberating through the workshop like a growl from deep within the earth.
Oh no, I’d poked the bear. I’d poked the bear hard. My big mouth was going to get me killed. I swallowed hard, trying to think of a way to calm him down. “Hey, um, big guy, no need to get all worked up. I was just, you know, prying into your business for fun.” My voice sounded pathetic, even to me. “No offense, right?”
He removed his goggles, revealing tired, deeply sunken eyes. He didn’t look like he wanted to murder me anymore— at least, not right now. “Would you care for a glass of vodka?” he asked suddenly, his voice gravelly but oddly gentle as he walked over to a small corner of the workshop.
“Uh, what’s that? Is it alcohol?” I asked, genuinely clueless. “I’m… pretty sure I’m underage.”
His rough chuckle echoed around the room. “Funny little man,” he muttered. I wasn’t sure if he was being condescending or if he actually found me amusing. He slammed a huge fridge open with a force that made me flinch. The metal door creaked dangerously, but somehow it stayed attached.
He pulled out a large bottle and poured the clear liquid into a massive mug, which was definitely his. Then, with little regard for etiquette, he poured the rest into a small, greasy glass and shoved it across the table toward me. The glass was smeared with grease, fingerprints clearly visible on the surface. Lovely.
I stared at the glass, feeling both offended and slightly nauseated. Did his mother not teach him any manners? He must have caught the look on my face because he suddenly gave me a sharp glare.
“Not drinking?” Hephaestus rumbled, his voice taking on a menacing edge. “Or maybe you’re too ‘holy’ to share a drink with a god of filth, huh?” He snorted, shaking his head. “Funny how you mortals act.”
“No, no!” I stammered, quickly picking up the glass. “It’s just… well, it’s a bit greasy.” I regretted it immediately.
Wait! Did he know I was human?
He slammed his hand on the table, his eyes narrowing. “Greasy? You smeared it with your own hands, brat.” He stood, and for a moment, I thought he might actually smash my skull. Instead, he lumbered over to grab a new glass cup, just why on earth would he think I was responsible for the grease stain. He was clearly the pig here. The sound of clinking glass filling the tense silence.
By the time he returned, there were a dozen bottles of vodka on the table, all set out in a row. I blinked, utterly confused. How did going to get a cup come to this and why would he want to drink so much. This guy is suspicious! “Uh, where’s the new glass cup?” I asked, trying not to sound as terrified as I felt.
His eyes widened as if I’d just asked the dumbest question in the world. “Only babes drink from glasses. We men drink straight from the mother’s tit.” He growled the words, popping the cap off a bottle with his teeth and chugging down the vodka like it was water.
I stared at him in disbelief. “That’s… a weird way to put it,” I muttered, unsure whether I should laugh or run. But I wasn’t about to seem weak, so I mimicked his actions, popping the cap off my own bottle with my teeth. “Huh, not bad,” I said to myself. “I used to need a bottle opener but look how strong I am now.”
“Bahahaha!” He roared with laughter, pounding the table so hard it shook the tools hanging from the walls. “Funny little man! Who the hell uses bottle openers? That’s a human invention!”
I managed a weak smile. He was right— my previous life’s habits were still clinging to me. I took a sip, instantly regretting it as the alcohol burned its way down my throat. “Aaaah! It’s like fire!” I coughed, trying not to drop the bottle.
Hephaestus bellowed with laughter. “Marginspittle! One of the finest drinks around. If you can’t handle it, maybe you’re not as godlike as you think.” He grinned, downing more vodka as if daring me to keep up.
I took another hesitant sip, the burn slightly more bearable this time. “I love alcohol,” I choked out, my throat on fire. “It’s… so tingly. Think I’ll back down from a challenge inventor dude?”
We drank in silence for a moment before I decided to probe him further. “You seem happy now,” I said, trying to keep things light. “Must be because Talos is back, right? She seems like a good person, even if she’s a bit… odd.”
Hephaestus’ expression darkened again, but this time he didn’t explode. Instead, he stared into the bottom of his bottle, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. “Is that so?” he said quietly. “I don’t know if I should be proud of her for finally interacting with someone… or ashamed. I’ve been a terrible father.”
I froze, my eyes widening. “Wait, what? Terrible father? What are you talking about?”
He set his bottle down with a thud, his gaze distant and haunted. “I’m glad I got to see her before I die.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a minute. Who’s dying here?”
He gave me a long, pained look. “I am.”
Yeah, you obviously!
The workshop suddenly felt colder, the air heavy with unspoken grief. I stared at the god of fire and forge, a being I thought was invincible. And in that moment, I realized there was so much more going on here than I’d ever anticipated.
Author’s Note: If you think I have been doing a good job up till now please gift me. It would really make my day. Please don’t ignore the author, this is your own quest….. Hehe just kidding.— I think!
If I revive a magic castle I will mass release 10 chapters
