“Very well, I accept your request,” Hephaestus said, taking a moment to sort through her thoughts.

  “Thank you,” Draco replied, carefully ing the dragon scales in yers of thick cloth, soaked in his blood, until it’s ominous aura faded.

  He wasirely sure why this method worked, but it did.

  After seg the scales, Draco hahem to Hephaestus, who took them into her private fe—a sacred space where no one dared to enter without her express permission.

  “Phew,” Draco let out a sigh of relief, feeling lighter now that Hephaestus had taken one burden off his mind.

  “Draco!!” Bahamut called from behind him, snapping him out of his ptions.

  She pounced onto his back, her small frame dangling pyfully, and her warm breath tig his neck.

  “What is it?” Draco asked, slightly startled but amused.

  “Why do you insist on taking such a voluted route? I know you love free things. I’m sure Hephaestus wouldn’t have minded crafting a few items for you at no cost,” Bahamut inquired, her voice filled with curiosity.

  “Hmmm, you know me well. While I do love free things, I also uand the immense value of the work that Hephaestus pours her soul into. It would be insulting to request any of her creations for free; it feels like I would be undermining the value of her time and effort. At least that’s the impression I got since I ehis room,” Draco expihoughtfully.

  “Did you hear that, Hephi? Your work has mao tame this greedy one!” Bahamut teased, clearly aware that Hephaestus was eavesdropping from her fe.

  Hephaestus’s face flushed a bright red in embarrassment.

  It hadn’t been her iion to listen in, but after securely st the scales, she had tried to return to her office but actally overheard their versation.

  She couldn’t find the right moment to re-enter.

  “Ahem, by the way, why are you two like that? Isn’t it a bit too intimate?” Hephaestus asked, raising an eyebrow. Bahamut was still hanging from Draco’s back, their faces unfortably close.

  “I don’t think Drainds it. We’re dating after-all,” Bahamut replied casually, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

  “What!” Hephaestus excimed, her surprise evident.

  This revetion was jarring, especially since Bahamut had shown no i in males until now.

  “When did this happen? Isn’t it only about five or six months sinet?” Hephaestus asked, trying to process this new information.

  “Hmm, we started what I like to call ‘passive dating’ about two months ago. Besides, love happen at any time,” Bahamut expined, a pyful smile on her lips.

  “Passive dating?” Hephaestus repeated, her brow furrowing in fusion.

  “Well, it means we’re dating but won’t proceed as a normal couple until Draes of age,” Bahamut crified.

  “What does that mean? It’s so fusing,” Hephaestus admitted, feeling lost ierminology.

  “Think of it this way: we aowledge our feelings for each other, but we won’t act like a traditional couple until Draco is older,” Bahamut eborated.

  “Oh, I somewhat uand now. gratutions!” Hephaestus said, her tone shifting to one of genuine happiness.

  “Thanks,” Bahamut replied, beaming at the pliment.

  Sighing inwardly, Hephaestus couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy.

  ‘So she really has someone now,’ she thought, subsciously reag for her eyepatbsp;

  She felt a bit left behind for reasons she couldn’t quite articute.

  Bahamut quickly sehe ge in Hephaestus’s demeanour but chose not to ent on it.

  ‘If she is one of his fated partners, that would be wonderful,’ Bahamut thought, a small smile creeping onto her face.

  “Ahem, there’s something else I would like to request,” Draterjected, keen to lighten the suddenly awkward atmosphere.

  “What is it?” Hephaestus asked, quickly l her hand from her face.

  “These,” Draco said, handing over two objects ed in light cloth to Hephaestus.

  “Are these horns?” Hephaestus asked, her crafters’ instincts tingling slightly.

  The sensation was not as intense as with the scales, but she could tell that these horns were valuable.

  “Yeah, they are my old horns. They i with, store, and trol any of the four basic elements. I figured they could be useful for crafting something special,” Draco expined.

  His old horns had fallen off during his transformation a month ago.

  He had retrieved them from Vasiliki, who had wao keep them as souvenirs.

  Although these horns were much weaker than his current ones, which could potentially i with higher elements, he believed they still possessed value.

  “I see, but are you sure about this?” Hephaestus asked, her tone cautious.

  She had learned how sensitive dragons could be regarding their horns, having experiehis firsthand with Bahamut, who was a dragon goddess.

  She assumed that Draco, as a dragon kin, would be simir.

  “It’s fihink of it as pensation for not letting you use the one-eyed bck dragon scales just yet. So go ahead a your imagination run wild with them. I’m open to any oute and will pay the appropriate price,” Draco replied, his siy clear.

  “Really?” Hephaestus firmed again, barely able to tain her excitement.

  She roag the end of her current projed had been p what her one would be.

  “He said it’s okay. So go work yic!” Bahamut enced with enthusiasm.

  “Thank you,” Hephaestus said, a mesmerizing smile grag her lips.

  It was a smile so beautiful and genuine, when mixed with her charmiures and personality, made Draco’s heart skip a beat.

  ‘What was that?’ Draco thought, feeling his heart rate spike uedly.

  The sensation ed him.

  Bahamut noticed his fused expression and smiled knowingly.

  ‘So Hephi might be oer all. At least it’s not some stranger. I don’t uand why Hephi uimates her own charm,’ she mused.

  After this, Bahamut and Hephaestus engaged in light banter while Draco observed from the background.

  He found the pyful exge betweewo goddesses to be a refreshing experienbsp;

  He occasionally chimed ihey discussed topics he was familiar with, but for the most part, he remained a quiet observer, feeling the atmosphere shift from teo lively.

  As time passed, it became clear that it was time for them to take their leave. Draco had expined all the properties of his horns to Hephaestus, hoping this information would assist her in crafting somethiraordinary.

  Hephaestus expressed her gratitude for his insights and even offered a dist, despite the fact that a price had yet to be determined.

  Draco gratefully accepted the offer, already picturing potential nightmares regarding the price she might request for her ission.