A month and a half have passed since Goun attempted to take the rulers of the nations of Alta, Dunlap, Obai, Meerka, and Merluka hostage. Thanks to the efforts of Eric, disguised as his alter persona Hephaestus, the attempt was foiled, and Goun was forced into a non-aggression magical contract. Eric was busy at work in his workshop, hammering away with his god anvil and hammer that were gifts from the God of Fire and Crafting, the true Hephaestus.

Each strike sent out golden sparks as flames traveled out of his modern forge, wrapping themselves around the metal to keep it hot. His breath was ragged, and he seemed to be working within a trance. CLANG! Sparks fly about, a golden light flashes into a set of bracers. CLANG! With one final strike, all of the golden light upon the hammer flashes and attaches to the bracer.

Eric stumbles backward to be caught by Rorroco, his second wife and mountain giant. She altered her form to a smaller one using a spell he taught her called [Resize].

“Geese, Eric, you are pushing yourself too hard!” She lowered him into a chair.

“I’m... I’m sorry, Roro.” His breathing was even heavier now that he was finished.

“The lights still not dimming.” Ruby, the young rabbit beast-kin girl that Eric had adopted, watched on as the bracer continued to glow.

“That is a lot of divine energy.” Luna, the young goddess who helped him when he first arrived in the world, was taking on a mortal form to join him in the world as his little sister.

“Do you think Hephaestus would be happy with this?” Micah, his first wife, and a demon-kin dark elf asked.

“It’s not a sword. Until, until I figure out, what to do, I don’t want to waste... the materials.” His breath was still labored.

“Your Papa really does not know the word restraint, does he?” Rorroco rubbed her budding stomach.

Eric looked over at her, feeling a bit of disappointment in himself.

“Sigh. I’m sorry. I will take a break.” He drank some divine water to recover some of his strength. He looked over at the bracer that was still glowing.

That’s going to take a while.

“Hey, Papa! Why don’t we take a trip to Merluka! The tracks finished yesterday, and the train was due to leave soon! You will get to rest on the ride!” Ruby cheerily offered her idea.

Oh right, the train. Ugh, I hope Douglas is not too mad…

“ABOUT DAMN TIME YOU SHOWED UP! Do you know what time it is!? The train is supposed to leave in forty minutes, you damn fool!” Douglas was fuming and throwing a massive fit.

“I-I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” Eric was apologizing to the irate dwarf.

Micah, Rorroco, Ruby, and Luna watched with amused smiles on their faces.

“GAH! Just change your damn clothes already! We’re gonna be late!”

Eric changed their clothing using his Haven ability, and they headed to the carriages waiting out front.

As they rode toward the train station that was built along the eastern wall of the city. Phaestus looked out onto his city.

I really have been spending too much time crafting.

He observed his bustling city, full of life. All about, humans, dwarves, gnomes, beast-kin, giants, and even a few demon-kin went about their lives happily.

Oh, that is a new shop… Jigglyballs Cookery… I don’t know how I feel about that sign… Oh! Simon has a Monster Research Center! Right next to the Adventurer’s Guild like I recommended!

Phaestus was feeling a bit of regret for holing himself up to focus on crafting. In nearly two months, he had forged improved weapons for the girls, added mithril armor upgrades to their waistcoats, various trinkets to significantly increase their capabilities and resistances.

“Oh right, Papa, what was that last item you made?” Ruby asked while she was playing with a happy Leros.

“Hmm? Oh, that. It is the second time I am attempting it. The first time did not yield what I wanted. But I am hoping this one does. It is… You know what, I am going to leave as a surprise.” He said with a smile, getting a few disappointed glares from the girls.

“Trust me. You will be more amazed once you see it in action.”

The noise outside the carriage became loud with cheers.

“Duke Hephaestus!” “Lady Aphrodite!” “Ruby! We love you!” “Lady Athena!” “Blessings onto Lady White!”

The cheers kept flooding in, bringing smiles to their faces, then the carriages came to a stop. They hopped out of the carriages and walked up onto the platform where the train was. Their cheers became even louder than before.

“DIE HERETIC!” A crazed man, foaming at the mouth, charged up toward the Phaestus.

Phaestus raised his hand, and a mithril ring that was set with a black pearl glowed. An invisible force instantly pushed the man to the ground, holding him there. Some of the crowd rushed forward to grab him, but Phaestus stopped them.

“Stop! I don’t want any of you to be caught up in the spell!”

The people backed away and let the city guard through. Phaestus released the spell, and the guards carried the unconscious man away in shackles.

“I’m sorry, my lord.” A tall demon-kin woman approached.

“It is no issue Captain Duragin. Even weeds can hide amongst the tall grass.” Phaestus replied with a casual smile.

Captain Duragin had reddish skin, yellow eyes like a cat, a set of lower tusks, and a couple of small onyx-colored horns coming from her forehead. She was an Oni, smaller than most of her kind but just as strong. Duragin was one of the many people rescued from the hidden holding cells beneath the old Church of Light in Meerka.

The church had been converted into a new orphanage for children. At Phaestus’ advice, the King of Meerka even offered traders and skilled workers slight tax reductions for any who would take some time out of their day to stop by there and teach the children their skills. He recommended that the tax break only gets applied if they sign an agreement to teach a couple of days each week for a month.

“Thank you, sir! We will question the man. You lot there, increase security around the platform!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Some of the city guards moved in to place, and Captain Duragin moved near where Phaestus stood.

“Carry upon winds my message [Amplify Voice].”

“Another new spell! MARRY ME!” The familiar voice of Wanda, the scroll maker, could be heard in the background before she got smacked by Al, the cat beast-kin, and her handler. Phaestus chose to ignore her.

“Everyone, I thank you all for coming this day! I also apologize for my absence. My family has chastised me for spending too much time in my workshop.” He smiled, which brought many smiles and laughter.

“Those of you who worked on the new tracks to Merluka, I thank you. Your efforts have linked four great nations to bring about prosperity and unity to all our people!”

The people cheered.

“Today is the maiden voyage that will begin here in our great city of Lenmos, that we have all put a piece our souls into!”

They cheered again, calling out their names, shaking the very air.

“We will now depart from our city and make our way to Meerka, then onto to our ally in the south Merluka!”

“Papa, great!”

Every person went silent at the tiny voice that called out.

“L-Leros!?” Dite cried out while looking at their boy.

“Papa. Great!”

Phaestus began laughing. “Apparently, my son decided to make this great occasion even better by speaking his first words!”

His comment garnered multiple cries for how cute he was or cheering happily.

“Master Leros! So adorable!” “Young master!”

Leros began laughing happily and clapping.

“We will now begin boarding the train! In four days, we will arrive in Merluka!”

Phaestus and his family moved off to the side where Captain Reed was standing, along with the ex-prince of Meerka, Fenton. He looked more mature than he had when Phaestus was first harassed by the young man.

“My lord.” He bowed his head.

“Fenton.”

“Hahaha, you two really should just let bygones be bygones.” Captain Reed laughed.

“My lord, I was a fool. I am sorry that I made such an idiotic threat to your family. I understand now how blind I was and how evil the church is. I had no idea they did such things to people. But thanks to the Captain and the rest of the crew, I... I have so many regrets….” Fenton began tearing up with a frustrated face.

“Fenton, I never did find out. What lies did the Bishop feed you?”

“Huh? Oh, that. He told me that my brother was conspiring with Goun. That he had been funneling kingdom funds to them and had plans to smuggle soldiers of Goun into the city for a coup, to turn control over to them. But the main thing I did not think of was, what benefit was there in doing such a thing? None whatsoever. He was already the crown prince. I let my jealousy of my brother cloud my sight, allowing that bastard to take advantage of me. Again, Lord Hephaestus, Lady Athena, I am sorry.” He bowed deeply to the two of them.

The king’s hopes seem to have been answered.

Phaestus smiled and patted the young man’s shoulder.

“You are forgiven, Fenton. Tell you what, Milana, do you think Fenton is due for a shore leave?”

“I think so. We don’t have a run to Obai for a couple of weeks. So, Fenton, you are on shore leave for now. Be back here ready to ship out in two weeks.”

Fenton stood up straight thanked them with tears in his eyes.

“I will go home. I will bow my head and apologize to my family! I will promise them I will pay for my sin with all I have! Thank you! Thank you so much!” Fenton broke down into tears.

All of that must have been weighing heavily on him.

“Alright. We will be boarding the train to Merluka. We will teleport back after spending a few days in there. The last time we were there, we did not have a chance to visit the beaches. The young King of Merluka invited us,” his smile widened, “and the royal family of Dunlap.”

“Oh? The young king is putting the moves on Princess Lindi?” Captain Reed laughed.

“They got along really well during that welcome banquet before the wedding.”

“That’s so adorable, young love. Maybe I should start looking for a good man.” She leaned in close to Phaestus teasingly, but he knew she was joking.

“Alright, Milana. I sense you want something.”

“Correct! We wanted to know if you could do something about bathing. We enjoy the bathhouse when we are in Lenmos, but we were hoping to maybe have a water tank and a boiler added to the airship. Just wiping ourselves down would be appreciated.”

“Hmm, here are ten gold. Check-in with Fizzy to see if she can get one installed, along with a water tank. Actually, mention to her that this would be a good opportunity to test out the water purifier too.”

“Thank you!” She hugged him, making sure to mess with him by planting his head in her chest.

“Come on now, Milana, keep things professional.” Phaestus pulled away from her.

She was a bit confused as to how she had zero effect on him.

Mwahaha! I have nearly died thanks to Rorroco and Queen Delvirra! Only my wives have any effect on me!

“Grand Master!”

What? Why is everything dark? I CAN’T BREATHE!? It felt as though his head was inside a warm and soft pillow.

He felt multiple hands pulling on his clothes, and shortly after, his head was freed.

“What. Just. Happened?”

“OW! OW! OW! Please forgive me! Stop Al! That’s so mean! Ouch!”

He looks over, seeing Wanda wearing a very low-cut robe, getting her face crushed in Dite’s vice grip while Al repeatedly smacking her with a stick.

“Al, may I crush her skull finally?”

“Yes, Lady Aphrodite. I think it is time.”

“Ahh! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please forgive me! AHH!”

Eric blushes a bit once he puts the story together.

Maybe I spoke too soon… Wait a minute.

Phaestus leaned over to White and whispers to her.

“Hey. Would Aphrodite have anything to do with this?”

White looks at him in confusion. “I doubt Dite had… Oh wait, you mean that one. Maybe, she has a knack for messing with people, and you kind of are a disciple of her husband, so it would not be surprising.” White whispered back.

Phaestus frowned and stepped up to Wanda, who was breathing heavily, a creepy smile on her face.

“Wanda.”

Dite and Al let her go. Wanda looked up at him expectantly.

“Shatter and Break the enchantment before me. [Break: Enchantment].” Phaestus cast a spell with a pleasant smile.

Wanda began struggling to keep her upper body up straight.

“W-w-what is going on?! Soooooo heavy!” Wanda struggled, eventually ending up chest down.

I thought so. Wanda used the enchanted robes so much that her body never developed the needed muscles.

“What?! Grandmaster! Why?!” Wanda cried.

Even though Phaestus had a pleasant smile on his face, Wanda was shivering at the fury behind it.

“Wanda. Whenever you do something like that, I will break the enchantment on your robes, leading to your current situation. I want you to understand that my beloved wives would be the only ladies I want doing something like that. Is that understood?” Phaestus finished his threat.

“Y-y-y-y-yes, sir!” Wanda cried.

Now I need to have a chat with the goddess Aphrodite next time I see her.

“Al, it was good to see you again. We will be heading onto the train now. Douglas, we will return in about a week, then you and your wife will take a one-week vacation.” Douglas thanked Phaestus.

Phaestus and his family boarded the train on the private train car for upper-ranked nobles.

“Brother, so good to see you out of your workshop.” “Hello, uncle!” “It is good to see you, uncle.” “Did ye bring that sake you spoke of?” The Dunlap Royal family welcomed Phaestus and his family onboard the train.

“How was the ride from Dunlap?” Phaestus asked as they joined them on the sofas.

“Things were quite pleasant, especially since you taught me that [Resize] spell.” The Queen’s stomach was bulging just as much as Athena’s.

“How has your morning sickness been, sister?” Athena asked.

The Queen and Athena got into a conversation about their experiences, and Dite joined them. Ruby and Princess Lindi took Leros and played with him, trying to get him to say her name. Phaestus, Prince Alfa, and the King sat in a booth with a table where he poured some of Obai’s special reserved sake for them.

“This stuff was surprisingly tasty. It has a mildly sweet and smooth taste to it.” Phaestus explained as he poured three small glasses.

“I thought you don’t drink?” The king said, accepting his glass.

“Normally, I don’t. Never really liked the taste, but this stuff is not bad. The taste of alcohol is pretty mild.” Phaestus said, handing a glass to the prince.

They clinked their glasses and took a drink.

“Oh! This is good stuff. Though, I think Delvirra would like this more. I like the stronger stuff.” The king said.

“If you want stronger, I have this too.” Phaestus summoned up a small barrel the size of a basketball.

“This is a whiskey from Alta. I think it was called Golden Gate?”

The prince and king’s mouths hung open.

“Ye have to be kidding me! That’s some of the best stuff! How’d ye get it?!” The king asked.

“Oh, well, uh, I can’t really say. Sorry. It was a thank you gift, is all I can say.” Phaestus said with a smile.

Mr. Barlett made me promise not to mention that his wife is the one who makes it. Sorry, your majesty.

The king and prince tried to get Phaestus to tell them, but he eventually lied, telling him what Mr. Barlett told him to say, which was that he was under a magic contract to not speak.

“Not to worry though, I will get more of this once or twice a year. I haven’t tried this yet, so I am curious.”

Phaestus pulled the cork and filled some glasses he summoned from his Haven. The king took a deep sniff of the whiskey.

“Ahh, that smells delicious. They say that it is infused with various herbs and magic.”

I wonder if I could use the divine water to make wine. I have the grapes and equipment. Divine water with divine grapes… Yeah, that might be dangerous… But I’ll still try.

They took a sip of the whiskey.

“Whoa. Cough. That burns, but it tastes great.” Phaestus said.

“Gah! My boy! You gotta sip this kind of drink! Not gulp it down!” The king complained to his son.

Phaestus laughed and enjoyed their trip to Meerka.

“I will be on my way, my lord. And, thank you.” Fenton rode the train to Meerka and stopped by to thank Phaestus.

“You’re welcome, Fenton. Here are a few gifts you can take from us.” He handed him a bag with some items.

“Thank you, my lord. I will let them know they are from you.” Fenton walked off toward the castle, carrying a letter from Phaestus to get him an audience with his family.

Once he was out of earshot, Queen Delvirra spoke up from the window.

“Are you sure you can trust him?” She asked.

“Trust, not completely. But at the very least, I feel that Fenton has made a turn for the better. His weakness is that he let his emotions take too much control. Not to mention he still possesses an inferiority complex to his brother. It is not as bad as it was, but it is still there, like a scar. He will need time for it to fade.” Phaestus said, watching the young man disappear into the crowd.

One of the train workers announced that they would be departing soon. Ruby returned with some snacks and a couple of items that the ladies requested.

“Lord Phaestus.” Lady Vannil approached.

“Lady Vannil, good to see you. Coming along?” He asked.

“You know I am too damn busy to go joyriding. Though my husband is working to clear up our schedules so that we can take a trip later. For now, though, I wanted to bring you a warning.”

“A warning?”

“Yes. It is not confirmed, but there are rumors that someone might be planning an attack on the train. I don’t know much more than that. So keep an ear out.”

“Any leads?” He asked.

“Nothing solid. I will keep digging, though.”

Phaestus thanked her and headed back into the train car and to inform everyone within.