The Hero Who Granted Her a New Life

God of Fire stared at Thaumas in a daze, never having expected him to agree.

After all, the difficulty of this task was something even the gods were unwilling to touch—or perhaps it wasn't that they were unwilling, but rather that they preferred to watch from the sidelines.

In any case, Goddess of Wisdom Athena had certainly offered her no help.

Yet this little one, after hearing her plea, had actually chosen to assist her, which left God of Fire feeling deeply astonished.

And so, "Thank you, child. If you wish, you may leave now; they are waiting for you outside," God of Fire said gently.

Since Thaumas had already agreed to her commission, she would simply trust in this child capable of bringing about miracles.

She should no longer hold him back; he had a mission of his own, and God of Fire was in no particular rush herself.

"Thank you for taking care of me all these days, Goddess God of Fire." Thaumas bowed to her solemnly, then suddenly remembered something.

Thaumas hurriedly took out a gift he had prepared long ago from his bag.

It was a small music box, a creation of Thaumas.

"Right, Teacher, this is for you. It is not a tribute from a mortal to a deity, but a token of gratitude from a student to his teacher. Please, you must accept it."

God of Fire was stunned for another moment.

She had never received a gift like this before.

"What is this? I have never seen such a thing."

"It is a box filled with music, my own special creation, gifted to you, Teacher. It can play the music I have recorded within it." As he spoke, Thaumas gently turned the winding key.

The moment Thaumas let go, the magical little box immediately began to emit a beautiful melody.

As the God of Fire, a deity of smithing, she understood its construction at a single glance.

By tightening the spring to drive the cylinder to rotate at a constant speed, the protrusions on the cylinder would pluck the reeds as they passed the comb, producing the set notes.

Using this small spring as a power source was a truly fascinating concept.

God of Fire was not only the God of Fire in Ancient Greece, the god of smithing and masonry, but also the god of the art of sculpture.

Since it touched upon art, she naturally found herself quite fond of such an object.

This kind of ingenuity perfectly struck a chord with her interests.

What a truly interesting little thing.

"Mm, I like it very much. But I have nothing left to bestow upon you; the authority I promised you will only be granted after you have helped me. Therefore, I cannot accept this; it would make me, as a deity, feel ashamed," God of Fire said with regret, then added:

"You could give it to Apollo; as the god of music, he might quite enjoy it."

Upon hearing this, Thaumas shook his head slightly, looked at God of Fire, and spoke firmly:

"No! This is different. I said it before: this is not a tribute to a deity, but a gift from a student to his teacher. After all, it was you who taught me all these skills, was it not? So, Teacher, please accept it! This is my thanks to you. It has nothing to do with divinity."

And so, after hearing this, God of Fire replied earnestly: "Then I shall accept it."

However, "But since you are my student, I realize I have yet to give you a welcoming gift. Take this chain; it is one of my better works."

God of Fire brought out the chain—the very one used to bind gods.

Thaumas's eyes lit up. He was very familiar with this chain, as it had been wrapped around his arms only a short while ago.

If he possessed this chain, he would essentially possess a divine artifact capable of suppressing divinity!

Thus, Thaumas accepted it without hesitation and said with a smile:

"Then, goodbye for now, Teacher!"

He walked out and left the great hall.

Silence returned to the space, leaving only the God of Fire and her doll maid.

And so, "I recall saying I would dismantle you, did I not?" God of Fire said calmly to the doll maid.

"Ah—Master God of Fire! Please, spare me!" Upon hearing this, the little maid immediately knelt to beg for forgiveness, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

Was this day finally here?

As a doll that existed as an imperfection, inferior to Pandora, was she destined for nothing but the scrap heap?

Even though she had tried so hard, was she still unable to escape her fated end?

She trembled, praying for her master's mercy, hoping that if her master were in a good enough mood, she might be granted a reprieve.

"Go report to the scrap room yourself."

The cold voice arrived, pronouncing the end of the doll's hard-won life.

Just as she felt the depths of despair, "Eh—I forgot something. Hmm? What is this?" Thaumas, having returned as quickly as he had left, spoke with an apologetic expression, though the scene before him clearly caught him off guard.

"It is nothing, merely the disposal of an imperfect work. You may go retrieve your belongings yourself," God of Fire said gently.

"Imperfect? But I think she is quite fine. By the way, Goddess God of Fire, what is your maid's name? I have never heard her say it," Thaumas asked, puzzled.

"Hmm? Why would one name a doll? They are merely dispensable things."

"How can you say that! If you do not give them names, it would surely be difficult to tell them apart, wouldn't it?

Do not misunderstand; I only bring this up so that it might be easier for you to identify them.

By the way, this maid has taken excellent care of me, and I must thank her for her service these past few days.

I hope that the next time I come to see you, Goddess, I will be able to see her as well. After all, she is quite competent," Thaumas said, feigning indifference.

"You are very eager to keep her?"

"Eh—why would you say that, beautiful Goddess God of Fire?"

"Because you know that if you had asked directly, I would have had no reason to spare her, given that she is merely a defective product. But since you have pleaded for her, she shall remain," God of Fire replied, seeing through Thaumas's little trick and answering with nonchalance.

"As expected, nothing can be hidden from a deity." Thaumas felt no shame at being exposed; instead, he said with a relaxed expression:

"As expected, Goddess God of Fire is kind."

Then, suddenly feeling a sense of unease, God of Fire drove Thaumas away; she did not want him to see her in such an unsightly state.

She did not know what this feeling was.

Perhaps this was the emotion known as "liking."

After Thaumas had left, The bewildered little maid had not yet processed what had happened; heaven knows what kind of emotional rollercoaster her world had just experienced.

Not only had she successfully survived and avoided the fate of being dismantled, She had also obtained something she had never dared to imagine—a name.

"Hmm, since he has said as much, I shall give you a name. What would be good? I, God of Fire, am not very good at this.

Hmm—I have it! I shall call you Epluto!

Pluto means rebirth, and adding the 'E' prefix will avoid sharing a name with the son of that Mother Earth, Gaia."

Is this what a hero is?

It is truly quite wonderful! He has brought her a miracle!

Although that fellow is quite detestable, the little maid was now filled with gratitude toward him. She had not expected him to be such a decent person after all!

Thank you to this human hero who brought her rebirth!

Thank you to the great Master God of Fire!

The little maid—no, Epluto—prayed earnestly in her heart.