God Of Crafting

"Would you?" I asked as we parted our lips, only to raise and slide my hand up Claire's side, track the curvature of her waist turning into her chest, over her armpit, and across her neck, all the way to the point where my hand laid down on her cheek.

But I wasn't done there.

Moving my hand just a little bit higher, I locked Claire's bottom lip between my thumb and the side of my forefinger, pulling it down as if to open her mouth for another kiss.

Claire's hands moved up and rested down on my chest as she obediently followed my guidance, allowing me to pull her mouth open… and thus rendering herself unable to voice her answer.

Instead, she pushed the top of her head down, wrapping her upper lip down against my finger only to then look up, giving me a perfect look at her upturned eyes.

'This cannot mean anything but yes,' I thought as I felt her tongue start to lick all over my fingers all the while she maintained eye eye-contact between the two of us.

Which only made it harder for me to follow through with the next step.

"Well, that's good to know, but this time I will have to refuse."

I first relaxed my fingers to let Claire's bottom lip slip out, before sliding my forefinger out of her mouth and then dropping my hand down to my own hips just fast enough to escape with it before Claire could catch it with her mouth again.

"Huh?"

The shock on Claire's face was real. And in all honesty, it didn't take a genius to figure out why.

'This is the first time I refused her advances, isn't it?' I thought right as Claire leaned back on my lap, still holding the same shocked look on her. She then stared deeply into my face as if unsure if I was still the same man that she was starting to get to know better.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but after thinking about it, I really dislike the idea of conceding something just because you offered this kind of service," I stated while shaking my head, only stopping the shaking when I was ready to look up straight ahead and into Claire's eyes. "And this isn't the topic to be taken so lightly it could be solved in this way."

Claire still refused to say a single word… but she bit her lips as a hint of frustration flashed through her eyes.

"What do you want to know about them, then?" Claire finally asked, speaking out for the very first time since I suddenly refused her advanced right as she admitted she was willing to try one of the things that most men in the world desired with the entirety of their hearts.

"Why they thought a kidnapping attempt was the best way to approach the matter, why they went through this in the first place, why didn't they just approach me and ask for cooperation…" I spoke out some random reasons I could think of off the top of my head… while keeping silent about the real reasons I wanted to meet with those people.

It wasn't something as simple as just a desire to bury my feet into the stomach of the people who dared to attempt to take my freedom away. In all honesty, with all the time that passed since the incident, I couldn't really care less about them.

But, as stupid as it was, I really wanted to know whether or not they had anything to do with Claire and-slash-or Chihiro.

And it was all because of the timing of this attack… wasn't it a bit too damn convenient?

Sure, I came into my meeting with Chihiro and Claire pretty much with my decision to cooperate with them made… Or rather, I came to that meeting with the mindset of someone applying for cooperation rather than someone seeking the best offer for my skills.

And after just a moment of thought, the timelines of the things that happened made little to no sense within the assumption it was Chihiro who arranged the event…

But what if it was something he prepared in advance in case I wasn't willing to make the deal?

'Assuming it's true, it won't change much for me for now… But as respectable of an attempt at covering all one's bases as it potentially was, it's something I need to know to better understand how to move with that man watching every move I make.'

"If it's about those questions, we already have the answers though?" Claire spoke while leaning her head over her shoulder and moving her upper body ever-so-slightly closer to mine.

'She's really making it hard to believe they had anything to do with it,' I thought, sensing how my answers made Claire relax as if I didn't voice out the reason behind my wish to meet those would-be-kidnappers that she was worried to be behind my motivation.

"Care to share them?" I requested while raising my hands just a little bit higher to return them back to where they felt to be in their fated spot - right at the indentation of Claire's waist.

That place… it felt as if the creation itself was behind making it feel just so damn right for my hands to hold!

"They attempted the kidnapping because they learned about your connection to my clan and realized they couldn't afford to offer anything we wouldn't bid over," Claire answered without even a second thought. "They went through it in the first place because they believed you were about to craft a certain thing.

As for why they didn't approach you… well, my first answer already serves as a fitting reply to this question too, doesn't it?"

Thinking back to the questions I posed, I couldn't help but nod my head in agreement.

"Then, why did they deem my abilities important enough to attempt something so bold if not outright stupid as kidnapping right in the middle of a damn city? Not to even bring up the fact of actively using their powers while doing so?"

This time, rather than turning surprised, Claire's face outright darkened.

She then lowered her eyes and took a deep breath, calming herself down before slowly raising her eyes back and looking straight into my face while her hands moved to rest upon my shoulders.

"Tell me, what do you know about Vahanea structure?"