"Numen let's go..." Grant called out again to Numen who floated before the golem. The little god was inspecting his handiwork with his fingers as frames. Nodding occasionally before frowning every now and then.
"It's missing something..."
"It's missing a full set of durable armor." Grant answered Numen's ponderings. Grant earned a questioning gaze as Numen tilted his head sidewards. Making his confusion known.
"You remodeled the golem to truly resemble a human and it, in fact, looks odd. Despite it having no genitals and facial features it still gives of the impression of a naked burly man.
Grant pointed to the golem's abdomen and Numen followed his finger.
"And those abs coupled with that overly muscular build raises questions. Do you like abs that much numen?" Grant mused as he walked forth. Stopping before the golem and examining it as well. He nodded once more.
"I don't like abs!" Numen shook his head as he retorted, his expression falling shy after Grant's remarks.
"Definitely needs armor for its huge size." Grant concluded again. To him, putting armor on the walking mannequin that was the golem would be highly recommended. Not only would it look more intimidating, but the durability of the golem would also increase according to the suit of armor it was wearing.
And of course, only Grant would have such thoughts as putting armor on a golem in this world. To others, it would only be a waste of resources to do so.
"Wouldn't that cost a lot? Why even encase a walking chunk of stone in armor?" Numen questioned again at the thought of encasing the thing in armor.
"Exactly my point. Why would stone shaped like a human that could talk when controlled by you need armor?" Grant left a rhetorical question and the little god fell silent. Pondering over what Grant had just told him.
"Don't dwell too much on what I said. Everyone has different minds and its fine if you don't understand what I mean." Grant stopped climbing up the rope ladder that led out of the basement. He decided to comfort Numen to make the little god stop thinking about his earlier words.
Grant fixed himself up and checked himself in a tall mirror after climbing up. Black metal tall boots that ran up to his knees. Black gauntlets that reached up to his elbows and a black robe that concealed almost all of his body. He nodded.
Grant was good to go and he was ready for whatever the dispatch would throw at him today.
"I hope its not dealing with some savages again." He wished to not meet those uncultured brutes again. Grant rubbed his right shoulder. He can still remember how his whole right arm was nearly torn off by a really strong savage. It was a C rank savage that gave him such trouble.
These savages were humans who lived at the thickets of the wilderness. Most had no permanent home and wandered nomadically. Fighting against monsters and fellow humans or other tribes for survival.
These savages were also illiterate and listened not to reason.
Easily becoming annoying meatheads that just exist to flex their muscles against everyone who isn't part of their tribe.
Grant peered to the side and saw Tir still sleeping on the couch. He went up to the child and fixed his messed up hair. A smile broke forth from Tir's lips after feeling Grant's warm hand.
Grant frowned seeing Tir smile. The child does not deserve to be in prison with him in the first place. He stood up and sighed. His fist clenched tightly as determination flickered in his eyes.
He would find a way to get the two of them out of Tartarus. Away from troubles and away from danger itself.
"I can't lose you again..." Grant pinched Tir's cheek lightly while he whispered to himself.
"Mn..." Tir frowned before his eyes slowly opened. A grin started spreading across his face until he beamed i to a smile.
"Welcome back papa!" Tir lunged forth to hug Grant. His tail swishing back and forth while he rubbed his cheeks on Grant's chest.
The man who was being hugged smiled faintly. He raised his arm that made clacking noises due to the metal gauntlet and patted Tir's head.
"Tir... Papa will go out and he won't be back for a while again." Grant spoke to his foster son in an apologetic tone. He felt guilty for always leaving Tir to patiently wait inside this hidden room inside the town.
It pained him to see Tir already learning how to be useful around the house by arranging boxes using the golem and running his little shop.
A child must have a happy childhood and Grant felt so far that he was already failing to be a good parent. Which parent would have his child trapped in a prison with him?
Tir's happy smile quickly became a solemn and unhappy expression. His eye brows furrowed together while he seemed to be at the verge of tears.
"When would you come back..." Tir murmured lowly while hanging his head down. He tugged lightly at Grant's shirt. Indicating that he wants the him to stay.
Grant looked at Tir who had a down cast expression. He had wanted to take the kid outside but he was too afraid of having the kid get hurt. It was a dangerous world out there and right now, although he knew himself to be well capable of defending himself, that didn't mean he was strong enough to shoulder the whole world for Tir.
'You should take him with you... Just this once.' A voice echoed throughout Grant's head. Surprising Grant who was too focused at his little Tir. Numen had already finished assessing the golem downstairs and had just vanished into Grant's body again.
'It's not that easy to do...' Grant thought. Numen was able to converse with Grant telepathically once he was inside the sunset haired boy. Making Grant be able to answer by just thinking and not wording out his thoughts.
'I know you are just plainly worried about your little kid. Anyone who cares a lot about someone else other than them would find it hard not to be. But the child needs to go out.' Numen's voiced adressed Grant's worries who found it hard to come to a decision. He picked up Tir and set him to sit down on the couch. He sat cross legged on the wooden floor below him and looked at Tir, eye to eye.
"Papa..." Tir seemed to plead with just his sad eyes and low broken tone. Making Grant feel even more pressed to come to a decision.
'Grant just take him with you...'
'What if he get's hurt? What if some random mutt manages to get past me and bite Tir?' Grant felt frustrated and a bit angered upon having Numen press him to take the child with him. He can't take Tir outside because the mission would be a dangerous one. And he does not let Tir go around the town unless he was with him.
'Grant just take him with you. You owe the kid that much and a child who has an unhappy childhood would grow to have a lot of issues.' Grant gritted his teeth feeling even more frustrated.
He took a deep breath to calm himself. He dropped his head down while touching his fingertips together to form a triangle. He tapped the fingers together starting from the pinky to the index finger. He was thinking. Trying to decide.
He looked at Tir who looked expectantly at him. Grant felt pressured as he could feel the weight of responsibility for the child's safety weighing above his back. Weighing the cons and pros of taking Tir with him on a field mission, he came to an answer.
'Fine I'm taking him with me.'
'Finally! That took you so long!'
'But you are in charge of always watching over him. Alert me when something dangerous is coming and I managed to not detect it.'
'I'll take full responsibikity for Tir's safety.' By the time their little mental conversation was over, Numen popped into existence from the air and smiled at Grant.
Grant shook his head. He does not want to take the Tir on such a dangerous voyage but Numen was right. He keeps on staying with Tir for short periods of time while being absent for days and even weeks.
Their relationship would suffer if he kept on doing what he was doing. And it might even cause the child to hate him. A thought that Grant didn't want to come true.
"Tir... Papa is sorry for leaving you and it has come to my decision that..." Grant bit his lip unsure of continuing. Numen shook his head and he gestured to grant to keep going. Numen patted his chest before flexing his right bicep amd patting it as well with a smug smile. Seeing a small palm sized child who was floating in the air act as if he really had some well defined muscles made Grant roll his eyes inside.
Tir looked at Grant expectantly. His litlle hands clasped together as he sat while he felt nervous and both anxious. He wants to go out with Grant but he was afraid of being told to stay in the shop again. Just like every other time.
"Papa would take you outside..." Grant forced out a bright smile despite feeling reluctant.
Numen smiled warmly and a little content seeing Grant care about someone else rather than only himself.
Tir froze... His eyes watered and Grant felt his heart stop seeing the child cry. Numen panicked and flew into Tir, wanting to k ow what was causing the boy grief.
Numen popped out into the air again while breathing a sigh of relief. Grant looked at him as if wanting him to explain why Tir was crying.
"Don't worry too much... Tir is just happy..." Nhmen reasoned to Grant who found it odd.
If you were happy then why would you cry? He was confused but was shaken out of his thoughts by Tir who's tail started thrashing up and down.
"Papa!" Tir lunged at him and Grant caught the child into a hug. He felt that the embrace was tighter than the ones that came before and felt stunned.
"It's alright Tir... Dry your tears. Real men do not cry so easily. For god's sake you're already drinking brandy..." Grant consoled his kid while drying out the boy's tears. Tir nodded and Grant stood up with Tir sitting on the back of his neck again.
Seeing Grant and Tir look like a happy father and son, Numen felt that something was missing. He scratched his head and widened his eyes in realization.
"You two look like a happy family. But you really need to find a mother for Tir soon Grant. Wait... Make that multiple mothers!" Numen was at it again in urging Grant to woo some women. Grant stared blankly at Numen who sheepishly smiled.
'Find a mother for Tir? You are right but no one is worthy of being Tir's mother... There was one but she's long gone now...' Grant thought as emotions roiled inside him. Numen heard his thoughts and entered Grant's body again.
He was shocked seeing and feeling the amount of emotion mixing inside Grant currently.
'She's gone...'
'That wench...'
'My son...'
'Why did you leave?'
'We were happy...'
'Where did he go?'
'You and him disappeared..' The three of you...'
'How dare you leave me behind.'
Numen found the emotions inside Grant to be only negative. A mix of bitter resentment, regret, longing , and sadness.
Numen popped out of Grant and stared at him worriedly. Grant blinked twice seeing that he was drowning in such thoughts again. He sighed and returned to his usual calm self.
"Let's go Tir..." Tir cheered while Grant went outside while having the kid mounting his shoulders.
Numen followed worriedly while still thinking of the things he sensed and understood inside Grant's mind.
'I need to fix you somehow...' Numen felt that Grant was repressing some emotions in him which would be dangerous in the long run. If someone else was able to have a grasp on Grant's weak mind then it would be of no good.
Numen fused inti Grant's body again. Sitting still while watching out for any emotional fluctuation. Doing his best to try and understand what haopened to Grant in the past.
Numen could read his memories but he did not want to do such a thing. It would be the violation of Grant's mind and he didn't want to do such a thing.