Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Waking Up to Find a Goddess by My Side～

“Even though you’re far away, I’m afraid I have to disappoint you because I heard everything.”

At that moment, a clear female voice rang out from the other side. The tone was melodious and pleasant, yet carried an air of seriousness and authority.

By the edge of the lake, a goddess with aqua-blue hair, wrapped in a white bathrobe, approached the circle of young girls, cutting off their conversation.

Her perfect figure was accentuated by the bathrobe, while her emerald eyes sparkled like gems, exuding calmness and dignity.

The strict goddess.

Just one glance at her, and one could sense this about her.

There’s an essential difference between deities and mortals. Even without any signs of identity, even when walking among the crowd, or even among ordinary people, this difference is evident.

One can’t help but marvel and revere, “Ah, this is a deity!”

“…”

In the next instant upon hearing the voice, the face of the brown-haired girl who had been quietly complaining fell.

Like a child caught doing something wrong by their parent, she raised her hands to her cheeks in a cute, apologetic gesture.

“Sorry, Lady Artemis… I was wrong～”

“Too late! Chloe, come see me before you sleep!”

The goddess with aqua-blue hair, her expression stern, declared the fate of the brown-haired girl with an unquestionable tone.

“Yes… I understand.”

Chloe, the brown-haired girl, replied with a pitiful tone, already mentally preparing herself for her impending misfortune.

The teachings of the goddess were not something to be trifled with; it seemed she wouldn’t get much sleep tonight…

More accurately, she wouldn’t get a good night’s rest.

She would probably hear the goddess’ teachings even while lying in her tent!

This wasn’t an exaggeration but a rule confirmed by her companions within the faction.

After Chloe, Artemis’ stern gaze swept over several other girls who had made “dangerous” comments earlier.

Like a teacher trying to preemptively note down students who might make mistakes, her warning glare left the girls feeling uneasy, making them too nervous to breathe loudly.

Who knows if they’d be the next ones to suffer?

It was better to play it safe for now.

After a while, the serious and dignified goddess finally withdrew her gaze.

She glanced at Letsha, the leader of her group, as if wanting to say something but ultimately sighed silently and left.

Once she was gone, the girls looked around cautiously, especially keeping an eye on the direction Artemis had left, ensuring the goddess wasn’t coming back, before resuming their lively discussions.

Though they may temporarily act timidly, the enthusiasm of these girls couldn’t be easily suppressed!

……

Walking along the shore after changing into her clothes, Artemis absentmindedly massaged her temple with one hand while returning to the camp.

“Just wait it out…”

The goddess muttered softly.

As the higher deity of the faction, she naturally understood the situations of the faction’s young girls very well.

Do they really think she doesn’t know what they’re thinking just because they pretend to be obedient?

Don’t joke around; more than half the girls in this faction grew up under her watchful eyes. How could she not know?

She just chooses not to say anything…

Of course, there’s also the fact that she doesn’t quite know how to address certain things.

After all, Artemis is a maiden goddess who has never experienced love～ (laughs)

At such times, the goddess attributes the behavior of the young girls to teenage restlessness, trying to suppress it while patiently waiting for this phase to pass.

Artemis had initially thought of asking Letsha to check on the boy they saved today.

But now, if she had actually suggested it, it wouldn’t just be Letsha going. This mom-like figure indulges the girls of the faction greatly and rarely refuses their requests, let alone something as trivial as “taking a look.”

Looks like she’ll have to go herself?

This thought flashed through the goddess’ mind.

Surprisingly, her heart didn’t feel any aversion towards this idea, though she herself hadn’t noticed it.

At the tent camp set up temporarily.

Artemis quickly returned here since the camp wasn’t far from the lake.

After putting the bathrobe back in her own tent, the goddess approached a tent at the edge with mixed feelings and entered after lifting the curtain.

There wasn’t much to describe inside the tent—it was rather plain, used only at night and packed away during the day.

The blond boy they had saved still lay on the beige cotton sheet, his forehead covered with a small piece of white gauze, tucked under the blanket, showing no signs of waking up.

“Hmm?”

Dropping to a crouch beside the boy, Artemis felt something was off… though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

This feeling had arisen the first time she saw the boy, but during the battle, she hadn’t paid much attention.

Now, as she quietly reflected, the sensation became particularly noticeable.

Very strange…

Unconsciously lost in thought, Artemis drifted into her musings.

Meanwhile, Izay hovered between wakefulness and slumber, indulging in the laziness of wanting to doze a little longer.

However, this feeling didn’t last long. Soon, Izay’s consciousness gradually surfaced.

His vision expanded from darkness, his head momentarily empty. After blinking two or three times, the world outside came into focus.

A fabric ceiling… so he must be lying in a tent?

Izay judged his current situation.

He must’ve been saved by someone, right?

Although he regretfully hadn’t seen clearly at the time, he vaguely remembered someone being near him before he lost consciousness?

No… not just then, but there was someone near him now too!

The hint of blue at the edge of his vision compelled Izay to turn his head slightly from his supine position, catching sight of a beauty that seemed beyond mortal comprehension.

But she appeared to be lost in thought and didn’t immediately respond to Izay’s startled gaze.

“Sss…”

Inhaling sharply, Izay instinctively squinted his eyes and tactically leaned back.

…Or maybe leaned backward?

Could someone explain why he woke up to find a goddess by his side?