After emerging from the temple, we began our journey.
Following the path where a month ago Artemis and I had spent a one-night, two-day date atop the mountain, we ascended the summit once again.
This peak holds deep meaning for me.
Not only was it the place of my first date with her,
but also the location where, amidst the eerie rustling of a dark night, I retreated into Artemis’s quarters, spending a memorable night together.
Though tempted to take a glance at the campsite from afar as we passed by, regrettably, I found myself walking with my head hung low.
This was because Artemis had increased her usual pace slightly in order to punish the annoying slash-and-burn farmers.
However, to me, this swift stride was no different from over-racing in the early stages of a marathon.
“Ah, right! Hey, Ark.”
Artemis turned back after remembering something.
“Huh… huh… Why, why are you calling me?”
“Tch. I thought you were just a weirdo, but your stamina is also pitiful.”
Already drained of energy, Artemis gave me a scornful look.
While she continued to admonish me for becoming out of breath from just a two-hour climb, all I could focus on was catching my breath.
After sighing deeply, Artemis turned off the main path into a small clearing.
“Let’s take a one-hour rest.”
“Huh… huh… Overwhelmingly thankful!”
Following her into the clearing, I sat on a fallen tree stump, pulling out my water flask and dumping about half its contents down my throat.
With that, my ragged breathing began to calm.
“Kya-ha~! This water tastes incredible. This is what true nectar is!”
“Come on. How can you say you know the taste of nectar without even trying it?”
“Aren’t you the one who knows better than I how sweet the flavor of water is after exercising?”
“True… that’s true.”
While continuously rolling her eyes at me with disdain, she eventually chuckled in agreement.
I smiled at her as well, but then noticed she wasn’t carrying her own water flask and thus stood up and approached her.
As I approached, Artemis took a few hesitant steps back.
“Don’t come near me!”
The sharpness in her voice was like that of shattered glass, filled with warning.
Spurred by her threatening words, I unknowingly hesitated, stopping further advance.
“Uh… why? I just wanted to hand this to you.”
I held up the water flask in my right hand to show her.
Her nervousness seemed contagious, as she also took hesitant steps forward until she finally snatched the flask from as far away as possible.
Seeing her unusual behavior, I titled my head in confusion but soon realized the reason.
She sees it.
A woman’s heart.
“Artemis, are you avoiding me because of the smell of sweat?”
“…Not entirely.”
What kind of response is this?
Since it’s double negation, it must mean yes, right?
“Since we’re running, it’s natural to sweat.”
“Still, I don’t like it.”
Artemis’s rejection.
I somehow sensed that her awareness of the sweat was due to me, which made me feel uncomfortable.
Still, they say there’s a remedy for every disease.
There must surely be a way to treat the after-effects of the mental wounds she has.
“Artemis, do I smell like sweat?”
Reluctantly sticking out her lips and averting her gaze, she nodded.
Seizing the brief moment when her vision lowered, I swiftly moved closer and claimed the seat beside her.
“Crazy bastard!”
“This is my smell.”
I answered by bringing my sweat-soaked shirt close to my nose and sniffing dramatically.
“Ew! … What? Your smell?”
“Yup, that sour sweat smell filling this clearing—it’s mine.”
“What, what, what are you talking about?”
“With me not sweating normally, it somehow smells intense this time. Artemis, endure me a little.”
My smooth act caused Artemis to freeze like a statue.
Then, upon realizing the thoughtfulness behind my actions, she chuckled and decided she didn’t care, plopping down onto the ground.
Sitting close enough that our shoulders were almost touching, we blankly stared at the rising black smoke from below.
“Hey, Ark.”
“What?”
“Is that black smoke from burning wood?”
“Yeah. They’re practicing slash-and-burn agriculture and using the ash to replenish the soil.”
Artemis’s expression darkened upon realizing her mountain was burning, and she audibly blew air through her nose, ensuring I heard it loud and clear.
Somehow, she was exercising patience, withholding her temper.
Bringing up the topic of slash-and-burn farming might just provoke her anger.
Let’s change the subject.
“What exactly is this ‘Devil’s Water,’ and what’s this about worshiping it?”
“Devil’s Water? It’s probably some dirt-filled water some fraudster hides in the slash-and-burn village to stir up trouble.”
“Umm…”
Artemis clearly believed some false preacher was inciting the citizens.
Currently, her explanation seemed reasonable.
“Anyway, Ark, since you’re worried about Devil’s Water… Aren’t you distracted when you shouldn’t be?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you need to prepare a new beverage for your upcoming task? Why have you been completely silent for four days?”
“Uh, uh, we’ve entered the development phase.”
“Phew… Really? Admit it—you’ve run out of ideas, right? Haven’t you?”
“Ah, no.”
“Come on. Haven’t I had my suspicions since you’ve only been relying on rice punch?”
As if she’d known all along, Artemis looked disdainfully at me.
But she was wrong.
There is a beverage in my mind that will surely capture the tongues of the gods.
More specifically, a drink that came to me even before rice punch.
That drink is cola.
Currently, however, it’s impossible to make it.
There are two main reasons for that.
First is the ingredient mixture.
Any modern person could likely recall cola’s primary ingredients—purified water, sugar, carbon dioxide, caramel coloring, caffeine, etc.
However, unless one works for a food company, knowing the exact mixture ratios of these ingredients is practically impossible.
The second problem is even larger.
Carbonation production!
Carbon dioxide is a nonpolar molecule.
To dissolve carbon dioxide into water, you have to increase pressure.
However, explaining all this to people living in a world that’s at a medieval technological level, and expecting them to produce a functional machine or apparatus that could create such effects within two weeks, is entirely unrealistic.
Considering the terms of the task, I had fixed the deadline at two weeks to prevent Artemis from playing around with the time limit.
Ironically, this deadline is now a hindrance.
As a result, even though I intend to proceed with the creation of cola, my path is blocked.
Thus, completion would undeniably require vast time and effort.
Frankly, I even doubt whether I could accomplish it alone.
“Well, let’s get going. If we rest much longer, the sun will set.”
Artemis, standing up, brushed the dirt off her bottom and prepared to start moving ahead.
It seemed the increasingly darker smoke rising from below had made her anxious.
Silently, I also rose, followed closely behind her, and began descending the mountain.
After about an hour of descending, we reached the makeshift wooden fence surrounding the slash-and-burn village.
Approaching and inspecting the area, my eyes locked onto the slash-and-burn fields.
The residents, who were bent over working in the potato fields without even straightening their backs, had sun-tanned faces, regardless of gender.
“The scale is smaller than I expected?”
“Typically, slash-and-burn communities consist of 10 to 20 households.”
“Then with so few people and fields, why are they burning more trees?”
“Perhaps because of this?”
I pointed at the piles of corn seeds stacked beside one of the cabins.
At this, Artemis’s hair seemed to bristle in resonance with her rising anger.
“Madness! Corn? You folks have clearly planned to strip the mountain bald!”
“Wow, Artemis, so you know that corn consumes a lot of soil nutrients?”
“Of course! Expensive corn is being cultivated to accumulate wealth, I assume? I’ll show them!”
Kicking the swinging door open and storming in, Artemis fumed and led the charge.
Watching her retreating back, I shook my head disapprovingly.
Truthfully, I had planned to spare the slash-and-burn farmers their lives.
However, their behavior was excessive.
There was nothing about it that would warrant leniency.
If only there had been a small Artemis statue at the village entrance, it would have provided ample reason for my intervention.
“There’s nothing we can do. For this case, Artemis is the only one we can rely on.”
Exhaling yet another heavy sigh, I headed towards the slash-and-burn village.
Entering the slash-and-burn village, Artemis had already ordered the village chief to gather all the villagers in one place.
The villagers, cowering in fear, were trembling uncontrollably.
As the village chief knelt and bowed his head, the others followed suit.
“Your great presence is an honor.”
“…”
Even while being greeted, Artemis remained seated on a shabby chair, her chin resting on her hand, silently observing them without a word.
Perplexed, the chief glanced around at the villagers, questioning what was happening.
Briefly raising his head to meet her gaze, the chief quickly pressed his forehead to the ground again.
Tired of the chief who was merely watching the situation, Artemis stood up, kicked the chair to break it, and bellowed.
“Would you dare to defile the divine mountain by burning trees for profit?”
“L-Lady Goddess! It’s not—”
“Be quiet! You insignificant beings. You’re just trampling on my dignity by existing.”
Artemis, genuinely angered, was admonishing the slash-and-burn villagers.
Her voice was shaking the villagers’ minds with such force, reminiscent of Hera’s reprimanding voice.
She was truly terrifying in that moment.
“And! To worsen it, you heretics don’t believe in your god, me—Artemis—but trust in the trivial “Devil’s Water”!”
“…”
“Therefore, all of you will hang!”
Even after receiving the death sentence, the slash-and-burn villagers didn’t dare raise their heads, trembling while pressing their foreheads to the ground.
Bang!
Artemis stomped her foot in place.
Vibration spread out, mimicking an earthquake, and tree roots burst out of the ground, extending like moles.
Soon the roots erupted from the ground and were prepared to lift the slash-and-burn villagers by their necks and hurl them high into the sky.
Just then, a young woman pushed past the encroaching roots and dashed forward to confront Artemis directly.
“Artemis!”
“Are you crazy? What, do you want a beating?”
“I will not kneel to the goddess trying to kill us!”
The woman, who hadn’t bathed for a long time and thus looked unkempt, spoke defiantly, declaring she would not back down.
“This won’t work. Don’t think you’ll die easily.”
“Whatever! I’m already going to die anyway.”
“That’s right. When you die, you reveal your nature as a heretic. Your original sin is that your hearts are filled with disbelief!”
“What you think is none of my concern! But labeling us blasphemers worshiping Devil’s Water is not something I will let you get away with!”
What is this woman talking about?
