“Why were you always by my side?”
While realizing the fact that Jake was Artemis, he threw her the ultimate question.
This isn’t twenty questions, nor some kind of lover’s guessing game.
While we were just closing this pointless riddle that was essentially just a drawn-out delay.
“…Hmph!”
Unlike me, who wanted to hurry this along, it seemed Artemis wanted to drag this out even further—perhaps aiming for a penalty shootout after an extended round.
After blowing a raspberry, Artemis turned her head abruptly, evading my question like an eel.
Just as I took a step toward her, trying to urge her to answer,
Artemis, completely turning her back on me, walked over to the couch at the far corner of the living room and flopped down.
Her face was a canvas of irritation, clearly disliking the sticky gaze I had, filled with the intent to interrogate.
“Artemis.”
Walking over to her side, I plopped down cross-legged onto the floor.
I was resolute—I wasn’t leaving this living room until I heard her answer, just like someone there to collect payment.
“Why are you like this today? You’re being creepy enough to give me goosebumps!”
“Well, although I am a little persistent… Anyway! As Jake, you were by my side, and I figured you at least deserved to hear some explanations, right?”
“Ugh…”
Artemis, this goddess.
I tripped over a messenger named Ark instead of the message, trying to turn defense into offense.
But I didn’t want to give up control too easily. There were too many things I wanted to say and too much I wanted to hear.
“It made sense for the first labor; you just wanted to keep an eye on me from the sidelines, so I could understand that. But the second labor was a bit different, wasn’t it?”
“…”
“You got completely taken in by Aphrodite’s charming words and forced me to carry out that labor against my will.”
Like gazing at the bright full moon against the dark night sky while stranded on an island in the middle of the sea, recalling that conversation now still shocks me.
Artemis, who berated anyone serving Athena for indecent actions, cursed me as if trying to bury me alive, assigning me that labor with a command laced with malice.
Thinking back to the fury-filled Artemis at that moment, you’d think she wouldn’t even want to look at me.
“Even so, Artemis, you transformed into Jake and helped me get on the chariot. Why did you do that?”
“Hmph! This is why I can’t help but sympathize with you sometimes! What are you thinking? Do you imagine I was so consumed by jealousy that I was monitoring you? Never! I was just going along with my older sister’s persuasion, that’s all.”
“!!”
Why does ‘big sister’ come into this?
The only person Artemis calls big sister is Athena, the goddess of wisdom.
Then…
Was the identity of Iris, riding in that chariot, actually Athena?
From what I know, she was recuperating at the temple after blocking Zeus’s lightning bolt.
Nevertheless, Artemis’s slight misstep helped me figure out Iris’s true identity.
“…What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Suddenly falling silent, Artemis glared at me suspiciously.
But I simply shook my head, not offering any other response.
Because if I confessed I didn’t know Iris’s identity, our troublesome Artemis might get angry and do something unpredictable.
“Anyway, aren’t you going to answer now?”
“To what?”
“Why did you keep staying by my side using all these methods?”
“There’s no particular reason! Why are you being so persistent?!”
My persistence brought irritation, and our conversation flowed rather unentertainingly.
Like a chessboard where only the kings of black and white remain, unable to get close enough to each other’s kings to either lose or win.
Here, I decided to make my final move.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
No—
Nothing ventured, nothing fallen.
“Artemis, do you actually like me? Aren’t you feeling the same way about me?”
I boldly moved my king into the range of the opponent’s king.
Even if the opponent’s king attacks mine, leading to a sure defeat,
Nonetheless, the matter will finally be resolved.
“What…? Are you drunk? Or have you gone insane?”
“Think about it. There was Jake’s situation, the time you shielded me during Aphrodite’s Ruby explosion, and also the time you didn’t run away without me when you were fighting Ares.”
Do you remember that day when we fell into Ares’s trap?
While buckets of flammable oil rained down as if to cover the world, you held me tightly, not willing to escape alone.
At that moment, our hearts connected in not wanting to lose something precious.
“Isn’t it strange that we haven’t started dating yet? Anyone watching from the sidelines would be internally annoyed wondering why we haven’t hooked up already.”
“…Uh.”
Then, as if recalling her bold actions at the time, Artemis squirmed slightly, her face turning red.
Covering her flushed face by turning her head again, Artemis tried using her hair as a shield.
Should I let her escape?
I swiftly extended my arms, pressing my palms against her cheeks to keep her facing me.
Forced to maintain direct eye contact, her face became even redder, glowing like the sun.
Of course, the temperature of her face rose as well,
Exaggerating a bit, I was worried my palm might get burned from the heat.
“Are you not going to let go of this? Hey, do you want to die?”
There’s no way a goddess can’t push away a human’s arm.
If she wanted to shake me off in one go, she’d simply need to grab my arm,
But now she was wary even of such minor contact between us, only yelling at me with her mouth.
“Artemis.”
I called her name in the warmest tone possible.
She immediately realized I was lowering my voice for some reason, and her eyes darted around, trying to figure out my intentions.
But initially, I had no intention of hiding.
“I’m going to kiss you now.”
“What…? You’re feeling sorry for me, so this nonsense?!”
“If you want to stop me, push me away. Let’s see.”
After making what even I found absurd, I leaned forward with my upper body, moving closer to her face.
At first, she scoffed as if she couldn’t believe I’d actually do it.
“Huh! You just want to see me flustered, don’t you? Like I’d fall for that!”
“…”
“Eh… huh? Eh??”
But as I continued to advance, she became increasingly flustered.
Biting her lips and darting her eyes around, she seemed to be quickly strategizing about what to do next.
But the distance between us had already narrowed to about the width of a fingertip.
Thump, thump!
My heart pounds.
I couldn’t tell whose heartbeat it was.
Maybe it was both of ours…
“Artemis. I like you.”
With this single magic spell given to humans, I ensnared her forever.
“Wha… W-What?!”
Artemis, caught off guard, tried to lean back, but the sofa’s backrest accidentally pushed her into a better position for a kiss.
“Don’t come closer!”
“Don’t you have more strength?”
Realizing she might push me away if she does, Artemis immediately put her hands on my chest.
I thought she would finally push me away, but her arms folded helplessly like bamboo under the weight of my advancing upper body.
“I don’t know!!”
Completely at a loss, she tightly shut her eyes.
It’s unlikely she didn’t know what it means when two people’s lips get close.
Closing her eyes could mean…
Does it indicate her permission?
The fact that she didn’t push me away was undeniable evidence of her happiness.
“Hmm…”
Her trembling lips looked so glossy that I wanted to cover them with my own lips right away.
The distance between our lips was now only 1 centimeter.
The closer I got, the stronger my possessiveness for her grew.
To liberate this repressed possessiveness, I only needed to take a tiny step forward.
And then everything would be accomplished.
“Artemis…”
“…”
Thump.
Our breaths intertwined as we finally touched in some way.
It felt as cold yet soft as the first step on a snow-covered white world, transmitted through my forehead.
“…”
“…”
The 3-second silence seemed to last 3 hours.
Confused about what had just happened, Artemis slowly opened her eyes to assess the situation.
In a situation where a kiss should have been accompanied by a ‘chuck,’ there was a ‘thump’ instead.
First, she repeatedly opened and closed her lips, confirming that her lips hadn’t been stolen, and then she opened her eyes wide and started yelling.
“Hey, Arc.”
“What?”
“What is this?”
She pointed with her finger at our foreheads, which were touching.
Demanding a strong explanation regarding this absurd scenario where we accidentally touched foreheads instead of lips.
“Forehead kiss.”
“What? Such a thing… exists?”
“If it doesn’t, we can create it. Why? Are you disappointed it wasn’t the lips? Anyway, wake up… Kyaaaah!!!”
“What are you talking about?!”
BOOM!
In response to my soft forehead kiss, Artemis retaliated with a diamond-shattering forehead jab.
Snickering with her shoulders shaking, Artemis abruptly stood up.
Then, she approached me, who was clutching my forehead and falling backward, and started stamping on me mercilessly.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Psycho! Psycho! Go, go, go go, go, how dare you try to steal the lips of a goddess?! It’s blasphemy against the divine!!!”
“It hurts! You didn’t resist either!!”
“Grr! Shut that mouth of yours?!”
Furious from the factual assault, she tightly bit her lower lip and accelerated her stamping.
I gathered my arms around my head like a pill bug, adopting the most defensive posture possible.
Since she couldn’t stomp on me properly, it only further enraged her.
She climbed onto my back and, clenching her fists, started pounding my back furiously like someone pounding meat.
Judo techniques followed by pounding—what next!
“Gods lie to themselves—Kyaaah!”
“Because I wanted to test how reckless you’d become?!”
Her absurd excuse only seemed like another attempt to hide her shame.
Is that why?
Despite her powerful punches that could crush bones, I felt no pain at all, and worse yet,
Artemis, the attacker, appeared so cute that I couldn’t help but start laughing.
“Heh heh heh…”
“Laughing? Laughing?”
“Because you keep running away, you’re helplessly falling for such prank-like attacks.”
“Wh-What nonsense! It… It’s because of the labor! You’re protected by the fate of the labor; that’s why I couldn’t push you away!”
Her utterly ridiculous excuse made me feel sorry for her unconsciously.
Why did she keep pushing me away like this?
To find the answer, I gently pushed the exhausted Artemis away and straightened up.
“Artemis.”
“…What.”
“Is it because of your divine attribute of purity? I already told Zeus before—I can protect your purity.”
“Ha! Lies! Humans are predictable. Once they hold hands, they want to hug; once they hug, they want to kiss; and the desire to go further keeps growing—humans are mere bundles of desire.”
“I can prove my feelings now.”
“How?”
“Artemis, if you want, I can change the content of the wish that caused the labor right now. I can even swear by the river Styx.”
Iris.
No, Athena.
The love counseling I had with her in the chariot turned out to be a great asset for me.
Through the story of the celestial maiden and the woodcutter, she warned me that using someone’s weaknesses to bind them would eventually lead to ruin.
I was no different from the woodcutter.
I had bound the Goddess of Purity, Artemis, with the wish to become her boyfriend.
That’s why, originally, regardless of whether she accepted me or not,
I planned to casually change the content of the wish near the end of the twelve labors and revert everything.
But now that I’ve glimpsed her heart,
The content of such a wish is no longer important at all.
“If our hearts are the same… Why should we waste time doing these ridiculous labors?”
“…”
“Artemis, I like you! Please, go out with me.”
A first confession from a lifelong loner, as rough as can be.
Though completely lacking in charm, its simplicity would ensure the message got through.
Artemis’s face flushed red, and she awkwardly turned her head from side to side.
After briefly contemplating what to do, she finally looked straight at me and slowly opened her mouth.
“I… I know you’re sincere… Alright, I’ll admit, I find a guy like you attractive.”
“Artemis!”
Taking it as an acceptance of my confession, I eagerly spread my arms and rushed toward her to embrace her.
However, Artemis blew a raspberry, then slapped my forehead.
“I’m not finished yet.”
“Uh, okay.”
“I… I’m not really sure about my feelings. It feels like I like you, but I don’t. And I shouldn’t.”
“Wha… What do you mean you shouldn’t?”
Feeling a bit wronged, I raised my voice and rushed at her again.
In response, she extended one finger,
“Though I intended to save this for the final labor…”
“Minister Ark, fall into slumber for the seventh labor.”
She muttered something under her breath and then immediately halted me with her divine command.
As a white smoke flowed into my nose, I tried holding my breath for a moment, but it proved fruitless.
Like a puppet whose strings were cut, I sank to my knees and crumpled onto the ground where I stood…
“Ah… Ar… Ar…”
While barely clinging to my fading consciousness, I called out to her in anguish.
But Artemis looked down at me with unbearably sorrowful eyes and said,
“Would you still like me after learning the truth through this labor? Then, when it comes to that time…”
I didn’t have the chance to hear the rest of her words before descending into deep sleep.
