Quickly passing through the corridor, I found a large room marked as a medical room at the end of the adjacent hallway.
Knocking and entering, the bright white space reminiscent of an emergency room in a large hospital greeted me with the sharp smell of disinfectant that stung my nose.
“I was wondering why I didn’t see any doctors or nurses… but seeing this, I understand.”
It seemed they had rented out the entire large medical room, as Dionysus was easily spotted sitting alone on a hospital bed, drinking wine.
Three days ago,
while getting hit on the chin with a soda tumbler that sprayed like a water rocket, he fell to the floor and was discovered and escorted here by patrolling followers.
Word had it that it was a mild concussion,
but judging by how he was already guzzling down the alcohol, it seemed he had fully recovered.
Perhaps if I told the doctor I was taking Dionysus with me, he’d bow in gratitude and even prostrate.
“I’ve heard about your concussion. I don’t think drinking alcohol is a good idea.”
Approaching him, I greeted him with a mixture of pleasantries and an inquiry about his health.
In response, Dionysus flicked his limp, seaweed-like hair back, grinned, and shook his wine bottle.
“Hahaha, so you’re here? I was just thinking a priestess came by telling me to check out. The doctor, it seems, sent for a priestess because he couldn’t handle me.”
“Is there a doctor who’d let a patient drink alcohol and just watch? It’s only natural to worry.”
“The doctor, or whatever, people are crafty. They just don’t want problems to arise in their area of responsibility. Outside this medical room, whether he drinks or not, they wouldn’t care in the slightest.”
Ugh, you scoundrel.
Who knows what happens outside their watch—be it a doctor or a god.
Judging by his behavior of passing off his mistakes onto others, it was evident he was back to health.
Including his unhinged disposition.
“So, what brings you here? Did you come to mock the loser?”
“There are no victors or losers. I simply wish to complete the Twelve Labors. I came to bid you farewell before returning to Luna.”
“Hmph. What a shame. If only I hadn’t let my guard down, I could have trapped you in the toils of labor! And there I foolishly revealed myself to you…!”
“You seem to already know, so there was no need for me to explain the content of the labor.”
“Never forget, Priest Ark. It was only a slip of paper that made the difference.”
“….. Apparently, it was quite a thick piece of paper.”
I didn’t care to watch his flimsy mental victory celebration like a butterfly’s frail wings.
An unexpected development,
was that as I lightly taunted him with mockery and sarcasm,
his face quivered with anger, turning what should have been a base hit into a home run.
“You wretch… Don’t you fear my curse?”
“That’s correct. I hope you refrain from playing cheap tricks in the future?”
I replied while pulling over a nearby seat with my foot and sitting down carelessly, crossing my legs and arms.
“Grrrr…”
Flipping his eyes wildly, Dionysus instantly threw the wine bottle he held directly at my face without warning.
If this bottle were to hit my forehead, it wouldn’t just tear my skin.
Most importantly, it’s an object thrown by a god.
Thinking it’s similar to a regular fastball would be foolish.
What should I do?
But my shock lasted for only a moment.
Contrary to expectations, the bottle in my sight moved in slow motion, appearing as sluggish as a snail.
Watching it, I almost wanted to bring my forehead closer to meet it, it was that obvious!
What is this?
Could I have gained some kind of superpower?
But I don’t recall anything unusual happening, do I?
No!
There was something.
Just a little while ago.
The profound impression Athena’s blessing had left, one that would be hard to forget!
As these cause-and-effect thoughts crossed my mind, the bottle had only halfway reached me.
“Wha—what? How did you dodge that? Could I be getting weaker?”
“Hmm… It’s possible.”
“What is this, you wretch? How can a mere human evade the physical force of a god?”
“You might want to ponder that in your favorite cave, as you like.”
“Go ponder? Fine, soon I will bestow my curse upon you. You’ll then fully understand the futility of your boastful words.”
So, Dionysus.
The punch I took early on from your curse because of my complacency?
It truly hurt to the point my head rattled, and I acknowledge it.
I paid the price for my complacency in receiving double labor.
But I am Ark.
I don’t make the same mistake twice.
Your curse did indeed bring the alcohol industry and related sectors to a standstill.
But things have changed now.
It will not happen this way.
Why not?
Because I will secure the funds first by developing and distributing soda.
And who knows how long it may take, but starting with cola research,
I plan to develop and release various drinks like carbonated beverages, sports drinks, and tonics.
Whiskey like bourbon would also be great.
Ah~
Since bourbon isn’t originally from America, can it still be called bourbon?
Anyhow!
By the time Dionysus attempts to curse us again, Luna’s situation will be different.
We will depart from being vulnerable and sparse where the collapse of the alcohol industry shakes the entire City Luna,
and rise to become a metropolis akin to Zeus’s or Athena’s.
I’ll prove that alcohol is merely a passing nuisance by creating countless substitutes.
Then gods like Dionysus who look down on us will decrease.
I intend to personally oversee all of this.
Should Dionysus persistently curse us with emotional grudges,
I will bring out all my connections to show him what an international ostracism looks like.
“Take that, you wretch! I will bring down the city of Artemis and become one of the Twelve Gods!”
Click.
Leaving the ramblings of the trembling drunk lightly ignored, I closed the door to the medical room and sighed with relief.
“Hoo— I was incredibly tense. Still, I did well. Cool, I’m awesome.”
“Thus, the final farewell.”
After finishing my [farewell] to Dionysus, I hurried off to find Hera.
However, unluckily, Hera wasn’t in her quarters.
I wondered if she had left early, but seeing that her priests and followers were still around, it didn’t seem like that.
When I asked an employee of the temple for her whereabouts,
fortunately, I learned she was in the natural garden.
Hearing the word ‘garden,’ I headed outside the temple, but the employee, grinning as if knowing what I was thinking, said,
“The natural garden is not outdoors, but indoors. You can go there.”
Pointing out the correct direction for my steps.
Perplexed as to why he pointed to a room inside when he said garden, I walked toward the direction he pointed in.
To my surprise, glass walls and doors revealed a botanical garden cultivating endangered plants.
I immediately sensed this was undoubtedly Nike’s work.
As I was distracted by the unfamiliar wildflowers,
Hera caught my eye, standing across the glass door, having seemingly finished her walk through the garden.
Draped in a crimson dress that dragged against the floor, her hair was braided up,
with a single carnation received from a child during a festival, used in place of a comb, adorning her braid.
Hera, blending seamlessly with the natural scenery, was such a sight that I momentarily caught my breath before quickly bowing my head to greet her.
“Hera-sama.”
“What brings you here?”
“Today, we are soon returning to Luna. Before leaving, I wanted to personally come and bid farewell to you, Hera-sama.”
“…Come in.”
“Yes.”
She, once belittled by the lower gods.
Yet her dignity showed no signs of diminishing, even when approaching me, her demeanor was slightly more softened compared to the venomous Hera I met on Mount Calines surrounded by storms!
As we made our way down the narrow pathway lined with wildflowers, there was a stone table placed at the center of the garden.
It seemed carefully chosen, likely out of Nike’s intention not to obstruct the natural landscape.
“Sit.”
“Yes, Hera-sama.”
“There is no tea. Nike, that thing, apparently told me not to eat or drink anything here. Tsk! These days, all sorts of things consider themselves important and loudly voice their opinions.”
Hera, glaring at me while criticizing Nike,
Her words suggested that,
though her criticism was directed at Nike, the root of all this chaos was me.
My body buzzed with a warning as I met her gaze, fierce like an untamed wolf.
True, if you think about it, Hera’s resentment wasn’t entirely misplaced.
Until I, a priest, reached the center of Olympus, the hierarchy among the gods was clear.
However, now it seemed a wind had blown through, and the gods began to assert their voices regardless of rank.
Such a situation must be uncomfortable for the Twelve Gods who oversee everything.
“Nike is Athena-sama’s running partner. Now that Athena-sama has risen to the center of Olympus’ power, so has Nike. It’s like giving wings to a tiger.”
“Hmph! So, are you satisfied now? With Athena, your favorite, reigning, are you content now?”
My straightforward reply incensed her, and she bared her perfectly white teeth, growling.
If I provoke her one more time, those sharp teeth would surely aim for my neck.
Ordinarily, whether human or god, one would keep quiet here.
But who am I?
I am Ark, the priest who doesn’t hesitate to cudgel someone with facts.
“Initially, Athena-sama had the justification. It was akin to a losing corner in a game of Go when mother and daughter long to meet, but the goddess of the household opposed the meeting. The other gods, respecting Hera-sama’s authority, stayed silent, but inwardly, they would have sided with Athena-sama. The evidence is in the unanimous blessing Athena-sama received from all the gods during the triumph ceremony.”
If we don’t address the underlying issues that cause conflicts and resolutions,
and only treat the surface wounds,
ultimately, the untreated wounds will fester and the cycle will continue.
