The grand festival in honor of Athena’s victory concluded happily with joy and blessings.
For three days, the celebration was filled with meat, alcohol, and dance.
All citizens now remember the festival as a fond memory and have resumed their daily routines.
It’s not much different for me, the priest, either; after returning to the temple with Artemis, I’ve been buried in my office amidst an endless barrage of complaints, like clearing snow during a blizzard.
Even today, as I look at the towering pile of grievances on my desk, my head instinctively throbs.
Still, starting is half the battle.
The sooner you begin, the sooner you finish.
After stretching and picking up several sheets from the top of the pile, I began reading.
[Why is the soda supply delivered to the other gods first? Does Luna mean nothing to you? The incompetent Ark must apologize to the citizens of Luna.]
[Why was the soda production entrusted to tax-evading squatters? The incompetent Ark must correct this immediately.]
[Construct free soda food kitchens for the citizens of Luna! The incompetent Ark must step down as priest.]
“Hold on… if you’re asking me to step down, why are you demanding free food kitchens? Are these people acting in a group? And ‘incompetent’…?”
The term “incompetent” refers to someone who disrupts the state and disrespects their parents—a highly disrespectful word.
Since the same term appeared in every grievance, I decided to categorize them, and it turned out that half of them weren’t even proper complaints but petitions personally aimed at me regarding hamburgers or soda.
Surely, the citizens of Luna haven’t forgotten the declaration of rights.
Still, it’s surprising how quickly they’ve directed their frustrations at me, even if they’re upset.
To be honest, it’s tiring, and it would be a lie to say otherwise.
It’s like when you block one side, water just starts leaking from the other.
“Hohoho, it’s because you’re so capable, Ark.”
Maia, who has somewhat managed to overcome her PTSD triggered by Hera’s encounter, now carries a much calmer demeanor. She chuckled softly and comforted me as she watched me wrestle with the complaints.
“Still, it’s excessive—even for a rowdy crowd.”
“Luna’s citizens have a point too. Ark is Artemis’s priest, but they can feel all the good privileges are slipping away to outsiders.”
“Ah… I’ll take care of it somehow, but even if I wanted to stay idle, the world won’t let me rest.”
“Wow! So you admit you’re capable?”
“Hahaha, that’s not what I meant. I’m going to the training room for a bit, but can I leave the rest of these petitions with you?”
“You can count on me.”
Maia rolled up her sleeves, grabbed the petitions from my desk, and returned to her seat. I quietly expressed my gratitude to her as I slipped out of the office. It wasn’t until this moment that I truly appreciated how convenient having a secretary can be. I immediately headed to the training room.
Speaking of the “training room,” it’s really just a kitchen.
Originally intended as a cooking training room for people who would need it in the near future, we converted it due to Hera abandoning her soda monopoly—thus we proceeded with Plan B.
To put it simply:
I plan to launch a hamburger restaurant called Luna Burger.
Not only will we open the flagship store in Luna, but we’ll also establish branches in each of the major cities of the gods.
The first step in increasing economic independence to counter Dionysus’s curse was summoning the head priests of each god.
I dispatched formal notices to Athena, Poseidon, Hestia, Hera, Demeter, Apollo, and Hermes—seven in total—about my plan to start a hamburger restaurant. All of them accepted and dispatched their direct priests to undergo a culinary training program here to learn how to make hamburger sets.
With a soft creak of the door, I slipped quietly into the training room without drawing their attention.
It appeared our disciple Rachel was about to teach them a cooking lesson.
“All right, everyone. Let’s go over what we learned yesterday?”
“Yes!”
The priests from each god, brimming with enthusiasm, replied powerfully.
Rachel couldn’t help but smirk at the strange satisfaction of teaching priests of higher rank than herself.
“Hem! Now, everyone speak in turn. The first line of the Ark recipe!”
Rachel pointed with her pointer to the priest of Athena on the far right.
“Stacking ingredients is an art form.”
The priest of Athena carried on Rachel’s sentence, then turned her head toward Poseidon’s priest.
Each priest began to continue the sentences one by one in turn.
“Place the seasoned beef patty on the bottom bun first. The reason is—”
“For the juices and sauce from the patty to soak into the bottom bun. Next, place the cheese. The reason is—”
“The heat from the patty gently melts the cheese, enhancing its flavor. Next, layer the lettuce, tomato, and onion in this order. The reason is—”
“To create vegetable cohesion and enhance visual appeal. Finally, cover with the top bun and it’s done.”
Hahaha.
It was as if I were observing a strict military evening roll call, everything was organized so formally.
And Rachel!
When I thought of her as just a troublemaker always nagged by Artemis, I didn’t realize she had such talent for maintaining discipline.
“Alright! Today, let’s make patties with chicken, pork, and beef and create three different hamburgers.”
With her sharp glasses perched on her nose, she signaled the start of the practical session.
Rachel watched over each priest carefully as they diligently made the patties, sweat dripping from their brows.
Hiring her as a teacher was the right choice. Together with Artemis, she had previously managed to raise funds for the temple through hamburgers.
Just as the priests finished making the first hamburger, I quietly exited the training room.
“Another two to three days of practice, and they’ll be ready. Who would’ve thought they’d be selling actual burger sets!”
The priests who practiced making hamburgers and fries will return to their respective cities to start construction on the Luna Burger chain stores.
Of course, Martine, the one who created the underfloor heating, will be responsible for all construction. He values honor more than money, so he’ll surely make impressive Luna Burger buildings in each city.
The ingredients will be sourced locally in each city, but our temple must supply the hamburger sauce and soda.
Gaining regular monthly income through ingredient supply and royalties, we’ll no longer dream of Luna becoming a major city.
“I can feel my heart racing. With this sense of anticipation, I’d better stay busy for it to turn into a sense of accomplishment.”
It’s like they say, “strike while the iron’s hot.”
I should use this free time to visit Liam and suggest the supply contract.
As always, Liam’s Shop was bustling with customers, but with the line finally gone, I noticed the flag with Liam’s face beside the doorway.
Liam—the kind person who gave me rye bread every day when I was starving on the streets.
I haven’t once forgotten wanting to repay his kindness since becoming a priest. It feels good to finally be able to offer him a valuable proposal.
Once the customers had dispersed, I entered the shop.
“Come in… well, if it isn’t the famous priest these days?”
“Hahaha, hello?”
A male employee greeted me with a smile before shaking my hand in welcome.
“Who?! Is Ark here?!”
Liam’s deep voice boomed from the back of the shop, startling my ears.
He emerged from behind the front desk, with black dust plastered all over his nose from apparently organizing the warehouse.
“Ho ho ho! Ark, the reputation you’ve built with that soda is no joke!”
While patting my shoulder with his left hand, sending dust flying, he laughed heartily. Then he signaled with his right hand for his employee to leave.
The employee reluctantly disappeared down the hallway, but I was grateful that I wouldn’t have to relocate for the business talk.
“So, Ark, what brings you today? What do you need?”
“Please review this, and if you’re interested, sign it.”
“What is it?”
Liam tilted his head curiously as he opened the contract I offered him. As his small eyes scanned down the document, they widened in bewilderment, just like Mt. Nam.
“Is this…!!”
“Yes. It’s a contract for exclusive supply and distribution of materials.”
“Me… you want me to handle all the ingredients for the soda and hamburgers?”
“You can, but if you’re worried about the merchants around you, you can delegate some rights.”
“Are you serious? I could do all of Luna, sure, but all these cities?!”
Since the sauce and soda must be delivered from Luna to each branch, the scale will be enormous.
And overseeing all the distribution and supply will result in unimaginable profit margins.
We plan to establish key branches in the major cities of the seven gods first,
but if successful, we’ll expand to their medium and smaller cities as well.
There’s no way Liam could fail to recognize the immense value of this contract.
“Ho… if handled well, I might actually… realize my dream of becoming a great merchant.”
“Hah hah. Exactly. This is the first step toward that dream. Let’s work together.”
“Whew! Ark…”
Touched, Liam looked at me with wet eyes.
“It’s simply repaying the debt I owe from the past. Don’t feel burdened.”
“Ah…”
At my mention of “repaying debt,” Liam’s expression suddenly turned dark.
Could I have said something wrong? But in the next instant,
“Ark, back then… well, actually…”
Liam hesitated, seemingly about to divulge some long-held secret, but then shook his head and closed his mouth.
“Liam? Is there something you want to say?”
“Nah! I’m just proud of how far you’ve come! Ho ho ho!”
He seemed to be trying to cover something up with his hearty laugh.
But I dismissed it and told him I’d be back in two days, so he should inspect the contract by then. Then I left the shop.
The sun was already halfway down the sky, hiding behind the mountains.
By the time I return to the temple, Artemis will likely have finished hunting, bathed, and completed her evening routine.
“Alright, time to collect my reward.”
As part of completing the Dual Labors, Artemis promised to reveal her true feelings towards me.
Already, one of her two inner truths has been shared:
“I’ve never once thought you would fail since the moment you accepted the proposition of your father’s task.”
It was such a meaningless reward, barely containing any emotional impact toward me.
“Maybe after hearing the next one, the picture will become clearer. This time, I’ll definitely find out.”
Tonight, Artemis won’t escape from me.
