Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve: The Tsundere Artemis

The next morning, at the South Gate of Orario.

The early morning at the gates of Orario is the most leisurely time of day, with rarely any caravans or travelers rushing to enter or exit as the sun just rises.

Apart from the diligent guards, there’s almost no one in sight.

Taking advantage of the rising sun, Izay appeared here.

However, he wasn’t preparing to leave the city but rather to see someone off.

“…… Lady Artemis, are you already prepared to leave so soon?”

Looking at Artemis and the two figures behind her—Letsha and Lanti—who were all ready to depart, Izay felt somewhat helpless.

Could it be because of what happened during yesterday’s shopping that she’s upset?

“Not really fast, considering we already stayed an extra day yesterday.”

At this, Artemis shook her head, her water-blue hair tied in a scorpion braid swaying lightly.

Whenever she returned to Orario in the past, she would usually rest briefly with Letsha in this city, typically planning to leave on the second day.

This time, they were just… leaving slightly earlier?

“To be precise, it’s only half a day.”

“Ara? Is there any difference? According to your favorite saying, rounding up makes it a whole day, right?”

“…”

Izay opened his mouth but was momentarily speechless.

It was a phrase he often used to tease Lanti.

The girl had the habit of counting how many kills she made while hunting monsters, proudly sharing the numbers with her companions after each battle.

And Izay would often help her round the numbers for simplicity.

For instance, if she killed forty-eight monsters, he’d round it up to fifty; fifty-two would also become fifty.

If he exaggerated, Lanti would be delighted; if he underestimated, she’d get mad. He had been teased by fellow members of their faction countless times because of this.

Never did he expect Artemis to use this term now.

That was truly……

“What’s wrong? You shouldn’t be the type to cry over a temporary goodbye, Izay?”

Seeing his hesitant expression, Artemis’ face showed a hint of a smile.

“It’s not that, I’m just feeling sad that I won’t be able to share my joy of becoming an adventurer with you immediately. And we might not see each other for a long time in the future.”

Sighing, Izay spoke frankly.

“This… why are you telling me this…”

After hearing this, the goddess immediately looked somewhat uneasy, crossing her hands behind her back and looking away.

Did she misunderstand something?

Why did it feel like Izay was subtly expressing a wish for her to visit more often in the future?

It must be an illusion, right?

After all, Izay didn’t mention a single word about it…

Her thoughts were tangled like a ball of yarn, making the goddess unable to maintain her usual composure when looking at Izay.

Meanwhile, standing less than half a meter away, Izay observed every subtle movement of the goddess clearly, even noticing the faint pink tinge on her otherwise pale cheeks.

At this moment, Izay wasn’t quite sure what he was doing himself. His body acted faster than his brain could think, and before he realized it, the words had already escaped his lips.

“Hey, Lady Artemis… can I have one last farewell hug?”

Not far away, under a tree, Letsha and Lanti waited anxiously, resembling weekend plans gone awry where a friend stood them up yet they still waited foolishly.

Even though those friends were right in front of them.

Still…

“This is taking forever… What are Goddess-sama and that guy Izay talking about? Can’t they hurry up?”

Bending her knees and resting her elbows on them, supporting her chin with both hands, Lanti couldn’t help but complain.

“It is a bit slow… but considering the situation, it’s not entirely incomprehensible.”

Letsha placed a hand on her cheek, speaking with unusual gentleness.

But no one knew exactly what she understood.

“Ahleh!? Ahleh ahleh??? Did you see that, Letsha? Am I hallucinating? Goddess-sama! That Artemis Goddess-sama is blushing!”

As if witnessing the sun rise from the west, Lanti jumped up and started shaking Letsha’s arm, almost losing her ability to speak coherently.

“Ah… um… if I’m not hallucinating either, then yes, she is.”

Compared to her, Letsha wasn’t much better, trembling as she tightly held Lanti’s hand.

“Hugging… They’re hugging!!”

“Don’t shake me! I can see!”

“Ohhhhhhh~”

The two girls were now even more excited than special interest groups seeing two handsome men getting close.

However, the embrace lasted only a fleeting moment. Before Izay could fully savor it, the goddess had already withdrawn from his arms, lowering her head.

“Don’t… don’t overthink it! It’s just a farewell hug!”

Unable to see her expression due to her bowed head, after muttering a not-so-textbook tsundere line, the goddess turned around and hurriedly walked away.

If Izay had pursued her, he would have discovered that at this moment, Artemis’ neck and ears were completely flushed red, her delicate cheeks burning.

“Just a farewell hug, huh? I never noticed before, but Lady Artemis has a tsundere side?”

Repeating her words aloud, Izay chuckled, struck by inspiration.

But even the tsundere goddess was undeniably cute.

Because she was walking very fast, Artemis quickly joined Letsha and Lanti.

With the latter two trying hard to appear calm and the goddess temporarily distracted, the three set off in a strange atmosphere.

“So good, Goddess-sama…”

At the gate, someone sighed wistfully.

But this person wasn’t Izay, but rather the guard who had quietly watched everything, acting like a non-existent bystander.

The guard’s comment drew Izay’s attention, and then he flashed him a knowing grin, giving a thumbs-up.

“I believe in you, young man!”

A strangely meaningful support landed on Izay…

“Uh… I think you’ve misunderstood something. The relationship between me and that goddess isn’t what you think… well, not yet.”

“You don’t need to explain, I understand! Young man!”

God-human romance, there’s no need to hide it.

In Orario, such cases aren’t unprecedented.

After losing their divine powers and becoming no different from ordinary people, worrying about various things while enjoying such worries, it’s not surprising that deities are attracted to the mortals who live closely with and take care of them within their factions.

And it’s even less surprising for mortals to be attracted to deities.

The gate guard, wearing the emblem of a certain faction on his chest, still regarded Izay and Artemis as such a case in his heart, and from this moment forward, he became a fan.

There’s nothing more to say—he ships them!

Unaware that he had gained a fan out of nowhere, Izay saw that at this point, not explaining was the best explanation, otherwise, things would only get worse.

Waving to the guard who smiled like an auntie, Izay decided to follow his plan to head to the northern district of Orario.