Chapter 43

What could be the reason Ares was hostile towards me?

His manic laughter still echoes in my mind.

After racking my brain all day yesterday,

I came up with three possible reasons:

1. He resents me for receiving the confession of love from his beloved Aphrodite.

2. He’s truly a reckless troublemaker as rumors suggest.

3. He’s following the wishes of his mother, Hera.

However, none of these reasons fit perfectly like puzzle pieces, leaving this question still unresolved.

First, Aphrodite’s confession.

I already firmly rejected her, so that matter is closed.

Even so, would Ares, blinded by jealousy, try to kill me like a petty human?

Frankly, it’s hard to imagine.

Next, his reckless nature.

Even if he wants to kill me, why antagonize Athena, the strongest goddess?

It’s not just recklessness – he’s outright insane.

But would a simple madman use such an ingenious tactic as predicting Artemis’ arrow and throwing an oil drum filled with white phosphorus powder?

It’s hard to swallow.

Lastly, following Hera’s wishes.

This is the most reasonable explanation.

But paradoxically, the least convincing.

At the celebration day, he attended with Aphrodite and sat far from Hera.

From what I observed in the waiting room backstage, their relationship seemed distant and awkward, lacking any maternal bond.

Even when I confessed to Metis about giving her the Golden Pen, Ares just chuckled and laughed.

What could be the source of Ares’ animosity?

Out of frustration, I asked Athena, grasping at straws.

“It’s probably because of me,” she confessed almost penitently.

“What do you mean? Do you know the reason?”

Her unexpected answer made me lean forward on the sofa across from her.

Athena nodded slightly.

Then, contrary to my anxious mood, she stood up and began slowly writing the names of the Twelve Olympians on the wall board.

After writing all the names, she added their domains next to each name before finally turning back to me.

“Ark, can you choose an unnecessary god among the Twelve Olympians?”

“Huh?”

Taken aback by the sudden question, I let out an unwittingly blank response.

Though I wanted to ask what she meant, I judged that Athena must have her reasons.

Looking up at the names written on the board,

I found it very difficult to choose an unnecessary god, so I started instead with eliminating the important ones.

First removing gods of sky, sea, and earth.

Then sun and moon.

Next family and love.

Continuing this elimination, two gods remained, with an interesting overlap:

Athena (wisdom, war)

Ares (war)

While each of the Twelve Olympians has their own distinct domain,

Athena and Ares share the domain of war.

More accurately, the highly competent Goddess of Wisdom Athena has encroached even into Ares’ domain of war.

I once mentioned that Athena is Zeus’ second-in-command.

While that’s true as she’s his eldest daughter, in my view it’s because her divine authority is most deeply intertwined with the human world.

It’s not just wisdom and war.

Just listing what comes to mind currently:

justice, inspiration, strategy, technology, weaving, art, honor, heroes, peace, protection, pride, prosperity and more –

Athena presides over more than ten domains.

Why does Athena alone preside over so many domains?

I’ve always thought since childhood that it’s because of her love for humanity.

“…I see the answer now.”

Taking up the pen and approaching the board,

I once again fix my eyes on the names of the two deities.

Athena (wisdom, war)

Ares (war)

Though it may be irreverent for a priest, I struck out Ares’ name with two lines.

“Right. When eliminating one of two people with identical abilities, one must evaluate non-ability factors as well.”

The Goddess of Wisdom Athena gave a disappointingly cold and rational answer.

After all,

Ares has never been able to match Athena since childhood.

It’s widely accepted among the gods that Ares only became one of the Twelve Olympians because of Hera’s influence.

Though both preside over war, Ares has never defeated Athena.

The labels of Ares as offense and Athena as defense are now outdated.

With her strategic cavalry tactics, Athena now excels in both aspects of war.

This is reflected even in human opinions, where Athena is generally regarded higher than Ares.

Even I, who serve the gods, consider Athena two or three levels above Ares.

So it’s settled.

The nature of Ares’ hostility towards us.

Perhaps it’s not jealousy, but something even deeper, a feeling that may border on inferiority.

“…Inferiority complex.”

“Right. Ares is trying to assert his necessity to the gods by killing you, Ark.”

“Does he want to be some kind of back alley fixer?”

“He likely wants to show the gods who value appearances that he can do what they cannot. After all, mud on black shoes looks less dirty than on white shoes.”

After we flattened Eros’ nose with the Golden Pen event,

now the reckless Ares has appeared out of nowhere.

This red-haired Ares seems to have the ominous potential to be even more troublesome than Eros.

“Still, after getting hit by Artemis’ moonlight arrows, he should stay quiet for a while.”

“Probably. Otherwise it’d be awkward for me.”

As I joked about my supposed weakness, Athena laughed softly, covering her mouth with her clenched fist.

Her gaze toward me contained even more trust and hope than before.

“Hmph. You’d better start thinking about befriending Apollo, who will be arriving soon. With our enemies increasing, reinforcements on your side are indispensable.”

“I was thinking about that… but nothing comes to mind. Do you have any good suggestions?”

“He…”

Athena closed her mouth suddenly mid-sentence,

staring briefly at the firmly shut office door before continuing.

“I forgot that we have an Apollo expert right here.”

“What? What do you mean…”

Ignoring my question, Athena quietly rose from her seat.

Walking tiptoe to the door, she suddenly turned the handle and flung it open.

“Kyaaaah!”

There, Artemis who had been eavesdropping with her ear pressed to the door fell forward with a thud.

Ah… Artemis.

How long were you secretly listening like a little mouse?

“…Hahaha!”

Though Artemis scratched the back of her head and laughed awkwardly, she clearly realized her behavior was embarrassing.

She was obviously curious about what we had been discussing.

After watching her sister silently for a moment, Athena announced she was going to see Nike and left the office.

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence filled the priest’s office.

As I pondered how to start a conversation in this situation,

Artemis dove onto the sofa like a diver, spotting the biscuits and desserts on the table.

She then began eating them brazenly, pointing at me with her index finger.

“Listening is a goddess’ right.”

“…”

“Listening is a goddess’ right.”

You don’t need to repeat yourself, I understand.

Apparently, asking why she was eavesdropping is strictly forbidden.

Alright.

The important thing is what lies ahead.

Apollo is Artemis’ twin brother.

Surely she knows a way to get close to him?

“By the way, we were talking about Lord Apollo. We thought it would be good to get close to him.”

“Huh~ That was the topic? I wasn’t at all curious!”

Artemis puffed out her chest proudly, her mouth filled with cookie crumbs.

Confronting her about why she eavesdropped would be like opening Pandora’s box, so let’s move on.

“Since you’re his twin sister, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to get some prior information.”

“Okay! Let’s just do it.”

Setting down her biscuit, Artemis clapped her hands, crossed her arms, and crossed her legs.

Her confidence in answering any question溢was evident.

This girl… reliable when it counts, isn’t she?

I quickly grabbed a pen and notepad and began asking questions.

“What kind of food does Apollo like?”

“He’s the god of the sun.”

“What are Apollo’s hobbies?”

“He’s a male god.”

“What does Apollo desire most recently?”

“One of the Twelve Olympians.”

…

What?

Something’s off.

The question-and-answer isn’t aligning at all.

He doesn’t seem drunk, as there’s no smell of alcohol…

Perhaps.

Maybe it’s some new style of interview I’m unfamiliar with.

Let’s try one more question.

“What is the name of Apollo’s twin sister?”

“I know that one. Artemis.”

“Whaaat!!!”

I threw the notebook and pen in the air in exasperation.

Slamming my hands on the table, I stood up and gave her a scolding.

“Whaa! Are you even related? How do you know nothing about Apollo? I probably know more!”

This made Artemis furious as well, standing up to return the scolding.

“Excuse me! That was just a joke! Seeing your irreverent reaction proves I was right not to tell you anything!!”

“The moment you said ‘I know that one’ to the last question, you gave yourself away! You ridiculous goddess!!”

With her temperature rising like a thermometer, Artemis turned red from neck to forehead.

On the verge of tears, she charged at me.

Then as usual, she grabbed my hair and bit my neck, creating a huge commotion.

Just then,

A sound of something falling came from the temple entrance.

“I am Apollo, here to descend. Where’s my dear sister?”

Apollo had arrived.