The vow to humiliate Dionysus and make Hades laugh.
At that vow, Artemis was left speechless, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly like a goldfish.
I gazed intently at her cute expression before gently placing my hand on her chin to close her mouth.
“What’s with the surprise? That’s not like you, Artemis.”
“I-I-I said it already, didn’t I? Lord Hades doesn’t laugh!”
Hades, the god of the underworld.
One of the most powerful gods standing at the pinnacle of authority, and brother to Zeus, he oversees the underworld.
As Artemis said, Hades doesn’t laugh.
No, perhaps it’s more accurate to say he can’t laugh.
Ruling over the dead, Hades knows in detail the sorrowful stories of each and every one.
One can’t smile amidst so much sadness, no matter how divine you may be.
It’s similar to how surgeons who perform a lot of surgeries due to their surgical skills often have a stiff, impassive expression.
“I know that well. His impassivity is famous not only in Olympus but also in the human realm.”
“Then what do you plan to do? Tickle his armpits or something?!”
“It’s a sin to touch a god’s body carelessly.”
“But still! You’re going on about disgracing Dionysus without even having a plan, right?!”
Artemis jumped around as if it were her own business.
Even so, since her temper didn’t seem to be cooling down, she poked both of my sides with her index fingers while scolding me.
It didn’t seem like she was poking me particularly hard,
but each of her fingers felt like a sharp spear, painfully cutting into me.
Every time she tapped my ribs, I felt a searing pain as though all my bones were about to collapse.
But now I understand.
It’s not that she has a dirty temper and is troubling the priest Ark.
This is… yes, her way of showing concern.
Is that why?
Somehow, her gradually returning to her usual self feels increasingly special.
More endearing.
“Endearing…”
“W-What? W-what did you say? Why are you acting like this?”
At my muttering, she stopped poking me, startled, and took a step back.
Artemis, her eyes rapidly moving up and down, frantically checked my body as if confirming I was really Ark.
Even she, a celestial goddess, had lost her strong energy after hearing that one punchline of “adorable.”
Haha.
Every single one of her big actions is now too clearly visible to me.
Yes, I’m starting to see it.
The heart of a woman.
Artemis’ heart.
Now that I can see her, her reactions make me realize my own indifference.
Why couldn’t I properly compliment the woman I love even once?
Why did I, this foolish human, let go of such a simple method and try to win her heart only through grand gestures?
What a fool I’ve been.
But I don’t plan to stop.
If it was ignorance, then now that I know, all I need to do is act accordingly.
Taking a deep breath, I exhaled as if purging the accumulated regrets, and looked at her straight once more.
“You look even more endearing in your pajamas.”
“Why are you acting crazy again? Haven’t you hit your head or something?”
“Haha, it’s not madness, it’s a late-onset love-sickness.”
“Yeah, definitely madness.”
Artemis pouted and turned her body swiftly before sprawling herself on the sofa tucked in the corner of the room.
Judging by the fact that she hadn’t closed the bedroom door, it seemed her allowing me in was her own way of giving permission.
Carefully entering her room, I closed the door and perched my hips slightly on the edge of the desk opposite the sofa.
Looking over, I noticed a pile of unfamiliar letters scattered on her desk.
Judging by the gods’ names I could see, it seemed she had secretly exchanged letters with other gods while she was in seclusion, keeping it from me.
“Artemis, what are these letters?”
“Before that, hey.”
At her call, I stopped reaching for the letters.
“Do you really plan to take on this task according to the theme Dionysus set?”
“Yes. It’s my repentance for disappointing you.”
“What are you talking about? Repentance?”
“Haven’t you always wanted to see me in a confident manner? You were upset because I couldn’t do that against Dionysus.”
“…”
As if it were the right answer, her once pouted lips slowly softened.
This, too, is the right answer.
Yes.
Legs are paired to stand firmly.
It shouldn’t end with merely making Artemis the true goddess.
I must also possess the strength that doesn’t bow to other gods.
Only then can Artemis and Ark coexist.
“Dionysus overstepping on your task was definitely an overreach. Shouldn’t we pay him back accordingly?”
“Then? Are you going to show me the impossible piled on top of the impossible?”
“Mhm.”
“Hmph… seems you’re serious.”
She shrugged, letting out a sigh.
Still, she must’ve been unwilling to give up persuading me since she pointed at the letters on the desk with her chin.
As my gaze followed hers to the disarray of letters on the desk,
“Read them.”
“… Okay.”
Collecting the scattered letters into one, I read them all.
Poseidon, Athena, Apollo, Hermes, and so on.
Most of them were letters from gods we were close to.
Their contents were astonishing.
From Poseidon’s aid offering to provide livestock fish,
to Athena’s willingness to provide all the taxes of a small city for a year.
Artemis…
I thought she was simply reading books and eating snacks during her seclusion,
never dreaming that she had secretly made such requests for support.
“Artemis…”
“Athena’s help would extinguish the most pressing fires. If the curse of the wine doesn’t lift, we can still revitalize the economy through other industries.”
“… Definitely.”
Artemis is right.
Even if it’s a small city, it’s a different dimension compared to our Luna, which has now reached the level of a medium-sized city.
Athena’s small city alone would rake in a considerable amount, with over ten million people.
“What do you think?”
Artemis asked, but her question wasn’t really about knowing my thoughts.
It was more of a test.
A test to see if, with such an effortless approach available, would I still choose the nearly impossible task.
“… If I nod, an overwhelming amount of resources will flood into Luna tomorrow, right?”
“Mhm. What will you do?”
“… Luna belongs to you, Artemis. My decision is to follow yours.”
“I’m asking for your thoughts.”
“I’ll take on the task.”
At that, Artemis’s bright eyes locked with mine.
She was checking just how prepared I was, how determined I had made myself.
I don’t avoid her gaze.
I don’t strain my eyes to hide myself.
I show her exactly as I am and give her a gentle smile.
Upon that exchange, Artemis also returns a sly grin.
“Ah-ha-ha-ha! Definitely madness. The fact that you choose the difficult path over the easy one says it all.”
“Dionysus has tarnished the dignity and honor of my goddess. Revenge is the right of a priest.”
“No regrets?”
“Would repeating it twice hurt my mouth?”
Satisfied with my resolve, Artemis reached underneath the sofa while lying down, and pulled out a piece of parchment when she extended her hand again.
“Shall we write down the tasks?”
“Mhm. I have one favor, though.”
“What is it?”
“I want you, Artemis, to join me on the fifth task. Isn’t taste evaluation appropriate? You are one of the twelve main gods after all.”
I vividly recall her artistic evaluation of the taste of a hamburger.
Not just that.
From tteokbokki to homemade fish cakes.
Getting her approval would be an easy victory for the fifth task.
“Alright. That’s acceptable. My positive evaluation won’t impact the judgment of the rest of the gods, though.”
“Finally, we’re on the same page.”
“It was you who was being obstinate! …Anyway, two tasks for Ark.”
With a flick, Artemis casually tossed the parchment through the air between us, and it gracefully unfolded, coated in moonlight.
She started to write the tasks with delicate fingertips, and the parchment slowly floated into my arms, now filled with writing.
My heartbeat quickened as if shaking the entire temple, causing my vision to waver.
The moment I unfold this, the dual tasks officially begin.
With an eager yet expectant smile, I braced my hands and firmly opened the parchment with a crisp swipe.
[Fifth – Develop a new beverage under the supervision of Artemis, one that satisfies the twelve main gods.]
“Fifth confirmed. However, I need to specify something important.”
“What is it?”
I returned the task parchment to her and pointed at the word “satisfy.”
“Satisfaction is a bit too subjective, isn’t it?”
“The conditions for satisfaction must be defined.”
“What can you do about that. Let’s call it successful if they ask for more.”
“Will I need to hear that from all twelve gods?”
“Olympus requires at least half. Seven or more is sufficient.”
If that’s the case,
this means I need to receive approval not just from gods friendly to me including Artemis, but also neutral and even adversarial gods.
It looks like I’ll need to develop a revolutionary beverage to capture the hearts of even the neutral gods.
And the next one:
[Sixth – At the presentation of the developed drink, disgrace Dionysus and make Hades smile.]
The core of this task surely lies in the sixth undertaking.
I need to continue thinking about this while developing the beverage.
“Artemis, when is Athena’s celebration for the victory?”
“It’s precisely two weeks away.”
Amazingly, it perfectly coincides with my task deadline.
Great. The venue is set.
On the upcoming celebration in two weeks, I’ll bring the developed beverage and offer a cup to each of the twelve main gods present.
On the day Metis returns,
when all the gods gather, I’ll shame Dionysus greatly and make Hades smile.
A faint aura of the task rises, wrapping around my wrist and imprinting two lines of tattoos symbolizing the task.
“Great. Let’s see if we can do this.”
