The Moon is Clearly a Fool (2)
Zeus answered.
But he did not reveal his true form. Instead, his eagle flew in and delivered his will.
Through his divine decree, Zeus spoke.
『To the mortal youth who has always served with devotion for Olympus’s gods—I served you again this time, for the gods’ sake. You were about to come for advice, fearing you might be an annoyance, so I speak with sincerity. I hold you in high regard.
Artemis defied the command of the gods’ king, me, Zeus, and even rebelled. Accordingly, I was about to impose a fitting punishment. Yet the child showed not a shred of shame and fled, intending to rain thunder down wherever she went—though she never imagined I would come this far.
She hid her face perfectly, but behind the scenes, her tense relationship with Hera and Hephaestus had been smoothed out. My deed that improved that relationship must have drawn her here in secret. Those two gods never gave you any trouble, so I, Zeus, will not bring down thunder on you or the land you call home.
Therefore, I withdraw from this matter, but the punishment for Artemis will continue. You will have to shoulder everything for her, but I grant you permission to treat her as your personal attendant so she may learn a lesson from this. It is my command, and I will also strip her of divinity. You need not worry. If she wishes to return to the moon, she will not be able to climb there without strength. If she wishes to return at all, tell her to bow her head to me.
Finally…
The moon has been handed over to Hecate. Do not forget that.』
The eagle that had been Zeus’s messenger rose into the sky and vanished far beyond the horizon after delivering those words. At first I thought Zeus had come disguised as an old man, but the way it flew away with all its might confirmed it was the eagle he kept.
After hearing Zeus’s story, I sat there wondering what to do. Suddenly, a fierce light burst forth from inside the temple and soared upward to disappear into the moon. Artemis had gone to meet Tethys, and when she returned she let out a high-pitched wail, 「Uwaaaaah~! Father is such a fool~!」 and made a sound like a monkey. I immediately understood that Zeus had taken her divinity away.
『How troublesome. If I’m not careful, I might end up like Laoomedon.』
Especially now, when I was already in a foul mood thanks to this mistake, I had to take Artemis on as an attendant. I had no idea what to do. Even so, I would not make any huge mistakes like Laoomedon had. After all, life does not always go exactly as one wishes.
「Hoo.」
While I was steeling myself again and again to be careful, I heard heavy footsteps and light ones. One belonged to Artemis, the other to Tethys.
「Uwaaaaaah!!! Perseus~!!」
Artemis, who had burst out yelling my name, ran over without a trace of shame. She hugged me and shook me while letting out a hiccupping sob. I’d been told her divinity had been taken away, but how could she have such strength? She lifted me up effortlessly, leaving me dizzy.
「Ah, I know. You’ve had your divinity stripped, haven’t you? Zeus-sama’s divine decree came down and told me everything.」
「R-really~?! That stubborn old man actually delivered the message?!」
「Why are you so surprised?」
「Because he won’t listen to a single word from his own bloodline, yet he spoke to you! It makes me furious! Really, even after all these years, you’re still so passive! Father is such a terrible man~! Hoo!」
She seemed to have a long list of complaints, but she could not say them in front of Zeus. She mentioned the old days, so I wondered what old story Hephaestus had been talking about. The current city-states seemed to have split apart and become independent, which was strange compared to what I knew of the myths. Maybe there was a connection.
『If I become friendly with her, perhaps I can learn that old story.』
Fortunately, Artemis was showing affection toward me. Not as much as my sister Atalante, but since she was a woman, she was already trembling at the sight of a man. That distance that allowed me to touch her body was quite important.
「What are you staring at, space-cadet?」
「Huh? Sorry. I was just thinking for a moment.」
「So? What did Father say?! He admitted he was wrong and sent you the message instead, right?!」
「No?」
「What?!」
Thinking I must be dreaming, I recounted the entire message without hesitation. Artemis’s flawless skin flushed red, and she turned the color of a tomato on the verge of bursting. It was not like a normal goddess to let out an angry 「Ngkhhah~!!」 and writhe in frustration.
「Eek! Ugh! You fool~! You absolute fool! And worst of all, to Hecate of all people!! This is sarcasm, isn’t it?! Sarcasm directed at me, right?!」
「It certainly is. Not long ago, you yourself placed a goddess who had been imprisoned in the Underworld on the moon.」
「Uwaaaaa~! So you know about it too! Perseus! You clever little brat~! There has never been a time when you look this adorable! Ahh~!」
Hecate’s reputation was legendary. She was a goddess even the Olympians could not casually insult. Yet despite spending so many years in the Underworld, it was astonishing that Artemis dared to defy Zeus in this situation. Even Hecate herself had been imprisoned. What on earth had made this foolish goddess so bold?
『Was she acting on pure instinct?』
「Ding!」
My wisdom pouch opened for the first time in ages and agreed with me.
「It would be nice to have a playmate, but since you’re a man, I’ll have to give it to you.」
「Ah, sorry! When I was little I looked just like Atalante, so I stopped playing with it!」
Of course. Only one year apart.
「By the way… this is rather troublesome. Not only has the goddess of the moon had her divinity stripped, but now I’m supposed to become her attendant here… If people notice, I don’t know how they’ll react…」
While I brushed my chiton with my palm to check for any rips, Tethys voiced her worries. After all, the greatest temple in this age—the one I was in—was where the goddess herself resided. If this were discovered, who knew what would happen. Especially since King Acrisius was recovering his strength. If he learned that his son had lost his divinity, his eyes would definitely roll back in his head.
『How do I handle this?』
No obvious solution came to mind, so I asked again. My wisdom pouch, which had finally begun working diligently after so long, still just gave me the same lazy answer.
『──Depigmentation?』
Even in ancient Greece, there had been depigmenting agents. Surprisingly, there was plenty of information on bleaching. Golden hair had been the trend at the time—especially that side of things. Egypt right next door had even more depigmentation records. It was surprisingly simple.
「Lady Artemis.」
「Eh? What?」
「I’m sorry for asking out of the blue, but do you like blonde hair?」
「Uue~! B-blonde~? My hair is already good… Blonde? It reminds me of Apollo, so I hate it……」
I knew what she was trying to do and hid in a corner, but she came over with a cheerful laugh. Right now I was definitely wearing an extremely bad expression.
「It’s the same for both of us. If someone who recognizes you might try to do something bad, I hope you understand.」
「Th-that’s… ugh…」
Artemis glanced at Tethys for help, but the sea nymph was in full teasing mode. Smiling sweetly without answering only made her presence more intense.
*1) One of the bloodlines of the Trojan royal family.
Poseidon and Apollo had both been scolded by Zeus and punished by having to work for Laoomedon. One of the things they did was build the famous walls of Troy. However, the fool did not give the two gods the promised rewards, and enraged, they immediately set out to kill Laoomedon upon returning.
That would have been the end of it, but he made the mistake of calling Heracles to stop them. He did not give rewards to Heracles, the Greek representative known for his temper-control issues. He even went as far as to make Heracles, who had brought an army (he was not alone), take his life, and all his relatives were killed.
The only one to survive was Hesione. Heracles offered to spare one of her relatives and she chose him. That was Polydorus, son of King Priam. Priam had many famous sons in the myth—Hector and Paris—and a daughter named Cassandra.
After that, the Trojan War began.
If Paris was the reason Troy fell, then it could be said the Trojan royal family sowed the seeds of their own destruction with their own hands.
*2) Troy is the plural form, Troy is the singular, and when the plural is used it usually refers to the city and its surroundings. Similar words include Athena (Athens), Mycenae (Mycenae), and Thebes (Thebes). For Athena, it means the entire region of Attica surrounding the city.