The Moon Is Clearly a Fool
Apollo finished his pleasant lyre session with Orpheus and gave a casual nod to those who offered him prayers. As he strolled through the Agora, everyone around him greeted him by name, making him feel as though he had stepped back in time. He was in a good mood, and he set out to find Perseus so he could praise the young man for his efforts, but he could not spot him anywhere.
‘Looks like he called me here to deal with Artemis. Too obvious, but… thinking that this idiot is bowing his head to me doesn’t feel so bad. And calling out the one who inherited Orpheus’s nickname too… I have to hand it to him for being so sharp.’
The second part was pure coincidence, but Apollo didn’t care at all. As he walked while savoring a delicious glass of wine, he discovered a quiet spot in the Agora with a spectacular view. The vista was so breathtaking that it made him wonder why there were no people around. By sheer luck, he spotted Perseus there, and his face lit up with delight.
‘Oh-ho~! What a wonderful vantage point! But I don’t see Artemis anywhere. That’s strange. Where did that wild girl go?’
He scanned left and right, but the silver-haired beauty was nowhere to be found. Instead, right beside Perseus stood a golden-haired beauty who looked very close to him. From Apollo’s angle, it seemed like she was holding his wrist, and she was trying to hide a smile that was clearly awkward yet overflowing with joy.
‘Hmm? I heard she was still young, but this man knows how to charm a girl. They seem to get along well. I wonder if I can step in. The festival has only just begun, so as a god, it’s only fair for me to wish well upon these young lovers, isn’t it?’
Hmm.
Even to himself, it seemed like a good idea, so Apollo smiled beautifully, glanced back over his shoulder, and was about to leave—until he stopped dead in his tracks.
‘But… the girl I just saw looks kind of like—?’
Just to be sure, he turned around again. Perseus was escorting the golden-haired girl and chatting happily, both of them laughing as if they were having the time of their lives. Anyone who saw the scene would think they were a happy couple or close friends. But the problem was the silver-haired beauty.
‘Eh? Did I miss something? Why is a girl who looks exactly like our idiot standing there…?’
Could that be Artemis?
He doubted it. He doubted it again.
‘No silver hair, but the face… Wait, no, but she seems… more mature than usual… Could that brat actually smile at a man like that…?’
Apollo recalled Orion, the hunter who had become a constellation because of his schemes. According to the storyteller, Orion was nothing more than a male acquaintance to Artemis, but even then, the only man who could have gotten that close to her was Orion. No one else came to mind.
‘Could it be… Perseus…?!’
As a god who protected the bloodline of his own children, Apollo couldn’t help but feel uneasy. He hid among the crowd and watched their movements without a word. After all, the reason he had killed Orion was to safeguard Artemis’s virginity. In a way, his family could be called foolish.
Haha, hoho.
Far away, Apollo saw Artemis finally opening her heart, and every time it happened, his mood turned complicated. They had only just begun to get closer, yet he found himself in a position where he wanted to intervene but couldn’t. He was torn with worry.
‘I remember what happened with Orion, but that guy was a classic Greek hero… I protected him because I thought he was too rough and savage to give Artemis to, but… what about this Perseus… Aaaah… no, no… Wait, that kid still has the dignity of a virgin goddess… If I mess up, it could affect even the surface world…’
Mumbling to himself.
People who had been watching Apollo, worried about him, began to gather. Among them was Orpheus. The sun god who had been happily playing the lyre moments ago was now acting restless, and Orpheus slid closer to him, curious.
“Lord Apollo, what seems to be the matter~? I heard you were looking for Perseus, but why are you wandering around here~?”
“Ah, o-Oh! Orpheus! Perfect timing!”
Apollo took Orpheus’s wrist and pulled him back a little farther. He pointed at the distant pair they could see. Only then did Orpheus understand who Apollo was watching, and he smiled with delight.
“You were protecting your friend Perseus~! But who is the woman next to him…?”
“Don’t tell anyone else. It seems my family, Artemis, is hiding her appearance and doing… that with him. I’ve been panicking because I can’t figure out how to handle this.”
“Oh-ho~! Lady Artemis! I would love to greet her personally~!”
“Shh, shh! Keep your voice down. I’m having trouble understanding why Artemis is so friendly with Perseus. Before she became a virgin goddess, she hated men… Why…”
“It’s true, the rumor. As it always is, it’s fate. But my friend Perseus has a talent for making others feel good with his praise, and his character is excellent. Such a nature wouldn’t bother him at all~!”
“Really?”
“Yes. He keeps praising his comrades even when they’re all stuck in the same boat, trying to make their moods better to calm him down. They were all hot-tempered heroes, yet he made it through without any major accidents. It must have been thanks to him.”
“But humans are unpredictable creatures. I feel bad for Perseus, but once the story has reached this point, I can’t help but wonder about his true intentions. Has he really contacted Artemis with pure intentions? Or did he approach that wild girl with some other thought? No matter how much I like Perseus, I, Apollo, won’t stay silent.”
Despite their usual distance, Apollo was genuinely worried. Orpheus found Apollo’s reaction amusing and chuckled, telling him his worry was for nothing.
“If he had another monster growing in his heart, he wouldn’t have kicked the throne away.”
“Throne?”
“Since you don’t know, let me tell you what I saw that time~! I came to Argos to surprise him, but I never expected this to turn out so well~!”
Ku-hu-hu, Orpheus laughed joyfully. He had secretly watched the moon’s trial in Argos at that time and remembered the outcome and the speech. The story of Perseus, whose eyes had gone wild with rage while the crowd was dying and cheering him on as king, had been boring back then. But with Orpheus’s poetic talent, it had become a story.
“So, you’re saying Perseus had no such thoughts?”
“If you don’t believe me, just grab any Argos citizen and ask them~! Haha, they all like him, so they won’t lie.”
“Hmm.”
Apollo became a fool when it came to Artemis’s affairs. Worried that Orpheus might be lying, he grabbed others and asked, and every one of the ten people gave the exact same answer as Orpheus.
‘Even when offering gifts to the gods to build temples, I felt it, but is he truly a young priest offering himself purely for the gods? I heard he can grow into an adult thanks to Hera’s blessing, but his heart is still young. It would be hard for him to have lewd thoughts toward the virgin goddess Artemis…’
Although that wasn’t exactly true, he thought Perseus was better than Orion at least. When asked whether the rough hunter, who had inherited all the spirit of a Greek hero, or the young priest who worked for them was more admirable, the answer was obviously the latter.
‘If he offers pure love, there’s no reason for me, Apollo, to stand in their way! It’s actually good! He’s been working hard for us, and now love is finally coming to that savage girl after a long time!’
Gods don’t understand human hearts.
To put it another way.
Gods don’t understand human hearts.
Apollo, completely turned into a foolish young fool, left Orpheus behind and rushed toward the pair, shouting loudly.
“Artemis!”
“Wah?! You startled me! W-Where did you come from suddenly?!”
“Hey, Artemis! I’m on your side!”
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Ah, if it’s the story of me ascending to the moon, then I can do that too──”
“No! That’s not it! Even if the two of you become lovers, I’m on your side! Ah, but compared to Orion the thug… Perseus is better, right…?”
“──What did you just say, you crazy fool?!”
“Whoa?!”
Artemis’s moonlight punch landed exactly on Apollo’s solar plexus. She then looked down at the foolish family collapsing to the ground, her face turning bright red as she stepped back.
“W-What are you looking at, saying those things! Where did that thought even come from?!”
“From a distance… they look like… a real couple… or something like that…”
“Has this god gone mad?! I-I never thought of that… n-no, I didn’t~?!”
“I swear on the Styx River… I can never say I never felt anything…?”
“Shut up! You idiot! Die!”
A final kick from Artemis’s moonlight heel aimed straight at the fallen Apollo’s chin.
The sun god Apollo fell beautifully.