Aphrodite Appears!
That night, the surviving merchants pitched their tents. People gathered around the campfire.
"You okay?"
I approached Sophia and sat down beside her. She remained still, knees drawn up to her chest.
"She was your lover, right?"
"Yeah."
Sophia hung her head low.
"Never thought she'd see me that way."
Better she never knew what Temira had actually said. So I kept the words of that big-titted demon bitch to myself. But Sophia already knew Temira had summoned the monsters, and she seemed to have a rough idea of the rest.
"What the hell is it, then?" I pressed her. "Any idea why she went that far to try and kill you?"
Sophia clenched her teeth. She lowered her head even further and spoke quietly.
"I made a mistake on a job once, a long time ago."
While luring a monster, she had accidentally gotten Temira's father killed. Sophia had been the one who planned the operation and handled the baiting, so the blame fell squarely on her.
"Even so…"
"Forget it. It's already over."
In the end, Temira had snapped and tried to take revenge on her own lover—and failed.
"Alkyones is going to have a rough time of it too. He fell for Temira at first sight the moment we got on the carriage."
What a lunatic. Falling for a lesbian who already had a girlfriend? Was I the only sane person left around here?
"You're right. Nothing we can do about it now. What's done is done."
I stood up and gave Sophia's shoulder a couple of firm pats.
"Go get some rest."
"What about Alkyones?"
"Passed out cold."
For a guy who supposedly fell hard for Temira, he was sleeping just fine.
Whoosh!
Suddenly Sophia grabbed my wrist and yanked me down. I lost my balance and dropped right beside her.
"Will you stay with me a little longer?"
"Huh?"
"Just… I'm unsettled. I want someone next to me…"
Was this girl falling for me or something? No—get a grip, Homeron. She's a lesbian. No interest in men…
Then again, who knows? She could be bi like Temira.
In this insane ancient Greece, half the population would fuck the second their eyes met. Why not her?
I did as she asked. We sat in silence for a while in front of the dying campfire.
"Thanks."
At last Sophia sniffled and wiped her eyes. Then she rose to her feet.
"Must've been tiring, staying by me this long. Go on in."
Even someone who always acted so tough and snappy had clearly taken a heavy hit today. The softened corners of her eyes and the sadness in her expression stirred something low in my gut.
No matter how inferior she was compared to a goddess… wait. Looking at her now, that wasn't even true.
Hmm. Was this how Zeus felt? Surrounded by goddesses more beautiful than anyone, yet still lusting after human women?
"Alright. Got it."
I stood as she said. Tomorrow I'd be stuck in a carriage all day again—or else cutting down whatever monsters showed up. Either way, I needed to top up my stamina.
Adversary of Olympus
Possesses growth potential and physical abilities that far surpass human limits.
Truth was, thanks to this skill I barely felt tired and didn't really need sleep. But to other humans, a guy who never slept and still bounced around full of energy would look weird as hell. So I figured I'd head inside.
"Ah—I'm gonna take a quick night walk around here."
With that I turned and left the cluster of tents, greeting the night breeze as I walked. I wanted to review how much I'd grown in the last fight.
Nice. The blessings did most of the heavy lifting, but I'm slowly getting used to combat.
Two blessings from Hestia. One of them—
Blessing: Hestia's Hero
Exerts tremendous influence in combat.
The other—
Blessing: Hestia's Companion
Teleportation unlocks only after visiting other Hearth temples.
—still hadn't shown any real payoff. Without finding other temples of the Hearth, the travel function stayed locked. Otherwise I'd already be teleporting all over the place.
As for the other passive skills…
Their usefulness was pretty damn low. Aside from Adversary of Olympus, every single one was only good for sex.
At least the Goddess Hunter passive sharpened all five senses enough to help read an opponent's mind or pinpoint an enemy's location. But the rest? Who knew.
What the hell were they even for?
One Who Faced the Gods is useless except for letting me touch gods. Goddess's Dildo has a trash name and is worthless if there's no goddess to fuck. And The One Who Fills a Goddess's Womb—so what if I pump her full of cum? If the goddess doesn't want it, she won't get pregnant.
Wait… did Hestia actually get pregnant?
Wouldn't that expose that she wasn't a virgin goddess anymore? Wouldn't that put me in danger? It'd be like advertising that a crazy human who fucks even virgin goddesses was running around out here.
Aargh! I should've held back on creaming her insides so hard!
I clutched my head and groaned. Luckily no one was around to hear my shameful muttering—but the fact that I'd said it out loud still made me a complete lunatic. Fuck a few goddesses and suddenly you've got no sense left at all.
"Huh?"
Something dazzlingly bright appeared in front of me. A radiant golden light shimmered in the distance, almost as if it were beckoning me closer. Entranced, my feet moved on their own. Before I realized it, I was walking toward the glow.
And then I found her.
"Wh-who the hell are you…?"
A beauty who rivaled even Hera and Hestia stood right there in the middle of this empty wasteland.
Her whole body is glowing. Divine power?
No doubt left. This woman was a goddess.
"Hello~? Handsome boy~?"
"I'm not a boy."
I answered firmly, making sure to stress that I was a full-grown adult.
"But you look so young~."
The way she dragged out the ends of her sentences was seriously irritating. Yet her breathtaking beauty and the liquid-smooth, jewel-like quality of her voice kept me from getting truly angry.
She lay on her stomach among the gently bent grass, idly kicking her feet and smiling softly up at me. It was the kind of smile that melted a man's heart on the spot.
"What business do you have calling me?"
"Oh my? How did you know~?"
"Would you stop trailing off like that?"
She ignored my grumbling completely. Half-lidded eyes regarded me with lazy leisure—the look of an absolute being who had transcended everything. A languid confidence that said she could pin me down whenever she felt like it.
"Which goddess are you?"
"Well~, I suppose I should tell my cute little boy~."
She slowly pushed herself up. Her full, bursting breasts swayed heavily with the motion. I couldn't tear my eyes away. She noticed my stare; the smile at the corner of her lips deepened.
"I'm Aphrodite, Goddess of Beauty~."
Wait. Hold on. Why the hell was this slut here?
I stared at her in open shock. Aphrodite seemed to enjoy my reaction, smiling with her eyes and giving me a bright little grin.
"I recovered the bell from the thief who ran off with it from my temple~. Can you give it back~?"
I reached into my clothes, pulled out the bell, and tossed it to her.
"Thanks~."
Aphrodite covered her mouth and laughed.
"As a reward, I'll tell you something useful~."
"What is it?"
"He's really, truly furious~."
"Who?"
"Zeus."
Cold sweat broke out as I glanced to the side.
Zeus is targeting you.
Probability of Zeus striking:32.2%
Contrary to her words, the probability had actually dropped. I let out a breath of relief. Aphrodite watched my strange behavior with mild curiosity, then spoke again.
"This is no time to relax. I've put up a barrier to protect you for now, but Zeus is watching every move you make."
The drawn-out, coquettish tone vanished. She gave me serious advice in a clear, firm voice.
"I recommend hiding in another god's domain. Athens is dangerous, of course."
"Why?"
"Athena—that bitch is basically Zeus's most loyal servant."
Plenty of Olympian gods were children of Zeus. But among them Athena was the one he cherished most, and she obeyed his commands just as faithfully. So that part of the myths had been real after all?
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
"I recommend Odysseia. Poseidon is on bad terms with both Zeus and Athena."
Hmm. Weren't they lovers?
"Lovers?"
"Nothing."
In my previous life I'd shipped Poseidon × Athena hard, but I sure as hell wasn't about to say that in front of a goddess. That was my private little secret.
"So why did you appear in front of me…?"
"To help you~."
Back to that damn speech pattern.
"How exactly are you going to help?"
"My meat slaves will assist you~."
What the hell was this goddess even saying?
"My husband Hephaestus and Ares. Plus Hermes and Dionysus."
There were traditions where Ares appeared as Aphrodite's husband. Hermes had several versions of the story, and she even had a child with Dionysus. Hephaestus, though—except him. That guy was stuck in a sexless marriage. No wonder Ares stole his wife.
"Each of them will give you aid~."
"You're serious?"
I asked, half in disbelief. Aphrodite simply nodded.
"If you need drugs, go to Dionysus~. If you need weapons, go to Ares~. If you need equipment repaired, go to Hephaestus~."
Wait a second…
"And if you want to contact me, go through Hermes~."
"That guy's Zeus's messenger, isn't he?"
"If I ask him, he'll keep your existence a secret~."
"No way."
This crazy goddess…?
"Then what's the condition?"
"Condition? Well…"
Aphrodite stroked the edge of her clothes. Then she casually stripped them off in one smooth motion. Her full, swollen breasts bounced free, nipples already stiff and standing as if begging to be sucked, swaying seductively to lure me in.
"Just a one-night stand with me~."
Ah.
This crazy slut was for real.