The Gloomy Goddess

Shiiing!

Hestia's divine sword rode the tips of my fingers and cleaved the monster clean in two.

Hmm. I was getting more and more used to swordsmanship, and it felt good.

Ten years of slave life had already finished adapting me to this other world, but the first time I'd ever truly fought was back at the Temple of the Hearth.

Even now, thinking about it still feels off.

Monsters appearing inside Hestia's domain? By any common sense it made no sense at all.

But there was no point turning it over again now. We had already killed every last one of them, and far too much time had passed to dig into what came after. The priestesses of Hestia who went to dispose of the corpses reported finding nothing unusual either.

In the end, everything remained nothing more than suspicion.

Probably the work of Zeus's followers, or some god connected to him.

The incident with Aphrodite's bell had already confirmed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the existence of divine artifacts that could summon monsters on their own. That alone made the suspicion more than reasonable.

"Still, though."

I pushed myself up. The bright sunlight pouring down felt better than anything. The weather was especially fine today.

That bastard Zeus. Was he in a good mood or something?

No idea what the hell he's so cheerful about… but you'd better prepare yourself.

I was already looking forward to the face he would make when a mere human crushed him.

Want to fuck me?

Fuck off.

I'll be the one fucking your wife.

Hera, Goddess of Family and Marriage. The very first goddess I ever met. I had not forgotten her for a second.

Looking back now, Aphrodite had been right. In this ancient Greece, clinging to chastity and pure love was pure stupidity. If it made me stronger—if it let me escape Zeus's clutches—then even if I had to shoulder every risk, fucking every goddess I could get my hands on was simply the proper course.

Sorry, Hestia.

Even so, she was my first woman. That alone meant I carried the duty and the responsibility to treat her right.

Next target…

No need to think about it. From the moment Aphrodite granted me her blessing, the odds of running into other goddesses had skyrocketed.

Thud.

I shook off the thoughts and stopped walking. Then I lifted my head.

A city of massive buildings that looked like temples themselves stretched out in imposing rows. The reverse side of Athens, domain of Poseidon, Father of Monsters.

Odysseia.

With the arrival of the new age of heroes, monsters that had slipped free of Poseidon's grasp had begun to appear. All sorts of creatures never named in myth or legend started showing up. Phylines and Nepherions were among them—descendants who had broken free of Poseidon's authority generation after generation and now ran wild. In the end even Poseidon, who had once cherished monsters and stood against heroes, had been forced to side with humanity.

Of course he still occasionally took the side of high-ranking monsters. But only those that had actually been recorded in the myths. Slaughtering lowly trash like Nepherions did not concern him in the slightest.

That's why the atmosphere here feels different.

Athens overflowed with praise for heroes. Odysseia, on the other hand, thoroughly worshipped Poseidon and the monsters who were his children. It was a bizarre sight, but it was their custom, so I had no room to complain.

Half the world. The reverse face of the same coin that formed its center. Perhaps Athens and Odysseia together best revealed the contradictions of this world—a world that worshipped monsters while still celebrating the feats of the heroes who slew them. Gods who laid trials upon heroes to exalt them, and gods who stood against those same heroes.

"First stop: the Temple of the Hearth."

On the road to Odysseia I had passed through two or three other cities. Each time I set a waypoint at their Temple of the Hearth. "Setting a waypoint" simply meant I had thoroughly fucked the high priestess of each temple. Every one of them had a different personality, different tastes, different style in bed; the variety had been delicious. Still, it was a shame Hestia's true body never showed herself.

Just how long are you planning to hide?

I had called for her again and again, yet she never answered. No matter how I looked at it, she was clearly avoiding me. Had our ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠first time together been that much of a shock?

Damn it. I can't even go find her myself.

I still had no idea which temple housed her true body. If I did, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I would march straight there, grab Hestia, and drive my cock—

"What business brings you… Oh my."

The high priestess of Odysseia recognized me at a single glance. After I had already pounded four or five other high priestesses, the shared memory and sensation must have synchronized. She took one look at me and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her face flushed scarlet.

Haaah, fuck.

"Come here."

"Kyaa!"

All of this was Hestia's fault.

Slap!

I brought my palm down hard on the ass that was still oozing thick ropes of my cum.

Twitch. Twitch!

The high priestess's buttocks trembled and clenched in reaction. I rose to my feet, breathing hard.

If I kept doing nothing but this, my brain really was going to melt. Yet I had no choice. I wanted to bite her, suck her, lick every inch of her right this second, but she refused to show herself—so what else was I supposed to do but pound her substitutes?

Even that was not enough. No matter how much seed I poured out, a deep, gnawing dissatisfaction kept welling up from somewhere inside my chest.

Ah, I want to see her. Mother, I want to bury your son's cock inside your womb this very instant!

Hold it in…

If Aphrodite ever found out, she would freak out on the spot and spread the rumor to every corner of Olympus.

I had already done everything there was to do here. Time to leave.

I washed myself quickly, threw on my clothes, then pressed a soft kiss to the forehead of the unconscious high priestess. Payment for the pleasure she had given me.

No message asking for a Review score appeared. Ever since the system had transferred fully to Hestia herself, her clones had become essentially meaningless for that purpose.

I stepped out of the Temple of the Hearth.

"Hm?"

Right in front of me, a girl was peeking out from behind a pillar.

Was she really a girl, though? Her body was slender, yet the soft swell of her breasts made it clear she was a grown woman. Her mannerisms and shy demeanor, however, were pure little-girl.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Kyaa!"

She panicked and ducked back behind the pillar. That only made me more flustered.

"Excuse me?"

"U-uuuh…"

"Is something wrong?"

"N-nothing."

Strange. Even with her hair hanging gloomily over her face, her striking beauty still stood out. No matter how I looked at her, she did not seem human.

A nymph, maybe?

If she were a fairy, that would explain it. But I had never heard of any fairy lingering around a Temple of the Hearth.

"Excuse me."

I approached her carefully. The woman only tried to retreat farther the closer I came. After closing the distance little by little, I held out my hand.

"It's all right. I won't hurt you."

"Humans who say that always end up hurting people."

"Ha… haha…"

She was not wrong, so I had nothing to say. An awkward laugh was all that came out.

"I'm not like that."

"W-what exactly did you do inside the Temple of the Hearth?"

She sniffed the air, eyeing me with open wariness.

"There's a strange smell… What did you do?"

What did I do? I had sex, of course. That was common sense in this otherworld Greece, wasn't it?

"There was a small ritual."

"For a ritual, that smell is awfully filthy."

Why did she seem so sexually ignorant? Almost like a virgin goddess.

Ah—could this woman be a virgin too? Then that worked out perfectly for me.

I licked my lips inwardly. Goddess or not, claiming women was the same as powering up. An unavoidable act if I wanted to stand against Zeus.

"So, where is your home? I'll guide you there."

I wiggled the hand I still held out. She slowly stepped out from behind the pillar. Through the curtain of gloomy black hair, one eye fixed on my hand. Then she took it.

"Please guide me."

"Your hand… is warm."

She toyed with my fingers. The whole thing felt oddly intimate.

"Handsome face, but that sneaky way of carrying yourself put me off… yet your hand is warm."

What was she even talking about? Where exactly was I sneaky?

"Is that so?"

"Mm."

She nodded. I studied her with growing curiosity. The more time passed, the stranger her behavior felt, and I still had no idea what she actually was.

A goddess, perhaps? But I had never heard of any goddess like this.

Status Window.

I called for it quietly inside my mind. There was no response.

"You possess a strange power."

She spoke while walking side by side with me, our hands still tightly linked. The remark came so suddenly that I could only ask back.

"Pardon?"

"You. You have a strange power."

Her grip on my hand tightened; she clearly had no intention of letting go.

"It doesn't feel like the authority of any other god. That's why it's interesting. You… I like you."

Just what was this woman? Had she somehow discovered my Status Window? But how?

I looked down at this gloomy goddess—Hecate—with a completely blank expression.