The Nepherion Habitat
For the time being, I decided to work with Hecate.
I was curious which goddess she had named, but I had no capacity left to go looking. Hestia had shut herself away in a back room, and Aphrodite was openly trying to dig up who that "goddess" was. Athena kept watching me—and that gaze followed me all the way to Odysseia, still faintly present even after I arrived.
And on top of all that, while I was cooperating with Hecate's research and working her over, another one was going to be added?
My head was about to explode.
Deal with the remaining goddesses first.
Whether I broke Hestia, broke Aphrodite, or somehow handled Athena—or finished the research with Hecate—only after that could I move on. There was no need to open up a new front for nothing.
"I'm finished checking."
Hecate slowly lowered the two hands that had been gripping my head. She had pushed her chest right up under my nose, and the scent of her breasts washed over me. It was probably because of her small frame—small, yes, but by every measure still an adult's body.
"It feels like your brain has melted!"
At that shocking declaration, my whole body locked up. I stared at her with a face gone deathly pale.
"Excuse me?"
"Mm-hmm, it's entirely possible!"
Hecate stepped down from the chair she had been standing on.
"You took far too much stimulation at the start, and your brain went through a violent upheaval. The fact that your first time was with a goddess seems to have had a major effect!"
Ah… so that was what she meant.
I thought back over the two goddesses. The first goddess I had ever met—Hera. The first one I had actually slept with—Hestia. She was saying those two had upended my common sense and values from the roots.
"Aside from that, there's no particular change. Still, you should be careful. If you carelessly provoke other gods, things will get difficult."
Hecate's warning was nothing else: don't go lusting after other gods' wives.
But how was I supposed to help it? Hera alone had already lit a challenge in me. Stealing Zeus's wife, of all people? What could possibly be more thrilling than that? The perfect chance to screw over the bastard who was after my ass!
"What are you thinking about right now!"
Hecate clenched both fists and bounced in place.
"It's all over your face—those filthy thoughts!"
Ah. Caught.
"I was thinking how beautiful Goddess Hecate is."
Hecate's face went scarlet. She scrambled backward, covering her breasts with both hands, turned her body, and shot me a sidelong glare.
"T-that handsome face of yours won't work on me! I will not fall for it!"
Oh? This was easy… no. She had said the difficulty was Medium. There was no guarantee she would fold the moment I pressed her the way I had with Phylotera.
"Then if I asked you to have sex with me, would you?"
"Absolutely not!"
Hecate bellowed and bolted out of the room.
So that was why the difficulty was Medium.
Flirt with her and she wavers right away—but the second you try to move into the main event, she refuses?
That made her trickier than expected. I let out a sigh.
I pushed too early and only put her on guard.
Hecate's conquest was going to take a little more time.
After that, I stayed at Hecate's house. I simply stopped asking her for sex.
"You look beautiful again today."
"Are you planning to devour me!"
She would yell and run. But after a few rounds of that, she gradually got used to it.
"Are you trying to seduce me?"
"Stop it!"
She would shout—and then I would catch her grinning. The constant flirting didn't seem to put her in that bad a mood.
Hmm. So it was like this?
I ran a hand over my face. It was a face the goddesses themselves had guaranteed was handsome. Living with Hecate taught me that if I pressed like this, even a goddess would start to give. If I hadn't been good-looking, she never would have let me stay in her house. The way she stared at me every time, drinking me in, was far too blatant for that.
"Goddess Hecate."
On the way back from the Temple of the Hearth, I asked her something. Hecate turned toward me slightly.
"You reek of something filthy again… Just what is your goddess doing that she leaves you alone like this?"
And yet the one letting a man like me into her house completely unguarded was pretty strange herself, wasn't she?
"I'll be heading out on a monster hunt soon."
When I stated my purpose, Hecate's expression turned serious. Lately I had only been cooperating with her research; I hadn't taken a single step forward as a hero. I had bent myself entirely to Hecate's whims. But even that had its limit. I had to move forward. Otherwise I would keep getting pushed around by Zeus forever.
Zeus is targeting you.
Probability Zeus will strike: 12.1%
The moment I entered Odysseia, the probability had frozen. But as long as this Status Window existed, I could never fully relax. It had to disappear. And for that, I had to kill Zeus. Which meant I needed to bed goddesses, clear out monsters, and grow into an overwhelming hero.
"I'll be going, then."
"Wait."
Hecate tossed a sheet of paper in front of me. I took it.
"There's a den nearby where Nepherions spawn naturally. I've heard rare materials for elixirs can be found there—bring them back."
Hecate's Quest
Hunt Target: Nepherion Lair
Rewards: EXP, Hero's First Step, Hecate's Favor
Oh. This was a different kind of development.
From Hestia I had received a divine relic. Aphrodite had given me chances to meet other goddesses. And Hecate, whom I had met because of that, was offering me a direct path to grow stronger.
"I accept."
"Come back safe. Handsome Homeron."
Did she have a habit of tacking on that embarrassing title at the end?
I waved her off and left Hecate's cabin as I was. I checked the location written on the paper. It was a crude drawing, like a child's. But thinking of her carefully sketching every line for my sake, a smile rose on its own.
"Here it is."
A short distance from Odysseia—a secluded rocky stretch with few people around. The occasional Nepherion corpse lay scattered nearby, probably traces left by heroes who had passed through. But no one seemed to have thought of clearing the habitat itself. Even if you wiped it out, Nepherions would simply spawn again and a new den would form.
Seeing that, I could understand why Poseidon hated them. Unlike the monsters born of his own seed, things like Nepherions and Felines were spawning naturally, completely unrelated to the gods.
Something has to be wrong with that.
The sea and the sky didn't have this problem. It was only on land that the phenomenon kept happening. After hearing the full story of the Gigantomachia from Hecate, I had started to suspect.
Maybe it's the fallout from Zeus sealing Gaia?
Pure speculation, of course. But when something goes wrong in Greek mythology, if you just point at Zeus first, you're usually right. The bastard's list of crimes was that long.
Yeah. He needs to be put down.
I thought that as I stepped into the cave.
"KRAAAAH!"
The moment my foot crossed the threshold, humanoid Nepherions came charging, thrashing their arms wildly. I raised my shield and took their assault, then cut them down with Hestia's divine sword.
Slash!
Red blood sprayed in every direction. My face and body were soaked through.
Slash! Slash!
I didn't stop—I pushed forward. Sex with Aphrodite, and the frequent visits to the Temple of the Hearth, had hardened my body another level. Stronger now, I advanced without tiring.
Chop! Chop!
"KRAAAAH!"
"Get lost!"
I kicked one Nepherion down and drove my blade into its throat. Breathing hard, I scanned the surroundings. Past the entrance, the numbers were ramping up viciously.
Crunch!
One of them clamped onto my ankle and refused to let go. Blood poured freely, but I gritted my teeth and rammed my sword through the top of its skull.
Thud!
"Ghk…"
The monster collapsed face-first onto the floor. I staggered onward, gasping. The ankle wound was seriously bad—it slowed me down a full step. More monsters crowding in. Stamina starting to fray. A crisis, right as I was nearly at the center.
"Come on."
I didn't hesitate. Better to die here than turn back—I steeled myself with that resolve. Not that I actually intended to die. I trusted the blessings of the goddesses dwelling in me.
…Aphrodite's blessing probably wouldn't help much in a fight. Still, she was my first partner, so I counted her in.
Slash! Shhhhk!
"AAAAARGH!"
I roared and cut, and cut again. Stabbed, tore, sliced, bit. Crunch! Thud! Blood sprayed from my shoulder, my side, my thigh. I was covered in it, and still I refused to fall—I kept going.
By the time I had finally wiped out every last monster, I could barely stay on my feet.
"Hah… hah…"
Breathing hard, I stared into the heart of the Nepherion habitat. Something glittering. I lurched toward what looked like ore, clinging to Hestia's divine sword and shield, and closed my hand around it.
"I—I did it."
I shut my eyes and prayed inwardly.
"Transfer."
The instant the word left my mouth, my body was whisked away to the Temple of the Hearth.