12, Echidna -3-
Adamantia's place was basically the forge itself, so it never really felt like a home. With that in mind, even though this was a cave, you could call it a historic moment—the first time I'd stepped into a woman's home since possessing this body. But in the end, it was still just a cave, so it didn't feel like a house at all. There was a bed made of piled soft straw and a fire pit for lighting flames, but that was the extent of any lived-in vibe. I was pretty shocked by how barren it was, like no one actually lived here, but since she was a tough monster, I tried hard to just accept it.
So what had this girl been doing in this desolate spot? "So looong~ That bastard Typhon is a total assholeee~ I seduced him so haaard, but he never fell for it, and even when we did it, it was just 'wham' and doneeee~"
"R-Really."
"He's a real asshole, right??? With his snake head and all~ He called me uglyyy~"
"Y-Yeah, total asshole, haha."
I was listening to her drunken ramblings as she chugged the wine she'd gotten from humans (she insisted she hadn't stolen it). She spewed all sorts of trash talk about her snake-headed brother Typhon and filthy innuendos. Her centuries of married life had honed those dirty stories to a level that was way beyond what I—a fusion of Heracles and virgin—could handle. All I could do was nod along appropriately. At least her tipsiness leveled off at some point, and there was some fun in watching her stunning beauty and that mercilessly writhing tail. It was way more bearable than listening to my dad back in my past life.
After a long rant about Typhon, she suddenly switched targets to me. "But y'knowww~ Heraclesss~"
"Yeah?"
"Why won't you maaaarry me toooo~ Come oooon~"
"W-What do you mean?"
"Heeheeheehihi!"
Drunk Echidna was giggling her belly off like something was hilarious. What the hell was so funny?
"Y'see, normallyyy~ Men don't let women driiink~ And even if they dooo~ They never listen to what women saaaay~"
"Is that so?"
"Yesss~ You're the first, Heraclesuuu~"
Well, yeah—in ancient Greece, where attempted rape was courtship and forced sex was a proposal, no husband would let his wife drink. Even at festivals or whatever, probably not.
"Did Typhon hit you a lot, by any chance?"
"Hmm~ Not too much. He was basically impotent with meee~ And I'm the Queen of Snakes toooo~"
Indeed—as equals among monsters, even the Snake King Typhon wouldn't beat her just for drinking. Though it seemed he had hit her sometimes.
"But if you were human spouses, he'd have beaten you plenty. Getting hit is a wife's job with humans."
"Why's that?"
"'Cause a wife's her husband's propertieee~ She has to live how he waaants~ Most husbands want their wives quiet and obedieneeent~"
"Hmm, I see."
"Youuu~ Even if you marry sis and meee~ Don't hit us, okayyy~ We're goddesses, after aaaall~"
"I have no intention of ever hitting my wives, no matter what."
"Huh?"
She'd been laughing cheerfully, half-joking as she lectured me like a tipsy wife-to-be, but my reflexive answer must've shocked her sober. The drunken haze vanished, and she switched to a normal tone.
"Heracles won't hit his wives as a husband?"
"No, I won't."
"Won't even have servants whip them?"
"Huh? Why would I do that? Absolutely not."
"Won't tie them to a mountainside or clouds to humiliate them?"
"No."
"Whyyy~?"
Her now-sober emerald eyes sparkled as she asked. With zero experience with women, it was super intimidating. But a question was a question—I had to answer.
"When a woman becomes my wife, she becomes precious to me. No matter who she is."
"Huh? Precious?"
"Yes."
"So men don't hit women if they're precious?"
"I don't know about other men, but that's how it is for me. Once she's my wife, she's mine. Why would I ever hurt my own? I'd feel awful if I couldn't even protect her from getting hurt."
"……"
Echidna fell silent. But at the time, I was too busy spouting my dumb personal philosophy to notice.
"I don't agree with wives being husbands' property, or that they have to live however the husband wants. If you love her, why do that? Everyone has lines you don't cross. Why hurt your wife like that? You can't rely on each other if you do."
"I will marry Goddess Adamantia someday. Even after marriage, I want to keep the forge as her space. Adamantia smelting iron is so attractive—I want that allure, not just her body. This Heracles isn't that shallow!"
Looked like I'd gotten drunk too. Dialect was slipping out. It felt too late to stop now, so I kept babbling nonsense for a while. At some point, I realized I was monologuing alone—drunk Echidna had gone quiet. Wondering what was up, I turned to look at her…
『Snake Eyes』
Her beautiful emerald eyes were gone, replaced by eerie green snake eyes flecked with red. Echidna stared at me with the gaze of a predator eyeing prey. I'd been blabbering drunk nonsense, but chills shot down my spine.
"E-Echidna…?"
"Heraclesss~ You're so weird~ You'll make a great goood~"
"A g-god?!"
"I knowww~ Sis Adamantia will make you a goood~"
"R-Really?"
This felt ominous. Something was terribly wrong.
"But you came to capture me and ignore what I sayyy~"
"No, I didn't come to capture you…"
『Shut·Up』
Ack, yes ma'am, shutting up now. A terror close to fear welled up—if I didn't clamp my mouth shut, something bad would happen. The cave tensed like a monster-hero showdown was about to erupt. Echidna's deep green snake eyes narrowed further, her mouth twitching like venom might spray any second.
But what she actually said was totally unexpected. "Heracles?"
"Yes, Echidna."
"Do you…"
"?!"
"…hate me?"
No, don't put me in that spot, Echidna! How am I supposed to answer?!
"A woman's asking—do you like her or not."
"Well, see, Echidna? I'm here for the task, and to marry Adamantia…"
"Fuck this!!!! A woman's asking!!! Like or not, you fucker!"
She cursed! Wait, more than that—did ancient Greece even have "fuck"?!
Now I was in deep shit. No way out either direction. After that soul-deep "fuck," her snake eyes faded, tears welled up, and suddenly I felt like the villain in this cave. Then her machine-gun barrage hit, piling on the guilt.
"It's weird, right? Even for a weirdo like you, Heracles, how can you have zero common sense?"
"……"
"I said marrying sisters at once isn't weird, but you fought it desperately. Like you wanna live with sis forever or something. I even told you why she sent you here."
"No, she didn't say th—well, something like that, yeah."
Was this the legendary female logic? No such words from her, but one look in her eyes and suddenly it felt like there were. What sorcery was this? Echidna's superpower I didn't know about?
"Even I get pissed if you obviously came to capture me but deny it and ignore my feelings. Didn't you say you'd respect your wife's opinion?"
"I did say that."
"And what was sis's task?"
"Capture you and take you to the island of Sicily."
"That's called a bride kidnapping, when a man captures a woman and takes her home."
"Uh…"
Now I was really cornered, and Echidna was on the verge of tears. If she broke down crying here, it'd be unfixable—I'd been fumbling like this the whole time, but she'd been sniffling midway. If the dam burst, task or not, I'd be screwed. I had to prevent that at all costs.
So.
I made up my mind.
To capture Echidna after all.