Why Do You Look Like That?

"W-what should we do? Hephaestus... he just went in there on his own."

Hephaestus had vanished into the swirling, suspicious foam.

Thetis stomped her feet in anxiety, but Nerites, who stood beside her, was as calm as could be.

"What's there to worry about? It's Hephaestus. If anything, he's the type to clean up a mess, not make one."

"Well, yes, but... what if he gets hurt?"

"Good grief. I wish you'd worry about your brother like that for once. Honestly, you lose your mind the moment it involves Hephaestus."

"Ugh..."

Even with Nerites's reassurance, Thetis couldn't calm down.

As Nerites watched his sister with mild amusement, something changed.

In an instant, Nerites's gaze snapped toward the suddenly violent churning of the foam.

"What is that?"

It felt as though something that had been trapped was suddenly set free.

While it didn't feel particularly dangerous, the shift was far from gentle, causing Nerites to tense up.

And then.

Like magic, the foam began to disperse.

Immediately after, they saw Hephaestus, who had been submerged, rising to the surface.

"Hephaestus!"

Thetis rushed toward him, with Nerites following close behind.

But a moment later, their eyes could no longer remain on Hephaestus.

Something else was rising from the water behind him.

The moment they saw it, their faces froze in sheer bewilderment and awe.

A woman emerged from the midst of the foam.

She had golden hair that shone as brilliantly as the sun,

blue eyes like precious gems,

and skin as flawless and white as pure jade.

On top of that, she possessed an absolute beauty, as if the very concept of loveliness had been sculpted into a single form.

Even though she was completely naked, her presence inspired awe rather than lust, leaving the two sea deities staring blankly in sheer amazement.

It was a beauty so overwhelming that it made even Thetis, who took immense pride in being the fairest of the Nereids, shrink back.

Along with her bewilderment, a sudden, turbulent feeling stirred within Thetis's heart.

She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it was a sensation that could only be described as discomfort.

Just then.

"Speak. Who are you?"

She asked, her voice laced with a hint of wariness, while her divine power radiated like a halo, clearly marking her status as a goddess.

It was an incredibly arrogant tone,

yet it carried an undeniable grace and absolute beauty.

However, because her divine power felt powerful yet unrefined,

the three of them—no, the three gods—instantly realized that the being before them was a newborn deity.

Then,

"I am Thetis, goddess of the sea, granddaughter of Pontus and daughter of Nereus. This is my brother, Nerites. And this is my younger brother, the god of volcanoes..."

"...Hephaestus."

Thetis introduced them in a voice pitched about two octaves lower than usual.

Nerites was still wearing a dazed expression.

And Hephaestus, as always, remained utterly indifferent.

Facing the first three gods she had ever met since her birth,

she spoke in a quiet, clear voice,

uttering the name she had known from the very moment she opened her eyes.

"My name is... Aphrodite."

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

Aphrodite.

Born from the sea foam created by the severed genitals of Uranus,

she was the goddess of love and beauty in Greek mythology.

The undisputed fairest woman in the world.

As if to prove that her legendary reputation was no exaggeration,

her appearance at this moment was enough to make even an alpha male like me feel a slight flutter in my chest.

However, putting those feelings aside, my cold, masculine rationality quickly extinguished any interest in this goddess.

First of all, setting aside the fact that she was born from my great-grandfather's dick—since this was mythology, after all.

In the original myths, Aphrodite was supposed to be the wife of none other than myself, Hephaestus.

But their marriage, forced upon them by Zeus, was practically no different from a divorce or a permanent separation.

Most people remembered Aphrodite's partner as Ares, her partner in adultery, and her children were almost always depicted as Ares's offspring, with Hephaestus completely out of the picture.

This was despite the fact that Hephaestus had crafted all kinds of beautiful jewelry for her.

The fact that Hephaestus, an ugly engineer, and Aphrodite, the ultimate beauty, were a terrible match in both personality and image played a huge part, of course.

But from Hephaestus's perspective, marrying Aphrodite was nothing more than being made a massive cuckold.

In any case, from that point of view,

since the woman before me was destined to be my future wife and the worst possible partner according to the original myths,

I quickly regained my composure after being briefly captivated by her beauty.

There were countless men in the world who would drool over a woman's looks even when a disastrous future stared them right in the face.

Right now, even Brother Nerites beside me looked half-unconscious as he stared at Aphrodite.

But.

A true alpha male like me does no such beta things.

Losing my mind over a woman is utterly out of the question.

Even if the world's most beautiful woman is swimming naked right next to me, my heart won't waver in the sligh—damn, she really is drop-dead gorgeous, though. And her tits are massive...

As expected of her mythological status, the aura she radiated was no joke.

Furthermore, her completely naked body was more than enough to set a man's lower half ablaze if he let his guard down for even a second.

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It was an intense temptation that made you feel like you would grant her any wish if you just stared blankly.

If I hadn't already trained my eyes by looking at top-tier beauties like Thetis and Mother Eurynome on a daily basis, I probably would have had a very difficult time.

I'll admit it.

You really are the ultimate beauty.

But despite that, I made an effort to pay as little attention to her as possible as we headed toward the nearby Cyprus Island.

We couldn't just abandon a newborn goddess, so I decided to take her to Lemnos Island for now, even if I really didn't want to.

However, traveling a long distance with a completely naked woman was awkward in many ways.

Since we couldn't keep traveling in a situation where there was nowhere safe to look, we decided to get her some clothes first.

"We'll go grab some clothes, so keep an eye on her for a bit."

"...Fine."

Since this area was Nerites's domain, he offered to lead the way,

and since they were looking for women's clothing, Thetis went along with him.

For some reason, Thetis kept looking back as she walked away, looking highly reluctant to leave.

Honestly, I felt the same way.

She was the second person on my list of "people I must never get involved with" in this life.

For the record, number one was Hera, who probably didn't even remember giving birth to me by now.

Being left alone with a woman like Aphrodite—and a naked one at that—made me feel incredibly uncomfortable.

I waited in awkward silence, wishing for my annoying older sister-figure to return as quickly as possible.

It was then.

"Hey, you."

"..."

"Answer me. I am calling you, am I not?"

...Sigh.

While I was playing with a pinwheel out of boredom, Aphrodite suddenly spoke to me in a voice dripping with arrogance.

I considered ignoring her, but knowing how prickly she was, I figured she would only throw a tantrum if I did.