Chapter 41
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Karyklo and the Heroes' Forest
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"Have you gotten in touch with Hephaestus's workshop?"
"They can't take any more orders right now—Olympus placed a massive bulk order!"
"What about Athena's architects?"
"They're all on assignment in Athens, working on the Olympian Grand Temple!"
The hut of Karyklo, where we'd planned to pay our respects first, was a whirlwind of activity.
Messenger birds flitted in and out without cease, while nymphs and centaurs dashed about clutching papyrus scrolls and stone tablets amid the bustling crowd. Right in the thick of it all, Karyklo was the busiest of them.
"This scene looks awfully familiar."
"Familiar?"
"Yeah... oh, right. Back when I was staying at Zeus's temple, the grand priest grandpa would get just as swamped during festival season."
In truth, what I'd recalled was my past life's self, plunged not into debauchery after the martial world conquest, but into a hellish pit of paperwork.
Karyklo looked every bit as harried as my old self or old man Epharos.
"Lady Karyklo, why don't we just demolish the Colosseum and build something else in its place..."
"You're suggesting we tear down the battle training ground blessed by the God of War? Pray there are no wild boars around here."
Karyklo sharply rebuked the centaur who'd floated the absurd idea.
Even as she did, her eyes and hands never stopped—scribbling away relentlessly, scanning stone tablets without a moment's pause.
"You seem really busy. Should we come back later?"
"Wonder what's got Mom so worked up?"
"What do you mean, 'what'?"
I have no idea how she picked our voices out of that racket, but Karyklo zeroed in on us and Atalanta through the throng, beckoning us over with a wave.
"Mommy Karyklo!"
"Tali! Perfect timing—I have something for you!"
With a radiant smile, Karyklo swept Atalanta into her arms. If anyone embodied the ancient businesswoman archetype, it was her.
Her deep green hair swept back neatly, blue eyes weary from the grind of endless desk work.
Even amid the frenzy, her white Grecian peplos remained impeccably pristine.
She cut such a striking contrast to her fiery daughter, yet they complemented each other perfectly—making her seem more like Atalanta's mother than that crescent moon's fledgling ever could.
"Here, a gift for you—some scented oil. Read the instructions on the amphora carefully. And..."
She handed Atalanta a palm-sized ceramic amphora from under the desk, then fixed me with a glare, her fresh smile unwavering.
That's right— not a glance, a glare.
The look of someone eyeing a troublesome customer dropping a headache order right before deadline.
"Diaaaanes...?"
"Hello?"
Unlike the warmth she'd shown Atalanta with that affectionate nickname, Karyklo regarded me like a puzzle she wasn't sure how to handle.
"Sigh... never mind. It's not your fault, of course. I only have myself to blame for handing the forest over to Chiron."
She let out a deep sigh, shaking her head slowly.
Then she turned to me with a gentle smile and a proper greeting.
"I am Karyklo, lady of the Heroes' Forest, tasked with caring for our young heroes. Let's get along well from here on out."
"Haha... likewise, please take care of me."
A quick peek at the papers on her desk made her less-than-warm reception crystal clear.
The top sheet was titled "Ares Memorial Colosseum Reconstruction Plan."
"Ah... I apologize for the unintended trouble."
I knew exactly how she felt.
Back when I was still the grand master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
My overeager subordinates had gone wild, blowing up an entire barracks in their antics.
I got the report from the Guixian Scholar right before clocking out, and spent the whole next morning racking my brains over solutions and follow-ups.
I'd been so furious I'd stormed their unit myself and turned it upside down. No wonder the Colosseum fiasco—and its perpetrator—didn't sit well with Karyklo.
Yet here she was, greeting me with a smile. Her tenure as lady of the Heroes' Forest clearly spanned more than a few years.
"Hee hee, at least this new young hero knows how to apologize nicely. Heracles and Theseus? They'd proudly boast that a real man had to wreck one or two buildings to prove himself."
"You let them live?"
"After three days without food, they finally came crawling back to beg."
Truly, her mercy was no ordinary thing.
No three-day nonstop barrage—just starving them out for three days as punishment?
Karyklo had the patience and compassion of a true office saint, worthy of my respect.
"Your mercy rivals Hestia's own."
"You think so too?"
Starving kids might seem harsh by 21st-century standards.
But considering those kids could demolish buildings with raw strength, even modern sensibilities would deem it a fair penalty.
"Oh, right—ask Mom! Everyone brings their riddles here when they can't solve them!"
"Riddles? Oh, did Hermes stop by? I told him to send a messenger to Olympus if he did!"
Hermes... no wonder he'd pulled that over-the-top eye-flash and instant-transported away.
He'd bolted to avoid dumping more work on Karyklo.
Her fury shook the desk as she slammed it, sending the mountains of scrolls and tablets teetering precariously.
No way I could casually ask for riddle-solving help now.
"You're swamped with work already—hard to ask you to take on my baggage too."
"...So thoughtful for a kid your age. Now I see why Atalanta fell for you in a single day."
"Mom!"
Atalanta and Karyklo giggled and play-wrestled like the best of friends.
That's how it should be between daughter and mother.
I nodded inwardly, watching the pair fondly, when Atalanta wriggled free and hooked her arm through mine.
"Then we're off!"
"Yes, go explore the forest—you'll be busy. Hurry along."
"See you later, then."
As we turned to leave, bidding farewell to Karyklo—who'd already slipped back into work mode—a sudden idea sparked in my mind.
"Have you tried contacting the Cyclopes?"
If memory served, those one-eyed giants were master smiths on par with Hephaestus.
They'd forged the signature weapons of Olympus's Big Three: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades.
Plus, being Cronus spawn themselves—and equally despised by him—they might actually get along surprisingly well with Chiron.
"The Cyclopes brothers?"
"They're smiths by trade, and they say nothing's beyond their hammers. Worth a shot, maybe?"
Karyklo propped her chin, clearly caught off-guard by the suggestion, and started crunching the numbers.
"The Cyclopes... I'll have to think on that. Come to think of it, Hephaestus mentioned moving his forge to Mount Etna and retiring the trio—they settled in Sicily... Polyphemus!"
Word was that Chiron and Karyklo were immortals revered even by Olympus's gods.
And since the Colosseum was Ares's gift, I figured they might have connections there too. Looked like it paid off.
"Then we're off!"
"Take care!"
Leaving Karyklo to bury herself once more in tablets and scrolls, Atalanta and I set out to tour the Heroes' Forest at a brisk pace.
"North side has the centaur barracks guarding the entrance. Nymphs live in Mom's central domain that we saw earlier, and we'll stay in the residential area right next to it."
"Got it—the spot we rushed past before?"
Arm-in-arm like a pair on a package tour, Atalanta excitedly zipped me through the forest.
Strolling with a beauty rivaling any goddess naturally drew cheers and jealous glares from nymphs, centaurs, and young heroes alike.
But more importantly, Atalanta was the second person to make me truly feel the change in myself.
"Over there! New stuff hit Hermes's market!"
"Slow down—you'll trip."
"No time for that!"
Pulled along by that tiny hand, I realized I'd lost my martial arts and superhuman body—but the burdens they'd imposed were gone too.
"Wh-who's that pretty girl?"
"Atalanta? Is that Atalanta?"
"W-wow... Sh-should I say hi?"
"Shh. That guy with her? Newbie Dianes."
"How... he's so handsome..."
"...Tch. Pretty boy gigolo."
Amid the envious stares and whispers, I felt it deep down: I was no longer an absolute being inspiring fear and awe, but just a normal kid who could laugh and play.
"Dianes? What's wrong? Tired?"
"...Nah, nothing."
That insane alienation and emptiness I'd felt stepping into this forest for the first time.
As those hollow feelings slowly receded, new ones bubbled up in their place.
Emotions vibrant and unfamiliar, ones I'd thought buried in my past life.
Dazed by these raw feelings I'd never known in that harsh orphanage, I trailed the beautiful huntress.
Before I knew it, we sat in the central plaza where we'd held that feast last time.
"Haaah... haaah... Th-there, all done!"
"Told you not to run so much."
Whatever had her so thrilled, she'd dragged me along at full speed, matching her pace—until she finally collapsed in exhaustion.
And rightly so. The Heroes' Forest was no mere woodland; it rivaled a full-fledged polis.
Divided into twelve blessed zones named for Olympus's gods, sorted by function into training, commerce, and academic districts.
East training grounds: Ares's Colosseum, Athena's tactical battlefield, Artemis's hunting grounds.
West commerce: Hephaestus's forges, Hermes's market, Demeter's farmlands.
South academics: Apollo's forest of arts, Aphrodite's lake of love.
"Huff... huff... And finally, the central grand altar. Where Hestia herself kindled the eternal flame."
No wonder the central brazier burned warmly despite no one around.
This was the hearth goddess's domain.
As I stared blankly, warming my back by the fire, Atalanta sidled up, thrusting her sparkling face right in mine.
"How was it?"
Grinning like a pup craving praise—or a child awaiting parental acclaim—she beamed up at me.