Chapter 42
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Rapids
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"Hmm..."
"Wait!"
Before I could even open my mouth to speak, a hand sticky with the sweet remnants of that honey bread from earlier clamped over my lips, its chocolate-brown hue gleaming faintly.
"...?"
"There's still one place we haven't been."
Atalanta flashed a beaming smile, as if saying she'd hear my thoughts later, and tugged at my hand once more.
"To that beach?"
"Yeah! The Poseidon shore at twilight is absolutely stunning."
We left Hestia's hearth and set off walking again.
It was quitting time—young heroes finishing their classes mingled with nymphs and centaurs wrapping up their duties, heading off in small groups to dorms or leisure spots.
Atalanta scrunched up her face at the distant crowd, looking distinctly uncomfortable.
"Ugh... D-Do you hate the forest path by any chance?"
"Huh? No, why?"
"Well... um..."
I followed her gaze to where she was staring, and there at the front of the throng were the five knockout girls.
Calling them "beauties" might sound shallow, but even in the Hero's Forest teeming with pretty boys and girls, these five stood out as the cream of the crop.
If Atalanta was the vibrant star of the sports world, those five were straight-up idols.
With hair in hot pink, fluorescent hues, deep blue, ultraviolet, and blood red, no less.
The kind of outrageous colors where a salon stylist would make you sign a waiver saying no refunds.
"What're you staring at?"
"Those aren't dyed, are they?"
"...What? Dyed?"
"You mean that's their natural hair color?"
"What are you even talking about? Who just changes their hair color like that?"
Good lord.
No nymph aura around them either, so they had to be Hero's Forest students born that way—hot pink and blood red from birth?
"Makes me nauseous."
"...They're demigods from Aphrodite and Ares' bloodlines. The most popular heads in the forest."
Atalanta looked peeved that I was paying them attention, but when she realized my reason was worlds apart from what she'd assumed, her face went blank with deflation.
"Those obnoxious brats who coast on their looks and strength, causing trouble everywhere... You have no idea how much grief they've given me."
"Not on good terms with them, huh?"
"Hmph. They're always gossiping behind my back and picking fights. Why would I like them?"
Atalanta, who called herself Artemis' daughter and outshone them in both strength and beauty.
Apparently, those idols rubbed her the wrong way big time.
So Ares' daughters would ambush her at night hunts or dig traps, while Aphrodite's spread rumors and trash-talked her nonstop.
"They all got their asses handed to them in combat training and quieted down after that."
Tsk. Hero's Forest or not, it's still a place full of people.
The mythic vibe suddenly felt like a teen drama, and a chuckle slipped out.
"So, what now? Head back?"
"...Why? Wanna go say hi?"
Had my distraction with those wild hair colors soured Atalanta's mood?
Her eyes, sparkling like a puppy on a walk moments ago, now pointedly looked away in a pout.
'Hmm... What to do.'
Atalanta was digging in her heels now, sulking.
Running into those five and their entourage would definitely kill the vibe.
I didn't want this day—finally reconnecting across three lifetimes, brimming with human warmth—to end on some petty kid squabble.
"Atalanta."
"Hmph! What? Hurry up and go!"
"Alright?"
She'd huffed it out in a fit, but when I replied with a tone implying I might actually go, her twilight dress twitched.
"Guess I'll head over then?"
"G-Go ahead! Why ask again...? Kyaa!?"
Up she went.
I scooped Atalanta up effortlessly in both arms.
The classic princess carry.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"Didn't you tell me to go?"
I teased lightly and kicked off with a springy step.
In an instant, from the middle of the path to the treetops at the forest's edge—Atalanta's eyes went wide as saucers in my arms.
"Whoa!"
"Don't bite your tongue. Keep your mouth shut."
"Wait, hold on! What the hell?!"
"Bickering over nothing'll waste the whole day. I was feeling great—no way I want it ruined by a dumb argument."
As much as Atalanta had been bouncing with excitement, my head felt floaty too, like I was drunk on something.
Maybe it was this youthful, vigorous teen body clashing with my worn-out old soul.
Or these ticklish feelings stirring my heart after so long.
Or maybe it didn't matter—this red-haired huntress fit too perfectly with this beautiful twilight hour.
With impulse overriding reason in a hazy buzz, I found myself dashing through the treetops, cradling her.
"The sea breeze... this way!"
"Whooooaaa! H-How are you doing thiiiis!?"
From thick branches to tender leaves, I pressed off my toes lightly, propelling my form forward.
Atalanta forgot her sulk amid the shock and peppered me with questions.
"Wh-Whoa? Hold still!"
"Huh? Whoops!"
She even flailed mid-leap, nearly tumbling off, so she finally settled down—but her eyes screamed with questions about my moves.
"We're here!"
"Whoa... So quiet, yet so fast...!"
The Shadow Veil I mainly used now was top-tier in the academy for speed and stealth. But it had a flaw: easily disrupted by minor interference, like earlier.
All-in on concealment and movement meant lower durability, relatively speaking.
With my new Divine Demon Power, it was time to test it and graduate to higher lightness skills.
"Um, Dianes..."
Atalanta, clinging to my neck like a cat in my arms, called my name softly.
Her eyes sparkled up at me like I'd smeared honey on my lips, so I chuckled and set her down gently.
"Want me to teach you?"
"Can you?"
She hugged me tight, gazing up like a pup waiting for a post-walk treat.
Innocent, adorable—impossible not to tease.
"Who knows?"
"Huh?"
Let's admit it.
I was drunk right now.
Not a drop of booze, but it felt like I'd chugged a barrel of hard liquor—out of my mind.
Head buzzing and blank, heart pounding like my first shot of soju, ready to burst.
Like a runaway locomotive or a sports car without brakes.
Normally, I'd calmly assess her aptitude and talent, pondering what to teach.
Even without her stunning looks or Hera's wildcard factor, Atalanta's body brimmed with godlike potential.
But mischief bubbled up, and I just grinned, teasing the puppy-eyed girl.
"First off, guide—your duties aren't done yet, ma'am."
"Come on?"
"What? Let's wrap up this grand Hero's Forest tour you've hustled all day for, nice and tidy."
What would the Twelve Demon Gods say seeing me like this?
Or the Guixian Scholar, Four Heavenly Kings?
No one would guess I was once the supreme lord over ten thousand demons—I was brash, mischievous, pure.
Free of pretenses and burdens, a liberating thrill washed over me. I extended a hand to Atalanta gladly.
"You're right—this beach is gorgeous."
"...Told you?"
Without further prodding, she took my hand meekly, and we strolled the sandy shore in the cool sea breeze.
Poseidon's beach, she'd called it.
Come to think of it, Hermes mentioned earlier that along with Ares and Hera, Poseidon held me in favor.
Those massive tuna carried in by the waves during my Pasos Island spear drills weren't coincidence, huh?
Speaking of, when I first got tuna, there was one kid who loved it more than me.
"What're you grinning about?"
Atalanta eyed me curiously as I smirked.
"Oh, just... the sea reminds me of someone."
A young nymph with soft silver hair sparkling like the white waves crashing under twilight.
Honestly, Zeus' temple with its half-military kid-wrangling and tied-down Pasos Island didn't leave many fond memories.
But one crystal-clear Pasos recollection? That innocent fairy always waiting for me by the sea.
"Back on Pasos, it was a night after twilight, before the moon rose."
A new moon—perfect for demonic arts training—so I'd slipped out routinely to the forest clearing.
"Suddenly, a strange presence from beyond the trees. Thought maybe some beast I'd missed, so I tracked it quietly."
At first, I figured it was a lunar fairy or one of Artemis' rumored nymphs.
But the sea-scented aura, the silver hair shimmering blue... Moon forgotten.
She revealed herself as a Nereid soon enough.
"...A girl?"
"Yeah, a Nereid nymph. Sisters of the thousand waves. After that, we were stuck together from childhood till I left Pasos. Parted on bad terms at the end, though."
Hope she's doing well now?
Drunk on nostalgic childhood whiffs, I smiled again.
That's when Atalanta tugged my clothes insistently.
"A Nereid nymph?"
"Yep."
"Silver hair with a blue aura?"
"...How'd you know?"
Nereid trait?
"A bit shorter than me?"
"Your questions are getting specific."
"Over there."
Her voice trembled more with each question, baffling me.
Then Atalanta pointed at the crashing waves.
"...Huh?"
And atop those waves, at her fingertip's end.
A beautiful nymph with flowing silver hair neatly tied gazed at me, beaming.
"Neri...?"
"Dianes!"
Nereid nymph.
The youngest of the thousand waves.
And my first connection rushed toward me, smiling radiantly.