Chapter 48
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Death? Missing?
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Moonlight poured down on the bright forest.
In its midst was a snow-white girl humming a tune as she neatly stacked mushrooms into the basket cradled in her arms.
A colorful mushroom growing on a tree trunk.
"This one's a fun mushroom~"
A bright red egg-shaped mushroom sprouting from the base of a tree.
"This one's a pretty mushroom~"
And then, a brown, round mushroom that looked just like the one her new friend Hera-something had mentioned.
Her eyes caught sight of brown jewels clustered neatly under a tree some distance away.
"That one's a yummy-looking mushroom!"
She'd roast it up nice and tasty and pop it right into Dia's mouth!
He might love it so much he'd propose on the spot!
Dia wrapping her tight in those strong arms of his, the two of them getting married, and that annoying redhead pounding the ground in tears—it all flashed before Nesneria's eyes.
"Kyaha~"
Her steps light and her humming cheerful, she reached the mushroom and stretched out her hand—
-Crunch.
"Eh..?"
Some thick foot had just crushed the mushroom she'd been about to pick.
Trembling snow-white hands, beautiful eyes like the Mediterranean Sea welling with tears.
A nymph sunk in heartbreaking sorrow so pure and profound that Orpheus would have praised it in song as she slowly looked up at the villain who had trampled her treasure.
"...."
It was a demigod of massive build, rivaling Heracles who had shown off that incredible grilling feat earlier.
His blue hair and shadowed face below it had a rough charm—she might not have noticed, but her sisters would have called him handsome—yet the dark greed and lust in those pale blue eyes made Neri furrow her brow.
And the filthy stench wafting from him, what Dia called his energy or aura, was utterly revolting and vile.
"Whoa~ Nymphs really are nymphs, huh? She's seriously pretty."
"Heh, heh heh, Orion. Once you're done with her, can I have a taste too?"
"You lunatic, what's so hot about this tiny thing? Though... yeah, she is pretty cute."
"Hey, she's way better than those stuck-up forest bitches, right?"
And then, four more men appeared from somewhere, reeking of the same foul odor as the giant before her, slowly surrounding her.
As the other thugs traded filthy banter and leered at Nesneria with lewd eyes.
Their leader, Orion son of Poseidon, just stared blankly at the snow-white nymph sniffling before him without a word.
'...At first, I just thought I'd use her as bait to lure out that mongrel.'
But now that he faced her directly, this nameless Nereid nymph was breathtakingly beautiful.
Silver hair like snow-white waves, eyes like jewels of blue.
And that fragile, beautiful face that stirred an irresistible urge to conquer.
I want her. Hold her. Dominate her.
Orion's body heated up with the urge to pin down that pristine white body right then and there, make those tear-soaked eyes gaze only at him.
Her sisters of the thousand-fingered waves and her parents briefly crossed his mind.
So what?
He was the true ruler of these seas, son of Poseidon.
Those frail nymphs couldn't say a word against his father once the old sea geezer had retreated to the back room and he crushed them flat.
A woman was a man's property once he staked his claim.
No matter how much this snow-white nymph struggled and protested, once she was in his grasp, she'd naturally become his.
"Hey, sea nymph, listen up. Looks like you don't get it...."
"Hiiing..."
Her blue eyes drifted away from him, and he followed them to the mushroom he'd crushed.
"The mushroom... for Dia..."
Right now, before him stood.
Son of Poseidon, the top hunter of Hero's Forest, tipped for greatness as a grand hero.
And this idiot nymph was saying what?
"...Good grief, bewitched by that pathetic foster brother of yours, you don't even greet Poseidon’s son here and go picking stupid mushrooms?"
Orion ground his teeth and kicked the basket of mushrooms Nesneria had set down beside her.
-Thwack!
"Ahh!"
Colorful mushrooms scattered across the forest floor, and Nesneria let out a shrill scream as she lunged to grab them.
"You dare ignore me to the end!!"
Furious that even now she stared at that damn mushroom basket instead of him, the blue-haired giant roared savagely and reached for the snow-white nymph.
Crunch, crunch.
As I slowly chewed and swallowed something like celery, Orpheus and Asclepius who'd heard me gaped and scolded me.
"What do you mean by that! That snow-white fairy is in danger right now!"
"Hey, Dianes. Wasn't she a precious connection to you? Is this the time to sit here calmly eating salad!?"
Hmm...
Truth be told, they had a point.
From the supreme god down to the Twelve Olympians and their hero offspring, this place had hardcore, ancient notions of sex that were utterly unrestrained.
Anyone hearing that thugs were chasing a small, fragile beauty would naturally react like these two.
And nymphs were tragic heroines constantly hunted by gods and heroes, turning into grass or trees every day—so if the taboo son of Poseidon and his gang in the forest laid hands on one, of course they'd worry like this.
But.
"It's Neri they're up against, so what?"
I shrugged nonchalantly and reached for the wine jug.
"...What do you mean?"
Orpheus snatched the jug I'd been about to grab and yelled excitedly.
"You need to go right now! Fame and reputation only hold sway over rational humans.
Even if those fools face punishment from her sea sisters later, your beautiful beloved will suffer an indelible wound!"
...Sigh.
Heracles, Jason, and Theseus—who'd been grilling meat—came rushing over, startled by Orpheus raising his voice.
"Hey, what's up?"
"First time seeing that bard yell like this."
"Is there a problem?"
"Well, you see..."
Asclepius sighed and explained everything, and the three stared at me puzzled upon hearing it.
"Hey, newbie. You're not seriously sitting here just banking on her sisters or the gods, right?
Man, your girl's in danger and you're acting like it'll be fine as long as the aftermath's handled?"
Jason growled at me in his rough tone, but deep down worrying about Neri.
"No, even so, the opponent's Orion, who was hailed as a grand hero before even Heracles.
And his followers are sons of lesser gods skilled in sneaky ambushes and magic.
No matter what, it's too much for a nymph like Lady Nesneria. Dianes."
Theseus, roughly calculating the power gap and giving a pessimistic outlook.
"....."
And Heracles sitting across from me, staring silently.
I couldn't help but chuckle at how amusing it was to receive the Golden Generation trio's glares all at once.
"What? If you've got something to say, spit it out quick."
As I calmly drizzled olive oil on my salad under Heracles' unwavering gaze, he grinned and rubbed his hands together.
"So, you taught Lady Nesneria something, huh?"
As expected of a future grand hero.
He must have noticed something while we grilled meat together earlier.
He nodded with a smile, like it all made sense now.
"Correct."
If you're gonna worry, worry about those idiots who stuck their necks out at Neri without knowing their place.
If they'd come at me directly, they'd have died cleanly, but picking on Neri?
"...They'd be better off throwing themselves into the sea. Idiots."
As I snatched the wine jug back from Asclepius and poured myself a cup, saying that, they all started shooting silent pressure at me and Heracles like we'd grown second heads.
"Sigh... This is why folks with bad bodies tax their brains."
"Feels backwards, but not entirely wrong."
Heracles, the only one getting it, quipped like it was a joke, and I shot back in exasperation, but he wasn't off base.
Heracles wasn't dumb by any means from what he'd said so far; he grasped the essence fastest, but his crude speech made him seem underrated.
"No need for brains when brute force solves everything?"
"Honestly, yeah."
"Must be nice."
"Pretty great. You?"
"As you see."
"Got it."
Weird rapport forming, Heracles and I chatted casually, until fed-up Theseus and Jason burst out.
"...Mind explaining properly?"
"Agreed. Orpheus is going in circles and I can't follow, but what the hell are you two even talking about?"
Figuring I'd have to put up with the hassle to convince them, I wet my throat with wine and summed it up.
"Means one of the students won't make it back today."
Whether as a corpse or missing, we'll see.