Chapter 55
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: The Soul of the Collector
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Who knows what grudge the goddesses of fate hold against me? After three days that felt like three months, I could finally enjoy a normal life in the Hero's Forest.
I'd gone through a deep dark modern story and a wuxia tale, and now my life was shifting to a bright, vibrant academy arc.
The Hero's Forest was basically an academy attended by all sorts of protagonists from mythology.
With light steps, I left my dorm and headed to the Forest of Arts for my first class.
I'd set aside the riddles left by my "sisters'" mother(?) Nyx and Hermes's gleaming eyes, along with all the gods' various plights.
Today, I just wanted to enjoy everyday life as an ordinary student.
To become a hero, there was no time to rest—the curriculum assigned in the Hero's Forest was packed to the brim.
Even excluding the morning jogs halted by the temporary Colosseum closure, my schedule was filled from sunrise to sunset with classes, practical training, and part-time jobs.
"Let's see... First class today is..."
The schedule labeled as the timetable showed a music class in the Forest of Arts.
Heracles grumbled that heroes fighting monsters and villains had no need for music and cranked out a full-throttle lament on his twelve-stringed geomungo.
But I thought Chiron must be an incredibly caring principal for the students.
No matter how iron-willed a warrior might be, leaving mental scars from endless bloody battles and seas of carnage untreated would lead to breakdown in some form.
The mildest case was growing numb to killing and blood; the worst could be getting drunk on blood and becoming a murderer, or being consumed by inner demons and self-destructing in qi deviation.
A music class like this, building liberal arts while offering a way to heal those wounds alone, would be a huge help to future wandering heroes of this land.
"Hm? Materials?"
Beneath the "Music Class" entry on the timetable was a note to bring a single flute.
Helpfully, it even listed a music instrument shop in the market district, so I could prepare and make it to class on time.
"Heh."
Materials listed on the class schedule.
It reminded me of my distant school days, and I chuckled as I turned toward the market district.
Hermes's statue greeted me with a mysterious smile, and beyond it lay the vast market I'd wandered yesterday with Atalanta, munching on snacks.
"Groceries, blacksmith, used weapons, latest extra edition..."
It was called a market, but the neat two- and three-story buildings with price tags and orderly displays felt like a huge supermarket.
As I strolled past the tidy shops, the instrument store I was looking for appeared ahead.
"Hello? Oh?!"
"My goodness! You're the new student Dianes, right? Come on in—I've gathered only instruments that even Apollo would praise!"
The plump nymph tuning a lyre welcomed me warmly.
But my eyes were drawn to the flutes displayed behind the owner.
"...I'd like to see a flute."
"A flute? Oh right! It's Marsyas's music class today!"
She nodded enthusiastically, pulling out various flutes from behind the counter and explaining each one.
But my gaze stayed fixed on the shabby stone flute displayed quietly in the back, screaming "not for sale."
That thing was a cursed object.
A seriously ancient one.
Even without channeling mana or activating my divine sight, its ominous aura was plain as day.
Whether haunted by a grudge spirit or afflicted by a curse, it radiated a ferocious intent to show any clueless fool the taste of hellfire.
But more captivating than that malice was its craftsmanship.
I'd always favored flutes—they were portable unlike gold ones, and their shrill tones unique to woodwinds helped with scouting and terrain sensing. I often used sound arts with them.
When wandering alone on missions, I'd play flute to soothe my loneliness, so I prided myself on having some expertise with them.
And in my expert eyes, that stone flute shimmering with an enigmatic hue was no mere masterpiece—it was beyond that.
Made of stone, yet without carving marks or seams, its smooth body curved in gentle waves with undulating light that couldn't possibly be human-made.
"...What about that flute in the back?"
"Oh? This one? I found it near a mountain last night while out on an errand.
It's a bit worn, but it's in the style of flutes from the old Hydria Island...
Student, want to take a closer look?"
"Yes?"
At the owner's excited gesture, her twinkling eyes beckoning, I approached the flute she offered.
This wasn't just any stone flute.
"...No way. Is this obsidian?"
"Yes! It's a flute carved from a whole block of obsidian!"
Among the instruments gifted to me before, there was a jade flute a craftsman had labored over for ten years to present to an emperor.
That flawless black jade flute, meticulously engraved with the scenery of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, was one of my treasures, and through long ages, I'd never seen a more beautiful one.
But this obsidian flute shattered that history.
Obsidian made into a flute?
"Not made by human hands, I see."
"Exactly! No seams or grinding marks. This must be a work of some god."
Obsidian's fragility made such intricate carving nearly impossible.
With modern Greek craftsmanship, they'd at best use its sharp edges after breaking it.
Hollowing out a solid block into a smooth flute was beyond human capability.
"Made by a god..."
That explained the insane cursed aura and the impossible OOPArt-level perfection.
"....."
Think rationally, Dianes.
Sure, you're a collector who hoarded relics from Kunlun sect divine items to Shaolin's Dalma's sacred flute, displaying them on your bedroom walls and admiring them nightly.
But this is clearly a massive treasure—and a disaster magnet that invites trouble.
No matter how temptingly curvaceous it looks, like gazing at a goddess's nude form.
Even with its rarity as a divine work transcending mere obsidian processing.
Didn't you decide, since reincarnating on Pasos Island, to live freely, lightly, enjoying life unburdened?
You're already on high alert for orbital strikes from the sun, with flags from Hera, Nereid sisters, and yesterday's Nemesis and Eris suspects ready to shatter your quest window.
You gonna invite disaster yourself, stack more flags, and drag in an incident?
I gripped my trembling right hand—itching to snatch the flute—with my left, mustering all reason to suppress my collector instincts.
But her cautious offer halted everything: left hand, right hand, reason—all frozen.
"If it's alright... would you take this flute?"
"Pardon...?"
What did this flute goddess—no, flute nymph—just say?
Offering this priceless flute for free?
A divine instrument that even Nostalgic Ghost Sound would charge at just to touch?
My god. The goddess of music is here.
"Whew... It's an incredible masterpiece, but since it's made by gods, it must be fate for a hero who recognizes it. Honestly, it's a bit scary for me."
"I-is that really okay?"
"If you're not keen, feel free to decline..."
The nymph nodded understandingly, reaching to take back the flute.
But our sleek cutie had already nestled softly into my arms.
"Huh?"
-Squeeeek!
The moment it touched my hand, the cursed aura vanished with a rat-under-a-cart squeal.
But who cares.
This masterpiece was mine now—that's what mattered.
"Uh...?"
"Then I'll gratefully accept~"
Fearing she'd change her mind, I bolted from the shop like the wind.
Of course, accepting such a relic with just thanks would be rude, so I left the gold pouch from my pocket money in the owner's hand that had held our cutie.
"Wow..."
If I'd seen it in my past life, it would've been the twin crown of my collection: this beautiful obsidian flute.
With the nasty aura gone, it gleamed radiantly in the sunlight, almost ecstatic.
"Coming to the Hero's Forest... best decision ever."
My pouch was lighter, but money can always be earned again!
Brimming with the satisfaction of a great loot, I headed lightly to the music classroom.
Sunlight sparkling, greenery lush, youthful blues laughing and chatting on the beautiful commute path.
And the proud weight of our cutie in my bosom.
It felt like the whole world was blessing my fresh start, my academy life.
"Atalanta, you traitor! How dare you call yourself a daughter of Artemis?!"
"...I have no excuse, sister."
"Don't call me sister!"
...Exactly three minutes after that thought, a voice shattered my eardrums and crushed my happiness.
Ten meters ahead, a group of women blocked the path, with a familiar redhead bowing her head before them, her hair shining like sunlight.
Still beautiful in her sparkling tawny chiton—same one from yesterday, freshly laundered?—but her face was clouded with worry.
"Atalanta?"
Some kind of conflict?
She must've messed up with that group somehow, but publicly humiliating her in the middle of the path where all eyes were... wasn't that too much?
I reined in my buoyant mood amid the tense air and quickened my steps.
The apparent leader, a stern-faced woman in armor, drew her dagger.
"What is this outfit?! Strip it off now, or my blade will shred it!"
"Wh-what is this?!"
"Artemis! Permit me to punish this foolish traitor!"
Dead serious about ripping her clothes in the street? The lunatic invoking Artemis lunged her blade at Atalanta's garb.
-Thwack!
Of course, my foot connecting with the molester's face was faster than the dagger.
"Di-Dianes!?"
"Eek!?"
"Wh-why is a newbie here?"
"Didn't he say he was heading to music class?"
...What a fine morning.
A fine day, a fine start.
And right at the moment I was about to enter class to cap it off...
These Artemis-worshipping unicorn lunatics ruined it all in an instant.
"Shut up and smash your head."
Then I'll let you walk to the infirmary.
Even I thought it was mercifully generous.