What the Goddess Does (5)
What the Goddess Does (5)
Shuuu!
Around the time I finished setting the cutlery, a sharp hissing sound caught my ears.
It was the sound of hot steam blasting from the steamer I had placed over the fire.
"Ah, hot, hot......"
I opened the steamer lid, took out the well-cooked octopus, and cut it into bite-sized pieces.
Then I placed it on a plate I had prepared in advance and set it right in the center of the table.
The scent of the modest side dish centered around octopus gently enveloped the entire small inn room.
Knock knock.
After safely setting up even the vodka and glass, which required the most attention.
Suddenly, a knock came from the entrance.
I took off my apron and immediately ran barefoot to open the door.
Beyond the entrance stood the person I had been eagerly waiting for.
"I am sorry for being late, -nira."
A beauty in uniform bathed in the gentle moonlight.
The Goddess of War, Athena, looked at me and gave a bitter smile as if ashamed.
"No, you came right on time."
"Then I am relieved, -guna."
I immediately let Athena, who was exposed to the night dew, into the inn room.
Athena, accepting my welcome, sat at the entrance and took off her long military boots that came just below her knees.
Then she removed her formal hat and coat and hung them neatly on the coat rack next to the shoe rack.
"You came right after work, aren't you tired?"
"Unnecessary worry, -roda. Rather, seeing my beloved makes strength spring forth, -guna."
Athena answered thus and quietly approached me, then naturally gave me a soft kiss.
We closed our eyes and exchanged a kiss of reunion, then smiled sheepishly and took steps together.
Perhaps because we were alone, Athena was radiating a loveliness different from her usual image without filter.
A week had already passed since that laughable incident at the teahouse.
When I met Athena again in an event as sudden as Nemesis's, I was dumbfounded.
We couldn't hide our bewildered expressions, but we came to our senses belatedly and first finished cleaning up the messy teahouse.
And after that, we moved to another place and had a light conversation at a suitable spot.
Tonight's dinner appointment was made right then.
"Did you prepare all of this, -deonya?"
Athena, arriving at the kitchen and checking the table, let out a small exclamation.
"It's nothing special for the menu."
When I muttered while scratching my head sheepishly, Athena praised me, saying this was a feast.
Seeing that Athena seemed pleased, I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
"Let's eat quickly."
We immediately sat down on the chairs facing each other at the table.
I first poured vodka into the translucent glass in front of Athena.
This blue vodka, resembling the color of Athena's hair, was her favorite drink.
"Thank you, -doda."
Athena, holding the glass filled with vodka in one hand, showed a gentle smile.
Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since I had clinked glasses with Athena like this alone.
Athena, among the goddesses, was especially busy, so she rarely had time to meet privately.
Last time at the Great Forest of Lepodesia, she only showed her face briefly and had to return immediately.
There was no need to mention how eventful it was.
Since it was difficult for Athena to take leave due to her position, spending a little over half a day with me in this small inn today was a kind of small happiness.
"It's a flavor I haven't tasted in a long time, -rogun."
Athena, who had been tasting the foods I made one after another, pointed her fork at the octopus in the center.
This peculiar octopus, with only seven legs, was a limited-catch species that only inhabited the southwestern coast of the continent.
"Memories of the old days naturally come to mind, -guna......"
"......Indeed."
As Athena murmured that while slowly savoring the octopus cut into bite-sized pieces.
I chewed the glossy octopus and expressed agreement.
This octopus was a fairly special dish between Ion and Athena.
We, as a married couple, shared the well-boiled octopus as a drinking snack and had a lively conversation.
When the vodka-accompanied meal had progressed to some extent, I noticed Athena's cheeks gradually becoming reddish.
I sipped my vodka and gazed quietly at the Goddess of War, who was within arm's reach.
'Even drunk, she is beautiful.'
Her long, deep-blue hair that reached down to her waist.
Her haughty yet slightly gentle, high-born beauty.
Her abundant upper body that revealed a contradictory sensual beauty despite her neat uniform, and the bewitching leg line hidden under the table.
She was a noble beauty with a different kind of beauty from Demeter or Thanatos.
'Well, she has never not been beautiful...'
Athena El Ortina Rayhard.
She was the Goddess of War who ruled the seas of the vast continent, and the beautiful admiral of the Ortina Fleet, named after herself.
The Ortina Fleet led by Athena was the strongest invincible fleet that achieved a hundred victories in sea battles against the Demon King's army during the Holy Evil War.
Athena's brilliant exploits on the sea were more than enough to earn her the epithet 'Sword Princess.'
"By the way, what happened to Richard......?"
I casually brought up Richard's name to Athena, who was resting her chin on the table.
At that moment, Athena slightly furrowed her brow, but fortunately she didn't show much sign of being greatly displeased.
"It is already out of my hands, -nira."
The Sword Princess emptied her vodka cleanly as she answered thus.
Richard, who was arrested without warning at that teahouse that day, was immediately taken away by soldiers belonging to the fleet.
Richard's startled expression, as if whispering for help to me, was still vivid before my eyes.
"Cleverly, he got rid of all the evidence against him and escaped. If the charge of fleeing is not recognized, the sentence won't come out very high, -nira."
Athena seemed not very pleased that Richard had come up as a topic.
And rightly so. Richard Prignato was a wanted criminal who had committed crimes.
I knew his past wasn't very clean when I selected him as Demeter's partner, but.
I didn't know that Athena would step in personally.
Since the wanted notice was issued abruptly a few days ago, it seemed Richard himself hadn't grasped his situation in advance.
"Well, still, he'll have to spend some time in prison."
Athena said that somewhat indifferently while pouring vodka into the empty glass.
The reason she moved personally to catch Richard was because the charge was none other than illegal maritime trade.
And that happened in the waters under Athena's jurisdiction...
'In many ways, he is truly remarkable...'
It is said that he had been running around so well that he appeared and disappeared at will, evading the fleet's investigation network.
Because of that Richard, the Ortina Fleet had quite a headache.
That was why someone's public tip-off at that teahouse was a chance for arrest that couldn't be missed.
It was in that context that Athena, who happened to be nearby, twisted his arm without question as soon as she spotted Richard.
"How on earth did you come to be acquainted with such a scoundrel, -deonya?"
Athena, showing an expression of disbelief, threw a surprise question.
"Well, it just happened somehow......"
I gave a vague answer and let out a hollow laugh.
I couldn't honestly tell Athena how I came to meet Richard.
If I did, a storm of blood might sweep through this meal.
"I'll say this in advance: do not expect me to do anything on my end. Even if he is your acquaintance, I will be thorough in separating public and private, -nira."
"Of, of course. I don't wish for that either."
Athena firmly drove the point home, fearing that I might ask her to consider Richard's crime.
She was a righteous goddess who never let personal feelings interfere with someone's crime.
The symbol engraved on the flag of the Ortina Fleet was a perfectly balanced scale, so there was nothing more to say.
"Hoo, I won't go so far as to tell you to cut ties with that man. But keep an appropriate distance. Because he is not a person of good quality, -nira."
Athena let out a deep sigh while elegantly savoring the blue vodka.
"It is hard to see him as having normal sociality, -doda. The items he illegally traded were even dangerous hallucinogens or embarrassing adult products, -ni."
She shook her head as if she didn't even want to recall it.
I watched Athena's disgusted expression and silently put a side dish into my mouth.
'It is hard to see him as having normal sociality, huh...'
For someone like that, he seemed quite excellent in appearance and speech.
Well, when he was holding Demeter, his antisocial side did seem to stand out...
"Let's stop the idle talk here, Ion......"
Just as I was unconsciously recalling Richard's dandy appearance in my memory, Athena put down her glass.
Her voice hinted at a hesitant tone.
"Can you grant me one request, -neunya......?"
The tipsy Goddess of War looked at her husband and moved her lips quietly.