Sleeping Goddess of the Battlefield (3)
Sleeping Goddess of the Battlefield (3)
In the forest where the sun had completely set, a desolate darkness settled in without notice.
The campfire, lit from gathered firewood, burned gently, sending up faint sparks.
"Forgive me, Ion......"
Athena, who had been carefully applying medicine to the wound on Ion's back, whispered softly.
Even though it was an apology she had already uttered countless times, she couldn't hide her ashamed expression.
"I'm fine. So don't worry too much, Athena."
Even as Ion waved his hand and put on a smiling face, Athena showed no sign of escaping her self-blame.
But no matter how much she thought about it, the way things turned out wasn't her fault.
It was bad luck. That was the only way to describe it.
The long war was gradually reaching its end.
The Demon King's army, which had seemed as if it would pierce the sky, was no longer as strong as before.
The resistance forces, united around the hero and the goddesses, were sending reports of victories from all over.
It was proof that the tide of battle, which had seemed unchangeable, was slowly shifting in favor of humanity.
Capitalizing on this momentum, they launched an operation to retake the strategic point in the southwestern part of the continent, which had been reduced to a supply base for the Demon King's army.
They carried out a surprise attack with a small force.
But it wasn't as easy as they had thought.
Because the number of Demon King's army troops stationed there was far greater than the information they had received beforehand.
The original plan—to eliminate only a few high-ranking officers and the supply depot stacked with food, then retreat—ended up going awry.
Dealing with the Demon King's army, which pursued them relentlessly without giving up, was truly infuriating.
"It is all my fault. If I had not let my guard down, you would not have ended up like this......"
Athena, with her head deeply bowed, quietly bit her lip.
Ion couldn't hide his mixed feelings as he looked at Athena like that.
Athena was blaming her own inadequacy, but the one who should blame himself was not her, but himself.
'If I had kept my wits about me......'
Then I wouldn't have been injured while trying to save her from the enemy's attack aimed at Athena.
If I had handled it more wisely, I wouldn't have missed my step on the cliff, nor would I have fallen into the sea with Athena.
The fact that we were now separated from the other goddesses and stranded on a deserted island alone with Athena was entirely the hero's own responsibility.
But for now, he had no choice but to hold his tongue.
Because saying such things to Athena, who was lost in self-reproach, would only backfire.
"I told you, I'm fine. The medicine is so good that it feels like my wound has already healed. Look!"
Ion swung his bandaged arm up and down, putting on a perfectly fine expression.
It was quite a dangerous wound, but fortunately, no bones were broken.
Perhaps because Athena had personally applied the medicine, the pain had significantly subsided.
"C-calm yourself! If you move like that while still......"
"Ugh!"
The moment he moved both arms widely to reassure Athena, his back ached again.
At that instant, Athena, with a worried expression, hurriedly supported him.
"Haha, sorry. I guess I overdid it......"
Feeling a bit sheepish, Ion scratched his head and laughed awkwardly.
Athena, with anxiety written all over her face, stared at Ion and let out a silent sigh.
After carefully applying medicine and wrapping the bandage securely around the treated area, Athena's treatment finally came to an end.
Tadadak!
The hero and the goddess sat near the blazing campfire, resting their exhausted bodies.
In a situation like this, with no means to cross the sea, the best course of action was to quietly wait for rescue from the other goddesses.
The two of them set a time and took turns standing watch while resting.
This island was a place where the Demon King's influence didn't reach, but still, letting their guard down was forbidden.
However, given the circumstances, neither Ion nor Athena could rest comfortably.
Ion went to some trouble to lighten the heavy atmosphere.
"You've returned late."
The moment Ion, who had left without informing his destination, returned.
Athena, as if she had been waiting anxiously, approached with quick steps.
"Where on earth did you go?"
"Just to the shore for a bit."
Ion answered, holding up an octopus with only seven legs.
"What is that......?"
"I caught it while diving. I thought it would taste good if we steamed it."
Ion, roughly brushing back his still-damp hair, subtly showed off the unexpected seafood he had obtained.
But Athena's reaction upon hearing that was not very good.
"Did you say you went diving just now?"
After apologizing profusely to a furious Athena, promising never to do such a thing again, Ion was finally able to start cooking the octopus he had caught.
It wasn't much of a cooking process—just putting a discarded pot that had been lying around on the beach over the campfire and dropping the octopus in—but it was enjoyable in its own way.
"Mm, not bad, is it?"
Ion and Athena shared the freshly steamed octopus right there on the spot.
It was a bit on the chewy side, but for being steamed without any seasoning, it tasted quite good.
It seemed to suit Athena's palate as well, as the cut octopus legs disappeared in no time.
"Ion."
Around the time they had finished the reddish-tinted octopus, Athena suddenly spoke in a low voice.
"Why do you fight for people?"
It was an unexpected question.
Ion immediately turned his head to check Athena's face.
Her eyes were infinitely serious, not the kind for a question thrown out without much meaning.
"Hmm, I'm not really sure myself...... It's just that I don't like seeing people become unhappy."
After a brief hesitation, Ion spoke the truth that lay deep in his heart.
He wanted to give a more impressive answer, but he wasn't very good with words, so this was the limit.
He doesn't like seeing people sad. He wants to see them smile.
He wants to restore the peaceful continent that existed before the Demon King invaded.
That was about the extent of why Ion Rayhard took up his sword amidst the war, and it was enough.
It was by no means an insufficient reason to risk his life.
"I knew it."
After hearing Ion's candid answer, Athena suddenly wore a strange expression.
"I knew why you fight without caring for your own body. I—no, we were so moved by your upright heart that we came down to the mortal world."
Saying this, Athena subtly moved closer to Ion.
"Your way of always putting others before yourself was admirable. There were times I respected you—how you never gave up in any situation, how you never lost hope. I was content just to fight alongside you like that."
"Athena......"
"However."
Athena, who had been speaking in a calm voice, suddenly wore a bitter smile.
"It seems that alone is no longer enough......"
"......."
"I'm not sure when it started. At some point, my liking turned into trust, and that trust turned into an uncontrollable love. I tried to suppress it, but it was impossible."
Athena, with a face so beautiful it was painful, quietly placed her graceful hand over the back of the man's hand resting on the ground.
Ion felt the impulse he had been sealing away in one corner of his heart slowly begin to rise.
"Athena, I......"
"You don't have to look only at me."
Just as Ion was about to sort out this situation before it was too late, Athena's desperate voice interrupted him.
"I know your heart well. And I also know the hearts of the other goddesses."
"......."
"You probably had a vague feeling too. There was even one who openly seduced you."
Ion couldn't take his eyes off the Goddess of War, who was courageously confessing her true feelings.
"No one will tell you to choose only one. That would be too cruel for all of us. But......"
Athena, drawing closer and closer, moved her beautiful lips in a dizzying way.
Ion stared at her, entranced.
"At least for this moment, look only at me."
By the time he came to his senses, Athena's lovely beauty was already right before his eyes.
"Not as a heavenly goddess, but as just one woman......"
"Athena......"
The man and woman, staring intently at each other, pressed their lips together without either being the first.
They embraced each other's bodies and roughly explored the overlapping lips.
Ion reached out and slowly undressed Athena, and Athena carefully lowered the clothes Ion was wearing.
"You're beautiful, Athena......"
Ion, beholding the pure naked body of the goddess of war finally revealed, unconsciously swallowed his saliva.
Then Athena blushed as if embarrassed and tried to cover her body with her arms, but Ion pushed her down as she was.
"Ion......"
Athena offered no resistance to the hero's actions.
She simply lay on her back on the ground, waiting obediently for what was to come.
Ion, unable to take his eyes off her, soon finished preparing to become one.
"Take me......"
The goddess, wrapping her arms around the hero's neck, whispered with a voice full of longing.
Seeing that alluring face, Ion could no longer hold back and moved his own secret part into hers.
"Kyah!"
*
"Kyaa!!"
At that moment, when I was unconsciously recalling my first sex with Athena, which was done by a me that wasn't me, a passionate moan, distinctly different from the one in my memory, brought me back to reality.