Several days had passed since I returned from the Amazons with Hippolyta. During that time, I spent my days with my wives and children, or training.
And from time to time, Nemesis came to see me, and each time I welcomed her warmly.
My relationship with the goddess Athena had also improved somewhat. The only thing that remained was that she would sometimes lower her head and mutter to herself, and whenever I asked about it, she would always evade my question.
My relationship with the goddess Hestia had been good from the very beginning. The only problem was—
"...Are you here again today?"
"Mm-hm!"
"How long do you intend to keep doing this?"
"Well. Until darling accepts my feelings~"
"...."
The goddess Artemis, whom I had once encountered in the forest, had at some point begun calling me "darling" and showing me excessive affection.
And so she came to see me every day. Today was no different.
"Honestly... I'm doing all this, and you still won't come around."
"Didn't you say you were struck by a golden arrow, Goddess? That the golden arrow manipulated your emotions..."
"No. That's not it, darling. If anything, it merely awakened me to my true feelings. So never say such a thing in front of me again."
So whenever I brought up the golden arrow Artemis had mentioned, she would always answer in a cold voice and with a cold expression. Just like now.
"Sigh..."
No matter what I said, this goddess would only hear what she wanted to hear, and she would keep expressing her love without pause.
"...You really intend to keep this up to the end?"
"Mm-hm! Darling, how long do you think you can hold out? You've endured well until now, but if I become even more persistent... or raise the stakes like this, how long do you think you can last?"
As I asked her while working, Artemis sat on the desk, lifted the hem of her clothes, and softly revealed the pure white skin beneath as she spoke.
"If you're going to keep holding out, then keep holding out. I'll keep going too."
"...You truly are someone who never knows when to give up."
"Mm-hm! Of course. I can do anything for darling! If you want, I could even take my virginity right now..."
"What are you saying, when you've made a vow of chastity?"
As I struggled to keep my wits about me under her relentless temptation, the goddess Artemis smiled and stepped toward the window where the moonlight shone in.
"Then I'll stop here for today. See you tomorrow, darling~"
And just as she had come, she left the room where I was.
"And next time, I'll turn up the heat even more~"
After Artemis departed, I stared blankly at the spot for a moment before forcing myself back to work.
But unlike before, my hands kept trembling.
"Honestly... this is dangerous."
After Artemis left, I spent the rest of the night finishing my work in my room.
Thanks to the laws, legal codes, regulations, academy, and guilds I had established long ago, the amount of paperwork that landed on my desk each day had only increased with time.
And yet, I should have been able to finish it on time. Lately, however, I had been unable to do so because of a truly dangerous visitor.
"Haa..."
"My, my. You look rather troubled."
"Hecate..."
"Take a break for a while. If you stay in that state, you won't be able to work properly."
".... Yes. I suppose I should. Thank you."
"It's nothing."
Seeing my condition, Hecate suggested that I take a short rest, and in the end I stepped outside for a while and walked around.
"Phew..."
As I looked around, Hestia's temple came into view.
"...Maybe I should ask for counsel."
Before I knew it, the thought of confiding my worries in someone slipped out, and when I came to my senses, I was already inside Hestia's temple.
"...What should I do..."
"Astellon. You've come today."
"G-Goddess Hestia."
Before I could decide whether to leave or stay, Hestia appeared before me first.
"Astellon. You seem especially troubled today. May I ask whether something has happened?"
Hestia looked at my face once, then asked if something was wrong.
"...It's nothing serious."
"You look very different from usual. You seem exhausted and worn out."
Though I answered that nothing had happened, Hestia gazed at me with a face full of concern and pressed me further.
"....To be honest..."
With Hestia speaking in such a serious tone, I finally poured out my worries to her.
"I see. So that is your present concern?"
"...Yes. To be honest..."
"Astellon. How many people do you think here truly uphold things like morality?"
"Um... well. I don't think I've seen that many."
"Almost none. There are some, but they are only a minority. If you were another man, you would have been pounced on the instant you were tempted."
"But I already have several wives and children. If I were to add yet another woman to the mix..."
"Even a married man in Greece would welcome that situation very gladly. Sometimes, when I look at you... I can't help but think you were born in the wrong age."
As I laid bare my worries, Hestia addressed them with complete seriousness, as though she had been waiting for this moment.
And as I spoke them aloud, the unease in my heart seemed to fade little by little.
"...But why do you take such good care of me, Goddess Hestia?"
At the words that slipped out of my mouth without thought, I was startled after saying them, but—
"That is because... I love you, Astellon."
The words that followed from Hestia struck my ears.
"Ah, I see. You love me... Huh? W-What did you just say?"
My body and mind froze in place.