I Became Artemis’ Boyfriend

On the way back to the temple, we didn’t exchange a single word. “Could it be that you’ve been silently bearing this guilt because our elder sister took the lightning bolt meant for you at the end?”

Artemis, who until now had been accusing me of being a dirty betrayer, now delves into the guilt buried deep within my heart.

It’s like…

Today’s Artemis seems determined to quarrel and instigate a fight with me.

It feels as though she’s deeply upset about something,

but I can’t figure out what it is.

“Yeah.”

“So? Then your mind has been filled with thoughts of our elder sister this whole time, right?”

“Of course. It’s because of me.”

An answer without hesitation.

Then Artemis scrunches up her face, bares her fangs like a demon, and glares at me with murderous intent.

After a moment, relaxing her expression, she begins to smile faintly with a sorrow-filled gaze.

Exactly… what is going on?

She’s not Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

“You really seem to misunderstand. The last three lightning bolts were clearly aimed at our elder sister. With Father’s power, it would be easy to change the trajectory of lightning. So it’s not your fault,” Artemis reassures me, returning to her usual smile, tone, and expression.

After starting a quarrel and instigating conflict, is this some form of comfort now?

But,

on the contrary, it also indirectly proves that the total of eight bolts, including the one you shot down with your bow, were all aimed at me.

To the current me, those words aren’t comfort; they are like confirmation of my sentence.

“Even so, the fact that the initial target was me doesn’t change.”

Wary of this changed Artemis, who feels like a completely different person today, I take a step back and answer.

She shrugs indifferently at my form and continues speaking.

“Why do you think Father struck down our beloved elder sister with lightning?”

“Uh… I don’t know.”

“Not only you, but our Father also punished Athena for her many sins.”

Artemis cheerfully and mockingly laughs as if it’s an amusing story that sends shivers down my spine.

What?

Is it right for her, who usually looked up to our elder sister, to casually mention Athena’s name and take pleasure in her getting struck by lightning?

I take another step back from this unfamiliar Artemis.

The Artemis I knew, who was once like a naive little sister, now appears to be cruel and evil.

It’s as if… she’s possessed by a ghost.

“Why would our Father strike down his beloved eldest daughter with lightning?” she asks, with a sinister grin.

“I, of course, fully side with Father! Hahahaha!”

“You also sympathized with Athena, didn’t you.”

“Separate logic from emotion. Of course, I wished Mother would return, but not anymore. Mother must never return—never!”

Is this really something a little sister should say to her elder sister?

How can she switch her position so easily?

Like a deceptive salesman who seals the deal and completely changes their attitude after the contract is signed—it feels just like that.

“It’s not for you, Artemis, to make that decision.”

“Our Father must uphold the order of the world. Your defiance against Zeus, the King of Olympus, made it seem as if you were opposing his decision. Athena strongly sided with you, fueling the rebellion,” Artemis replies.

“Athena separated logic from emotion as well, longing to see Mother but choosing to suppress her feelings because it was the wisest choice. But the idea that one person’s unhappiness leads to everyone’s happiness? I can never accept that.”

“But it’s funny. How dare someone like you, a mere human, decide what’s acceptable or not? Perhaps you’ve deluded yourself into thinking you’re a god?”

“Families, whether divine or human, care for each other.”

“But this is a matter for the gods. This should have been brought up as an agenda in the Council of the Twelve Gods of Olympus. Then the gods could decide reasonably. How can a priest not even know this? Ha ha ha!”

Artemis’ laughter today is truly grating.

It feels as though she is trampling on and mocking both my feelings and those of Athena, her own elder sister…

It’s an infuriating kind of laughter.

“Artemis, why have you changed so suddenly?”

“Eh? Changed? Me? It’s you, Ark.”

With an expression twisted like an evil spirit, Artemis fires back, as if the idea is absurd.

“If so, let me ask you one thing.”

“Go ahead.”

“Why did you support me when I said I’d rescue Metis? If you believe decisions should be left to the gods, the proper course of action would have been to either stop or rebuke me once I stepped forward, right?”

Artemis, who affectionately embraced and consoled her elder sister.

Athena, cradled in her arms, surely felt the bond of family.

Even I, while watching, felt the same.

That sight of them was as beautiful as the moonlight reflecting our unity.

The Artemis I saw truly pitied Athena’s painful longing for our mother.

It wasn’t an act.

“Why did I…?”

Artemis’ reply is astonishing.

“Why…?”

“Ark, have you forgotten? We are currently competing through the Twelve Labors. The more you are disliked by the gods and the harder the labors get for you, the more advantageous it is for me. Why would I interfere?”

“Huh?!”

I’m at a loss for words, stunned by her cold and calculating judgment, as if she planned everything while watching Athena’s tears yearning for the love and affection of their parents.

Was all that sympathy for Athena just an act, Artemis?

“And another thing.”

She takes a step closer, bowing her head.

Through the strands of her bangs swaying side to side, her eyes, when briefly revealed, are filled with intense killing intent and hatred.

“Why should I protect the disgusting wretches who were secretly whispering love in the tent while sending me on reconnaissance?”

“What?!”

Whispering love in the tent?

What is she even talking about?

Certainly, Athena lent her chariot to Artemis for reconnaissance around the Mountain of the Gods.

She forbade Artemis from taking me along, sending her alone.

We did speak privately in the tent, but…

Reflecting on the content of our conversation, Athena…

“Why? Cat got your tongue now that you’ve been caught? Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”

“No! No, it’s not like that! We really had important things to discuss!”

“Huh? Was it? What was it about?”

“Uh…”

I gesticulate wildly with both hands, trying to protest.

Just as I’m about to explain the content of our conversation, I shut my mouth.

I can’t divulge the top-secret information that the Land of Death beyond the Mountain of the Gods is learning and tightening its grip around our necks.

Athena only told this to me.

And she intentionally didn’t tell her younger sister about it.

Though I don’t know why, the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena, must have had a good reason for doing so.

I want to protect her intentions, so in the face of Artemis’ misunderstanding, I remain silent without making any excuses.

“Hahahah!”

Silence is consent.

Artemis grows even more confident seeing my inability to defend myself.

“Of course. You wouldn’t be able to explain.”

“Artemis, it’s not what you think. There’s no dirty reason holding me back.”

“Phah, shut up.”

With a chilling laugh, she takes another step closer.

Then, she locks her piercing gaze onto my tightly clenched arms as if she’s trying to tear them apart.

“How do you explain the private meeting you had in the tent where you embraced Athena from behind?”

Her two glaring eyes, fierce with anger, cut into me like sharp blades.

Her restless eyes, already aware of your filthy insides, mercilessly shred and tear you apart.

What is this?

Since earlier, why is she talking such strange nonsense?

Apparently, Artemis returned early from her reconnaissance and was peeping outside the tent…

Even if I give her the benefit of the doubt a hundred times, fine! Let’s say Athena and I were whispering love because she didn’t know the content of our dialogue.

It’s not hard to understand the misunderstanding based on the context, sure!

But,

what about this ridiculous story that I embraced Athena?!?!

Never. By the heavens, I swear, it never happened!

Two years ago, the Artemis who cleared Katina’s false accusation… why is she making things difficult for me now?

Even if I harbored thoughts of embracing Athena,

would Athena, who is also a Virgin Goddess, allow it?

We only discussed strategy and the Land of Death!

And… fitting the helmet… wait?

“Helmet, could you put it on for me?”

Indeed, at Athena’s request, I picked up the helmet from the tent table, approached her from behind, and carefully placed it on her head.

Other than that, I do not remember being any closer to Athena.

“Uh?”

Could it be…

Could Artemis outside have been watching me from behind?!?!

The two hands adjusting the helmet must have been mistaken by Artemis for an embrace from behind!

“So, you’ve finally realized your sin, I see.”

Mocking me while enjoying my realization of my “wrongdoing,” she sneers.

“No. No, it’s not like that.”

“And what sweet nothings did you whisper into Athena’s ears with that treacherous tongue of yours?”

Her deadened eyes looked as if all light had been lost.

But slowly, the dying embers in that void reignited, glowing red.

“No. Oh no, it’s really not like that.”

I couldn’t move a single finger.

I could only shake my head violently and repeat the same word idiotically: “No.”

“How does it feel, Ark? The feeling of toying with the hearts of the two virgin goddesses of Olympus?”

“No. Artemis, please listen to me.”

“Huh… hah… you wouldn’t understand how tormented I’ve been… how conflicted…”

Artemis, breathing heavily as if having a panic attack,

was tightly clenching her fists, barely restraining her anger.

“Artemis…”

“You wouldn’t understand how hard it was for me to crouch down and spy on you inside the tent!”

“Please, Artemis!”

I grabbed her uncovered shoulders.

We must resolve this misunderstanding right here and now!

“DO NOT TOUCH ME!!”

Her scream pierces my eardrums.

As soon as my right hand leaves her shoulder in powerlessness,

my body collapses to the ground like a marionette whose strings have been cut.

When my face hits the ground, I realize.

This is Artemis’ divine command.

An order of the gods that no human can defy.

“Disgusting! Bloody hell!”

Full of irritation, she scrubs the shoulder I touched as if to peel off layers of dirt.

Not satisfied yet, perhaps, she digs her nails into her pale skin as if to remove every bacterium I might have left behind.

Scrub, scrub!

Her once white shoulder now bears several red lines.

But her nails do not stop, continuing to carve new ones endlessly.

She acts like an obsessive-compulsive with uncontrollable urges after a single handshake, scrubbing for over an hour.

“Dirty! Dirty! Dirty! Disgusting! Why did you dare to touch me, you bug!”

She didn’t stop even when blood covered her nails.

Artemis, pushing herself into a corner and tormenting herself,

makes me deeply resent my own helplessness, standing there and watching her.

What is the point of getting into a prestigious university?

What is the point of being smart?

All is useless.

I hate myself for being unable to resolve even a small misunderstanding from someone I care for.

“Ar…tem…is.”

“Huh… huh… I don’t even know what this boiling emotion in my chest is, but it’s frustrating me so much!”

She tightly clenches and almost rips apart her chest clothing.

Even if her divine dress gets torn, she doesn’t care.

“I… I…”

“Silence! That dirty tongue of yours, shut it! Fine. I don’t even know what this emotion is, but I think I know how to resolve it. As usual, you need to disappear. If you dare to play with my heart, you must pay the price.”

Tears well up in the corners of her eyes.

She refuses to close her eyes, trying so hard not to let them fall.

But as the tears continue to fill, they inevitably spill over.

One drop falls from her cheek and lands lightly on the back of my hand.

“…”

“You thought it was nonsense, didn’t you? But it’s true!”

“Huh?”

“Shut up! Here’s your second labor, take it! I don’t care about any rewards.”

She disregards all the procedures of negotiating rewards and handing over the parchment.

The labor’s details are forcefully imprinted in my mind through her divine command.

A tattoo of the labor’s seal appears on my wrist,

and its content is automatically carved into my mind.

“Retrieve an Iclina flower from Aphrodite.”

[!– Slider main container –]

---