I Became Artemis’ Boyfriend

A young man stood proudly in front of the main gate of the Artemis Temple and lightly flapped his wings as he flew over to us and landed.

Over 180cm tall.

With delicate and gentle features.

Smoother skin than the average woman.

In short, he could easily pass as a modern flower boy idol.

Even though I have a narrow side that refuses to acknowledge good-looking men out of pride, as I’m a man too…

This young man is a tall and handsome man that even I can’t help but bow to.

Damn.

Where did this effeminate guy suddenly come from?

Judging by his wings, he appears to be a male god…

My heart felt restless out of nowhere, so I glanced at Artemis out of the corner of my eye.

There was no trace of her usual blunt expression. She was staring at the young man in front of her with a flushed face, and it looked like sugary fluff was falling from her eyes.

At least that’s how it seemed to me.

Hmph… this is a little unsettling.

It’s times like these when I, her boyfriend, have to give some warm advice.

“Ahem! Ahem! Artemis?”

“What?”

“How about you stop giving such looks to another man right in front of me, your boyfriend?”

“Could you stop being ridiculous for a second? Mr. Great Off Orc? Are you seriously jealous of a married man?”

I opened my mouth again, getting angry at the rash comment of ‘orc,’ but I froze for a moment before closing it again.

What?

Married man?

This good-looking, winged youth is a married man?

Not a relief…

Artemis, this means you know this young man.

I stepped closer to her and whispered quietly into her ear.

“Who’s this? Acquaintance?”

She gave me a baffled look as if wondering how I could ask such a question, then stared penetratingly at me.

“Hmm… Are you really a priest? It’s Eros. Eros.”

She sighed softly and whispered back into my ear.

The moment I heard the name, I felt a twinge of recognition.

That’s right.

The wings on his back.

There is only one male god who uses golden and lead arrows.

Why didn’t I realize it earlier?

I quickly approached Eros and bowed.

“I apologize for being late to greet you, Lord Eros.”

“Hahaha! It’s fine. After traveling the world with my wife for twenty years, it’s understandable that a newly appointed priest might not recognize me.”

Eros, with his arms crossed, cheerfully laughed and forgave my rudeness.

Then it seemed that it was his turn to greet as he smoothly passed by my shoulder and waved to Artemis.

“Sister Artemis. Long time no see.”

“Oh, Eros. You still look great. But what’s up?”

“Hahaha! Your straightforward personality hasn’t changed at all.”

“Isn’t there a saying that if your personality changes, you die?”

“While human proverbs may not apply to us… Whatever, it’s fine.”

Eros laughed heartily again.

But shortly, he fell silent as he glanced between Artemis and me…

Ordinarily, this might appear to be the awkwardness of having something difficult to say.

However, to me, it seemed like Eros was deliberately making things suspenseful to gain control of the conversation.

Like runners waiting at their starting line, poised for the gunshot.

But the countermeasure is simple.

Pretend to not care.

Just invite him to the guest room, offer tea, and chat about everyday things while waiting patiently.

It’s important that you don’t show any anxiousness.

“Ah, really!! What is it that you’re taking so long to say? Just say it already!”

However, Artemis, unable to suppress her fiery temper, prodded slightly irritated.

Thus, we ended up being the ones eagerly waiting for him, even though it was Eros who came looking for us.

At this, Eros gave a sly smile and shrugged as if to say there was nothing he could do.

“Haha. Sister, you really haven’t changed. I intended to have some tea while we talk about this, but… oh well.”

Eros once again glanced slowly at all of us, including me, before continuing slowly.

“Firstly, Ark? Congratulations on your special promotion to the 8th rank.”

“Thank you. It’s all thanks to you, Lord Eros.”

I thanked him while suppressing the question about why he nominated me, figuring his reason would naturally come up soon.

“Well, the truth is Ark, I came because of your special promotion.”

“Yes, please go ahead.”

“Many gods will gather for the Panthegrasia’s promotion celebration.”

Panthegrasia’s promotion celebration.

To put it simply, this is an event to congratulate priests like me who have been specially promoted.

It’s also a lighthearted joke among the gods that it’s just an excuse for a lavish banquet out of boredom.

But, there is one unforgettable and very special event for the priests:

The Golden Pen award ceremony.

Priests who have been recognized by the gods and specially promoted all receive a Golden Pen.

The funny thing is, once they receive it, they’re not allowed to keep it for themselves.

It is the human duty to always repay the gods’ grace, so they must absolutely present the Golden Pen as a gift to one of the gods.

“Did you come here to tell me this, Eros?”

“That’s correct, Sister.”

“Then give the Golden Pen to Athena, Big Sister.”

Short exchanges occurred between Eros and Artemis.

Artemis’s suggestion made sense.

I also believed it was right to offer the Golden Pen to Athena.

Because this has happened countless times with the Golden Pen ceremonies.

Through these repeated events, a certain ‘tradition’ has formed:

That newly promoted priests should give the Golden Pen as a gift to the god of the opposite gender who recommended them.

Male priests give it to a goddess,

and female priests give it to a male god.

As a result, amusing situations sometimes arise,

such as when two or more goddesses recommended the same male priest!

In such cases, the male priest becomes troubled, not knowing which goddess to offer the Golden Pen to,

and while the goddesses feign graciousness, underneath they burn with competition, hoping to be chosen.

It’s said that the gods at such ceremonies never miss the fun spectacle of such scenarios and even hope for them frequently.

The three gods who nominated me this time were Poseidon, Eros, and Athena.

Among them, there is just one goddess.

By simply giving the Golden Pen to Athena, the process would be completed.

We were lucky that there was only one goddess of the opposite gender.

“Following tradition, it would be as you say…”

“But?”

“In reality, I came here today to ask Ark a favor.”

From the flow of the conversation, it wasn’t difficult to infer that Eros wanted Ark to break this tradition.

The question was, to whom other than Athena?

Giving it to a deity of the opposite gender is, as it were, tradition.

But it’s not an absolute rule.

Even giving the pen to a passing lower-ranking god would pose no issue,

though, naturally, the resentment from other gods would be the priest’s burden.

“Ark.”

“Yes, Lord Eros.”

“Before I express the content of my request, would you like to guess first?”

“…”

I slowly closed my eyes, organizing the situation, and began to calculate.

As previously mentioned, the content of the request was likely a break from tradition.

Why did Eros nominate an unfamiliar person like me?

If it can’t be Athena, which other goddess?

Why would the god of love, Eros, ask me to create animosity with Athena?

Eros’ wife is Psyche. Who else from his family?

It’s like throwing stones into a large lake, one after another, to find the answer, the fish.

But, perhaps too many stones were thrown?

The lake itself was filled with stones.

Then, Eros’ true intention loomed too blatantly and frighteningly.

“Lord Eros.”

“Yes, speak.”

“Is it your wish for me to present the Golden Pen to a goddess other than Lady Athena?”

“Correct.”

Artemis, startled, interjected, asking who.

However, Eros and I ignored her voice entirely.

Rather, we didn’t even have time to respond.

We had to repeatedly dig deep into and calculate the hidden meaning in each other’s eyes.

“The target is most likely… Lady Aphrodite.”

“A, Aphrodite? That’s ridiculous! Why give it to that aunt?!”

Artemis burst between us, alarmed,

and, remembering past encounters with Aphrodite, began scolding Eros fiercely with accusations flying.

“Did you know what she did to us? She drove a wedge between me and Big Sister Athena! And now you’re asking me to give the pen to her instead of my Big Sister? What nerve!”

“I understand your anger, Sister.”

“Understand my ass! Get lost, you creep!”

Artemis began kicking Eros’ shins repeatedly.

But Eros stood unflinching.

His gaze, brimming with an unwavering resolve, returned to me.

“Ark, the Golden Pen gift ceremony has evolved into an expression of gratitude towards the god who championed you.”

“…”

“For this reason, I believe the justification is clear. I, too, am a god who nominated you for the 8th rank. To express your gratitude for me, gift the Golden Pen to my mother, Aphrodite, in my stead.”

“So, it’s practically a command, isn’t it?”

Putting aside the gender distinctions, there were three gods who recommended me.

Eros also has a clear entitlement to my gratitude.

The way he subtly disrupted the practice of giving to a god of the opposite gender while maintaining the façade of propriety under the title of ‘mother’ reveals his cunning.

Eros, it seems, is not just a romantic and cheerful youth as the god of love, but a seasoned political strategist.

There’s nothing to fear from ignorant and rash gods.

The truly terrifying gods, like Eros, wield the most fear by leading through justification and righteousness.

Especially for me, it’s even more daunting.

Becoming an enemy of a person like him would be an absolute no-go.

Because it’s impossible to predict what kind of conspiracy they might plot from behind the scenes.

This kind of Eros entrusted his mother Aphrodite to receive my Golden Pen.

What could possibly be the reason for such a request?

A mother’s revenge?

A jest from Eros?

Ha…

How should I respond?