Now that the moonlit goddess Artemis finally understood what love and longing really meant, she wasn't the decisive, iron-willed goddess she used to be.
She wanted to get closer to Takumi—badly—but that stubborn, goddess-level pride kept stopping her at the last step. So she drifted along with the group, quiet and conflicted, looking composed on the outside while her heart kept tripping over itself.
By nightfall, the moon and a scatter of stars lit the sky like a blessing.
They camped in a forest clearing so calm it felt unnatural. Takumi's aura swept the area like an invisible wall—no monsters, no predators, not even restless wildlife. Just silence wrapped around the trees.
Not far from the camp was a clear lake.
"There's water—we can bathe!"
"Yes! I'm all sweaty and sticky… and it's so embarrassing when I get close to Takumi-san…"
"Ugh—yeah, I can smell myself too… nooo…"
…
Blushing and giggling, the girls set off together toward the water.
Before she left, Lante glanced back and winked at Takumi, playful and obvious.
"Takumi-san, no peeking, okay~~?"
Her face screamed I hope you do, and the other girls were smiling too, whispering to each other like they were taking bets on whether he'd show up.
Takumi snorted.
Peek?
Please. He wasn't some pathetic creep who had to spy.
If he was going to look, he'd do it out in the open like a man.
Then Rethusa stepped up, grabbed his hand, and—without a shred of hesitation—invited him along.
"Takumi-san, come with us."
Not to bathe together. Her idea was simple: the lake was huge. He could wash at a quiet spot far away, and no one would be forced into anything awkward.
Then she looked to Artemis, respectful but direct.
"Artemis-sama… you won't mind, right?"
The entire Familia had already agreed. The only question was whether their goddess—who'd always rejected men—would allow him to be nearby at all, even separated.
Normally, Artemis would have shut it down instantly.
Tonight, she hesitated.
She looked at their hopeful faces, at the girls she'd protected and raised, and after a long silence… she nodded.
"If it weren't for Takumi-kun, I might have lost you children," she said softly. "If you want him with us, then… it's fine."
"Yesss! Thank you, Artemis-sama!"
Rethusa immediately brightened and tugged Artemis into the moving group before she could reconsider.
Artemis blinked. "W—Wait…?"
They marched off like a proper expedition. Anyone watching from a distance would've assumed they were heading into battle.
But once Takumi reached a secluded corner of the lake on his own, the last traces of anticipation drained right out of him.
"…So yeah," he muttered, splashing water over himself, "I can't see a damn thing."
And he didn't bother trying to cheat with special vision either. Peeking at a goddess—even one sealed—was the kind of stupid move that got you caught. He preferred patience. The slow win.
He rinsed off, dressed, and headed back to camp, still hearing the girls' laughter drifting across the lake.
"Do you think Takumi-san will peek?"
"He's so upright… I don't think he will."
"He's still a man! What man wouldn't peek?!"
…
Takumi sighed as he walked.
"Feels like if I don't peek, I'm somehow less of a man."
And then he stepped into the camp clearing—and froze.
A slender, breathtaking figure stood in the center of the camp, facing the moon.
Artemis.
She wore nothing but a towel wrapped around her body, damp hair clinging to her neck. The moonlight poured over her pale skin, making her glow like she'd been carved out of silver. Bare shoulders, clean collarbones, and the soft curve of her breasts rising above the edge of the towel.
She had no extra softness anywhere. Her body was lean and athletic, but the places that mattered were still richly, undeniably big.
Someone like that wasn't pretty.
She was dangerous.
"Who's there?!" Artemis snapped, spinning sharply.
For an instant her eyes were pure killing intent—cold, decisive, the goddess who shot first and asked questions never.
Then her gaze landed on Takumi.
And the killing intent vanished like mist.
"…Takumi-kun?"
Her voice faltered. She clutched the towel tighter, cheeks warming, then lowered herself to sit by the fire like she needed something steady to hold onto.
"Why are you here?!"
Takumi walked closer, relaxed but curious, and sat across from her.
"That's what I should be asking, Artemis-sama. Shouldn't you be with Rethusa and Lante?"
Artemis's eyes darted away.
"…They said you might peek," she admitted, almost inaudible. "I got… nervous. So I came back first."
Takumi stared.
"I left early so you wouldn't misunderstand me."
They looked at each other.
Silent.
Then Artemis's lips twitched—and she burst into a laugh she couldn't stop.
"Haha… so that's what happened," she said, eyes softening. "We… had the same idea."
The way she looked at him changed in that moment—less guarded, more tender, almost warm. Not the distant goddess judging men like animals… but a woman seeing something rare.
A man who could restrain himself.
Takumi shrugged, half amused.
He wasn't peeking for a bunch of reasons—one of them being that Artemis was here, and the other being that he'd already burned off plenty of steam earlier. Right now he was calm enough to keep his hands to himself.
After the awkwardness settled, Takumi leaned forward slightly and smiled, teasing.
"Back there, I honestly thought you were about to kill me."
Artemis tilted her head, dead serious.
"If it were the old me, I would've shot you immediately."
She wasn't lying.
There had been men—and even male gods—who'd tried to approach her while she bathed.
They never got close.
That reputation was why the male gods kept their distance.
And what shocked her now—what unsettled her down to the bone—was that when she saw it was Takumi, she hadn't felt even a trace of that murderous instinct.
Instead, a thought had surfaced naturally, without effort.
If it's him… then it's fine.
Artemis tightened her grip on the towel again, as if that could hold her mind together.
"I don't feel like myself," she whispered, almost frightened by the confession. "Is this what Aphrodite meant by… love?"
Takumi heard her clearly.
He didn't laugh.
He just spoke gently, like the answer was obvious.
"Nothing stays the same forever. Not even gods. I think what matters is what you actually like… and whether you're happy."
That hit Artemis right in the chest.
Because it echoed the conversation she'd had with her girls earlier—word for word in spirit.
And under the moon, with the fire crackling between them, the goddess of chastity realized something terrifying.
Her heart was already moving.