Atalanta was, of course, completely serious.
Even knowing the man before her was incredibly strong—one of the three "Kings" of Uruk, a being on par with Lady Enkidu herself, and comparable to a chief god in strength—she still intended to settle the humiliation she'd suffered.
And not just that—she'd also punish him for making Lady Enkidu wait thousands of years!
"So, if you're going to fight, just fight. Could you at least stop biting?" On the shore, Rovi lifted his hand, staring blankly at Atalanta, who had latched onto his arm with her teeth and refused to let go no matter how hard he shook.
The forest girl, whose long hair resembled Enkidu's but was a shade duller with faint hints of blonde, didn't reply—she merely clung stubbornly to Rovi's arm.
Their "battle" had ended in an instant. Their previous encounters already demonstrated the huge gap in their abilities. Even if Rovi stood completely still, Atalanta couldn't hurt him in the slightest.
She knew this clearly herself, which is why from the beginning Atalanta never intended to defeat Rovi.
She just wanted to disgust him—to harass him!
"Uwaaauuu!"
She made muffled beast-like noises while gnawing. Rovi glanced at her from the side, eyes drifting over her slightly arched hips, slender waist, and the animal ears poking out from her messy hair.
Wait—animal ears?
As a Greek hero whose legend would spread far into the future, Atalanta herself was naturally a demigod. Honestly, among famous Greek figures, it was rarer to find someone who didn't have divine blood in their veins.
Greece coexisted with the gods, who freely indulged themselves and reproduced with mortals, creating countless demigods and monsters—a certain infamous human-shaped artillery, the King of the Gods, was particularly notorious in this regard.
Demigods often possessed unusual characteristics, such as Heracles's sculpted physique.
In Atalanta's case... it was clearly those cat ears atop her head.
"If you don't let go, don't blame me for being rude," Rovi sighed helplessly.
"Uwuwaa!" Kill me if you dare—Lady Enkidu won't forgive you!
This time, she brought up Enkidu rather than Artemis.
Atalanta was clever.
But of course, Rovi had no intention of killing her. After all, she'd been raised by En herself.
"Eeh—!?" Atalanta suddenly trembled, letting out a strange noise.
Rovi had gently grabbed hold of her ears, fingers rubbing the soft fur lightly.
A mysterious sensation instantly spread through Atalanta's body, causing her to weaken. Her demigod beast ears greatly sharpened her senses—but precisely because of this, they were also an extremely sensitive spot.
Thus, her tightly clenched teeth loosened, and her supple body, lithe yet muscular, began squirming involuntarily. Her face flushed bright red as she slumped forward into Rovi's embrace, her rounded hips softly bumping against his thigh through the thin fabric.
Rovi was about to withdraw his hand and use this opportunity to leave—
"Aha! Seems like I came back at a bad time. Who knew the Sage of Uruk was such a ladies' man?"
A teasing voice suddenly sounded near Rovi's ear. Hermes hovered nearby in midair, looking ready to enjoy the show. "Don't mind me, please continue—"
Only then did Atalanta snap back to her senses—she had to admit, their current position was truly ambiguous.
She immediately jumped upright.
As for Rovi… he silently clenched his fists.
"I said don't mind me, I've got stuff to do, gotta go—hey, don't grab me! Wait, you promised you'd go easy next time!"
Who could've guessed his recent promise would come in handy so quickly?
A few moments later…
With waves gently crashing against the shore and sunlight warmly baking the soft sand, Atalanta stared blankly at the bruised and battered messenger god Hermes, then shifted her gaze to Rovi, who was brushing off his hands.
She once again began grinding her teeth fiercely.
Humiliated—and worse yet, humiliated in front of a god again!
Damn you, Sage…
The princess of Arcadia's Paradise flushed scarlet.
"Um, look—I think one beating is enough?" Hermes raised his hands pitifully, having lost every bit of dignity a god close to the chief gods ought to have. "I just happened to pass by! Seriously, I only just arrived—I didn't see whatever you two were doing before!"
He should've known better than to open his mouth.
Of course, even if he'd kept quiet, Rovi would've instantly noticed his arrival.
Moreover, Hermes was playful by nature—clapping his hands and joining the fun was practically instinctive.
"So, back already? What did you actually come here for?" Rovi arched an eyebrow.
"I came just to deliver a message," Hermes answered quickly. "Didn't you say you wanted to become a hero?"
"Recently, a young man named Jason has gathered a group of heroes to journey across the seas in search of the legendary Golden Fleece, the symbol of wealth and adventure."
"If you join them, you'll surely become a famous hero, remembered throughout history!"
Hermes spoke with an ingratiating smile, and seeing Rovi fall into contemplation, he quickly seized the chance to slip away.
He'd interrupted someone else's "moment"—he'd be crazy not to flee before another beating.
Rovi was indeed deep in thought. Jason, the Golden Fleece… He instantly knew what would come next.
The voyage of the Argo.
A legendary journey, where every hero gathered on the ship Argo would be remembered by future generations.
How could he miss such a chance?
Rovi smiled faintly.
He'd already caught the attention of the gods, but it wasn't enough yet!
At least the greatest among the three chief gods hadn't noticed him yet.
His journey toward "death" had only just begun!
"So… Are you going back or what?" He turned toward Atalanta.
"I… I won't let you off so easily!" Atalanta flushed, glaring at him.
"Suit yourself, then," Rovi replied indifferently.
According to the original legend, Atalanta would join this adventure anyway.
"What do you mean, suit myself!?" Atalanta instantly bristled again. "Stop making it sound like I'm stalking you!"
"Wait, you're not?"
"Of course not—!"
"Then you're free to do whatever, aren't you?"
"…"
...
Young Jason had gathered a band of great heroes aboard his legendary ship, blessed by the gods, determined to cross the vast seas and complete their grand adventure.
Jason, Heracles, Orpheus… countless famous names joined the crew.
Yet after overcoming countless obstacles, they finally arrived at their destination—only to find someone else had beaten them to it.
—The Voyage of the Argonauts
...
Half a day later.
After once more sailing across the Aegean Sea, Rovi stared deeply at the land before him.
"Where are we?" Atalanta, gripping her bow, stood atop a rock, looking toward the palace rising in the distance.
"We're in the Kingdom of Colchis, in the Caucasus region—the place where the Golden Fleece lies," Rovi forced out through clenched teeth.
He slowly turned his gaze to the sea, raising a middle finger toward the certain "King of the Seas" who'd propelled him here.
I wanted to join the Argo crew, not arrive directly at the fucking finish line!
Beneath the Aegean Sea, amid gently waving seaweed and shimmering lights, a beautiful figure with flowing dark blue hair and ambiguous gender opened its bright blue eyes, instantly catching sight of Rovi's gesture.
The Sage's hand signal.
Was this… his way of paying respect?
---
T/N: LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry i should compose myself... LAMLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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