In truth, something had been strange from the very beginning.
Why had Lady Artemis, who hated men, deliberately singled out someone like me—someone with his face completely hidden—and dragged him along? If I was going to doubt anything, that should have been the first thing to question.
But I didn't. No, I couldn't.
"Why?"
Because I believed she would never do something like that? Because I had no right to doubt her?
Yes, both of those were true. But neither of them was a reason.
Why on earth hadn't I doubted her...?
"I..."
I hadn't failed to doubt her.
I had only chosen to look away after doubting.
Why? The answer was simple.
-Because I wanted to be with her.
It was an impossible wish from the start. Even if all I could have was a time full of wounds, I still wanted to see the expression she wore when she was happy.
I wanted to hold that scene from then in my eyes once more. Even if I knew how it would end, I still wanted it.
The tears, the promise, the despair from that time.
They still bound me tight, and I had selfishly hoped that this time spent with her might ease that weight, even a little.
How ugly. I was so ashamed of myself that I couldn't even lift my head.
I kept telling myself she wasn't the same woman I knew, that she must not be. And yet, in my heart, I had already begun to look at the moonlight she and I knew with the same eyes.
"This... isn't good..."
It shouldn't be like this. This was wrong.
I shouldn't be doing this. I had to stop right now.
Even though I knew that better than anyone, why was I...
"Vesta-kun! Say something already!"
"!"
"Vesta-kun, were you really da-da-da-dating this lady?! For real? And you left your sister behind?!"
"Hmm, sister, is it? I'd like to hear more about that part in detail."
The sharp voice snapped me out of my thoughts. Lady Meteria, her snow-white hair fluttering like mine, was shouting at me. Lady Artemis listened to her words with great interest.
While I had been lost in thought for a moment, the situation had already started spiraling into complete chaos.
"And you sleep together with your sister every day! How could you do this!"
"Oh? Orion. Is what this woman says true?"
"Huh? Uh... I..."
Lady Artemis was smiling, but her eyes were not smiling at all.
Was that the same kind of gaze Lord Hermes had described, like looking at a pig? Somehow it felt like I had seen something I shouldn't have. While trying to escape from reality, I desperately searched for an answer.
Wait, what had she said? Did I sleep together with Lady Arphia?
I almost blurted out, "Don't talk nonsense!" but then a thought suddenly stopped me cold.
Come to think of it, I had been falling asleep while holding onto her lately. If that was the case, then it wasn't exactly a lie... was it?
But if I said, "Yes, that's right," my instincts screamed that it wouldn't end with just getting slapped on both cheeks, and clamped my mouth shut. As I fumbled for an answer in a daze, the gazes of the two women sharpened.
-What is this, a lovers' quarrel?
-That white hair... haven't I seen it somewhere before?
-One's a beauty and one's a goddess. What kind of bastard is that guy?
-A two-timer...? Tch, lucky bastard!
The crowd's attention kept gathering. And with it, my headache only grew worse.
If I said yes, that would be bad. But if I said no, it would be a lie and I'd be exposed. I was completely cornered.
As I failed to answer, the looks directed at me grew sharper and sharper. If those gazes had physical force, I was sure I'd already have been sliced into seventeen pieces.
I had to come up with some excuse. Life wasn't multiple choice; it was subjective, so there had to still be freedom in the answer.
The world wasn't made only of yes and no. There had to be some reply that would let me avoid their anger.
"Uh..."
But no answer came to mind as easily as I'd expected. No matter which possibility I considered, I could see one outcome or another falling apart.
Huh. Maybe I was in more danger than I thought?
No, that wasn't right. I was a veteran adventurer who had seen it all. If there was no path forward, then forcing open a blocked route was just another ordinary day.
Yes, this was no different from an adventure.
Then it was time to use my best move.
"Excuse me for a moment..."
"Hm? What are you—"
"Vesta-kun...? What are you suddenly doing in the middle of talking—"
With my one arm, I gently lifted Lady Artemis up.
By now, some people probably guessed what I was about to do.
Yes. What I was about to do now was my culmination, my everything.
"I'm running away."
"What?"
The moment I pushed off with my legs, the wind whipped past and the scenery changed in an instant.
"Kyaaa?!"
Holding Lady Artemis, who let out an uncharacteristically cute scream, I tightened my grip and ran without stopping until I reached a place with no one around.
Leaving behind Artemis Familia, Lady Meteria, and the various other gazes that had been fixed on us.
"...?"
Then I suddenly realized that one gaze had not disappeared.
It was a strangely familiar gaze, and yet not familiar at all. When I turned my head slightly, Lady Arphia came into view, glaring at me from far away.
"Uh..."
Her eyes looked fierce. For a moment, a hard-to-read gaze—something like contempt, something like reproach—was directed at me. Then, as if giving up, she turned away and descended from Babel without another word.
"..."
I didn't really know what that was about... but at least it seemed like I'd drawn her attention away.
Honestly, I didn't have the room to deal with her right now anyway.
My head was already full just from the goddess in my arms, and I had no attention left to spare for anyone else.
"Orion, this feels wonderful!"
As if her earlier panic had been a lie, she adapted quickly and laughed like a child, looking around with a curious expression. I swallowed the urge to lift my head and kept moving my legs in silence.
*
Of course, the moment Artemis and I broke into a run, the place exploded into chaos.
-Lady Artemis?!?!
-That rotten rabbit bastard?!
-Find her! Hurry and find the goddess!
-I'll never forgive him, how dare he lay hands on Lady Artemis's sacred body and even kidnap her, I've only ever imagined it and tried not to even touch a finger in reality but aaah, my beautiful goddess has been polluted by that filthy man's hands, if I don't purify her with my own skin right now—
Artemis Familia, of course.
"Vestaaa..."
"Hmm... this is..."
The onlookers, the fairy and the girl, were left stunned.
"...Artemis."
One goddess wore a complicated expression at the fleeting look she had seen on the other goddess's face.
"R-r-r-ran away?! A lovers' elopement?! They were that close?!"
"Meteria! Calm down for a second!"
The white-haired woman was in a frenzy, unable to hide her shock and excitement at the situation.
Only after the unremarkable man calmed her down with a cold sweat did Meteria finally regain her senses.
She had been about to chase after him and demand answers, but by then not even a shadow of him remained.
Worse still, the sun was beginning to set, and the Harvest Festival was approaching its peak.
"..."
Meteria fell into thought. This was the highlight of the date she had planned. If she chased after them now, everything would be ruined in an instant.
But if she ignored her sister's feelings for the sake of her own romance, that didn't sit right with her either.
After a brief moment of thought, Meteria quickly reached a conclusion.
"My sister will handle it herself."
After all, her own romance came first.
She could interrogate Vesta later. But the night of the Harvest Festival would not wait until next year if she missed it today.
She absolutely couldn't waste any more time if she wanted to complete the plan she had prepared. Her sister might have a hard time. No, cruel as it sounded, her sister's hardship would only raise the success rate of her plan!
Now all that remained was how to lure this timid man properly. He was quick when it came to running away, so it was important not to lose him here.
There was no helping it. She would have to use that method here.
"...Eep."
"Hm? Meteria, did you just do something?"
Thump. Her fist, packed with all her strength, slammed into the back of his neck. The man scratched at the spot and looked as if he thought some dust had gotten on him.
"...Tch."
Unfortunately, it didn't work as well as it had with her sister. The difference between Lv.0 and Lv.4 was that overwhelming.
No choice. Time for Plan C.
"M-my leeeeg."
"Me, Meteria?!"
Staggering, Meteria collapsed with a voice so natural it sounded like she was acting with her toes. Cranel rushed over without a shred of suspicion and expressed his concern.
It stung her conscience, but there was no helping it. After all, special opportunities were necessary if a relationship was ever going to progress.
If she gave up over something as small as a guilty conscience, then he and she would remain deadlocked like this forever.
"Cr, Cra...nel...! My, my leeeeg hurts so muuuuch!"
"This is bad! Get on my back right now, I'll take you to Hera Familia...!"
"It's, it's too far there! There's an inn right over there, so let's go there!"
"O-okay, I get it. Hang in there a little longer, Meteria!"
At the flustered man's clueless behavior, Meteria grew anxious and even threw away her awkwardness as she shouted. Fortunately, the man was so oblivious that he didn't even notice that much.
As the two of them disappeared into the inn, the sunset sky began to darken.
In her arms, the handcuffs the witch had used on the rabbit gleamed.
The lovers' time began now.
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