Greek Demon Myth

40 – Kariclo and the Forest of Heroes

“Did you contact the Hephaestus Workshop?”

“I can’t get a large order from Olympus right now!”

“The architects of Athena?”

“Now they all went to Athens on a business trip to build the Great Temple of Olympia!”

The cabin of Kariclo, where we were supposed to be the first to drop by and say hello, was very busy.

Amidst the bustle of crowds, where herald birds flew restlessly and nymphs and centaurs were busy running around carrying papyrus scrolls and slabs, Cariclo was busiest at work.

“It’s a very familiar sight”

“Is it familiar?”

“Uh… That’s right, ah. When I was entrusting myself to the temple of Zeus, the grandfather of the high priest was so busy during festivals.”

Actually, what I recalled after the Moorim conquest was me in my previous life, who fell into the paper hell, not the master training.

Kariklo seemed as busy as Grandpa Nana Pharos in his previous life.

“Cariclo-sama, it just happened like this. Demolish the Colosseum and build another building instead…”

“Let’s destroy the combat practice field blessed by the god of war? Please, I hope there are no wild boars around here.”

Don’t talk nonsense, Chariclo reprimanded the centaur for commenting.

Even so, her eyes and hands could not be still for a moment, writing nonstop and reading from the slate.

“Looks like you’re busy. Shall we come later?”

“But why is your mother so busy?”

“What happened!”

I don’t know how they heard our voices in the midst of this commotion, but Cariclo, who had come out through the crowd and spotted Atalanta, beckoned her to come this way.

“Mother of Cariclo!”

“Tally! I just had something to give you, and that’s great!”

Cariclo, who embraces Atalanta with a bright smile, can be described as an ancient business woman.

Dark green long hair neatly swept back, blue eyes full of tiredness typical of office work under heavy workload.

Even the peplos, a white Greek-style women’s wear that remains undisturbed even though it is trembling.

Overall, the appearance of the two, who matched well while strangely contrasting with the fiery Atalanta, was rather closer to Atalanta’s mother than the child of the crescent moon.

“Now, this is the scented oil that came to you as a present. Read the directions written on the surface of the amphora carefully. And…”

I handed Atalante a small porcelain amphora the size of my palm under the desk, and Chariclo glared at me without erasing a refreshing smile.

That’s right. I wasn’t looking, I was staring.

It’s as if you’re looking at the truth, not the truth, as if you had placed a troublesome spell right before the deadline.

“Dianes huh…?”

“How are you?”

Unlike when I greeted Atalante by her nickname, Cariclo looked at me with a face that asked me what to do with this nuisance.

“Ehh… No. How could this be your fault? It’s just my fault for giving the forest to Chiron.”

Saying that, Kari Claw let out a deep sigh and shook his head.

Then he smiled at me and said hello.

“Caricloranda, the hostess of the Forest of Heroes, is in charge of taking care of the little heroes. Let’s get along well in the future”

“hahahaha… Thank you very much”

Looking at the picture of the document lying on the desk, I could understand why Cariclo didn’t look at me so kindly.

The title at the top of the document was Ares Memorial Coliseum Reconstruction Plan.

“That… You’ve unintentionally offended me. Sorry”

I know that feeling well.

When I was still the head of the Heavenly Demon Church.

It is said that the battalion’s lodgings were blown away thanks to the energetic subordinates who ran amok.

I had to rot the headache until the next morning to come up with a solution and follow-up measures after hearing the report by Gwihyeonsa right before I left work.

I also went to visit the bastard’s unit and turned it over. Cariclo also couldn’t look good at the job that suddenly fell like lightning and the troublemaker who brought it.

Still, seeing that she smiled and greeted me, I could only guess that the years she worked as a hostess in the Forest of Heroes were not ordinary years.

“Huhu, but I’m glad that So Young-woong, who came in this time, is able to speak beautifully. Heracles and Theseus laughed proudly, saying that a man only needs to build a building or two.”

“Did you save him?”

“I didn’t give you food for three days, and then I came and begged for it.”

As expected, it’s not usually heartfelt.

Three days and nights, not the bombing of Wonsan, but only three days of starvation to end the corporal punishment?

Cariclo was an office worker with enough patience and benevolence to earn my respect.

“Your compassion is comparable to Hestia.”

“Isn’t that what you see?”

Although starving children can be seen as severe enough corporal punishment from the perspective of the 21st century.

Considering that those guys who starved for three days were possessors of superpowers who could completely devour buildings, even a 21st-century accident could be considered a reasonable corporal punishment.

“Right. Ask your mother! If everyone can’t solve the riddle until the end, I’ll bring them all to Cariclo’s mother!”

“A riddle? Ah, did Hermes come and go? He said he would send a messenger to Olympus when he came!”

Hermes… How come he even popped his eyes excessively and disappeared through teleportation?

I guess he ran away because he feared that his job would increase if he got caught by Mr. Kariclo.

The mountain of scrolls and slabs that filled the desk trembled dangerously at Kariclo’s rage as he slammed the desk down.

It would be dangerous to ask him to solve the riddle at his leisure.

“You are busy with work, so it would be difficult for me to ask you to lighten my luggage.”

“…Unlike other kids his age, he’s thoughtful. I can see why Atalanta fell in love in one day.”

“Mom!”

Atalante and Chariclo are laughing and arguing amicably.

As expected, daughters and mothers should look like that.

She nodded her head in her heart and watched her mother and daughter silently. Atalanta slipped out of Kariclo’s arms and crossed her arms around mine.

“Then let’s go!”

“Yes, I will be busy looking around this forest. Hurry up and go”

“Then see you later”

As I was about to leave after saying hello to Cariclo, who was entering office mode again, an idea popped into my head.

“Aren’t you trying to contact the Cyclops?”

As far as I vaguely remember, I remembered that the Cyclops, the one-eyed giants, were also blacksmiths on par with Hephaestus.

It is said that they originally forged the three sacred instruments of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, the three gods of Olympus.

In addition, once Kronos was born, Chiron and the Cyclops, who had a past that was equally hated by him, might be surprisingly good friends.

“Three Cyclops?”

“They are blacksmiths by nature, but I heard there is nothing they can’t make with a hammer. Could it be possible?”

As if he hadn’t even thought of my suggestion, Cari Claw put his chin on his chin and started calculating.

“A Cyclops… I’ll have to think about it. Come to think of it, when Hephaestus moved to Mount Etna, he said that three of them also retired and settled in Sicily… Polyphemon!”

From what I’ve heard, Chiron and Chariclo are immortals respected by the gods of Olympus.

The Colosseum we hammocked was also said to be a gift from Ares, so I wondered if the story would reach them, but fortunately it seems to have worked out well.

“Then let’s go!”

“Go with caution!”

Leaving behind Cariclo, which had begun to be buried under the slabs and scrolls again, Atalanta and I busily looked around the Forest of Heroes.

“There is a camp of centaurs guarding the entrance to the forest to the north, the nymphs live in Kariclo-sama’s territory in the center of the forest we saw earlier, and we also live in the central residential area next to it.”

“Yeah, you mean the place I was busy passing by?”

Like a package tour guide, Atalanta happily walked through the forest with his arms crossed.

Still, nymphs, centaurs, and all sorts of little heroes cheered or gave jealous glances at her walking around arm in arm with a beautiful girl who would not be lacking even if compared to a goddess.

More important than those trivial things is that Atalanta is the second person who makes me realize the change.

“Hey there! There’s something new in the Hermes market!”

“Go slow, you’ll fall”

“I don’t have time for that!”

When that small hand pulled me, watching my body being pulled, I realized that although I lost my martial arts and body, the responsibility that had been assigned to me also disappeared.

“Who is that pretty girl?”

“Atalanta? Isn’t that Atalanta?”

“Whoa, whoa… Ha, shall we talk?”

“Hey, be quiet. The boy next to you is Dianes, a freshman.”

“How could… He’s so handsome…”

“…Sheesh. A guy like a parasitic brother”

I realized that I was no longer an absolute being who aroused fear and awe, but a small child who could laugh and talk normally.

“Dianes? What’s wrong? Is it hard?”

“…No, nothing”

The mad feeling of alienation and emptiness I felt when I first set foot in this forest.

That kind of empty feeling is slowly being pushed away and instead takes its place.

It was a colorful and unfamiliar emotion that I thought I had already buried in my previous life.

As I walked behind the beautiful female hunter in a daze at the vivid emotions I had never felt in a strict orphanage.

At some point, we were sitting in the middle of the forest where we had the banquet last time.

“hehehehe..! hehehe…! This, it’s over!”

“That’s why you said you run around too much”

Atalante, who pulled me straight to see what was so exciting and ran briskly, exhausted herself at the end.

The thing that made sense was that the Forest of Heroes was a forest of horses, almost reminiscent of a polis.

It is divided into twelve blessed districts, each named after the gods of Olympus, and each is classified into a training district, a commercial district, and an academic district according to their function.

In the eastern training area, Ares’ Colosseum, Athena’s tactical field, and Artemis’ hunting ground are located.

The commercial district to the west contained Hephaestus’ forge, Hermes’ marketplace, and Demeter’s farm.

In the southern study area, there was the Forest of Art blessed by Apollo and the Love Lake of Aphrodite.

“Heh… Heh… That. And finally, the great altar in the middle. It is the place where Hestia-sama herself kindled the eternal flame.”

I wondered why the fire in the central brazier was burning warmly even though no one was there.

Was this the realm of the furnace goddess?

As I blankly turned around to the fire heating my back, Atalanta, who had caught her breath, sneaked up to me and raised her gleaming face in front of me.

“How was it?”

Like a puppy seeking the praise of its master or a child seeking the praise of its parents, Atalanta asked me with a broad smile.