I Became Artemis’ Boyfriend

The seasoned politician hidden beneath Eros’ cheerful demeanor left quite an impression, but he had just abruptly departed.

Leaving behind a request that was hard to refuse.

Actually, it wasn’t a request at all. It was a petty threat.

To offer the Golden Pen to Athena, who has the most righteousness, and then shoot arrows of emotion…

Since Aphrodite is his mother, he deliberately avoided mentioning her name so it wouldn’t appear personal.

His political skills were truly something to marvel at.

In the end, yet another headache-inducing issue arose.

But with plenty of time to spare, I pushed the matter aside for the moment.

After cleaning up the scattered feathers Eros left behind, I headed for the cafeteria.

Because the tense confrontation with Eros had just drained a lot of mental energy and made me quickly hungry.

“Let’s eat lunch a little early.”

I opened the door and went in.

Not a single one of the gods who had filled the breakfast table this morning was around. The atmosphere was quite subdued, and it was very quiet.

Instead, our goddess, Artemis, was sitting in the corner of the table munching deliciously on a hamburger.

Oh my, that bruised pride.

Was her pride so greatly injured that she can just keep eating?

This is a major incident where Artemis, one of the Twelve Olympians representing Olympus, was disregarded by a regular higher-ranking god.

If it were me, I’d be too upset to sleep and would immediately request disciplinary action from Olympus.

“…Is it good?”

“…Yeah.”

Artemis glanced at me sideways, just rolling her eyes.

Did she sense that I was looking at her with pity and sympathy?

Turning her head back to the front, she finished off the rest of her hamburger.

Seeing how she prioritized the hamburger in front of her over embarrassment filled me with a sea of sympathy.

Thinking about it, how much have those around her shaken Artemis?

Starting with my confession,

The misunderstanding between Athena and me,

The conflict with Aphrodite,

And today’s humiliation at the hands of Eros.

Listing these thoughts showed that I was somehow involved in every conflict.

If I hadn’t been around,

Would Artemis still be comfortably enjoying her freedom without any worries?

For an instant, I thought about that.

But I quickly shook those negative thoughts out of my mind.

If she’s 50 degrees sad now, then I’ll give her 100 degrees of happiness.

Let’s have positive thoughts.

Yeah, that’s right!

Let’s use this moment as a good chance to cheer up my girlfriend.

“Artemis.”

I softly called out her name and sat across from her.

Looking at her from the front, she seemed quite adorable, like a wet, dejected puppy.

“Huh? What?”

“Didn’t Eros make you feel terrible?”

I gently caressed her heart a little.

This time, Artemis, who crossed her arms, snapped her head in the opposite direction and stuck out her lower lip.

“Hmph! Not, not really. I just let Eros win to test how you, my priest, would act when I’m in trouble.”

Well…she’d die before letting go of her pride.

Yeah.

It’s understandable if you think of her as a superior who doesn’t want to show any weakness in front of her subordinates.

“So? How well did I protect you? How many points?”

“4… 49 points…?”

After breaking Eros’ fingers and making a bet with him, I didn’t even get half the score?!

How can the score be saltier than salt?

“Isn’t the score a bit too low?”

“Hmph! The rest of the points are for you to earn in the future. Keep working on it.”

Artemis proudly puffed her chest out, but with burger sauce on her mouth, there wasn’t a hint of dignity.

“Alright, alright. And…”

“Ugh! Whistle… whistle…”

Artemis started whistling and ignored me as if she had a sense of what I was about to say.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know, Artemis. Are you still carrying guilt over misunderstanding the situation between me and Athena?”

“Uh… well, it’s done, but… it kind of lingers, you know?”

“What lingers?”

“Even though it was a misunderstanding… I really tried to get rid of you and Big Sister…”

“Hmm…”

There are various kinds of people in this world.

On one hand, there are those who throw away feelings of guilt as soon as apologies are accepted.

On the other, there are those who struggle, tormented by guilt even after their actions are forgiven.

I thought that this lawless problematic goddess couldn’t feel an ounce of regret…

But I didn’t expect her to have such a tender heart too.

“If you feel that sorry, Artemis… Will you do me a favor?”

To someone like her, saying, “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it,” would be fine.

But there’s a better method:

It’s by allowing her to erase her debt herself.

And naturally, if that achieves my purpose, it’s perfect—a double win for me.

“What kind of favor?”

“Introduce me to one god that you’re friendly with.”

I brought up the introduction matter again that fell through due to laundry chaos last time.

Now that Eros has become my enemy,

There are now three gods who harbor hostility toward me: Zeus, Aphrodite, and Eros.

But my allies count only Poseidon and Athena, just two.

In order to balance the power, I have to recruit an additional high-ranking god during this opportunity.

Since Artemis is one of the Twelve Olympians, there’s a good chance she’s friends with another reputable high-ranking god.

Hehehe.

It feels like setting a foreign policy for an entire kingdom, and my heart races.

The strategy of gathering friendly gods to protect me pleases me quite a bit.

At worst, I can gather up all the gods who bear grudges against me and take them out—

“None?”

“Say… what? None?”

“Yep. None.”

“…”

Her refreshingly confident answer dispels the summer heat.

Her audaciousness left me speechless.

Have I underestimated her recluse goddess lifestyle in the mountains?

“How about Ares? At least you’re both third-generation gods, right? Shouldn’t you have chats occasionally because you’re around the same age?”

“Why would I associate with that buffoon?”

“What about Hades? He’s your uncle, right?”

“If I even talk to that creepy guy for a second, it would make me yawn.”

“W-Wait, what about Apollo? You can’t possibly tell me that there’s no bond between siblings?”

“Talking to a narcissist will drive me insane!”

You’re wrong.

If this is the level, asking about other gods would be just as futile.

My carefully planned strategy was blown away like autumn leaves in the wind.

“Artemis… you’re amazing.”

Clap. Clap. Clap.

I applauded three times blandly.

Her slight upward curl on her lips stopped mid-motion as she realized my compliment might have been sarcasm.

Realizing this a bit late, her face turned red.

She glared at me once she realized the dire state of her relationships with other gods.

“What? What’s the mockery about?”

“They say even a fleeting encounter is fate, yet how can you still not have any friends after living thousands of years?”

The moment Artemis slammed her hands on the table and stood up, her expression filled with grievance as she glowered at me.

Her slanted eyes seemed pretty terrifying, so I unconsciously flinched.

“Insolent! Ark, you don’t have friends either!”

“What? Don’t even start! I have plenty of—”

I froze midway in my confident rebuttal.

Definitely on Earth, I had quite a few friends.

But in this world?

Even though I occasionally get along well with a few uncles and aunts, I don’t have local friends of my own age.

Right? Why don’t I have any friends?

No, wait. I clearly have one friend.

“There is! Iris, an absolutely stunningly smart friend!”

“A- Are you serious? How is Iris your friend?”

What’s this? Does Artemis know Iris?

I met her in Jake’s carriage.

“Do you know Iris?”

“Ah! Ah… No? I don’t know her! B- But… anyway… uh… You! How many times have you even met her?”

As she fumbled with words, she deflected the topic.

Just like catching a rat by a retreating ox, she delivered a very critical question to me.

“…Once.”

“What?! You’re joking!”

“…”

“Hmph! They say a dog with poop on its tail doesn’t judge another dog covered in chaff—well, that’s exactly what you’re doing!”

Artemis, gaining momentum, sneered with one side of her mouth lifted.

Her scolding finger looked particularly insufferable today, as if she had practiced it multiple times.

“First off, why bring this up about me being hated by your dad—it’s your fault, isn’t it?”

“Then why did you bring it up?! I couldn’t just sit idly by and watch Athena’s heart rot!”

“Hmph! You don’t realize that your life is as fragile as a candle in the wind.”

Her words stung me deep.

We should draw a line during our feuds, even when we bicker.

Is she worried about me?

“To think you’d say that while protecting you led me to have a feud with Eros?”

“Pfft, like I needed your help! I could’ve chased him away with just one punch, you know?”

“Yuup~ The reality is being bullied by a little kid who flicks fingers at you. Your stuttering shows you were really scared. Pwahaha hahaha.”

“Yuup~ The reality is trying to impress your girlfriend by showing off and ruining your life. Heh heh hahaha!”

We continuously exchange fiery barbs without taking a breath.

Artemis, you little—

When did her wordplay improve so much?

She used to be bad at arguments, always ending in tantrums and stubbornness!

Somehow,

You could say she’s becoming more like me, and getting really good at verbal spars.

“…”

“…”

Breathless, we exchanged glances after a beat of silence.

Aware that digging further would end in mutual destruction.

“Phew hahaha!”

“Ke ke ke ke ke ke ke!”

It devolved into this immature competition of who laughs the loudest.

Even though we both realized it’s meaningless, we kept going.

The competitive spirit wouldn’t let us stop.

Eventually, my throat got dry, and I ceased laughing first, followed by her.

“Phew~”

I massaged my temples as I sighed.

What should I do?

I need to start networking myself but have no clue where to begin.

And at that moment, Artemis poked my shoulder.

“What?”

“Is Nike okay?”

“Nike? Who’s that?”

“Aren’t you a priest? How do you not know Victory’s Goddess, Nike?”

“Ah! That Nike! Of course, I know her!”

I slapped my hands together, recalling Nike, the Goddess of Victory in my mind.

Though not one of the Twelve Olympians, humans consistently worshipped Nike due to the immense importance of victory in ancient wars.

But why did she bring up Nike?

“Nike, she’s always groveling around Athena. What about meeting her?”

“Is Nike near Athena?”

“Yeah, almost like a running mate.”

Athena is my reliable ally.

It would be much easier to recruit Nike, who is under Athena, than other unfamiliar deities.

Nice! Great suggestion, Artemis!

“You can be helpful once in a while?”

“Once? Are you serious? Do you want to die?”

“Aha hah hah! Now’s not the time for that. Let’s go now!”

“What? Me too?”

“Of course!”

I grabbed Artemis’ wrist and headed straight for the major city where Athena resides.

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