Artemis is one of the Twelve Olympians.
She is the elder sister of Apollo, God of Light, born to Zeus, King of the Gods, and the Titan goddess Leto. She is also the most doted-upon daughter among all the gods. Zeus would grant almost any request Artemis made.
Whatever divine authorities or the wish to remain a virgin goddess Artemis asked of Zeus, he agreed without hesitation. Thus, Artemis holds an extraordinary number of domains: Goddess of the Moon, Goddess of the Hunt, Goddess of Nature, and even a portion of the domain of war.
At this moment, she stood before Jason and Atalanta, the girl who revered her above all others.
She gently stroked Jason's head.
Because he was Hecate's child, and since Hecate's mother had once saved her own, Artemis naturally felt fondness toward him.
"Me?" Artemis blinked her beautiful blue eyes and smiled at Atalanta's question. "I've been here the whole time. You two seemed to be having so much fun playing, so I simply didn't show myself."
"…Huh?"
Jason and Atalanta both froze. Jason couldn't help turning his head to look at Artemis.
Under the moonlight, Artemis wore an exquisite long dress. Though she still carried a trace of youthful innocence, she was breathtakingly beautiful.
When their eyes met, Artemis blinked and gave Jason a radiant, heart-melting smile.
"L-Lady Artemis, y-you were watching from the side the entire time?!" Atalanta's eyes widened as she raised her voice.
"Mm." Artemis nodded lightly.
"Ah… th-this… this isn't how it is, Lady Artemis!" Atalanta panicked. "It's not… I'm definitely not inferior to this guy! He's not better than me… he absolutely couldn't outrun me! I wasn't even using my full speed!"
The thought that the goddess she respected most had been watching while she made a complete fool of herself because of Jason filled Atalanta with such shame that she almost wanted to die. Her glare at Jason sharpened even further!
This left Jason feeling quite depressed.
"Mm, I know." Artemis stepped forward and gently patted Atalanta's head. "I know Atalanta is a very outstanding child."
Atalanta's eyes widened as she stood there stunned.
Lady Artemis… just patted my head?!
Lady Artemis just praised me?!
Realizing what happened, Atalanta immediately wore an expression of pure bliss.
Jason watched from the side, somewhat speechless as the wildcat-like Atalanta instantly turned into a tame housecat. After a moment of thought, he spoke up. "Um, Lady Artemis, do you already know about…"
"Jason, right?" Artemis smiled at the hesitant Jason. "Don't worry. Apollo already told me everything, so I've been watching over you ever since you entered the forest."
"I was going to appear before you right away, but…"
Her gaze wandered between Atalanta and Jason for a moment before her smile grew even brighter.
It was the smile of someone who had just discovered a pair of absolutely delightful new toys!
"You two can come with me."
With that, Artemis returned to her golden-horned deer. After leading Jason and Atalanta for a while, she brought them to a small cabin.
"It's late. Rest for tonight. We'll talk about everything else tomorrow morning."
Naturally, neither dared to object to Artemis's instructions.
Besides, after all the commotion, both were actually quite tired.
Artemis then led them to a room. Inside the room was only one bed.
Artemis looked at Atalanta and Jason with a smile. "Go ahead and sleep, children."
Hearing this, Atalanta glanced at Jason, opened her mouth as if to speak, then ultimately said nothing and climbed into bed.
Jason's mouth twitched slightly. He turned to Artemis and said, "Lady Artemis, I think I can just keep watch for the night…"
"There's no need to stand watch. You're tired too. Go sleep." Artemis replied with a gentle smile. "Tonight, the moonlight will keep watch for you."
Hearing this, Jason could only steel himself and climb in.
Fortunately, the bed was fairly large, and both of them were still just little kids, barely over ten years old!
After Artemis left, a period of awkward silence followed.
"If you dare come any closer, I'll kill you!"
Atalanta's gritted-teeth whisper reached Jason's ear.
"Don't worry. I absolutely won't!" Jason whispered back just as firmly.
"…Hmph!"
Nothing happened that night.
The next morning, Jason woke groggily to the sunlight streaming through the window.
Huh, I actually fell asleep… I must have been really exhausted last night.
As Jason thought this, he felt something tickling his ear. Turning his head, he saw Atalanta curled up, having somehow scooted over in her sleep, now resting peacefully.
Jason's body stiffened for a moment. Then, with a blank expression, he carefully moved away. He successfully got out of bed without waking her and let out a quiet sigh of relief.
I should go find Lady Artemis.
With that thought, Jason left the room.
Not long after he stepped out, Atalanta's eyes snapped wide open… As an excellent hunter, she never missed even the slightest movement!
"You're awake?" Artemis was outside gently stroking the golden-horned deer. Seeing Jason, she handed him some freshly picked fruit.
Just as Jason was thanking Artemis, Atalanta emerged from the room.
Jason couldn't help glancing at her a few times. Seeing that her expression was normal and showed no signs of anger, he finally relaxed.
"You still have to continue your journey next, right, Jason?"
While both ate the fruit, Artemis said, "In that case, let me escort you out of these mountains."
"There's really no need to trouble you, Lady Artemis. I've already hired hunters…"
"Hunters?"
Artemis tilted her head at Jason. "But didn't you already leave the payment in the tent along with a message telling them to go home?"
…She really covered all the bases, huh?
Atalanta shot Jason a sidelong glance.
If Artemis weren't here, she would genuinely want to interrogate Jason thoroughly about what kind of fit he had thrown last night to run away in the middle of the night.
And what exactly was his problem with her!
As it happens, the hunters had already woken up and were currently searching the mountains for them… Losing Jason was one thing (they had been paid, after all), but Atalanta disappearing too? Especially her uncle—he was practically beside himself with worry!
Artemis, of course, knew everything. Jason could only lower his head and silently chew his fruit, saying nothing more.
Artemis then turned to Atalanta with a smile. "So, Atalanta, will you come along?"
"Yes!" When it concerned Artemis, Atalanta answered without the slightest hesitation.