Chapter 9 Hunting Goddess

"Why don't you bow to me, you little Arcadia?"

Before coming here, Hermes kept thinking about how to build a temple to attract believers and expand her influence. Perhaps she could learn from Apollo to defeat monsters, and the famous Temple of Delphi could also provide her with inspiration!

Why not just steal that temple too? she thought jokingly.

Apollo was tending his cattle. From a distance, he appeared to be leaning against a tall, ancient tree, gracefully playing his seven-stringed lyre. The cattle grazed leisurely, scattered about, with one nuzzling affectionately beside him, quietly listening to the familiar music.

A gentle breeze swept by, scattering the lush leaves from the branches. As the God of Light stopped playing his harp and reached out to pluck the leaves from his hair and shoulders, he also heard a girl's voice calling to him.

Good morning, Brother Apollo!

The annoying brat is here again.

Thanks to her winged sandals, Hermes traveled from the cave of Courrenne to the plain where Apollo resided in less than half a minute; she was indeed as swift as the wind, as Zeus had said, capable of carrying her across mountains and rivers.

Hermes plopped down on the grass and, mimicking the white bull, sidled up next to Apollo.

He didn't look away, but his cold gaze swept over me.

"I've made up my mind, Brother Apollo! What you told me yesterday really enlightened me!" Hermes completely ignored Apollo's cold face, and even reached out to hug his arms and rub her face against his. "Building a temple sounds really wonderful, doesn't it? Why don't you take me to Delphi to see what your temple is like, dear Brother Apollo!"

After all, that was the realm of the God of Light, and no one could set foot there without his permission. Hermes was well aware of this.

She swung back and forth in his arms, reminding Apollo of how she had cried and whined in Maia's arms in the cave of Courne the night before.

They are all equally magical and irresistible.

But Apollo remained resolute; he turned his face away and silently rejected her, then began playing his lyre again, this little burden on his arm.

The originally melodious and gentle music suddenly became fast and chaotic, startling the cows so much that they all raised their heads, grass roots slipping from their mouths. Even the white cow lying on Apollo's other side ran away in fright. They stared at the little girl clinging to Apollo like an octopus, their jaws practically dropping to the ground.

"Please, Brother Apollo! Please take me with you! I swear, I promise I won't do anything bad this time, and I won't steal anything from your temple!"

Of course, stealing the entire temple doesn't count.

Even though Apollo didn't answer, Hermes wasn't giving up. She used the same trick again, forcing tears to rub on his cloak, and even planned to squeeze into his arms more arrogantly.

Then I felt a cool breeze on my head.

With a thud, Hermes rolled around on the ground, howling and screaming as she clutched the large bump on her head, while Apollo lowered his hand and calmly plucked the strings of his lyre again with his long fingers.

This time, however, he spoke amidst the music: "I can take you to Delphi."

Hermes immediately stopped pretending to be in pain and jumped up from the ground, excitedly exclaiming, "Really? Let's go over there now!"

“There are conditions, Hermes.” Apollo interrupted the brat’s happy moment, his beautifully shaped thin lips uttering meaningful words: “If you can do that, then I will take you there, and it’s fine if you want to live there.”

Last night, he thought a lot, just as she thought in her dream.

The gaze of the God of Light was too deep and distant, completely inconsistent with the color of his eyes. Hermes always felt that he was looking at something else through her.

"Then what do you want me to do, Brother Apollo?" Her eyes shone as she gazed at his indifferent face with curiosity and seriousness.

Apollo didn't want to meet her gaze into those emerald green eyes that were always veiled in pretense. He turned his face away again and used his divine power to make the deep golden scepter appear out of thin air on the grass between him and her.

The scepter's light gradually dimmed until it became an inanimate object, which Hermes then grasped tightly with both hands and picked up.

"What is this?" she murmured incredulously. "Is this your scepter, Brother Apollo? Are you going to give it to me?"

Apollo remained silent.

"Are you going to use it to test me, and then give it to me if I succeed?"

Apollo remained silent once again.

"You're going to give it to me, aren't you, Brother Apollo?"

Apollo: "...Just say you want what's mine, you brat."

The god of deception is indeed the god of theft. How could this rude and greedy fellow possibly return to Olympus and become one of the twelve Olympian gods?

But the God of Light immediately overturned this idea, because he believed that his predictions would not be wrong.

"Hehe, just kidding, Brother Apollo. How could I dare to covet what belongs to you!" Hermes scratched the back of her head and said with a smile, but her right hand was still tightly gripping the scepter. "So why did you conjure this thing? You're not really going to use it to test me, are you?"

Apollo: "...cough."

Yes, that's true.

“If you can completely remove my divine power from it and infuse it with yours, then I will agree to take you to Delphi.” Apollo continued playing the lyre, the precious treasure given to him by Hermes. “Can you do it, Hermes?”

He was the chief god of Olympus, so his power was naturally immense.

Therefore, this scepter is indeed an important part of her trial.

Thinking of this, Apollo's gaze darkened, and his eyes became even more meaningful as he looked at Hermes.

"It's nothing to worry about!" she declared confidently, raising her scepter high, making it gleam once more in the sunlight filtering through the leaves. "Rest assured, Brother Apollo, I will definitely succeed!"

That brat is quite energetic.

Seeing Hermes's energetic appearance, Apollo couldn't help but smile slightly, thinking that she did have a certain charm.

"So you'll definitely give this to me then, right? My dear brother Apollo!"

Apollo: "..."

With a deafening clang as his fingers snapped the strings, his lips twitched down again.

That brat is truly incorrigible.

This is a personality trait that makes no attempt to conceal its desire to possess what belongs to others.

Time passed slowly, until the flaming chariot of the sun god Helios crossed the horizon and headed west, and the golden-red sunset filled the entire sky, but the scepter showed no improvement.

No matter how much Hermes tossed the scepter around, it remained completely still. She even threw it into a mountain spring with purifying properties, only to be scolded by the nymph fairies who grabbed her ears.

It's quite simple to pour all her own divine power into it, but how exactly do you remove all of Apollo's divine power from inside this thing?!

Hermes was furious and almost wanted to smash the scepter on the ground to vent her anger.

As expected, the power of the God of Light was not to be underestimated. She now suspected that he had come to torment her on purpose. How could he so easily mark his possessions with his own mark?

Meanwhile, Apollo, seeing that it was getting late, put away his lyre and stood up from the grass.

When he reached Hermes, who was squatting on the ground playing with grass in frustration, and was about to walk toward the herd of cream-colored cows, he suddenly stopped.

“This is no problem for you, Hermes.” Then he walked straight past her.

After all, she is destined to become the supreme god in the future.

Her strength should be no less than his.

Hermes stared wide-eyed at Apollo's retreating figure with the herd of cattle, her fingers, which had been tearing off flowers and grass, clenched into a fist, and suddenly a raging flame rose in her eyes and behind her.

Damn it! This guy is definitely mocking me!

Hermes grabbed the damned scepter and stood up again, feeling as if the white feathers on her sandals were about to be burned to ashes by her unquenchable rage.

She flew back to the Kulenne cave with a blank expression.

Just you wait, you bastard Apollo, I will definitely get my hands on this scepter!

She knew what it meant to remove the divine power of other gods and fill it with her own, so she was determined to win this trial.

Moreover, she firmly believed that her half-brother would become her ally.

Inside the Kulenne cave, Maia, as always, had prepared a table full of sumptuous food, watching lovingly as her lovely daughter devoured all the food like a tornado.

But this child seems unusually energetic today? Did something pleasant happen outside?

Watching her daughter about to leave the cave, Maya asked, "It's so late, are you still going out to play? Hermes, where are you going?"

But Hermes simply turned to her beloved mother and gave her the same smile as always, even though her competitive spirit was still swelling inside her and was about to explode.

"Don't worry, Mother Goddess, I'm striving to become stronger."

Only by becoming stronger and stronger can one protect everything that is cherished.

Under the starlight and moonlight, Hermes arrived at the lake in the forest at the foot of the mountain. She knelt down by the lake and washed her face. With a serious expression, she looked at her reflection in the rippling water. Her reflection was as vibrant as wild grass that would grow again next year. Her large, round eyes also showed a clear sense of confidence and determination.

"Very well!" Hermes picked up the scepter placed beside her, vowing in her heart to make Apollo regret his arrogance. "I must succeed before dawn tomorrow!"

"Go Hermes! You're the best!"

She then began to try to infuse her divine power into the scepter, attempting to squeeze out all the divine power that Apollo had left inside.

A green light flickered on and around the scepter, but it only lasted for a short while before being absorbed and swallowed by the powerful golden light, disappearing completely.

Even if you fail, you start over, and then it seems like there's no end to starting over.

Even the spirits of the mountains, forests, and springs were drawn to her side, watching curiously as she did what seemed like a futile task.

"What are you doing now, little Olympian?"

"Has something happened? It was the same this afternoon. Do you need our help?"

"You must be hungry, poor little girl. Would you like some honey?"

The nymphs stroked Hermes' head and face, their comfort giving her new confidence and enabling her to respond to their tenderness with a genuine smile.

"Don't worry, I'm fine, beautiful fairy sisters, I will definitely get this scepter!"

A nymph asked in bewilderment, "But doesn't it look like it belongs to you, dear little Hermes?"

“You wouldn’t know this, Callisto!” Periusper lay down beside Hermes, propping his cheeks up with his hands as he watched her intently fiddling with the scepter. “Today, our little Hermes made a bet with His Highness Apollo. She swore she would remove all his divine power from this scepter and then fill it with all her own.”

"That's exactly right. Little Hermes even threw it into our lake, and we had to teach her a lesson for a long time!"

"My God! But how is this possible?" Several nymphs exclaimed, covering their mouths. "That's the chief god of Olympus!"

"And if we did that, wouldn't that mean—"

Suddenly, Callisto's voice stopped, and the sound of footsteps came from afar.

The nymphs all looked over, and upon seeing the newcomer, they all knelt down in awe and fear to welcome him.

As the pure white light illuminated the area, they respectfully said, "Welcome, Your Highness, Lord of the Wilderness, Mistress of the Beasts, Artemis."

Hermes, who had already sensed the aura of the chief god, looked over and saw a tall goddess.

The fair-skinned goddess wore a light brown sleeveless, fitted mini-dress, her long, straight legs adorned with matching hunting boots. Her waist-length, silver-white hair accentuated her exquisite and beautiful features, making her appear even more ethereal. A step closer revealed cat-like amber eyes.

Those cat-like eyes looked cold and ruthless, a stark contrast to the indifference of her brother Apollo. This made Hermes, who was being stared at, feel a chill run down her spine, as if she were a silent, desperate prey waiting to die.

This is the oppressive aura of Nature and the Huntress, one of the chief Olympian gods.

Following behind her was a forest nymph wearing a light white veil. She was Aresosa, the daughter of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, whose main duty was to carry and safeguard her master's silver bow and arrows.

In terms of lineage, Hermes' maternal grandmother, Pleone, was Aresosa's half-sister.

"Welcome, Your Highness Artemis." Hermes greeted the nymphs as they would the goddess of high status, but instead of greeting her, she rose from the ground and approached her with light steps.

They didn't even bother with the pretense; it looked like they were challenging that person's authority.

The god of deception and theft has always been so bold and fearless.

The nymphs knew that although Hermes was Zeus's child, Artemis, who also possessed the blood of the god-king, was clearly more powerful. Hermes's eagerness to be the first to step forward would inevitably lead to a tragic end.

Perioppe grabbed the troublesome girl by the ankle, trying to pull her down to kneel and confess to the goddess of the hunt, but she ignored him and stood tall, facing the Olympian god who had already stepped forward.

"We're doomed!" the nymphs lamented inwardly.

Especially when hearing the cold voice and words of the goddess of the hunt.

“You’re incredibly audacious.” Artemis looked down at the braided girl who barely reached her waist, her slightly narrowed eyes revealing the same chilling gaze as her brother Apollo. “Why don’t you bow to me, little Arcadia?”

On the day the goddess of the hunt returned to Olympus, she demanded from Zeus, the king of the gods, ownership of all the wild animals, forests, and lakes in the world. She not only received thirty city-states, but also control over the continents and islands.

Even Arcadia was temporarily entrusted to Apollo by her.

Hermes, who was born and lived here, should have knelt down and bowed to her like the other elves, truly welcoming her arrival.

But the truth is quite the opposite.

Artemis's gaze shifted, catching sight of the deep golden scepter that Hermes was clutching tightly in her hand.

Recalling the other party's cunning and unpredictable behavior at the Olympus banquet yesterday, a glint of light appeared in her eyes, gradually revealing a deeper meaning that was not quite real.

The next moment, Hermes' even bolder and more fearless words reached their ears.

"Because you indulge my words and actions, I have no scruples, Your Highness, the mighty and beautiful Artemis."

The god of deception and theft calmly gazed at the goddess of the hunt, who raised her eyebrows slightly upon hearing this.

Those emerald green eyes looked so incredibly bright.

[Author's Note]

Hermes: Sister!

Artemis: ...I understand Apollo's feelings.