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Chapter 11: A Conversation with Artemis
The night perfectly cast a shadow over Aiden's face, concealing the fleeting emotions in his eyes.
"For some, love is the most beautiful thing in the world—a light in the darkness, hope in a desperate situation. But for others, it is the most painful poison, a heart-carving torture, an abyss of seeking what cannot be obtained."
These words made Artemis turn fully toward him.
For the first time, she examined the white-haired young man before her with genuine seriousness, devoid of any prejudice. He wasn't very old, yet those blue eyes held a vicissitude that did not match his age.
She could sense that he wasn't preaching; he was stating his own experiences.
"Are you... in pain?"
She moved a little closer to him. Her divine intuition allowed her to keenly capture the hidden emotions in his words.
"In pain?"
Aiden chewed on the word, eventually letting out a bitter laugh.
"I wouldn't call it that. It's just... unwillingness, I suppose."
He lowered his gaze, looking at the reflection of himself and the Moon Goddess in the stream, murmuring to himself.
"Love... is truly a complex thing. I apologize for dragging you into listening to such inexplicable nonsense."
Sensing she might have touched upon a sore subject, Artemis spoke with a hint of apology.
"It's fine."
Aiden shook his head, looking up to give her a relieved smile.
"That Lady Artemis is willing to converse with me is already more than I could have hoped for."
He was telling the truth. This goddess was famously averse to men. For her to speak with him so calmly was already a huge honor.
"Don't say that."
Artemis shook her head. Her green eyes now flickered with an unprecedented thirst for knowledge.
"If you can, could you tell me your story? I... want to understand more about this thing called 'love'."
Perhaps it was the impact of her children's words during the day, or perhaps it was the contradictory and deep temperament of the boy before her, but this unchanging goddess wanted to proactively understand a domain she had always resisted for the first time.
"Me?"
Aiden smiled self-deprecatingly.
"There's really nothing to tell. I'm just a paranoid fool suffering from unrequited love."
He tilted his head back, gazing at the bright moon in the night sky.
Alfia... would she like him? Impossible. In her eyes, he would forever be that brat who needed her care.
Was his feeling for her love, or unwillingness? Did he want to protect her, or... was it simply possessiveness, an inability to accept that she sacrificed herself for others?
He couldn't tell the difference himself.
After a long silence, Aiden finally spoke.
In a tone calm to the point of indifference, he recounted the story of himself and Alfia. He omitted her name and identity, simply describing her as a benefactor who saved him from a desperate situation and raised him for eight years—a powerful, aloof woman burdened by a curse who resolutely walked toward destruction.
And a boy who could only watch everything happen, powerless to stop it.
Artemis listened quietly, never interrupting. When Aiden finished, she didn't offer comfort or sympathy like a mortal would.
She didn't understand the bittersweet complexities of love, but she understood gods.
"I apologize. I don't quite understand the emotions involved, so I cannot comfort you," she said honestly. "But... isn't it precisely because of this obsession that the children of the Lower World attract us so much?"
Her green eyes sparkled under the moonlight, as if seeing through to some essential truth.
"We gods possess eternal life, unchanging. But your lives are as fleeting as meteors, yet because of love, hate, or unwillingness, you can burn with a light even more dazzling than the sun. Your stories, your struggles, this 'obsession' to change fate at all costs... these are the miracles we eternal beings desire to witness the most."
After chatting with Aiden for a while, Artemis seemed to finally find a logic that could explain the behavior of her children. She seemed to put down a heavy burden, and her entire demeanor became much more relaxed.
On the way back, the two walked side by side. They didn't speak, but the atmosphere was no longer as heavy as when they arrived; instead, there was a wondrous harmony.
However, when they passed through the forest path and returned to the brightly lit camp, this harmonious atmosphere was instantly shattered.
Several Familia members gathering firewood by the bonfire looked up and saw Artemis and Aiden walking out of the darkness together.
Thud.
The sound of firewood hitting the ground.
Then came a second sound, a third... within a few seconds, the entire camp fell into a strange, deathly silence.
Everyone's movements froze. Eyes widened, staring in disbelief at the man and woman standing side by side.
That was... the pure goddess who detested men, Lady Artemis. She actually... came back from the woods outside the camp late at night with a man?!
Artemis also sensed something was wrong with the atmosphere.
Feeling those twenty scorching gazes—mixed with shock, curiosity, and gossip—a blush rose on her usually ice-cold face at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"I... I'm going back first!"
Flustered, she stammered a sentence to Aiden, then, as if escaping, dashed back to her carriage, slammed the curtains shut, and went silent.
The next moment, the camp exploded.
Whoosh—!
Led by Captain Rethusa and the half-elf Lante, several of the boldest girls rushed over like arrows from a bow, instantly surrounding Aiden so tightly not even water could trickle through.
"Hey, you! How did you do it?!"
Lante's face was written with excitement and agitation, completely forgetting the Familia's taboos as she almost pressed herself against Aiden.
"What did you talk about with Lady Artemis?"
"Did she smile at you?"
"Speak up, quickly!"
The girls' chattering voices sounded like a hundred sparrows chirping in his ears. The scent of sweat mixed with perfume surrounded Aiden completely. He could even feel their breathing, rapid from excitement.
Aiden didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this battle formation. He retreated repeatedly, only to find he had long since run out of room to retreat. He could only cast a gaze for help toward Furina, who was watching the show with arms crossed not far away.
"Ahem!"
Receiving the signal, Furina immediately cleared her throat and rushed over with a queen-like stride.
She forcefully pushed aside Lante and Rethusa who were at the front, spread her arms to protect Aiden behind her like a mother hen, put her hands on her hips, and righteously scolded the crowd:
"What are you doing? Men and women should keep their distance, don't you know? Don't get so close to my child!"
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