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Chapter 12: Vice-Captain Robin
Upon being shouted at by another goddess, the girls finally calmed down and took a few steps back, though the excitement on their faces didn't diminish in the slightest.
They looked at their own goddess hiding in the carriage, daring not to come out, then looked at Aiden being protected by Furina, exchanging knowing glances.
This was incredibly good news. The Goddess... she was starting to change. This was a good beginning.
Maybe... in the future, they wouldn't have to leave the Familia to fall in love freely. As long as... as long as the Goddess fell in love first, wouldn't the so-called Familia taboo break itself?!
Thinking of this, their gazes focused on Aiden again. That look was like looking at a rare treasure.
Lante took the lead, pumping her fist vigorously at Aiden and lowering her voice to cheer him on:
"Go for it, Mr. Captain! Hurry up and capture our Lady Goddess!"
"Right, our happiness depends on you!"
"We're with you in spirit."
Listening to these bold words, Aiden wanted to cry but had no tears.
What was all this? He and Artemis weren't like that at all.
After the commotion tonight, he could be certain that the pure Moon Goddess probably wouldn't have any contact with him for a short while.
...
The camp disturbance that night ended with Artemis locking herself in the carriage and Furina forcibly "rescuing" the surrounded Aiden.
The result was exactly as Aiden expected. For the rest of the journey, Artemis never took the initiative to say a word to him again.
She returned to her usual aloofness. During the day, she either rode a horse to scout ahead of the convoy or stayed in her carriage without even lifting the curtain.
The more she acted like this, the more anxious Lante and the other Familia girls became, scratching their heads in frustration. They could only signal Aiden frantically with their eyes in private, urging him to take the initiative.
Aiden could only respond with a bitter smile.
A god's pride was far stronger than mortals imagined. The "social death" scene that night had likely left a significant shadow in the Moon Goddess's heart. Approaching her now would only be counterproductive.
Although communication had ceased, it didn't stop Aiden from witnessing the power of this Goddess of the Hunt with his own eyes during the journey.
After leaving the extreme north, monsters began to appear sporadically along the trade route.
Once, while the convoy was passing through a dense forest, they encountered a lurking Razor Claw Bear. It was a monster strong enough to put an ordinary Level 1 adventurer party in a hard fight.
Just as Rethusa drew her longsword, ready to command her squad to form a defensive formation, a streak of silver light flashed from the main god's carriage.
Thwip.
A soft sound of an arrow piercing flesh rang out.
The Razor Claw Bear, which had just roared and rushed out of the bushes, suddenly stiffened its massive body, then crashed to the ground. A plain, unadorned arrow had accurately entered its open mouth mid-roar, piercing its brain.
One shot, one kill.
Few people in the convoy even saw how Artemis had made her move.
"As long as I draw my bow, there is no target I cannot hit."
Previously, during a casual chat, Artemis had said this to Furina. Aiden truly understood the weight of those words only now.
That wasn't arrogance, but a statement of fact. This was Divine Archery.
Even if she lost her divine power and her physical abilities were suppressed by the rules of the gods to be no different from a mortal's, the "technique" imbued in her soul would never disappear.
In terms of pure combat power, Artemis, with the physical fitness of an ordinary person, was even stronger than the Level 3 Captain, Rethusa.
She was the undisputed strongest combatant of the Artemis Familia. This was completely different from other Familias where the main gods served mostly as symbols and didn't participate in combat.
The gods of the Lower World controlled vastly different authorities. There were martial types like Artemis with inherent divine-level skills, and there were also Hephaestus skilled in forging, Miach skilled in medicine, and Soma skilled in brewing wine. In their respective fields of expertise, they all surpassed the limits reachable by mortals.
Of course, there were also "useless" gods like his own Furina, who could sing, dance, rap... ah no, who had no special skills other than being cute and providing Falna.
In the first few days of the journey, Aiden also actively requested to participate in combat. Before becoming an adventurer, he had been tempered for a long time, his physical fitness far exceeding that of ordinary people. After receiving the Falna, his basic ability scores had improved qualitatively.
But the monsters outside were simply too weak. Most were Level 1, not much stronger than the goblins on the first floor of the Dungeon—some even weaker.
Aiden could easily slice them in two with a single strike of his sword. The monsters dissipated into black ash, leaving behind pitifully small Magic Stones.
Monsters of this level were meaningless for training. After all, they were traveling on a prosperous trade route; powerful monsters along the way had long been cleared out by generations of adventurers and guards.
After a few times, Aiden completely lost interest.
The long journey was boring. However, perhaps because of the "ice-breaking" that night, the girls of the Artemis Familia became much bolder than before.
After confirming that their main god seemed to be turning a blind eye to this, their courage grew even more.
A group of girls who had never had deep contact with males seemed to have discovered a new continent. They took turns approaching Aiden, curiously asking all sorts of questions about boys. From favorite foods and hated weather to combat techniques, plans for the future, and even some questions about the differences in male and female thinking that Aiden found difficult to answer.
Sometimes, their excessive enthusiasm was too much for him to handle, and he could only frequently cast signals for help toward Robin.
And Robin was always able to appear at the most critical moments with understanding. She would join the conversation with a smile, using her gentle yet measured words to skillfully steer the topic in a safer direction, or simply use the excuse that the Captain needed rest to extricate Aiden.
After several times, Aiden was greatly grateful to this intelligent and considerate companion.
After one successful rescue, he said to Robin, half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Miss Robin, from today on, you are the Vice-Captain of our Focalors Familia."
Hearing this, Robin's lake-green eyes curved into beautiful crescents, and she happily accepted the appointment—even though the entire Focalors Familia, counting the main god, only had three people.
Just like that, after a month of travel, without any unexpected delays, they finally arrived at the center of the world—the Labyrinth City, Orario.
When the convoy crested the final hill and the full view of the magnificent city was revealed to everyone for the first time, even Aiden, who was mentally prepared, couldn't help but hold his breath.
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