Time passed after that, and during that span I spent my days with my wives, or visiting the temples of Lady Athena and Lady Hestia to pass time in their company.
And on another front—
"Our youngest, fighting!"
"Haa... then I'll be off!"
"Yes. Come."
Every night, I climbed the deep mountains alone and met my foster parents, Lady Nyx and Lord Erebus, where I trained under their guidance and inherited their power.
Of course, Lady Nyx did not spar with me personally; Lord Erebus stepped forward himself and helped me through combat drills so I could better master the power the two of them shared—darkness.
"Our youngest, fighting!"
And from behind us, Lady Nyx cheered while watching Lord Erebus and me spar. Even so, I was by no means a match for Lord Erebus and lost every time. Well... that was only natural.
Today as well, I moved my body with Lord Erebus and learned techniques related to darkness.
"Your movements are far better than they were at first."
"Haa... haa... praise. Thank you. Still, I'm nowhere near there yet."
"At that level, you would defeat most people."
"If I lost here, that would be stranger."
After finishing a certain amount of training and beginning to wrap things up—
"Wait just a moment, youngest!"
Lady Nyx cut in and hurriedly stopped me as I was about to descend the mountain.
"Is something wrong?"
"Well... there's someone I'd like to introduce to you."
"Pardon? A god? What do you mean by that?"
At Lady Nyx's words, I looked at her, and she told me there was a god she wanted me to meet. I stared back at her, visibly flustered.
"The thing is... um..."
With that, Lady Nyx rolled her eyes this way and that as she spoke.
"I was telling her about you when I met her after a long time, and... it seems you caught her interest, so she said she wanted to meet you once."
"...I see?"
"Yes."
"...May I ask the name of the god who wishes to meet me?"
"...Well. I think it would be better if you didn't hear it..."
"If I did, I might commit some discourtesy."
"Even so..."
I asked Lady Nyx for the name of the god who wanted to meet me. She looked at me with a deeply troubled expression.
But when I spoke firmly, Lady Nyx thought for a moment and then told me the name of the god who wished to see me.
"...If that is what our youngest wants, then so be it. The name of that god is... Gaia, a god like myself and Erebus."
"....Pardon?"
The moment I heard that name from Lady Nyx, I regretted my earlier behavior.
"Gaia heard your story and said she wanted to see you with her own eyes. And she said there was no need to tell you her name in advance..."
"...Why did I just do that?"
At the dazed look on my face, Lady Nyx continued speaking.
"E-even so, Gaia is a kind goddess, unlike how she looks..! Everything that has happened until now was all because of Zeus and the gods on Zeus's side..!"
"You may stop there, Mother. I'm only startled because the name was so utterly unexpected."
"Though that shock does not seem to have left you yet..."
I waved my arms and reassured Lady Nyx, who was making what was not quite an explanation and not quite a defense. But behind me, Lord Erebus emerged with darkness and spoke to me.
"That... is true. But staying like this changes nothing."
"...You're rather quick to accept it."
"I imagine that's because unusual things have been happening repeatedly."
"Indeed."
"So. What do you intend to do, our youngest?"
While I was speaking with Lord Erebus, Lady Nyx slipped into the conversation and addressed me.
"Gaia said she would meet you whenever you are ready."
"...Mother, are you recommending that I meet Lady Gaia as soon as possible?"
"Hmm... to be honest, meeting Gaia is already a certainty. So it would be better for you to get it over with as quickly as possible. The gods of Greece do not have much patience. Of course, there are exceptions like me and Erebus."
"An exception, you say..."
"Oh? Why do you say that, dear?"
"No. You saying you have long patience... you, who used to rush about in such haste whenever you came to see the youngest..."
"You! What are you saying in front of the youngest?!"
As I was seriously pondering Lady Nyx's words, Lord Erebus, who had been listening from the side, brought up the old days when Lady Nyx had said she was patient. Lady Nyx then complained at him.
And while she did, she struck Lord Erebus's chest with a clenched fist, though she did not seem to put much force into it, for Lord Erebus remained perfectly still. To anyone else, the scene would have looked like a couple with an exceptionally good relationship, or newlyweds not long after their marriage.
"...Is that how other people saw my relationship with them?"
And in that moment, I stepped back and waited for the two of them to finish their quarrel, and I came to understand, even if only a little, how my former retainers—and Heracles, Jason, and the others who had once spent time with me—must have felt when they saw me together with my wives.
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