Chapter 46

Hercules, surprisingly or predictably, was the type to grill the meat himself.

Saying he couldn’t stand watching the centaurs burn the meat, he brought an entire grill over to our table.

He tenderized the large lamb himself by pounding it with his hands, then tore it with his bare hands and placed it neatly on the grill.

“These lambs have run around so much, you have to pound them like this to make them edible.”

“But did you really have to do it in front of everyone?”

Other people, who were about to approach Neri and me to chat, turned pale and retreated at the sight of the great hero’s fierce tenderizing show, where he levitated a chunk of meat almost the size of a person and hit it ten times in an instant.

Given that the Nereid nymphs were overly protected both in the sky and the sea, and Neri, being the youngest who monopolized her sisters’ love, had no significant external contact except for her sisters and family until she met me.

It was only after Neri’s sisters heard from the forest nymphs of Passos that I was the one who had pacified the forests and coastline of Passos that Neri was allowed external activities in Passos, provided I accompanied her.

But this was the Forest of Heroes.

It was a top-tier city, comparable to Daechi-dong or Cheongdam-dong in Korea, where all sorts of divine offspring, princes, and princesses study under the centaur sage and various teachers.

It seemed like a good place for Neri to make friends, so I decided to sit here to help her make some friends and get to know people myself.

But bare-handedly tearing apart a chunk of meat the size of an average adult, in a bizarre and violent dinner show, made me rethink my decision.

I wondered if bringing Neri here was the right choice, but then I saw her eyes sparkle as she watched Hercules diligently sprinkle salt and pepper and flip the meat.

Seeing her that happy, I thought, ‘Well, it can’t be that bad.’

“Wow! That’s a really big piece of meat! Sizzle, sizzle! It looks delicious!”

“Look at this? I thought a princess from the sea wouldn’t like land meat. You’ve got a good eye for meat!”

Watching Neri drooling as she darted around the grill, Hercules laughed heartily, finding her cute, and handed her the spice salt he was holding.

“Here you go, Princess! sprinkle it when I flip the meat!”

“Like this?”

-Whoosh!

Neri swung the bowl over the meat as if threshing it the moment she received it.

Just as everyone was about to be stunned by the innocent disaster, Hercules grinned broadly.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Here we go!”

With a spirited shout, a large piece of meat was swung vigorously.

It was a feat that happened in the blink of an eye.

Thanks to that, those sitting at the table were spared from a pepper bomb disaster.

And the evening party area didn’t turn into an impromptu chemical training site due to the spice smoke.

“Wow! The seasoning soaked into every corner of the meat!”

“Right? Sea Princess, you have a knack for grilling meat!”

“Really?”

“Of course!”

Hahaha!

Hehehe!

Seeing the giant and the fairy laughing loudly together, looking like they had similar mental ages, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Well, if the great Greek hero is my next friend… it should be fine, right?

“Hey, you boar bastard! Say something to me! I almost got hit by the meat!”

“A chunk of meat as big as me brushing past my nose is not good for my mental state!”

“Huh? Are you hurt?”

Just then, Jason and Theseus, who were eagerly carrying a whole processed lamb, almost got hit by the meat and glared at Hercules, but quickly cowered under Neri’s innocent eyes, sensing the pressure.

“Ah, no. This is nothing…”

“Ahem, we, too, being among the top in this forest, can avoid such things without even looking.”

The two forced smiles onto their faces, trying to appear unaffected.

Watching them, Hercules behind Neri was mumbling, causing veins to bulge on his forehead.

But since he was in front of a VIP guest, he quickly composed himself and began placing fish and vegetables on the grill.

“Dgeubeuz… Meutdeuzeu…”

“Kihihihih, dgeub reumen eujeulgeunde?”

Though he couldn’t outmatch them in strength, Hercules used Neri, the VIP, as a shield and started verbally taunting the two.

It was remarkable how he managed to growl without Neri hearing a thing.

It was said that in terms of strength, no one in this forest could match Hercules, and only Jason and Theseus could confront him with strategy and tactics, so it seemed Hercules acknowledged them and was particularly close to the two.

-Ding!

“They truly resemble and complement each other well.”

Orpheus added, strumming his lyre cheerfully even at the dining table. He meant as friends of a similar age rather than as a man and woman.

When I first met him, I thought he was quite an eccentric fellow, and I nodded in agreement with his words.

Fortunately, until dinner time, Atalanta, who had been glaring at Neri with a complex expression and nearly squeezing my hand, had left due to matters concerning the Artemis hunting group she belonged to.

On the recommendation of Jason and Theseus, I was now sitting with Neri among those called the Golden Generation in the Forest of Heroes.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen Neri this excited. I’m glad I brought her along.”

“Of course, how stifling it must have been for such beautiful beings to be confined to the sea under the guise of protection. Could there be any color as intense and beautiful as the light emitted by a young child looking at the world?”

Saying so, Orpheus, who was watching Hercules and Nesneria playing with the fish with a tender gaze, turned his eyes back to me.

“And Archimedes, or Hercules. You have no idea how much that friend longed to be friends with you or Nesneria.”

“What do you mean by that?”

-Ding!

Orpheus, plucking the lyre again, smiled as meaningfully as his words.

“Well… I don’t know about others, but wouldn’t you understand what I mean without me having to say it?”

“…If it’s a riddle, please stop. I’m already having a headache because of the riddles from the messenger god or thief god or whoever he is.”

After a busy day of wandering around the neighborhood, followed by the sudden reunion with Neri.

My head was spinning, and I couldn’t even think about solving the riddle.

With the solar beam orbital strike possibly coming with the sunrise, I needed to find the answer quickly…

“Ugh…”

“Hmmm, a riddle. Now that you mention it, Hermes visited the infirmary with Chiron. Chiron came out holding a huntress and a wild boar in his hands. The mysterious and witty messenger of Olympus has given you a task of wisdom.”

“Yes, and the prize is my life.”

As I dipped a crunchy celery-like stick into yogurt sauce and put it in my mouth, the crunchy texture and tangy sauce delighted my palate.

It was enough to bring back my appetite, which had fled due to the vexing riddle.

“…Delicious.”

“The daughters of Demeter tend to it diligently. So much so that the forest creatures are enchanted and come to frost it at night.”

Orpheus empathized as if singing, drizzling olive oil on the salad in his bowl.

But his eyes, which seemed so intrigued, appeared uninterested in merely adding a ‘like’ to my food review.

“What is the riddle, though?”

“…Hmm.”

A child born without the aid of a midwife, the process by which the child gained a divine calling.

Since the term ‘divine calling’ was mentioned, it was most likely a story about gods, particularly about the origin of gods.

If so, wouldn’t a bard who sings about all kinds of myths and histories know the answer?

It was at that calculated moment that I was about to reveal the riddle to Orpheus.

“…Never mind.”

“Hmm? Why?”

Upon careful reflection, the reason for solving this riddle resurfaced.

Under the moonlight, the lunatic declared, ‘Resurrect the dead, or if you are unable to do so, I will strike you with a moonbeam!’

Ignoring that his daughter had pointed a sword—no, an arrow—and threatened someone, the father broke the law and said, ‘I’ll strike you with a thunderbolt!’

And since she was too afraid to confront her father, she instead threatened the innocent Cyclopes who made the thunderbolt, saying, ‘I’ll hit you with a solar beam!

When you look at these families, boasting an extraordinary nature—no, divinity—beyond human logic and reason…

If, by any chance, one of the three shot a headshot at this fourth-dimensional bard for solving the riddle and helping out, it wouldn’t be surprising.

“Hey, brother. You haven’t started yet, right?”

“Oh, Asclepius, my dear brother. You’ve worked hard today, embracing many. Take the cup I offer you.”

And the frail, sickly boy who had narrowly avoided becoming a victim of the moonbeam and thunderbolt was Asclepius, who had just taken his seat.

“Oh, Dianes. I heard you were busy today; you look tired.”

“Well, it was just okay.”

The basic acupuncture points and the introduction to the human body that I stayed up all night to transcribe as a gift seemed to please him.

Asclepius nodded at me with a crooked smile.

“By the way, I heard the Nereid nymph came. Where did she go?”

“Where else? She’s over there grilling meat with the wild boar…”

I turned my head to look at Neri, who was busy mastering her grilling skills with the three heroes.

But the white nymph who had been hopping around the grill was nowhere to be seen.

“Huh? Hey! Hercules! Where did she go?”

“Huh? Oh, she said that mushrooms freshly picked from the forest are a delicacy when grilled. She ran off to pick some right away.”

“Oh, really?”

Then she should be back soon.

If there were any poisonous or inedible mushrooms, Asclepius would prevent any harm.

As I nodded and turned back to my salad, Asclepius, looking uneasy, watched me.

“Hmm… we should go quickly.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Well, when I arrived at the campfire just a moment ago…”

According to Asclepius, some unsavory types known in this forest were whispering about the nymph and leering at Neri.

“Are you talking about the rogue Orion and his gang? This is serious. Those guys don’t have the brains to understand divine pacts or blessings. We need to go quickly!”

Orpheus grabbed his lyre and sprang up from his seat, and Asclepius, sensing something unusual, was about to run into the forest.

“Don’t worry and sit down.”

I shook my head and finished putting the celery into my mouth.

Hmm, as expected, organic produce is the best.