Chapter 169: The Calydonian Boar Hunt (11)
Poseidon did not refuse Meleager’s hospitality. Since he had already laid hands on Atalanta, he would need to take responsibility for her—at least until she reached Chiron Academy.
Moreover, it wouldn’t be a bad thing if Atalanta used his human name (even temporarily) to make her name resound throughout the Aetolian League.
“The child I taught would never be treated poorly. Isn’t that right?”
Njord glanced toward the spot where Atalanta had left with Meleager to make preparations, then muttered to himself in a certain direction.
Normally such behavior would earn him cries of madness, but where he looked, a woman now sat as though she had always been there.
Holding a bead that pulsed like a heartbeat.
“Hmm… I came here with a request, but seeing you so close to that girl has put me in a foul mood.”
“Ah, don’t be greedy. I’ve barely taught her for a few days. And you were planning to send her to Chiron anyway, weren’t you?”
“Tsk tsk. Such a rude fellow. One day that habit of yours—touching what belongs to the gods—will bring you to ruin.”
“Yes, yes. More importantly—what’s the request? Why show up at this exact moment?”
Artemis stared at the insolent mage before her. Normally she would have overturned everything in rage at his earlier remark…
But perhaps she had grown too accustomed to him? Seeing his attitude now only made her let out a hollow laugh.
“Sigh… Maybe this really is my karma.”
“What?”
“Never mind. More importantly—how was she? Atalanta. You blocked even my sight, so I couldn’t see anything. Since I’m already here, I might as well hear your evaluation.”
Njord grinned slyly at Artemis’s question.
As expected, the “request” was just an excuse. Her patience really was something else.
“Hm… If I’m to answer the goddess’s question—Atalanta is not suited to become your apostle. Haha.”
“…….”
Artemis glared at Njord, who was mocking her question while laughing.
She had almost strangled him on the spot—but she held back.
This damn mage might be insolent, lazy, arrogant, and petty—but one thing he excelled at was judging people.
“So… you’re not going to give a reason? Unless you want to die…”
Artemis forced down her anger, asking as calmly as she could manage.
She had no intention of giving up Atalanta—not after the mage had taught her for just a few days and already helped her glimpse the path of a hero.
Just as Artemis was barely containing herself, Njord—despite his mocking tone—saw the stubborn glint in her eyes and gave a wry inner smile.
He knew exactly how many people and creatures had been hurt or killed by her possessive desire for those she favored.
(‘She usually shows no interest in ordinary humans or other races. But of course—even for a god, talent like Atalanta’s is too valuable to let go easily. From what I remember, the relationship between Atalanta and Artemis always ended in tragedy.’)
Moreover, ever since Perseus, the gods had learned what exceptional humans were truly capable of. To make her abandon her greed and desire might require touching her reverse scale.
“Hm. To be precise—that girl is a beast. One with the talent of a beast strongly ruled by instinct.”
“…In short, you’re saying that if she stays under me, she might die at any moment.”
“Haha, you catch on quick. Artemis, you already have precedents, don’t you? The most famous one was Actaeon, right?”
“…How do you know about that? I made sure every mouth that knew was silenced.”
“Haha, how I know isn’t important. What matters is that Atalanta is even worse than Actaeon. In short—if you don’t want to create another precedent of a man torn apart by his own hunting dogs just for seeing the goddess naked, you’d better restrain yourself.”
“Whether you know how I found out or not… the fact that you’re deliberately saying things to provoke me means you believe our compatibility is poor. Fine—I’ll let your words go in one ear and out the other. Now die!!!”
Artemis nodded as if accepting his point, then instantly drew a massive longbow that appeared from nowhere and fired an arrow.
“Gahk! You said you’d let it go!!”
Poseidon rolled across the ground in panic as the arrow broke the sound barrier.
Of course—for Njord, who was desperately trying to prevent their tragic backstory from unfolding—his frustration boiled over.
He wasn’t just enduring either. In an instant, thick fog began to spread around them.
“Blocking a hunter’s vision? A good tactic—but I am the goddess of the hunt, standing at its pinnacle!”
Artemis had already calculated that one arrow wouldn’t be enough to punish Njord.
After dozens of clashes, the two now knew each other’s thoughts and patterns intimately.
Thick fog rolled in as Artemis swiftly retreated and vanished.
Along with the blue light beginning to emanate from Poseidon’s staff, sounds even more violent than the battle between the divine beast and the heroes echoed through the forest.
“Honestly! You’re the one who asked—and now you’re throwing a tantrum! I was just giving honest advice!!”
Boom! Bang! Crash!! BOOM!!!
And so, in the middle of the forest, a completely pointless battle erupted between Njord and Artemis—for no gain on either side.
The clash continued for a long while, only stopping when Callisto finally arrived looking for Artemis.
Later, when Njord—on Artemis’s request—revived the divine beast, he made sure not to forget this incident. As “payment” for the revival commission, he burned down Artemis’s entire forest.
That, of course, was another story.
***
While Njord and Artemis had barely reconciled through Callisto’s mediation and were now negotiating the price for reviving the divine beast,
The protagonists of this hunt—Meleager and the heroes—were receiving fervent cheers and congratulations from every citizen, noble, and priest of Calydon.
Among them, Meleager shone brightest at the forefront.
He had personally delivered the final blow to the divine boar, gathered heroes from across Greece, and successfully led even the most unruly among them.
Calydon would never forget how they overcame the trial caused by their own mistake—thanks to the help of these heroes.
“Uwaaaah!!!”
Thanks to the cheers and blessings of the Calydon people, the heroes gathered in the palace banquet hall.
King Oeneus had prepared a grand feast to honor their achievements: rare delicacies from across the world that were difficult to obtain, precious wines offered only to the gods in Calydon, and beautiful men and women to entertain them.
As king, neglecting those who had aided them would be an insult to his own honor and all his ancestors. This lavish reception was only proper.
Moreover, the heroes before him were among the most prominent figures in Greece. Treating them poorly was simply not an option.
Of course—
“My son… I’m truly relieved you’re safe. If anything had happened to you, this father would have…”
More than any political or diplomatic reason, Oeneus’s greatest joy came from his son’s safe return—and from the fact that Meleager had achieved the greatest merit among all the heroes.
He wanted to boast about it.
“Father, why worry so much? I’m your son, after all.”
“Yes… that’s right. You will surely become a far greater king and hero than I could ever dream of being.”
While Meleager and Oeneus were sharing a father-son conversation,
The heroes were engaged in their own serious discussion.
“Hahaha! Since I, Jason, lured the boar, that’s how Meleager was able to finish it off, right?”
—Exactly! Jason played the biggest role in this trial.
“Tsk tsk tsk, how shameless. Jason, you couldn’t even lure it properly. If anything, the greatest credit goes to me, Caeneus. Without my strength, the outcome would’ve been obvious.”
—Uwa ha ha ha! That’s right. Aside from Meleager, Caeneus is the greatest contributor.
“…I hate to butt in, but I can’t ignore that. You two were the ones exhausted and resting at the very end. The ones who stayed with Meleager until the final moment were me and Atalanta. If we have to pick, it’s one of us.”
And so, among men with power, the inevitable “who’s the strongest in the world” contest had begun.
From their perspective, determining who was the best was more important than drinking or chasing women. They raised their voices, each asserting their own greatness.
No one denied that Meleager deserved the greatest credit.
But when it came to second place, several names were thrown around.
“Theseus… people like you who just stand back with your arms crossed always talk so smugly. But who else could shoulder the responsibility of facing the divine beast bare-handed?”
“Hmph! I actually agree with Caeneus on this one. Types like Theseus are the most selfish. If it weren’t for my sacrifice, would you even have realized how dangerous the divine beast was? The plan would’ve fallen apart completely, and the death toll would’ve been much higher.”
“You idiots and your pathetic excuses are polluting my ears. Look at the result. In the end, the ones still standing until the last moment were me and Atalanta. And who was it that stood at the front commanding everyone while suppressing those crazed ones?”
The heroes shouted louder and louder, each claiming superiority.
But in the end, the ones most widely acknowledged—aside from Meleager—were Caeneus, Jason, Theseus, and Atalanta (who was absent at Meleager’s request).
However, Atalanta was a woman—and an ordinary hunter with no powerful backing—so her standing among the heroes was relatively weak. Effectively, it came down to a three-way contest between Caeneus, Jason, and Theseus.
“Ha! Then let’s settle it right here with a contest of strength. The strongest one is obviously the best, right?”
“Ku ha ha ha! For once Jason says something sensible. We Lapiths never back down from a challenge like this. In fact, we welcome it.”
“Hmph. How barbaric. Though it’s low-class behavior, I was already planning to put you all in your place someday. I accept.”
In the blink of an eye, a circular fighting ring was formed, and the three heroes stepped inside the makeshift arena drawn by human hands.
—Uwa ha ha ha! Whoever wins is on our side!
—Hey! Jason, don’t lose! I bet money on you!
—Lord Caeneus! For the honor of the Lapiths!!
—Uwaaaaah! Theseus—hope of Athena and true hero! You have to win!!
And so began the ancient trial-by-combat known as pále—Greek wrestling.
***
“Uwaaaaaah!!!”
“Jason! Jason! Jason!”
“Caeneus! Caeneus! Caeneus!”
“Theseus! Theseus! Theseus!”
Atalanta—who had left the banquet hall at Meleager’s request—returned to find her comrades engaged in this absurd spectacle and was rendered speechless.
What in the world were these idiots doing in someone else’s palace?
Jason, Caeneus, and Theseus crashed into each other violently. Furniture shattered all over the banquet hall, leftover food and wine splattered everywhere, turning the place into a complete mess.
And the surrounding heroes weren’t even trying to stop it—they were egging them on.
To Atalanta—an uneducated hunter—this looked like nothing less than a gathering of lunatics.
“…What the hell are they doing in someone else’s palace? If word gets out that I was associated with these people later, I won’t be able to show my face anywhere.”
“Yeah… it’s pretty bad, Atalanta. But try to understand. Everything said and done here will spread across Greece—this is a golden opportunity for them.”
Ancaeus approached after spotting Atalanta staring at the scene in dismay.
He agreed with her, but each of them had their own reasons.
“Yeah… I guess it’s just some noble sensibility I’ll never understand. Ugh—I could never fit in with that crowd.”
Ancaeus was slightly surprised by Atalanta’s sigh. When he first met her, she had seemed eager to blend in and overcome her status.
Back then, she had been the one desperately trying to fit in with everyone else.
“Hm? Ah… yeah, that’s true. But ever since I started learning from Master, these guys just don’t seem that impressive anymore. I still don’t fully understand it myself, but now they look like frogs stuck in a well. More than anything—if someone can’t become a true hero, I’m thinking of just sticking close to Master. We haven’t known each other long, but my instincts are screaming: if I follow this person, I can make my name known throughout the world.”
As Atalanta watched the chaos from afar and spoke with such nonchalance, Ancaeus sensed a familiar aura.
It reminded him of his mother, Astypalaea—priestess of Poseidon.
(‘Whenever I met Mother, she used to look at me with those same eyes—like she was watching a bird trapped in a cage, unaware of the vast world outside.’)
In Ancaeus’s eyes, his mother wasn’t exactly a warm parent—but among everyone he had ever met, she was the closest thing to a true monster.
Looking at Atalanta—who evoked the same feeling—he couldn’t help comparing her to his rowdy friends still wreaking havoc.
The result was unfortunate: unlike his friends, Atalanta had already taken several steps far ahead of them.
“I see. Atalanta… you’re going to become much stronger in the future. I can’t afford to fall behind either.”
“Hm? Don’t take my casual comment so seriously, Ancaeus. I was just saying it because those people who still look down on me are ridiculous.”
With those words, she turned her gaze toward Toxeus and Plexippus—who were glaring at her openly even amid the chaos.
“It’s just sad. One of the basic virtues of a hunter is to be wary of children, the elderly, and women you meet in the forest. Those two don’t seem to understand that.”
Toxeus and Plexippus had been glaring at Atalanta ever since she entered the banquet hall.
Realizing this, Ancaeus let out a short sigh.
“This might not end without someone dying. Knowing Meleager, he’ll divide the rewards fairly.”
“Yeah. I hope so. Even if Meleager backs down a little, it’s fine. In an isolated place like this… anything could happen.”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
Ancaeus looked puzzled at Atalanta’s cryptic reply. Isolated place?
“Sigh… I’m not sure myself. When Meleager asked me to check, even I couldn’t make sense of it. All I know is that what’s inside them is a blessing—and that blessing is contagious. It’s possible we already have it inside us too.”
“…A blessing is a good thing, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. That’s why I can’t figure it out. I just felt uneasy because it spreads like poison or disease. That’s why—on Meleager’s authority—I’ve already blocked the palace entrances on my way here. Hoping my bad feeling is wrong… Sigh… It would’ve been nice if Master were here right now.”
Ancaeus felt an uneasy sensation—like a gear slightly out of alignment—somewhere in the joyful, celebratory atmosphere of the palace.
The instinct engraved in his blood whispered to him. The same sense that had kept him safe all this time while traveling with Jason.
_____________________________________________
TL Note:
This novel is fully completed.
You can either:
- Unlock this novel individually through its Collection "Poseidon's Chonicles" and access all remaining 98 Chapters for only $3
Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls
____________________________________________