I Became Artemis’ Boyfriend

As the particles of light soared towards the heavens, piercing through the clouds, they finally reached Olympus.

Like bees gathering around flowers, the light converged once more into a single point, restoring its original physical form.

Even so, since this was the second time experiencing such a miraculous phenomenon, Artemis, who had ascended alongside me, had enough presence of mind to look around.

“Artemis, are you alright?”

“Are you worried about wrinkles? This is a place I’ve been to thousands of times.”

“Well, it feels like your body gets broken down into molecules and then stuck back together. Besides, worrying about my girlfriend is naturally my responsibility, isn’t it?”

“E-E-E, E, now you’re saying sweet nothings like that after all this time? It doesn’t mean anything, you know?”

With a deep gaze, I gave a faint smile, and Artemis, seemingly embarrassed, lowered her head.

Given how she usually behaves like a tomboy, always picking fights with others,

even small compliments like these make her feel awkward and out of place when spoken with sincerity.

Looking at this adorable sight, Artemis as a woman seems like a perfectly blank canvas.

Paint it red with beauty,

blue with cuteness,

or pink with charm,

a canvas that lets me draw whatever I wish, as if offering everything to me.

But,

has it been just over a week since we became lovers?

More than half of Artemis’ canvas remains a pristine white.

Foolishly so…

In this situation, where we might be forcibly separated by such powerful gods,

the unoccupied corners of her heart begin to show.

“Artemis.”

“Why are you calling me so sentimentally again, my dear boyfriend?”

“Do you want to hold hands? No, I mean, let’s keep our hands intertwined all day.”

“What? Are you crazy?”

“Come on, we haven’t received our reward for the Twelve Labors, have we?”

“Are you suggesting we claim our reward by holding hands right here? Boyfriend, have you already forgotten we’re heading to the courtroom?”

“So what? Have we done anything wrong?”

At my counter-question, she froze, as if struck on the head with a hammer.

With a demeanor more resolute than ever, she unconsciously looked down and slowly bowed her head.

“It’s… not that, but still…”

“Then lift your head. Only criminals should tremble in the courtroom.”

With that, she didn’t utter a single word of objection.

She extended her trembling hand towards me, uncertain and anxious about the unknown future.

Trying to steady her shaking hand, she instead felt the trembling of mine when she touched it, startling her slightly.

But sharing each other’s trembling wasn’t unpleasant; rather, she intertwined her fingers with mine even more tightly.

We slowly strolled as if walking through the clouds, observing our surroundings like tourists.

Olympus, filled with clouds like sands of the desert, reminded us of a grand landscape painting, with ancient structures lining the hilltops beyond the cloud slopes.

“I wish I could have come here on an ordinary day to admire such a view.”

“Hey, boyfriend, why do you keep blurting out such clichéd lines of imminent separation?”

“Ah! Clichéd lines? It’s just regret for not having had a proper date.”

“We can come back after we get acquitted! Still, tsk! You really make a fuss.”

The rest of the way to the courthouse was filled with our usual bickering.

Upon finishing our identity checks with the angelic guards, we entered the courtroom.

Stepping into the Olympian court, it felt less like an indoor space and more like an outdoor one, with its grandeur leaving us breathless.

Seated in tiered stands like a colosseum, countless gods were looking down at the center from their steps, including Nike, whom we rarely saw, and Dionysus, who was smirking unpleasantly.

Behind them, in a shabby corner partially obscured by the building columns, Leto, Artemis’ mother, was praying with her hands clasped together.

Despite her own daughter’s trial, due to the hierarchy among the gods of Olympus, she was forced to sit in an invisible back row, highlighting the absurdity.

Lowering my head slightly and looking ahead,

In the center stood a ‘D’ shaped desk where the Twelve Olympians sat in order.

In the middle of the broken table, two old chairs were placed prominently, contrasting sharply with the divine golden thrones of the ruling gods, suggesting a sinister undertone that it was justice punishing evil, which wasn’t particularly pleasant.

“Shall we go, girlfriend?”

“Alright, boyfriend.”

As I extended my hand again, Artemis took it, and we confidently walked to the center of the courtroom where the Twelve Olympians were waiting.

Many gods were watching our intertwined hands, but we defiantly waved them around more conspicuously as we entered and took our seats.

At that moment, Zeus, facing us directly, put down his documents on the table, lifted his head, and looked at me.

As he brushed his long beard and examined me with quick darting eyes, he slowly opened his mouth.

“You’ve come, have you not?”

“Yes, Father-in-law.”

I started lightly, tossing out a joke to probe him.

Attempting to gauge his reaction, but befitting a king among gods, Zeus didn’t flinch an eyebrow.

“Our daughter has been with you for less than ten days, and you’re already calling me father-in-law… In your imagination, you must have already arranged a honeymoon trip and home, haven’t you?”

“I was also considering a gift for father-in-law.”

“…Hmm? A couple of cities won’t suffice, I’m afraid. Have you been making money from your burger and soda business?”

Given the formal setting, Zeus too brushed off my light jest with a polished eloquence worthy of his experience.

Though he greeted me with a leisurely and amiable smile as when I first met him at Leto’s house,

It would be a grave mistake to let my guard down.

Remember, this Zeus was the one who questioned our relationship.

“I thought that to impress you, Lord Zeus, one should have some economic freedom.”

“I valued you highly, even without such trivial things. The ingenious way you dismantled the labors was quite commendable.”

“To value, you mean… that you don’t now?”

“You know very well, do you not?”

Zeus shifted his gaze and pointed his chin at Artemis, sitting stiffly beside me, before continuing.

“You achieved what was supposed to be completed by fulfilling the Twelve Labors through the shortcut of emotions midway through. How do you think the gods view this? And how do you think I feel about it?”

“That’s—”

Clap!

Zeus cut me off immediately without intending to hear my reply,

and lightly clapped his hands once.

At this, the gods who had been muttering softly in the courtroom began to focus their attention on Zeus.

“Then let’s proceed. I hereby open the 38,569th Olympian Trial!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The courtroom echoed with the sound of the gavel marking the start of the trial.

As the noise from the audience ceased, all eyes turned to us,

more specifically, on me.

However, I deliberately ignored each gaze and held Artemis’ hand, who was trembling nervously, for the first time experiencing such an event.

Holding it tightly so that no one could pry it loose.

“Would you please explain the charges against Artemis and me before the trial begins?”

“Ah~ Ah~ That’s true. Before that—”

With a leisurely smirk, Zeus raised his arm high into the air and snapped his finger!

Then, above our heads, two square-framed glass walls appeared and descended, separating us as we let go of each other’s hands.

Bang! Bang!

I jumped to my feet and pounded the glass wall hard as if to break it,

inquiring about this sudden imprisonment.

But the gods either couldn’t hear my voice or chose to ignore it.

The frontal part of the glass near my face melted and rehardened, appearing to act as a device that allowed sounds in but blocked them from going out.

Only then did I fully grasp the punishment Artemis mentioned.

“The charge is deception against the gods and disruption of proper conduct between deities and humans. We will now deliberate on Artemis and the priest Ark.”

“Disruption of proper conduct? So, am I being accused of causing a moral issue simply by dating Artemis!?”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

No matter how loudly I shouted inside the glass barrier, the Twelve Olympians ignored me completely.

As they began to discuss our faults while facing each other,

the discussion began unexpectedly with Hestia, who loves peace.

“Firstly, is it right to lock Ark and Artemis in such small glass boxes? They remind me of animals in cages, and it makes me uneasy.”

Hestia, looking at us with a compassionate gaze, folded her hands beseechingly to Zeus.

Just as Athena, standing on the opposite side, was about to raise hers in agreement to support her suggestion,

Bang!

Seated with his legs on the desk, Ares grinned revealing fangs, usually associated with beasts.

“Wow, when did all of you assembled here become so sentimental?”

“Ares! This is a sacred courtroom. Take down your legs.”

“Athena, if loud voices are forbidden as well, isn’t that hypocritical?”

“Reckless fellow! Stay out of Olympus’ mountains and guard them—!”

“Hehehehehe! How could I miss such amusement!”

Bang! Bang!

“Enough.”

As Athena and Ares’ argument grew more intense, Zeus lightly tapped the gavel to mediate between them.

“The reason for enclosing them in glass is simple. To avoid being swayed by Ark’s persuasive tongue and allow the gods to organize their thoughts. Aren’t we all directly or indirectly connected to priest Ark in some way? Do you have full confidence not to be moved by his argument?”

At that, the Twelve Olympians, one by one, fell silent without finding any words to refute.

However, from my perspective, it felt incredibly infuriating.

Arguing is presenting one’s point.

It defies reason that Zeus considers listening to my justified argument a sin.

Or…

do the other gods concur with Zeus even with such a lack of persuasiveness simply because my words hold such power…?

“But Zeus, Artemis is also one of the Twelve Olympians and your daughter. It’s inappropriate to treat her this way before her guilt is confirmed.”

“Ahh, of course. That is a very good suggestion befitting Hestia, who loves peace. Artemis is enclosed for the same reason. It wouldn’t be equitable to imprison only Ark.”

With that explanation, Zeus, holding up two signs, one blue and the other red, continued.

“If you believe the defendant Artemis should have her glass enclosure removed, raise the blue flag. If not, raise the red flag. Proceed.”

Then, the Twelve Olympians raised their flags unanimously.

The result was

6 red.

5 blue.

Regrettably, the motion was defeated by one vote.

“The red flag receiving 6 votes, this situation shall be maintained. Ares, as the representative, please express your opposing opinion to the audience.”

“Alright, Father.”

Standing up, Ares continued to wear a smug grin as he turned around once before the crowd.

“The reason is simple. These two are currently lovers. Most of you, even by looking into each other’s eyes, know what your counterpart is thinking. It would be nothing short of confusing should Artemis respond on Ark’s behalf by reading his mind. They’re not puppets, you know. Besides, it wouldn’t be fair to imprison only one of the two defendants.”

He delivered his well-structured argument without any pause, smoothly weaving a long speech as if he naturally thought of it all along!

And the audience mostly nodded in agreement, considering it reasonable.

What.

Is that guy…

even Ares?

How is he so smart?

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