章 56: Don't go Atalanta
"So what on earth are you going to do? You're actually going to ask people of a whole country to help you... Could it be that you're really intending to have them help you paint a picture dedicated to the goddess Artemis?"
The next morning, when the sun god Helios brought the sun to the world and illuminated the night, Atalanta, who was walking with Promise on the road to the Calydonian Kingdom, asked the boy with a little tiredness.
After all, she had spent a restless night with Promise,
Not only was her desire not satisfied, but she also didn't get enough rest.
Promise, on the other hand, was quite energetic, as he always was after eating a golden apple; he had grown accustomed to it.
"Yes, it is indeed a painting," Promise nodded, not hiding anything, and said: "And it is a painting that requires many people to help me create.
Because this painting is not to be painted on canvas, but sketched upon the entire world!"
Upon hearing this, Atalanta was momentarily stunned, then she instinctively looked at Promise, her sacred blue eyes reflecting the boy at that moment, and then she was surprised to discover that at this moment, he seemed to have made a resolution similar to when he decided to catch that silver meteor.
"It seems that you really do not want to be hunted by the great goddess Artemis." Seeing how serious he was, Atalanta, knowing the situation, couldn't help but find it a bit amusing.
Promise, hearing this, rolled his eyes at her.
Nonsense, you don't know the nature of that goddess!
'More than chasing me to the underworld, if I don't stop that goddess's hunting, she could follow the timeline to the future and strangle me!:
"So what exactly are you planning to do?" Atalanta couldn't help but ask Promise curiously.
If it were someone else, saying they wanted to use the world as a canvas to create a painting and dedicate it to the goddess, she would scoff, thinking it was just big talk.
But Promise...
Ever since the day she personally entered the world within Promise's painting, and almost couldn't escape if it weren't for Goddess Artemis being right there, Atalanta knew.
Promise, this guy, might just be the illegitimate child of the goddess of art... No, in the field of painting, even if the goddess of art herself descended, it wouldn't be easy to say!
The key is Promise still isn't very self-aware...
Or perhaps because his heart is set on becoming a hero, so even if he is aware, he doesn't mind it.
After all, in Promise's mind, no matter how good the painting is, it can't be used as a treasure of the king.
Could it be that if he paints a lot, he could throw them out and they become divine weapons to throw at people?
"The first thing to do, of course, is to get everyone in the Kingdom of Calydon to be willing to help me..."
What Promise didn't expect was how incredibly simple this condition was to fulfill.
...
Soon,
Inside the palace of the Kingdom of Calydon,
When Promise and Atalanta arrived, King Oeneus and Queen Althaea of Calydon had already been waiting for a while, having heard the news from Melager Aglaos, who had returned earlier.
The meeting was naturally filled with warm greetings.
Especially concerning the neglect towards Promise a few days ago, King Oeneus felt very guilty and even specifically had Meleager's uncle, Toxeus, brought in to apologize to Promise in front of everyone!
Seeing this, Atalanta and even Meleager beside her felt their mood instantly lighten, while Promise himself felt nothing about it.
After all, he didn't care about these things, especially since his mind was still set on how to present the painting to Artemis, satisfy her, and then stop her from hunting him.
That painting was the best offering Promise could think of at the moment.
But even so, he was still worried that Artemis wouldn't be satisfied, and that was why he was prepared to drag the entire Kingdom of Calydon into this matter.
Having them help, in the manner of offering sacrifices to the deity, would undoubtedly be speaking the truth.
But getting more people involved also meant reducing the chances that Artemis would focus solely on him, which was also part of Promise's plan.
Moreover, the ancient Greek deities were extremely vain, and as long as enough people participated and the spectacle was grand enough, even if you only offered something ordinary, there was a great chance of pleasing them.
"Respected King Oeneus, thank you for listening to my impudent request, and please rest assured, I will not embarrass your citizens. What I hope to do, actually, is to jointly offer a sacrifice to the great goddess Artemis.
So I think, it should be a fine banquet."
In terms of etiquette, Promise, well-taught by Chiron, was naturally impeccable, and coupled with his handsome appearance and naturally emitted artistic aura, countless noblewomen, princesses, and ladies in the palace at that moment couldn't help but focus their attention on him.
Not only that, thinking about how he had received a gift from the moon goddess Artemis and was favored by the goddess of wisdom Athena, and even designated as a follower by the queen goddess Hera.
As a result, not only women, but many handsome men at the moment looked at Promise with incredibly fervent gazes!
"Of course, no problem, I will immediately have the guards relay your request to all the people of the kingdom... Actually, there is even no need for me to step forward, after all, last night, we all witnessed your bravery, saw the great goddess carrying you flying towards the night sky.
So I think, now everyone in the kingdom admires you immensely, and to be able to join you in offering a sacrifice to the great goddess Artemis is our highest honor!"
King Oeneus personally walked down from the throne, earnestly assuring Promise.
And this is the power of a god in this era... Not to mention that the goddess is one of the most dazzling goddesses of Olympus, the goddess of wisdom Athena!
Thus, the conversation went very smoothly.
Promise achieved his goal, and seeing that Promise did not pursue the rudeness of the past few days, King Oeneus and Queen Althaea both breathed a sigh of relief from the bottom of their hearts.
Later, they originally planned to welcome Promise with the most grand banquet, but the latter refused, as he now only wanted to quickly present that painting to Artemis.
So he left the palace with Atalanta and Meleager.
As soon as they left the palace, the red-haired young man Meleager couldn't help but say to Promise: "Thank you, Promise... but you actually don't need to worry about me, you could have made even more excessive demands to my parents!"
"Who's worrying about you, but you saying that reminds me... Well, if you really want to repay me, then let your parents have your citizens widely spread my deeds!"
Saying this, Promise paused slightly and then looked at Atalanta again, saying: "By the way, Atalanta, do you also want to..."
"No need!" The huntress immediately interrupted Promise's words.
Actually, gaining reputation and such, Atalanta was not completely indifferent about these things especially since this was the age of ancient Greek gods.
But unfortunately, the incident with the thieves had left too deep an impression in her heart, that she felt oddly uncomfortable at the thought of possibly ending up the same way one day...
At this moment, the pure Atalanta didn't know.
This situation is called social death!
"So, how about I play a couple of tunes for you later?" Promise thought for a moment and then said to her.
Hearing this, Atalanta stopped, raised her eyebrows slightly, then tilted her head and looked at Promise, her sacred blue eyes examining him from top to bottom, saying: "I actually felt something strange about you last night, you seem to have been trying to please me these past few days?"
"No way, you're overthinking it." The latter tilted his head and looked skyward in response.
"...You're not thinking that if the offering doesn't satisfy the goddess Artemis, then have me plead with the goddess on your behalf, are you?"
"No, you agreed to hunt with me last night, letting me join you in offering this sacrifice... you actually think that if I'm there, Goddess Artemis will be more lenient with you, right?"
Promise looked at Atalanta with a shocked expression.
This proud wildcat, when did she become so clever!
.
.
.
At this very moment, all these events were actually being watched by the goddesses Hera, Artemis, and Athena, hidden in the clouds above.
They had been there since Promise entered the palace of Calydon.
King Oeneus of Calydon and the hunter Toxeus's earlier attitudes towards Promise had always been observed by Athena and Artemis.
Had Athena not intervened, an angry Artemis was nearly ready to strike the kingdom with an arrow, nearly destroying it entirely.
After all, their questioning of the hunting sacrifice was akin to questioning Artemis herself, not to mention it was also an insult to both Promise and Atalanta.
Although she had once remarked that Atalanta was boring, Atalanta was, after all, a child picked up, raised, and always watched over by Artemis.
Athena had organized a grand divine sacrifice ceremony the previous night and had led Promise by the hand in front of everyone in the Kingdom of Calydon, primarily to signal to King Oeneus and others that Promise was not someone they could afford to provoke.
Thus, this morning's embarrassing moment for the kingdom was not something these mischief-loving Greek deities would miss.
However, the outcome seemed rather dull to them, and they unanimously felt in their hearts that Promise was too kind, as anyone else would have demanded the hunter named Toxeus's life today.
But it was precisely because of this that they heard Promise's next plan.
Getting the whole Kingdom of Calydon to help offer a tribute to Artemis...
At this moment, Hera naturally looked at an overjoyed Artemis with a very jealous expression.
"Artemis, that child Promise really likes you a lot!" Hera said with a face full of jealousy.
Unnoticed, Athena had a slightly odd expression beside her.
After all, among the three goddesses present, Athena knew Promise best, being the goddess of wisdom.
She could clearly see that Promise's diligent preparations had nothing to do with affection or respect, but were purely out of fear...
'Huh, is Promise really that afraid of being hunted?'
'Maybe I should say the same thing to him next time?'
'If he doesn't choose me next time, I'll hunt him myself!'
Athena had mentioned while on Pegasus the previous night that she had already discerned Promise's choice between her and Hera.
And this was also why she had suddenly changed the subject last night, shifting the discussion to Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship.
Initially, she had genuinely intended to use the opportunity to make Promise choose her.
And Athena was quite confident.
After all, since the day she had tricked Hera into finding Hades a marriage, Athena had been diligently working to increase Promise's favor towards her.
She had even gone so far as to personally intervene and give him a gift.
But to Athena's surprise, under such circumstances, Promise had still chosen Hera!
This left the goddess feeling defeated and angry, yet it also sparked an even stronger desire to win.
After all, Athena truly didn't want to destroy Promise right now, especially since she had already made a vow with him.
Thus, she had called a halt midway, planning to deepen her relationship with Promise, even making a fierce vow in her heart.
She decided that the future Promise would never be able to leave her!
It's just unknown what Hera's expression would be if she knew that if she had tried a little harder last night, Athena might have lost her chance.
"Hmm... but what I want is actually a painting, right?" The moon goddess Artemis expressed her surprise but also felt confused, tilting her head.
"A painting?" Queen Hera looked puzzled at Artemis and asked, "Can that child Promise even paint?"
Hearing this, Artemis was about to respond when she noticed Athena glaring at her... Athena hadn't yet settled the score with Artemis for the trap last night!
So Artemis wisely shut her mouth.
Seeing this, Hera looked from Artemis to Athena.
Narrowing her beautiful amber eyes, she said to the goddess of wisdom, "Athena, are you hiding something from me again?"
"Of course not, Hera, what are you talking about... Oh right, shouldn't you go find your daughter? After all, you promised that child Promise last night," Athena said with a light laugh, instantly causing Hera to choke back her questions.
Then, Hera, rigid all over and looking at the smiling Athena, gritted her teeth with hate, yet she indeed had no way to handle her.
After all, although Hera was the queen of the Olympus, whether in schemes or even strength, she was not on the same level as Athena!
This brightest jewel of Olympus, whose power could only be surpassed by Zeus, the king of the gods.
Even Hades, the lord of the underworld, and Poseidon, the god of the sea, were not necessarily a match for this goddess of wisdom!
"Let's go in a couple of days!" Hera angrily replied, "This is the offering that child Promise dedicated, and as his goddess, how could I not watch over him."
Hearing this, Athena did not argue or get angry.
After glancing at Hera, she continued to focus her gaze on Promise.
Beneath that seemingly calm demeanor, her heart was thinking...
Hmm, I'll snatch him from you sooner or later!
...
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