Fate: I Just Want to Die and Sit on the Throne of Heroes-Chapter 88: The Moon Goddess’s Gaze, The Goddess of Wisdom’s Blessing

Chapter 88: The Moon Goddess’s Gaze, The Goddess of Wisdom’s Blessing
The Moon Palace had always been serene.
It was the dwelling place of Artemis.
Of course, the Moon Palace did not sit upon the true lunar surface. The gods of the stars who manifested upon the earth were mostly the embodiment of the light of those stars, the radiance that fell into reality and took on concept and form.
Artemis’s temple stood upon the light and shadow cast by the moon.
She spent her days there, gazing down upon the mortal world.
As if searching for something.
This day, this very moment, was no different.
“There seemed to be quite a disturbance in the world below today,” she murmured. “Unfortunately, there is no moon during the day, so I could not see it.”
Within a palace carved like white jade, the silver haired goddess slowly opened her eyes. Her long lashes trembled faintly.
Her full, graceful figure reclined in the silent hall. At a glance, the Moon Goddess Artemis looked no more than a youthful maiden with a lithe yet mature figure. Lustrous silver hair spilled down her back, framing a delicate face. Her slender neck flowed downward into soft, rising curves, patches of pale skin faintly visible beneath her sheer white gauze dress. Her slightly bent legs rose and fell with each unconscious movement, like a gentle tide.
She looked down upon the human world, a hint of regret in her eyes.
“Should I ask Apollo what happened?” she mused. “No… first, let me see what Athena is doing.”
Artemis, Goddess of the Moon and of the Hunt. Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and of War. Hestia, Goddess of Hearth and Home. They were the three virgin goddesses among the Twelve Olympian Gods. Their status was similar, their domains adjacent, and their relationship had always been close.
It was only natural that Artemis often gazed down from the moon at her friends moving through the human world.
As always, she swept her gaze across her own palace first. It was as quiet as ever.
Since the Sage from Uruk, Enkidu, had fallen into sleep in Arcadia, no one had visited the Moon Palace for a very long time.
“Teacher Enkidu,” Artemis whispered,
“I still do not fully understand.”
Thinking of that gentle, verdant figure, Artemis felt a brief pang of loneliness. She quickly steadied herself and shifted her gaze toward the world below.
The murmur of the Aegean Sea was unchanged. Along its shores, the city state of Athens burned bright with lamplight. Laughter and clamor rose into the night, just as prosperous and lively as ever.
How enviable, Athena.
Artemis tilted her head, and in the next instant, her eyes widened.
The moonlight shone down in a clear, unbroken column upon Athena’s temple and illuminated the figure within.
A young man, draped in a linen robe.
That was…
“Teacher Enkidu once mentioned him. The Sage of Uruk?”
The Moon Goddess’s lips parted slightly, her expression tinged with surprise.
She had heard that story many times. The Sage her teacher spoke of had long since taken root in her heart as a distinct, vivid image.
And now, the shadow that dwelled in the Moon Goddess’s heart had finally entered reality.
“Is that truly the Sage?”
Artemis narrowed her eyes. She felt she needed to confirm it for herself.
…
“I apologize for keeping you waiting, Rowe.”
Inside the city state of Athens, within the temple of Athena, a clear voice echoed.
Rowe withdrew his gaze from the rolling Aegean and turned his head toward the figure stepping out from the statue.
The Goddess of Wisdom and War, Athena, still bore her usual grace. Silver hair spilled like water over her shoulders. A plain white dress traced the lines of her slender body. Her lips were soft, her waist narrow, her curved hips swaying subtly with each step she took.
She bowed to him, performing a flawless courtesy.
“Thank you for your assistance today.”
“It was merely a simple transaction.”
Rowe shook his head.
“The matter is already settled. Why invite me here again?”
Athena’s crimson eyes lingered on him for a moment, then she smiled.
“Sage Rowe, why not remain in Athens?”
She extended her invitation without hesitation.
“I admire your wisdom. As one of the Twelve Olympians upon Mount Olympus, I can guarantee this. If you stay in Athens, this city will be both mine and yours.”
The Goddess of Wisdom admired those who possessed wisdom.
Even more than that, she favored those who were both wise and courageous.
For that, Athena did not mind sharing her glory in the human world.
“So it is only an invitation.”
Rowe shook his head. The reason he had remained was simple. He wanted to see what other tricks this Goddess of Wisdom intended to play. If he happened to find another chance to provoke a god or two along the way, all the better.
Yet it seemed Athena only wished to draw him to Athens.
“In the past, I served as adjutant to the King of Uruk,” Rowe said. “I have already stayed in one place for a very long time. Now, I simply want to wander.”
He declined without hesitation.
“Becoming a Greek hero is quite pleasant.”
Athena’s fine brows drew together slightly. She had expected that answer, and yet a faint disappointment still slipped through.
“Very well. There is no point in forcing what cannot be held.”
She understood the balance of give and take.
“Then I can only wish you a smooth journey…”
She paused, then smiled with a hint of teasing.
“By the way, those three little girls are very fond of you. Are you truly not tempted to stay, Sir Sage?”
Rowe blinked, momentarily thrown off guard.
Athena continued musing aloud.
“Speaking of those three, they actually have a connection with you. Or rather, with your friend, to varying degrees.”
Friend.
Could it be…
“En… Enkidu?” Rowe responded at once.
“Yes. The Sage from Uruk, from more than a thousand years ago.”
So Enkidu had come to Greece as well.
Rowe had already seen the end of Uruk within the Imaginary Number Space. He knew that in his twilight years, Gilgamesh had pushed the borders of the empire they built together all the way to the edge of the Aegean, influencing countless city states.
What he did not know was that Enkidu, who had left at the moment he fell into the Imaginary Number Space, had also come to Greece.
And not only had she come, she had clearly done quite a lot.
“One of the three kings of Uruk. The divine weapon and Sage, Enkidu,” Athena said.
“She arrived a few hundred years after the King of Uruk spread the story of the Sage, and after Prometheus stole the heavenly fire, opening the Heroic Age.”
“At that time, the three sisters Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa were my subordinate deities.”
“Back then, I was in fierce conflict with Poseidon and was close to going to war. Those three had a very good relationship with him.”
“So…”
“So you almost expelled them, but happened to be dissuaded by Enkidu as she passed through.”
Rowe finished the thought for her.
Until now, he had only felt an odd sense of dissonance when he thought about it. At last, everything slotted into place.
According to later myths, after Medusa became a monster, she was killed by Perseus, the demigod hero.
Perseus, in turn, was Heracles’s grandfather.
No matter how chaotic Greek genealogies were, the order of time at least remained intact. Perseus should have lived several decades before Heracles.
At this point, Heracles had already grown up. Medusa, who had supposedly died at Perseus’s hand, should have long since vanished from the stage.
If this deviation was Enkidu’s doing, however, then it made sense.
Medusa’s earlier kindness toward him might have also been influenced by that meeting.
He did not know whether the later legends of the Gorgon Sisters would still take root as they had, or if only the three goddesses under Athena would be remembered.
Either way…
Even if it meant losing another opportunity to court death, seeing a tragedy averted was not a bad thing.
It was, in its own way, a pleasing sight.
“Congratulations,” Rowe said. “You have one less infamy attached to your name.”
This man still spoke with such bluntness.
Athena could only feel helpless, yet she smiled.
“It seems I still cannot keep you,” she said.
“If you wish to find that forest Sage, you should go to the paradise of Arcadia.”
“It is said she finally fell into a deep sleep there, accompanied by the Moon Goddess Artemis.”
Arcadia.
Was that not where Mount Pelion Cave was located?
So he had passed by Enkidu’s resting place. No, that was not quite right. Arcadia was an entire region, vast and filled with mountains and forests. Not sensing her presence was only natural.
Rowe silently committed Athena’s words to memory.
The Goddess of Wisdom lifted her face.
“Then, at the very end, allow me to bestow upon you a true blessing.”
Moonlight poured in through the window. Gauze curtains rippled.
A faint, sweet fragrance filled the temple, the goddess’s scent carried upon the night air.
Athena raised a slender finger and gently touched it to Rowe’s lips. Soft skin traced lightly along his cheek as she smiled.
Her bright red lips parted. The words she spoke carried no games and no hidden snares, only unfeigned sincerity and divine radiance.
“I bless you in the name of Athena…”
As her voice rang out, this sincere blessing overlaid the playful one from before.
“May wisdom always shine upon you.”
“May your wisdom forever remain like a clear mirror, untouched by the decay of time.”
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