Fate: I Just Want to Die and Sit on the Throne of Heroes-Chapter 90: Seeing Chiron Again, Atalanta

Chapter 90: Seeing Chiron Again, Atalanta
Not much time had passed since he left.
Even so, when Rowe stepped once more onto this land, his heart barely stirred.
In such a short span, he had done quite a lot.
But that was how heroes should live.
Come and go.
No fixed abode.
His feet left the boat plank and touched solid ground. He paused there, taking in the rolling mountains and dense forests spread out before him.
“First, I will find Chiron. He should know exactly where the paradise is.”
Find Enkidu first.
Then continue the plan to seek death.
That was Rowe’s order of priorities.
Carrying that thought, he headed toward Mount Pelion’s cave.
This time, without any centaur guards getting in his way, the journey was far smoother.
At the same time, deep within Mount Pelion’s cave, Chiron had spent an entire day and night gazing into the starry sky of his inner world, tracing out the lines of the future in the aftermath of that violent tremor.
Chiron, the centaur, was born with the power of prophecy.
From the present, he could look into the branching futures of spacetime and glimpse the most probable outcomes among countless possibilities.
That was his authority.
The rightful authority of a complete god, born from the former Titan God King Cronus and the sea nymph Philyra.
He was a god whose physical body walked the surface of the world.
The centaur form was merely his outward appearance. He called the centaurs his kin only because he had grown up among them.
Precisely because of this, even though the arrival of Sage Rowe was, in purely personal terms, a blessing, as one of the world’s tendrils and a seat among the gods, Chiron had no choice but to remain wary of any disturbance.
Past, future, all fluctuations.
“Sage Rowe…”
“How did you know I was coming?”
A voice from outside the cave abruptly cut across the stream of his prophecy, and Chiron’s eyes snapped open.
Sunlight spilled in from the cave mouth, illuminating the broad patch of ground carpeted with soft dried grass. Dust motes floated quietly within the column of light, and a single figure stepped through it, robe swaying with each stride.
“Oh, you were prophesying.”
Rowe’s gaze fell briefly on the starshine that had not yet faded from Chiron’s eyes, and he understood at once.
“The future has countless branches. Prophecy is useless.”
“But one must at least attempt it,” Chiron replied in a low voice, letting the light and shadows in his pupils dim and vanish. “The rest is up to us.”
“You Greek gods. Do none of you actually think of yourselves as gods?”
Rowe finally voiced the complaint he had been holding back. Hermes had said something similar as well.
“Eh? Oh. I am a god.”
Chiron scratched his head, as if he had only just remembered.
In Greece, gods and humans living side by side was simply normal.
“By the way, Mister Rowe, is there something you have returned for?” Chiron asked. “And why did you fight Ares, God of War, earlier?”
“It is a long story, so I will keep it short.”
Rowe sat down on the dried grass of the cave.
“Because he deserved a beating.”
“…”
It was certainly short.
Yet for some reason, Chiron did not doubt him.
Perhaps, in his mind, that was simply how Sage Rowe was.
“Even so, I still have to say this.”
Chiron could not restrain his concern.
“You have been an enemy of the gods in the past, but the gods of Mesopotamia are not the same as the gods of Greece. What if something unexpected happens to you…”
Rowe’s expression remained perfectly flat.
Is this a teacher?
This sounds more like a nagging mother.
“Ahem. Speaking of which, where is Heracles?”
Rowe seized the opening to cut him off.
“I have already sent him out to complete his training.”
Chiron paused, then answered.
“He has studied under me for three years. I have taught him everything I can.”
“What a pity. I wanted to teach him properly as well.”
Rowe put on a look of exaggerated regret.
“I wanted to see if he could say those three words.”
Hopefully not.
This time it was Chiron whose face went blank.
“Oh, right. Do you know where Arcadia’s paradise is?”
The paradise of Arcadia.
“If you mean the earthly dwelling place of Artemis, I can take you there.”
Chiron hesitated, then added nervously,
“But I must ask. You are not planning to beat her up, are you?”
He had beaten Heracles.
After Heracles, he fought Ares.
And after Ares, he was going to seek Artemis.
Was Rowe trying to beat all of Zeus’s children in order?
Chiron found it difficult not to think of that possibility.
Fortunately, he was mistaken.
“I am only going to visit a friend.”
Rowe’s answer was simple.
Since he said so, Chiron could only choose to believe him and guide him there.
…
Arcadia’s paradise lay at the heart of the entire region.
In the eyes of the Greeks, this was the world’s center. A land of pure beauty, filled with nature and goodness, free from oppression.
A utopia.
With Chiron leading the way, Rowe arrived there swiftly.
“It is just ahead.”
Chiron halted at the boundary line, lifted a hand, and pointed into the depths of the forest.
Rowe followed the direction of his gesture.
Trees grew densely, draped in lush greenery. Soft, bright sunlight scattered gently across the slopes of the mountains. At a glance, it did not seem so different from other places, yet he could sharply sense the harmony and stillness suffusing it.
Simply setting foot there would be enough to purify a person’s soul.
Human, bird, beast, or fish.
It would be the same for all.
“I will not go in.”
Chiron shook his head.
“Paradise is, after all, Artemis’s dwelling on the earth. As a descendant of a Titan god, it would not be appropriate for me to enter without her permission.”
Rowe nodded to show he understood.
“But… you truly do not intend to beat Artemis, do you?”
Chiron’s nerves flared up again a heartbeat later.
“Am I really that violent?”
Rowe sounded offended.
“Yes.”
“…”
It took a great deal of effort for Rowe to soothe the naturally fussy centaur and send him on his way.
The process included, but was not limited to, making solemn promises, turning the tables to criticize Chiron’s own flaws, and thoroughly flipping the script on their roles.
By the time Chiron finally left, his retreating back looked rather like a field mouse fleeing a hunting dog.
Rowe let out a silent sigh and turned his attention to the paradise before him.
The so called utopia.
“There is indeed Enkidu’s aura here.”
He closed his eyes slightly and felt carefully.
The harmony in the air was exactly like Enkidu’s presence.
The weapon created by the gods had been shaped by the gods of Mesopotamia to restrain the wedge of heaven.
Yet the concept they had used as her base was nature.
Natural and harmonious.
Perhaps this forest itself had grown into this form because of Enkidu.
No wonder she was called a saint.
Rowe opened his eyes and followed that faint sense, walking deeper into the woods.
“Stop.”
A clear voice rang out from ahead.
A slim figure flickered into view.
A girl with a bow in hand stood upon a tree branch, her stance steady and poised. Her long green hair, messy and clearly never combed, floated slightly on the breeze, framing a delicate face and sharp, alert eyes.
A thick fur mantle draped across her shoulders. A sliver of pale skin was visible at her chest with only a slight rise and fall, while her waist was bound tightly.
The open hem of her outfit drew out the curve of her rounded hips with almost casual precision, every shift of her weight sending a subtle sway through her form. Long, strong legs extended downward, their lines clearly visible beneath black stockings.
She was a beautiful and heroic huntress.
“My name is Atalanta, guardian of this paradise.”
She drew the bowstring slightly.
“Who are you? Without Lady Artemis’s permission…”
“Who sent you here?”
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