At the temple of Olympus atop Mount Olympus, every god had been summoned—except for Apollo, who was so consumed with searching for Iskios that nothing else even registered to him.
I had a rough idea why they had all been called here. Everyone knew it was because of Apollo, the only absentee from this gathering, and Zeus was the first to speak with a sigh.
"Uh... ahem... as you all know, for the past two years Apollo has neglected his duties and has been tearing through all of Greece while even using his Authority. Are you aware of that?"
As Zeus spoke through a cold sweat, the other gods nodded as if there was nothing more to say. It had all started two years ago, when Apollo saw Iskios, the youngest child of Selene, goddess of the full moon, and fell for him at first sight.
The aftermath of that infatuation had been even worse than when Apollo fell in love with Daphne, the nymph, through one of Eros's tricks. For a full two years, he had abandoned the domains under his charge and mobilized both his followers and his Authority in an attempt to catch Iskios.
Of course, if Apollo had truly set his mind to it, the other gods had assumed it would take a day at most. But the result had gone far beyond anything they imagined.
Bwahahaha!!! "Two whole years!? Hahahaha! You're telling me someone kept even Apollo from laying a hand on him for two years!?"
Remembering the game of tag that had begun between those two years ago, Poseidon burst into booming laughter. As Poseidon laughed, Hermes, seated beside him, let out a sigh.
Though he carried the blood of a Divine Spirit in one half of him, Iskios was still properly human in the other. And yet he had endured Apollo's relentless courtship for two years. Hermes could not help but pity him.
Hermes knew why his father Zeus had summoned the Twelve Olympians. Down on the surface, things were falling apart because Apollo was not doing his job.
As for the work of the sun god, Helios—Apollo's predecessor in that role—had somehow forced himself to keep driving the sun chariot. But Apollo's other responsibilities... especially the oracles of the Temple of Delphi, had reached the point where they could no longer continue for the time being.
"What are we supposed to do with that idiot son of mine...? If anyone has a good idea, speak."
Even Zeus, who normally chased after pretty girls and beautiful women whenever he had the chance, was taking this seriously. With his fingers interlaced, he looked around at the other gods and demanded suggestions.
This was a grave matter. The disgrace Apollo was making of himself now was staining the name of the Greek gods—the gods of Olympus themselves. In the worst case, Zeus was even considering stripping Apollo of his seat among the Twelve Olympians.
But if Apollo were removed, they would have to find a new god capable of filling the vacancy. Could they really find one? A god fit to replace Apollo? And even then, it would still be difficult to force the issue with Iskios.
After all, Selene—famous among the gods for being weak in asserting herself—had personally asked them to help. To force him would be to disgrace Selene, and that in turn would disgrace them all.
As Zeus sank deeper into thought, one god raised a hand first and offered an opinion. It was Aphrodite, goddess of beauty. Zeus lifted his head as if he had been waiting for it.
"Oh, Aphrodite. Do you have a good idea?"
"Yes, Lord Zeus."
Aphrodite, goddess of beauty and love, rose to present her suggestion, and every other god turned to look at her. Smiling, she gave her answer.
"It's simple. Have Eros shoot Iskios with his golden arrow and make him fall in love!"
Aphrodite's proposal was brutally straightforward. But to Zeus, it also sounded like the most effective method.
Eros possessed two kinds of arrows. One was the lead arrow, which made the one struck reject love. The other was the golden arrow, which made the one struck fall in love. The power of those two arrows was absolute. Even gods could not resist them.
If they did that, then this whole mess Apollo had started would certainly calm down. Zeus heard Aphrodite's idea and was just about to order, "Do it at once!" But then Hermes rose with his hand raised, as if objecting.
"I don't think it's a bad method... but I believe it would only create an even bigger disaster."
"Hm? What do you mean, Hermes?"
Aphrodite thought her proposal was the best possible one. As the goddess of love, she viewed Apollo's feelings positively. And love between a beautiful youth and an impossibly beautiful youth? To her, that had its own charm as well.
What exactly was lacking in her suggestion? That was what she was thinking, but Hermes coolly repeated something he had once heard when he visited Chiron.
"Iskios has an extremely negative view of love between men—no... it's more accurate to say he utterly despises it. I heard it from Chiron before. He said Iskios was wary of some of the male students..."
"Th-then that means...!?"
"Probably... considering his personality, if he realized he'd fallen in love with Apollo, I think he might go as far as killing himself. And if that happened, then Brother Apollo would—"
"Mm..."
Imagining what would come after that, Zeus felt his headache worsen. If Apollo were to witness Iskios taking his own life right in front of him, then he would probably break down sobbing and sink into depression again, refusing to work.
...Apollo's mood would merely shift from "love" to "grief." The result—him not working—would stay the same. In the end, Aphrodite's proposal was rejected, and she sat back down in a sulk.
The discussion had returned to square one. But this time, the one who raised a hand was Dionysus, the most recent god to ascend to a seat among the Twelve. Smiling brightly, Dionysus offered his idea.
"How about arranging a drinking party for Brother Apollo and Iskios?"
"A drinking party?"
It was a suggestion fitting for the god of wine, but Zeus could not see what exactly he meant by it, so he listened as Dionysus continued.
"Since the two of them would be enjoying themselves together, we'd prepare food Iskios would like and the finest wine imaginable~! We'd have everything ready and welcome Iskios with it! Ah, and since it's a special occasion, we'd prepare nectar too~!"
"I do think it sounds good... but it's hard to believe the other side would agree to that..."
"Hm? What do you mean, Sister Athena~?"
After hearing Dionysus out, Zeus had thought that was a good idea too and was about to shout, "Good! Put it into action at once!" But this time Athena, goddess of wisdom, raised her hand and objected.
When Athena spoke up, Dionysus, like Aphrodite before him, believed there was nothing wrong with his idea. Looking at her younger brother, Athena coolly explained why she objected. Rising from her seat, she spoke.
"For two years, Iskios has done nothing but evade Apollo's pursuit and hide. On top of that, Apollo already tried something similar before—he attempted to lure Iskios by playing the lyre for him."
"Ah... then—"
"Yes. It means that method won't work on him at all."
Even after hearing the beautiful melodies Apollo could play for an entire day, Iskios had never shown himself once. Without question, his patience was strong. He was not the sort of human who could be tempted by food or beauty.
The fact that he had managed to shake off Apollo through nothing but fleeing and hiding already put him beyond the bounds of ordinary humanity, but his patience had gone beyond human limits as well. There was a reason Selene, normally so gloomy, had become unusually talkative whenever she boasted about her child.
But thanks to that, the meeting once again returned to the beginning. Dionysus sat down in disappointment, and Athena quietly returned to her seat as well. With even the second proposal rejected, Zeus grabbed his head in both hands and sighed. What in the world were they supposed to do...?
As Zeus wrestled with that question, one of the twelve gods—someone who seemed the most unexpected of all—raised a hand to offer an opinion. Even Zeus widened his eyes in surprise when he saw which god it was.
**********
"I can't stand men."
Today as well, I, Iskios, was working hard to hide from Apollo. It was hard to avoid him during the day, but once night fell, hiding somehow became easier.
Because the darkness, the shadows, protected me. More precisely, the darkness of the shadows concealed me and kept Apollo from finding me. Living like a drifter had made securing food and getting sleep incredibly difficult, but compared to getting my ass violated by that damn gay god, this was far better.
Bathing and taking care of business were especially miserable. At times like that, I stayed as alert and careful as possible and finished as fast as I could. For food, I picked fruit from nearby trees, and sometimes I slipped into a village and stole something to eat.
I really did feel sorry about stealing from people, but the situation was what it was. I had no choice. I'll apologize later if I ever get the chance.
"Iskios!!! Where are you!!!?"
"You still haven't given up...?"
From somewhere in this forest, Apollo's thoroughly unpleasant voice rang out in an echo. Hearing it, all I could do was sigh. It had already been over two years since this hellish game of tag began. And even now that bastard still refused to give up... The rumors had spread through all of Greece already...
In the worst case, I was even considering suicide. Why the hell was I born with a face like this...? Honestly, in the absolute worst case, if I had just been born ugly—or at least as some plain-looking guy nobody noticed—I could have lived and died quietly and normally in this godforsaken age.
...All right then... once tonight passes, where should I go next...?