Iskios took off his mask and cloak and hurled them aside. Then, at his words, every centaur who had fixed their gaze on him for even a moment went rigid.
Their bodies hadn't frozen physically, but mentally. In the life they had carved out by hunting, they had never seen a human like this. Yes... the moment they saw Iskios's bare face, a beauty that could even enchant the gods, they lost their minds.
"I've never seen a beauty like that in my life...!"
"Hah...! I-I'm hard...!"
"I want to fuck him! I want to fuck him!!!"
Just moments ago, the centaurs had looked every inch the elite hunters, but the instant they saw Iskios's bare face, they were driven by instinct as if to say, "What is that?" and lunged at him.
But Iskios had been waiting for exactly this. Because all their attention had gone to him, Atalanta had not died and had been freed. And what remained was to slaughter the centaurs without leaving a single one alive. Iskios drew the two swords at his waist, hesitating for only an instant before swinging them.
"No way... I never thought I'd end up using these in my life..."
The two swords in Iskios's hands had once been gifts from Apollo, given to him when he was preparing to depart on the Argo expedition.
At first, he had kept them unused because he felt reluctant to wield a gift from Apollo, but in this situation, such luxury was not allowed.
The centaurs, who had been enthralled by Iskios's appearance and lost all reason, only belatedly realized that Iskios had vanished from before their eyes—and that, in the same instant, their bodies had been cut to pieces.
By the time they understood that, it was already too late. They were already dead.
"...Ugh...!"
After turning the nearby centaurs who had tried to pounce on his face into heaps of meat, Iskios felt a wave of nausea rise from being exposed to their gaze.
But he forced it down and, seeing the centaur detachment from the forest where he had been separated from Atalanta charging toward him, he glared at them with a chilling look.
After that, wiping out the centaurs was not difficult. Perhaps because Iskios had revealed his face and was holding swords, the centaurs turned into fools the moment they saw him. Reduced to beasts following nothing but instinct, Iskios could kill them even more easily than before.
It did not take long to turn all but one of the centaurs into a festival of blood. Iskios cut off the last centaur's limbs, leaving its life intact, then quickly put his mask back on and began the interrogation.
"...Now, talk. Put aside how you knew my name—who ordered you?"
"A-Aaaagh...!"
The centaur, who had barely recovered its senses, felt both attraction and fear toward Iskios as he questioned it while wearing his mask.
The centaurs had separated Iskios from Atalanta first and intended to kill her. They were skilled hunters, and hunting a beast should have been easy. But they had underestimated Iskios's combat ability far too much.
People tended to think of Iskios as a hero who used his head like Jason, not one who relied on brute strength like Heracles. Because of that, the centaurs had looked down on his fighting power, but that was not the case.
"—I said, who ordered you!? Answer me—!?"
Iskios had more than enough combat ability. Heracles was such an insurmountable wall that it made him seem weak by comparison, but Iskios was by no means weak.
It was only because of his personality that he avoided unnecessary fights, but his movements were too fast for them to follow, and his beautiful face was enough to turn them into idiots at a glance.
—He avoided fighting because that was his nature. He was never weak.
***
Life is full of one mountain after another, but this time, that mountain was Artemis.
I had wrung every scrap of information out of the centaur hunters who attacked us. As a result, I had now realized I was in a very difficult situation.
"Tch... What am I even supposed to call this kind of rotten luck..."
—One mountain after another. When it rains, it pours. I got information from the last centaur I didn't kill and learned who had sent them.
Goddess Artemis. Apollo's younger sister and one of the Twelve Olympians. She had apparently seen me as a thorn in her side for a long time, but it seemed she did not intend to harm me directly.
Long ago, Goddess Artemis loved a man named Orion so much that she was willing to give up her chastity for him. But because of Apollo's scheme, Orion died, and Artemis had no choice but to turn him into a constellation, becoming the Orion we know today.
Of course, Artemis must have been furious because of Apollo's trick, but considering this was the end of the world in Greece, there was nothing she could do about it.
"Well, that means I'm the punching bag for her frustration, huh. Hahahaha..."
All I could do was laugh bitterly, but I hate this kind of black humor. I'm already stressed enough because of Apollo... and now his little sister too? Game difficulty should have some limits...!
Still, if there was any good news in all this misery, it was that Goddess Artemis apparently could not strike me down directly with divine punishment. If she did, she would incur Apollo's wrath... so she probably planned to ruin my journey without dirtying her own hands.
...Honestly, I'd thought many times that this was impossible to keep doing, but this time the feeling was especially strong. But... I have no intention of giving up here. I will never give up. No matter what happens, I will return Atalanta to her original human form.
"Grrrr..."
We had to relight the fire that had gone out because of the centaurs, and while I was eating meat by the fire I had barely managed to start, Atalanta, in the form of a black lion, approached me.
It was certainly a terrifying lion's growl that would frighten any ordinary person. I once read in a book in my past life that the roars of beasts like lions and tigers had the power to tense the muscles of other animals. That was true of Atalanta now that she had become a lion too... but the tone of her roar was lower than usual.
Huh? You're asking if I'm okay hearing that up close? At least it's much better than hearing gay guys huffing and puffing or saying they're going to jump me. If I hear that kind of thing, I get goosebumps all over and can only think about running away...
"What, are you worried about me...?"
Atalanta let out a low growl and rubbed her head against me. I didn't really know what she was trying to say, but I took it as her trying to comfort me.
Honestly... I've never even raised a cat, so I don't really understand how cats express themselves. It gets even harder when that's transferred to a lion... But still, the fact that I can keep my reason right now is thanks to the things Medea gave me.
For now, it seems like I can manage because of them, but once time runs out, I won't be able to cope anymore. Somehow, no matter what, I will reach my mother's temple. I will. Absolutely...
"It's okay, Atalanta. I won't die. I'll turn you back into a human, and we'll live a quiet life together. Ah... if there's something you want to do, I'll help however I can. Of course... I'll stop you if it's something wrong."
I knew Atalanta had idealistic thoughts. A quiet life was what I wanted to spend my life on too, but if Atalanta needed help, I would help her. More than anything, we were married...
...It seemed I would never be able to live quietly, even at the very end. As I was thinking that, tears the size of beans were rolling down Atalanta's eyes.
"Y-You're crying!? W-Why, what's wrong...!?"
She suddenly started crying, and I had no idea what to do. A crying cat—no, a lion? I had never heard of such a thing, and I had never seen it either. What am I supposed to do about this...?
***
I was too powerless to help you.
My marriage to Iskios had not been that long ago. Medea had said we had married rather late, but Iskios was a man unlike any other to be found anywhere in Greece.
Among those men full of vigor, who valued only the glory and honor of battle and masculine strength, he was truly an outlier among heroes.
When I first saw him, I thought he was an extremely unusual man. He said he didn't want to stand out, and yet when someone was in danger, he would throw himself in front of them to protect and help them. His words and actions were opposites, but there was no malice in them.
When I first saw Iskios's face on the island of Lemnos, it was indeed a handsome face so beautiful it could enchant even the gods and weaken their hearts. Of course, the memory of Iskios becoming extremely sharp the moment he saw my face and restraining me is still vivid in my mind.
"Tch... What am I even supposed to call this kind of rotten luck..."
Much later, Iskios won me fairly in a footrace and married me. But he respected my opinion, my words. When I said I wanted to preserve my chastity, he respected my way and did not touch me.
And then... he told me to become human, gave me extra lessons in Iolcos, and when I heard that before meeting me he had even stepped in to stop a woman named Callisto from being cursed by Lady Hera, I realized he was truly someone who could not leave the weak to suffer.
Iskios seemed to be harsh on himself, but I held him in high regard. He is truly too good a man for a woman like me. Because of me... this happened.....
"Well, that means I'm the punching bag for her frustration, huh. Hahahaha..."
I was cursed by Lady Selene. When I was awake, I became a beast; when I slept, I returned to human form. Right now, thanks to Medea's tools, my ferocity was being suppressed while I was awake, but I had no idea when I might rampage again.
But Iskios said he would bear the price of my sins himself and took me with him to Lady Selene's temple. On the way, when I was caught by the centaurs and about to die, Iskios even took off the mask and cloak he hated to remove most in order to save me.
Even now, while he was tending the fire, he was acting with his mask and cloak off for the sake of what lay ahead. He was blowing on his hands with a "huh, huh," but I felt terribly sorry for him.
"Grrrr..."
"What, are you worried about me...?"
As I approached and let out a low growl, Iskios looked at me, smiled, and stroked my head. It was a little ticklish in this lion form, but under that gentle touch, my eyes began to close.
Iskios was acting as if he was fine, but even to my eyes, he did not look fine. What happened to me may have been the will of a god. But... Iskios refuses to accept me as I am now and will not give up.
Unlike usual, Iskios had no room to spare right now. The fact that he was acting without his mask and cloak was proof enough of that.
"It's okay, Atalanta. I won't die. I'll turn you back into a human, and we'll live a quiet life together. Ah... if there's something you want to do, I'll help however I can. Of course... I'll stop you if it's something wrong."
Iskios's expression turned cold. Normally, Iskios had a prickly personality, but what showed on his face now was coldness. Not coldness toward others, but coldness toward himself—resolve.
The moment I heard those words and saw that expression, I felt something swell somewhere deep in my heart. I had never felt anything like that in my life, not even once. Tears spilled from my eyes. They wouldn't stop... Why...? Why...?
"Y-You're crying!? W-Why, what's wrong...!?"
I'm sorry... I'm sorry... Iskios...! Truly... truly, I'm sorry...! Because of me.....