Chapter 393: Interlude- Month 7, May

A day in May.

Chirp!

Chirp!

Chirp!

"Ahh… Spring is so nice." Artemis said stretching her limbs.

"Hm! Hm! It’s so nice and quiet out here!" said Ai.

"Yeah. I love these lazy days." Cirrus said fishing.

The three of them are lazing about by the river under a tree. Cirrus fishes, Ai soaks her feet in the water and Artemis lays under the tree reading a book.

"Hey Cirrus, Artemis, say cheese!!" Ai said, holding a camera-looking magic tool.

"Hm?" They both turned.

Click! Flash!

"Ahhh! My eyes!" they shouted.

The bright light temporary blinded them.

"Hehe! It turned out great!" Ai said, taking out a picture from the magic tool. "That’s another for the wall!"

"Ai I am happy you found another hobby, but a little more heads-up would be nice." Said Artemis, rubbing her eyes.

"Well, the best shots are from the unexpected."

"Well, the wall is nice and funny looking through it," Cirrus said.

"I do like the one where you drew on Ai’s face, Cirrus," Artemis said.

"I like the one where Cirrus stubbed his toe," Ai said.

They thoroughly enjoyed the day that they got. Simply conversing and bantering with one another.

"Hey Cirrus, Are you planning on farming?" Ai asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"We saw you talking with Alvin, Dave, and the other farmer near us," Artemis chimed in. "So… Are you going to be a farmer?"

"What if I am? I wanted to do some exercise."

"That is true." Ai touched his stomach. "You are gaining a bit of fat."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean! I have been burning calories making that magic tool to hide my and Artemis’s child! You know the FUCKING DEMIGOD!!!"

"Oops seems you brought up his stress," Artemis said.

"Oh, drat," Ai said.

"Ahhh fuck! Fuck! Fuuuuuck!! Now I—Ugh! Fuck! Grr!!" He scratched his head and ran his fingers through his hair. "Ahh... Fuck, I’m really stressing!"

The stress has begun to take its toll on Cirrus. For his and Ai’s child, he was rather calm, but for his and Artemis’s, that was the biggest source of stress so far in his life. Its existence is so unnatural and abnormal that even Heaven itself does not know about it, or at least only Nyx and Ananke know about it to Cirrus's knowledge.

"Calm down, Cirrus." Ai links her arms with his. "You wanna pet my tail? I would give you a lap pillow, but—Pat! Pat!" She pats her grown belly. "Maybe some soft kisses! We are in our stable period—"

"No, no, I don’t wanna—Look, I feel weird doing that when they're still in the womb, okay!"

"It’s a real shame," Artemis said. "After Olympia, you had far more energy, more tender."

Yeah, well, I chalked it up to my soul being, you know, part god."

"I am curious, Cirrus," Ai said. "Do you think of anyone else who could be your possible third wife?"

"What made you decide to bring this up now?"

"Well… Malion has been very aggressive in wanting to be your wife."

"Yeah, does it not make you feel weird that Malion wishes to marry you? I mean, there is a considerable age difference." Said Artemis.

"Artemis, you are the last person to even say that you are a goddess. Your age could be 0 to fucking infinity."

"True. Even the most long-lived mortal will still be considered a child to a god."

"Yes, and I am married to you, so age gaps are kinda out the fucking window."

"So… Your not against having Malion as a wife?" Ai, she said with an edge to her tone.

"No. So long as they complete the conditions, I will give her a chance."

"Hmmm… What about Ryuu? You and her are close." Said Artemis.

"That... I am fine being close friends with her but... She would need to make the first move before I feel comfortable moving forward with anything. I don’t wish to ruin a relationship."

"Hm! Hm! I see." Ai looked at Artemis with a glance, and they both understood one another.

"So tell me, Ai, Artemis, do you really want another to join the family?"

"Of course!" Ai said. "With all the energy you had after Olympia, we need more to help satisfy your—"

"Okay, you can’t just add another wife just for—"

"Sure we can," Artemis said, cutting in. "If we approve of and love them, and you love them, then why not let them have some happiness?"

"… Huh. You never really notice how far someone changed until you hear them speak."

"I agree with Cirrus," Ai said to Artemis. "Before you were really straight-edged, now you're more... Well, I don’t have the word to describe it?"

"So! God's can change! Besides, as Aphrodite said, ‘Love should’—Ah." She realized it herself. Her face turned red. "W-well, it’s not bad if I say so myself! I mean, more wives, more children! To love and care for!"

"Hmm… I think it’s because of my soul being part god I am not as against having more wives. Is that something concerning?"

"Oh, boy, I think you are starting to have Zeus-like traits."

"Do not joke about that!"

"I mean, you do last far longer, and you agree to—"

"Nope!! Nope!! I am not having this slander!! I do not have Zeus-like qualities!!"

"But you do wish for a third wife, right!" said Ai.

"Yes, maybe, so what!"

"Cirrus, the first step to improving is to admit you have a—"

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"Okay, I’m leaving."

 

Cirrus left quickly, leaving Ai with Artemis.

"So, does he actually have Zeus-like qualities?" Ai asked.

"Of course not. The closest thing he has in common with him is a strong libido. Cirrus is far more caring and tender." Artemis replied.

"Yeah. Especially after his experience in that purgatory. He holds you as if you were gonna go away."

"Do you not like it? It is a bit rough for me, but I find it rather comforting."

"Of course! He holds me so tight, and I love the feeling of being so close to him. Ah~ I miss it so much!"

"I do as well. So… who do you think would be his next wife?"

"Hmm… Probably Malion."

"Oh? I thought it would be Ryuu. She reminds me a bit of myself."

"Yeah, that’s the point. She is waiting for the right moment, while Malion is going for it actively. You know she paints?"

"Does she?"

"Yeah, she’s very good at it. I remember her asking if she could paint the baby room in the Moonlight Tower."

"And do you think it’s for another reason why she did that?"

"No. She also paints stuff for the kids in Orario. I heard now and again that she would go to Quetzalcoatl School and teach a class or two in art. So I think she simply does it to make the children smile and to improve her craft."

"Yeah… Say, did she say why she wanted to marry Cirrus?"

"She did. She said she initially wanted to because of Nox. But after seeing him in that divine form, she was smitten by him."

"Yeah… I can’t blame her. Seeing him through the divine window made my heart skip a beat again!"

"I could tell you really were attached to him after that."

"I’m not the only one, Art. You hogged him using cosplay! Come to think of it, it was the same night you vomited!!"

"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. I saw you wearing the Miko outfit when I slept."

"And you put on the wedding lingerie with the garter straps!"

They would continue to snap back at one another.

 

While walking through the woods, Cirrus enjoys its peacefulness.

"So." Vesta appeared on his shoulder. "So you think Malion and Ryuu will be your next brides?"

"Do you think they can meet the conditions?"

"Judging from your memories, they have the highest chance. Ryuu probably wouldn’t need to win against Ai and Artemis, so I would put her in the lead should she have feelings for you."

"Hmmm… Honestly, the thought of being with Ryuu brings up Kaguya. I can hear her now shouting at me for laying hands on another girl."

"To be honest, seeing how you interact with Kaguya in particular really borders on—"

"Please do not finish that sentence. Me and her get along as well as a cat and dog."

"Yes, but given the right conditions, a cat and dog would get along very well."

"Hm… I think I rather not think about her in that light. As much as she and I didn’t get along very much, I deeply respected her. She put in the blood, sweat, and effort to get to where she is, all of the Astraea Familia."

"Especially Lyra. You and her get along rather swimmingly."

"That Pallum and I had the same train of thought. I am sure if she still breathed, she would have hundreds more methods to cheat and interrogate."

"She is rather nasty with a dagger. I bet she would make Bell a really fearsome adventurer, given how pure he is."

"An innocent face and personality with a dirty fighting style… Oh yeah, I can see myself getting stabbed a few times before he runs out of tricks."

"… Say, why haven’t you asked Malion about your mother? She seems to know more about her than Hera."

"Maybe a little bit of fear. Maybe I want to keep the idea of my mother intact. But shouldn’t you know that if you saw my memories?"

"Memories are memories. They hold no emotion for me or anyone who witnesses them."

"Really?"

"Yes. Memories are special because it is the owners who interpret them in context, which affects how they move on with that knowledge."

"… You can just say each person interprets things in their own way."

"But then, where is the fun in making you think?"

"Is Hestia as playfully witty as you?"

"I wouldn’t call myself witty, but more informed. Your memories are a great source of study material."

"Hmm… How is Orario?"

"Fine. Rethusa is managing well from what I can gather."

Vesta can manifest using either Cirrus or White Night as the source.

"That is nice."

"Oh yeah, there is something that perked my ears."

"That is?"

"It would seem Bell and Ais have started going out."

"…" Cirrus stopped in his tracks. "What?"

"Yes. Rumor was it that they spotted Bell and Ais hanging out and going to places together."

"… Hm. Well… I hope Bell still remembers my advice."

"I hope so as well. If he had Zeus’s levels of confidence, I fear he would have—Ah. He might actually be even more deadly than Zeus."

Her words will turn out to be true later down the years.

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