Chapter 42

Even if you avoid the eyes of Hermes, you can’t escape the gossip of the nymphs.

This was a common saying among the heroes and gods of Greece.

They lived much longer than humans and were far more widespread.

When two of them met, stories of all kinds from across Greece were shared and spread exponentially.

They were flowers and trees, and the wind that steals a traveler’s mind.

Their smiles were woven into the rocks of high mountains, the streams and rivers flowing through the land, and the white waves carrying sailors.

At times, they paint beautiful romances with heroes, or prank them mischievously.

Among such nymphs, there were some who were special.

They were the daughters of the distant sea, the sisters of the thousand waves known as the Nereids.

They were not spirits dwelling in trees and winds like other nymphs.

They were the daughters of Oceanus, who had passed the throne of the Aegean Sea to Poseidon and now protected the vast and treacherous ocean named after him.

Their mother was Tethys, the ancient witch of the deep sea, the lady of clear waters, and the primordial nurturer goddess.

Their most proud sister, the sea goddess Amphitrite, reigned as queen alongside Poseidon, the ruler of the sea.

Hera, the Queen of Olympus, always held them in high regard, as they were the daughters of her foster parents, so no god or hero could treat them disrespectfully.

In fact, there was an incident where Queen Cassiopeia of Ethiopia arrogantly claimed her beauty surpassed that of the Sisters of the Thousand Waves.

The nymphs, singing by the seaside, were deeply insulted and they immediately reported this to their sisters and brother-in-law.

Amphitrite was enraged by the insult to her sisters, and since the offense against the Sisters of the Thousand Waves was also an offense to her consort, Poseidon was equally furious.

As a result, Ethiopia, under the rule of a foolish queen, faced relentless attacks from sea monsters and massive tsunamis, putting it on the brink of destruction.

In the end, Ethiopia was saved by the hero Perseus, and Princess Andromeda, who was about to be sacrificed, lived happily as the hero’s consort…

After the incident was resolved in such a manner, Amphitrite and Poseidon publicly declared in Olympus that if they had not punished Ethiopia and the arrogant Cassiopeia themselves, the great ancient sea god who slumbers in the distant sea of suffering would have personally risen to the land of Greece.

They informed Zeus that they would drown all those who insulted his daughters and anyone remotely related to them, requesting the Lord to protect the sea princesses from any threats.

In response, Zeus, asserting his authority and as the ruler of Olympus, declared that any god or hero who harmed them would taste his thunderbolt.

After that, no great hero, powerful monster, or creature dared to approach the beautiful women singing in the sea.

They could only admire them from afar.

It wasn’t a matter of their bravery.

“Exactly! We should go!”

In the depths of the sea near Messinia, among the sunken ships.

Wearing the blue activewear woven by Mother Tethys herself, Queen Nymph Galatea shouted to her sisters.

After their eldest sister, Amphitrite, became Poseidon’s consort, and their second sister, Thetis, named after their mother, withdrew to inherit their mother’s sorcery.

As the head of the Sisters of the Thousand Waves, for the first time in centuries, she summoned all the sisters of the sea to the waters of Messinia.

As a result, the sudden currents troubled the nearby fishermen and sailors, but they dared not complain to those who had the sea’s ruler and the ancient sea titan as their backers.

Anyway, standing at the forefront of a grand shipwreck submerged in the deep sea, the ruler of the thousand waves, Amphitrite, raised her voice.

“Aphrodite said that the courageous would win the heroes!”

-Hear, hear! Hear, hear! Hear, hear!

“Heroes are so cowardly that they don’t even come near us. We have no choice but to go!”

-Hear, hear! Hear, hear! Hear, hear!

Hundreds of beautiful daughters of Oceanus, following the Queen at the front, waved their arms and echoed.

“Proud sisters! What do we lack compared to those nymphs of the land? Why should we only admire the tales of love from flowers and trees?”

Their authority was not lesser compared to any goddesses.

Their beauty surpassed that of any nymph, if not equal.

“Why are we denied Aphrodite’s grace and left to endure such loneliness?!”

At the Queen’s sorrowful cry, the hundred minor goddesses lowered their heads.

“I didn’t think my sister and brother-in-law would breathe such fire…”

“Who would have guessed they would ask Zeus for protection…?”

“Honestly, if Mother hadn’t talked to Father, it would have been worse…”

The proclaimed absolute protection by the chief god of Olympus and the ruler of the sea.

Moreover, the ruler of the ocean of trials, Oceanus, standing behind them.

They could roam any sea freely, but no hero or god dared to approach them…

In their prime years, they were unintentionally leading a life of solitude.

A few sisters were managing well, engaging in romances with gods.

Nevertheless, most of the wave sisters had not even experienced the concept of romance, only hearing about the love stories of other nymphs and spending wistful nights imagining walking along the beach with a handsome young man someday.

“However, now the opportunity has come! Our beloved youngest, Nesneria’s partner, the young hero Dianes, you all know him, right?”

Of course, they knew.

The proud youngest who succeeded in the first male hunt in hundreds of years.

Moreover, the counterpart was not one of those gods who viewed them as a one-night plaything, or an ignorant and brute monster who couldn’t even understand the gods’ declarations.

He was a young boy of her age, and even more, according to the forest nymphs, a young hero as powerful as Hercules.

The nymphs, who had been worried that their beloved youngest might have fallen for a strange man, finally felt relieved and congratulated her on her love.

Then, to ensure a perfect reunion between the lover who had left the island of Passos and their sister, they diligently dressed Neri and continuously communicated with the nymphs of the Forest of Heroes to plan the most perfect moment.

Athena’s blessing struck the mind of the nymph Queen Galatea with inspiration.

“Today, we shall orchestrate the perfect reunion for our youngest!”

And once Neri and the target became close, under the pretense of confirming the youngest’s lover, they would contact Dianes.

Step by step, they would increase their intimacy, and eventually arrange meetings with other men from the Forest of Heroes!

The Queen’s speech, filled with unprecedented passion, enraptured the hundreds of sisters.

The current operation was reaching its climax.

“The target has made contact with the youngest!”

“What’s the youngest’s reaction?”

“It seems like she only sees her lover.”

“Such a good time…”

The nymphs, who were observing from a distance using their powers and various sources to avoid interference, were watching the situation in real time.

It was a moment when all the nymphs shed tears, witnessing the young lovers who had to part due to the call of fate but eventually reunited through the nymph’s passion and love.

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong, twenty-second sister?!”

“…Next to the prospective brother-in-law…”

“There’s a woman! A woman is there!”

-What?!

At the sudden appearance of an obstacle, over a hundred nymphs, including the Queen, screamed.

-Swoosh!

Their voices soon became the currents of the sea.

The sea, responding to their shock, swept the shore with waves as big as houses.

The lovers, who were hugging each other tenderly, and the woman behind them, who was burning with jealousy, were all swept away in an instant.

“Oh! They’ve all been swept away by the huge wave!”

“Good! How dare she touch our youngest’s prey!”

“I’ll tell Father!”

“Hey, that’s a bit…”

Anyway, while the sisters cheered for giving a blow to the impudent human woman who dared to sidle up to their beloved youngest’s lover, Galatea held her face in her hands and sighed alone.

“This is…”

“What’s wrong, sister?”

The Queen, gritting her teeth, glared sharply at the clueless sister who was about to open a Dionysus wine in celebration.

“Do you call that dealing a blow?!”

“Huh?”

As Galatea suddenly got angry, everyone was bewildered, not understanding what was happening.

Soon, as the wave receded, everyone was left speechless at the sight of the two lovers and one intruder sprawled on the shore.

“Pontus, my goodness! We ended up helping them!”