Chapter 47

A bright forest bathed in moonlight.

In the middle of it, a pure white girl was humming a song while neatly stacking mushrooms in the basket she held.

A colorful mushroom that grew on a tree trunk.

“This is~ A fun mushroom~”

A bright red egg-shaped mushroom that grew at the base of a tree.

“This is~ A pretty mushroom~”

And a brown, round mushroom that resembled the one her new friend Hera-something had told her about.

Under a tree a bit further away, a cluster of brown mushrooms caught Nesneria’s eye.

“That Looks like a delicious mushroom!!”

She would grill it nicely and pop it into Dia’s mouth!

He might be so pleased that he proposes to her!

Nesneria vividly imagined Dianes embracing her tightly with his strong arms as they had their wedding ceremony, while that detestable redhead pounded the ground in tears.

“Kyaa-haang~”

Humming a tune with light steps, she arrived in front of a mushroom and was about to reach out her hand.

-Crush.

“Huh..?”

A rough foot crushed the mushroom she was about to pick.

A trembling white hand, tears welling up in beautiful eyes like the Mediterranean Sea.

If it were Orpheus, he would have praised it as a sorrow so pure and so tragic, and sung about the nymph who slowly looked up at the villain who trampled on her treasure.

“….”

He was a demigod with a huge physique, comparable to Hercules, who had demonstrated incredible feats while grilling meat earlier.

His blue hair and the shadowed face beneath it might have been considered handsome by her other sisters, but the dark greed and lust in his blue eyes made Neri frown.

Moreover, the dirty stench emanating from him—what Dianes referred to as a man’s aura—was incredibly foul and filthy.

“Wow~ As expected, a nymph is a nymph, huh? Truly beautiful?”

“Uh, ehehe, Orion. Can I have a taste after you’re done?”

“Crazy bastard, what’s turning you on about this tiny thing? Well… she is indeed pretty, though.”

“Hey, isn’t she much better than those picky forest dwellers?”

Then, from somewhere, four men emitting a similar foul stench to the giant before her slowly surrounded her.

While the other gang members exchanged dirty jokes and leered at Nesneria with lecherous eyes.

Their leader, Orion, son of Poseidon, stared blankly at the white nymph sobbing in front of him without saying a word.

‘…At first, I was just going to use her as bait to lure out that half-breed.’

But the nameless Nereid nymph he faced directly was incredibly beautiful.

Silvery hair like white waves, jewel-like blue eyes.

And a pitiful and beautiful appearance that naturally aroused a desire to conquer.

I want her, I want to hold her, I want to conquer her.

Orion’s body heated up, wanting to crush that white body right away and make those tear-filled eyes look only at him.

The thought of her backers, the Sisters of the Thousand Waves and their parents, briefly crossed his mind.

But what did it matter?

He was the true ruler of this sea, the son of Poseidon.

The old sea god, who had retired and lost his touch, and the delicate nymphs, who wouldn’t dare say a word if he overpowered them, were far beneath his father Poseidon’s majesty.

Once a woman is marked, she becomes the property of the man who marked her.

No matter how much this pure white nymph struggled in resistance, once caught in his grasp, it was only natural she became his possession.

“Hey, sea nymph, listen well. It seems you don’t understand…”

“Sniff…”

When he followed her gaze, he saw she was looking at the crushed mushroom.

“Dia’s… the mushroom…”

In front of him.

Poseidon’s son and a highly anticipated future great hero, the greatest hunter in the Forest of Heroes.

What was this stupid nymph saying?

“…Seriously, being captivated by that worthless pretty boy, you dare not even greet the son of Poseidon. You spent your time picking these pathetic mushrooms?”

Orion ground his teeth and kicked the mushrooms Neri had placed beside him.

-Thunk!

“Ah!”

Colorful mushrooms scattered all over the middle of the forest, and Nesneria screamed and lunged to catch them.

“You are ignoring me till the end!!”

Infuriated by the fact that she was looking at the basket of mushrooms instead of him, the blue-haired giant roared fiercely and reached out toward the white nymph.

Crunch, crunch.

As I slowly chewed and swallowed something celery-like, Orpheus and Asclepius, having heard my words, were exasperated and scolded me.

“What are you saying? Even though that white nymph is in danger right now!”

“Hey, Dianes. Isn’t she a precious connection to you? How can you just sit there calmly eating salad?!”

Hmm….

Actually, these guys were right.

From the highest gods to the Twelve Gods and their offspring heroes, their views on chastity were all hardcore and out of control in an ancient style.

It was natural to react like these two if you heard that a small and fragile girl had been chased by thugs.

And considering nymphs were often mistreated by gods and heroes, and turned into plants or trees, it was understandable for them to be concerned about Poseidon’s son, who was taboo even in the forest, and his gang reaching out to a nymph.

However.

“Neri is the one involved, so why worry?”

I shrugged nonchalantly and reached for the wine jar.

“…What are you talking about?”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Orpheus, who had snatched the wine jar I was about to grab, shouted.

“You must go right away! Fame and reputation are only meaningful to those who understand them. Even if those fools are punished by the sisters of the sea later, your beautiful lover will suffer irreparable harm!”

…Sigh.

As Orpheus raised his voice, Hercules, Jason, and Theseus, who were diligently grilling meat, ran over in surprise.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“I’ve never seen that bard shout like this before.”

“Is there a problem?”

“Well, you see…”

Asclepius sighed and explained the situation, and the three of them looked at me with puzzled eyes.

“Hey, freshman. You’re not just relying on the sea sisters and gods, are you? A man’s woman is in danger right now, and you’re sitting here thinking that as long as the aftermath is handled, it’s fine?”

With a rough tone, Jason was growling at me while secretly worrying about Neri.

“No, no matter what, the opponent is Orion, who was noted as a great hero before Hercules. Moreover, the children of lower gods following him are skilled in sinister tricks and magic. No matter how you look at it, it’s too much for the nymph Nesneria to handle alone, Dianes.”

Calculating the difference in strength and presenting a pessimistic outlook was Theseus.

“…..”

And sitting across from me, staring at me silently, was Hercules.

Receiving the glares of the Golden Generation trio all at once, I somehow found this situation amusing and couldn’t help but smile.

“What is it? If you have something to say, say it quickly.”

As I calmly drizzled olive oil on my salad, Hercules looked at me silently, then grinned and started rubbing his hands together.

“As expected, you taught Nesneria something, didn’t you?”

As expected of a future great hero.

Did he notice something while grilling meat together earlier?

He nodded and laughed as if he now understood.

“Correct.”

If anyone should worry, it should be those idiots who tried to lay their dirty hands on Neri without knowing their place.

If they had come at me directly, they would have died gracefully, but to go after Neri…

“…they might as well have thrown themselves into the sea. Foolish creatures.”

As I took the wine jar from Asclepius and poured it into a cup, everyone began to look back and forth between me and Hercules as if they were witnessing something mysterious, exerting silent pressure.

“Sigh… That’s why weak ones have to suffer with their brains.”

“It seems somewhat opposite, but it’s not entirely wrong.”

Hercules, the only one who understood my words, made a joke, and I was dumbfounded but had to admit he wasn’t entirely wrong.

Given Hercules’s eloquence up until now, he was definitely not a fool, but despite catching the essence quickly, his crude behavior often leads to being underestimated.

“Is it because you don’t have to use your brain since there’s nothing you can’t do with strength?”

“Honestly, a bit.”

“Life must be easy for you.”

“Quite so. How about you?”

“As you can see.”

“Got it.”

Engaging in a peculiar camaraderie, Hercules and I were chatting, when Theseus and Jason, unable to bear it any longer, burst out in frustration.

“…Could you explain it properly to us?”

“Have some empathy. Orpheus talks in circles, and I can’t understand what you guys are talking about at all.”

So, despite the annoyance, I decided I should make them understand, wetted my lips with wine, and summed it up in one sentence.

“One of the students will be absent today.”

Whether they end up dead or disappear, we’ll have to see.