Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

"Hmph! I overheard some super virgin goddess casually playing a hunting game in the middle of nowhere! Coincidentally, and just because I happened to be nearby, I decided to show myself and came all this way!"

"No way...you came just to see me?"

"No, no, you idiot!? Why would I, the strongest and invincible goddess, travel all this way to see you!? This is a huge misunderstanding!!"

Artemis stared intently at Aphrodite, who was turning and trembling from her oppressive posture.

Incidentally, no matter how you look at it, Artemis is taller than Aphrodite, so from the perspective of the inhabitants of the lower realm, her majesty is insignificant.

Aphrodite, panting, coughed and then her smile, a mixture of mockery and amusement, returned.

"Speaking of which, this child is so pitiful. He made a confession that lasted a lifetime, but was dumped like trash."

"..."

"It's because they don't love her enough! This is not how a goddess should behave!"

Aphrodite pointed at the young man lying on the ground, chirping like a bird. She didn't realize that her words were like kicking a corpse against the young man's chest.

Artemis remained silent, and Aphrodite walked to the young man's side.

"Upon closer inspection, he's a handsome man. — Hey, what about you? Won't you become my kin?"

"Eh?"

The goddess's slender fingers rested on her chin, lifting her face.

The young man blushed as if he had caught a fever the moment he saw that mesmerizing smile on his face.

"Phew, hehe—"

Aphrodite's absolute beauty. A captivating goddess of beauty.

The young man spoke in a ruthless tone while his eyes welled up with tears, just like a girl in love.

"Would you like to become my kin?"

"Yes! Please let me do it!"

The young man's goodwill, expressed so openly to Artemis, easily reached Aphrodite.

"Between me and Artemis, which do you prefer?"

"Lady Aphrodite!"

"To whom does your love belong?"

"It's Lady Aphrodite!!"

Aphrodite, having removed the youth's bones, slightly raised her lips, exchanging glances with Artemis. It was an expression of proud pride, as if to say, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm more important than you."

Meow's note: "Removing the bones" here refers to having no morals or principles. Lost.

It's not just young people.

All the villagers who saw the "Goddess of Beauty" smile seemed to feel at ease now, as if she had captured their hearts.

The villagers' respectful and admiring gaze toward Artemis has now been completely replaced by love and lust, and has been monopolized by Aphrodite.

Aphrodite smiled at Letsa and the others who were still standing.

“Hmm…!?”

"Ah, as expected of Artemis's kin. They are not captivated by my 'beauty'."

Latte and the others blushed, gritted their teeth, and refused to become servants of 'Beauty'.

On their backs dwells Pardon, the "gift of the gods"—Ichor, the "divine blood" of the virgin goddess Artemis. Though the power of the chief god is meager, it repels the power of "beauty" as if exorcising a demon. More importantly, the Latesas, with their daily solemn teachings and fastidious fastidiousness, resisted Aphrodite's temptations.

However, if Aphrodite truly possessed "bewitching" power, even Artemis's kin would likely fall under her control. What's terrifying is that Aphrodite merely "smiled," without using any of her "bewitching" abilities.

This is why the "Goddess of Beauty" is revered and respected.

"..."

Due to Aphrodite's appearance, everything became a "tea room".

Note from the cat: "Chaban" can be understood as a farce.

A confession from a generation of young people.

Artemis's rejection.

A man's determination and a goddess's purity are both meaningless.

Therefore, Artemis disliked Aphrodite.

Entering the realm of obsessive-compulsive disorder with shoes on is a trampling of chastity. It ravages her so-called "love," intensifying her ugly desires. Its aim is filth.

That's what love is, at least that's what Artemis thinks.

"Stop, Aphrodite. These children probably don't want to be part of the Familia. Do you intend to destroy this village?"

"Hmph, what's the big deal? I just played for a little while."

Bored, Aphrodite snapped her fingers as she spoke.

Just then, the villagers around, including the young man, suddenly swayed and stared blankly at their surroundings, as if they had woken up from a dream.

"What? Artemis. What kind of eyes are those? Don't you like the 'beauty' I govern—'love'?"

While Artemis remained with her eyes open, Aphrodite deftly raised one eyebrow. Without a word, she gestured with her eyes, and brushed aside the golden hair draped over her shoulder with one hand.

"Well then, I'll listen."

Then, he quickly made his statement.

"How far can you go?"

"To what extent...?"

"I've wanted to ask this for a while now. Sexual intercourse is obviously out of the question, right? What about kissing? We didn't even hold hands, did we? And what about that perfectly healthy, spiritual love?"

"...If one distances oneself from physical desires, there is nothing one cannot deny."

"So, do you hate men?"

"That's not true. I also have great respect for skilled hunters and virtuous sages."

The sudden exchange between the goddesses caught everyone off guard, not only the villagers but also the Artemis Familia and Aphrodite Familia, who all looked embarrassed.

Aphrodite, who kept asking questions without allowing anyone to intervene, soon sneered.

"Do you realize that everything you've said is a contradiction?"

Artemis stopped what she was doing.

"What……?"

"The chairman was thwarted by 'impure heterosexual relationships,' and the surrounding gods joked, 'What does "impure" mean? Is it being driven by desire?'"

"...Indulging in desire leads to lewdness and depravity, resulting in the degeneration of body and mind."

"In that case, wouldn't it be fine to just stay at the level of spiritual love, which you yourself just admitted to? That kid you dumped wasn't looking for a physical relationship, was he?"

“That’s—”

"It's okay if you don't like someone just because of their looks. You already decided on your 'answer' before you were even being proposed to, right? No matter who it is."

"————…………"

Aphrodite, who was still unaware of what had happened, was met with silence from Artemis, who spoke first.

Aphrodite was there, her tone shifting from reproach and mockery to one of argumentative arguing.

"Artemis. You are merely manipulated by the words of 'chastity.' No, more than anyone else, you tell yourself what 'chastity' feels like?"

"..."

"Although both are virgin goddesses, Hestia is different. If that child finds someone she loves, she will definitely use her whole heart and soul to convey 'love' to him."

"So Hestia is more 'likable'."

Somewhere in the heavens, Aphrodite spoke words she had spoken long ago, gazing at Artemis who had stopped moving.

"It's been like this ever since you were in Heaven. You've always held your shoulders high. Maybe you're not even aware of it—no, you think that when you hold your shoulders high, you're the chaste goddess Artemis… I've never liked that."

Note from Miao: "Shoulders held high" is a euphemism for being arrogant or haughty. The original text used "shoulder and elbow" (slightly changed to "shoulder"), which implies putting on airs or being overbearing. However, translating it as "putting on airs" here feels a bit harsh and not as tactful.

Only Aphrodite, who could no longer hear the whispered voice, smiled softly.

"You're so immature, Artemis. No, you're a 'little kid'."

At that time, Aphrodite's face was not the usual proud, arrogant, and disdainful face, but rather a radiant smile like that of a goddess.

Although Aphrodite is a transcendent being, Deus Dare, she used the illogical term "unripe," which Artemis could not afford to underestimate.

For some reason, Artemis always felt as if she had "lost".

"...Since I am a virgin goddess, I must remain chaste. There is no reason why."

The words Artemis spoke were precisely these words of anguish.

"But, 'love' should be okay, right?"

This is exactly the kind of advice Aphrodite gave.

""love"……?"

"Yes. We've been saying this since we were in the Heavenly Realm, haven't we? You'll suffer if you don't even understand 'love'."

Elsewhere, the bewildered goddess heard the word "love," and a portion of the Artemis Familia suddenly reacted.

"The blue fruit before 'love' is pure and simple. Even you, with your unwavering stubbornness at the iron wall, will surely be able to bite into it."

"..."

"I, Aphrodite, who rules over all love, declare: 'Love' can loosen your stiff shoulders."

The gentle voice of the goddess of beauty captivated the listeners.

The surrounding villagers probably couldn't understand what Aphrodite was saying.

Although Artemis was not captivated by her beautiful voice, she still could not understand the meaning of the sentence.

"By the way, it's not 'love' but 'romance,' okay? Do you understand the difference?"

Aphrodite, speaking in a voice as beautiful as a harp, asked with a provocative, mischievous childlike gaze.

Artemis still couldn't answer.

"Don't understand? You don't know? Heh heh, then I'll tell you the whole story of this so-called 'love'!! Come on, make your pitiful plea, 'Please tell me, Lady Aphrodite!'"

She throws away the rare, goddess-like aura, transforming herself into the usually haughty Aphrodite, thus ensuring her superiority in Mounting.

Artemis's expression, which had been quite strange before, suddenly plummeted to freezing point.

"It's so ugly! It's so pathetic! Please, beg me!!"

"The equipment procurement is complete. Let's go."

While rubbing her eyes, Artemis struck a dashing pose, skillfully ignoring Aphrodite, and called upon the assembled members.

Sweating profusely, Lant and her companions moved to another spot and began to walk.

"Hey, hey, wait a minute!? I said I was going to teach you out of kindness, what kind of attitude is this!? If you hadn't asked here, I wouldn't have told you a second time!? Hey!? Really!?... Ah, wait, really wait! Please, please listen to me!?"

Without looking back, the angry voice gradually turned into the tearful pleas of the goddess of beauty.

As the Aphrodite Familia wavered in their faith in this mad goddess, Artemis led her Familia to open up the village.

night.

The moon shines brightly along with countless stars.

The sky above the mountains, so close to the ground, resembled a calm, tranquil sea. Not only were monsters at peace, but even the wild beasts were undisturbed; only stillness enveloped the surroundings.

Perhaps it's because of the close proximity to the moon floating in the sky that the vast darkness always feels so gentle.

That azure light seemed to be protecting the forest.

"To date, we have wiped out all the dragons that had been dwelling on this mountain."

Pop! Flames burst forth from the firewood.

Sparks flew around, turning the girls' faces orange.

In the rugged mountainous region, the Artemis Familia set up camp in the mountains.