Several days passed.
Following the hunt of the Calydonian boar, I spent my days in the royal palace, returning to the rhythm of ordinary life.
“Today is just like any other day.”
As I gazed out the window and muttered to myself while reviewing documents, the door was thrust open with a crash.
“Your Majesty!”
“...What is it?”
The messenger who had burst in knelt before me, panting heavily for breath.
“A strange rumor... is spreading near Calydon.”
“A rumor? If it is significant enough to be reported to me, it cannot be a trivial matter. What is it?”
“...It is a tale of a woman who incurred the wrath of a goddess.”
“...Continue.”
“They say a gigantic bear of unknown origin has appeared deep within the forest. However, there are witnesses who claim the bear moves like a human being.”
I looked down at him in silence.
“Furthermore, a bow was found nearby, and strangely, the creature has patches of green fur across its body...”
The moment he spoke, Hecate's warning echoed in my mind—that goddesses can sometimes be cruel in their punishments.
A surge of anxiety gripped me. I stood up abruptly, the sound of my chair scraping harshly against the floor echoing through the room.
“...Prepare everything.”
“Your Majesty?”
“Right now.”
Though he looked confused for a moment, he immediately obeyed my command.
And so, I mounted Noctis and rode toward the forest where the bear had been sighted.
Once I entered the woods, I advanced with slow, deliberate steps.
In a silence so profound it seemed to swallow the sound of my own footsteps, I searched for a presence that felt both familiar and alien.
Following that sensation, I moved forward until—
“...Ha.”
I found the bear. Strangely, the creature looked at me with an expression of longing, as if it recognized me.
[Hmm? This is turning into quite an interesting situation, isn’t it?]
Just as I discovered the bear, the voice of Lady Hecate reached me from the shadows.
[That thing was originally human. She was cursed by a goddess, which is why she looks like that now.]
“A curse? What do you mean... Wait. Do you know who this is?”
[Hmm... I'm not entirely sure, but she seems to be that girl you're close with... Atalanta, perhaps?]
The moment I heard that name, it felt as though the air had been sucked out of my lungs.
“How could this...”
As if sensing my bewilderment, the bear, which had been standing still, stepped forward toward me.
Slowly, it tilted its head.
The eyes staring back at me were unmistakably trembling.
“This is...”
Just then—
“You still call her by that name.”
A familiar voice drifted down from the sky. I looked up.
Someone was descending over the canopy of the forest.
The figure was identical to the woman I had encountered in the woods before.
No. It was her.
I concluded that she was indeed a goddess, and recalling her connection to Atalanta, I realized her identity. She was Artemis, the goddess of the moon.
“...I greet you, Lady Artemis, Goddess of the Moon.”
At my words, she—Lady Artemis—looked down at me.
“...For a human, you are quite quick on the uptake.”
“...Did you do this, My Lady?”
At my question, Artemis's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
“It was the result of her own choice.”
“....”
“...You look unconvinced. Very well, I shall explain.”
Seeing the disbelief on my face, Lady Artemis looked at me and spoke.
“That girl is my hunter.”
“...I am aware.”
“And she swore an oath to me. To become my priestess and to live her entire life in chastity. However, she attempted to cast that oath aside of her own volition.”
My eyes widened in shock.
“...Are you saying that Atalanta tried to abandon her vow of chastity?”
Lady Artemis did not answer.
Her silence was the only answer I needed.
“...And so you placed this curse upon her?”
“Yes.”
The words fell coldly.
I looked at Atalanta, now trapped in the form of a bear.
“...Is there no way to reverse it?”
When I asked about lifting the curse, Artemis turned an intrigued gaze toward me.
“Would you take the curse upon yourself in her stead? Or are you suggesting you will undergo a trial to restore her to her original form?”
“...I will undergo the trial.”
Upon hearing my answer, the corners of Lady Artemis's lips curled up ever so slightly.
“Very well. To break the curse, you must hunt a poisonous serpent.”
“A poisonous serpent...?”
“Yes. Its venom is so potent that even a slight touch can bring death to an ordinary person. Hunt it down and bring me its blood and its heart.”
“If I succeed...”
“Then I shall lift the curse that binds that girl.”
I tightened my grip on my spear.
“...Where can it be found?”
“You will find it easily enough.”
With that, Lady Artemis turned away.
“...An interesting choice. I shall watch to see how far that choice leads you.”
As she spoke, Lady Artemis vanished, leaving only me and the bear that was once Atalanta in the forest.
“...Wait for me, Atalanta. I will bring you back.”
Meeting her eyes, I spoke in a low, steady voice.
“...I'll finish this and return quickly.”
Leaving Atalanta behind, I stepped deeper into the heart of the forest.
At that moment, someone was watching from the shadows.
“...Another plot begins. Perhaps this time... I shall intervene.”
Along with a low, mocking laugh, the air around the figure began to twist.
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