episode_0279

I stared blankly at the sight of the space around me changing.

Before I knew it, the pure white space where Are and I had been alone had disappeared, and a wide green meadow came into my sight once again.

“You’re here. How was the conversation?”

A voice came from behind me. I slowly turned around and saw the goddess looking at me with an expectant expression on her face.

“Uh…that…that’s…”

As I hesitated for a moment, the goddess nodded as if she understood what I meant and patted my shoulder.

“Yeah. I guess the conversation didn’t go well. He’s a deeply wounded child, so please understand.”

“Yes..? Oh..No..”

I waved my hands in embarrassment and denied it.

‘It’s not that the conversation isn’t going well… it’s that it’s going too well, so what’s the problem..?’

Clearly, I only thought about opening my heart… but I was pushed by Areu’s momentum and ended up making a promise that I couldn’t keep.

But the goddess must have misunderstood that I was pretending to be okay, and she comforted me with a gentle smile on her lips.

“Don’t be too discouraged. They are wounded souls by nature. It must be very difficult for them to rely on others.”

“That’s not…that either..”

The goddess tilted her head with a puzzled expression at my ridiculous words, but I didn’t have the confidence to tell her about the request that Arae had made, so I eventually decided to give up.

“Come back next time. Let’s talk again then.”

The goddess hugged me affectionately and said.

But unfortunately, it didn’t seem like things would turn out as the goddess said.

Clearly, Arae had bid me a final farewell, with the generous words telling me not to feel sorry anymore and to live proudly under the name of Hera. And with the words telling me to keep my promise.

That means don’t come back anymore. I guess that means let’s meet after keeping our promise.

“Sigh..”

“Why are you like that, daughter?”

“..Mom.”

I spoke to the goddess just in case.

Yeah, maybe you don’t know.

A request from Arega.

It’s not something only I can do.

If the Goddess says no, then I will have no choice but to listen. Then I will have to talk to Are again.

I really do want to make her happy.

I looked at the goddess with a face filled with a hint of anticipation.

“What if…?”

*

My mind is getting blurry.

When I opened my eyes again, what I saw was the scenery of Iris’s prayer room.

“Ah. Hera. Are you awake?”

Iris’ face, which seemed much brighter than before, looked down at me. And for some reason, her cheeks were quite red and her smile looked awkward, which made me look quite suspicious.

“Yeah..hello Iris.”

Iris returned my greeting with a smile.

“…sigh.”

I let out a short sigh and thought back to the conversation I had just had with the goddess.

– Okay…I think it might work. Are you sure it’s okay?

The goddess ended up driving the wedge in with a rather flustered voice.

“Ugh…”

Now that I have received the Goddess’s approval, I can’t make any excuses. Feeling helpless, I tightly shut my eyes.

I would like to grant Arae’s request if possible, but… not yet… not yet… I wasn’t confident.

I’m not mentally ready yet… No. I didn’t even think about it in the first place…

“….I’m thirsty.”

Maybe I had been lying down too long. While I was struggling in my confused mind, I felt a shallow thirst in my throat.

“Would you like to go back?”

I nodded.

When Iris talks about the place, she’s probably talking about the house they’re in.

I lifted my head from Iris’s lap and moved my body carefully.

That moment when you put your feet on the ground and try to raise your body.

“Huh..?”

Throb-

I started to feel a shallow sensation in my chest.

The tingling sensation in my chest, like an approaching tsunami, turned into an intense shock that was hard to bear.

“Huh..?..Oh…Ohhh?!?!♥♥♥”

I fell to the floor as the sensation surged over me like a tidal wave.

It felt like a lot of people were squeezing my chest hard.

“Oh…oh my…”

I couldn’t describe the feeling, so I lay face down on the floor, shaking my legs and waist.

“Huh? Hera, why are you like that?”

Iris looking down at me with her slightly raised cheeks.

I asked her with trembling eyes.

“Ha..Ha-geuk..Ah..Iris..Did you do something to my body..?”

“Huh?”

Iris tilted her head as if she didn’t understand what he was saying and answered.

“Oh..no? Nothing happened?”

For some reason, the way her mouth was twitching seemed quite suspicious, but since there was no concrete evidence, I decided to let it slide.

For now, I just wanted to go home.

I wanted to go back quickly and face them.

Now that I’ve talked to Are, I have something to say to them.

And. Iris is a saint by name, so she wouldn’t have done anything strange.

‘…..’

“Why…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…No.”

Thinking back on Iris’s past actions little by little, it didn’t seem like that.

But what was important right now wasn’t my physical condition.

I took a short breath, calmed my trembling body, and looked at Iris.

“Iris.”

“Yes..?”

The corners of her eyes tremble subtly, as if she is anxious about something.

I looked at her seriously and spoke to her.

“You said it before, right? You love me too and will always be by my side.”

“That…was it?”

Iris answered, looking away from me in embarrassment.

I took a step towards Iris and gently took her hand.

“…You know that too. I really cherish you and love you too.”

“Yes..Yes?!”

Irish was startled by my words, and grabbed my hand tightly with his eyes wide open and his face bright red.

“I..like me..ha..”

She muttered something quickly, then folded her hands and looked at my chest.

“Then can I touch you a little more? Now, Hera-sama, please give me permission-…..Ah.”

Iris covered her mouth with a look of surprise in the middle of speaking, but her words had already leaked out.

I looked at Iris with cold eyes.

“…Iris.”

I guess you did the right thing.

*

“Are you here, Hera?”

Athena, who had been waiting for me all this time, leaned her shoulder against the large door of the house and ran straight towards me.

“….Yeah.”

“Nothing happened, right?”

For some reason, my heart was touched by Athena’s worried face and her gentle voice.

“..Athena.”

“Huh?”

I stared intently at Athena, who was opening her eyes in wonder.

Until now, I had a huge misunderstanding about her.

I thought the only reason she liked me was because of my looks.

But no. Athena said she would love me no matter what my face looked like.

It was just words, but I know that Athena is not the type to tell such light lies.

But because of my extremely low self-esteem and the deep guilt I felt toward Are, I turned away from Athena and all of them.

But… that won’t be the case anymore.

Now that I know the truth about Are, my mind has completely changed.

The guilt of killing Are no longer tormented me.

Besides, she said it herself.

My current appearance is entirely an appearance that came from me.

..Honestly, I don’t know what happened to me in my past life as a man that led to my appearance changing to this..but I can say this one thing for sure.

I am me. I am Hancia, and at the same time, I am Hera.

And Athena loves me so much, and…

Me too. I have feelings for them that are no less than theirs.

So now I won’t run away.

There is no reason to run away anymore.

I took a step closer to Athena.

She raised one eyebrow.

I took a step closer.

Athena looked at me intently.

One step. Two steps. I ran towards her.

Athena had a puzzled look in her eyes, but she spread her arms slightly to the sides as if to accept me.

like that.

Warak-

As I was held in Athena’s arms, her warmth seeped into my body.

“Hey…Hera?”

Although her voice was embarrassed, Athena wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly.

As I slowly turned my head, I saw her sun-drenched eyes right in front of me.

Bright and beautiful, and above all, strong eyes.

I looked straight into her eyes and told her my true feelings, which I had kept hidden for so long and never told her.

“I love you Athena. Really, really, really.”

“Huh..?”

Athena’s eyes wide open.

She spoke urgently, as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard. She held me tighter with trembling hands.

“Ba..what did you just say, Hera. Say it again.”

Why do I find her flustered appearance so cute?

I put my heart pounding in my throat and lightly pressed my lips to hers with a bashful smile.

“I love you so much.”

“Ah..”

Athena’s eyes were clearly visible as she began to shake madly.

For a moment, Athena began to move her body around and mutter something to herself quickly, as if she didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

“When are we going to have the food? How many children do we need..? Ten? No. That’s too few. Twenty? ”

“….Athena.”

No matter how much I said I liked it.

But that’s too fast.

transformation.