episode_0170

My stomach hurts.

I was struggling so much that all the strength in my body was gone.

My underwear was soaking wet everywhere, giving me an unpleasant, uncomfortable feeling.

But what was more painful than anything else was this reality that I didn’t want to believe.

“Ugh…”

Tears welled up in my eyes out of embarrassment.

I was so embarrassed that I wanted to poke my head in a mouse hole right away.

My bed was soaked in a liquid that gave off a strong, stimulating scent that I could never utter in my right mind.

And above, Marie was stroking my head with a bright smile.

“It’s okay, Mom. I heard that urination is a physiological phenomenon of humans.”

“Ma..Maria..! This isn’t urine!”

“Huh? Then what is it?”

Marie tilted her head as if she really didn’t know.

Her reaction made me realize that I had made a huge mistake.

‘Are you crazy, Hera? Mari is still a kid..!’

I could never, ever tell Marie, who was still so innocent, what this liquid was.

In the end, I could only open my mouth for a long time, and then I could only lower my head and speak in a hushed voice.

“…I’m getting pissed.”

I was so embarrassed that I wanted to die.

Marie gently patted my head as if she understood what I was saying, but that only made me feel more embarrassed.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. Marie understands everything”

“Ugh..ugh..!”

By chance.

How did it end up like this..!!

I learned all of my master’s secret techniques in order to seduce the Demon King.

How to charm people. Having mastered it all in a short period of time, I wanted to test it out on Athena and Mari to see if it really worked.

I thought it was all right up to Marie. The problem was Athena.

I tried to provoke Athena by following the actions that the Master had instructed me to do, but perhaps I had crossed the line. Athena turned to me with unreasonable eyes.

And the results are now.

I ended up showing my daughter an irreparable disgrace.

“So. What the hell was it, Hera?”

Athena leaned against the wall, crossed her arms, and looked at me sharply.

For a moment, I felt resentful towards her for making me like this, but then I remembered Athena’s overbearing appearance from earlier and immediately became discouraged.

In the end, I couldn’t say a word and could only tell her my story with my mouth groaning.

“That..That..I have to seduce someone..”

Words spoken timidly.

But the impact was so great that both Athena and Mari froze at the same time at my words.

The cold silence that came so suddenly.

After a long period of silence, the first one to speak was Marie, who was pulling on my collar with trembling hands.

“Huh..Mom..? Who are you trying to seduce..?”

Marie looks at me with eyes that seem to say she can’t believe it.

“What the hell are you talking about, Hera? Why are you flirting with someone? No way…”

Just like Marie, Athena spoke with her eyes shaking violently. She bit her lip once and looked at me intensely.

“You. Who did you start liking?”

“Ah..no, that’s not it.”

I think both of them have seriously misunderstood.

Well… I guess it’s quite possible to be mistaken if you suddenly have to seduce someone.

Before they could misunderstand anything further, I cleared my mind by coughing a few times and making my point clear.

“I have to seduce the Demon King.”

That concludes it all.

It was the same atmosphere as before, but a completely different, almost cold air that could hardly be called silence began to hang ominously around the surroundings.

“Huh..?”

I looked at Athena with a chill that came instinctively, and she was looking down at me with blazing eyes that seemed ready to swallow me up at any moment.

“The Demon King? Why? You?”

“Hi.”

Athena’s face distorted fiercely as if she didn’t understand at all.

The feeling of pressure that I felt instinctively made me hiccup.

“Tell me right now, Hera. Why the Demon King-”

“No!!”

Mari interrupts Athena’s words and hugs me tightly, shouting.

Her sudden action caused me to lose my balance and fall down onto the bed.

Marie climbed on top of my fallen body and shouted with an urgent expression.

“No, the Demon King, Mom!! Absolutely not! Absolutely not!”

Marie stares at me with worried eyes.

Her earnest heart touched my heart.

“Maria…”

As expected, there was only my daughter Marie.

My daughter is such a devoted daughter.

Maybe he’s worried about me and that’s why he’s speaking so urgently.

The Demon King is a terrifying being that brings forth blood and slaughter. He probably thought that if I stayed by his side, he would harm me someday.

It was truly a heart-warming act of filial piety.

“Mariya, it’s okay, Mom-”

“The Demon King will live a long time!! Absolutely not!!”

He slowly calmed Marie’s throbbing heart and answered her with a bright smile as if to reassure her…

……huh?

For a moment, I thought I had misheard, so I looked up at Marie, and there she was, spiting out hot air and looking very angry.

…..Mariya?

What are you talking about all of a sudden?

*

After one such storm had passed.

I explained my situation to them.

Of course, I didn’t say anything about the fact that the world is now in its second cycle or that I was possessed.

From simply meeting the goddess and learning about the existence of Masin, to how to stop him.

He told me that I had to seduce the Demon King for that.

But the answer that came back was very resolute.

“”No.””

Athena and Mari speak with stern expressions.

As I looked at them in vain, Athena spoke to me with an angry face.

“I’ll kill the Demon King, Hera. Don’t you ever think about seducing me.”

“But even so, it just appears again!”

“You can kill me again then.”

Athena speaks calmly as if it were nothing.

Does she know how nonsensical what she is saying right now is?

Human life is finite.

No matter how healthy a person is, their lifespan is at most about a hundred years.

It will never be possible to stop the Demon King who keeps appearing during that short lifespan.

But Athena didn’t seem to listen to me or anything, and just firmly shook her head and refused.

“Absolutely not.”

I felt frustrated with the continued rejection.

Who would have thought that he was trying to seduce the Demon King?

“I’m doing this all for you guys..!”

When I raised my voice to express my frustration, Athena grabbed my arm and looked at me with burning eyes.

“For me? Hera. Are you telling me to just sit back and watch you flirt in front of other women?”

“Ah..no..”

“And what if the Demon King has evil intentions and you get hurt? What are you going to do then?”

“You..Can’t you stay by my side and protect me?”

I opened my eyes as wide as I could and looked up at Athena. She flinched once, then turned her head away from me, covering her slightly reddened face with her hand.

“No. Don’t even think about dreaming.”

“Mom. I hate it too.”

Mari, who was on Athena’s side, felt a little disappointed at her daughter’s betrayal.

In that way, the story gradually comes to a conclusion.

I was slowly starting to feel discouraged by those who were vehemently denying it.

But I shook my head vigorously and straightened my weakening heart.

“….I will do it.”

“What?”

Athena raised one eyebrow and spoke in a calm voice.

I looked her in the eye clearly, refusing to yield to her overbearing aura.

‘I can’t give up.’

Now that we have finally found a way to create peace, we cannot give up like this.

Unless there’s a better way, I’ll do it somehow.

Those who I love, of course.

And, just in case, we will protect their children who will be born someday so that they can live in a peaceful world.

For that, I wouldn’t mind burning my body.

“I’m going to seduce the Demon King! Don’t stop me unless you’re going to help me..!”

I shut my eyes tightly and screamed.

My remarks may sound like a child throwing a tantrum.

But I succeeded in conveying my unwavering will.

“Hera. Do you want to get in trouble?”

Athena opens her eyes, scattering a murderous aura.

Her body began to slowly shrink.

But before she could say anything.

He looked at Athena and shouted with a commanding tone full of determination.

“Kneel down, Athena!”

“…you!”

Then, her soul inside me wavered for a moment, and Athena before my eyes knelt on the floor with her face distorted.

“….Hera.”

Athena’s voice growled. Tears welled up in my eyes in fear, but I still looked at her without giving in.

“You’re my slave..! Listen to your master! I’ll definitely seduce the Demon King and create a peaceful world..!”

Athena’s eyes begin to shake violently.

I could see deep embarrassment on her face, as if she had not expected me to come off so strongly.

Was Marie also intimidated by my momentum?

He timidly stood next to me, holding my hand tightly, and looked up at me with the pitiful face of a rain-soaked puppy.

“Mom…Can’t you think about it again..?”

“Ugh.”

My resolve wavered for a moment at the sight of Marie’s deadly cuteness, but I shook my head vigorously and strengthened my resolve once again.

“No, Marie. I want you to follow Mom’s wishes this time.”

“….ugh.”

Marie eventually lowered her head and babbled timidly.

My heart ached when I saw her like that, but I couldn’t help it.

As for the reasons for wanting eternal peace, in fact, Marie’s share was the largest.

A dragon with no set lifespan. It dies whenever it wants to disappear.

They say that if you put your mind to it, you can live for millions of years without any problems.

I didn’t want to let Marie, who lived such a long life, live through the tragic times of war.

‘…I’m sorry, Marie. Please understand Mom.’

A place where a long storm has passed.

In the end, all that remained was a quiet silence between me and Athena.

The two of us stared at each other with glaring eyes and got into an intense staring contest.

“Unpack this right now.”

I felt resentful at her for being so forceful.

“Do you know how much I suffered because of you..?!”

“….what?”

“Why are you so bad! Why did you hurt my heart like that..!”

“What are you talking about, Hera.”

Athena trembles in confusion.

From her perspective, it was like a fire on dry land.

What I’m talking about is the appearance of Athena in the previous world. How many people were harmed because of her.

It broke my heart so much that the person I loved showed me that kind of behavior.

But I decided to forgive her.

No, I guess you could call it forgiveness. In the end, I decided not to care.

Athena now is a clearly different person from the Athena back then.

I can be sure that the Athena I love now will never act the same way as her past self.

I have no intention of pushing Athena into a past I have not personally experienced.

I had firmly resolved that in my heart.

It was definitely like that…

‘But why are you treating me so forcefully..!’

As I puffed out my cheeks and glared at Athena longingly, a deep look of bewilderment came over her face.

The tense atmosphere continued for a long time.

As time passed, eventually the white flag was raised.

“Haa. If the kid had heard that, he would have made a huge fuss.”

It was Athena who frowned with a shallow sigh.