Chapter 43: A Touch of Postmodern Shock for the Hillbilly Goddesses

"Prometheus, how much truth do you think there is in what he said?"

Over the sea, Athena mulled over what Eros had just told her, her expression oddly conflicted.

Trailing behind her was the squinty-eyed goddess, the very same Prometheus whose tale of stealing fire had been "borrowed" by Eros.

"Hmm… maybe fifty-fifty? There was definitely a lot of artistic embellishment."

Prometheus thought for a moment before giving her estimate.

"If he weren't headed to that wild party at the Silver Whirlpool, I might've believed seventy percent of it."

"Mhm."

Athena nodded, fully agreeing with that logic.

"If he didn't keep sneaking glances at my thighs, I might've believed seventy percent too."

Prometheus let out a soft snort of laughter. "Well, looks like we need to visit Oceanus to get a clearer picture of this so-called prophet."

With that, the two goddesses took flight toward the Abyssal Capital.

Ahead of them, a dim streak of light was falling straight into the abyss.

"Who's that?"

They exchanged a glance and, without speaking, accelerated their descent.

By the time they arrived, the atmosphere above the Abyssal Capital had already grown tense.

Oceanus had manifested a titanic body made of crashing sea waves, standing guard before the modestly sized capital city behind her.

Facing her was a figure blazing with divine light, so radiant that her hair shimmered like beams of pure sunlight, her face gleaming with divine majesty. In her hand, she held a massive sword of light stretching over ten meters long.

"Apollo?!"

Athena immediately recognized her. Well, technically her little sister, but Athena preferred to think of her as a peer.

What the hell is she doing here? Athena thought. She always got along fine with Oceanus… didn't she?

"Let me through! Eros is in there, isn't he?! Let me in now!"

Apollo's voice cracked with desperation, the light sword in her hand blazing wildly, evaporating huge swathes of seawater.

"I already told you, he's gone. And you're not exactly in the most stable state right now," Oceanus said, waving her hand and forcing Apollo back.

The divine radiance pouring off Apollo was so intense it threatened to harm the mortals in the capital below.

If she would just calm down a little, Oceanus wouldn't have stood in her way.

But seriously, what on earth happened to her?

It looked like Apollo was about to attack again, so Athena quickly stepped forward.

"Stop it, Apollo. I just saw Eros a moment ago, he really isn't here."

Hearing Eros's name seemed to help. Apollo's feverish glare finally cooled, and she turned to face Athena.

"You saw him? Where is he?"

How the hell did Eros reduce a sunshine goddess like Apollo into this mess?

Athena couldn't help but mutter internally.

"He's at sea. Probably headed toward the Silver Whirlpool."

"He's fine. So calm down first."

Thanks to Athena's reassurance, Apollo finally managed to restrain herself, the blazing light around her dimming gradually.

"He's really okay?"

She asked hesitantly, almost timidly, as if she didn't quite dare to believe it.

The cautious look on her face left Athena wondering just what kind of trauma Apollo had been through to end up like this.

"He looked completely fine to me," Athena said, though in her heart she added, He wasn't just fine, he looked like he had enough energy to party all night.

"He wasn't injured? Still full of energy? Eating well?"

Apollo fired off a barrage of questions, catching Athena a bit off guard.

"I mean… I only talked to him briefly, but yeah, he seemed alright."

"…Good. That's good…"

At last, Apollo seemed to let out a breath of relief. The light sword disappeared from her hand completely.

"My apologies, Lady Oceanus. I was too impulsive, didn't think things through."

Oceanus simply looked at her in silence, before dispersing her massive titan form without a word.

"Seriously though, what happened to you?" Prometheus stepped forward and asked, curiosity plain on her face. "What exactly is going on between you and Eros to make you act like this?"

"…It's nothing."

Apollo's expression flickered through a complex range of emotions before she finally sighed.

Eros had made it to the Sea Throne safely. Whether she had done her job well or poorly as his guardian no longer seemed to matter.

By now, she should have returned to Olympus and reported to Father, but… here she still was.

Athena and Prometheus exchanged a look. Somehow, the image they had of Eros was starting to shift again, growing more complicated by the second.

"We're actually trying to understand him better too," Athena said with a hint of invitation. "He's been staying in this city for over half a month. Want to come explore with us?"

She was just as curious about what had gone on between Apollo and Eros.

In Eros's version of events, Apollo had been nothing more than a background character, hardly worth mentioning.

But now that she'd met her in person, Apollo seemed clearly affected, even hurt.

And to be honest, Athena didn't see what was so special about Eros during their short chat either.

Aside from being ridiculously handsome, that is.

"Yeah, why not."

Now that she was sure Eros was safe, Apollo had calmed down significantly.

She hadn't visited the Abyssal Capital in a long time, might as well retrace some steps and see what Eros had been up to while he was here.

The three goddesses flew off toward the city, completely unaware that they were about to receive a culture shock so severe it would literally change their sense of fashion.

After all, that city had already been remodeled by Eros into something of a… sea-themed brothel.

Surely it would give these rustic little Greek goddesses a taste of postmodern aesthetics.

"Achoo!"

Eros suddenly sneezed.

Amphitrite leaned over sweetly, a concerned look in her eyes. "Eros, are you sick? You've been sneezing a lot lately."

"Nah, probably just someone talking about me behind my back."

With his current constitution, there was no way he'd catch a cold.

It had to be something supernatural, some goddess was definitely muttering his name somewhere.

"What kind of strange logic is that?" Hebe rolled her eyes. "What, you think someone's cursing you?"

"We're almost at the Silver Whirlpool," she added. "You remember the name of the one who invited you, right?"

Ahead of them, the shimmering river Acheron came into view.

Near the coast, three ocean currents converged to form a massive vortex of swirling water.

It was no surprise that the Siren city-state nearby had such a diverse population, not just sea folk, but also land-based races from all over.

Centaurs, minotaurs, harpies, Cycladic catfolk… all kinds of exotic beings filled the streets.

Eros looked into the distance and suddenly felt a rush of excitement.

His Greek Mythological Monster Girl Compendium had only ever covered the ocean chapter. Clearly, it was time to expand the collection.

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