Chapter 21
"No, actually… my father is far, far from being a gardener, but why the question?" I heard Zoë ask me, with a hint of curiosity in her tone, a stark contrast to the usual coldness in her voice.
"Because you did… No, never mind." I stopped myself before continuing. Honestly, I didn't even know why the hell I was about to say that. Maybe… I secretly had a death wish?
Zoë raised an eyebrow, her eyes narrowing as she studied me. "You are… strange, Percy Jackson, but I suppose that's because you're a man… though still a child." She remarked, which sounded almost like a provocation.
There was a moment of silence as her words sank in. I stood still, lost in thought. It took me longer than I'd like to remember a very important detail: the Hunters were not exactly… fans of boys, and certainly not of men.
And that led to an intriguing question…
"They don't see me as a man, right?" I thought, feeling a bitter taste rise in my throat. Yes, I was just a six-year-old kid. I didn't even have enough testosterone yet to, you know… keep certain things functioning. But even so, it was a pretty painful kick to the gut.
It might sound strange to some people that a boy my age would want to be seen as a man, but there's a complicating factor here: I had memories from another life. Memories of an adult.
I knew, deep down, what it meant to be a man. And more than that, I knew how… good it was. I mean, there was a certain pleasure in… certain interactions with the opposite sex, if you catch my drift.
The memories I possess are of a man not much older than thirty, who probably lived in Brazil, given the language they occurred in — Portuguese. However, I can't remember his appearance — just flashes about his work routine, some relationships, and… a ton of useless knowledge about anime, books, and cartoons.
The biggest problem? These memories aren't exactly organized. It's like trying to untangle a completely knotted ball of yarn. And frankly, most of the "threads" are completely useless: details about jobs, things like "CLT" (which, apparently, is every Brazilian worker's nightmare). Sometimes, though, I find fragments… less suitable for a child my age.
I could vividly remember touches, the softness, and especially the warmth of a woman. And, man… being unable to experience that because of my childish body was a nightmare!
My luck, perhaps, was the fact that I was almost always busy fighting monsters. Seriously, there was one day I couldn't even eat properly because of the relentless attacks. Now imagine if I got distracted with these memories during a fight… it would be my downfall!
After a while living with these intrusive memories, I got used to them. The desperate urge to grow up and run around every brothel I saw eventually subsided — a little, at least. Besides, being surrounded by the Hunters, who seemed eternally young, it wasn't like they really awakened that kind of desire in me.
With these scattered thoughts hammering in my mind, I continued to follow the group of Hunters. After a few more exhausting minutes of trekking through the forest, we finally caught sight of their camp.
From where I stood, I could see the vast camp covered by a green tarp that blocked out the sunlight, casting a pleasant shade over the area. Under that canopy, dozens of tents were scattered around, a large bonfire in the center held a pot so big it could feed a giant, and in the back, there seemed to be a weapons depot — broken bows and discarded arrows were strewn everywhere.
However, what truly surprised me wasn't the impressive infrastructure of the camp, but the sheer number of girls. They were everywhere. Some clustered around the bonfire, others washing clothes stained with mud and dust, and what made me sweat the most was the sight of sentinels spread out around the perimeter, each with a bow ready to be used.
As soon as our group emerged from the trees, a chill ran down my spine. In an instant, dozens of bows were raised in our direction. The arrowheads gleamed dangerously, and I was sure that if they wanted, they'd turn me into a pincushion before I could say "hello."
Not that it really worried me. I'd been through worse… And honestly, after so much time facing beasts that would make an adult cry, my perception of danger was quite skewed.
Zoë stepped forward, her commanding presence almost tangible. "Lower your weapons, we're the morning patrol." Her voice carried an authority that made all the sentinels immediately lower their bows.
A blonde girl with storm-gray eyes approached. Her gaze was calculating, as if she were assessing me.
When I saw those eyes scrutinizing me from head to toe, I immediately knew she was a daughter of Athena; her eyes and hair only confirmed it.
"This child is…?" she asked, her eyebrows raised in curiosity.
"This is Percy Jackson," Zoë replied without hesitation. "I found him in the forest, hungry and tired, so I decided to bring him here to eat before he continued on his way."
The Athena girl nodded. "I see… come in, lunch is almost ready," she said, her gray eyes still fixed on me. It was a mix of curiosity, perhaps even a slight disdain, as if she were deciding whether to ignore me for being just a child or to skin me alive for being… a boy.
I hoped it was the first option.
As soon as we entered the camp, the atmosphere shifted. The Hunters who were preparing lunch swarmed around Zoë, bombarding her with questions:
"Zoë, how was the patrol?"
"Did you bring anything interesting?"
"Would you like something to eat?"
The questions came so fast they quickly turned into an indistinguishable blur of voices. It was like a chaotic symphony, and Zoë had to raise her hand to calm them down.
"Hold on a moment," she said firmly, "before anything, I'd like to introduce our guest." She pointed to me. "This is Percy Jackson. A child who was hungry in the forest, so I decided to bring him to eat with us."
I felt my eye twitch when she mentioned I was hungry. I had devoured an entire boar just hours ago, but apparently, that didn't count.
Before I could process what was happening, I was surrounded by a horde of Hunters. Hands pulled at my cheeks, fingers ruffled my hair, and I heard several excited squeals:
"Kyaaaa, he's so cute!"
"Look at those eyes, how adorable!"
The confusion was so overwhelming I felt like a new toy being passed from one hand to another. I was already imagining leaving there covered in lipstick marks. Some couldn't resist and planted kisses on my forehead before pushing me to the next Hunter.
I lost track of time, my head spinning from so much unexpected affection. Eventually, I reached my limit. With no more strength to resist, I let my head fall onto the lap of one of the Hunters — as soft as pillows.
I fought bravely, but even the bravest warrior must surrender, and with that thought, I reluctantly gave in to the hands of my enemies.
To be continued…