Artemis is the goddess of hunting, the moon, and is also associated with magic and the hunt. Her symbols are the moon and the doe. She swore eternal virginity before Zeus, and because of this, she is considered the purest and chaste among the goddesses, and therefore, she has no children. However, the Goddess gathers a group of girls who are willing to follow her on her hunts, provided they agree to certain conditions.
They are personally recruited by the goddess from all over the world and take an oath to renounce romantic love forever in order to join the hunt. All of them are immortal unless they fall in battle or break this vow.
Of course, they all have a certain level of aversion to men. Especially those who were nearly assaulted or had traumatic experiences with men, and also those who lived long enough to witness the nature of men and how they are driven by their desires.
But who would have imagined that one day, they would sit around a campfire on an autumn night listening to a boy tell a story?
"Ikki, it's your turn to tell a story."
Hearing Artemis, Ikki looked at the girls sitting on different logs with bows in their arms and wolves lying beside them. His eyes then fell on the Goddess sitting on the main log with a slight smile on her lips, and they also moved to the girl standing beside her.
He could feel all the gazes of the girls directed at him, and his mind couldn't help but wonder how he had ended up in this situation.
This Friday marked exactly two weeks since he had that encounter with Artemis.
After that day, the two began meeting every afternoon, and yesterday, she said she wanted him to come to the camp today to meet her maidens. To be honest, he didn't know what had crossed Artemis's mind for her to want such a thing.
The Huntresses have the least contact possible with boys and always avoid interacting with those who are not truly important—family members, for example, are considered a free pass.
However, with boys they are not familiar with, the Huntresses always remain cautious, showing arrogance and coldness only to children. Even so, they are always willing to help anyone in need, whether male or female, though they are kinder toward the maidens.
Regardless of anything, romantic relationships are completely abhorred by the Huntresses once they decide to join the hunt, as are any traits of promiscuity and vulgarity.
However, if a Huntress feels attracted to a demigod or human, she must be careful with her actions. And the character should interpret the dilemmas and rationalization very well so she is not considered reckless.
Contrary to what many believe, homosexual relationships among the Huntresses also violate the oath, as they all surrender to Artemis's protection and become sisters in loyalty. Homosexual relationships, whether between Huntresses or between a Huntress and a camper, should be treated with the same delicacy as heterosexual relationships.
Artemis will remove their immortality and may even transform them into an animal, depending on the severity of the conduct violation. Whether it's a simple kiss or fully lying with a sexual partner, the Huntress is stripped of her position by higher orders and permanently exiled from the Hunt.
In any case, it was a bad idea to put a man among these natural man-haters, but he ended up accepting.
He arrived in the morning, where Artemis introduced him to the not-so-friendly Huntresses and simply left him at the camp with them! She said she had an important meeting and would return only in the afternoon, asking him to wait for her and get to know her girls in the meantime.
Although she had given a warning for the Huntresses to treat him well. That didn't go too well.
Today, he went through heavy pranks that would have killed a normal demigod and several competitions in fighting or archery to try to humiliate him. They were clearly superior to the other campers in terms of physical strength, reflexes, and body mastery, but due to their sheer colossal power, they couldn't get what they wanted.
Despite the general hostility of the girls, he managed to get along with them in a somewhat surprising way.
During the fights, he gave tips for them to improve, and in the pranks, which were traps, he showed better ways to set each of them up in less time and effort. Moreover, in archery, he proved his skills, which were far superior to any of the Huntresses, including their lieutenant.
They obviously didn't take it very well since they had the blessing of the world's greatest archer, but there was nothing they could do to change the skill difference. What really surprised the girls was that he didn't show any signs of arrogance or vanity about his sublime skills, which made most of them think he wasn't so bad.
In addition, he was also an excellent teacher who won them over gradually.
Personally, he enjoyed showing these girls that not all men were bad.
Anyway, after much difficulty, he gained their respect.
Except for their lieutenant, who looked at him with a cold gaze.
But returning to the fact that he had to tell a story to these girls, only one came to mind.
"Alright, I know a good story. It's about the Maid of Orleans; some of you may have heard of her."
Ikki smiled slightly as he saw the knowing look from some of the Huntresses. He then began narrating the story in a deep voice.
"The Maid of Orleans, whose name was Joan of Arc, was born in the commune of Domrémy, which was later named Domrémy-la-Pucelle in honor of the epithet the warrior used, in the Lorraine region of France. The girl was the youngest of four children of farmers and artisans Jacques d'Arc and Isabelle Romée. The family was very religious, including Joan, who attended church regularly."
"Joan's childhood and early adolescence were marked by the historical event known as the Hundred Years' War, a series of battles fought between the French and English kingdoms for the conquest of France."
"It all began in 1328 when the French king Charles IV died without leaving a rightful heir. Faced with the situation, the English king Edward III claimed the throne, as he was the late monarch's nephew. However, the French royalty didn't like the idea and crowned Count Philip VI."
The Huntresses paid close attention when they heard the story was about a maiden, even though this said maiden believed in a false god. The most devout Huntresses of the Goddess of the Hunt even showed some contempt when it was mentioned that the girl believed in this god.
But they remained silent for the next part of the story to continue.
"The political deadlock and territorial disputes between the two kingdoms led to bloody battles and the division of the two populations. England kept conquering new French territories, while the French government couldn't find stability: the crown passed between Philip VI, Charles V, Charles VI, and Charles VII."
"While Charles VII tried to assert himself against the English kingdom and the Burgundians, a faction of French people from the Duchy of Burgundy who supported the rivals, Joan was just a child. But that didn't stop her from experiencing the war."
"The place where she grew up was marked by children fighting among themselves, some even getting wounds and bloody injuries. On one occasion, her village was burned down, but despite all this, she never lost faith that things would improve."
"And this faith began to show her visions, and she even started hearing voices. According to her words, she was in her father's garden and received apparitions of what she believed to be the archangel Michael, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, and Saint Margaret of Antioch—figures who came to tell her she should join the French army and help King Charles VII in the fight against England."
"As time passed, these episodes became clearer and more frequent, and Joan began to believe they were divine messages—though doctors today speculate that the girl may have suffered from a medical condition like schizophrenia or epilepsy."
"When she got older, Joan asked a relative to take her to the town of Vaucouleurs, where she spoke with the local official of the French kingdom, Robert de Baudricourt. There she asked the official to take her to the French royal court in Chinon."
"Baudricourt was sarcastic and didn't take the teenager's request seriously, but that didn't deter her. She kept visiting him until she gained public approval, and in 1429, Baudricourt agreed to her request, giving her a horse and the protection of several soldiers who escorted her along the way."
Here, he left out the fact that Joan cut her hair and dressed as a man to meet the King of France at the time. Well, why? He doubted the girls would want to hear about that fact.
"One of the greatest mysteries of history is trying to understand how Charles VII, the supreme leader of France, agreed to receive an illiterate teenage girl who claimed to be receiving divine messages in his court. I believe it was due to her unwavering courage to enter the war to protect her country and her faith in her God."
"Anyway, after speaking with the king, Joan—now 17—received royal authorization to join the army, was given equipment, protective gear, and some soldiers to relieve the tension with the English in the region of Orléans, in the north-central part of France."
"Well, let's just say her arrival was like a beacon in the middle of darkness."
"The army at that time had such low morale that they even lost battles against much smaller forces. Normally, they would have preferred to stay off the battlefield. But everything changed with Joan's arrival. She began leading the army and raised the morale of the soldiers to such an extent that they started winning every battle they participated in."
Then he started narrating the battles as if he were there. His hand gestures and his changing voice, depending on Joan's situation, kept all the Huntresses immersed in the story. They laughed, got worried, and even scared for Joan.
It was incredible how the boy before them could tell such vivid stories.
"With the army's efforts, the region of Orléans was secured by the French, in return for the retreat of the English. Other smaller battles in the region of France followed the same pattern."
"For the English, the victories of the enemies and the power of the young peasant indicated that she was, in reality, a witch possessed by the devil. The idea that God was supporting France over them wasn't appealing at all. With the following French victories, it was the perfect time to crown and consecrate the royalty of Charles VII."
"To legitimize the coronation of Charles VII, the king had to march to Paris, the capital of France. Joan and the soldiers believed it would be better to take a quick march from Reims to Paris to avoid enemy attacks, but the royal court preferred to bet on a truce with the Burgundians to make the journey safer."
"However, the Duke of Burgundy took advantage of the agreement and strengthened the defense of the capital and other cities, catching the French by surprise along the way. With few options, the French army accepted surrender in several cities without even fighting. When they reached Paris in September, they were attacked. It was from this episode that all of Joan's efforts and struggles began to fail."
Ikki saw the expressions of various emotions from the Huntresses and made a regretful expression as he narrated the end of the story.
"The royal government decided to dissolve the army and launched a campaign for diplomacy and consolidation of their previous gains. With this new measure, Joan no longer had support for her fight: no weapons, no equipment, and no men. Without the king's support, she continued to participate in battles on her own with very few soldiers."
"For a sum of 10,000 pounds, Joan was sold to the English army and then taken to trial, with all the accusations against her being of a religious nature. She was called a witch, a heretic, possessed by the devil, among others. Her virginity was questioned."
He could feel an immense thirst for blood released by the girls as he spoke up to this point.
"While she was being judged, King Charles VII made no effort to recover her. Then, on May 30, 1431, Joan of Arc was taken to the stake. As the fire spread across her body and the crowd called her 'witch,' 'liar,' and 'blasphemer,' she uttered her last words, 'Jesus! Jesus! Jesus,' until she could no longer say anything."
Finishing this story, Ikki sighed. If it weren't for his love of cultural history, he wouldn't have had a pleasant story to tell the girls who had begun to discuss it, expressing their opinions.
"She was an amazing maiden!" said one of the younger hunters.
"Well, she would have made an amazing sister for us!"
"Yes, I would love to have a sister like her!"
While the girls were talking, Ikki stretched and took a piece of chocolate from his pocket. He took a bite and noticed a young hunter looking at his unhealthy dinner.
He broke off a piece and offered it to her, who timidly took it.
Artemis watched all this with a slight smile on her lips.
When she decided to bring him to the hunter camp, she had her reasons for it. She wanted to know if he was pretending to be someone he wasn't to try to win her over, like Orion had done, and the best way to do that was to leave him there with her girls while she watched him secretly.
A part of her believed he would reveal himself as a monster, and without the strength to defend her maidens or herself, they would all be at his mercy. That scared her, but she decided to take the risk based on what her heart told her.
She needed to know if she was being deceived or not...
And she wasn't disappointed when she saw that Ikki was the same as always—kind, calm, playful, serious, cheeky, and sarcastic. But it was the same as always! He was her... I mean, he was the boy she admitted was the only real man on the planet.
She was snapped out of her thoughts when the boy, who was the main subject of them, stood up.
"Well, girls. It's getting late, and I have to go back home, sorry for anything, and take care," he said with a calm smile on his lips.
Some girls smiled at his words.
The youngest hunter, who had received chocolate from him, tugged at his shirt.
"Will you come back?"
"If your milady calls me, of course I will," Ikki said, patting the girl's head.
The girl looked toward her Goddess.
Artemis smiled slightly.
"Don't worry, he'll come again."
She noticed many of the hunters seemed happy with that. It's a bit ironic that she broke one of her laws just for the boy, but it was a law she had created after all.
"You heard her. Next time, I'll bring gifts for you."
"Really?!"
"Of course, it's almost Christmas."
Ikki said with a smile, noticing that the shy little girl seemed excited. Something he thought was very cute.
"So, that's it. See you!"
He said, disappearing in golden particles that illuminated the entire hunter camp. Creating a beautiful image that made most of the young hunters and even some older ones excited by the sight, as if the entire forest had been thrown into the stars.
"Show-off," said the lieutenant, scoffing.
Artemis, who was sitting next to her, looked in her direction with a certain gleam in her eyes. She stood up and said.
"Alright, girls. I want the surveillance set up in groups of three. You know what to do."
All the girls listened to their Goddess and quickly prepared to spend the night safely in this place.
After arranging the surveillance net to prevent any monster from entering the camp by surprise, Artemis headed toward her tent, with Zöe following silently.
As soon as they entered the main tent, Artemis turned to her lieutenant, slightly uncomfortable, and asked.
"What is it, Zöe? Is there something you wanted to tell me?"
"If I may ask, Milady, why did you invite that boy to come to the camp?"
"Did you know that boy was the one responsible for killing Hercules?"
"What?!"
Artemis sighed and looked at her lieutenant's perplexed expression. She had forgotten to mention this to her.
"Is this serious?" Zöe asked with an expression hard to describe.
No one could imagine how much she hated the God of Strength who kicked the bucket. It was a hatred that went beyond what words could measure.
It was because of him that she was exiled from her family.
It was because of him that her heart was broken.
The worst part was that if Artemis had never met her, she would have had a fate worse than death at the hands of the ancient Greeks. The men of that time were very liberal and saw themselves as entitled to possess any girl they found on the street, even if the girl didn't want it. They would take her by force, something very common in those days.
And knowing that the culprit for all the pain in her life was killed by someone brought a mix of emotions. Part of her was jumping for joy, another part was upset she hadn't killed him with her own hands, and her mind could hardly believe that boy had killed a God.
If it had been someone else saying this, she wouldn't believe it. But since it was her lady, as hard as it was to believe, it was true!
Hercules was dead!
"Yes, and Zeus told me to keep an eye on that boy. So, I brought him here," Artemis said, making up a small lie.
Zöe looked at her lady and nodded. "If that's the case, fine. I'll keep an eye on him."
She then asked for permission to leave.
"I'll withdraw with your permission."
"Yes, you may go," Artemis simply nodded and teleported to her carriage, which automatically performed her divine duty over Western civilization.