Episode 122

Men prepare before heading to the battlefield.
They sharpen their swords, polish their shields, hammer their armor, and straighten their helmet plumes.
They head to the battlefield, defeat the enemy, fill the wagons with spoils, and return to their lovers or wives.

Women also prepare before heading to the battlefield.
They warm their bodies with hot water, adorn themselves with the most fragrant oils, and arm themselves with beautiful clothes and jewelry to enhance their charm.
They remove their returning husband’s armor, unfasten the helmet strap, and wash his body, making him forget fatigue and wounds.

If a man’s battlefield is the mountains and plains, then a woman’s battlefield is the bed in a quiet room.
For the first time, Nesneria began to prepare for battle meticulously, with the mindset of a newcomer on the battlefield.

Everything here was prepared solely for her beautiful first night.

Whenever her sisters gathered, they always talked about clothes, cosmetics, perfumes, and such, so Nesneria listened intently, preparing for that day to come.
Even without the help of maids or sisters, there should be no problem.

That was what she thought.

“Huh?! H-how do I wear this?”

Warming up her body in the bath was fine.
Although she accidentally spilled the rose perfume gifted by Aphrodite, she somehow managed to make her hair moist and fragrant.
However, the clothes were the problem.

Contrary to her bold assumption that clothes were just clothes, she was confused about how to wear them, sometimes even questioning if they were clothes at all, making Nesneria’s head spin.

“This is strange…? Were there such difficult clothes to wear?”

There were usually handmaidens attending to her in the sea, and since Nesneria was quite adept at dressing herself in simple activewear, it wasn’t completely unfounded confidence.
The problem was that dresses or evening gowns, which should be called a lady’s armor, were surprisingly complex to wear.
The clothes, which were neatly hung on hangers, would suddenly tumble into a heap of fabric when she tried to wrap them around her, and she had already discarded more than five outfits.

“This time, the next dress will be fine!”

The sixth dress.
She heard it was a dress well-worn by either the forty-third sister or the thirty-second sister.

“What was its name again?”

She couldn’t recall the name, but she remembered its intricate patterns that seemed to spread like lace across the skin and its delicate, flowing cape.
Unlike the other dresses, this one was a simple one-piece design that looked easy to wear.

“Alright! Challenge accepted!”

Without the help of attendants or her sisters, trying to bathe and dress up was no small feat for young Nesneria.
As a precious princess who had grown up in the vast ocean, her life had been filled with ease and privilege. Challenges were rare, and most people revered her, eager to draw closer rather than distance themselves.
Even so, this small act of dressing herself felt annoyingly tedious and complicated.
Yet, despite the difficulty, her heart was filled with love and joy.

Once upon a time.
Among the gods gathered for a banquet at her brother-in-law’s palace, she asked the Goddess of Beauty, who was chatting with her sister Hera.
What is love, and why is the goddess who governs it so beautiful?

To that question, the Goddess of Beauty, with a bright smile, embraced her and whispered while looking into her eyes.

‘Love is a magical feeling that makes you unafraid of anything in the world for that person.’

And so it was.
Imagining the look of surprise on his face when he saw her beautifully dressed, she could endure such cumbersome things like a bitter soup before a meal.
Because after that, surely, all the things she liked would come soon after.

“Hehehehehe…”

Dianes probably didn’t know.
He didn’t know that the appearance of nymphs reflected not the passage of time but their emotions.
Because of the heavy prophecy she had carried since birth, she had never dared to seduce him or take their relationship further than that of lovers.
What if, after accepting her love and fathering her child, he learned of the prophecy entwining her fate? What kind of eyes would he look at her with then? The thought tore at her heart.
Having watched him from the closest distance for the longest time, she could tell because she had seen that which writhes within him.
Surely, if he were to leave the small island of Passos, he would undoubtedly become a great being.
And like all great beings, if he were ever threatened by the prospect of his child surpassing him, he wouldn’t stand idly by.
Even the great Uranus, the mighty Kronos, and even the proud Zeus were so anxious about the prophecies of children surpassing them, and committed such terrible deeds.

The history of great fathers and the children who threatened their thrones was long and grim.

Yet, nevertheless, Nesneria could not let him go, so she earnestly wished and wished.
For this moment to continue just a little longer.

As it was on the warm sands of Passos, resting her head on his arm and dreaming sweetly in bed.
As it was in the forest on a crescent moon night, for his melody to continue tickling her ears.

Nesneria’s earnest wish manifested in her form, allowing her to monopolize Dianes’s side.
However, as that fulfilling time continued, the approaching moment of truth weighed heavily on her heart.
When she revealed all her prophecies to her most beloved lover in her favorite place, all she could think was that everything had ultimately ended.

With every word of truth she spoke, despair took another step closer.
It felt as if her heart was being torn apart with every sentence she uttered.

And then.
When all the truths were revealed.
At his incredulous comment about taking such matters so seriously, her heart pounded with indescribable passion.
How much joy had she felt when he called her prophecy a gift, mocking her fear? Did he even know?
At the moment she was drowning in the swamp of despair, as always, her hero gracefully cut through the darkness and pulled her from the mire.

If Nesneria was part of Dianes’s myth, then Dianes was her hero.

The hero among heroes who always protected her, always saved her, and always stood by her side.

“Now it’s my turn to repay you!”

The time for Nesneria to repay his great love and affection had come.
It was also the moment for her to take sweet revenge on her beloved, who always teased her for being small and childlike.

“Hmm…! Ha!”

-Pop!

After another ten minutes of struggle, she succeeded in putting her arms and head into their proper places.
The dress, tailored for when she would fully mature, still dragged on, but now that she decided to abandon her childlike appearance, it was no longer a problem.

“Always laughed, saying I’m small and young…!”

Surely, if she shed her childlike appearance and transformed into someone his age, she would become the most beautiful goddess in the world.
Her teasing lover wouldn’t be able to keep his jaw from dropping.

“There! It’s done now!”

All that remained was for her to shift into her adult form, and she would be fully prepared.
She was ready to transform into a breathtakingly beautiful sea goddess who could convey her overflowing love and emotions to him.
Any moment now, her body would respond to her feelings, growing gracefully into a form perfectly suited for the dress.

“……”

It would happen…

“…?”

It should happen…

“Huh…?”

At first, I had been overwhelmed by the massive bed in the room. Then, I was startled by Neri suddenly darting away, and finally, I had been alarmed when the doors refused to budge no matter how much force I applied.

Was this one of those rooms?
The kind where you couldn’t leave unless you did XXX? Something like that?

In fact, if I used all my strength, I could break it and get out, but since this was Neri’s palace and nowhere else, I hesitated to break it that freely.

“Sigh….”

I gave up on escaping and decided to explore the room instead.

“It’s obvious this place was made for… intimate moments.”

The massive bed took up two-thirds of the spacious room. Above it hung curtains reminiscent of an opera’s silver screen, and the three large glass walls offered a panoramic view of the deep sea.
Neri had gone into what was probably the bathroom. There was also a small pantry filled with wine and beer, a spiral staircase leading to a cozy garden, and a fully stocked kitchen.
It wasn’t just a room—it felt like a miniature house.

“Wow… they really went all out.”

To put it nicely, you could call it a small living space set up in a separate palace.
But after seeing the centerpiece being the massive bed chamber and a door that wouldn’t open unless you were the palace owner, my suspicions only grew stronger.

“This really is a room you can’t leave unless you do that.”

…What should I do?
Neri has this stubborn streak, like a whale’s tendon, and once she sets her mind, she never changes it.
She even went silently into the dressing room, which means this is no ordinary determination. Can I really persuade her with words like before?

‘No, what am I worried about? Just close my eyes and do it once… Oh, this is a bit…’

‘Honestly, this isn’t right.’

Even the devil and angel (?) in my head were shaking their heads at me, saying no to Neri.
It wasn’t about being pretty, beautiful, or even alluring.
It was a matter of size—her small frame compared to mine. Even if Neri was a spirit, I couldn’t risk her health.
She’d definitely get hurt—there was no doubt about it.

“I just have to close my eyes and firmly refuse, no matter what.”

Even though I was sure about other things, since it concerned Neri’s health and involved an affair between a man and a woman, I decided to firmly talk to Neri and waited for her to come out.

But why was she taking so long?

“Neri? Is something wrong?”

Could it be that she fell while dressing up and hit her head?
With such worries, I was about to gently knock when suddenly—

[Waaaah?!]

“Neri?!”

Suddenly, hearing Neri’s scream from beyond the door, I hastily opened it.

“D-Dia…”

“Uh…”

And what I saw was Neri, with her white, wave-like hair somehow stained with pink blotches, and wearing an oversized dress draped awkwardly, looking distressed.
Moreover, the room was a mess, with clothes or fabrics scattered all around, as if she had tried on and taken off several outfits.

‘This reminds me of when the kids back at my sect got caught playing dress-up in my wardrobe.’

Not by anyone else, but by me, who suddenly barged in while being away on a trip, and those who were laughing and having fun turned pale in an instant…
I’d ended up laughing it off, made them clean up, and gave them each a sweet before sending them off quietly.

“Dia… Sniff…”

“What on earth happened?”

“Well, um…”

And it was inevitable that I burst into laughter upon hearing the full story of the incident.

“Pfft—Hahahaha!”

“D-Don’t laugh~! Wh-What do you take a woman’s resolve for?!”

“Snrk… Sorry. Puhuhuhu. Khahahaha!”

Anyway, every single thing she did was unbelievably adorable.
Still, knowing it was all for my sake, I couldn’t simply laugh it off.

“Darn… Why is this happening? Big sister said I could transform if I set my mind to it…”

“Puhuhup… Hoo~ Neri?”

“Wait! Wait a minute! It feels like something will… won’t…”

I watched the flustered princess for a moment before suddenly lifting her small body.

“First, let’s wash up.”

“Huh?”

Sometimes, it was hard to tell whether I was carrying my lover or a little sister.
Having someone who threw my life into disarray like this was new and refreshing.

‘Still, I can’t say she’s annoying, only that she’s lovely.’

Yes, lovely.
As I became more conscious of my feelings for Neri, I felt like I was finally beginning to understand them.