Inside the Temple of Artemis, the atmosphere was heavy and oppressive.
The Goddess of Hunting paced back and forth in the great hall, her expression constantly shifting between dark and uncertain.
The nine Muses sat silently at the table, looking dejected and downcast.
"That idiot Apollo!"
Finally, Artemis cursed her useless younger brother, breaking the silence.
Then, looking at the nine utterly lost Muses in front of her, she felt another wave of headache.
The relationship between a chief god and their subordinate gods was often one of shared honor and shared disgrace.
But at the same time, they were not an unbreakable alliance; any moment, a shift in divine authority or divine domain could cause them to switch sides.
Now, because Apollo couldn't resist a moment of pleasure and directly clashed with their father, he had been banished to Thessaly to herd sheep.
There was basically no hope of his returning anytime soon.
Naturally, the Temple of Light was now empty.
The nine Muses under his command were inevitably affected, and their days onwards would probably be quite difficult as well.
After all, without a capable chief god to protect them, these pampered Muses would inevitably be harassed by those with ulterior motives on Olympus.
Among them were not only male gods who lusted after them, but also goddesses who wanted to annex the divine authority over arts and literature.
For example, both Aphrodite and Hera were qualified to take command of the nine Muses and strengthen their own divine domains.
Even if Artemis wanted to hold down the fort for her brother, she was fighting a lone battle.
Moreover, the trouble wasn't limited to just the Muses in front of her:
Her weak mother, the nurturing goddess Leto, nearly fainted when she heard that her son Apollo had been exiled.
She was now crying in the sacred land of Arcadia, waiting for her comfort.
Apollo's sacred site at Delphi needed someone to patrol and guard it;
Not long ago, because of the negligence of Helios's son Phaethon, he had taken over from Helios the authority to control the sun's movement.
That part of the celestial system still needed someone to further stabilize it.
And on top of that, there were the various scattered subordinate gods, priests, and believers under his influence…
Just thinking about it made Artemis feel an overwhelming mountain of pressure crashing down on her, almost suffocating her.
Perhaps because both she and her brother were chief gods, they had always believed they could support and protect each other through any crisis.
As a result, they had never seriously cultivated relationships with other chief gods.
The only one who had a relatively good relationship with Apollo, Hermes, had now ended up on the opposite side because of the death of Pan.
Now that real trouble had arrived, and Apollo had been thrown to Thessaly to herd sheep, the solitary Artemis finally truly understood the feeling of "when the wall falls, everyone pushes."
Only now did she suddenly realize how difficult things had been for Athena all these years.
But the matter had already happened, and she could only try her best to remedy it, handling one thing at a time.
"I'm going to Arcadia to take care of Mother, and by the way, I'll patrol and guard the Delphic sanctuary.
You all stay on Olympus and properly defend the temple!"
Hearing Artemis's arrangement, the emotional Muses realized their rather precarious situation... their beautiful faces instantly paled, and faint sobbing sounds could be heard.
The naturally strong-willed Huntress Goddess looked at these clearly pressure-averse goddesses of the arts, becoming even more irritated and couldn't help but scold them coldly.
"Crying, crying, that's all you know how to do! Apollo was only exiled for a while, he didn't die!"
The nine Muses at the table tried hard to stifle their sobs, but their faces still carried expressions of resentment and sorrow.
"We're afraid we won't be able to fulfill your entrustment… and bring shame to Lord Apollo…"
Artemis understood the implication and fell silent for a moment.
As a goddess herself, of course, she knew that leaving these nine delicate Muses alone on Olympus was equivalent to throwing lambs into a den of tigers.
After all, although they were not weak...they were not powerful enough to handle a main God.
In the end, their outcome was quite clear.
But right now, she really had no spare capacity.
Even if she wanted to protect these nine Muses, she was powerless to do so.
Just as the temple was filled with gloom and despair, a low voice came from the corner.
"How about I go talk to Athena? You're both virgin goddesses; she should be willing to help."
Lorne gently placed the sleeping Atalanta into the cradle and sincerely made the suggestion.
Artemis's eyes flickered at his words, and she hesitated for a moment before finally shaking her head.
"Forget it. The fact that she didn't kick us while we're down this time is already very rare. How could Apollo's matter possibly make her willing to help again?"
In the last battle over Crete, Apollo hadn't wanted to get involved in the conflict between the Minoans and the Atlanteans, so he had dragged her away early, indirectly screwing Athena over.
Now that he himself was in trouble, how could they expect that goddess of wisdom to forgive and forget?
And if she remembered correctly…
Athena seemed to have some authority over the arts and literature as well…
Artemis glanced at the nine delicate Muses sitting at the table, her gaze flickering darkly.
It would be easy to throw these nine spineless fools to that woman, but when Apollo comes back and wants them returned to him, that would probably be very difficult.
After all, when it came to winning hearts, that woman was second to none in all of Olympus.
Lorne thought seriously for a moment and suggested again.
"Then what about Queen Hera, or His Majesty the King of the Gods?"
"Absolutely impossible! If you throw them over there, not even bones will be left!"
Artemis shook her head without the slightest hesitation, rejecting it instantly.
Their father's "love" was unmatched by anyone, and that Queen of Heaven was a well-known killer of illegitimate children.
As the nine beautiful illegitimate daughters of Father Zeus and the goddess of memory Mnemosyne, no matter whose hands they fell into, they probably wouldn't have a good ending.
Seeing his suggestions continuously rejected, Lorne also felt a headache coming on.
"This won't work, that won't work—don't tell me I have to go ask Lady Hestia?"
The speaker had no intention, but the listener took it to heart.
Artemis, who had been agonizing over how to place the nine Muses, suddenly had her eyes light up as realization dawned.
"That's right—Aunt Hestia!"
As the goddess of the hearth and the symbolic "matriarch" of the entire Olympian divine system, as long as that aunt could be persuaded to lend her presence and authority, it would completely block any external covetousness.
And most importantly, she had always been free of desires.
Even if the nine Muses were handed over to her, she wouldn't be tempted.
When her younger brother Apollo returned later, the authority could be taken back at any time.
Temporarily placing the Muses under Aunt Hestia's name was the safest and most reliable option.
Having figured out the key point, Artemis felt enlightened, and her face lit up with joy.
"Uh… she usually doesn't live on Olympus."
Seeing this, Lorne quietly reminded her first, then thought for a moment before speaking seriously.
"How about this, I'll go ask and see? But I can't guarantee success."
However, Artemis only smiled and shook her head.
"No need. She's not here, but aren't you here?"
"Huh?"
"You are her retainer. Acting in her name and authority, handing them over to you to take care of will have the exact same effect!"
Artemis immediately grabbed her lover's hand, turned around, and announced to the nine Muses.
"Starting today, you will temporarily reside in Aunt Hestia's temple.
If you need anything, just tell Lorne. He will pass it on to me."
At this arrangement, the Muses were stunned for a moment.
Then, thinking back on the pleasant time they had spent together recently and how he had spoken up for Apollo at the critical moment, they didn't actually resist accepting the care of this male god, and one after another, they nodded in agreement.
Suddenly receiving such a major responsibility, Lorne could only give a wry smile.
"I'm just a subordinate god, how can I possibly manage so many of them?"
"What are you afraid of? If you can't handle it, isn't there still that goddess of wisdom?
Given her relationship with Aunt Hestia and with you, if anything happens, she definitely won't sit by and do nothing."
Artemis meaningfully patted her lover's shoulder, revealing a playful smile.
Having her lover fly the flag of Aunt Hestia to keep watch over those Muses, so they wouldn't be poached or secretly switch allegiance, while also dragging her old rival Athena into serving as free labor.
This arrangement was simply perfect!
Under the Huntress Goddess's affectionate gaze, Lorne, who had been forced into the role, could only nod helplessly.
"Alright then… I'll do my best…"
Seeing her lover shouldering such a heavy burden for her sake, Artemis felt overwhelming gratitude and guilt.
So, just before leaving, she couldn't help pulling him aside and whispering a solemn promise.
"In the future… in the future, I will definitely make it up to you!"
Watching the hunting nymph and the golden-horned deer chariot gradually disappear at the edge of the sky, the worried look on Lorne's face slowly faded as he turned back to look at the nine Muses standing neatly in a row behind him, and the corners of his mouth quietly curved upward.
So then, go ahead and serve your sentence in peace, Lord Apollo.
I will not fail your sister's trust.
—"Your retainers I shall raise myself, so you need not worry!"
(End of chapter)