[Greek Mythology] The Demons Under My Command - Chapter 26

The same afternoon brought a classroom quiz, a test out of one hundred points.

Dian looked at both their papers, frowning. What exactly were they listening to in class? These were all questions covered in the lessons, yet they managed to write obvious nonsense.

“Li Jia, 59.”

“Linai, 58.”

Near dismissal, Dian placed a textbook into Hera’s hand and spoke in the most benevolent tone possible, “Her Majesty Hera, perhaps at home you could help Li Jia study her grammar and reinforce the key knowledge points.”

Li Jia stuffed the paper into the deepest fold of her backpack. She wouldn’t dare let the demoness know; she’d be nagged to death.

“Take it out.”

Li Jia remained motionless, like a snapping turtle.

“Take it out and let me see it. Don’t make me say it a second time.”

Playing dead was ineffective.

She could only pull the paper out from the very bottom and hand it to Hera with trembling hands. Fearing Hera might become angry, Li Jia felt the need to give her a heads-up.

“It’s only one point shy of passing! I still got 59, right? If I had gotten just one more multiple-choice question correct, I would’ve had 60!”

Rounding up, that was 60. Scoring more than half of 100 was already quite impressive.

“I got 59, and Linai only got 58!”

Sorry, bestie.

“I swear I’ll pass the next quiz.”

The flag was set; whether or not it could be realized would only be known on the day of the test.

Hera ignored Li Jia’s excuses. She sat in the chariot, flipping through Li Jia’s paper, and let out a scoff, “Are you doing this on purpose? For the question, ‘Which of the following is an ancient Greek author?’ what made you think of choosing Pythagoras?”

Because he looked like Godzilla, and she didn’t recognize the other three names.

“Pythagoras was a famous ancient Greek mathematician. What were you thinking?”

“Do the Mans family not pay attention to education? I vaguely recall that the North and Olet opened up schooling for girls a long time ago. How can you not even know the most basic figures?”

Dian was right. She needed to pre-study. Knowing absolutely nothing was terrifying.

“…”

She didn’t know Western mathematicians; she only knew the Eastern one, Hua Luogeng.

Completely deprived of any means of counterargument, Hera was currently looking at her like an illiterate person. How was she supposed to explain that she had received a higher education?

What would be a reasonable explanation?

Should she tell her that she wasn’t a person of this era, which is why she couldn’t understand their questions? But that would expose her identity.

Or should she say she had amnesia and had learned it but forgotten? That didn’t make logical sense either.

Sigh, forget it. It was better to let Hera treat her as an illiterate. Any explanation seemed extremely unreasonable.

Li Jia looked away and muttered, “Because I’m rather stupid.”

Hera rolled the paper into a tube and gently tapped her on the head. She looked up and said, “A slow bird must start flying early, and diligence can compensate for lack of talent. I will come back earlier in the evening to tutor you in advance. I don’t expect you to be exceptionally brilliant, but you must at least know the most basic common knowledge.”

The little one drooped her head, “Then, Your Majesty, you must come back early. I don’t want to be forced into extra study when I get home at night.”

Hearing Li Jia’s childish murmur, the beating heart in Hera’s chest was like a stifled, initial tide that encountered a violent, lingering rainy season. When the rain gradually faded, she realized that the swirling moisture had already been covered with the dense, life-threatening marks of a deep ailment.

Returning to the Hot Spring Pavilion, dinner was already laid out in the inner temple. It was all Li Jia’s favorites: sweet osmanthus rice wine soup, creamy truffle potato croquettes, a tenderly pan-fried steak, and a ceramic bowl of borscht.

Winslow had already lost the privilege of accompanying Li Jia for dinner, as someone else preferred to dine with her.

Two sets of pink bunny tableware were on the table. Just as Li Jia was about to sneak a potato croquette, a voice rang out next to her ear, “Go wash your hands. It’s time to eat.”

Li Jia mumbled, “Oh,” and scampered off to the small garden’s water basin to thoroughly wash her hands.

Because of Li Jia’s presence, her belongings in the inner temple were constantly increasing. She loved pink, cute, and girly things.

There was a special wooden shelf for snacks, a round fluffy rug—Li Jia claimed she could do yoga stretches and lose weight on it, but she mostly used it for naps—and a beanbag chair where she liked to nestle and read storybooks.

The temple was filled with her scent. By her side, her breathing was steady.

A deity does not need to eat or sleep.

Since when did Hera start leaving the lights on and preparing food for Li Jia? Since when did she begin to notice local specialties and interesting things while dealing with tricky matters outside, wondering if Li Jia would like them?

Hera found that she enjoyed watching Li Jia eat. Li Jia did not eat gracefully; she was carefree and loved to stuff her mouth full, like a little hoarding hamster.

She would even drop rice grains on the table. She would pick them up and eat them, muttering, “It hasn’t been three seconds, it hasn’t been three seconds.”

The more mysteries surrounded her, the more Hera felt she couldn’t grasp her. It was only at night, when Li Jia lay in her arms, that Hera felt the little one was truly, physically by her side.

After dinner that night, Li Jia summoned the Yellow Spring to enjoy a good bath.

Although the name of the private hot spring was rather morbid, as soon as her body soaked in it, her internal organs felt comfortably soothed. Moreover, she felt her skin becoming better and more tender. What woman wouldn’t love beauty, especially one who was a blossoming, under-eighteen girl?

The longer she stayed here, the more she grew dependent on this place. She loved the Hot Spring Pavilion, she loved the City of Springs, and she loved everything here.

Including the owner of this place, she liked her too.

Lost in thought, Li Jia fell asleep again.

Hera: “…”

She wondered where all this sleep came from. Or was the human physique inherently much weaker?

The Yellow Spring had transferred a lot of her divine power, which had the effect of prolonging life. Since Li Jia’s fate line could not be connected to hers, she would age and die normally, like a mortal, and then leave her.

Whenever Hera thought of this, she became terribly anxious and distraught. The indescribable heartache was driving her crazy.

As a goddess, she could not interfere with the life and death of mortals.

She hated this feeling; it was a helplessness that she could not control. She would not let Li Jia leave her. She would reclaim her Spirit-Binding Lamp and grant her eternal life. What did the cost matter?

Li Jia hadn’t been in the Hot Spring Pavilion or the Temple of the Marriage God all day. When she wasn’t by her side, Hera would always think of her, wondering how she was, whether she was doing well.

She had given her a way to communicate, but she hadn’t received a single inquiry from her all day.

Hera sighed, “You ungrateful little thing. What am I to do with you?”

She let out an almost imperceptible sigh, kissed her forehead, lifted her out of the private hot spring, and tucked her into bed.

Waking up from her sleep, Li Jia was met with a pair of red eyes.

Alright.

She was used to it. Hera often liked to have heart-to-heart talks with her in the middle of the night. This was probably a small part of one of her certain quirks.

Understandable, understandable. After all, Hera was the boss, and the boss liked to talk whenever she felt like it.

“You slept quite long today. Did school tire you out?”

Li Jia heard her question and obediently nodded. Studying consumed a lot of brain cells.

Hera, “And you still failed the test.”

Couldn’t she be less cutting?

Seeing that she remained silent, Hera’s face grew serious, “Why didn’t you use the listening device to find me today?”

Li Jia: “?”

Wasn’t that device generally reserved for moments of life and death, according to the novels? Besides, she and Linai were chatting happily, and she didn’t feel bored at all. Why should she randomly call her?

Li Jia suspected Hera might have separation anxiety, otherwise, why would she always want to review her daily life in the middle of the night?

But Li Jia didn’t dislike Hera’s actions, because she liked being noticed and being cared for.

Li Jia carefully weighed her words, analyzed each one, and came to a conclusion: the boss wanted her to call.

How could she dare say she forgot because she was too busy chatting with Linai?

“Because Your Majesty is very busy! I’m not a child. How could I always bother you with small matters?”

Li Jia devised a flawless reason. She gave a compliment, and she rehearsed her wording several times in her stomach. The boss shouldn’t be angry now, right?

“It’s not a small matter.”

The sudden, cryptic sentence left Li Jia confused.

Seeing her still bewildered, Hera stroked her forehead, “Your affairs are never small matters to me. I am selfish, so from now on, will you only tell these things to me, and no one else?”

It was a voice almost like coaxing a child.

Li Jia smiled sweetly at her, “Okay. I’ll only tell Your Majesty from now on, and I’ll immediately tell Your Majesty about anything interesting I encounter.”

Sensing Hera’s possessiveness, Li Jia decided to use a gentle approach to overcome hardness. It wasn’t that difficult to go along with her.

Why must people insist on saying spiteful things? Why must they compete to see who is more stubborn, who is less willing to yield?

Li Jia felt they should compete on who is braver and who is more determined.

Giving way wasn’t a big deal.

Hera was very satisfied with Li Jia’s answer. It was not yet dawn. Hera pulled the blanket up for her and chuckled softly, “Go back to sleep.”

Li Jia immediately closed her eyes. That was close, that was close! She now accurately knew the boss’s needs: just don’t dance in her minefield.

The next day for school, Hera woke her up an hour early to pre-study the textbook. Initially, Li Jia couldn’t get up, but Hera constantly urged her to wake up. With a human alarm clock, it was difficult not to get up.

After studying grammar for half an hour, Dorina taught her the most basic swordsmanship. Li Jia originally disliked all this fighting and killing. She lived in a lawful society and didn’t even dare to kill a chicken, let alone a person.

Winslow rolled his eyes at her, “Her Majesty doesn’t mean for you to kill people. It’s so you have the ability to protect yourself. The Temple of the Marriage God has always operated like this: Do not offend me, and I will not offend others; if you offend me, I will certainly retaliate.”

Seeing that she was still unenthusiastic, Hera told her to concentrate. Tapping the ring on her fingertip, a miniature version of the Arbiter was soon in Li Jia’s hand.

A 1:1 replica.

Li Jia loved it; what girl doesn’t like shiny things?

Hera pinched Li Jia’s face, “Can you concentrate and study now?”

Li Jia saluted her, “Yes, sir! I promise to study hard and absolutely not bring shame to Your Majesty or the Arbiter.”

“Can I add some accessories to my sword? It looks a bit bare.” Li Jia really liked the sword, holding the little Arbiter in her arms and stroking it repeatedly.

“You can. The secondary ring has recognized you as its master. Whatever you want to do is your business.” Hera tucked her hair, “This sword of yours is a fragment of the Arbiter. It possesses one-half of its power.”

Li Jia began to ponder what kind of cool scabbard or tassel to get for the little Arbiter. She had read in Wuxia novels that the sword was a swordsman’s life, and the swordsman was the sword’s resting place.

For some reason, Li Jia had the distinct feeling that this was a token of love.

Holding the sword, she followed Dorina and practiced a set of basic sword moves. Although she wasn’t proficient, mimicking the movements looked quite convincing.

After practicing for over half a month without fail, the little Arbiter became comfortable to use—it was a sword born for her.

Li Jia felt that Artemis was a very gentle goddess. She gradually came to understand why Linai wanted to stay with the Goddess of the Hunt forever.

“Li Jia, I love Artemis. I know this more clearly than anyone.”

One noon, while napping at their desks, Li Jia asked Linai why she was willing to stay by Artemis’s side. Linai’s answer shocked Li Jia, yet was simultaneously within her expectation.

“Have you told her?” Li Jia paused, then asked casually.

“No, I won’t tell her.” Linai’s eyes darkened, “Artemis is the Moon Goddess. Maintaining her purity is the source of her divine power. On the first day I arrived here, Lota warned me that Artemis would not fall in love with anyone, she would not marry anyone, and she would not enter into marriage.”

“Therefore, all I seek in this life is to be by Artemis’s side.”

Li Jia lowered her head and remained silent. After a while, she mumbled, “Then, if you don’t say anything, and she doesn’t know your feelings, will you not feel resentful?”

“Li Jia, for me, happiness requires no conditions. Being able to accompany Artemis is happiness.”

“I can do without a title, without status, without anything. After all, when we first met, my wish was to forever accompany the Goddess of the Hunt. You wished me success, and now I have succeeded.”

Linai glanced at her slightly bewildered best friend. The bystander is clear; the participants are confused. This saying really was true. She lifted her sleeve, propped her face up, and smiled, “What about you? Did you get what you wished for?”

Did she get what she wished for?

Li Jia asked herself. She had reached Hera’s side effortlessly and gained everything she never had in her past life. Here, she didn’t have to worry about the struggles and troubles of the past, and everything she possessed was granted to her by one woman.

Li Jia’s eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she softly replied, “My wish has been fulfilled.”

“That’s good then.”

Li Jia and Linai had unknowingly stayed at Artemis’s residence for half a year. During this time, the two experienced failing, retaking, failing, and passing quizzes. Finally, the end-of-term exam concluded perfectly, with one scoring 80 points and the other 81 points.

After receiving their report cards, they entered the two-month winter break. Dian would not relax her studies just because of the holiday. She prepared winter homework for both of them, specifically instructed Hera to supervise Li Jia’s homework, and ideally, have her pre-study the curriculum for the next semester, providing Hera with an extra set of new textbooks.

Three years of college entrance exams, five years of mock tests. It was the original formula and the familiar flavor.

Who did she ever wrong? Changing worlds, and she still had to do winter homework, competing constantly.

Li Jia: Standing to mock this world, lying down to live out this life.

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