Epione raises her hand and points it towards me, ready to end my life. My demigod sense starts screaming to me that a really dangerous attack is coming my way— one that I could neither defend against nor run away from.
“Wait! Wait! Wait!” I quickly shout out, raising my hands in surrender.
“I think you misunderstood me. We are here to see God Asclepius, but we’re not after that thing!”
I purposely speak vaguely in case there’s something else these Goddesses are protecting.
“You don’t want the Elixir of Resurrection?” Epione asks with a frown, slightly lowering her hand.
“No, we don’t. I swear,” I reply earnestly.
“Oh, really? I guess you don’t have to die then. Zeus only instructed us to kill those who are after the Elixir,” She tells me, her warm smile returning as she lowers her arm entirely.
Phew…
“So, why do you want to meet my husband? I mean, I cannot allow you to meet him no matter what the case is, but still, I might be able to help you out,” She continues in her motherly tone.
Hmm…
Apart from wanting to killing me just seconds ago, Epione seems like a nice woman (that’s my first impression anyway). And while I seriously doubt that she’d be able to do anything about mother’s curse, it might be worth telling her about it.
“Well, you see, a certain stubborn and jealous Goddess cursed our mother a few years ago. And we want to get rid of that curse. Of course, I know Gods cannot undo each other’s curses, but I was hoping that God Asclepius might be able to minimize its effects,” I tell her.
“A Goddess curse her? She must have been seriously offended then. My last interaction with regular mortals was hundreds of years ago— before my husband got imprisoned— and even then I rarely used to curse anyone,” Epione says, slight bitterness in her voice for some reason.
“Anyway, you’re right, my husband might be able to help your mother, but sadly, I cannot say the same for my daughters or myself. All of our powers come directly from my husband so we might be able to equal him in magic, but no one can come near his knowledge and intelligence in medical science.”
She looks genuinely sad saying this. Her daughters look really sad as well. Maybe it’s because all of them are Goddesses related to healthcare and stuff that they want to be so helpful.
Well, at least I didn’t get my hopes up…
“I-It’s really unfortunate that you cannot help us. Anyway, I don’t think there’s any point in staying here any longer, is there? W-We should leave now,” Sienna says with a forced smile, her voice shaking.
“Yes, we should leave,” Arya agrees fervently.
Both of them look quite anxious and scared. Though no one can blame them. Its intimidating being in the presence of a god— even if it’s a minor one. Nemesis’s godly aura is heavily tamed when she’s with me, so neither of them have been hit by the full brunt of this aura before.
“But you children just got here! I would hate to let you go without providing any kind of help,” Epione protests.
“Yes, we love to help others. Before this place was turned into a prison, it was an Asclepieion (hospital), the main healing sanctuary among the many that are sacred to our father,” Hygieia adds.
“Hundreds of mortals, demigods, and magical beasts alike used to come here every day seeking the help of our medical knowledge. And we were more than happy to provide it to them.”
Wow…
“Thank you, but we only need help with the curse. Rest assured though, we will definitely come back if we need you for anything else,” Lucy says.
Even she doesn’t want to be here any longer. Gods can be quite unpredictable sometimes and can experience sharp mood swings. Fully aware of this, Lucy knows better than to converse with a God without proper planning first.
But well, as for me…
“Wait, I think these lovely ladies can help me, sis,” I say, giving Lucy a shadow of a wink— careful that no one else notices it.
Just with this, Lucy instantly understands what I am about to do. Her eyes widened up and a mutinous look covers her face.
“No, Lucas! I don’t think—”
“What!? We can help you!? Please do tell us how!”
Lucy starts speaking but Epione’s excited voice is quick to interrupt her.
“Well, I’ve not been feeling that well since the last few hours. There’s a weird sensation all over my body and I am experiencing weakness as well. Can you do something about it?” I ask, making the best sick-looking face I could.
“Oh, dear! You should have told me about this earlier! Let me take a look!” Epione says in deep concern.
The next moment, her brown eyes turn golden, and she slowly examines my body from top to bottom. She repeats this a few more times before a frown appears on her face.
“You appear perfectly healthy to me,” she says doubtfully.
“Really? I feel so weird though. You don’t have any other, more thorough way to check me, do you?” I ask, making sure to sound a bit disappointed.
“Oh, yes! Of course, we do! But you will have to come with us inside. My daughters and I can examine you properly then,” she replies, nodding vigorously.
“That sounds okay to me. Let’s go—”
“Lucas, can I talk to you for a minute?” Lucy asks, sharply intervening.
“Yes, sis?” I ask innocently.
“Come with me. Arya, why don’t you talk to these beautiful Goddesses in the meanwhile?” she says.
Arya, touched by that fact that Lucy is speaking to her on her own accord, gives a cheerful smile before asking Epione about this place— who answers back much too willingly.
Immediately, Lucy grabs my hand and starts pulling me to the corner of the room. Even though no one invited her, Sienna also starts following us as if it’s only natural.
“What are you doing, Lucas?” Lucy demands as we reach out of everyone’s earshot, completely ignoring Sienna.
“Nothing, just trying to see if I can make Epione tell me where Asclepius is. We need to know that if we’re going to plan anything later,” I answer with a shrug.
“I know, but this is not the way! It’s just too reckless! What if Epione suddenly decides to kill us all!?” she asks.
“Good point. That’s why only I will go with them. You girls should head back to the carriage,” I reply.
““No!””
Lucy and Sienna both turn down this idea at the same time.
“You’re not risking your life again!” Lucy says sternly.
“We’re not going anywhere without you!” Sienna adds, entering the conversation.
“Just listen to me, okay? I will be really careful. If things start going South, I will get out of here immediately. But still, thinking of the worst-case scenario, I don’t want you girls to be here. I can make sure that I remain safe, but that’s only possible if I don’t have to think about the rest of you as well,” I tell them honestly.
“I can take care of myself, Lucas. You know that better than anyone else,” Lucy says.
“I do, but that won’t stop me from worrying about you, will it?” I ask with a shrug.
“But still, I cannot just let you—”
“Come on, Lucy. Just go and let me do my thing. I will be fine,” I say sternly, grabbing her shoulder.
Hearing me say her name, Lucy’s cheeks blush furiously like always and a smile appears on her face despite herself. It’s my ace move. With this, I know that my victory is but assured.
“… Fine. But if something happens to again, I will never forgive you!” my cute sister says, looking into my eyes.
Fufufu…
“Wait, seriously!? This is insane!” Sienna protests. She’s looking at me and Lucy in shock, clearly confused as to what just happened.
“We need to help our mother as soon as possible, sis. And this is the only way I could think of doing that. If you have a better option than this, I am ready to listen,” I say to her directly.
“W-Well, I… That is…”
Obviously, she doesn’t.
“I promise that I will prioritize my safety, okay? Is that fine for you?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.
Sienna looks at me for a few seconds before giving me a stiff nod.
“Okay then, it’s settled!” I say, rubbing my hands together.
We walk up to Arya and the Goddesses (who are getting along surprisingly well) and talk to them once again.
“I am ready for my check-up, Goddess Epione,” I declare.
“Oh, that’s great! We shouldn’t waste any more time then. Come on,” she says excitedly.
“Sure. Oh, and by the way, my sisters will be leaving now. They need to return to my mother,” I tell her.
“Is that so? No problem, they can return,” she says with a smile.
That went smoothly…
Still looking a bit worried, Lucy gives me a small nod before turning around and leaving through the door we came in. Sienna and Arya follow her as well— both looking quite anxious. I feared that Arya will start protesting as well, but I guess she figured out what I am trying to do.
Once my sisters are gone, Epione speaks again.
“Let’s go, shall we?”
*Click*
“Woah! What the—?”
She clicks her fingers and the world turns around me. Losing my sense of balance, it almost feels like I am falling down from the sky. Though a second later, my feet touch solid ground again and I find myself standing inside a dimly lit room.
It’s almost empty except a single bed (with exceptionally clean white sheets) placed in the middle. Numerous magical lamps are hovering above it, brightly illuminating the bed by focusing their lights on top of it.
Why am I here?
“Please strip naked and lay down on the bed.”
Epione’s voice comes from behind me.
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