The Fukaros Familia, starting from DanMachi.

The night cast a perfect shadow on Fen Yu's face, concealing the fleeting emotion in his eyes.

"For some, love is the most beautiful thing in the world, a light in the darkness, a hope in despair, but for others, it is also the most painful poison, a heart-wrenching torment, an abyss of unrequited love."

These words made Artemis turn around completely.

For the first time, she looked at the white-haired boy in front of her so seriously and without any prejudice.

He was not old, but his blue eyes held a depth of experience beyond his years.

She could tell that he wasn't lecturing her, but rather recounting his own experiences.

"Are you in pain?"

She moved closer to him, her divine intuition allowing her to keenly perceive the emotions hidden in his words.

"Is it painful?"

Fen Yu pondered the word, finally letting out a bitter laugh.

"I wouldn't call it that, it's just... I'm not reconciled."

He lowered his eyes, looking at his own reflection and the moon goddess's reflection in the stream, and murmured to himself.

"Love... is such a complicated thing. I'm sorry for dragging you into saying so much nonsense."

Artemis realized that she seemed to have touched on the other person's painful memory, and said somewhat apologetically.

"It's okay."

Fen Yu shook his head, then looked up at her and gave her a relieved smile.

"I am already flattered that Lady Artemis is willing to speak with me."

He was telling the truth.

This goddess is notoriously averse to men, so to be able to speak to her so calmly is already a huge favor.

"Don't say that."

Artemis shook her head, her green eyes sparkling with an unprecedented thirst for knowledge.

"If you could, could you tell me about yourself? I... want to learn more about 'love'."

Perhaps it was the impact of the children's words during the day, or perhaps it was the contradictory yet profound temperament of the young man before her that made this unchanging goddess, for the first time, take the initiative to learn about the field she had always resisted.

"Me?"

Fen Yu chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"There's not much to say, he's just a lovesick fanatic."

He looked up at the bright moon in the night sky.

Alphia...would she like me? No way.

In her eyes, he will always be just that little kid who needs her to take care of him.

What were his feelings for her? Was it love, or resentment? Was it a desire to protect her, or... just a simple possessiveness, an inability to accept that she would sacrifice herself for someone else?

He himself couldn't tell the difference.

After a long silence, Fen Yu finally spoke.

He recounted his story with Alphia in a calm, almost indifferent tone.

He concealed her name and identity, only saying that she was a benefactor who rescued him from dire straits and raised him for eight years, a powerful, aloof woman burdened with a curse who resolutely walked towards destruction.

And a boy who could only watch helplessly as everything happened.

Artemis listened quietly without interrupting.

After Fenyu finished speaking, she did not offer comfort or sympathy as a mortal would.

She doesn't understand the joys and sorrows of love, but she understands the divine.

"I'm sorry, I don't really understand those emotions, so I can't comfort you."

She said honestly, "But...it's precisely because of this conviction that the children of the lower realm are so captivating to us, isn't it?"

Her green eyes shone in the moonlight, as if they saw through something essential.

"Our gods possess eternal life, unchanging, while your lives are as fleeting as shooting stars, yet you can burn with a light more dazzling than the sun because of love, hate, and resentment. Your stories, your struggles, your 'obsession' to change your fate at all costs... this is the miracle that we, the eternal ones, most yearn to witness."

After chatting with Fenyu for a while, Artemis seemed to have finally found a logic to explain the behavior of her children.

She seemed to have let go of some heavy burden, and her whole demeanor became much lighter.

On the way back, the two walked side by side in silence, but the atmosphere was no longer as heavy as it had been on the way there; instead, there was a strange harmony.

However, this harmonious atmosphere was instantly shattered when they walked through the forest path back to the brightly lit camp.

Several members of the clan who were gathering firewood by the campfire looked up and saw Artemis and Burning Feather emerging together from the darkness.

"Clatter".

It was the sound of firewood falling to the ground.

Then came the second sound, the third sound... and within seconds the entire camp fell into an eerie silence.

Everyone froze, their eyes wide with disbelief as they stared at the man and woman standing side by side.

That's... that pure goddess Artemis, who utterly despises men.

She actually... came back from the woods outside the camp with a man in the middle of the night?!

Artemis also sensed that something was wrong.

She felt the twenty scorching gazes, a mixture of shock, curiosity, and gossip. Her usually cool and aloof face flushed red at a visible speed.

"I...I'll head back now!"

She hurriedly said something to Fenyu, then rushed back to her carriage as if fleeing, slammed the curtain shut, and remained motionless.

The next moment, the camp exploded.

"Whoosh—!"

Led by the captain Letsa and the half-elf Lanti, several of the boldest girls rushed over like arrows, instantly surrounding Fenyu.

"Hey, you, how did you do that?!"

Lanti's face was filled with excitement and agitation, completely forgetting the taboos of the clan, and he almost pressed himself against Fenyu.

"What did you talk about with Lady Artemis?"

Did she smile at you?

"Speak up!"

The girls' chattering voices sounded like a hundred sparrows chirping in my ear.

The scent of sweat and fragrance emanating from them completely enveloped Fenyu.

He could even feel their rapid breathing due to their excitement.

Fen Yu was both amused and exasperated by this scene, and retreated repeatedly, only to find that he had nowhere left to go.

He could only cast a pleading look at Funina, who was watching the show with her arms crossed not far away.

"Ahem!"

Upon receiving the signal, Funina immediately cleared her throat and charged over with queen-like strides.

She forcefully pushed aside Lanti and Letesa, who were standing at the front, spread her arms wide, and protectively shielded Fenyu behind her. Hands on her hips, she righteously reprimanded the crowd:

"What are you doing? Men and women should not touch each other, don't you understand? You are not allowed to get so close to my child."