Type-Moon, I heard that after death, you can ascend to the Throne of Heroes?

I even kept that posture and sat there for a whole day and night.

"What is he doing?"

asked Themis, the goddess of justice, who had been watching him quietly.

"Drawing." Athena, who was standing next to him, replied.

They were standing right behind Nuoyan, but Nuoyan didn't notice them... or to be more precise, he didn't notice them, because they weren't even hiding themselves at that moment.

"Look!" Athena said, and took out the gift she had promised to give her, and showed it to Themis proudly.

Themis was silent.

Because she remembered this painting, it had always been placed in the Temple of Athena.

You can see it as you enter the door.

Just as Hera proudly informed the gods that the promise was a believer approved by the goddess of fate, Athena, who received this special tribute, also showed it to the gods.

After all, this painting already depicts divinity and is a child's work, so even Apollo, the god of light, became interested in it and praised and asked about it out of curiosity.

However, Athena kept her mouth shut about this and just told them to go find Chiron.

Chiron naturally knew who it was, but he was also smart. When he heard that Athena didn't say it, he instantly guessed that there was something wrong, and as a good teacher he would definitely not let his students down.

So in the end I just hid away and didn't see anyone.

As a result, all the Olympian gods became very interested in this.

And now, Themis knew.

"He painted it?"

"Yes." Athena nodded and explained: "That painting was his first tribute to the gods... Yes, it was me!"

Athena raised her head proudly.

But if Nuoyan knew about this, he would be dumbfounded. After all, this painting was not so much dedicated to Athena as it was forcibly taken away by Athena...Although it was also because of this painting that Athena left the oath.

"Hera doesn't know?"

"do not know."

Themis understood and knew why Athena had kept her mouth shut.

Hera has been talking about promises recently, even ignoring the matter of Zeus. Everyone knows that she has accepted such a believer, and it can also be seen how much Hera values ​​and loves this child.

At this time Athena would say that the child’s first tribute is not you, Hera, but me, Athena.

That Hera probably wanted to kill her.

Not to mention that Hera is extremely concerned about her reputation and is extremely jealous.

"Are you planning on competing with Hera?"

And when he thought of Athena's current attitude towards Nuoyan, she even asked him to come to see her on purpose to ensure that even if something went wrong this time, Themis, the goddess of justice, would be able to save the situation.

Themis couldn't help but ask again out of curiosity.

"No, but...actually, the goddess of fate didn't tell Hera one more thing at that time."

Athena raised her lips and said, "That means that child can not only bring glory to Hera, but also to me!"

At this moment, if it were other gods, such as Hermes, the messenger of the gods, Apollo, the god of light, etc., they would definitely be happy.

Then the next second he returned to Olympus, publicized the matter, and couldn't wait to see whether Hera and Athena would fight because of this.

But Themis naturally wouldn't. Although she would find it interesting, that was all.

"So, he is planning to draw the kingdom of Aegina and present it to Hera... so that Hera will be willing to lift the curse?"

"That's half right." Athena smiled, looking at Nuoyan's back, and said, "But don't worry, there is basically no problem with this matter, because he has completely understood what the oracle 'Hera's doting' I gave him meant!"

Nuoyan sat there motionless for another whole day, and finally looked at the white canvas in front of him and sighed helplessly.

In fact, ever since the day when the painting was taken away by Athena, Nuoyan discovered that his painting could actually leave a legendary record, and the excited Nuoyan prepared to make a painting for each of the twelve Olympian gods on the spot, but the result...

All of them have become blank folders. I will definitely do that next time.

Because from that day on, Nuoyan found that he could no longer find the feeling he had that day.

No matter how he thought and concentrated during this period of time, even if he forced himself like this today, inspiration would not come if he couldn't explain it.

You may never encounter it again in your lifetime.

So now, Nuoyan had no choice but to try his best to cheer himself up, dip the paintbrush in water, and paint the kingdom of Aegina on the white canvas.

And on the morning of the third day, after the painting was finally completed, he stood up and staggered, taking the painting back to the kingdom.

On the way, he opened the package, looked at the two golden apples and hesitated for a while, but ultimately did not eat them.

He came to Aegina again.

Handed the painting to the goddess.

But when Aegina, who no longer cared about anything and was quietly waiting for the end, glanced at the painting that Nuoyan handed to her, she was stunned for a moment and snatched it away.

Because in that painting, she saw the familiar kingdom.

That was also her happiest moment of every day. When the dawn that tore through the darkness shone on the land, she opened her eyes and saw the prosperous and beautiful land.

This is the kingdom she has devoted all her efforts to creating ever since she was captured by Zeus, who turned into an eagle and stayed here.

This tower was not originally built for imprisonment.

Instead, it was created so that Aegina could see the most beautiful scenery in her heart when she woke up every day.

So Aegina stared at the painting in a daze, until a tear fell from her cheek onto the painting, wetting it. Then she woke up in a panic, wiped her face hastily, and tried carefully and anxiously to dry the wet corner of the painting.

The more he wiped, the more anxious he became, and his tears could not be stopped from flowing, falling onto the painting.

But instead, the drizzle that had been falling continuously finally dissipated at this moment. After a long time, the bright sunshine finally shone on the city again.

"Pretty!"

Athena, who was hiding in the clouds with Themis, watched all this and clapped her hands with great joy.

"Now the second painting isn't Hera's!"

Themis looked at the happy Athena beside her, and felt that if she were to judge the two of them, there was no doubt that Hera would win.

Chapter 20: Are you happy? Very happy~~

Aegina wept for a long time.

And the moment she cried, Nuoyan left.

He sat outside the room in the tower, waiting for Aegina to recover, but he never expected that he would fall asleep leaning against the wall.

After nearly three days without a rest and painting at the highest intensity, Nuoyan is now just like when he first started training under Chiron, so tired that he doesn't even want to move a finger.

He didn't know how long he had slept, but he knew that when he woke up, he was lying on the bed of the goddess Aegina in that room.

Aegina just sat quietly aside, still looking out the window.

The only difference is that he held the painting tightly in his hand, as if he was afraid that it would disappear from his hands the next moment.

The afternoon sun shines into the room and on the frail body of the goddess, as if this is a painting, showing her helplessness and confusion vividly.

Although his head still hurt after seeing this promise, he still got up from the bed and said, "Thank you, Goddess Aegina."

Aegina still ignored the promise.

When the rain dissipated and everything was exposed to the sun, Aegina could see more easily how dilapidated her beloved kingdom had become.

Looking at her children, they were tortured by the curse and suffered.

Therefore, even though Nuoyan spent a lot of effort to hand the most beautiful moment in her heart back to her again, she could still feel the strong breath of Hera on Nuoyan.

She still hated the boy from the bottom of her heart.

"Goddess Aegina, can you listen to my request now?"

Aegina did not answer immediately, and Nuoyan was not in a hurry either. He waited quietly for a long time before hearing the answer.

"Go ahead."

Aegina spoke the first words in a long time, and her voice, which used to be very pleasant, was now mixed with a strong sense of fatigue.

"Please order your people to build a sacrifice for me." Nuoyan said, "That is a sacrifice to the most noble goddess in the world, Hera!"

When Nuoyan finished saying this, Aegina turned her head and looked at Nuoyan.

And even she was looking at Nuoyan with a stunned look, as if she had heard it wrong.

Nuoyan obviously knew how outrageous his request was, so he quickly explained: "I am going to offer tribute to the goddess Hera and pray for her blessing!"

At this moment, Aegina looked at Nuoyan in a daze, and looking at his determined expression, she finally "understood" in her heart.

She 'finally understood' that Nuoyan didn't know everything, and didn't know that the culprit who caused this disaster and cast the curse was Hera!

After all, Aegina did not tell her people about Hera's divine punishment.

Telling them would only hasten their death and make Hera even angrier, and it might even prevent their people from finding peace even in death.

As for the mess between Hera and Zeus, even Hermes, the messenger of the gods who delivered news everywhere, would not be wise enough to report it in the first place.

Generally, people wait until things are over before making a big fuss about them.

Thinking of this, Aegina finally "understood" that the child in front of her might have just passed by and accidentally learned about what happened here, and then really wanted to help them.

Although there are some doubts in this, Aegina still subconsciously thinks this is the best explanation. After all, if it is not for this reason, Aegina really can't figure out why she kept the promise as Hera's favorite.

Only then will you stand against Hera!

After all, even the goddess of justice, Themis, had doubts about this and questioned the promise with the scales of judgment.

After thinking about this, Aegina became jealous. She was jealous that the ugly Hera actually had such a believer!

Then, an idea came into Aegina's mind.

At this moment, Aegina decided that she would build a sacrifice for the young man and place it not far from her tower.

And when the young man offers tribute and prays for the gods to come, she will walk out of the tower and stand beside the young man.

As a god, she naturally didn't care about the plague cursed by Hera.

Aegina wanted to watch Hera appear and let Hera see with her own eyes her beloved believers begging her to lift the curse.

Aegina felt that Hera's expression at that moment must have been quite wonderful!

So Aegina smiled, and under Nuoyan's slightly puzzled gaze, Aegina smiled happily.

"it is good!"

She agreed to the promise in a voice full of hatred.

All of this was seen by Athena and Themis who were watching.

They were sitting in the audience seats and were extremely intelligent gods themselves, so they naturally understood what Aegina was thinking at that moment.

Aegina wanted to disgust Hera severely by taking advantage of the promise!

At this moment, even Themis raised her eyebrows slightly.

Athena did not hide the disdain and contempt in her eyes at all, but she reached out to stop Themis who was about to leave.

"No need, because she never thought that the child was still helping her even though he knew everything, so... in the end, she would only suffer the consequences!"

Themis understood what Athena meant and stopped.

So Aegina gave the order.

Even though this kingdom that came together because of her was already a dying candle in the wind, when she gave the order, people still gathered together, dragging their tired bodies to build an altar to offer sacrifice to the gods.

Even those who were originally in despair now had a glimmer of hope on their faces.

Because the sky finally cleared up and the goddess Aegina issued another oracle, people naturally believed that their goddess had finally found a way to save them, and these hopeless days finally came to an end.

In the future, their goddess will surely guide them as she did in the past and make this kingdom prosperous again!

This scene also made Aegina, who had calmed down and realized that she had taken advantage of a child and was feeling guilty, resolute in her determination.

And so, a week later.

When night falls, the goddess of night Nyx hangs the stars high in the sky, and the light of the full moon illuminates this land of the gods, in this dark night lit by torches.