I Enslaved The Goddess Who Summoned Me

Leaving Shiina in her room to rest and recover from whatever strange mood had taken hold of her, Nathan made his way toward the baths.

She had not even been drunk, and yet she had acted like someone drifting in and out of a drunken haze. Maybe it had only been exhaustion. Maybe sleepiness had loosened her tongue. Or maybe she had known exactly what she was doing and had simply chosen to tease him.

In the end, it did not matter.

He intended to bathe, clear his head, and then return to his own room for the night.

The inn had gone quiet by then. Most of the guests were asleep, and the halls carried that deep stillness only found late at night, when even the wood beneath one’s feet seemed reluctant to make a sound. They had already lost enough time in Minami Kyoto. Nathan had no interest in wasting more.

When he reached the entrance area again, the old owner was still awake behind the front desk, looking as alert as if the night had only just begun.

”Where are the baths?” Nathan asked.

The old man looked up at him and smiled at once. ”Ah, you came with Shigeru’s group, did you not? Come, follow me.”

Nathan went after him through the inn’s dim corridors.

”You seem to know them well,” Nathan said.

”I do,” the old man replied with an easy chuckle. ”They have stayed here many times. They are fond of this place.”

Nathan looked ahead as they walked. ”You know they are mercenaries, right?”

Mercenaries were not regarded kindly in Kastoria. Men who sold their strength for coin were often placed in the same broad, uneasy category as wandering swordsmen with no lord and no loyalty beyond payment. People tolerated them when useful, feared them when necessary, and trusted them rarely.

But the old innkeeper only smiled.

”Yes, I know exactly what they are,” he said. ”And I also know what kind of people they are. Believe me, I have seen enough mercenaries in my life to tell the difference. Men like the worst of them leave behind fear, broken things, and silence. Shigeru and his companions leave noise, laughter, and complaints from my other guests. That is not quite the same.”

Nathan found that answer interesting enough to keep listening.

The old man glanced back at him. ”I assumed you were one of them.”

”We are working together,” Nathan said.

”Then you have nothing to worry about,” the innkeeper replied, still sounding amused.

After a short walk, they reached the bathing area. There, the old man slowed and gestured toward several different paths leading deeper into the inn.

”My establishment has a few options,” he explained. ”There are indoor baths for men and women separately, a mixed bath, and also the outdoor baths. Most people avoid the outdoor ones at this hour. It is quieter, yes, but also less secure. One never knows who might wander in during the night.”

”I would rather be alone,” Nathan said.

The old man studied him for a moment, then gave a knowing smile. ”You do not wish to share a bath with Shigeru’s loud companions.”

Nathan almost smiled. ”So you know.”

”I always know,” the innkeeper said. ”Their laughter carries through half the building. Every time they stay here, someone ends up complaining. Shigeru and the others usually take the indoor baths, so if solitude is what you want, the outdoor bath would suit you well. Dangerous, perhaps, but quiet.”

”That is fine,” Nathan said. ”Take me there.”

The old man nodded and led him around to the back of the establishment, where the air grew colder and the scent of mineral water rose more strongly through the night.

When they arrived, the innkeeper stepped aside. ”There are towels prepared inside if you need them. Enjoy your bath.”

With that, he left Nathan alone.

Nathan stepped into the outdoor bathing area and felt the night close around him at once. The air was cold enough to bite, sharp and clean against his skin, but steam drifted up in soft white ribbons from the dark surface of the water, turning the whole place into something almost unreal beneath the faint moonlight.

For a moment he simply stood there, taking in the contrast. The chill of the night brushed over him while the heat of the spring breathed upward in slow waves, and where the two met, it sent a strange, almost electric sensation across his skin.

He removed his kimono, set it aside, and stepped down into the bath.

The heat wrapped around him instantly.

Nathan let out a low breath as the water climbed over his legs, his waist, his chest, until at last he lowered himself fully and leaned back. Ripples spread outward from his body and lapped against his shoulders and neck, easing the tension that had gathered there throughout the journey.

Then the water touched the bite.

A faint sting pulsed through the poisoned mark Yorimasa had left behind, that ugly violet burn still raw against his neck. Even now it seemed to throb with its own heat, as if the venom had sunk deeper than flesh and had no intention of letting him forget it.

The bite still hurt like hell.

Worse, the protection and blessing Amaterasu had placed on him to dull the pain and lessen the discomfort were slowly fading. What had once felt muffled and distant was returning little by little, the poison making itself known again with every pulse beneath his skin.

Nathan exhaled slowly and leaned deeper into the hot water, hoping the heat might ease some of the tension creeping through his body. It helped, but not enough.

After a moment, he lifted a hand to his temple and reached out for Medea through the spell she had created for them. It was one of her finest works, a powerful magic that allowed them to speak across distance as though standing side by side.

Nothing answered.

He frowned faintly.

Most likely, Medea was asleep. At this hour, that was hardly surprising.

”You do not look well.”

The sweet voice came so suddenly that Nathan opened his eyes at once.

He tilted his head back and saw her there, pink eyes gazing down at him, bright with quiet amusement, a mischievous smile already curling at her lips.

”Aphrodite.”

”I came to check on you,” she said.

”As you can see, I have been poisoned,” Nathan replied.

”Yes, and by something especially ugly.” Her expression softened, though only slightly. ”The poison of Yamata no Orochi is powerful enough to kill even gods. The only reason you survived is because the Forbidden Seal lets the power of three goddesses run through your veins, including their resilience. Pandora’s curses helped as well.”

Nathan gave a small nod. ”I know. I truly came close to death.”

”You worry us far too much,” Aphrodite said with a sigh.

She did not enter the bath. Instead, she sat at the edge and slipped her legs into the water beside him, close enough for him to feel the gentle disturbance of the ripples around her skin.

”As always,” Nathan said, a faint smile touching his lips. ”But I do not die easily. You should know that by now.”

”I do know,” she replied with a soft laugh.

Nathan looked at her for a moment. ”I am fine, Aphrodite.”

He knew she was worried. That much was obvious, no matter how lightly she carried herself.

”I know,” she said. ”And at worst, Amaterasu will step in.”

Nathan let out a quiet breath through his nose. ”That would defeat the whole point of me handling this on my own.”

Aphrodite’s expression changed then, the teasing warmth fading into something more serious.

”Eventually, you will have to face Susanoo,” she said. ”And if you face him alone, you will die. You know that, do you not?”

Nathan said nothing for a moment.

No matter how much stronger he had grown, no matter how many gifts, curses, blessings, and advantages he carried, none of it would be enough against Susanoo as he was now. He was not even at the height of a demigod’s power yet. Against a being like that, all his so called advantages meant very little.

”I will deal with that when the time comes,” he said at last, then shifted the subject before she could press further. ”How are things there?”

”With Hera, you mean?” Aphrodite asked, and her smile returned, though this one held more edge. ”Very well. After two years, she is beginning to break. She is becoming more cooperative. I imagine she has had more than enough of seeing my face and hearing me humiliate her from behind her cell.”

Nathan glanced at her. ”You really hate her, do you not?”

”Quite a bit,” Aphrodite said lightly. ”Though I can admit she has her uses, especially since you have plans for her.”

”I do,” Nathan replied. ”I need her to submit to me.”

He had to give Hera that much. She was difficult to break.

For two long years, she had endured humiliation, mental pressure, and everything he and Aphrodite had put her through, yet she had continued to resist. Still, even iron bent eventually, and at last the cracks in her mind were beginning to show.

”She will submit,” Aphrodite said with confidence. ”I am certain of it. But before that, finish what you started in Amaterasu’s kingdom.”

Then she rose gracefully to her feet.

Nathan looked up at her. ”You are leaving already?”

There was the faintest trace of disappointment in his voice.

Aphrodite smiled, and this time it was warmer.

”You have company,” she said. ”So I will leave you to it.”

Before Nathan could ask what she meant, she vanished.

Just like that.

The night fell quiet again, but only for a breath.