That day,
The petite Goddess of Fate, Clotho, wearing her white robe, stood before Atalanta.
She delivered the prophecy that had been written for Atalanta's future.
"Run, Atalanta. You seek freedom and purity, desiring to remain forever by the side of the Goddess Artemis.
But that is not eternal because you will eventually stop, bound by the thing called 'marriage.'"'
That was the prophecy given to Atalanta by Clotho, the goddess of fate.
And so now, in the natural paradise of Arcadia,
This kingdom, nestled in the forest, looked like the legendary holand of elves. Many houses were built high among the ancient trees.
On the vast grassland not far from the outskirts of the kingdom, the water in the lake was crystal clear, and there were many onlookers gathered around it.
Among them was Atalanta's father, King Iasus of Arcadia.
It was afternoon, and by a wooden post, stood Atalanta, dressed in her green hunting outfit. Her erald eyes looked in confusion and bewildernt at the red-haired, handso young man in her, who was her to challenge her-leager, the prince of Calydon.
He was the sa hero who had long harbored feelings for Atalanta.
"leager, why are you here?" Atalanta looked at the man walking towards her and asked in a cold voice. "Shouldn't you be with Goddess Artemis' ssenger, preparing for the adventure in that kingdom?"
However, as she spoke sharp senses picked up on sothing in the distance.
She turned her head, and glanced toward the forest spotting a giant humanoid stag watching from the trees-it was Actaeon, who transford into a golden deer by Artemis.
"If you've co to talk out of this, there's no need to persuade.
After all, in three days, all of this will be over, and I will catch up with all of you then."
"Because I promised him... I promised the Goddess Artemis that I would see this adventure through to the end."
leager remained silent in response to her words, simply gazing at the beautiful huntress in front him with a complicated expression.
In his eyes, Atalanta was as enchanting as a woodland fairy, as radiant and beautiful as the moon and the goddess Artemis herself.
From the mont he first laid eyes on her, leager felt as though he'd been struck by one of Cupid's arrows.
He had fallen for her deeply, believing that whoever married Atalanta would be the luckiest man in the world.
But despite his admiration, Atalanta had always treated him with cold indifference.
Well...it's not just him.
She was basically like this towards any n and despised them in general, so, even though leager could barely be considered a friend, she showed him no warmth.
During the nearly one month since her return and the competition, she had maintained the sa distant, icy deanor toward all challengers.
This led to rumors that Atalanta was little more than a wild woman (savage) incapable of smiling.
Yet leager knew better.
He had seen her smile, especially when she was in the company of one particular person.
And he could say for sure that it was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen.
"I'm here to challenge you, Atalanta," leager said, taking a deep breath as he finally spoke. Hearing this, Atalanta blinked in surprise, her expression confused as she looked at him.
She wanted to say sothing, but noticing the determined and serious look on his face, she fell silent.
She was smart enough to piece things together, but even so, her eyes betrayed no emotion. "You'll die," she said flatly.
To deter the constantly increasing number of challengers and to demonstrate her resolve, Atalanta had vowed to shoot and kill any who lost to her in the race.
This was in line with the myth after all...
"But up to this point, Miss Atalanta you haven't killed a single person," leager responded with a knowing smile.
Though the rumors spread far and wide, and though Atalanta always made that threat everyti challenger appeared, in reality, she had only ever injured her challengers with a single arrow.
They were wounded enough to lay down for a while, needing recovery, but none had died. "Let guess why," at Atalanta who was still silent, leager continued to smile and said. "It's because of Promise, isn't it? Because, you are afraid that he would disapprove of such actions. After all, he is... far too kind."
At that, Atalanta's expression remained stoic, but her silence spoke volus.
"Let's begin," In the end, she said without wasting any more words.
Then turned around and walked towards the starting post, a simple three-foot wooden stake.
The rules of the race were straightforward.
The far end of the field stood an ancient tree.
That was the starting point of the race.
The goal was to run to the tree, pluck a leaf from it, and then return to the post to place the leaf on the wooden stake.
The only condition was that the challenger had to be faster than Atalanta.
"All glory from this race will be offered to the honorable Goddess Artemis!" she declared, her voice steady and clear as she removed the celestial bow from her back and aid it at the sun
in the sky.
Magic gathered into an arrow, and the mont the arrow shot toward the sky, both leager
and Atalanta sprinted forward at the sa ti.
As the race began, the crowd erupted in cheers.
Many of them were rooting for leager, although, like many of the other challengers, they bore the scars from their own failed attempts to defeat Atalanta.
It was precisely because of the challenge that they understood most deeply how fast Atalanta was, so they believed from the bottom of their hearts that no one in the world could outrun
Atalanta.
There were such spectators like this, as this race had been going on for almost a month.
And there were only three days left until the end of the month.
So, among all the onlookers, the person most anxious was none other than Atalanta's supposed biological father, King Iasus,
Yes, the sa person who had once heartlessly abandoned her in the freezing wilderness as a baby, who now, because of her growing fa, he finally asked the gods to find her back.
Having prayed to the gods to bring her back, he had set this one-month challenge for her
hand in marriage.
According to the agreent between them, if anyone outran Atalanta during this month, she
would marry that man.
But if no one succeeded by the end of the month, he could no longer stop her from taking part
in the adventure of the Golden Fleece.
"Ah, looks like there's no chance for him. He's falling further and further behind."
"Let's give our challenger a round of applause for his courage... To be honest, I was a bit worried at first since it seed like that beautiful lady actually knew him and even spoke with
him!"
"Yeah, I heard he's a prince from another kingdom. But as expected, no one can outrun her." The spectators exchanged comnts as they watched the race.
In fact, many challengers had just co to join in the fun at the beginning, and many of them had no intention of participating in the competition.
After all, even though Atalanta hadn't killed any challengers in the end, the stakes of the race ant their lives were in her hands if they lost.
However, after coming here and upon seeing Atalanta's unmatched beauty, most n found themselves completely conquered by the beauty, unable to resist the temptation to challenge
her.
....
Halfway through the race, leager ca to a stop.
He knew he had lost.
Standing still in a place, he watched with a wistful gaze as Atalanta dashed ahead, swiftly
reaching the tree at the end of the field.
She plucked a leaf and, as gracefully as ever, raced back to him.
"I've lost," leager admitted with a soft smile as Atalanta stopped in front of him, her
green hair flowing in the breeze.
There was no bitterness in his voice, only a sense of peace and acceptance.
At that mont, he let go of everything.
Seeing this scene, from the woods, the giant stag, Actaeon couldn't help but shake his head.
He had seen this outco coming ever since leager asked him to accompany him to
Arcadia.
Actaeon had long known leager's true intentions.
leager hadn't entered the race expecting to win.
Instead, he had wanted one last chance to try, but when he saw Atalanta in front of him, never once slowing down or hesitating for him, he knew that he had lost-and lost completely. Atalanta's beautiful green eyes quietly observed leager's bittersweet smile as she passed
by him without a word.
"Hey, Lady Atalanta!" leager called out, turning around and raising his voice. "If it were Promise racing against you, would you stop for him?"
Hearing this, the huntress paused in her steps, remaining silent for a mont.
"No matter who cos to challenge , I will give my all to win. Even if it's him... it would be
the sa," she finally replied, preparing to leave again.
When,
"That's not what I'm asking!" leager shouted. "Miss Atalanta, I know with your pride, you would definitely compete with Promise with everything you've got."
Still smiling, he continued, "What I want to know is this: in your heart, if you were to face him
in this face, would you be willing to stop for him?"
"...He won't co," After a mont's silence, Atalanta replied.
She truly believed that Promise wouldn't co.
After all, she was the person closer to him than most.
She had personally witnessed and participated in many the stories about him, and had seen
his paintings.
She understood his ambitions, his goal-to paint the gods, to chase his vision of the divine.
So, to Atalanta, this race was simply not worth Promise's attention. "No, he will definitely co!" leager, however, declared confidently. "Because he's Promise, isn't he? The real question is, Atalanta-do you hope that he cos, or are you
hoping he doesn't?"
"Because you also know that if he does show up, then you... will definitely lose, won't you?"
'Even if you gave your all.'
Even the the boy might still be one of the weakest, leager couldn't imagine a scenario where Promise would lose, and the sa could be said about Atalanta.
At this mont, Atalanta could not help but recall the day when Clotho, the goddess of fate,
told her the prophecy.
She remained silent once more.
Then, slowly, she turned back to face leager, who was laughing with a carefree expression.
leager was laughing very loudly when suddenly, his laughter soon faltered and faded, Because he found that Atalanta was looking at him with colder and colder eyes and she had even raised her bow...
•
A while later,
"Well..I've been saying this for a while.
That's what you get for talking too much," Actaeon, still in his stag form, muttered as he
applied dicine to leager's body, which was now riddled with arrows.
In her frustration and anger, Atalanta's arrows had pierced straight through leager.
If it had been anyone else, they would surely be dead.
But leager, being the hero that he was, survived.
Barely though.
Even so, leager was still smiling.
His expression was a mix of joy, resignation, and understanding as he said, "Ah, so that's how
it is... Our dear huntress really can't tell a lie, can she?"
After all, Atalanta hadn't denied a single word he'd said from the very beginning.
From that day on, with only three days left until the end of the month, Atalanta remained by
the wooden post, waiting for any further challengers.
Initially, many people had been eager to challenge her, even so who had already tried and
been injured before wanted to try again.
After all, they knew that if they missed this chance, there wouldn't be another.
But that night, soone died.
The mont the blood was spilled, all those those who wanted to challenge and take Atalanta
away felt as if their whole body was poured with cold water.
And so, the final three days of the competition, turned out to be the most peaceful ti for
Atalanta.
Because not a single person ca forward to challenge her again.
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