“… we have no idea what it is,” Sienna says, shaking her head.
“Hmm? You have no idea?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.
“Yes, no matter how many times we ask mother about the final curse, she absolutely refuses to tell us. And so, I believe that this curse must be a little different than the previous four. And much worse…” Sienna answers, looking troubled.
Obviously…
“Well, I guess I can work with this much at the moment. Though eventually, we will have to find out about this fifth curse as well. Anyway, for now, let me tell you about my plan,” I say, straightening up on the chair.
“As I told you, we will enslave some Gods— more specifically: Asclepius, the God of medicine, and Circe, great sorceress and the goddess of magic.”
Suddenly, the atmosphere inside the dining room turns tense.
“Let’s talk about Asclepius first, because we will be going to him first. Now, according to what I have found out about Asclepius during my research on Gods, I think the main challenge we will face is not enslaving him or making him help us. In fact, I don’t believe that there is any need to even enslave him at all.
“Asclepius is a God who willingly helps anyone in need. To be honest, he’s actually one of the few gods I consider decent. But the problem is—”
“He’s too helpful,” Nemesis finishes.
“Well, yes, Asclepius is a bit too helpful. In his demigod days, he invented a medicine that could even revive the dead and start distributing it to anyone in need. Of course, Hades wasn’t pleased with this. So, the God of the Underworld complained about this to our bastard— I mean, to Zeus, and Zeus killed Asclepius by striking him down with his legendary weapon— the Thunderbolt.
“Now, it was Apollo, the Sun God’s turn to get angry. Being the God of healing as well, Asclepius was one of his favorite sons and his death incurred Apollo’s wrath. So, to exact his revenge, Apollo killed the High Cyclopes who forged Zeus’s Thunderbolt.
“This made Zeus furious again, he forced Apollo to serve under some mortal king for years. However, Asclepius’s story was already spreading. First, people believed him to be a hero, but eventually, they started to worship him. And thus, Asclepius’s soul attained divinity and he resurrected as a God.
“Now, this created problems for Zeus and Hades once again as Asclepius continued from where he left off— reviving mortals from death. And this time, they couldn’t just simply kill him with a thunderbolt as well.
“So, Zeus did what many other Gods have done to each other before; he captured and imprisoned Asclepius, placing powerful guards to stop him from escaping and to ensure that no one could free him either.
“Now, our first mission is to get past these unknown guards somehow and retrieve Asclepius from his prison. This might be really difficult or maybe not so much. We are demigods, it depends on many factors,” I say.
“B-Brother, what about the location of God Asclepius’s prison? Do you know where it is?” Iris asks timidly.
“Oh, I don’t. But I think someone else in this room does,” I say, turning around to look at Nemesis meaningfully.
The Goddess of Revenge stares back at me, clearly wanting to lie— but of course, as my slave, she cannot.
“Yes, I do. And I suppose, you want me to tell you where Circe lives as well, master?” she asks coldly.
“Yup! Even if your powers are diminished, at least your knowledge is intact,” I say cheerfully.
“And whose fault it is that my powers are diminished?” she snaps.
“I take full credit for that, my dear slave. Now, start speaking,” I say.
“Hmph! Asclepius’s prison is situated near the city Lamacus, in the middle of a thick forest nearby. And as for the exact place where Circe lives— even I don’t know that,” Nemesis replies rudely.
“There is no way that’s possible unless Circe is actually trying to hide from other God’s,” I say, raising my eyebrows.
“No, she’s not hiding. Circe owns a chain of Alchemy shops that goes by her name in all the big cities of Leontactus kingdom. She moves from one shop to another on a daily basis to manage them. And while I know the location of all the shops and in which one she currently is, I cannot predict where she will go tomorrow,” Nemesis answers.
…
“Shit… That’s a big problem. It was already tough to deal with Circe because of her personality, and now this. Well, we will have to come up with a solution,” I say, shaking my head.
“What’s wrong with her personality, Lucas?” Sienna asks.
“Oh, Circe is a man-hater. Probably the biggest one in existence. I have heard that she transforms all the men she encounters into pigs or rodents. Though only when she’s feeling a bit merciful,” I answer.
Sienna shudders a little.
“Anyway, let’s talk about the role the rest of you will have in this mission,” I say, looking at my sisters one by one.
“Lucy will help me capture the Gods, of course,” I say.
Lucy gives me a nod.
“Arya and Sister Sienna will also help us where they could. Most likely where things are less dangerous,” I say.
“No, I want to help you as much as possible! I don’t care how dangerous it gets!” Sienna says defiantly.
“Neither do I!” Arya says.
“Hmm… Well, I haven’t seen your combat skills or powers yet. I will have to make sure that you are up to the mark before deciding on that,” I ask.
“That sounds better,” Sienna replies.
“Yup,” Arya agrees.
“And finally, Iris and Ivy. Both of you will get one of the most important jobs in our journey— Taking care of mother. Obviously, she will be exposed to men and will be near their vicinity all the time. And thus, the curses are bound to get worse.
“It will be your responsibility to restrain and look after her until we reach our destination. Of course, others will help as much as they can, but we won’t be there always. Think you girls can do that?” I ask.
“Yes, leave it to us, brother!” Iris answers promptly and Ivy nods.
“Great, and as for how we will travel, leave that to me. I know someone who could help us. Anyway, that’s it for now. We will start preparing from today itself— you know, packing and stuff, and dealing with our unfinished businesses in Ascione before leaving for the journey,” I say, standing up from my chair yawning.
“Well, I am starting to feel a bit sleepy so I will go to my room and rest for a while. In my stead, Nemesis will tell you everything about capturing a God— she has experienced it first-hand,” I tell everyone.
“Sis, come with me. You look ready to drop as well,” I say.
Lucy simply moves next to me without saying anything.
“Okay then, we will see you guys in a few hours,” I say, raising my arm for a goodbye.
“Wait, Lucas!” Sienna stops me.
“Hmm?”
“You don’t have to sleep in the same bed with… her. You are siblings. I will give you a separate room upstairs. Next to mine,” she says with a smile.
“Ah, no, I prefer to sleep with Lucy. She’s my lover, you see? And anyway, it will be a drag coming downstairs every time I want to have sex with her. You don’t know how high my libido is,” I say truthfully.
…
“WHAT!?”