C9 Do not be Fooled

A few days later,

"Atvertha, are you listening to me? Are you okay?" The loud sound instantly snapped the young girl out of her daydream, so she looked ahead. A wife of God Helion looked at her only daughter with suspicion.

"I... I am sorry, Mom." The violet-eyed woman became nervous because she had caught her daydreaming. Meanwhile, one of the Sun Goddess's eyebrows rose as if she did not believe her biological daughter's words.

"What was wrong with you? You have not been concentrating properly for the past few days. In fact, many of the tasks I gave to you, you did them wrong!" Goddess Avtexia was getting increasingly restless, so the intonation used also rose.

The young lady could not answer because, in her mind, she still remembered the figure of the male mortal who had been found lying helpless, even almost dead. Avertha could only stay silent and avoid her mother's sharp gaze. The atmosphere in the library room became quiet and awkward.

"Atvertha, if you keep acting like this, then how can you replace my position? The lessons about spells that have been taught seem to just disappear. In fact, you are suddenly confused about how to distinguish between hex and cursed. Then I got you daydreaming! Soon you will be The Queen of Witches, but what kind of progress are you making? How can you do your job properly, if all the basic lessons disappear from your mind? This is not progress but a regress!"

That girl remained silent as if she did not want to prolong the problem with the woman who had given birth to her. Meanwhile, the goddess, who had completed power over the sun and moon, tried calming herself down, though this was difficult for her.

"Atvertha, remember this, that to become an immortal goddess with full responsibility, it is not as easy as you think because you have to master all things related to your field. Do not let you destroy the existing order." Now, the teacher's voice intonation has become a little lower, so this moment makes the quiet girl feel guilty about her mother.

Goddess Avtexia looked at her own daughter, and she found Atvertha noticed her, too. "I think it is enough for now. You have to read all the material that I have given to you. We will meet again in a few hours and I will test you. Class dismissed."

After she finished saying that, the blue-eyed woman was as soon as possible gone. Goddess Avtexia was leaving her daughter alone. Meanwhile, the Moon Goddess sighed softly. "Why am I like this? Before meeting the male mortal, I was fine. I made Mom angry, and that was bad for me. What should I do?" murmured Atvertha quietly.

The two-hundred-and-seventy-year-old girl had not yet moved from there. She tried to read the parchment that had the basic lessons on spells written on it, but the look of a foreign man reappeared, so Atvertha closed her eyes as if she was forgetting the worries that were in her heart.

After five minutes of silence, the smart girl who was in love opened her eyes again and then looked at the parchment. She seemed to try very hard to concentrate, although this act did not work well because the same thing was happening again, and it was leaving Atvertha unable to move at all.

"Damn! If this continues, then mom will be even angrier with me, and be considered a failure to become a goddess."

***

Ten minutes later

"What is it, Atvertha? Why does your face look gloomy?" A woman with long black hair was sitting beside the Moon Goddess. Meanwhile, the owner of the name has not answered, so the friend could only wait for an answer from her.

After ten seconds of silence, the woman, who had a height of one hundred and seventy-five centimeters tall, said to the other goddess, "I feel useless. I made so many mistakes when I was in the class with mom. I am afraid, if I continue to experience this, then later mom can revoke the title of the goddess, including all the power that I have."

"Why did you say that? What kind of many mistakes that you talk to me about?" Nyx could not help but ask further, for she could hear Atvertha's desperation, which made her both astonished and curious.

"I… I could not answer the questions that mom asked. Some of my basic knowledge, like spells, seemed to disappear from my head, and then I could not know how to tell the difference between hex and cursed. In fact, this is the worst part was mom saw I was daydreaming in class. I was so stupid." The only daughter of the couple, God Helion and Goddess Avtexia, also explained, so the guest, as soon as possible, stared. She seemed not to know that her best friend could do this.

"Let me guess. You had such a chaotic day in class because you remembered the male mortal that you told me about. Am I right?" A beautiful woman but displaying a sinister aura also expresses an opinion, so the other goddess could only nod weakly, and it stored deep sadness in her heart.

"What can you expect from a mortal? They are not part of us. You can choose any single god, but do not dare to pick that male mortal. He was dying, and he did not see you, it is certain that the event where he was saved has disappeared from his memories. After all, maybe in the place where he comes from, the man already has a fiancé or it could be he has his own family with a lovely wife and children, so it is impossible for him to choose you. Forget him, Atvertha. Do not waste your time thinking about him."

The girl who was falling in love for the first time was getting worse when she heard what her best friend had to say, so she did not comment and looked down more, so she could hide her face. The atmosphere in the room became quiet because the young goddess had said nothing to the interlocutor.

"If what you said was true, I had to go down again to the world to found that mortal guy and see it by myself. If later it was proven that he had neither a wife nor a fiancé, I would try to forget him. But, if it turned out that he was still single, I probably—"

Before Atvertha had time to continue speaking, her best friend had already cut her off because she felt exasperated and, at the same time, furious with the actions that her best friend would take. "Then what? Do you want to be desperate to have a relationship with that male mortal? Have the single, handsome, and brilliant, immortal gods disappeared from our circle, so you decide the stupid decision? Girl, forget him because you are better than him. You deserve to get the best single god as your mate."

"What if his behaviour turns out to be not bad? You can't judge a male mortal based on his appearance, Nyx." Atvertha seemed to object to what her friend said about the terrible stigma about mortals, especially those related to the man she had helped a few days ago.

"Atvertha, do not be naïve. Before you got the lesson to help your mom, I was first entrusted by my dad to carry out the full duties of a goddess. I could say that about mortals because I have seen by myself what just happened among humans, both men and women. Well, so far, I have been silent because I think nothing needs to be said about them, but it does not mean that I do not care at all."

The girl with thin eyebrows could not refute the words of a good friend, so she became confused because she did not know what to say to her. Meanwhile, the Night Goddess was still observing Atvertha's movements. "Do you think love is important for a marriage, Nyx?"

The white-eyed woman shook her head spontaneously, so this made Atvertha even sadder. "No. You can create love with the right man, even though there is no love in the first place between you and him. I and my husband do not love each other, but we are still married, and our marriage is still lasting today. Love is a poison for us. Do not be fooled by it. Only mortals are obsessed with love."

"You really are cruel and have no feelings at all, Nyx." That's all that comes out of thin, naturally pink lips. However, her friend did not seem offended. The woman even smiled widely, so Atvertha only raised an eyebrow, a sign of surprise.

"Well, reality always hurts, Atvertha. I never sugar-coated my words. If you want to hear sweet things and lies, then you come to the wrong goddess. You can come to Erios instead. For me, it is better for me to hear honest words, even though they are very painful than to hear false words."

"I agree. Thank you for being my best friend. I would love to do something."

"You are welcome. What do you want to do?"

"I guess, I will—"

***