Hello, Author here : I tried adding in a bit of comedy, please let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!
Chapter 6 -....Better you than me
"Put ya back into it laddy! What are ya made from?! Straw?! Bwahahah"
The vulgar laughter permeated the air along with the scent of alcohol and roasted meat. The cause of this was none other than the Hero God Heracles, he provoked an extremely tired looking young boy in an elegant black robe that was sprawled out on the floor breathing heavily.
This pitiful looking figure was none other than Mars after a day of Heracles' training. Unlike when training with Ares where Mars never got tired or with Freya where he didn't basically have to do much except follow her around, training with Heracles was worlds apart.
Heracles had given him a strange thin black garment that seemed like a bathrobe, at first Mars was extremely happy as he got this gift from Heracles.
However after the constant nagging by Heracles to wear it, Mars begun to suspect something suspicious. No matter how he had probed into the clothing he could find nothing strange, no weird embarrassing holes around the private areas or any disgusting smells.The more normal it appeared, the more suspicious Mars became.
Mars had sadly discovered in the Palace of the Gods, that Heracles was a bit of a prankster God and his misdeeds were far too many to the point the other Gods would ignore him and set up barriers. Mars had suffered a few times already at this barbaric man's hands and this time was no different.
Every God had their own designated areas within the Palace and Mars was allowed to come and go as he pleased in the Territories of the War God, Fertility God and Hero God. So thinking of such he quickly made his way over to Freya's territory as he had more privacy there since Ares was having a meeting with a few other Gods and Mars didn't want to disturb her.
Mars thought he would figure out the trick behind this bathrobe before Heracles stopped by again and so he made his way to a tiny river where he was accustomed. He looked around suspiciously and then finally threw on the black-robed garment-
*Splash*
Almost instantly Mars fell into the river!
Luckily, Freya's forest was different from the ordinary forest as it possessed a collective intelligence equal to a humans intelligence. These plants fished Mars out of the water and he escaped his early doom.
A vulgar laughter rung out and Mars' brows twitched as he saw a burly man with a head of golden hair laughing with his eyes bulged out with one hand on his stomach and the other on his mouth.
"I was expecting the fall...Ahahaha..but the river was a nice touch kiddo! Ahahaha"
"...You!"
Mars could do nothing but raise his soaking wet fist as it shook in anger as he gently muttered out a few curses, his face angered but his young appearance made him look extremely funny inciting a few more laughs from the burly man.
The contents of this exercise was extremely simple, Mars had but a single thing to do
-Move Freely.
The garment weight was adjustable and it didn't have a particular setting, one could tell it was a valuable item since it would contour to it's user. Whatever strength the body could hold, it would judge and move to suit. It would not exceed more than twice what it's user can bear so as to never endanger the user. Obviously, the user had to be someone a bit abnormal.
'This damnable thing never feels lighter!'
However, these were Mars' thoughts on the matter...which was indeed a bit true. As the 5 years went by, Mars had adjusted to them and even used them while fighting Ares as per her instructions.
Mars noticed even though his body was almost always twice it's pressured resistance, he surprisingly grew accustomed to it. He knew it most likely had something to do with Heracles' blessing and it made his body extremely durable, he silently thanked the prankster God as he understood it was all for his well being.
Mars got up once more from the floor as his breathing had subsided, he picked up a long and heavy rock that seemed like a club that should have weighed at least 400 kgs with one hand as he dusted his black robe with the other.
Mars took a glance behind him and threw a displeased look at the burly figure before he continued running.
Heracles' eyes lit up as he picked up a rock beside him quietly and quickly, he took an exaggerated aiming position as his lips broke into a smile and threw the rock directly beside Mars!
*Boom*
"Ahh!"
"Bwahaha! Be careful not to fall laddy! Oye!...Watch out! Bwahahahah "
Heracles' laughed as his well aimed rock throw had worked and nearly made Mars slip and fall, the latter turned around with a golden cold glare as he hopped away afterward like an enraged rabbit.
The Hero God's eyes flashed with a bit of admiration as he looked at the young back of the laddy, to have good gifts were one thing but to use them to their utmost potential wasn't something everyone could do. He could easil guess that the reason Mars tried so hard was for Ares, and he could only simply nod in satisfaction as he believed the kid had true worth.
**
The day afterward,
Mars had arrived to Freya's Domain to train with her, his face perplexed as he hadn't seen Ares for an entire day. He made his way around Freya's Domain with a few confused thoughts, he touched the plants with his fingers and they seemed to respond to him as they caressed it and some even spat nectar at him playfully inciting a giggle from the young lad.
Finally the sound of a beautiful voice entered his ears, Mars quickly made his way over as he knew who it belonged to. He stuck his head from behind the bushes and as he peeked over, what he saw was a beautiful pale-skinned woman in a dark green dress, her curves and back showing as she washed her long leaf like hair in the river and sang a beautiful tune.
Mars face became a little red as he enjoyed listening to Freya sing, his nose twitched a bit from being tickled by the branches and he let out a light cough. Although he gazed at the back of the beautiful Freya, his eyes remained pure and untainted by lust as his thoughts were of a different nature.
Had this been any other man peeking, it would have been the last thing that he would see. As fearless as Heracles was, there were certain things he wouldn't do; peeking on Freya was one of them.
He knew all to well, that garden of hers could turn into a living nightmare. Whether mortal or God, all had to pay respect to Freya's garden. Freya was the one of the very few Gods in the Palace that had created her own entire world, this spoke volumes about her power.
"Are you going to continue peeking? Ha ha ha, come over here~"
Freya's voice startled Mars who quickly caught back his composure and ran towards the beautiful woman. Mars chose a place right next to Freya and sat down in an accustomed manner, the beautiful woman wrapped a hand around him and pointed across the river they both sat at.
"That flower over there...can you remember what it's called?"
Freya gently asked as her slender fingers pointed toward the tiny plant, the plant seemed to wiggle around in vigor as if happy it was being showcased.
"Life-root!"
"Ha ha ha, good good!"
"....and what about this one?"
"Regal Spore!"
"Nope! Close, try again!"
"Ugh....the only other one I can think of is..Ahh! Radiant Spore!"
"Good! Ha ha ha! ...Next is this one...."
Another plant appeared right exactly where the "Life-root" and "Radiant Spore" plant appeared, it seemed as though with a flick of her wrist Freya could make whatever plant she desired appear before. She did this countless times over and over again until she drilled the names of these plants, what they were for and where they could be found into Mar's head.
The day came to an end and so did Mars' lecture, as such he decided it was time to head to the God of War Domain and see his big sister. Freya gave him a few kisses on his head and a warm hug as she sent him off with a big smile. It only took but a single thought for Mars to change Domains and his body instantly disappeared.
***
Mars appeared into the God of War Domain and noticing the Gods that were meeting with Ares earlier weren't around he knew where Ares would be. Mars calmly made his way over to a cliff with the most magnificent view of the stars, as expected an extremely feminine silhouette covered in armor lay down gazing at the stars.
Her eyes mysterious and no one could tell what she was thinking, those eyes immediately turned over to gaze at Mars; a cold chill emanating from them.
"You've only just returned...Mars...I'm starting to think you like Freya more than me!"
Ares instantly accused with a cold face which made Mars considerably pale and his body visibly shook for a second.
"B-Big sister that's not true, I stayed longer as big sister was having a meeting and I didn't want to disturb"
"Hmm....So you can still call me big sister with a straight face"
Mars looked down at his feet unable to look at Ares in the face, a shade of red on his youthful face and a tinge of worry in his eyes. Ares seeing this laughed inwardly, this kid would always get considerably quiet and would have no cheeky come-backs when she accused him of liking either Freya or Heracles more than her.
Mars learned a few things about Gods from Heracles and knew a God could expel his/her champion from their lineage and discard them if they were disloyal, this thought always made Mars' blood run cold. Especially when he came back from learning from them and saw Ares all alone by herself, he would always be extremely considerate and not dare joke around.
However to Ares, this was the best time to enjoy her vanity and make Mars declare his love for her. She possessed a direct link to Mars' thoughts and she knew her position in his heart was completely unshakeable.
"...That's not true big sister Ares, I could never live without you! "
"Praise me more and I might just forgive you! Now who is the absolute greatest of them a?! Who is the most prettiest and most intelligent of them all?! Who is the strongest and the most merciful of them all under the heavens?!"
"Big sister! Big sister! Definitely big sister!"
"Hehehe! The absolute greatest little brother! Hehehe c'mere!"
Mars hurriedly sucked up as his big worried eyes looked at Ares, seeing this she could no longer contain herself as she rocked her head back in laughter and motioned Mars to come over with a hand.
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Mars knew what this meant and he moved over toward Ares, a bit of red on his face as he knew he was fooled. Still, Mars always knew Ares just loved to toy with him and he had no qualms against it. He knew she had no champions before him and that her father had died countless years ago, Ares was merely happy to have a family and Mars knew what role to play.
Mars walked over and grabbed the hand which she extended and removed the wrist armor from it. He continued removing her armor bit by bit, as she wore a black robe under her armor her body was mostly covered except for her soft legs and arms.
This was the only time Mars would ever have any thoughts close to lust, Ares' scent wafted through his nose as he removed her armor revealing long slender and curved legs that would give any man ill thoughts. Mars gulped a mouthful of saliva as his body became hot and quickly shook his head to clear his mind.
As Mars removed her breastplate, the two mountain peaks position there seemed to push out to welcome him as the skin partially showed from behind her robe made itself known. Along with this surprise, Ares quickly grabbed him in a hug and squishes his face right between them.
At this point, Mar's eyes became circles as he babbled random nonsense and could no longer focus on anything with a face resembling a tomato.
'Crap..'
Seeing the young boy becoming dizzy and his eyes in circles, Ares figured it was enough teasing him and slapped his ears with open palms to wake him up.
"Oye! Wake up! Hehehe, you got even further today! I won't have a champion that's easily seduced by women! Good job, Good job!"
Mars' eyes finally stopped going in circles, his face dyed in crimson red. Mars didn't know why his body would always react this way, but he believed whatever training Ares said was necessary was absolutely irrefutable.
"Big sister, why is this training necessary?"
"What?! You bastard! Are you not pleased with my body! I told you, when you go back to where you're from a boatload of women will be rushing at your door! You can't be like a good-for-nothing fool and waste your vitality behind them or become trapped in their snares!"
"If I find out that after I send you back there, your bed is filled with nameless women! I, as your sister, will send several calamities behind you!"
Mars shivered as he listened to the threatening tone, his face broke out in a confusing manner.
"I-I got it..no wasting vitality behind women...don't get trapped in their snares!"
"Umm...Big sister?"
"What?"
"How much is considered wasting vitality on women?...and how much nameless women am I allowed to have on my bed?"
"...Y-You fool! Ask Heracles these questions!!"
In truth, because of Heracles' blessing Ares knew women would chase after Mars like a maelstrom. Heroes were always blessed with such things, but Mars being as innocent and kind-hearted as he was would be gobbled up by a beautiful woman with a brain in no short time at all.
Not to mention, Mars wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.
This little training of hers was to build up his resistances to beautiful women, Ares was quite confident in her body and with good reason since her base beauty was comparable to Freya's.
Most of the time her body was covered in armor and her feminine features stifled within it, even then it still couldn't completely suppress her charms. Ares knew her figure as well as her face could surpass any woman in the tiny world of Eldred, and as such she chose herself to play this role.
Even though she could have asked Freya to play this part, Ares would never let her as a matter of principle. Ares wanted Mars' standard of beauty to be modeled after her, though this may sound a bit vain; it was her right as his God.
Slowly, the way Ares spoke, walked, laughed and smiled became engraved in Mar's mind to a degree deeper than physical means. Mars had no idea that he himself was being "Cultivated".
***
After Mars settled down, he remained nestled with his head in Ares' lap as she stroked his hair and they both watched the stars.
"Say... Mars?"
"Yes big sister?"
"Do you know...what the meeting was about today?"
"...mhhm, I think so...It's time for me to leave"
"...Yeah, I tried to have it extended...we've already long crossed the scheduled date..Now we have to send you back down...until you survive my trials and can truly be my champion"
"It's going to be dangerous..and all sorts of danger will stand in your way..a lot of people will try to use you once they discover your presence, so you have to be careful who you trust! Y-You! Are you listening?! Why are you smiling?!"
Ares was quite worried as to how to break this news to Mars, seeing that he already had an idea of the meeting; a bit of panic had surfaced in her heart. As Ares spoke, she covertly lowered her gaze to see his reactions and was surprised to see the young boy smiling cheekily.
"What! Are you so happy to part from me?!"
"Hahaha! Big sister no, that's not why I'm smiling!"
"Oh? Why then?!"
"Big sister doesn't need to worry that much, Heracles taught me a trick how to survive. He said as long as I'm in danger and it's a monster then not to worry and just kill it, if they are in a pack then kill them with a smile and make sure I open my eyes wide like I'm not sound of mind and make sure the blood gets in my mouth.....oh..and I have to look as though I'm enjoying it"
"If the enemy is a human and he's smarter than me and they use tricks and schemes, nothing to worry about torture and kill his subordinates until I find out his location and then kill him. Heracles said that this would definitely work!"
"Heracles said if I'm not sure then no matter what just massacre every--"
*Muffled sounds*
Ares finally could no longer take it as she muffled his mouth with her hands, her body shaking heavily and her breathing heavy. As if she swallowed a bug, her lips distorted and asked in an extremely cold manner.
"....What else did he teach you?"
Mars seeing this cold atmosphere, did not tarry or withhold information and quietly sold Heracles out.
'He would do me the same'
This, was how he had comforted himself. Mars opened his mouth, and Heracles' golden laws came pouring from it. He moved his fingers in a perverted manner as Heracles had motioned, showing it to Ares.
Mars had no idea what he was doing exactly, and was merely copying what he was shown and told and as such he sugar-coated nothing and used his hands to help with the description.
"...That a woman isn't good unless she's shaped like this...."
"Wine, wine should be drunk frequently at any given time except before battle. If a battle is coming, you should drink it while in battle and not before"
"...Any woman that can pluck the stem from an Apple with her tongue is definitely worth an hour or two"
"...Money..money is the only thing that really matters besides strength. One should try to attain money at all times. The only time you can afford to ignore acquiring money, is when you are busy drinking wine or with women"
"If there's a woman you like, and she's not interested in you, then a club over the head will do...She will accept you someday"
"Mortal nobles should be disregarded completely, if they offend you then kill them quietly...unless they offer you women and wine"
"Power and Status, one should always try to attain a high social status once there is room to attain it, methods are up to my own discretion. In case it's too hard to come up with a clever plan, refer to rule 1 and kill without mercy"
"If a man won't answer my questions no matter how much I beat him, then I'm supposed to ask him how old is his daughter while moving my fingers as if trying to hang on to a slippery fish "
The more and more Ares heard, the more and more Mars' fingers wiggled the more terrifying the light in her eyes grew. Especially the part about moving his fingers as if trying to hang on to a slippery fish, as well as the motion that accompanied it.
To the point Mars had begun shaking like a kitten soaked in water as he pretended to be an inanimate object that simply spoke words. His breathing quiet, his eyes not blinking, the sound of Ares' finger tips tapping on her sword made his legs weak.
Finally she could no longer take it as she lifted up her hands in order for Mars to stop speaking.
"Mars..."
"Y-yes, big sister Ares"
"I'm going out for a bit..."
"Y-yes, big sister Ares"
Mars nodded, a look of unrivaled peace and tranquility on his face. He seemed like the God that embodied peace and harmony, as though he would never step over the line. In fact, the "line" was the only thing he knew how to walk.
'I'm sorry, I swore I would never betray you...Alas, in the end...better you than me'
Mars nodded and came to live with his decision.
A short while later, the Gods within the Palace could smell the scent of several different types of meat being burned along with a few horrid male cries. There was a bit of silence afterward in the Main Domain where the Gods usually gathered but soon after the chatter continued in full bloom, strange enough no one reacted to these cries.
The Gods and champions of the Palace all had warm smiles on their faces, an expression of peace and harmony appeared on their faces as the air all of a sudden tasted sweeter and sun much more brighter. An aura of tranquility emanating throughout the entire Palace, as if today all debts had been settled.