a simple blacksmith in greece

Breaking news: Pelops has been appointed king! That's right, folks, everybody clap your hands for the newest ruler in town. Or don't—your choice—but at least fake it, because this kingdom could use some good vibes right now. Last week, a messenger made the rounds, spilling tea about Tantalus' eternal punishment in Tartarus. Apparently, stealing a golden dog and trying to feed the gods some "mystery meat" doesn't win you any points in the afterlife. Who knew?

Anyway, with Tantalus out of the picture (and probably trying to drink phantom water somewhere), Pelops has taken the throne. And while that's great for him, I'm thinking about skipping town. Why? Oh, no big deal—it's just that Pelops is about to kickstart the House of Atreus, aka Greek Mythology's Most Dysfunctional Family™. You've got betrayal, revenge, a family curse, and at least one cannibalism incident. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be in the splash zone when that mess starts unfolding.

For context, Pelops is Tantalus' son, Atreus' dad, and Agamemnon's granddad. Yes, that Agamemnon. The guy who later drags everyone into the Trojan War because his brother's wife gets abducted. If you ask me, that's one more crime we can pin on Tantalus' already ridiculous rap sheet.

So yeah, moving sounds appealing. But for now, I'm sticking around. If things get too dramatic or another god shows up with a grudge, I'm out. Speaking of drama, let me tell you about Tantalus' daughter, Niobe, because wow.

First, let's set the stage with some backstory. You've probably heard of Artemis and Apollo, the twin gods who are basically the MVPs of Greek mythology. But their mom, Leto, is the real star of this story.

So, way back when, Leto had a fling with Zeus (because of course she did) and got pregnant. Hera, Zeus' wife, and full-time chaos agent, wasn't thrilled about this development. But instead of going for her usual "smite the mistress" routine, Hera decided to get creative.

She put a curse on Leto, saying she could give birth anywhere—except the mainland, an island, or anyplace under the sun. Oh, and Olympus was off-limits too, because why not? Basically, Hera turned childbirth into a riddle.

Leto, being resourceful, found a loophole. She gave birth on Delos, a barren rock that somehow didn't count as a mainland or an island. And because Hera wasn't quite done being petty, some stories say she kidnapped Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, just to stall things. Did it work? Nope! Artemis was born first, and then—nine days later—Apollo finally showed up. That's right, NINE DAYS. Leto gets the gold medal for endurance.

Now fast forward to Niobe, queen of Thebes. She's living her best life with her husband Amphion and their fourteen kids—seven sons and seven daughters. And in case you missed that, yes, FOURTEEN KIDS. Clearly, they didn't have Netflix in ancient Greece.

One day, Leto decided she wanted the women of Thebes to pay her respects with some incense. Totally reasonable godly request, right? Well, Niobe shows up at the temple and decides that instead of worshipping Leto, she'll throw some shade.

Niobe goes, "Hold up, why are we worshipping Leto? I've got fourteen kids, and she's only got two. Clearly, I'm the superior mom here. Bow down, Thebes!"

Naturally, this got back to Leto, who wasn't about to let a mortal talk smack about her parenting skills. She called up Artemis and Apollo and was like, "Hey, kids, wanna teach this lady some manners?"

The twins wasted no time. Apollo grabbed his bow, Artemis grabbed hers, and together they went full-on sniper mode. One by one, they picked off Niobe's kids like they were playing a really messed-up game of Duck Hunt. Seven sons down, seven daughters down. They even spared one kid in some versions, just to twist the knife.

Niobe, of course, was devastated. But the gods weren't done ruining her day. Her husband Amphion couldn't handle the grief and decided to off himself. So now Niobe's got no kids, no husband, and no chill. She fled to Mount Sipylus, where she cried so much that the gods decided to turn her into a rock. Because apparently, that's how Greeks solved emotional problems.

And that's the story of Niobe. Moral of the story? Don't trash-talk a goddess. Especially not one who has kids that can turn your family into a cautionary tale.

Oh, in other news, I've been training with the powers I got when I arrived here. Turns out I have the full abilities of Archer Emiya, which is pretty amazing. However, for the powers of Godou Kusanagi, I only seem to have two of the seven authorities he wields.

One of them is called The Persian Warlord's Ten Avatars. It's essentially ten unique superpowers, each with strange conditions to activate. I can only channel two avatars at a time if I push myself, and even then, I can only use their abilities twice within eight hours before I pass out. So yeah, it's powerful but comes with some serious limitations.

The second one is The Sword of Susanoo—Ame no Murakumo no Tsurugi—granting me authority over weather and storms. Its powers include Weather and Storm Manipulation, Authority of Steel, and Authority of Conquest.

To be honest, this is the one I'm most excited about. It's an incredibly powerful authority. Not only can I wield storms and steel, but I can also create weapons imbued with divine power, making them capable of harming gods and any supernatural beings. It's a game-changer, and I'm still wrapping my head around how much it opens up in terms of combat.

But I'm also afraid. If I push myself to test the full extent of my power, it could attract the attention of the gods. Even though my body is now that of a Campione (a god killer) I still don't want to risk fighting the gods of this world. They're far stronger than the gods from Godou Kusanagi's world, and I'm not eager to find out firsthand just how much stronger they are. For now, it's best to keep a low profile and avoid drawing their attention.

And that's how my days usually go—routine, steady, and uneventful. But recently, that changed. A woman moved into the city. She works with a family that makes clothes, learning the trade as an apprentice, or so it seems. I first met her when I went to get some new clothes because the ones I had were getting worn out.

But that wasn't the only reason I noticed her. If she were just a normal person, I would've gotten my clothes and left without a second thought. Yet the moment I stepped into that shop, something was off. My body tensed. A surge of danger rippled through me—my heart began to race, my lungs pulled in more air than I thought possible, and my chest nearly burst as laughter escaped me with the force of a gale. My adrenaline spiked hard, and I knew what this was, even though I'd never felt it before.

My body was preparing for a fight.

And there's only one reason that could happen: a god, or something with divine power, was close.

The only new factor here the only person I hadn't seen before was her. The new girl.

Walking in, I decided not to make a scene and just observe her.

"Hello, Miss Flay," I greeted the woman in charge of the cloth store.

"Hello, David. How can I help you today?" she replied kindly.

"I just need new clothes—four sets, please."

"Alright, take a seat. I'll take your measurements in a few minutes."

I walked to the side and took a seat. Miss Flay was a nice woman—one of the few people here who didn't distrust me. She and her husband made excellent clothes, and they were the second people I'd worked for since arriving here. Back then, I helped carry supplies and materials for them, and they paid me fairly for the work.

Turning slightly, I let my attention drift to the new woman. She was stitching up what looked like the last piece of cloth for a customer, her hands moving steadily with practiced precision. Something about her still felt off, though. I needed to be sure.

Concentrating mana into my eyes, I looked at her again—closely this time. But I saw nothing. No aura. No energy. Nothing out of the ordinary. To my eyes, she was perfectly normal… too normal.

I decided to test her. Just for a millisecond, I released a surge of mana—enough to shake the air and ripple across the room—but suppressed it immediately.

Her reaction was instant.

Her head snapped up so fast I thought she might break her neck, eyes darting around the shop as if she'd been struck. She scanned the room frantically, searching for the source of what just hit her, a mix of confusion and intensity on her face.

She felt that.

That was all the confirmation I needed. Whatever she was, she wasn't normal.

"Something caught your eye?" Miss Flay asked, her voice cutting through my thoughts. Apparently, she was done with whatever she was working on.

"Yes… who is that? Is she new?" I responded, trying to sound casual as I nodded toward the woman.

"Oh, that's Pluie. She started working here about two weeks ago. She's pretty good at her work, and with winter coming, more people will need clothes. So we hired her as a helper," Miss Flay explained cheerfully.

Pluie, huh? The name didn't mean much to me, but I filed it away for later. At least now I had something to work with.

"Alright, come here, David. Let's get your measurements," Miss Flay continued, gesturing for me to stand.

I let her do her work, standing still as she measured me. Her movements were quick and efficient, as always—Miss Flay didn't waste time.

"Okay, that's all," she finally said, straightening up. "Looks like you grew a few inches, but nothing else has changed much. Your clothes will be ready in two weeks."

"Thank you, Miss Flay," I replied, pulling a few coins from the pouch at my side and handing them to her.