The Myth of the Greek Heavenly Demon

A thief who steals money is a petty thief.
A thief who steals time is a great thief.
A thief who steals happiness is a shameless thief.

Stealing the treasure called happiness makes all of a person’s time and money worthless, and taking away happiness is akin to stealing that person’s life.
Yet, even so, amidst the morning rush on the way to the academy, they gathered in a crowd, tearing at others’ clothes and causing a ruckus, stealing my precious happiness like nothing else in the world.
Confucius said, “A person who defecates in the middle of the road is not a human but a beast.”
The behavior of those chanting the name of a familiar lunatic was clearly that of beasts, not humans.
Following the words of the great sage, I made these beastly brats crawl on the ground to know their place.

“How about now? Can you see the path of humanity?”

Three rows of five.
Looking at the fools forming the shape of the human character (人) with their bodies, I gently observed the trembling beasts.
Even Confucius gave up on guiding such beasts, but I, the former Heavenly Demon, did not give up and was guiding them to realize the way of humans and the path of humanity with their entire bodies.

“Urgh… Ugh…”

“My… my neck is cramping…”

“I feel like I’m going to die…”

How long has it been since they started learning the way of humanity with their bodies, and they’re already whining?
The young disciples of the Heavenly Demon Sect in my past life could endure this for an hour without a problem.

“Tsk, tsk, little hero, daughter of Artemis, you’ve been trying so hard. Is this all you can handle, crying already?”

“You… you’re the one who… ordered it…!”

As I shook my head in pity, the armored woman who had pointed her sword at Atalanta earlier growled.
She resisted until the end without bowing her head, fighting back fiercely until her eyes were swollen, yet she still had the energy to act like this.
She seemed to have decent endurance as a punching bag.

“Oh dear, my hand slipped.”

Suddenly, my grip loosened, and coincidentally, the dagger I had taken from the armored woman earlier fell with a clatter.

-Kachang!

“Eek?!”

Fortunately(?), the dagger hit the armor of the armored woman who was bowing her head at my feet and fell.
Startled by the impact, the armored woman turned pale and quickly regained her balance.

“I need to get going. I’ll come back after music class. Keep it together until then, alright?”

I remember all your faces, so if you want more pain, try running away~

With a cheerful wave, I hurried my steps, taking Atalanta with me to the Forest of Arts.

“Hey, Dianes…”

“Don’t worry about that damned crescent moon. We’ve come too far to make up and be buddy-buddy now.”

The crescent moon pattern engraved on the armor of that woman earlier.
And the way she tried to tear Atalanta’s clothes while babbling about Artemis.
They must be those hunters of Artemis I heard about yesterday.

That cursed moon goddess, the murderous archer, was drawing a ton of attention wherever I went.

“Anyway, it’s such a hassle.”

One interesting thing was that the red-haired huntress, who meekly followed me, was also a member of the hunting group, claiming to be the daughter of Artemis.
It seemed that the matter she attended to without attending yesterday’s banquet was related to them, but it did not seem to have been resolved well.

“What happened?”

“…..”

“You don’t want to talk?”

“…Yes.”

“Okay, then.”

“Huh…?”

Well, even without her saying anything, I could roughly imagine what had happened.
It wasn’t right to pry into something Atalanta didn’t want to talk about.

“Speak when you feel like it.”

Thinking we’d be late for the first class, I grabbed her wrist and ran before she could say anything.
We had finished the morning training and set off leisurely, so we still had some time, even after buying the supplies.
The opening for the beast training took a bit longer, so the class had already started.

Passing by the statue of the greasy-looking god of music, Apollo, and through the laurel forest where the sound of the flute echoed, a fan-shaped theater made of white marble appeared.
In the middle of the theater, a strange creature was playing a pan flute.

“Oh, are you the new student… and Miss Atalanta? Although you’re late, fortunately, we haven’t officially started yet.”

The music teacher, with a gentle voice, invited us to sit in the empty seats.
The music teacher, Marsyas, who was mentioned at the instrument store earlier, must be this person.

“…Huh?”

But due to his peculiar appearance, I had to momentarily pause my steps while dragging Atalanta.
His upper body looked like a calm and neatly dressed man, but he had horns on his head.
His lower body, standing on two legs, was that of a goat, covered with hooves and shaggy fur.

“…Satyr?”

“Yes, I am Marsyas, a satyr, a descendant of the Shepherd God Pan, and a servant of Dionysus.”

I had heard that the descendants of Dionysus’s servants and the shepherd god Pan were a merry race who enjoyed wine and music.
But their appearance, even more alien than that of centaurs, left me momentarily speechless and bewildered.
He smiled gently and patted his leg.

“Hehehe, is this your first time seeing a descendant of Pan like me?”

“Oh, I-I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize. I sometimes get startled when I see myself in a stream. With such shaggy fur, it’s surprising to find such a handsome satyr!”

-Hahaha!

Marsyas shrugged, and everyone burst into laughter at his joke.
Looking around at the audience, whose laughter blossomed at his joke, the Satyr nodded with satisfaction.

“Laughter! The most beautiful music in this world. To think my joke has created such a beautiful chorus. I could boast about this to my father, Pan, and the God of Wine, Dionysus.”

Saying so, Marsyas, who had urged us to sit, clapped his hands to draw attention and began his lecture.

“Before Athena captured all things on canvas with dyes, and before Apollo recited the world through poetry, all things were born with their own music within them.”

-Clap! Clap!

“From the lightly snapping fingers…”

-Tap, tararara, tap!

“To the cheerful steps on the ground…”

-Clap, clap-clap, clap-clap!

“Even the sound of cheerful clapping. Our bodies are inherently born with countless kinds of music. In the end, music is about awakening and delighting our bodies, and instruments are another form of the body that brings out not only external music but also the music inherent within us.”

Originally, it was easy for me to quickly grasp simple things.
However, having others accept what I had easily learned with their minds and hearts and concentrate without resistance was extremely difficult.
In that sense, the satyr music teacher, Marsyas, was an exceptionally outstanding teacher.
Like watching a musical, Marsyas lightly kept the rhythm with tap dancing and clapping.
And his clear enunciation made his voice resonate deeply in our ears.

“This is what a music class should be like.”

If you miss a note, a sonic knife will fly at you, and if you miss a beat, a sonic hammer will fly at you. This is not a music class.
Unless it’s musical torture.

Only after going through life three times did I get to attend a somewhat normal and proper liberal arts class.
I am truly grateful for that.

“Now, among them, the flute is the lightest, simplest, and most basic, but it is the instrument that best captures the essence of music that can be drawn out by an instrument. If your flexible fingers and breaths, like the warm breeze of Zephyrus, blend together, you can easily bring out the music within you.”

Oh right!

Like a theatre actor, Marsyas clapped dramatically and spread his arms wide, asking the students.

“Today’s special task, you all haven’t forgotten, right? I said if you bring a flute as wonderful as my Syrinx, I’ll especially take you to the upcoming Dionysus Festival. You haven’t forgotten, right?”

Dionysus Festival?
The name itself reeked of alcohol, making me tilt my head in curiosity. Everyone enthusiastically sparkled their eyes and took out the flutes they had brought.

“Atalanta, what’s the Dionysus Festival?”

“Well, soon, the God of Wine, Dionysus, will return to this place. It’s a brief rest during his long journey, and it’s a festival where everyone, from humans to various races and even the gods of Olympus, participate, so everyone wants to go at least once.”

Aha.
So it’s like a nationwide beer festival, huh?
Indeed, the mention of such youthful words sparked my interest dramatically.

“But it’s a festival, right? Can’t we just go and enjoy it?”

Atalanta, for some reason, gently stroked my hand and shook her head as if I were adorable.

“Hehe, the festival is held in Dionysus’s sanctuary, which cannot be found unless Dionysus permits you or you are invited by those he allows. So, not just anyone can participate.”

Ah, so that’s why, in the distance, there were those like Hercules pulling out a huge bagpipe-like instrument with glee.
And Jason, pulling out a flute that glistened with gold and silver, was passionately involved.
Those guys grumbled about music lessons just yesterday.

But unfortunately for them.
The winner of this special event was already pretty much decided.

Could there be a more beautiful flute than this adorable new one sleeping peacefully in my arms?

“I don’t really have any thoughts about it… Do you want to go, Dianes?”

“It’s a festival. To me, a festival is just a cleaning event on Passos Island.”

But a drinking festival hosted by the God of Wine?
I can’t resist this.
As I unknowingly shrugged my shoulders in excitement, Atalanta, who had been staring at me, simply nodded as if she had understood something.

“Hehe, as expected…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Hmm? Nothing!”

Atalanta nodded and looked at me again, her earlier worries completely gone. She seemed to shine brightly again.

“…”

“Dianes?”

“Oh, sorry.”

Drawn to her radiant smile, my gaze unknowingly fell on the lips I had passionately desired just yesterday.
I was almost mesmerized by those soft, shimmering lips like delicate petals and nearly lunged at her again.
But I quickly snapped back to my senses and glued my body, which had leaned towards her, back to the chair.

‘…No, are you a teenage boy or something? Well, technically, yes, but still!’

I bit my lip in silence, struggling to calm the instincts that kept bursting forth at the most unexpected moments.
Atalanta looked at me with a peculiar gaze and suddenly brought her lips to my ear, saying this.

“I… feel the same… way?”

“!?”

Did I hear that correctly?
As if struck by something, I turned around in surprise to see Atalanta, who seemed embarrassed herself, covering her bright red face with both hands and trying to slowly move away from me.

“You’re embarrassed too, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know!”

I never imagined that there would be such a sweet and sour romantic comedy in my life.
Caught off guard by this sudden pink atmosphere, I didn’t know what to do, so I just drummed my hands on my knees and tapped my feet nervously.

While everyone else was cheering and excited in the midst of the heat, we just stood there awkwardly with our mouths shut.
Marsyas approached us with a clatter of hooves.

“Ho?”

“…Teacher?”

“Hooo?”

“T-T-Teacher M-Marsyas?”

“Hoooooo?”

Marsyas, clearly amused, looked back and forth between me and Atalanta with a mischievous smile.

“Yes. It’s a good time~”

Hang in there!
Whispering so, Marsyas patted my shoulder and then cheerfully extended his hand to me and Atalanta.

“Well then, shall we take a look at the flutes you’ve prepared? If both of you have brought flutes that I like… I will play at your wedding ceremony.”

“Wh-What?!”

Atalanta’s face turned bright red, as if it would explode with a single touch, at the playful words of Marsyas encouraging them to submit their assignment.
Still, she sincerely took out the flute from her bosom and handed it to him.

“Hmm… a birch wood flute. The mouthpiece is simple, and it only has three finger holes.
It’s a hunting whistle, isn’t it?”

Though it was a bit lacking to perform music with. Marsyas, who praised it as an extraordinarily delicate piece, returned the flute to Atalanta.

“Well then, Dianes. This is the surprise task for the first lesson. What kind of flute did you bring?”

“Hoo… You probably haven’t seen an item like this before.”

I slowly and confidently took out the little darling that had been asleep in my arms.

“This is truly what one would call fate—the little darling I encountered this morning.”

“Oh…?”

Eventually, as the obsidian flute, shining brilliantly under the bright sunlight, appeared.
It was only natural for Marsyas’s eyes to widen in surprise.