As every feather glowing with the light of freedom became an invisible bird and rose into the blue sky with the song,
It carried to Troy, where Chryseis, who was in her room praying for Night, heard it as a feeling she couldn't put into words washed over her, and the urge to cry came over her without warning.
'Was that you, hero?'
Then it rose further, into the heavens, and eventually reached the ears of the gods.
Even Zeus, the god-king himself, closed his eyes slightly and let the beautiful sound wash over him.
He found himself curious about who was playing.
Music at this level was rare even among the gods.
It was something that could genuinely rival the Muses and his own son Apollo.
Zeus developed a flicker of admiration for the performer.
If it were possible, bringing this person up to play for him every day sounded appealing.
Well, for the music that gods would enjoy, of course.
Though naturally he would have to see what the performer looked like first.
If the appearance was lacking, the interest would be gone.
As a dedicated member of the looks-matter faction, and one with no gender preference in that regard, Zeus placed more weight on appearance than on talent, even when the talent caught his attention.
Of course, gender preference was just a wide scope for His Majesty, the god king.
After all, his aesthetics were rather broad.
Plants, animals, cows, eagles, snakes...anything that has a hole.
Well ...in short, Zeus only accepted people he found beautiful from his aesthetics.
After all, even though the forge god had extraordinary ability to craft divine weapons and tools, Zeus still couldn't be bothered to look at him properly.
So Zeus had a passing interest but hadn't moved on it yet.
On the other side, among the gods who knew who was playing below, three were paying especially close attention.
Apollo, Artemis, and Athena.
The effect of the musical blessing at full power was genuinely terrifying.
Even Zeus, who regularly enjoyed beautiful music and was well accustomed to it, said the sound could rival the Muses and Apollo.
Who were the Muses?
The nine goddesses of music and the arts.
In another world's popular idol anime scene, a group of nine girls named after exactly these goddesses had their own devoted following.
And Apollo was the god of talent and art, a divine rank above the Muses themselves.
Music that could genuinely rival the gods whose domain was music.
That was something that could shake the very power of divine authority.
If used as charm, no ordinary woman in the mortal world could resist it.
Everyone would be drawn in and fall helplessly for whoever was producing that sound.
Watching Night go all out this time, Apollo felt something close to what a parent feels when a child they raised so carefully finally delivers a perfect performance in front of an audience.
Pride and a sense of glory.
Artemis, whose mind had been unsettled lately and who was only just starting to regain her composure, heard a sound that spoke directly to her nature as the goddess of the hunt. Free, wild, completely in harmony with who she was.
He understands me.
That inexplicable feeling rose in her without warning, and she started out just listening quietly, but the deeper into the music she went, the more completely the emotion inside it pulled her in.
For a god, it was normally very difficult to lose oneself in a piece of music.
But the spirit of freedom in this particular piece fit Artemis so perfectly that her guard came down without her realizing it, and she let herself sink into it willingly.
If Apollo had seen the scene in front of him, that bright expression on his face would have vanished immediately, and he would have screamed internally.
Oops...his home got stolen again.
First, it was Artemis who stole away the hero he had set his sights on.
Now, it's the very hero he had set his sights on who was about to steal the heart of his beloved sister.
Whoa—!
Without even realizing it, he's started flirting with a goddess again!
And the goddesses he unwittingly charmed this time weren't just Artemis.
Countless other goddesses have already begun to feel a spark of curiosity because of it—and even the male gods…
It's true that quite a few gods have already taken an interest in that one mortal from the lower world because of a single song, but for now those feelings were still just seeds sprouting; they haven't yet begun to bloom and bear fruit.
In that case, the one who, just like Artemis, had been hit especially hard by this special offensive right now was none other than our beautiful goddess of wisdom—Athena.
In a white dress with a high slit, no armor, and more the face of the goddess of wisdom than the goddess of war, Athena in that moment looked very much like a gentle girl worth protecting.
The way a person dressed often reflected their current mood and state of mind.
On this particular clear morning, drawn toward beauty and refinement, she heard the music.
Athena, who had exceptional taste in art and had even personally carved many beautiful statues, found herself sinking into the sound almost immediately.
Only someone who truly understood music could appreciate how extraordinary this level of skill actually was.
Even Athena's eyes lit up.
The fight the day before allowed her to see Night's courage and strength, along with his devoted, unwavering faith and devotion to his goddess.
And now she saw his talent, which was just as formidable.
Although she already knew he was a musician, and he performed at the banquet the night before, that level of music, though beautiful, wasn't enough to genuinely hold Athena's attention.
This, though, was different.
There was intention behind it, a genuine desire to reach someone through the music, to carry a feeling across a distance.
That kind of performance genuinely surprised her.
Talent, good looks, courage, real strength, and broad knowledge and experience: these were the qualities that drew Athena most.
She already saw strong musical talent in Night, plus courage and a degree of strength.
That handsome face was something even the demanding Apollo couldn't look away from.
The only area still unclear was the breadth of his knowledge and experience, and his strength, while solid, still didn't match the level of a god.
If Night were a single, upstanding male god, Athena might have been moved already.
As it stood, her curiosity toward him was still growing.
At first, she originally wanted to vent her anger on Diomedes and punish him, but in the unknowing observation, the idea became increasingly weak and even almost forgotten.
Poor Diomedes, who had no idea his own goddess had basically forgotten about him, would have cried himself into a wall if he found out.
And the ripple effects of
Night's fight with Diomedes started making itself felt not long after.
By noon, the Trojan army launched a surprise attack on the Greek camp.
The reason was that Apollo, who was in a pretty good mood after listening to the music that morning, quietly passed a divine message to Hector and told him that Diomedes, one of the alliance's sharpest combat forces, was severely injured and basically out of the fight for a while.
Apollo, who in the original story didn't clearly take sides until much later, seemed to have chosen Troy's side ahead of schedule because of his sister and Night.
And so,
Things changed.
The original course of history started veering away into something unrecognizable.
.
.
.
(End of the Chapter)