Not interested

Apart from Winslow and Doreen, only Artemis and Linai knew that Li Jia and Hera had formed a bond.

Linai and Li Jia came from the same world. Li Jia felt she ought to let her know, lest Linai blame her later for not telling her.

As for Artemis, Li Jia had told her because of her intuition.

Artemis was a goddess as gentle and resilient as moonlight.

When Li Jia told her that she and Hera had been entered in the marriage records, Artemis did not mock or tease her as she had imagined. Instead, she smiled at her and said sincerely, "Congratulations on finding each other. May you be happy together for the rest of your lives."

The Goddess of the Hunt offered them her warmest blessings.

Li Jia had thought Linai would press her for the whole story, or tease her about what it felt like to suddenly marry into a wealthy family.

Instead, Linai merely froze for a moment before patting her shoulder, her eyes full of a familiar warmth. "This is good, too. You've been all alone in this world. Now that you have someone to keep you company, I can finally stop worrying so much."

She could not stay serious for more than a few seconds.

"Oh my god, girl, you really did us proud! You actually plucked that unattainable flower!"

The more Linai talked, the more exaggerated she became, until even Li Jia grew embarrassed.

There were no unnecessary questions, only the unspoken understanding unique to those far from home.

Li Jia had worried that if Linai heard about it from someone else later, she would blame her for not treating her as one of her own.

Clearly, her worries had been unnecessary.

Linai scampered off to brag to Claire that she had a bestie who was the Queen of the Gods.

The animals were pure and simple at heart. After hearing the news, whenever they saw Li Jia, they brought out the wedding gifts they had prepared and gave them to her, wishing her a happy marriage.

In no time at all, Li Jia had gone to the Great Plains of Ephesus empty-handed and returned fully laden.

Claire gave Li Jia a hat woven from his fur. Luota and Betty brought a jar of honey they had gathered themselves. A little squirrel carried over a whole handful of plump acorns in its mouth, while a little rabbit held clover still beaded with morning dew between its teeth.

Li Jia thanked them one by one. Just as the peacock chariot was about to arrive, Linai approached her, took the blue-and-white crescent name tag from her own neck, and pressed it into Li Jia's hand.

"I don't have much worth giving, and you don't lack anything, either. But as your family on the bride's side, it'd be pretty shabby of me to give you nothing. Take this."

"Artemis gave me a wish back then. She'll do everything in her power to make that wish come true. Now I'm giving it to you. Just take this name tag to her, and she'll help you."

"This is a god's promise."

"No, Artemis gave this to you."

Li Jia tried to return the name tag to Linai, but she refused flatly. "Once she gave it to me, it became mine. Who I give it to is my right."

"Girl, you've married a god. Nobody can say what'll happen down the road. What if she gets violent at home? Or treats you badly? Or gets tired of you and finds someone new? At least this tag can save your life. Just keep it."

Before Li Jia could reply, Linai vanished in a flash.

Li Jia held the cool name tag between her fingers. Faced with that argument full of holes, she let a warm breath escape between her teeth, and the corners of her mouth lifted.

All right, then. I'll take this as 'protection' from my side of the family.

But would Hera get violent at home?

Treat me badly?

Get tired of me and find someone new?

When she looked up, she happened to see the peacock chariot approaching through the distant clouds. Golden hair and red eyes were the woman's signature features.

The only difference was that the face described in storybooks as cold as ice broke into a smile the moment she saw her.

Hera took her hand to lead her onto the chariot. When Li Jia did not move, Hera gave her a puzzled look.

Li Jia pointed at the little pile of gifts behind her and spread her hands helplessly, indicating that she could not carry them.

Hera: "..."

A furry hat, honey, acorns, clover, apples, oranges, bananas...

Hera asked, "Do we have to take them back?"

There was even a long, round log.

Hera asked, "This has to come back, too?"

Li Jia nodded solemnly. "Buer gave me this. He's a beaver, and this is the best piece of wood in his stretch of the river."

Li Jia said, "These are all wedding gifts everyone gave us. They're very important. We can't let their kindness go to waste."

Sure enough, Li Jia noticed Hera's eyes flicker at the words "wedding gifts," and she slowly came to accept this pile of "junk."

Li Jia had a thorough grasp of Hera's temperament. She was someone who responded to a soft approach, never force.

And Li Jia just happened to be a salted fish who could advance or retreat, bend or stand tall as needed.

When hardship knocked her down, she simply lay down herself. Compared with catering to all kinds of unpredictable clients, Hera, her ultimate big boss, was positively stable.

Li Jia could not help muttering inwardly:

Heh.

A simp.

Keep simping, and you'll have it all in the end.

In the end, the peacock chariot hauled the little pile of "wedding gifts" back to Hot Spring Ravine. Hera handed everything straight to Winslow and told her to keep it safe and make sure nothing was damaged, or Li Jia would be sad.

Winslow stared at the little pile of fruit and vegetables, along with a... log, and fell into thought. In the end, she decided to put everything in the freezer in the kitchen cellar, which held ice that would not melt for a thousand years.

If they were frozen, they would not spoil. That was how Winslow understood it.

Forming a bond with Hera had not really affected Li Jia's previous daily habits. Her boss had merely been upgraded to a boss with a marriage certificate.

Li Jia could not help marveling that this was the benefit of marrying the right person.

She had no parents or siblings.

Hera was a goddess born on Divine Mountain, so she had none of those, either.

This was the legendary package of a car, a house, and both parents dead. There were no conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and her financial resources were boundless.

As for having children, Li Jia had discreetly asked Hera what she thought, because she had secretly asked Winslow what methods gods had available if they wanted children.

Winslow said that if Hera wanted to give birth, she could become pregnant immediately.

A goddess's offspring came from her divine power. Unlike goddesses, male gods needed a woman's womb to reproduce.

Goddesses did not. A matrilineal clan was the natural continuation of a bloodline.

If a goddess gave birth to a child, the child would take her surname, inherit her divine power and divine seat, remain unswervingly loyal to her, and share her divine duties.

While patriarchal society remained fixated on passing down surnames, maternal genes had long since built a truly eternal clan beyond chromosomes.

Hera asked her in return whether she wanted children. Li Jia quickly shook her head and said she was not interested.

Li Jia did not like children. Homeless and adrift as a child, always searching for her next meal after finishing the last, she had often wished she had never been born. Only after entering society did she realize there were far too many people who gave birth without raising their children, far too many children raising children.

But there were no ifs. Fortunately, she had grown up. What she could do was prevent children like her from being born.

Hera stroked her forehead. "I'm not interested, either. Raising you well is enough for me."

That evening, the system notification chimed with another new brainwave message:

"Master, the latter half of the plot has fallen into place. The plot you need to follow is:"

"Advance the relationship between Demeter, Goddess of Agriculture, and Zeus, and ensure that the Goddess of Spring can be born successfully."