Watching the Goddess of Love with that satisfied look on her face, Alaric finally felt a measure of relief.
But now, after the two of them had idled away so much time in conversation, one issue, the most important issue, still hadn't been resolved.
Why had she sought him out? What was the reason behind this meeting?
At the very least, Alaric didn't believe for a moment that she had come on behalf of Zeus, on behalf of the Olympian pantheon, to investigate this "abnormality" that had survived the flood unscathed and remained unnoticed by the gods.
Because Aphrodite, though counted among the Olympians now, did not truly share their interests.
Western pantheons were mostly built around family ties, kinship and marriage forming the glue of their divine hierarchies.
Take the Norse gods for example: the All-Father Odin and the All-Mother Frigg stood at the top. Thor the Thunderer, Tyr the war god, Freyr the god of fertility, and Freyja the goddess of love were all their children.
Or the Egyptian Ennead: Ra the sun god reigned supreme; his children Shu, god of air, and Tefnut, goddess of moisture, were wed.
Their children Geb the earth god and Nut the sky goddess were also wed.
From them were born Osiris, lord of the underworld and agriculture; Isis, goddess of life, magic, marriage, and fertility; Set, god of war, desert, storms, and foreigners; and Nephthys, goddess of households and protector of the dead, two more couples bound in divine marriage.
The Greek pantheon was no different. The first and second generations of Titans were siblings; each generation of rulers was overthrown by their own children.
The third generation, the Olympians, came into being when Cronus, the second king of gods, was overthrown by his son Zeus. All relatives, one way or another.
Among the Twelve Olympians, Zeus and Hera, brother and sister as well as husband and wife, were king and queen of the gods.
Zeus's brothers, Poseidon and Hades, ruled the sea and the underworld. Hestia, goddess of the hearth, and Demeter, goddess of harvest, were his elder sisters.
Athena, goddess of wisdom and war; Ares, god of war; Hephaestus, god of fire and craftsmanship; Apollo, god of the sun and the arts; Artemis, goddess of the moon and the hunt; Hermes, the divine messenger; and Dionysus, who replaced Hestia as an Olympian, were all Zeus's children.
Only Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, had no blood relation to them.
Or rather, just a trace of one.
When Cronus, the second king of gods, overthrew his father Uranus, the first king, he hacked him to pieces with a divine axe.
The essence of Uranus's body spilled into the Aegean Sea, and from its foam and waves Aphrodite was born.
But such a distant connection was meaningless.
Could a goddess born from the power of Uranus truly be called his daughter?
Wouldn't that make her a peer of Cronus, Zeus's father, a senior, perhaps even Zeus's aunt?
Impossible.
Thus, even though Aphrodite became one of the Twelve Olympians, her place among them was always awkward.
The other eleven were family, who was she?
In the end, to integrate her into the pantheon, and perhaps to curb Zeus's lustful ambitions, Aphrodite was married off to Hephaestus, the god of fire and craftsmanship, one of the Twelve and Zeus's son.
On paper, it sounded like a decent match. But what sort of man was Hephaestus? The lame and ugly god, cast aside by Hera at birth. To Aphrodite, who treasured beauty above all else, he was everything she despised.
Bound to Hephaestus, how could Aphrodite possibly feel fondness for the Olympian order?
Which meant the only plausible reason for her visit today was her own personal agenda.
So Alaric asked her directly.
"You guessed right," Aphrodite admitted breezily.
"At first, I only wanted to meet the man who stirred such a blazing heart in Pandora, to see what sort of miracle-worker you were, managing to survive with her unnoticed by the gods.
From there, I'd decide whether or not you could be trusted with something important."
"And your verdict?" Alaric pressed.
"Well…" Aphrodite stretched out the word in mock mystery. But when she found the man before her utterly expressionless, not the least bit curious, she frowned in frustration.
"Fine, fine, you really are such a dull man. Just now you were lecturing me with such seriousness…
Alright, alright, I won't tease you. But you know, impatient men aren't popular with women.
Ah, whatever, I can't believe I'm saying this sort of thing to you… ahem.
Then listen carefully, this is the task the Goddess of Love entrusts to you: please help me dissolve my marriage to that hideous man!"
"Cough, cough!"
Her demand nearly made Alaric choke.
What kind of outrageous request was that? Dissolve her marriage with Hephaestus? He wasn't some being who could overrule Zeus himself.
"You… aren't joking, are you?" Alaric pressed a hand to his forehead. "Are you sure you're not just sending me to my death?"
"But Romeo was willing to die for Juliet, wasn't he? Why can't you?" Aphrodite exclaimed.
"And what Juliet are you supposed to be?" Alaric shot back.
"So heartless! Just a moment ago you were so smitten with me," she retorted, putting on the airs of a wronged woman.
"I was never smitten in the first place, alright?" Alaric muttered helplessly.
"How cruel… after everything, you won't even admit it. Truly heartless." Her tone turned more pitiful still.
"I…" Alaric was already at a loss. "Fine, you win. Say whatever you like."
Seeing his helpless look, Aphrodite immediately broke into tinkling laughter.
"That's what you get for lecturing me with such gravity earlier," she said smugly. "Now you know better."
"Yes, yes," Alaric replied flatly. "As long as the goddess doesn't send me to fight Zeus, I'll do whatever you ask."
"Really?" Aphrodite eyed him skeptically.
"Really," Alaric nodded and softened his voice.
"Compared to those lofty gods who see mortal lives as nothing, you're much better.
And after talking with you for so long, I think we can call each other friends. For a friend, I'm willing to help."
In truth, Alaric had deeper reasons.
He had already decided, if he was to stand against the Olympians, then aside from growing his own strength, he needed allies.
Though he had always believed that until his power reached a certain level, forming alliances would be pointless, plans never keep pace with change.
Now, with Aphrodite standing before him, and after realizing that she was easy to talk to, treating him as an equal, not a lesser mortal, and holding grievances against Zeus, she naturally became an excellent candidate to draw into his camp.
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