Aphrodite's girlishly coy question made Alaric chuckle wryly.
"You know that's not what I meant." The man shrugged.
"With your charm alone, my lady Goddess of Love, you can conquer anyone without ever lifting a finger. What use would raw combat power be to you?"
"Hmph, at least you know how to talk." Though she knew Alaric was only humoring her, Aphrodite still smiled from ear to ear. "Mwah, that's your reward."
Feeling the dampness on his cheek, Alaric returned to their previous topic. "So, how did you answer him?"
At the mention of that, Aphrodite's expression turned proud.
"With how clever I am, of course I pretended to agree. You must have had something in mind, didn't you?"
"You always understand me best." Alaric reached out and stroked the goddess's hair, praising her.
"Indeed, if you feigned agreement, we could turn their plot against them. Through the commands they give you, we might even gather some of their intel."
"I knew you'd say that." Aphrodite smiled sweetly. "Running into someone like you really is their misfortune. As expected of the man I chose."
As she spoke, her gaze swept up and down Hecate.
"Come to think of it, even I didn't expect that the girl abandoned by all the gods would one day reach such heights, single-handedly suppressing the entire Olympian pantheon. Remarkable."
"I-I'm not that powerful…" The Goddess of the Weave flushed at the praise.
"It's all thanks to Lord Alaric's effort and strategy that I've come this far. Besides… it was Lord Alaric who ultimately defeated them.
I'm just a novice deity who can barely handle her own power."
At that point, Hecate's tone grew a little dejected.
In her eyes, with the same level of power, Alaric could wound the Olympian gods severely in a single strike, whereas she, after gaining the upper hand briefly, had been pushed back. To her, that was nothing but her own failure.
Seeing her downcast mood, Alaric immediately offered comfort.
"That's perfectly normal. You just lack understanding and accumulation in magic, that's all.
Think about it, I've studied magic for how long? And how long have you been a mage?
Give it a few more years as the Goddess of Magic and your foundation will naturally catch up."
"Alaric's right," Aphrodite added gently, consoling her little sister.
"Before all this, you were only a mortal. For someone who's just become a goddess to achieve this much already, you're amazing."
The two of them coaxed her until Hecate finally brightened again.
"Thank you, Lord Alaric, and Sister Aphrodite. As a goddess, I'll do my best from now on."
"That's more like it." Aphrodite nodded with satisfaction, then asked, "Speaking of which, I wanted to ask, you clearly had the power to seriously injure the Olympian gods. Why did you agree to peace talks so early?"
"The power to seriously injure the Olympians?" Alaric suddenly laughed. "No, you're overestimating us. We couldn't possibly do that."
"R-really?" Aphrodite was incredulous. "B-but… Zeus said Hecate still had plenty of strength left and was eager to keep fighting! You're not joking with me, are you?"
She turned to look at Hecate.
Under that gaze, Hecate covered her mouth and let out a giggle.
"Pfft… actually, Lord Alaric's telling the truth. Just maintaining the Reality Marble consumed nearly all of his divine power. By the time of the negotiations, I was already completely drained."
"So… you two were bluffing back then?" Aphrodite blinked in disbelief.
"That's right, we were bluffing." Alaric smiled carelessly.
"Otherwise, with our actual strength at the time, how could we have extorted so much compensation from Zeus? Or managed to bring you over to our side?"
"That…" Aphrodite hadn't imagined things had played out that way.
After a moment's thought, she couldn't help laughing as well.
"Zeus really was unlucky to have run into the two of you." When her laughter subsided, she said softly, "It seems choosing you back then was the best decision I ever made."
"So, how do you plan to thank me for that?" Alaric arched an eyebrow.
Hearing the teasing in his tone, warmth rose through Aphrodite's body.
"It's true, you worked so hard to free me from those awful people and grant me my freedom. It's only right that I thank you.
So, what kind of thanks do you want?" She provocatively licked her lips. "Any kind of thanks will do."
"In that case, don't mind if I do."
Alaric met the goddess's challenge without hesitation.
"W-wait! If Lady Aphrodite's going to thank Lord Alaric, please don't involve me!"
Hecate's flustered voice echoed soon after.
At the temple doors, hearing the rising sounds of passion from within, Sakuya Izayoi blushed faintly, then, as usual, closed the doors quietly.
, ,
After news spread that the Magic Pantheon had defeated the Olympians, it soon rose to become a power in the Greek divine realm capable of standing toe-to-toe with Olympus.
Though Aphrodite's defection was kept secret, other deities still sought to join them.
Most were local mountain or river gods, minor deities whose strength was limited. They possessed only the faintest spark of divinity, and outside their own domains their might could barely compare to a powerful hero or demigod.
For ages these gods had lived under Olympus's rule, yet some had, for various reasons, offended the Olympians.
In the days when Olympus reigned unchallenged, those who incurred their wrath could only accept their fate, bowing their heads and awaiting punishment.
But with the rise of the Magic Pantheon, everything changed.
Unlike the aloof Olympians who meddled in all affairs, the Magic Pantheon, though strong, remained extraordinarily low-key since its inception.
They cared only for matters related to mages, magic, and the Weave. Beyond that, they interfered with nothing.
Hecate herself was something of a homebody goddess, spending her days tucked away in her temple, maintaining the Weave, researching spells, and clinging to her favorite mage, Alaric, rather than running around sowing chaos or scheming like the Olympians.
That modest demeanor earned the Magic Pantheon a degree of goodwill among many of the watching local gods.
As a result, petitions came frequently, mountain gods, river gods, and the like, requesting the Pantheon's protection.
Most of these requests, Alaric declined.
That didn't mean he thought the Magic Pantheon didn't need more hands, only that he preferred quality over quantity. Any deity they accepted had to be trustworthy.
Fortunately, before long, they received one such reliable application.