Faced with a crying goddess, what could Alaric possibly do?
Having already calmed six goddesses, enough to earn him the title of "Goddess Slayer", what he naturally had to do now was obvious: comfort her.
What Goddess Athena, what perfect balance of strength and wisdom, beauty matched with power, under overwhelming pressure, wasn't she still crying like a girl?
If it were an ordinary mortal, even someone like Heracles who stood at the peak between mortals and demigods and could converse with most gods on equal footing.
All he could do in the face of a weeping goddess would be to offer a few words of consolation from the side.
After all, that was a goddess, an existence noble and untouchable, to be admired from afar and never profaned.
But Alaric was different.
He acted directly.
Just like that, he boldly stepped forward and pulled the goddess into his arms.
When it came to dealing with goddesses, Alaric could be considered highly experienced.
In his view, whether it was Athena or Artemis, or even the lowest-ranking deities like the three Gorgon sisters, all goddesses were women who had long stood high above others.
Be it male gods or mortals, they had already experienced far too much worship, reverence, admiration…
After being immersed in such emotions for so long, even gods would grow tired of them.
On the contrary, mortals like Alaric, who did not treat goddesses as gods, who treated them as equals, were almost unheard of.
Goddesses like Hera, who valued authority and hierarchy, might find this displeasing, but goddesses like Athena, Artemis, and Aphrodite, who cared less about status and rank, would instead find it novel, and might even unconsciously develop a favorable impression.
To put it bluntly, women, goddesses included, or rather, gods and humans alike, were all the same in this regard.
Goddesses were used to being surrounded by them, and thus paid no attention at all to those who flattered them.
Instead, they would take more interest in those who treated them with indifference.
A domineering CEO would look down on women who threw themselves at him, but when a Mary Sue heroine did the opposite and dismissed him, he would think, "Woman, you've successfully caught my attention."
When dealing with Artemis before, the reason Alaric had gone from outsider to the object of her pursuit was precisely because of his completely different attitude.
Of course, one's own strength and appearance were also important.
After all, one could not discuss ice with a summer insect, nor expect a phoenix to mingle with sparrows. To court a goddess, one must first possess the qualifications to catch her eye, the capital to be regarded highly.
Now, Alaric was treating Athena in exactly the same way.
"All right, all right, don't cry anymore," Alaric said as he held the goddess in his arms, gently stroking her purple hair to comfort her.
"I know this isn't your fault. You wanted to help the heroes, you did your best. We'll forgive you…"
As the Goddess of Wisdom and War, born as the second-strongest existence after Zeus (back when Hecate did not yet exist), one of the three virgin goddesses, the Mary Sue archetype among goddesses, Athena had never experienced close physical contact with a man.
Let alone being held in someone's arms and comforted like this.
To Athena, this was undoubtedly an extremely novel experience.
However, because she was still immersed in grief, she did not react too intensely at first.
Yet the warmth of that unfamiliar embrace, and Alaric's gentle voice, gradually soothed her heart, which had been filled with sorrow and self-blame.
Perhaps it was due to the Third Magic, the materialization of the soul, or perhaps because Alaric himself, as the strongest legendary mage standing at the pinnacle of mortals, possessed a "wisdom" that resonated perfectly with Athena's senses.
In any case, Athena found herself dazedly resting in Alaric's arms, and naturally accepting it.
After quite a while, as the goddess's sobbing gradually stopped, she finally realized her situation.
"Ah! How could this be?!"
Noticing that she was being held in someone's arms, Athena let out a startled cry like a pure, innocent girl, no, as a virgin goddess, she truly was one, then hurriedly pulled away in a fluster.
"Y-you… you… you… you dare! T-to actually hug a goddess so casually, h-how rude!"
Looking at the fierce expression on the goddess's face, Alaric felt as though he were seeing a puffed-up kitten.
Who would have thought that such a cold and aloof goddess was actually a cat-type girl?
Alaric shrugged indifferently. "So what? After the way you guys screwed us over earlier, hugging you once is nothing… Besides, you were crying so miserably just now. I was only comforting you."
"C-crying… I definitely wasn't crying," Athena said, secretly wiping away her tears and changing the subject. "I-I wasn't crying sadly at all. You must have seen it wrong."
"Is that so?" Alaric shook his head speechlessly. "Then before you say that, could you wipe the tears from the corners of your eyes first?"
"What? W-what? Tears?"
Hearing Alaric's words, Athena hurriedly rubbed at the corners of her eyes.
And then she realized, there were no tears at all.
She'd been tricked.
"You actually fooled me!" Athena glared at Alaric with puffed cheeks. "You big liar!"
"Who told Athena to be so cute?" Alaric teased. "Crying like that, it just makes people want to tease you."
"You mortal… you're far too bold."
Athena turned her head away. Though she was still pouting, she wasn't truly angry.
However, when her gaze swept across the empty cabin, the unused oars casually piled inside, she was reminded once again of those who had been sacrificed.
Her mood sank again.
"You mortal, how can you still joke around with me at a time like this?" Athena said. "Since you've guessed that the gods intend to vent their resentment on you, aren't you worried about your future at all?"
The goddess's concern made Alaric feel somewhat guilty.
Compared to someone like Zeus, who was selfish and arrogant, Athena, though sometimes vindictive and petty, was genuinely a good goddess.
Now that she cared so much about him, if she were to find out that Alaric was an undercover agent hidden among the Argonauts, that the people she had wronged did not include him at all, would she kill him on the spot?
Alaric suddenly thought of this, then immediately stopped thinking about it.
The priority now was to persuade Athena to rebel against the gods.
That way, even if she later discovered the truth, she probably wouldn't do anything to him… probably.
So Alaric turned to Athena and asked,
"Then, Goddess, do you have any good ideas?"
In response to his question, Athena thought seriously for a moment, then shook her head.
"I'm sorry. Even I have no way to influence the gods' decision… I don't know how to save you…"
Damn it, her voice sounded like it was starting to choke up again.
.
.
.
Guys, do leave some power stones and reviews.
✌patreon.com/bobthewriter✌
If you guys enjoy this story, you can support me on Patreon and get access to Advance Chapters, it really helps me to work on new chapters.