"Aiya, actually… I'm not that great, you know."
Although Athena's words were filled with modesty, anyone who saw the brilliant smile on her face could tell that Alaric's praise had clearly hit the mark.
She was quite pleased by it.
This goddess really wasn't that hard to appease after all.
That was Alaric's new conclusion.
"So," Alaric continued, "can we reach an agreement now?"
"Mm…"
Athena folded her arms across her chest and thought for a moment before replying.
"If I think about it carefully, joining your side isn't completely unacceptable…
After all, despite how strong you clearly are, you've kept an extremely low profile all this time.
Other than mages, hardly anyone has even heard of your goddess's name.
From this, it seems you don't harbor any great ambitions. You are an object worthy of cooperation."
"So what's your answer?" Alaric pressed.
"Then it's decided," Athena clapped her hands.
Once her original aloofness was broken in front of Alaric, the goddess became noticeably more lively.
"I'll cooperate with you. For now, our cooperation will remain in the shadows.
At the appropriate time, I'll formally join your side.
Until then, I'll stay on Mount Olympus, perhaps I can even leak some intelligence from the Olympian pantheon for you."
Oh, nicely done. Undercover agent +1.
Alaric was clearly satisfied as well.
"Then I thank you, Goddess, for your trust," he said with a smile. "From now on, we're like-minded companions fighting side by side, aren't we?"
"That's right." Athena nodded. "Let's work together for the future of humanity, mortal."
"Then…" Alaric raised an eyebrow. "To celebrate becoming partners, how about we, "
As he spoke, he spread his arms wide.
"…share a celebratory hug?"
The moment she saw Alaric's gesture, Athena's expression instantly changed.
"H-Hey! You mortal, are you thinking of something improper again?!"
Naturally, what Athena was referring to was the embarrassing incident where she had cried, back then, Alaric had used a hug to comfort her.
However, Alaric seemed completely unaware that he had stepped on a landmine and continued speaking on his own.
"That's different. That one was a comforting hug; this one's a celebratory hug. After all, now that we're allies, our relationship should be a bit closer, shouldn't it?"
As he spoke, he walked straight toward her and, before the goddess could react, pulled her into a brief embrace.
"Such a great figure, why wear armor at all?" Alaric complained inwardly as he held her. "Finally got an opportunity like this, and I couldn't feel a thing. What a huge loss."
"Mm… you insolent mortal! How rude! Rude! To dare do something like this to a goddess!"
Alaric's sudden attack left her face burning red. Flustered, she quickly pulled herself free.
Of course, the goddess's thoughts were another matter entirely.
Although she was unaccustomed to such intimacy, for Athena, a warm embrace was an incredibly novel sensation, something she had never experienced before.
Poor Athena. Her father, fearing her, had swallowed her mother, causing her to lose her mother the moment she was born.
Her relationship with her father was hardly good either.
She had never experienced parental love. Coupled with her status as a virgin goddess, romantic love had nothing to do with her as well.
Simply put, she was a girl starved of affection.
Because of that, Athena felt Alaric's embrace far more deeply than an ordinary person would.
On the surface, Athena wore an unwilling, indignant expression.
Yet deep inside, she found herself lingering on that caring embrace, longing for the feeling of being concerned for, of being cherished.
That sensation, combined with Alaric's earlier behavior, caused her feelings toward him to grow subtly complex.
What was clearly an act of blasphemy somehow didn't provoke much thought when done by Alaric, let alone any punishment. At most, she merely scolded him verbally.
Watching the goddess who kept calling him "rude" but never followed through with any actual punishment, Alaric revealed a satisfied smile.
It seemed this goddess had truly accepted the alliance with the magic pantheon in her heart. Otherwise, she wouldn't have shown such an unguarded posture.
After all, even though Athena was fond of helping mortals, she would never show mercy to those who dared to profane her.
Now, with nothing more than shy verbal protests, it was clear that their relationship had changed.
After calming herself slightly, Athena pretended as though nothing had happened and spoke.
"Then, on the remainder of the journey, please take good care of the Argonauts. Don't let them meet their end due to any 'accidents'."
"Leave it to me," Alaric patted his chest in assurance. "Since we've reached an agreement and they've changed their attitude toward the gods, they're naturally our allies now."
"Then, I shall take my leave." The goddess smiled and nodded, her body beginning to glow as if she were about to disappear.
However, in the next moment, the radiant divine light froze.
"Oh, right, one more question. Aphrodite should have already been on your side for quite some time now, shouldn't she?"
What an unexpected ambush at the very last moment.
"How did you know?" Alaric asked.
"As expected, I guessed correctly," the goddess revealed a sly smile.
"For the Arrow of Love to hit you instead of Jason, if you told me that wasn't intentional, I wouldn't believe it.
If it were an ordinary mage, that'd be one thing, but if it's you, someone capable of defeating even the Olympian gods, you should have been able to stop it, right?
Since you didn't stop the Arrow of Love, that means you had already reached an understanding with Lady Aphrodite. Am I right?"
Flawless reasoning. As expected of the Goddess of Wisdom.
But the rumors about her being petty were probably true as well.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have insisted on making him suffer a bit before leaving, clearly a form of retaliation for Alaric's earlier behavior.
Naturally, Alaric wasn't about to back down either.
"Since you put it that way, then I'll tell you a secret as well."
Alaric spoke in a low voice.
"Goddess Hecate's power exists alongside the Weave, and the Weave is everywhere, so no matter where I am, I can receive her support at any time."
Alaric's words were clearly aimed at the question Athena had raised earlier, why he dared to stand before her as a mere mortal.
Before, she had thought it was courage combined with trust.
Now… trust was nothing but an illusion. He was simply fearless because he had backing.
And she had even felt happy earlier because she thought she was trusted.
"What a bad person you are!"
After shooting Alaric a fierce glare, Athena's figure completely vanished from the cabin.
Watching the goddess disappear, Alaric smiled faintly.
With Athena dealt with, in the chess game against the Olympian gods, he could finally shift from defense to offense.
In the past, they had no influence among mortals outside of mages, making it impossible to wage a war of public opinion. But now, things were different.
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