— — — — — —
"Queen of the Gods?"
Ryo's mouth twitched. He couldn't tell whether Athena was mocking him or flirting.
For someone like Athena, who clearly aimed to become the God-King, offering him the title of Queen of the Gods was basically a weird, indirect marriage proposal, wasn't it?
Then something clicked — three points connected in his mind.
Athena had said to ask Hera to give up the position of Queen of the Gods. THIS generation.
In short, she wanted him to take Hera's place right now.
Which meant stepping into the third-generation Queen's seat — Zeus's wife.
Ugh. Forcing the man who tricked her and the man she loathed into contact in the most disgusting possible way? That was the kind of revenge only Athena would think of. Cold, surgical, and deliciously vicious.
Thinking that, Ryo forced his stomach to settle and, keeping his expression measured, said in a very nuanced tone, "You are indeed a generous and kind goddess. But considering my contributions to Greece aren't quite sufficient yet, the matter of joining the Twelve Olympians should wait until the Cross Pantheon situation is settled. Then we can talk."
He was politely refusing while also steering the mission back on course. After all, Athena's original tasking had been to disrupt the Cross Pantheon. Any change in Athena's divine rank was merely a side effect of that mission.
In a sense, such changes might even help later — they'd make it easier to erase Athena's involvement and keep the Cross Pantheon from tracing things back to her. Few would suspect the "injured" Athena to be the mastermind after seeing her current state.
Of course, the inevitable loss of Athena's faith and the spiritual damage that would cause couldn't be avoided… Ryo added silently.
Athena half-laughed, half-sighed. "You missed your chance to make Hera fall for you."
Could you please shut up? Ryo smiled at Athena but didn't answer.
Seeing that he wouldn't rise to the bait, Athena's smile softened and she asked, "From what I can tell, the Cross Pantheon hasn't suffered much."
"That's odd for someone like you," she added.
She couldn't believe Ryo had only dropped one bomb on her.
After all, she had to suffer a loss of faith, hand over some status to Algol, and probably would pay a huge price for the crimes of the other Athena. If that were the case, the Cross Pantheon should have taken even heavier hits.
Yet from Athena's point of view, the corresponding myths tied to the Cross Pantheon showed no abnormality.
'Has the King of End's mark not taken effect yet?' Ryo looked puzzled at that.
The central core responds rapidly to observed changes. That's clear from the last time Ryo observed the Demon Slayer world and was tracked down by Gods the next second. Effects like that should appear the instant the world's observation completes.
So by now the gods in the Garden's core ought to be aware of the King of End. But Athena seemed ignorant of his existence.
"Could it be that I had the Dimensional Forum mask the King of End's true name, slowing the Garden core's observation?" Ryo thought while answering, "I'm sure I triggered sufficiently serious consequences. But given the method I used, the effects are likely to unfold gradually afterward."
He didn't bother adding that he was aiming at every pantheon. The one up top — the Cross Pantheon — would take the hardest blow anyway.
"Oh?"
'So that little guy, Ryo Yagami, really controls a two-digit domain of power…' Athena's eyes flickered. 'Was it Another Cosmology, an incomplete two-digit Gift, some special boon, or direct two-digit support?'
After running through possibilities, she said calmly, "In that case, the rewards will be paid once the effects are fully realized."
She could have paid some up front, but given that Ryo had successfully grossed her out, she decided to delay payment.
"Tsk. Even so, it would only cut a portion of his gains. His version of "Athena" who would keep taking half my faith."
"More importantly, Ryo hadn't bothered to hide his 'Athena aura.' He and the "other me" who stole Metis' divinity are lovers? If so, he really could win the fourth-generation Queen's seat."
"A disgusting possibility."
Athena inhaled after organizing her thoughts, then closed her eyes and said, "Of course, you can continue to use my name to a limited extent in your next moves."
"Huh?" Shiroyasha, who had intended only to be a background figure, immediately sounded bewildered.
After being tricked once, Athena was still willing to provide cover? How reckless.
Athena remained composed. "It's just going with the flow."
She thought it through: "given my ties to him and to that "other me," I can't break free anyway. If I go after Ryo, the Thousand Eyes will shield him. If I go after the other me… something about it feels wrong. I might even succeed in killing her, but I'd almost certainly die right after."
She considered it carefully — that was one of the few times she really felt trapped without even knowing all the reasons why. Finally she said, "But I have one condition."
"Say it." Ryo inclined his head slightly, signaling understanding.
Athena's tone turned very serious. "If this becomes something very serious, I suggest you invoke Medusa's blessing."
At the mention of that, Ryo and Shiroyasha both looked awkward.
So the implication was clear: for small matters Athena would openly back Ryo, but for anything big, she'd pin it all on Algol.
This was either trying to make Algol take the fall… or to saddle him with the biggest frying pan possible.
Ryo tapped the tea table with his finger. "Will that work on the gods?"
He didn't care who took the blame—he cared whether the sacrificial lamb could actually bear it without affecting him.
Algol, sealed away, clearly had weaknesses. The gods might suspect the sealed Algol couldn't interfere, and therefore suspect someone else was acting behind the scenes.
"Can you even make Algol the scapegoat?" Shiroyasha's eyes widened.
Athena's expression turned a touch mocking. "My seal on Algol isn't perfect. If she can get past her psychological discomfort, she can still project influence outward."
"I see. It's not that Algol can't escape; she simply refuses to try. The seal disgusts her so much she won't spend the energy to break it." Ryo finally understood Athena's plan.
"I'll do my best," he said vaguely.
Of course, 'do my best' was all he'd promise. If even Algol couldn't shoulder it, Ryo thought privately, "I'll drag you down with me and share the heat."
.
.
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