— — — — — —
Back at [No Name]'s base
After dropping the supplies in the storage room and leaving the kids and Black Rabbit to sort everything out, Ryo made his way to the lounge.
On the white sofa, he spotted the silver-haired Athena calmly sipping coffee.
"Only you here?"
He spoke as he walked over, sat across from her, and poured himself a cup.
"Leticia took Luo Hao and Lancelot to the underground library. Apparently, they've got some memory stones there recording battles between strong fighters."
Athena took a small sip, then said with a hint of amusement, "Steel gods are always like that. Obsessed with combat, violence, and glory."
"I feel like you're calling them battle junkies."
Ryo muttered and took a drink, then added, "I just went to negotiate with the other you."
"I figured."
Athena held her cup with a faint smile. "I'm probably already a piece on her game board."
"You know her well," Ryo said, leaning back with a grin.
"For me, reclaiming the glory of the Mother Earth is the highest priority."
"But for the Athena of Little Garden, overthrowing Zeus and becoming king of the gods is definitely in her top three goals."
She lowered her gaze, staring into the surface of her coffee. Her shoulders relaxed a little.
"I can't stand in her way anytime soon. Naturally, she has no reason to target me right now."
"Let me guess—she just tossed out a few meaningless conditions and agreed?"
"More exaggerated than that."
Ryo let out a dry laugh, then pulled a necklace from his gift card and placed it before her. "She asked me to hand this over—conditionally."
Athena looked down. The moment she saw the necklace, her expression froze in astonishment.
"Pallas's divinity… she did that?"
Ryo blinked. "You already get what she's aiming for?"
"The Little Garden Athena said you'd understand the moment you saw it, but this is like hive-mind levels of synchronicity. Are you two conjoined souls or something?"
"I can only guess part of it."
Athena set down her cup and picked up the necklace, her voice carrying disbelief. "The word 'substitute' should tell you enough."
"Oh. That makes sense then." Ryo nodded.
Just like when he stirred up trouble in unobserved worlds and always made sure someone else took the fall.
So Athena wanted a stand-in. Something to give her an alibi. And Pallas's divine seat was probably the payment.
"Maybe that's not all, but I can't confirm." She thought for a moment, then fastened the necklace around her neck.
Immediately, her form shifted—her petite appearance maturing into that of a maiden.
Feeling the surge of power, silver-haired Athena let out a soft sigh. "My strength rose again. Shame I probably still can't replicate her authority."
At that moment, she and Ryo both lifted their heads, eyes meeting.
They realized the same thing.
There was no way Athena would allow this kind of loophole to exist unmonitored.
Ryo spoke with a peculiar expression. "I saw an owl when I left Thousand Eyes."
Athena frowned slightly and explained, "In mythology, owls are my messengers. Likely the same here."
"Hoo… hoo…"
Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, an owl circled, wings beating steadily.
Ryo stood and opened the small side window.
The owl swooped in and landed on the coffee table, using its beak to preen its feathers.
"Interesting..."
Athena reached out and stroked its head. As she did, the necklace at her throat emitted a gentle glow.
"Hoo…"
The owl let out one last soft cry before its body began to glow, dissolving into light. When the glow faded, an olive wreath lay quietly on the table.
It looked simple. Plain, as if someone casually twisted a few olive branches together. Nothing strange about it at all.
"Tsk! She doesn't trust me at all." Ryo approached.
"So, planning to wear it?" He reminded Athena with his tone that this came with risks.
"It's a fair exchange."
Athena lifted the Olive Wreath with both hands and placed it on her head.
Everything seemed normal—or rather, that was just to the naked eye.
Through the perception linked to his small cosmos, Ryo felt Athena's aura rapidly expanding, twisting, becoming… untraceable.
"What was it?"
Athena's voice was low as she replied, "The wreath carries the authority of War."
She paused, then gave a faint, self-mocking smile. "She's pushed farther into the three-digit realm than we imagined."
Ryo froze. Then he exhaled slowly. "And thinking Zeus is even stronger than her is making my scalp go numb."
'Thank god I didn't do anything stupid and expose myself in front of the gods…' he thought, deeply relieved.
Just one wreath, and she split off a piece of authority, boosting silver-haired Athena to a level that would be difficult for him to handle without igniting his cosmos.
The three-digits of Little Garden were terrifying.
But that terror made Ryo feel both relieved… and thrilled. This is how a man should live!
A Saint of the Sixth Sense could live for tens of thousands of years. Seventh Sense, for millions. Three digits were not out of his reach.
With that thought, Ryo steadied his excitement and asked seriously, "So what's your current ranking?"
"Four-digit — irregular freak class."
Athena answered, but her tone held resignation. "But honestly, I don't think I can rival you."
She was starting to suspect she might be the weakest four-digit freak in history.
Before Little Garden, she'd barely rank as an elite five-digit.
"Looks like I can stay the strongest in the community a bit longer." Ryo flopped onto the sofa, crossing one leg over the other with a grin.
"Anyway, I'll be heading back to the Campione world tomorrow. Want to go home in glory?"
"When a spirit rank shifts this drastically, I can't descend to the lower realm." Athena replied calmly, then added, "And Luo Hao and Lancelot probably won't leave the underground library for a while."
She lifted her cup again and blew lightly across the surface. "Fortunately, you still have some wifeys over there. You shouldn't get too lonely."
Ryo shrugged and flopped onto the couch, casually wrapping his arms around Athena.
"You look gorgeous right now, by the way. Compared to your last adult form, you have… bigger assets." He smirked.
"Let's test them~"
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.
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