— — — — — —
East Area time, 2:30 PM.
It hadn't even been two hours since Ares and Hermes were defeated.
Uesugi Kenshin, dressed in a brown women's suit with her hair tied in a single ponytail, paid another visit to Arcadia's territory. She brought along the Earth Mother Goddess, Prithvi Mata.
...
Arcadia HQ — Second floor, inside the office
Standing in front of the liquor cabinet, Ryo asked without turning around, "Tea or wine?"
Kenshin, led in by Leticia, glanced at him. She hesitated, then said, "Wine's fine. Anything works."
"Kid, you just took down Ares and Hermes, and you still have the leisure to offer us drinks?" Mata said with a smile as she stepped inside. Her eyes flicked subtly toward Asura on the sofa before returning to Ryo.
"You don't have to drink," Ryo replied flatly.
Holding three glasses between his fingers, he grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the cabinet and rolled his eyes. "By the way, all I've got is regular stuff. If you want something fancy, bring your own."
"So stingy," Mata muttered.
She walked over beside Kenshin, spread her arms, and flopped down onto the sofa with a thump. Her body bounced a couple of times, and she sighed in bliss.
"This sofa's nice~"
"Even Buddhist gods care about their surroundings?" Ryo raised an eyebrow as he sat down across from them. Kurousagi took the wine and glasses from his hands.
While Kurousagi poured, Mata grumbled, "I don't care, but uncomfortable is still uncomfortable."
She complained under her breath, then her gaze drifted to Asura sitting beside Ryo.
Asura was staring straight at her with those demon-blood crimson eyes, unblinking.
Mata pulled a face and gave a wry smile. "Hey, hey, don't look at me like that. Yeah, I technically count as one of Indra's subordinates, but I'm not close to that guy at all. I answer directly to the Buddhist side."
After speaking, she paused and shot a look toward Kenshin.
But Kenshin wasn't looking at her. Instead, she spoke calmly to Asura, "Give it up. Indra has no face to meet you."
"No face…" Ryo's brow twitched as he glanced at Asura.
Asura fell silent for a moment, then let out a short, mocking laugh.
Kenshin accepted the wine glass from Kurousagi and set it in front of Asura, her tone steady. "Your matter involves the Seven-Day War from back then. I suggest you go back and check your race records before you go looking for trouble with him again."
"No, wait. Considering the Asura Race's behavior during the War wasn't exactly honorable, I recommend buying information from Thousand Eyes."
"…"
Asura immediately sank into silence.
Kenshin didn't press the issue. She turned to look at Ryo. The calm expression on her face held for a few seconds before the corner of her mouth lifted into a smile.
Raising her glass toward him, she said, "I have to say, you handled this beautifully."
"The Heavenly Army has beef with the Greek gods?" Ryo asked, a little surprised.
"It's not that the Heavenly Army hates Greece," Kenshin replied. "It's that some people in the Heavenly Army don't get along with them."
Mata chimed in with a grin. "Never thought you'd quietly break into the four-digit freak tier with special clearance. No wonder you dared to step up and take over Arcadia's flag."
"It's just thanks to my Another Cosmology," Ryo said with a shrug, sounding relaxed.
After this battle, there was no way the Heavenly Army wouldn't find out he possessed an Another Cosmology. Hiding it was pointless, so he might as well be upfront.
Besides, once they knew he had it, his value in the Heavenly Army's eyes would naturally rise, and that would smooth over a lot of potential friction.
As far as Ryo was concerned, his true trump cards were still the hidden God Cloth and the various Saint Techniques, each with its own unique effects.
As long as those stayed out of sight, some things could safely be kept in the open.
"Another Cosmology…" Mata sighed, then her expression turned bitter. "What a shame. Stuff like that isn't allowed to be printed in the newspapers."
For a reporter, what was the most painful thing in the world? Obviously knowing a secret and being unable to publish it. Nothing hurt more.
And something as classified as Another Cosmology was a taboo even to investigate lightly. Exposing it was out of the question.
Hearing this, Ryo lifted his glass and took a sip. "I can give you some gossip instead."
As he spoke, a strange smile crept onto his face.
"Hermes has a fox-demon lover. She gave him two sons and a daughter. Turns out none of the three are actually his."
"Zeus, Poseidon, and Ares all had a hand in it. Ares admitted it himself."
"Pff—!" Mata had just raised her glass when she sprayed wine everywhere. She stared at him with a bizarre expression. "You're kidding. They're pulling this crap again?"
'Again?' Ryo's face twitched, but he wisely kept quiet.
"Yeah, okay. Expecting the Greeks to have any sense of decency was clearly my mistake," Mata muttered.
She let out a long sigh. "Just thinking about how our Heavenly Army has to clean up after those idiots makes my chest hurt."
Ryo watched her kneading at her boobs, glanced once, then immediately looked away. Without changing expression, he asked, "So the Heavenly Army wants to make peace?"
At that, Kenshin sighed. "Quite the opposite. According to some of the god factions, the Heavenly Army shouldn't mediate at all. They'd rather see you and Greece completely fall out, even fight to the death."
Ryo turned his head to look at her.
Kenshin shook her head helplessly. "You've probably already guessed why. Given the strength you've shown so far, you clashing head-on with Greece actually serves the interests of other god factions."
"Ohh?" Understanding the game, Ryo smiled faintly and swirled his wine. "You want me to charge in at the front? Sure. What are they offering in exchange?"
Everyone knew Greece's dominance over lower-tier faiths made other pantheons jealous. There was no shortage of wolves eager to tear off a chunk.
As long as the price was right, Ryo didn't mind being used as a blade. And if he happened to stab the people paying him while he was at it, that sounded appealing too.
The muddier the waters, the safer he was. Why not?
After hearing him, Mata burst out laughing. "You're overthinking it. Those low-tier gods? If we hadn't shown up, stirring trouble and watching the fight from the sidelines would've been more their style."
"No money, but they want me to risk my life? They're dreaming," Ryo snorted. "I'd love to know if they even dare to say their names out loud."
He laughed coldly. Against three-digit gods, maybe he'd still be cautious. But four-digit ones? After testing himself against Ares and Hermes, he didn't think he had much to fear.
Mata chuckled. "If they dared to give their names, they wouldn't be getting pressed down by Greece in the first place."
"Relax. At most, they'll gripe a bit. If they had the ability to force someone like you to fight, they would've done it long ago."
Kenshin nodded beside her, then added, "The real problem is Zeus. And you."
She lifted her head and fixed Ryo with a steady gaze.
"Indra sent us here to keep you from acting on impulse and dragging yourself into a full-blown war with all of Greece. He wants the Heavenly Army to act as a mediator."
After a brief pause, she continued, "After all, behind Greece there are likely those two from Thousand Eyes. No amount of caution is excessive."
'Those two from Thousand Eyes…' Ryo's face stayed neutral, but inside he felt strangely conflicted.
Weren't those two also backing him? What was this, family fighting family?
Ryo let out a short laugh and said, "I'm fine with mediation. As long as Zeus bows his head, apologizes, and throws in a few small gifts, we can call it even. I'm a good guy, after all."
Kenshin's mouth twitched.
Getting someone like Zeus to apologize was harder than killing him. And this counted as "fine"? He clearly wanted to grind Zeus's face into the dirt.
Beside them, Mata slapped her forehead, speechless. "Funny thing is, Greece put out a message too. Pretty similar, actually. No ransom. Worst case, you tear up the hostages and both sides go to war."
Hearing that, Ryo laughed in anger. "Let me guess. In the end, they expect me to hand back two chief gods for free?"
"They didn't say that outright," Kenshin replied quickly.
"Not on the surface, sure. You know how it really is," Mata added quietly, fanning the flames. "Oh, and by the way, Athena was just suddenly announced to be entering closed-door seclusion. You can probably guess why."
Kenshin shot Mata a glare and fell silent, clearly acknowledging the truth of it.
Ryo's lips curled upward, his tone playful and dangerous. "If Greece has decided it doesn't want any dignity left… then shouldn't I satisfy their wishes?"
.
.
.