Originally downcast and ashamed, the blue-haired Nymph suddenly lifted her head at those words. Her eyes lit up, brimming with hope.
She nodded vigorously, flapped her wings, and flew toward the valley where she had first found the young eagle.
The man remained where he stood, one hand resting on the blonde girl's shoulder as he raised the other in farewell.
This snake is such a good person!
The blue-haired Nymph's eyes shone with gratitude, her heart swelling with a warmth she couldn't quite put into words.
Meanwhile, the blonde girl, being held back, grew furious and bared her teeth.
"Samael, whose side are you on?!"
Bang!
A dull flick landed square on her forehead, making the Nymph crouch down while clutching her head, glaring up with wounded resentment.
Her gritted teeth almost begged to tear a chunk out of the seemingly biased arbitrator in front of her.
"Are you stupid? You believe everything you hear!"
Samael, clearly exasperated, caught her dazed look and delivered another sharp flick to her not-so-bright head.
"Were you lying about the eagle's nest just now? Could Crenaia be in danger?"
The blonde girl's eyes sharpened, a trace of worry flashing across her pretty face.
Well, at least this girl isn't heartless. That's one redeeming quality.
"Why would I need to lie? It's all true."
Samael gave a slight nod, his expression easing as he refrained from pressing further.
"Then why won't you let me check the nest? That's too much!"
The blonde girl let out a relieved breath but soon started struggling again, her face bright with eagerness, clearly itching to dive into this "eagle's nest adventure."
"I told you, you're hopeless. No sense at all. What I said just now was only a possibility!"
"Possibility! Do you understand?"
The little girl frowned in confusion and shook her head slightly.
Samael tilted his head back and pressed a hand to his forehead, his cheek twitching in frustration.
"Yes, it's true the giant eagle ran into trouble, and it's true the chick fell from the nest. But it's been so long—how do we know whether the chicks starved, were eaten, or met with some other accident? All of that is possible!"
"You already got what you wanted. Is there really any need to take that risk?"
That… did make sense.
The blonde loli scratched her head, a hint of understanding dawning on her.
Samael cast her a sidelong glance, then let out a cold snort.
"Besides, I'm cleaning up your mess!"
"That girl, Crenaia, she's stubborn. If you don't give her some distraction, you'll never get any peace."
"Arbitration only settles what's on the surface. It doesn't always resolve the real problem."
"If she's willing to accept defeat and back down, you should count yourself lucky. Who knows, with a bit of luck, you might even turn an enemy into a friend."
But his words—practical advice, the kind only an adult would give—clearly went right over her head.
The blonde girl rose on tiptoe, patted Samael's shoulder, and beamed.
"Hehe, I knew you'd be on my side, Samael! That's why I came to you."
"As an arbitrator, I uphold justice. Naturally, I stand on the side of what's right!"
Samael rolled his eyes, snorting coldly in emphasis.
But the blonde Nymph only looked at him with an ambiguous smile, as if to say, "We're all in this together."
"Hmph, don't think I didn't notice. That first line you said—'the eaglet is injured'—was just to mislead us."
"So as long as Crenaia started with that false assumption, no matter how she guessed, she could never be right! Which means this thing is mine!"
Convinced she had seen through the ancient serpent's scheme, the little water Nymph lifted her chin proudly, one hand on her hip, radiating confidence.
"Hmph, I was the first to grab it, so of course it's mine! Even if the Mother of Serpents showed up, what's mine would still be mine!"
She bent a finger and gently stroked the eaglet's fluffy head, murmuring softly.
"Little one, just hold on a bit longer. I'll get you some dry, soft grass and feed you properly."
But a sharp flick came from the side, striking the blonde Nymph on the head again, followed by a cold snort.
"If the Mother of Serpents were the one fighting you for this, she'd get it right without fail."
The Mother of Serpents, Echidna, ruled the Cilician Marshes. Her strength had already reached the level of a major god, and she held authority over both earth and death.
"Impossible!"
Clutching her head and baring her teeth, the blonde Nymph shook her head fiercely, refusing to believe it.
"The eaglet's legs aren't broken at all. No matter what answer she gave, it wouldn't be right. It would still end up mine!"
Samael shot her a look, half amused, half mocking, then picked up two dry twigs from the ground and held them in his hand.
"Why don't you try playing the role of Echidna yourself?"
From behind the bushes, the goddess paused mid-step, turning curiously to watch.
"I guess the left leg! Don't even need to think about it, it's definitely—"
The blonde Nymph replied carelessly, about to finalize her claim, when a sharp crack rang by her ear.
"Congratulations, you guessed correctly, Mother of Serpents."
The ancient serpent opened his hand with a smile, revealing the twig in his left hand had been snapped.
"Then the right leg…"
The blonde Nymph blurted out, hastily switching her answer.
"Snap!"
"You guessed correctly again."
Samael's smile faded. His eyes narrowed as he broke the twig in his right hand, bowing slightly, his tone layered with meaning.
"Still don't get it? Mother of Serpents, no matter which leg is broken, no matter whether this eaglet lives or dies—your answer will always be right."
The Nymph froze, utterly shaken.
Wait… it can work like this?
That's absurd!
If he wanted to favor Crenaia, Samael could have just broken one of the eaglet's legs to match her answer and handed it over. Which meant this question never had a fixed answer—and at the same time, every answer was correct.
Right and wrong depended entirely on how the arbitrator chose.
"Samael, you're awful! That's completely unfair!"
The blonde Nymph's worldview began to crack apart. She puffed up in outrage, only to earn herself another round of cold laughter and sharp flicks.
"Unfair? You're the stupid one!"
"With Echidna's strength, she could squash us with one slap, and you think you can reason with her, try to snatch something from her hands?"
"You want to get yourself killed, fine—but don't drag me down with you. I haven't lived nearly long enough!"
The blonde loli crouched on the ground, covering her head as she dodged the flicks, eyes brimming with tears of frustration.
"You liar! You're disloyal! Why is it okay when it's Crenaia?"
Samael kept flicking her head rhythmically, grinding his teeth as he snorted coldly.
"Nonsense! If she doesn't listen and tries to use force, I can just crush her on the spot!"
"You too! If you lose your temper, I can guarantee the aftermath gets cleaned up, and no one will ever know! Who would even dare come here to cause trouble?"
"Otherwise, once things spiral out of control, you think I'd really want to arbitrate for you?"
The fierce scolding—half threat, half lecture—lasted only a moment. Then the ancient serpent seized the blonde Nymph by the back of her neck, his vertical pupils boring into her.
"Listen, brat. Only when you're on equal footing do you get the chance to sit down and talk about fairness."
"If the gap is too big, this—"
His sandbag-sized fist swung before her nose.
"—this is what counts as fairness."
"So next time, use your head. Stop being such a stubborn fool. Understand, Daphne?"
From behind the bushes, the goddess who had witnessed the entire exchange was just as stunned.
Law and arbitration… could actually be twisted like this?