Just as Su Mo was pondering how to transfer the Heretic Arthur's power to Artoria with maximum efficiency, Pandora suddenly sidled up, poked his arm, and said with a grin:
"Let me guess what my most adorable child is worried about right now?"
"Is it that you want your little knight to directly obtain King Arthur's complete~ Divinity?"
Guessing Su Mo's thoughts wasn't difficult, as he had never hidden his intentions. But to bring it up at this moment, with such a smug look on her face...
"You have a way?" Su Mo asked, slightly surprised.
"Of course! Who do you think I am!" Pandora immediately puffed out her chest, looking proud. "I am an Earth Mother Goddess who has existed since ancient times! I possess the wisdom of a top-tier Earth Mother. Although this matter is quite difficult, it's no match for the wisdom I've accumulated over thousands of years!"
After boasting a bit, she looked up at Su Mo, her tone changing.
"If a certain disobedient child of mine were willing to call me 'Mommy' and act cute for me, I wouldn't mind telling him all this knowledge!"
The purple-haired, twin-tailed goddess blinked, her eyes full of suggestion.
"The wisdom of a top-tier Earth Mother..."
Hearing this, Su Mo had a flash of realization.
In the Campione! world, Earth Mother Goddesses, as the most primitive gods born during the matriarchal era, had top-tier control over the earth and magic. In this aspect, the vast majority of Steel Hero Gods were no match for them.
Any Earth Mother Goddess who had survived from the Age of Gods to the present day basically had her own hidden depths.
For example, Athena in the original story hid the spell known as the Blade of Darkness. This spell was also called the "Sword of Beginning and End" and the "Rite of World Creation." Though not an Authority, it possessed power rivaling one, even able to match the Last King's white star that could instantly kill a Godslayer.
Circe from the original story also hid the Dawn-Breaker's Grimoire, which could bypass Pandora's dark ritual.
From this, it could be inferred that Pandora, also an ancient Earth Mother Goddess, should possess a similar level of wisdom.
Whether by logical deduction or from Pandora's completely unconcealed emotional fluctuations, Su Mo could be certain that Pandora wasn't lying. She really did have a solution.
However, he didn't follow Pandora's suggestion because of this. Instead, he asked impassively, "How can you prove you're not lying?"
Faced with Su Mo's doubt, not only was Pandora not unhappy, but her eyes even lit up. She had originally made an outrageous demand, leaving plenty of room for Su Mo to bargain. She hadn't expected him to skip the haggling and go straight for the most crucial point.
Didn't this mean her child might actually agree to her request?
"That's easy to prove! The principle isn't complicated, actually. Do you remember how married gods in the myths share their authorities?"
Seeing Su Mo about to take the bait, Pandora immediately began to explain with a beaming smile, hoping to gain his trust.
"I remember... I see. I understand now."
Su Mo pondered for two seconds, then a look of realization crossed his face.
"In the process of Steel Hero Gods replacing Earth Mother Goddesses, besides directly seizing their authorities, they also turned them into their wives, daughters, or subordinates, continuously obtaining the Earth Mother's authority through this method."
"This mythological paradigm, during times of intense conflict, generally manifested as a Steel Hero God vanquishing a monster, marrying a princess, and becoming a king. Taking Perseus and Zeus as examples, the hero gods obtained the authority and power of the original goddesses."
"And during times of peace, it generally manifested as a renowned goddess marrying a male god. Then, the once-active goddess would gradually fade into the background, replaced by the active male god. Hades, the king of the underworld, is this type."
"Hestia, Artemis, Athena—the reason the three virgin goddesses of Greek mythology swore to remain chaste, besides their duty to protect virgins, was most likely to prevent their divine offices from being eroded."
"So, to transfer one's own authority to an attendant, one only needs to apply this principle in reverse and share the authority with the other party through a contract similar to that of married gods."
"And to do that, one only needs to slightly adjust the formula of the Usurpation Cycle!"
With Su Mo's level of comprehension, he often only needed a single spark of inspiration. As long as the principle was sound, weaving the spell was a simple matter.
"Huh?"
Miss Pandora was completely dumbfounded.
When she heard Su Mo's first sentence, she hadn't felt any sense of crisis at all, only pride. As expected of my favorite child, so smart.
When she heard the second paragraph, she was a little surprised, thinking to herself that she absolutely could not reveal any more information until he called her "Mommy."
Then, her expression went from nervous to panicked in less than a second.
Finally, when she heard Su Mo directly arrive at the correct answer, she was utterly flabbergasted.
Wait, how did he deduce all that from just one sentence?
It wasn't that she didn't know Su Mo's comprehension was terrifying, which was why she hadn't said much before, just giving the simplest of hints.
Who could have thought that with just that one hint, Su Mo would figure out the entire top-level framework of the spell's principle in a matter of seconds?
That was the wisdom Earth Mother Goddesses had accumulated over thousands of years, and Su Mo had figured it out in just a few seconds?
Seeing Su Mo about to cast her aside and try to rewrite the Usurpation Cycle's formula himself, Pandora panicked. She grabbed Su Mo's arm, her eyes welling with tears.
"N-No! This isn't what we agreed on at all! What happened to calling me 'Mommy' and acting cute for me?"
Faced with the goddess's wishful thinking, Su Mo asked back with perfect calm, "Did I ever agree to your request?"
"No."
"Did you directly transfer the wisdom of the Earth Mother Goddesses to me?"
"...No."
"Then what are you still talking about?"
"..."
Pandora froze, feeling completely bewildered. "Wait! If that's the case, didn't I do all that for nothing?"
"Not entirely for nothing. Your words did give me some inspiration. I can thank you for that, but it's not enough to warrant a transaction."
Su Mo wasn't the type to turn his back on people. It was just that...
"That's not the kind of thanks I want!"
Plop. Pandora fell to her knees, looking utterly dejected. "I just want to be close to my child! Why are you doing this to me!"
Seeing her pitiful appearance, Su Mo bent down and patted the goddess's head.
"Pandora."
"What is it? Has little Su Mo had a change of heart? Are you going to give Mommy a comforting hug?" Pandora immediately looked up, her eyes full of expectation.
"No. I was going to say, you're in my way." Su Mo shook his head.
Seeing Pandora give him the look of an abandoned puppy, he finally shook his head with a hint of speechlessness.
"If you really want to impart the wisdom of the Earth Mother Goddesses to me, I'm not unwilling to accept."
"Really?!"
Hearing this, Pandora's eyes lit up with immense joy.
"Of course. Although I can rewrite the spell myself, it would waste a dozen or so minutes. It would be faster with your knowledge," Su Mo gave his reason, then added, "However, your previous conditions are off the table."
"No problem!"
Pandora immediately scrambled up, incredibly excited.
At this moment, their positions had completely reversed. Before, it was Pandora using the wisdom of the Earth Mother Goddesses as leverage to demand Su Mo satisfy her desire for affection.
Now, it was she who was eagerly offering to impart her wisdom to Su Mo, with no strings attached.
The reason for this role reversal, besides Su Mo having figured out the basic principle himself and being able to deduce the corresponding spell, was another important factor.
Namely—
"Guhehe~ My dear child! Do you know what the only effective method of transferring knowledge is, given a Godslayer's resistance to magical energy?" The purple-haired, twin-tailed goddess lightly touched her lips, her tone becoming slightly seductive.
She suddenly remembered that even without setting conditions, she seemed to have a reasonable opportunity to get close to this child.
"Of course, I know." Su Mo nodded calmly. "Besides Authorities, ordinary spells cannot penetrate the magical energy resistance on a Godslayer's body, and my resistance is even higher than that of an ordinary Godslayer."
"For a knowledge-transfer spell to work on me, it can only be done from within the body. The most convenient methods are oral mucosal contact or sexual intercourse."
Hearing this, Sakura, standing to the side, felt her cheeks burn. Is this something a child should be hearing?
Artoria's cheeks also felt a little warm, but she suppressed it well. She had no trouble understanding the point Su Mo had brought up.
Isn't that just mana transfer?
"I-It doesn't have to go that far! I'm your mother, you know! You can't be disrespectful to your mother!"
Pandora, who had been trying to tease Su Mo, found herself getting embarrassed by his blunt reply. However, in her eyes, Su Mo was the type who was so proper he was almost unapproachable. It wasn't strange for him to say such things.
Therefore—
"Come, my good child. Let Mommy teach you all about a girl's knowledge!"
With a smile that said she held victory in her grasp, the goddess stood on her tiptoes, held onto Su Mo's shoulders, and, with a rather unpracticed posture, pressed her lips directly against his.