Offering a maiden's purity to appease a god or a Demon Lord was a rather common trope in the mainstream narratives of Little Garden.
So, Athena's meaning was clear.
If the gods were angered by the disrespect of a mere human girl like Canary, they should consider her identity and her relationship with Su Mo.
If a human girl was not enough to bear this disrespect...
...what about a maiden who offered herself to quell the tyranny of a Demon Lord or a god?
Did she not have the right to be a little willful due to her morning temper?
This line of reasoning directly framed Canary as a maiden who had offered herself to the Demon Lord Su Mo.
According to this logic, not only could the gods not be angry, but they also owed her a favor.
All the gods present knew Athena was speaking up for Canary, but none could refute her rhetoric.
After all, the ironclad facts were right before their eyes.
Since the subjugation of the Demon Lord of Absolute Evil and the display of his good relationship with Arcadia, this powerhouse who used to cause a major stir every other week had indeed quieted down a lot.
At least, for the past few months, he had been very well-behaved.
Whether this was due to Canary offering her body or not, they couldn't rule out the possibility.
Moreover, considering Athena's divine authority as a virgin goddess, her judgment on chastity should be infallible.
Canary was once a famously old spinster, yet now, just a few months after meeting Su Mo, she had lost her virginity. Their relationship was also extremely close, which suggested they could indeed have that kind of connection.
And if this was true, they needed to be much more cautious in how they treated Canary.
Even if they refused to acknowledge the favor and didn't believe Canary had sacrificed herself for them, they still had to consider her importance to Su Mo before deciding whether to punish her.
As everyone knew, the Holy Mother of the Cross-Patriarchy had not yet returned to her position.
The possibility of Canary inheriting the position of the Virgin Mary was low, but not zero.
They could ignore a human girl, they could even ignore a saint who sacrificed herself for the world, but they could not ignore a woman who might have an intimate relationship with Su Mo.
And so, the gods fell silent.
If they had known earlier that Canary and Su Mo had this kind of relationship, they wouldn't have dared to make a move, let alone for some morning temper—even if Canary had stood there with her hands on her hips and cursed them out.
Such was the deterrent power Su Mo had established by once taking on the entire divine host alone.
"Wait!"
After the gods quieted down, it was Canary who spoke up.
Her tone was full of dissatisfaction, not because Athena was defending her, but because of the way Athena had described it.
"What do you mean, 'with my abilities, it was a great effort to offer myself'?! Teacher Athena, are you underestimating me? I'm still a beautiful young maiden!"
Shivering with rage! Can't a thousand-year-old girl still be considered a maiden?!
Weren't Leticia and Lamia both older than her?
They still got a seat at the table, and much earlier than she did.
Was she being discriminated against just because she couldn't transform into a loli?
"...That's not what I meant."
Not expecting Canary to focus on such a detail and twist her words, Athena was speechless and couldn't help but press a hand to her forehead as she explained.
"Then what did you mean... You're not married either. No wonder Al-chan said you're a fake 'riajuu'."
Canary muttered under her breath.
"What? Algol?"
Hearing her enemy's name, a cold glint flashed in Athena's eyes, but she quickly suppressed it.
"Hmph! To slander a goddess's reputation in public. It seems that even after being sealed for so long, that one hasn't learned her lesson at all."
"But never mind. This goddess has no need to bicker with a former loser. Speaking of fake 'riajuu', with that perverse personality of hers, she barely has any friends. What right does she have to mock me?"
"..."
Hearing Athena's words, a strange light flickered in Canary's eyes.
Actually, Algol did have the right to look down on Athena in the realm of romance.
Perhaps when she was sealed during the dawn of Little Garden, Algol's words were pure jealousy. But now, she indeed had a bit more experience than the virgin goddess Athena.
After all, while her personality was a bit arrogant, as a Star Spirit, her looks were top-notch.
Although with her intelligence she hadn't noticed the signs before, Canary had personally seen a drunk Algol run to Su Mo's room to fight with Shiroyasha over the "Seed of Life."
"Hm?"
As the goddess of wisdom, Athena was as sharp as Canary. She immediately guessed something from Canary's reaction, and her expression froze.
However, now was not the time to discuss such matters.
In the eyes of the gods, the content of Athena and Canary's conversation was not important. What mattered was that Athena had restrained those who wanted to test the waters and, relying on their past friendship, had established peaceful communication with Canary.
This showed that there was still a basis for communication between the two sides.
So, as soon as the two finished their pleasantries, a god immediately spoke up.
"Canary, can you answer a few questions for us? Is Su Mo... Lord Su Mo at your Arcadia? Where have you all been this whole time? What have you been doing?"
At first glance, it sounded like an interrogation.
But the expressions on the gods' faces were extremely tense.
It was less anger and more like their asses were on fire, yet they had to pretend everything was fine—a frantic anxiety.
Canary knew why the gods had gathered and what they were asking, but she still feigned innocence and asked in return.
"My esteemed gods, even a census check isn't this thorough, is it? As for such private matters, I don't believe Arcadia has any reason to report them to you."
"If you really want to know, why don't you go ask Lord Su Mo yourselves? Perhaps Lord Su Mo will be merciful enough to answer your inquiries, hm?"
Hearing such a firm reply, a god frowned deeply and said in a low voice.
"Canary, don't force us!"
Hearing this, Canary raised an eyebrow.
"And what if I insist?"
"Then I'll have no choice but to—"
This god stepped forward, holding a flaming longbow, his fighting spirit blazing.
The next moment—
"Then I'll have no choice but to kneel and beg Su Mo!"
The War God Indra slapped this martial god aside, raised both hands above his head in a gesture of surrender, and in a thunderous voice, spoke the most cowardly words imaginable.
"Don't force us to kneel and beg you!"