"I will fight alongside you."
Athena spoke somewhat unhappily, seeing Melusine's attitude that completely treated her as an outsider and a nuisance.
"Responsibility for all combat rests solely with me." Melusine's face remained expressionless.
"If you were to fight, you might very well break my promise. Should that happen, I'll send you back to the myths without a second thought."
The thought processes of Heretic Gods weren't something normal humans could comprehend.
Anyone listening could understand Melusine's threat clearly.
Erica knew perfectly well that if Athena hadn't shown any hostility, Lady Melusine would likely have killed her on the spot to resolve the prophecy—just like with the Sword King, dying so silently there wouldn't even be time to cause damage to the surroundings.
Yet what reached Athena's ears sounded like her own child being tough on the outside but soft within.
Dragon-serpents could also be called guardians of the Earth Mother Goddess. Her own child was clearly fulfilling the duty of protecting her, just like Artemis's sacred deer and her own owl.
"I understand your meaning, but if the moment comes when I must act, I won't stand idly by." Athena's face remained equally expressionless.
Melusine: ...
"...You won't get the chance to act."
Though she found Athena's operating method of only hearing what she wanted and ignoring everything else completely abstract, Melusine had actually vaguely grasped a way to make Athena listen.
Rather than saying she didn't understand human speech, it was more accurate to say she would automatically filter others' words into whatever she wanted to hear.
Under these circumstances, replacing her own tough statements with ambiguous expressions that still conveyed her meaning seemed more appropriate.
Anyway, Athena would translate them into whatever she liked hearing.
Sure enough, Athena immediately broke into a smile:
"I've already prepared myself to be greatly impressed. When the time comes, I'll focus entirely on appreciating your unparalleled valor in all the world."
Well, that worked. After all, she was a Heretic God. Although conversing with her had some frequency mismatches, they could still achieve a certain level of effective communication.
Besides, compared to Erica... even though Erica had relaxed considerably in her presence, Athena's unguarded way of speaking still made her feel more at ease.
Both Melusine and Athena had made plans to kill the Wolf King who would come to seize the Gorgoneion in the future.
However, Melusine wasn't idle enough to directly destroy the concealment spell on the box.
This undoubtedly delayed Athena's recovery of the snake, yet Athena showed little emotion about it.
After all, regaining her completeness was already right before her eyes, and encountering such a powerful child meant her good mood had already surpassed her urgency to reclaim the snake.
That said, Melusine was well aware that Athena's goodwill and compliance rested one-third on her combat prowess, one-third on her identity (dragon-serpent), and one-third on her promise.
If she ultimately decided not to return the Gorgoneion to Athena, Athena would inevitably exhaust every scheme and ounce of power to fight her for it.
Not that she planned to break her word anyway.
On the way back, the three didn't intend to walk.
Erica hesitated whether to mention the airplane model, but ultimately kept silent. They all boarded the black sedan and returned to Lucretia's villa.
Though Arianna wasn't skilled at driving or cooking, she could keep everything else in perfect order. The clean, tidy room filled with Greek style, even if not a palace, was enough to satisfy Athena.
She hadn't been a Heretic God for a short time, but had always wandered along the path of pursuing the snake. Not to mention having a comfortable place to rest, she hadn't even tried proper meals.
This sudden idle state also made her feel unaccustomed.
But she was, after all, the goddess of wisdom.
In just two days, Athena quickly adapted to human domestic life—eating, cooking, watching TV, and even taking some walks.
Not only that, after Erica brought back a fighter jet model from outside and Melusine placed it on her nightstand, Athena announced that next time Erica went out, she would accompany her.
The following day, she experienced shopping, watching movies, playing arcade games, reading at the library, and other wildly popular entertainment activities.
Erica was astounded.
A Heretic God who understood human pleasures so well?!
"As the goddess of wisdom, I have no reason not to try activities that broaden my knowledge." Athena actually had a good impression of Erica, so she offered an explanation.
Understanding when to advance or retreat, possessing great strength, beautiful appearance, courageous character—Athena had always liked humans like this, even now as a Heretic God.
If Erica weren't already Melusine's person, Athena might have even wanted to bestow a divine blessing upon her.
After experiencing a multitude of entertainment activities, early the next morning, Athena directly knocked on Melusine's door.
"Melusine, your behavior is far too lazy." Her face was expressionless.
"Obviously still a young dragon, yet so attached to your nest—I can no longer stand by and watch."
Though dragons could sleep for years, decades, or even centuries, when not asleep they were quite spirited, especially young dragons.
Yet from Melusine, she couldn't see any of a young dragon's vitality at all.
"...How am I being too lazy?" Melusine hadn't expected to be woken by Athena while sleeping so soundly.
In response to her question, Athena's expression remained completely unchanged.
If you looked closely, you could almost see the meaning, 'You still have no self-awareness?'
Melusine felt somewhat embarrassed.
When she first arrived in this world, she'd felt bored.
Originally, she resisted the laziness her body brought—as an inheritor of the Taixu Sword Qi, how could she fail to maintain a proper, regular schedule?
But as time passed, she gradually gave in. After all, waking early and sleeping early left nothing to do anyway.
Now that Athena had pointed it out, that guilty feeling could no longer be hidden.
She simply changed the subject.
"As part of the dragons born at the planet's dawn, how could I possibly be a young dragon?"
"But you are not them yourself, even if you possess their memories." Athena, always acting according to her own will, directly announced her arrangement:
"I have fully comprehended human activities and entertainment. From now on, I shall serve as the guiding light on your path."
Erica, who had been observing from nearby, hadn't expected this development.
So Athena had familiarized herself with human activities so quickly just to serve as a guide for Lady Melusine?
Although in legends, Athena often did serve as a guide illuminating heroes' paths... but after becoming a Heretic God, she still retained this instinct?
Actually, Athena just wanted to find reasonable excuses to increase their intimacy through 'parent-child activities'.
Erica didn't understand, but Erica was happy to see it happen. She just didn't know what Lady Melusine thought about it.
Facing two gazes filled with emotion, plus the guilt deep inside, and the frustration from being teased about her laziness by other Amber in the group two days ago—even with some lingering sleepiness—Melusine propped herself up and sat upright in bed.
That's right! No more laziness! With this perfect opportunity, starting today she would change herself and maintain a regular work and rest schedule!
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.