— — — — — —
Leticia spotted Ryo and Asura at once, and then her gaze dropped to the two figures lying on the ground.
One of them was a handsome young man with red hair and blue eyes, dressed in bronze armor, his face full of smug self-satisfaction.
That expression struck Leticia as absurd.
What was there to be proud of when you were lying here like a captured prisoner?
The other, a blond, blue-eyed youth, looked far more "normal."
His eye sockets were sunken, dark circles heavy, his face pale and unfocused, as if he still couldn't accept reality.
Now that was what a defeated person was supposed to look like. Leticia gave a slight nod, confirming their identities.
Two of the Twelve Olympians of Greece.
Ares, god of war and battle. Hermes, god of commerce and theft.
So it really was those two…
Beside her, Kurousagi also recognized them, and her face instantly fell.
The next second, she bit her lower lip, eyes reddening. Half frightened, half indignant, she shouted, "RYO YAGAMI—!"
"Easy…" Leticia raised a hand, stopping Kurousagi before she could rush over and bite him. She was about to say "it's not really a big deal," but forced herself to swallow the words and instead put on a strained smile. "They're still alive. It shouldn't turn into anything too catastrophic."
Even so, tying up two Greek gods and putting them on public display in the street hardly looked like something that wouldn't cause trouble. Still, at a moment like this, the priority was figuring out exactly what had happened so they could plan their next move.
Offending the Greek pantheon was no joke. Even if Athena stepped in to mediate, Leticia didn't believe that kind of mediation would come without a price.
Any blessing granted by the gods carried a cost. Leticia knew that all too well.
"In any case, let's carry them… uh, please come inside."
She almost said "carry them in," but that felt too humiliating, so she switched to a more polite phrasing at the last second.
"But, Lady Leticia…" Kurousagi looked over at her, eyes pleading.
Things had only just started getting better, and now Ryo had already provoked two of the Twelve Olympians, and not just any two, but the ones famous for being petty. If this kind of "enthusiasm" wasn't curbed now, what was he going to do next, pick a fight with Zeus?
The rabbit's poor heart couldn't take this pace.
At that moment, hearing the word "please," the supposedly dead Ares finally perked up.
"Hah! Looks like someone here has eyes," he barked. "Hurry up and untie me. Bring good wine and meat while you're at it."
Kurousagi shrank back at his shouting and asked nervously, "Um… Lord Ares… was there some kind of misunderstanding between you and Ryo earlier?"
"Misunderstanding?" Ares grinned smugly. "Oh, there was a huge misunderstanding. Let me tell you—"
Ryo cut in calmly, "He tried to ambush and kill me."
In an instant, Kurousagi's face went blank. She turned her head toward Jin Russell beside her and said flatly, "Drag them inside."
"Oh, right. I think there are extra thumbtacks in the office. You can casually drop some on the floor later. And bring salt and chili powder too."
"Huh? Y-Yes!" Jin Russell, seeing this expression on Kurousagi's face for the first time, nodded reflexively and hurried into the center, panic written all over him.
Ares' expression stiffened.
He was speechless for a couple of seconds. And when he realized Jin Russell was actually going to prepare "torture equipment," his face collapsed. He glared at Kurousagi, clearly annoyed.
"Hey, little bunny, that's not fair! I'm Zeus' son!"
"I'm Indra's great-granddaughter," Kurousagi shot back quietly. "Who's afraid of who?"
With that, Ares couldn't really lean on his background anymore.
If you really compared them, Indra and Zeus held roughly equal status in Little Garden.
Sure, being Hera's legitimate son might make Ares sound more prestigious, but the last remaining royal-line Moon Rabbit wasn't exactly beneath Indra's notice either.
Besides, Zeus' personality was far worse than Indra's. If you really tallied things up, he probably couldn't overpower this rabbit at all.
Still, losing in position didn't mean losing in attitude. Even as the weaker side, Ares intended to mouth off a bit. After all, the war god wasn't some spineless coward.
But just as he was about to open his mouth, a chill ran through him.
He turned his head and met a face as calm and still as if the world itself had paused.
Ryo raised an eyebrow slightly and said in a strange tone, "You don't seem to understand your position as a prisoner."
Ares froze, opened his mouth, then cursed, "Bastard Hermes."
Hermes' eyelid twitched, but he didn't respond. He simply stared up at the sky in silence, a single tear sliding from the corner of his eye.
Leticia watched the two of them with a strange expression, but said nothing more. She just sighed. "Bring them inside first."
As she spoke, she stepped aside and nodded to Ryo.
Without changing his expression, Ryo lifted a finger. Two bands of pure energy extended outward, binding Ares and Hermes, and he even thoughtfully tied them into very obvious bow knots.
Kurousagi (Black Rabbit) glanced at him and said nothing.
Ryo walked over casually, took the end of the light band tied to Ares, and handed it to Kurousagi.
If she said she was dragging you away, she would drag you away. Don't argue with this rabbit.
...
Before long, Ryo and Kurousagi each hauled one of them into the civic center.
Click. Click.
From well-lit spots in the surrounding buildings, figures holding cameras snapped photos of the scene, capturing every moment.
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