— — — — — —
Clack!
The sharp sound of restraints being cut echoed through the room.
In the end, Ryo chose not to be like Zeus, and personally cut Athena free. He might be lustful and rotten, but there were lines he would never cross.
Athena pushed herself up from the floor, rubbing the red marks around her wrists, then looked at Ryo with an amused smile. "That wary look on your face is pretty entertaining."
"What else was I supposed to do when you made it that obvious?" Ryo replied helplessly.
Back when Athena had been teasing Algol, she'd basically been warning him about the kind of tricks Algol liked to pull.
He just never expected Algol to actually scheme against him.
Even if all she'd done was subtly nudge him toward "eating" Athena, having that kind of thought forced on him still pissed him off.
Like hell he needed some kind of external influence to make a move on Athena. What, was that supposed to imply he couldn't do it on his own?
At that moment, Athena spoke calmly. "If you can't hold it back, call the other me over here."
"Can't hold it back? Are you kidding?" Ryo raised a hand, pressing a finger against his temple and grinding hard. "It's just noisy."
His brows were tightly knit.
His mind was flooded with filthy whispers, all of them laced with raw desire directed at Athena.
"..."
Athena watched him, a little surprised. "To be honest, I'm impressed. Algol's Authority over desire barely affects you."
"Don't underestimate a Saint's willpower." Ryo frowned, sounding irritated.
"Athena's Saint." Athena corrected him with a smile, then stepped closer, rose on her toes, and lightly kissed his cheek. "Here. A blessing."
Ryo's mouth twitched.
After she stepped back, he muttered, "When I think about it, if this is all I get for a blessing, I might as well have gone along with Algol and pinned you down."
"If you had, I wouldn't mind declaring war on you right now," Athena said it with a bright smile, like it was a joke.
But Ryo knew better. This woman was dead serious.
The flirting before was one thing, but if he actually crossed that line, she'd probably chase him to the ends of the earth and beyond.
Thinking that, Ryo raised his voice and "whispered" loudly, "You were just telling me not to waste a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Figures. The prettier the woman, the better the liar."
"Thank you for the compliment." Athena conveniently ignored everything except pretty.
Then suddenly, Ryo froze.
Athena was right in front of him, impossibly close, and for a moment his mind went blank as she kissed him on the lips this time.
A few seconds later, Athena stepped back, pulled out a handkerchief from her Gift Card, and casually wiped the corner of her lips.
"Is that reward enough?"
"..."
Ryo said nothing.
His mind was still spinning, completely unable to figure out why Athena had done that. And he felt a little violated.
"So..." Athena turned away like nothing had happened, slowly spinning in place as she surveyed the room. "Do you have any spare rooms?"
Snapping back to himself, Ryo touched his lips, frowning, "What, you really can't get out?"
Athena looked at him like he'd said something absurd. "You seem to be underestimating the power of a three-digit, not to mention a rule-breaker."
Then she warned him, "Just because you resisted Algol's Authority over desire doesn't mean you should look down on her. What affected you just now was only the power leaking from her confidence in her own thoughts."
Ryo's mouth twitched, "You mean…"
"That's right."
Athena nodded lightly and sighed. "It wasn't Algol plotting against you to make you rape me. The moment that thought crossed her mind, her will twisted the laws of Little Garden on its own, and you got caught in the fallout."
"Of course, that's only because she still hasn't fully mastered her power. If she becomes familiar with her Authority Domain, and genuinely holds that same thought again…"
Athena looked at Ryo meaningfully. "Then earlier, it wouldn't have been you resisting some harmless desire. It would've been me physically pinning you down."
Ryo gave her a strange look. "So you like being on top?"
Athena's lips twitched. "Interpret it however you want."
Having gotten his jab in, Ryo shrugged, visibly more relaxed. "So basically, I was just the guy standing on the shore when a typhoon kicked up a wave and splashed me."
"A very fitting comparison." Athena nodded approvingly.
"Anyway, for a while, I'll probably have to stay here and trouble you. And since your loli Athena is still immature with her Authority, I can spend some time training her."
"Training her Authority, huh?" Ryo couldn't help muttering.
Athena nodded before walking toward the stairs. "Things didn't go exactly as I expected, but for now, my plan hasn't really changed."
"Your plan?" Ryo looked curious.
Athena glanced over her shoulder, "Yes. My plan. Originally, I was supposed to be in Mount Meru, under a two-digit's protection, avoiding this Godslayer War."
"But Algol showed up out of nowhere, so now I'm just her prisoner instead."
"The form may have changed, but the result is the same. I'm still under the protection of a Two-Digit powerholder, and I've successfully avoided this war."
"I see." Ryo finally understood.
No wonder Algol had caught Athena at Mount Meru without Thousand Eyes' intelligence network noticing.
Athena had been hiding there in secret, and most likely only she and Shakyamuni Buddha knew about it.
Thinking about it, Ryo sighed. "You owe Buddha a huge favor."
"No. Thanks to Algol, I don't anymore." Athena's lips curved faintly. "But... aren't you going to ask why I wanted to avoid this Godslayer War?"
"Do I need to?" Ryo shrugged. "You've got your reasons. And those reasons are probably Zeus, or the people who hate Greece and hate you. What else could it be?"
"That's true." Athena let out a soft sigh.
Ryo wasn't the only one walking on thin ice in Little Garden. Athena was too.
Struggling carefully, step by step.
The only ones truly free were probably the Two-Digits, or beings who stood on equal footing with them.
And when she thought about it, Algol had reached that level long before her.
For some reason, a trace of bitterness welled up in Athena's heart.
How did that idiot get there before me...?
At that thought, Athena gave Ryo a long, deep look, but said nothing.
She was used to taking her time observing. And now that she'd be staying in Arcadia, there would be plenty of chances to watch him.
Ryo caught the look immediately. "I've got a bad feeling about that look in your eyes."
"You can drop the feeling part." Athena smiled, a little playful. "That reward I gave you? It was my first time. If I don't get the return I deserve, be careful. I'll remember it."
"Would you believe me if I said it was my first time too?" Ryo replied flatly.
Athena laughed, then gradually put away her smile and looked at him seriously. "If you don't want to get dragged into the fallout from Algol's situation, you'd better keep your head down for a while."
Ryo answered calmly, "Don't worry. No one's going to find out."
Athena blinked, then laughed. "That really does sound like you."
"Well, if you already have your own plans, there's no need for me to say more."
After a pause, she added, "By now, Thousand Eyes has probably already sold the relevant intel."
She looked at him one last time.
"Take care of yourself."
With that, she walked up the stairs, following the memory of when she'd impersonated loli Athena before, heading for the third floor to pick a room.
After she left, Ryo narrowed his eyes and muttered quietly, "Take care of myself, huh… That really is the perfect way to put it."
He paused, then grumbled, "Wonder how much of the intel fee I'm getting as my cut this time…"
Muttering to himself, Ryo headed upstairs as well, following in Algol's direction.
.
.
.