Normally, Athena would never be this proactive.
But now, Akuto had already exchanged for a golden-rank succubus bloodline, and Athena had been affected—at least partially—by that bloodline's influence.
Of course, the more important factor was Athena's own change.
These past few days, Athena had been tracking Akuto from afar, investigating the places he'd stayed and the traces he'd left behind. In a sense, everything Akuto had done these past few days had played out in front of her eyes—she had even inferred what Akuto was trying to do.
So she was looking forward to seeing him put his ideas into practice, and she was willing to give things a little push.
And so, with the goddess's initiative and cooperation, Akuto received a pure goddess's kiss.
No underworld divinity.
No declaration of death.
No struggle over divine power.
Only the most primal intimacy—and a response given in kind.
"Ara~"
Seeing how deeply Akuto and the goddess Athena were "communicating," Erica raised an eyebrow and immediately looked toward Liliana.
Just as Erica expected, Liliana was biting her red lips lightly, her expression full of disbelief.
She truly couldn't understand what she was seeing. How did Akuto-kun go from talking to… kissing a goddess? And judging from their conversation, it didn't even sound like this was the first time.
While she was still stunned, a slender arm draped over her shoulder.
"Lily, there's something you still don't know, right?" Erica's voice came from behind her.
"What is it that I don't know?" Liliana frowned. What Erica meant couldn't possibly be… this, could it?
"Of course it's that the new king can grow stronger through specific women."
Erica finally pulled out her trump card.
She knew that once Liliana learned this, she would definitely choose to accept it.
"Huh? Erica, what are you talking about?" Liliana's brain basically crashed.
"Why would you tell me something like that now—unless…!"
After thinking it through, Liliana's eyes widened sharply.
"That's right. The Authority on Akuto-sama… comes from the goddess Athena."
As she spoke, Erica took Liliana's hand and used the "Teaching" spell, transmitting what she knew about Akuto directly into Liliana.
If you wanted to use "Teaching" or any other spell on a Godslayer, it had to be through a mouth-to-mouth method or something else that took effect from the inside.
But if the target was only an ordinary mage, normal casting was enough.
"Th-this is…"
Liliana stared at the knowledge Erica had transmitted, not even sure how to respond.
So that was how the Athena Authority on Akuto-sama had been obtained?
But Erica really did understand Liliana.
In barely a dozen seconds, Liliana found the point.
"Erica—by your logic, doesn't that mean the more women there are around His Majesty, the stronger he becomes, the stronger he can get?"
"…Mm. That's basically it," Erica answered after a brief pause.
"Then the best course is for me to assist by offering myself as well."
The moment Erica confirmed it, Liliana's expression hardened with resolve.
From the original plot, Liliana was, of course, an innocent girl. But being innocent and being able to accept a partner keeping a harem were two different things.
If she had a choice, Liliana would want the person she loved to love only her.
But even before she learned Akuto had become a Godslayer, she'd already half-prepared herself to accept that he would have other women.
Because… someone was already ahead of her.
Because… back then, Akuto had come to Europe to save Yuri.
Because she'd prepared herself early, even though Liliana was extremely pure, she could still understand and accept reality with surprising speed.
And there were other reasons too.
Besides being innocent, Liliana also had a certain… shamelessly masochistic streak. She often fantasized about being treated roughly.
But fantasies were where it ended. Taking action was simply impossible for her.
If the situation hadn't forced her into a corner—"you must offer yourself to help the Godslayer defeat a god"—then Liliana, on her own, might have taken years to get any result at all.
So all things considered, since she wasn't first in line anyway, being able to stay at Akuto's side under the justification of "helping Akuto grow stronger" and "serving as Akuto's knight" made Liliana genuinely happy.
Really, girls who like cliché "overbearing CEO" stories tend to have at least a little M in them—Erica knew that very well.
So she'd give Liliana a push.
…
Originally, Erica hadn't wanted to get involved in the complicated relationships around Akuto before she and Akuto formed a "real" relationship.
But for some reason, watching Liliana's hurt expression made her reach out to help anyway.
Maybe… this is the bond of childhood friends.
Even though Erica had teased and bullied Liliana since they were young, she knew Liliana was a good girl. So as long as it was within her ability, she was willing to push her forward.
Erica knew that even without her, Akuto would likely be able to twist Liliana around with ease.
Still, she chose to be the one to guide Liliana through it.
Because she wanted Liliana to keep that pure feeling in her heart, and not suffer too many setbacks before she got what she wanted.
…
Akuto-kun, do you realize you've unknowingly ended up owing me a big favor?
Watching Akuto still deep in a kiss with the goddess, Erica—having just soothed Liliana—felt a little irritated instead.
I protected Lily's feelings, but… who's going to protect mine?
That thought surfaced instinctively.
…
"…Hm?"
Only then did Erica realize her mindset had quietly shifted.
From curiosity at the start, to respect and submission, to mutual understanding, to promising each other they'd challenge the world together, to calling herself Akuto's knight and lover…
And finally to this—treating herself as one of Akuto's women by default, and handling "harem problems" from that standpoint.
It had only been a little over two days, yet Erica could clearly feel a chain of changes in her attitude.
But she didn't hate that change.
Because it was Akuto who had shown her the destiny line that should have been hers.
Because it was Akuto who had become the foundation for her to challenge the world.
The only issue was that Akuto was far too overbearing—he hadn't given her any other option, and had forcibly pulled her into his "harem."
…Of course, Erica also found that overbearing behavior infuriating.
Because the more overbearing Akuto was, the more it proved he liked her, didn't it?
Sure, that "like" was mixed with possessiveness.
But given Akuto's status and position, Erica felt he was already doing well enough. She wasn't so arrogant as to believe Akuto could only have one partner.
If anything, Erica's biggest change these past few days was going from "I don't really accept Akuto, but I'm willing to serve" to "it has to be Akuto—other men aren't even worth looking at."
And once she started from "it has to be Akuto," everything else naturally followed into her current situation.
…
Meanwhile, as Erica guided Liliana, Akuto was still in the middle of a twisting, deep exchange with the goddess Athena.
Athena realized that Akuto felt different from before.
Akuto had become even more alluring, and her body also seemed less and less resistant to the idea of deeper intimacy with him.
The previous kiss—Athena had only felt Akuto's rough, domineering plunder.
Yes, she had initiated it first.
But the moment Akuto reacted, he pinned her against himself, kissing her while seizing the divine power within her.
This time, though, Akuto's kiss was gentle—full of warm give-and-take.
Even if there were still traces of dominance here and there, they were well within Athena's tolerance, to the point that she subconsciously raised a small hand to hold the back of Akuto's head.
If you ignored the fact that Athena's current form looked like a loli—something that could make people overthink—then no matter how you looked at it, it was an extremely pleasing scene.
But perhaps because Akuto was being far too brazen about it, someone finally couldn't take it anymore.
Not far away, the hero Perseus's mouth twitched.
As a cultivated hero-god, he never attacked from behind, and he didn't care whether his opponent used blessings in front of him before battle.
But even if he didn't care…
Weren't these two being a little too shameless?
Wasn't Athena one of the three virgin goddesses of Greek myth?
So why was she kissing that boy like she was practiced at it?
Even if a warrior needed a "reward" before marching to war, did it really need to go on this long?
In short… Perseus couldn't watch anymore.
In the next second, behind Perseus, a blazing sun appeared—radiating prismatic brilliance.
In terms of pure splendor, that sun was even more dazzling than Verethragna's white horse.
Normally, this was absolutely not a "sun" Authority a hero-god should be able to wield.
O rising sun of the East—grant me power!
"Hm—"
The sun's radiance flared. But Perseus didn't release it immediately; he maintained a charged stance instead.
Clearly, he was telling Akuto and Athena to stop wasting time.
Yet Akuto didn't acknowledge him at all—he even deliberately traced a slow circle with his tongue, provoking further.
"Hmph."
Bestow chains of defeat upon the Godslayer! Now—lend me once more the blessing of the solar wheel, and loose this arrow!
Seeing Akuto refuse to listen, Perseus snorted and finally fired a single arrow of the solar wheel.
(End of Chapter)
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