"Please. I don't know if the tea I brewed myself will suit your taste."
Across from Aslan sat a Greek woman wearing an olive wreath, with golden hair cascading down to her waist, exuding wisdom and possessing an extraordinarily beautiful face.
Yes, indeed, this was the renowned Athena, the goddess who used a bit of trickery to behead Algol and was called petty and ugly by Algol himself.
Faced with the tea offered by Athena, Aslan accepted it stiffly. He took a small sip and spoke cautiously.
"Good tea."
Then Aslan fell silent, quietly waiting for Athena to initiate the conversation.
Instantly, the atmosphere became extremely awkward.
After all, meeting anyone else wouldn't have mattered, but he had to meet Athena. In the Outer Layer of Little Garden, Aslan was confident he could defeat 99% of opponents. Even those he couldn't defeat, he was certain he could escape from.
But Athena was one of the few he could neither defeat nor escape.
At that moment, Aslan was instantly locked by her Authority of Victory. No matter what he tried to do, there was only one outcome: failure.
Athena had already secured her victory from the start.
Aslan also understood why Scathach had said he only possessed the combat strength of an exceptional Four-Digit level.
When facing a true veteran Three-Digit Avatar, he realized the gap.
His use of Authority was, at best, just a slightly special Gift. But an exceptional Three-Digit Avatar wielded Divinity.
Only another Divinity or a Divine Artifact-level Gift could counter Divinity.
For example, the Holy Star Sword Aslan carried. After its Spirit Status was restored, it too had the power to confront Divinity.
But that might be useless against Athena. Excalibur (The Sword of Promised Victory), as its name suggests, fell under the domain of the Authority of Victory, and Athena was the Goddess of Victory.
In a confrontation between victory and victory, unless the thirteen restraints were lifted, Athena would likely prevail.
However, the Holy Star Sword, newly re-observed, lacked the tyrannical Divinity of Arthur Proto. It truly had to abide by the thirteen restraints.
Aslan calmly sipped his tea. After Athena watched him set down and pick up his teacup a dozen times, she couldn't help but ask in surprise.
"Mister Aslan, am I that frightening?"
Of course, Aslan couldn't admit it. He only replied nonchalantly.
"Sorry, I'm a bit allergic to beautiful women."
Yes, allergic to dangerous women like you.
"Oh… is that so?"
Athena nodded, as if she believed Aslan's words. Then she tried to start a conversation.
"In that case, I'd like to ask, what's your opinion of my knight, Aishelia?"
(What can I say? I've met her less than twice.)
(Well… more accurately, once. I couldn't reveal my identity during the Ouroboros incident.)
Though he thought this, Aslan still replied politely.
"In my opinion, Aishelia is a very beautiful woman. She's strong and lovely. I just don't know who'd be lucky enough to marry her."
Athena suddenly chuckled. With a slightly playful expression, she said.
"Then, how about I arrange a match between you and her? You're not married yet, are you?"
"Huh?"
Aslan was stunned. He instantly looked at her with greater wariness, even unconsciously stepping back two paces.
"Sorry, Lord Athena, I already have a fiancée."
Aslan had never felt so grateful for Shiroyasha's arrangement as he did now. He thanked Karyou for not holding a grudge.
In critical moments, his fiancée Karyou was truly useful, like now, instantly helping Aslan avoid trouble.
Otherwise, he really wouldn't know what excuse to use to dodge this.
Athena made such a sweet offer; this woman definitely had her calculations.
After all, Aslan wouldn't believe Athena would offer him benefits for no reason. He was certain there was no such thing as a free lunch. For Athena to sacrifice Perseus and Aishelia, she must have other motives.
In any case, Aslan had no intention of getting involved in Athena's schemes. One Halloween Queen was already enough to make him nervous.
If he also had to deal with Athena, Aslan feared he'd die without knowing how.
The Goddess of Wisdom was not someone easy to deal with. She'd calculate you to death.
Athena's reputation was built by defeating her opponents one by one.
Did anyone really think Algol could be easily killed by Perseus?
Athena never stopped meddling.
"Oh? Really? What a pity."
Athena still wore a perfect smile. She observed Aslan from head to toe, as if appraising a potential son-in-law.
"But the Demon Star Algol is Perseus's Legacy Gift and cannot be passed outside. To ensure Algol returns to Perseus…"
"So, would you mind having one more fiancée?"
Aslan froze. Was his charm really that great? No way, right?
What was up with this Athena?
Forget it, better to speak frankly. If he kept staying silent like this, Aslan didn't know how long he'd have to keep it up.
Athena might just be waiting for him to start the conversation.
"Lord Athena, can you get to the point? Why beat around the bush?"
Aslan set down his teacup and looked at her seriously, meeting Athena's smiling green eyes before unconsciously looking away.
This woman was too sweet.
A goddess of Athena's caliber still had quite a destructive allure for him.
Seeing Aslan's reaction, Athena flashed a bright smile. In her eyes, Aslan was rather interesting at the moment.
"Very well, I'll be direct. I hope you'll join the Greek Pantheon."
"Why?"
Aslan looked at her curiously. He was a bit puzzled why Athena suddenly proposed he join the Greek Pantheon.
"I believe Lord Athena must know I'm a follower god of Shiroyasha, right?"
Even if Athena wanted to recruit someone, she wouldn't do it so openly. Or could this not be called open?
Using Perseus to lure him wasn't exactly honest.
"Of course, I know. But if you don't want No Name to suffer the same fate as Arcadia, you'd better join the Greek Pantheon."
Athena stared into his eyes, applying pressure on Aslan.
Ouroboros wouldn't let Arcadia, which they had just "killed," show signs of revival in just a few days.
At that time, Aslan wouldn't be protected by just Shiroyasha.
Unless the one backing Aslan was the White Night Demon Lord, not Shiroyasha.
"Wait, why can you say the name No Name (Arcadia)?"
Aslan caught a crucial point in Athena's words.
Athena could actually say the name Arcadia? This shocked Aslan.
As for suffering the same fate as Arcadia? Aslan actually hoped they'd make a move. It would make the stagnant Little Garden boil.
On the contrary, Athena being able to say Arcadia's name piqued Aslan's interest more.
Athena sighed, showing a slightly nostalgic expression.
"Because the flag and name of Arcadia were originally given by Greece to Canaria. Arcadia is the birthplace of Hermes."
"During the Dystopia War, Arcadia wanted to fight in the western district. Naturally, they needed a base. Hermes handed over the Authority of his birthplace to Canaria. Canaria then established the community and used the name Arcadia."
"But after Arcadia defeated Dystopia and grew, Canaria returned the Authority of Arcadia to us."
"So, we are one of the few who can say the name Arcadia."
This was also one of Canaria's backup plans at the time, to prevent the flag from being taken and never recovered.
She also entrusted the final spark and legacy to the Greek Pantheon, hoping it would be useful in critical moments.
In fact, before Arcadia grew, Greece was its first investor.
The teacher who taught Canaria the art of poetry, Orpheus, came from the Greek Pantheon.
Even afterward, Greece provided no small amount of funding to Arcadia.
This was why Canaria chose to return the Authority of Arcadia (the name of the land) to Greece, where it has been hidden by the Greek Pantheon until now.
Aslan nodded slightly. In the mythological knowledge he studied, there were indeed rumors that Hermes was born in Arcadia.
Hermes was born on Mount Cyllene, Greece, located in the Arcadia region.
Thinking of this, Aslan slightly lowered his guard. But he also found it amusing.
The identity he casually crafted with Shiroyasha—as a hero cultivated by Arcadia in the outer world and a disciple of Baron Croix—turned out to be useful now?
He didn't attract Ouroboros but instead drew the Greek Pantheon.
Aslan really hadn't expected this. The effect was almost too good.
Oh well. With his Boundary Spirit Status, Spatial Divinity, and having overcome one Last Trial of Mankind while saving the world, he could truly be considered one of the heroes cultivated by Arcadia in the outer world to face Absolute Evil.
Besides Arcadia, no other place suited him.
But unfortunately, just as he prepared to come to Little Garden, Arcadia was gone.
If that's the case, he'd continue acting with this identity.
Aslan steadied his emotions. With a cold and frenzied look, he said.
"Thank you for Lord Athena's good intentions. But one of my goals in leading Arcadia is to draw their attention."
At this moment, he only wanted to find the culprit and take revenge!