A moment later, inside Hecate's room, Ares sat by Hecate's bed, munching on the honey-drizzled sweet cake with a crunching sound. He then said,
"This sweet cake tastes great. It seems my cooking skills have improved again."
Behind him, Hecate, who was sitting on her own bed, back-to-back with him, her head buried between her legs, heard this and couldn't help but raise her head.
Her face flushed slightly as she looked at her ceiling and asked,
"I say, Ares..."
"Huh?"
"You didn't trick me just to eat my sweet cake, did you?"
Ares sighed deeply upon hearing this. "This sweet cake was made by me to honor you, Teacher. If I wanted to eat it myself, couldn't I just make one?"
"That's true," Hecate also sighed, then she suddenly raised her voice, "Then what are we going to do about this situation now?! Tell me!"
Ares said nothing. He felt the body temperature of Hecate, who was leaning against his back, her back pressed tightly against his. The Moon Goddess's body was burning hot at this moment, clearly she wasn't as indifferent as she appeared.
Ares could even feel her heartbeat, which was exceptionally fast right now. Of course, Ares's own heartbeat wasn't much better.
He was silent for a long time before finally saying, "Sigh, I underestimated the power of love."
Yes, there was nothing difficult to admit. Ares had indeed underestimated the power of Eros. He had simply thought that with his and Hecate's divine ranks, Eros's arrow of love would at most cause a surge of impulse in their hearts, without much impact.
However, Ares subconsciously ignored his and Hecate's feelings for each other. He had been lying low for so many years, and the only one among the Greek gods who knew his secrets was Hecate. Hecate was his esteemed teacher, who taught him magic, gave him shelter, and selflessly helped him so much. Moreover, she was a beautiful goddess who perfectly fit the definition of "goddess." As a normal male, Ares naturally and inevitably developed a fondness for Hecate in his heart.
And Hecate had helped him so much; it would probably be a lie to say she had no feelings for him. Therefore, Eros's arrow of love became the last straw that broke the camel's back. After Ares and Hecate foolishly took those two arrows instigated by Athena, they suddenly discovered that they truly loved each other.
Not only that, but a strong desire to roll around in bed with each other also surged in their hearts.
And the two of them were currently in Hecate's boudoir. Hecate's own bed was right beneath her, and it was very safe here. Even if they did something, no one would dare to disturb them.
Thanks to Ares and Hecate's extraordinary self-control, they forcibly suppressed this impulse, otherwise, after this wave, Athena could directly declare victory.
"Don't talk nonsense." Hearing Ares's sigh, Hecate was a little angry. "Now, whenever I see you, I can't help but want to push you down. What do you suggest we do?"
"Just bear with it, I want to too, actually," Ares said shamelessly. "I remember that in the future, there will be a scholar named Plato in Athens, who advocated spiritual love between men and women. He believed that the pursuit of spiritual communication and rational, pure spiritual love was true love, and that it was best when the mind rejected the body and yearned for truth."
Hecate was silent for a moment, then asked, "Do you believe what you just said?"
"This..." Ares replied softly, "I don't believe it either."
The endless stream of cuckold stories from a certain island nation in the future served as a refutation of this Platonic spiritual love, and Ares, who had long been immersed in such things, naturally did not believe them either.
So Hecate angrily said, "Then why aren't you thinking of a solution? Do you really want to surrender to Athena and die with her ambitions a hundred years from now?"
"No," Ares shook his head and said, "Then, Teacher, we can only endure from now on. We'd better put our true forms in two different places and communicate by messaging. What do you think?"
"That's the only way," Hecate calmed herself down and said with her back turned, "Then why aren't you hurrying to make a magic communication tool?"
"What's the rush?" Ares grumbled, "Teacher, are you going to lose control?"
No sooner had he spoken than his face was kicked by Hecate's bare foot. The Moon Goddess angrily kicked her disciple out of the boudoir and magically sealed the door shut.
Only her furious voice came from inside the room: "Hurry up and go!"
Ares heard that his Teacher was truly angry this time, so he dared not linger at her door and quickly left Hecate's Tree Palace.
After confirming Ares had left, Hecate's tense body on the bed finally relaxed. She used magic to summon a clear pool of water, which condensed into a water mirror, and then she saw her reflection in the mirror.
The purple-haired goddess's cheeks were as rosy as peach blossoms, her eyes were bright, and there was a hint of amorousness in her gaze, clearly showing she was stirred by emotion.
"This clumsy apprentice."
Seeing her current appearance, Hecate covered her cheeks and couldn't help but mutter softly.
...
On the other side, after Ares walked out of the Tree Palace, he happened to encounter Hydra sweeping the courtyard.
When Hydra saw Ares walk out of Hecate's boudoir with a small red footprint on his face, she was immediately shocked and pointed at Ares, shouting,
"You failed to molest the Master? You useless trash."
Ares was furious. He picked up the wooden stick leaning by the Tree Palace, which Hecate originally used to discipline Cerberus, and pressed Hydra to the ground, spanking her, before clapping his hands and walking into the small magic workshop next door.
Using the materials available in the small workshop, Ares quickly made two small communication devices. He kept one on himself, then went outside and handed the other small device to Hydra.
"Give this to your Master," Ares instructed.
Hydra, clutching her backside, lay on the grass outside the Tree Palace. Hearing this, she glared at Ares indignantly and retorted, "Why don't you give it to the Master yourself?"
"Is it not obvious that it's inconvenient for me to meet her right now?"
Ares said.
"Heh heh."
Hydra immediately tilted her head back and said arrogantly,
"I get it. Your Zeus genes must have acted up, you failed to force yourself on the Master, and you even got taught a lesson by her. I've seen plenty of gods like you."
Ares looked left and right, then picked up the wooden stick again. Hydra shrieked, quickly grabbed the communication device, and scurried into Hecate's boudoir.