"...Zeus has not yet responded to the call."
Taking the apple that William had peeled and handed over, Hephaestus opened his mouth wide and took a big bite—the man's pale face still hadn't regained its color, but he looked much better than when William had just released him from captivity, "However, that old bitch Hera has come back to life—"
"I thought they were your parents—"
"Yes."
"...Just next door, Athena called Hera 'Mother Goddess.'
Sitting across from the man, William raised an eyebrow. He could clearly see that the red-haired man before him didn't seem to have a good relationship with the legendary Divine King and Celestial Empress—this seemed to align with the myth where Hera threw Hephaestus into the sea due to his ugliness and birth defects.
"What does that have to do with me cursing them?"
"...Nothing."
William nodded, at a loss for words—because indeed, there was no necessary connection between the two, and he didn't need to meddle in other people's family affairs, "So, do you have anything else to add? After all, I've scheduled the interrogation of that blond guy after you—getting things out of his mouth doesn't seem easy."
William organized the notebook on the table, slowly stood up, and asked from a dominant position as the pale lights flickered overhead.
"...Of course, I can tell you everything I know."
Hephaestus was silent for a moment, then, as if making some decision, the man who couldn't stand up leaned forward slightly, his tone low, "If you help me..."
"Kill him?"
"...How did you know?"
"He slept with your wife, everyone knows that—"
William nodded, packed up his notes, stood up, and walked out of the room. As the door closed, his voice squeezed through the gap, "I'll think about it."
...
"...Is that what he said?"
Ares finally raised his head and spoke his first words since William had entered the room.
"Oh, so you can talk; I was worried I damaged your throat..."
William seemed genuinely relieved, smiled, leaned casually in his chair, and his tone was mocking.
So, Ares stared at William with his molten gold eyes, his surging anger nearly erupting.
The veins on the man's forehead throbbed violently, and his tightly clenched fists trembled from exertion, his knuckles whitening, "You—!"
He slammed the iron table before him fiercely, but the hand strike, enough to crack rocks, left no trace on this ordinary table, "Tell me this... Don't think I don't know what you're trying to do? Even if it's inciting discord, it's too clumsy, thinking I'd be swayed by your one-sided words..."
Ares roared, his voice echoing within the cramped space, as if the space itself had split in several places due to the "gods'" wrath.
However, William merely raised a hand and slightly dug at his ear.
"Inciting discord?"
He repeated the words, pitch slightly rising, with a hint of amusement. He slowly stood up, walked around the iron table, approached Ares from behind, and placed a hand on the War God's shoulder.
"Friend, don't get worked up. Aren't you overthinking things?"
William's voice wasn't loud, yet it easily drowned out the other's heavy breathing through the nose, "Rest assured, I'm really not interested in the family drama involving your circle, and who's cheating on whom..."
William leaned his body slightly forward, and the light cast his shadow long, shrouding the War God trembling with anger.
"I only told you these things for one reason—"
"...What?"
"Fairness! Fairness! And damn it—fairness!"
William patted the man's shoulder, his tone suffused with a seductive connotation, "Since he can use chips to buy your life, then, of course, you can also use chips to buy your own life—of course, if your chips are sufficient, you can even reverse it to buy the opponent's life—"
"...How is that different from inciting discord?"
Though he said this, the man's face undeniably displayed a moved expression.
"Certainly different, you're just striving to survive—no one will condemn someone merely trying to stay alive."
William smiled because he knew he had succeeded—
...
...
"...How's the situation?"
Seeing William coming out of the room while rubbing his eyebrows, Dumbledore got up from the sofa. The old man wore a light cyan pajama, clearly having been called up by someone from bed, although "someone" indicated the other could completely go back to rest—
But to let Dumbledore sleep soundly knowing there were four "gods" detained in Hogwarts Castle?
That'd be asking too much, wouldn't it?
"Progress is good, everyone is quite cooperative—"
Having not slept all night, and having transported the trio to Scotland overnight using Mentos, William couldn't help but yawn, "They've all said quite a bit, though there are certainly parts that don't match—I'll go have a heart-to-heart with Mr. Helbo later, I'm sure he'll be happy to help me sort out the clues—are you really not planning to rest? I'm afraid someone will accuse me of harming an old man..."
Looking at the elderly man's anxious expression, his eyes dark with circles around them, William felt a bit sympathetic.
"If you and Gellert hadn't thrown out so many 'bombs' in succession, these past two days might've been two wonderful nights—"
Dumbledore couldn't help but retort.
"Who would have thought? Just two days ago, not only has this world's background shifted from magic to myths, but we also have the material foundations for the first magic revolution—"
William shrugged, fished out a Chocolate Frog from his pocket, and broke it in half, handing it to Dumbledore, "Want some? I just had Dobby bring breakfast—not gonna lie, I also didn't expect things to develop so swiftly, like some invisible hand propelling all developments—"
"Invisible ha—"
"Just a metaphor, don't overthink, Dumbledore. This is a typical prisoners' dilemma; only some 'Wisdom Goddess' hasn't fully grasped the situation—"
William shook his head, controlling the Chocolate Frog bouncing about in his mouth with his tongue, "But it's easily resolved, just consider it as finding Mr. Helbo a roommate. Oh, about that thing on Professor McGonagall—it's useless now. Let Snape handle it to ensure Tom's life is safe; we'd best avoid risks whenever possible—"
"So, about that mysterious 'Celestial Empress' Hera..."