Eunomia abruptly shot to her feet. She stared at Hera in stunned disbelief. "Mother... surely you don't mean..."
The rest of the sentence never came out. Her face flushed bright red, embarrassment and shame written all over it as she looked at Hera.
Across from her, Leticia froze with her wine cup still in hand. Her eyes were wide, lips slightly parted. Wine trickled down unnoticed as she stared blankly at the Queen of the Greek Gods.
'Lady Hera wants to become the Fourth Queen. Ryo will be the Fourth King of the Gods... then what about Kurousagi? I've already let Kurousagi down enough. If Lady Hera wants to take her place... should I stop her? But how?'
Hera's words had completely overwhelmed Leticia's ability to think.
As for Ryo, after his initial shock, his expression became distinctly awkward. His gaze drifted, almost involuntarily, toward Hera's lily-white arm before he hurriedly looked away again.
Forcing a smile, he said, "That's... an incredibly tempting offer."
If he became the King of the Gods, he'd practically get Hera thrown in for free.
Honestly, that was enough to make his heart skip a beat. Hera's beauty was breathtaking. Even among the entire Greek pantheon, only Aphrodite could outshine her.
But he'd already made a promise to Athena. Breaking his word wasn't something he was willing to do. He still had enough pride to keep his promises.
Just as he was about to decline politely, Hera spoke again, "The same offer stands even if Athena ascends instead."
"..."
"...What do you mean?" After a brief silence, Ryo asked.
Hera rubbed her forehead with a troubled expression. "How should I put this... Actually, explaining it probably isn't necessary."
After a pause, she continued, "The relationship between Athena and me isn't exactly... good. If I went to her personally, she'd reject me without a second thought."
"So you came to me instead, hoping to negotiate through a middleman." Ryo shook his head. "You've got the wrong person. I don't have that much influence over Athena."
The moment he said that, the other three all looked at him strangely.
Feeling uncomfortable under their stares, Ryo frowned. "What's with those looks? Did I say something wrong?"
"No, nothing..."
Leticia thought back to the loli Athena currently staying at home, whom Ryo openly dragged around everywhere with her.
'Would he really dare do that without the other Athena's approval?' Her cheeks turned faintly red.
Meanwhile, Hera silently looked at the countless blessings covering Ryo's body, nearly all of them bestowed by Athena.
She took a sip of wine, thinking, 'Yeah, sure. Whatever you say.'
Only Eunomia, whose attitude toward Ryo had softened considerably, couldn't keep quiet. "You don't need to worry. We Greeks aren't particularly concerned about blood relations."
"Is that what you think I'm worried about?" Ryo rolled his eyes.
Did these people have any idea how terrifying Athena really was? Oyakodon was tempting, but his life was far more important.
The last thing he wanted was to hear Athena casually say, "For the third time." After all, this was the goddess who had once sealed Algol, a three-digit being.
"Ok. Let's drop the subject." Seeing Ryo's growing impatience, Hera smoothly changed topics. "My conditions are the same as when I accepted Zeus's offer to become Queen of Heaven. Authority over Life, Knowledge, Fertility, Nature, Protection, and Time. That will be my price."
Ryo's heart stirred.
As expected of the Queen of Olympus. She casually put six Authorities on the table, and several of them were things he coveted badly.
If he hadn't already promised Athena, he'd seriously be tempted to compete for the throne himself.
Still, Hera's willingness to pay such a price also made something clear.
The success rate of the little fantasy he'd been entertaining was probably... pretty low. If even Zeus, the biggest womanizer around, couldn't pull it off, what chance did he have?
After thinking it over, he finally nodded. "I can only say I'll give it a try."
He wasn't promising to become the Fourth King. Nor was he promising he could convince Athena.
He'd simply try.
If it worked, great. If not, then so be it.
That's how business worked. Sometimes you profited, sometimes you didn't.
"That's enough for me." Hera visibly relaxed.
She hadn't been worried that Ryo would fail to persuade Athena, or even that he might refuse to reserve the Queen's position for her.
What she'd feared most was being given no answer at all.
Now, at least, Ryo seemed somewhat interested. That alone gave her hope.
Besides—Compared to Zeus, who had accepted her payment, promised her everything, and then refused to let her study the Another Cosmology or comprehend the Authority of the King of the Gods—She'd much rather see Ryo or Athena take the throne.
At least those two actually delivered after taking payment.
Silently taking another jab at Zeus, Hera sighed softly before turning to Eunomia.
Eunomia opened her mouth, looked at Hera, then at Ryo.
For some reason, she suddenly felt as though she'd been demoted by an entire generation. Lowering her head, she sighed helplessly.
Hera smiled, gently patted her daughter's head, then turned to Ryo. "I'd like to discuss one more proposal."
"Let's hear it." Ryo glanced at Eunomia, already guessing what Hera intended.
With a warm smile, Hera said, "I'd like this child to join Arcadia for the time being and serve as a liaison between us. What do you think? We can discuss the details."
'A free employee...'
Ryo's eyes lit up instantly. Nothing excited him more than free labor.
"I don't have any objections. But let me be clear first. Once Lady Eunomia joins Arcadia, I'll treat her according to the standards expected of any official member."
Hearing that, Hera simply shook her head. "That's perfectly fine. She understands the rules."
She gently patted Eunomia's shoulder before standing. "Since we've settled everything, I'll take my leave."
"Of course. Safe travels." Ryo smiled as he watched Hera dissolve into a beam of light and disappear.
Then he narrowed his eyes and turned toward Leticia, "Leticia, why don't you guide our new compa—"
Before he could finish, his instincts screamed. A surge of intense killing intent washed over him.
His expression changed. And instead of retreating, he thrust out a hand like lightning and clenched his fist in midair.
Boom!
A muffled explosion echoed from his palm like distant thunder.
"Ryo!"
Leticia's face drained of color as she rushed forward.
Beside her, Eunomia turned pale as well.
When she saw what Ryo was holding, her expression grew even more anxious.
"I'm fine." Ryo smiled reassuringly at Leticia.
"The attack was aimed at my feet. It wasn't going to kill me." As he spoke, he lowered his hand and slowly opened his fist.
Resting in his palm was a tiny silver arrow, barely half the length of his hand.
Tied to its short shaft with a neatly knotted ribbon was a small envelope.
"...Artemis."
Feeling the familiar divine power lingering on the arrow, Ryo untied the ribbon and opened the letter.
The very first line contained only two words.
"Fight me?" Ryo blinked. Then rubbed his eyes.
Finally, he let out a long sigh of relief. "Oh... it's just a challenge letter."
For a second there, his eyes had apparently played a trick on him. He could've sworn it'd said... "Do me!"
.
.
.