To Ryo's surprise, the notebook contained no analysis of the current situation at all.
Instead, it was filled with individual words, each written on its own line.
"Alexia." "Catherine." "Andrea." "Eunice."
They all looked like names.
Ryo stared for a moment, then asked in surprise, "Why are you writing down so many names? Are there any powerful gods in Little Garden with these names?"
"Are you finished?" Athena's voice was remarkably calm. "If you're done, sit back where you were. What are you doing leaning against me like that?"
Ryo had been resting his cheek against Athena's shoulder while craning his neck to peek at her notebook.
In a certain sense, that behavior was extremely difficult for Athena to accept.
They had already become somewhat physically familiar with each other, but having him lean against her at such close range was still uncomfortable.
Athena was accustomed to keeping anyone she considered a threat at a safe distance. Yet at the same time, she felt there was no real reason to avoid that guy.
The clash between her instincts and her rational thoughts left her deeply uncomfortable.
After Athena coldly reprimanded him, Ryo pouted and reluctantly sat back in his own place. "So heartless. Fine, I'll share a secret with you next time. We've already done that with each other. Do you really have to be this guarded?"
Athena fought down the urge to grab him by the mouth and tear it apart, then answered with utmost seriousness, "I need my own personal space. There are things I want to do without having to explain them to anyone. Do you understand?"
Ryo blinked.
He was a little surprised by how strongly Athena had reacted, but he couldn't exactly argue with her.
Everyone was entitled to have secrets. That was perfectly reasonable.
Whether from an emotional or rational standpoint, Ryo had no choice but to respect that.
After all, while the two of them might have developed a tiny bit of mutual affection, the speed at which their relationship had progressed was, in a certain sense, largely thanks to Algol.
That woman had practically been waiting for an opportunity to cause trouble ever since she turned Athena into a maid.
And even if Ryo and Athena hadn't done anything yesterday, something similar probably would have happened in a few days anyway, just under circumstances Athena would have been much less happy about.
Never expect a demon to have any sense of propriety.
Especially when that demon was Algol, the Demon Primogenitor.
Her sense of propriety was less reliable than anything in existence.
Still, precisely because of all that, Athena's wariness was perfectly understandable.
Their relationship wasn't nearly as deep as Ryo's relationship with Kurousagi, and he certainly didn't expect them to reach that level overnight.
"Fine. We'll do things your way. If there's something you don't want to tell me, just say so. I won't press you about it later." After saying that, Ryo glanced at Athena. "But those names. Are you sure I'm not supposed to know about them?"
To Ryo's surprise, Athena actually fell silent.
She didn't answer for quite some time, simply lowering her head as though struggling with some difficult decision.
By the time Ryo's expression had become thoroughly puzzled, Athena finally sighed. "In a certain sense… and I really do mean a certain sense… there's no need to hide these from you."
Her expression returned to its usual calm, detached composure, as though everything was firmly under her control. "I admit that I let my emotions get the better of me. You do have a reason to know these names."
With that, she tore the page Ryo had been looking at from the notebook and handed it to him.
Ryo clearly noticed that the pages underneath it seemed to be filled with even more names.
He froze for a moment, then took the sheet. "So why do I have a reason to know?"
Athena glanced at him, took a small breath, and answered in an unnaturally composed voice, "The fifth generation."
Ryo blinked.
He looked at the sheet. Then at Athena.
Then back at the sheet.
For a moment, he seriously wondered whether he'd misheard her.
Had he understood what Athena meant correctly?
The fifth-generation God King?
The fourth generation hasn't even come along yet, and she's already thinking about the fifth?
"Do you understand now?" Athena exhaled slowly, looking extremely uncomfortable.
"I don't particularly want to talk about it, but I really am having trouble making a decision. I think many of these names are quite good."
"For example, Andrea carries the meaning of 'courageous' in Ancient Greek. If we're choosing a name for the fifth generation, courage is essential."
"And yes, they're all female names, but that's because I personally prefer a girl to inherit the Greek Pantheon."
"More importantly, none of these names have been taken by any gods and elevated into True Names…"
Athena stopped halfway through her explanation and turned to look at Ryo.
What she saw was a man staring blankly back at her.
"What are you standing there looking stupid for?" Athena asked, genuinely confused.
"No." Ryo's expression was indescribably complicated. "You've been thinking about the fifth generation this entire time?"
He paused. "And you think the fifth generation has to be a girl?"
Athena frowned. "Controlling the next generation's gender isn't particularly difficult, is it?"
Then she thought about it for a moment. "Or do you want a boy? That doesn't matter. We can have two. I'll prepare a legacy for the boy, but the one who inherits my position as God-King in Greece should be the girl."
"Of course, if she turns out to be incompetent, we can always have another one and raise her properly."
No, no, no.
That's not what I meant.
Ryo stared at the utterly serious Athena, unable to find the words to respond.
He couldn't decide whether the whole thing was incredibly awkward or unbelievably amusing.
You're the Goddess of Wisdom, famous for plotting against everyone under the sun, and after the whole mess with Indra, this is the first thing you start worrying about?
Goddess, are your priorities a little strange?
Then again, aren't you thinking about this a little too early?
And what was that about having another one if the first wasn't good enough? What am I, a football team manufacturer?
Athena, pls don't calculate every last detail!
Ryo's mind was overflowing with complaints, but outwardly he merely said, "I feel like we can put this off for a while. On the other hand, there is something else we need to confirm first."
Athena frowned when she heard that, but didn't object.
After accepting Ryo's suggestion, she simply said somewhat reluctantly, "I dislike having things happen without adequate preparation. But fine. Let's do what you suggested first. What is it you want to confirm in advance?"
Ryo suddenly threw the blanket away, pinning Athena's hands with one hand.
While the goddess was still completely bewildered, he burst out laughing, kneading her chest with his free hand. "Hahaha, we need to work hard and make sure the fifth generation arrives as soon as possible! Ain't I right?"
Golden hair, blue eyes, smooth skin, curvy, and mature.
There was no way he was going to control himself, especially while she was already naked.
…
..
Thump, thump, thump!
The footsteps coming from the hallway sounded very much like someone taking out their frustration on the floor.
Leticia had just returned and was currently holding Kurousagi back, preventing her from approaching Ryo's room. "Kurousagi, calm down. Don't do anything rash."
"How am I supposed to calm down?" Kurousagi's eyes were bright red with anger. "Lady Leticia, if Algol hadn't summoned you away, I wouldn't even have known that Ryo went off yesterday pretending to be some Savior, only to get ambushed by three God Kings! How exactly am I supposed to stay calm after hearing something like that?"
Kurousagi clenched her little fists in frustration. "We can't let Ryo keep doing this. Something this serious, and he didn't even tell anyone. He just went off and handled everything himself! What if something had happened to him?"
"That's true, but…"
Leticia couldn't shake the feeling that something about this situation was strange.
She just couldn't put her finger on what.
Before she could finish, however, Kurousagi angrily cut her off. "No 'but'! This time, even if you try to stop me, I'm going to teach Ryo a lesson!"
She hurried forward, grabbed the door to Ryo's room, and yanked it open.
"Eh? Lady Athena? Why are you here...?"
.
.
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