Ryo looked at Athena as if to say, 'You've got to be kidding me.'
Then he reconsidered. If Athena really wanted to toy with him, she wouldn't have gone to all this trouble.
"So," he asked, "what exactly did you tell those idiots in the Greek pantheon to make them come to that conclusion?"
Sitting to his right with a cup of warm wine in hand, Athena replied calmly, "I merely stated the truth."
"I know, I know." Ryo gave her a knowing smile. "Still... I'm curious. What exactly did you say?"
Athena glanced at him, took a sip of wine, set the cup down, and answered, "I simply declared that your Another Cosmology was 'one of Athena's experiments.'"
Ryo burst out laughing.
That wasn't wrong at all. In the Saint Seiya universe, the entire system of 88 constellations was created by Athena.
Of course, that Athena wasn't the Athena sitting before him. They shared the same name, but they weren't the same individual.
Athena continued, "Then Zeus asked whether I, Athena, had inherited Metis's Spirit Rank. And... I didn't deny it."
The grin on Ryo's face widened.
Had Athena inherited Metis's Spirit Rank?
She absolutely had.
Metis. Medusa. Athena. Three goddesses united as one: Bird of the Underworld, Serpent of Mother Earth, and Womanly Wisdom. Together, they formed the Queen of the Gods.
That was Athena. Trinity Athena.
Granted, this referred to loli Athena from Campione!.
But she was still Athena, wasn't she?
"I get it now." Ryo laughed so hard he nearly lost control. "I'd have fallen for it too."
No wonder Zeus had secretly been spying on Arcadia earlier, and Athena hadn't tried to stop him. She'd even said she wanted to scare him half to death.
So this was her plan. She'd used the existence of loli Athena, the one who possessed Metis's Spirit Rank, to terrify Zeus.
It was brilliant.
If Ryo had been Zeus, he'd have gone pale on the spot. It was practically the same as telling someone exactly when they were going to die.
"You seem awfully pleased with yourself." Athena rolled her eyes. "But thanks to this, Zeus may ease off for a while. Once he recovers, though, he'll target you even more aggressively than before. Are you sure you can handle that?"
Ryo let out a cold chuckle. "That depends on whether Zeus is actually willing to bet his life against mine."
He knew perfectly well that he wasn't what anyone would call brave.
He was afraid of dying. Very afraid.
But he was just as certain of one thing. Zeus feared death even more.
Especially now that he believed Ryo Yagami was destined to become the Fourth Generation King of the Gods, the one prophesied to overthrow him.
Facing an enemy whose very destiny was to kill him? Zeus' safest choice was to lie low, watch the situation, and wait.
And the one thing Ryo needed most was time. If he could buy himself just a few years to breathe, even he had no idea how powerful he might become.
Hearing his bold declaration, Athena narrowed her eyes and studied him for a long moment.
"Keep your trump card to yourself. And for now, I'll hold Zeus back." She paused, "...This mess started because of me. It's only right that I clean it up."
Then, after another brief hesitation, she looked at him awkwardly. "And you should also be a little more careful these next few days."
"Why?" Ryo frowned. His expression turned serious.
"Not exactly bad news..." She carefully considered her words before sighing, "But I'm not sure it's good news, either. As usual, within the next half month, everything that's happened in the upper layers of Little Garden will begin spreading to the lower layers. And from there, the effects will eventually spread into the observed universes beyond."
"That process takes about a year. And once it does..."
She looked distinctly embarrassed. "Whether you like it or not... your Spirit Rank will gain an additional description. 'The Fourth Generation King of the Greek Gods.'"
Ryo blinked.
Then, with an odd look on his face, he asked, "So you're saying that in at most a year... I'll actually become the Fourth Generation King of the Gods?"
"No." Athena shook her head. "Only a candidate. It's similar to an incomplete Spirit Rank. It merely gives you the possibility of becoming the Fourth Generation King of the Gods. If you don't want that future, you can simply ignore it. Leave it undeveloped, and eventually that possibility will wither away."
Ryo gave her a strange look, "...You're not trying to convince me to accept this Spirit Rank, are you?"
"I'm not." Athena fell silent for a moment before speaking honestly. "I simply don't want us to become rivals."
Ryo froze.
It was the first time Athena had openly admitted, in front of him, that she intended to claim the throne of the Fourth Generation King of the Gods.
So... she planned to use established fact, let Little Garden reshape the observed universes below, and in doing so rewrite Greek mythology itself.
Ryo considered it carefully.
If he accepted the identity of the Fourth Generation King of the Gods, then he really would become Athena's enemy.
Because if she wanted to create the myth of Athena becoming the Fourth Generation King of the Gods... then she would have to stand against both the current Third Generation King, Zeus, and the future Fourth Generation King, whoever that turned out to be.
Only by defeating them both could she truly ascend as the new King of the Gods, creating a new myth and a new Spirit Rank.
Thinking of that, Ryo looked at Athena.
She appeared calm on the surface, but he could easily tell she was tense beneath the mask.
Suddenly, he laughed.
"Hahaha... You don't actually think I'm the kind of guy who repays kindness with betrayal, do you? You covered for the anomalies in my growth. Why would I turn around and fight you over the throne of the gods? Come on. Don't make me out to be some greedy jerk who grabs anything with value."
Athena let out a relieved sigh before smiling. "But what if I told you... that once you become the King of the Gods, neither Artemis nor I would be able to disobey your commands?"
Ryo's expression changed instantly. His eyes lit up with unmistakable interest.
"Now you've got my full attention."
.
.
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