Just like the several times he'd previously received divine blessings, although this wasn't exactly what Rovi wanted, he genuinely felt himself grow stronger…
THE MOON SHALL SERVE AS YOUR EYES AND HANDS.
From now on, wherever moonlight shone, his vision would be greatly enhanced, and he could even wield moonlight itself as a weapon.
The latter wasn't very useful to Rovi, but the former had at least some value.
Even with his extraordinary primordial body and already exceptional vision, becoming stronger certainly didn't hurt.
Sharper senses would let him more easily discern paths toward "death."
Indeed, even this divine blessing had already been factored into Rovi's reckless plans.
But still…
"Isn't this way too casual?" Rovi glanced at Artemis, who stood smugly, and Athena, who stared back at him with widened eyes in surprise.
Athena was indeed surprised.
She clearly valued Rovi—this much was obvious. As a virgin goddess, she'd even been willing to share her own glory with him. The Goddess of Wisdom admired those who held great wisdom; the Goddess of War favored heroes capable of leading battles to victory.
Rovi embodied both. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say her regard bordered on fondness.
Yet she never expected Artemis, upon their very first meeting, to also go this far. Among the gods, the Moon Goddess had always been pure and aloof—her blessing was notoriously difficult to obtain.
"Now, he's my representative as well, Athena," Artemis smugly announced.
Athena quickly regained her composure after that brief surprise.
"Hmph, I underestimated this!"
"Eh? Even the Goddess of Wisdom admits mistakes?"
"The wiser one is, the more one must accept that nothing in this world can be perfectly predicted," Athena responded seriously. "But Artemis, even gods have their rankings—and it was I who gave Rovi a blessing first."
"I was first, Artemis."
"But you haven't reached the finish line yet, Athena," Artemis retorted naturally. "I'm also the goddess of competition. To me, as long as the match hasn't concluded, the order of who was first can be reversed at any time—"
Here we go again.
Rovi stood expressionless as the two goddesses inexplicably resumed their bickering.
This was far more intense than when En and Ereshkigal used to squabble.
"Haha! Truly amazing, Sage! You've even managed to have two chief goddesses fighting over you at the same time!"
Hearing the sudden voice by his ear, Rovi glanced sideways. "Hermes, right? Didn't you promise to help block these annoying gods?"
"But chief gods are way beyond my abilities," Hermes chuckled as he appeared beside Rovi. The dark-blue-haired "bard" floated gently midair, smiling widely. "Forget stopping them—I don't even have the qualifications to look directly at them now."
Athena and Artemis ranked highly among the Twelve Olympians, second only to Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades—the three supreme rulers. Like Apollo, they could compete for the highest positions beneath the supreme gods.
The gap between them and ordinary gods was insurmountable.
Just as ordinary mortals couldn't gaze directly at gods—
Without permission, even gods couldn't casually observe these two.
"Even forcing myself to look, all I can see are two glorious, blinding lights," Hermes shrugged.
Even without Hermes's deliberate prompting, Rovi was already aware that the goddesses' quarrel had gradually drawn the attention of numerous Greek gods.
[It's Lady Artemis, Goddess of the Moon and Competition, and Lady Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and War?]
[They seem to be arguing…over someone?]
[That sage from Uruk who fought Lord Ares?]
[Both virgin goddesses are competing over him?!]
The whispered discussions simultaneously reached the two goddesses' ears.
[hey both paused, slowly raising their heads in unison.
The arguing abruptly stopped.
[What's happening? Why did they stop fighting?]
[Wait… are they looking over here?]
[No way—we were communicating telepathically! How can the two Ladies hear us!?]
[Father Zeus above—save us!]
BOOM!
The Moon Goddess cast down silvery moonlight, the Goddess of Wisdom waved her pale hand.
The watching gods suddenly had their mouths sealed and were thoroughly beaten for no reason.
Were a chief god's affairs something you could casually spectate?
Fuck!
The crowd of gods immediately realized they'd been tricked.
As for the one who'd tricked them…
"Lord Rovi is gone—Lord Rovi, my Lord Rovi!" Artemis saw the empty spot where Rovi had stood and whimpered pitifully.
Even the Goddess of Wisdom froze for a moment, her refined brows gently furrowing, an inexplicable sense of loss filling her heart.
Why couldn't they have held hands a little longer?
Wait, no—what was she thinking?
This was simply the Goddess of Wisdom's desire for wisdom—exactly, that's all it was.
Either way, she'd helped Rovi this time, so surely next time she asked him for a favor, he wouldn't refuse the chance to be alone—wait, no! Not that!
Taking a deep breath, Athena glanced once more at Artemis, who now babbled wildly to herself, and sighed. "You stay here and lose your mind, Artemis. I'm leaving first!"
...
"Hahaha! Serves you all right for watching the drama!" Outside Paradise, on the shores of Arcadia, Rovi looked up, unable to hold back his laughter at the gods scattered across the sky, land, and sea, groaning miserably.
Ah, the joy.
"Haha, Lord Rovi, I did quite well, didn't I?" Hermes floated alongside him, fishing for praise.
As the messenger of the gods, Hermes was the intermediary connecting heaven and earth. He could facilitate—or block—the gods' perception of earthly events. Of course, this only applied to ordinary gods.
And those who'd been watching just now happened to all be ordinary gods.
Thus, Rovi had instructed Hermes to lift restrictions, allowing these bored gods to clearly "see" Artemis and Athena's fight—and allowing Artemis and Athena to clearly "hear" their gossip.
Were a chief god's affairs something you could just watch casually?
Getting beaten was already mild.
Rovi seized the chance to slip away… After all, he'd only come to confirm En's situation, and given that she was in a critical state, it wasn't wise to disturb her further.
"You did alright," Rovi smiled. "Next time, if I have to beat you up again, I'll be gentler."
Hermes: "…"
Should he be grateful?
Never mind.
"Well then, Sage of Uruk, I'll take my leave now. Feel free to call me anytime—I'll sense it upon the wind and arrive instantly."
Hermes disappeared again.
At least this god was genuinely diligent about his duties.
Standing alone, Rovi paused to carefully ponder his next move.
"I knew you'd be here—" A clear voice sounded from behind him.
The young huntress strode toward him, long green hair fluttering as she moved gracefully, her slender legs crossing as her hips swayed beneath the flowing fabric. She stopped directly in front of Rovi.
"Legendary Sage of Uruk, I, Atalanta, as the student of Saint Enkidu, hereby challenge you!"
Rovi wasn't surprised by her arrival; after all, he still held the bow En had given her. Yet upon hearing her words, he couldn't help but freeze.
Was she…serious?
---
T/N: is shenvm lets focus on hermes IS HERMES VENTI???????????? IS HERMES VENTIIIIII OMGGGGGGGGG VENTI I MEAN HERMES x ROVI PLEASE, weapon master was so peak when venti was around... the sheer tension omgggggg they shouldve kissed
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