With the permission granted, Athena smiled but said nothing as she entered the house with her attendant, Nikki. They leisurely sat at the long bench by the table, looking around before Athena's gaze turned thoughtfully toward the backyard.
"What's going on? He still hasn't woken up?"
"You're asking me? He's been lying here for almost half a month!"
Speaking of this, Hestia, who was forced to clean up after her troublesome niece, couldn't help but be angry.
"Don't worry, the timing should be just about right." Athena reassured her with a soft laugh, gently shaking the empty cup in her hand, signaling to her aunt.
Hestia shot a glare at her niece, then grabbed a bottle of fruit wine she had prepared herself from the cupboard and filled Athena's cup.
She also poured a glass for Nikki, who was watching expectantly.
The two of them downed the sweet and sour fruit wine in one gulp, savoring the delightful flavor on their tongues.
Hestia then set the jug down and sat across from Athena, frowning as she regarded her niece.
"By the way, why did you suddenly go so hard on this little guy? This isn't like you."
"I just happened to come across a good seedling, so I decided to sharpen his edge and train him a bit."
Athena casually answered while refilling her own cup, glancing at the backyard.
"It should be more than that?" Hestia raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "You've come here twice for this kid. That's not like you at all. You don't usually have the time for such things."
Hestia, sitting across from the Hearth Goddess, scrutinized Athena with a suspicious look.
Though she wasn't as clever as her niece, the Goddess of Wisdom, after thousands of years of interaction, Hestia could still discern some of her niece's personality and habits.
Seeing Hestia's suspicion, Athena didn't bother hiding anymore as she put down her cup and paused thoughtfully before speaking.
"I see potential in him. I want to keep him around and train him to be one of my attendants."
"Why the sudden change of heart?"
Hestia was somewhat surprised and even more puzzled.
Normally, every deity and their followers are closely linked, with their powers interwoven, meaning that one's rise or fall affects the other, so great care must be taken.
Instead of carefully selecting from the demigods of Olympus, Athena had instead chosen this random guy she happened to encounter in Knossos City, and Hestia couldn't understand her reasoning.
"It wasn't sudden; I've had this idea for a long time, but I just couldn't find the right candidate," Athena said, twirling the cup in her hand and looking out the window at the street market with a deep sigh.
"Last time, I went to see King Minos and tried to convince him to endure and restore his sacrifices to my father and uncle. But he's determined not to serve the Olympian gods anymore…"
Hestia fell silent upon hearing this.
In the world created by the gods, the consequences of offending a deity are not something that needs to be elaborated on.
The old humans who drowned in the great flood are the best example.
Hestia had intended to ask Athena to try persuading King Minos again, but after opening her mouth, she didn't say anything.
As a husband, to see his wife violated by a beast; As a monarch, to see his honor trampled by a god; Any man with blood in his veins would likely never tolerate this.
Had it not been for the fact that this well-respected king still cared about his people and the survival of the entire island of Crete, he might have already drawn his sword against the sea god, defending his dignity as a man.
Although she was one of the gods, Hestia had lived among humans for so long that she had almost become assimilated by the secular world.
She could not bring herself to criticize King Minos's choice.
What's more, King Minos also had a clear distinction between gratitude and resentment.
He had only cut off sacrifices to Zeus, Poseidon, and the other male gods, but continued to honor sacrifices to Athena, Demeter, and Hestia, the goddess of the hearth.
This made it even harder for Hestia to speak up.
However, if the gods discovered this deliberate neglect, it could lead to a tragic outcome.
Whether it was King Minos or the people of Minos.
Hestia could almost foresee the outcome in her mind and, with a slight bite of her cherry lips, felt a pang of reluctance.
"Is there no other way?"
"I don't know. I can only try, but I cannot defy the power of my father," Athena replied as she glanced at Nikki, who was happily chatting with the little Medusa in the backyard, and her voice lowered.
"—At least not now."
Hestia seemed not to have heard her rebellious words, and turned to look at the guy lying motionless in the backyard, lost in thought.
"So, you want to keep him here in Knossos City, just in case?"
Athena nodded slightly and spoke candidly.
"Since this is the fate humanity has chosen for itself, when it's time to let go, we must let them find their own path."
The goddess of wisdom gazed out at the vast and lofty sky, her gaze deep and far-reaching.
"Even if it's a child, there will come a day when they grow up and eventually leave the cradle."
"That may be so, but what can they do about things we can't change?"
Hestia shook her head, her face filled with worry.
"Not necessarily…" Athena smiled, her thin cherry lips curling into a slight arc. "The last flood has already made our old grandmother very unhappy, not to mention that the new humans who have survived the disaster have also received her blessing. The Olympian gods may hold back a bit because of this, and even if they want to act, they probably won't be as bold as before."
Hestia's eyes lit up upon hearing this.
In the Bronze Age, the primordial humans created by Prometheus and Athena had become increasingly corrupt due to the opening of Pandora's box.
The gods, under the pretense of "maintaining the purity of the world," launched a great flood to exterminate the "impure" old humans.
In an instant, the earth turned into a vast ocean, and countless lives vanished in an instant. This act drew the displeasure of the Earth Mother, Gaia.
As the goddess of the Earth and mother of all gods, Gaia's divinity granted hope and blessings to all life on Earth.
Washing away life with a flood was, to her, a great offense.
Thus, the Earth Mother Gaia protected the descendants of Prometheus, Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha, and sent them a divine message from her temple on Mount Parnassus, guiding them to preserve the fire of humanity.
"The land is the mother seed of all things, and the stones are my bones. You must veil yourselves, remove your clothes, and pick up the earth and stones from the ground and scatter them upon the land outside the temple."
Following Gaia's will, the couple cast the earth and stones behind them onto the land.
Soon, the earth behind them began to take shape, becoming flesh, while the stones turned into soft bones, and the patterns on the stones became veins.
The earth thrown by Deucalion turned into men, while Pyrrha's turned into women.
Thus, a new human race was born.
So, in a certain sense, the humans of today are also descendants of the Earth Mother Gaia.
Although this grandmother had long been asleep in the temple on Mount Parnassus, her power still lingered.
If another great flood were to be unleashed, even the king of the gods, Zeus, would have to carefully consider the consequences of angering this grandmother.
"I will try my best to mediate on Olympus and prevent them from acting personally..."
Athena spoke her plan in a deep voice, then cast a distant gaze toward the backyard.
"But whether or not it can break the deadlock, that depends on them."
"Are you sure he's the one you're looking for?"
Hestia pressed her lips together, clearly worried.
"How would we know if we don't try?"
Athena spoke calmly, her admiration for the little guy in the backyard obvious in her expression.
"Besides, don't underestimate him. Not many can survive after taking so many of my strikes."
At this moment, as her mind replayed the scene from when they first met, a meaningful expression couldn't help but appear on the face of the Goddess of Wisdom.
No matter what, a little rascal who dares to steal from her offerings was certainly better than the half-bloods on Olympus who trembled at the sight of the gods and never dared to resist.
(End of Chapter)