Athena's lofty argument continued:
"By contrast, Your Majesty Thalos Borson, you can unite all forces within your pantheon. You can even make use of a god-king like Odin who once 'betrayed' the Aesir, turning him into a trump card that undermines the foundation of Zeus's rule. On internal matters, you are clearly superior."
"As for subordinate forces, Zeus can only crudely enslave the conquered pantheons, failing to make good use of their worlds or of them themselves. You, however, have integrated the new-god bloc very well. I can clearly feel that, though the new Aesir are not the same race as an elder god like you, they're still willing to bleed and sacrifice for you."
"Finally, externally. The Olympian pantheon has lost completely—neither fully controlling the elemental power of the subordinate worlds nor integrating it. I can't imagine what kind of tragedy it'll be when the Greek world faces the Ginnungagap world."
Athena went on at length, concluding: "I know my defection will make Your Majesty think I'm merely cornered and choosing the victor's side. But I want to say—I hold many secrets of the Olympian world that can let Your Majesty win at a smaller cost."
Thalos, propping his cheek in his hand, a strange, unfathomable divine light flickering in his eyes, smiled. "Athena, thou art indeed clever—yet how canst thou be sure what I desire is a smaller cost, rather than a fitting cost?"
A bolt of lightning struck Athena's heart.
She understood Thalos was warning her: in a showdown with the Olympians, he could also appropriately expend the forces of those deities the Aesir had already subjugated. So long as too many elder Aesir didn't fall, in the most extreme case, even if the mortal-sized new gods all died out, it wouldn't be unacceptable.
Even knowing it was a threat, it also meant the Olympian secrets she held weren't that valuable.
Athena was truly smart; she knew that if she tried to sell secrets at a premium, it would only disgust the God-Emperor she was fated to serve. She simply knelt again.
"I wouldn't dare to coerce Your Majesty. The secrets I know, I will present in full. Whatever Your Majesty wishes to know, I'll tell everything now."
Thalos waved his hand. "Start with the important bits."
He switched from a formal, formulaic "thou" to a plain "you"—a very subtle signal in terms of address.
Quick as she was, Athena understood at once.
She crawled over, nestled in beside her sister and aunt, unceremoniously took a spot, and, while massaging Thalos in his mortal size, spilled her trove like beans from a jar.
Much of it matched the Greek myths as Thalos knew them, though there were Olympian inside stories as well.
Only after Athena finally finished did Thalos let her off. "What are your terms? Speak."
"I hope to use the Rainbow Bridge or a spatial corridor to bring my followers in Athens to a Ginnungagap subsidiary world. My dear Lord, information doesn't travel well in the universe; there's a good chance Zeus still doesn't know I've defected to the Aesir. If possible, I'd like to preserve my followers, like my sister Artemis."
Hestia added softly, "There are many of my followers in Athens as well."
This Greek world was larger than the Greece of the Earth Thalos had transmigrated from, and its terrain differed slightly. Mount Olympus lay in the north, a good three hundred kilometers from Athens. While the holy mountain had been destroyed by the Titans, they had actually spared Athens.
Up to now Athens had been under Athena's protection and hadn't been annihilated, and Athenians' faiths were mixed, worshiping different Olympians. Pulling all Athenians out would be a not-insignificant blow to Olympian deities who lived on belief.
Thalos's lips quirked. "Okay."
In that moment, Athena was finally content. Obediently, she gathered her waterfall of black hair up with both hands, first displaying the highly "defensive" front armor, then, with a graceful right-hand motion, smoothed the long tresses at her right temple, cheeks faintly flushed, and bowed down…
Thalos couldn't help thinking that, though Athena had extraordinarily rich theoretical knowledge, she ultimately lacked practice and couldn't yet be shameless (hm, typo).
Which was fine.
It was exactly what Thalos wanted.
Only now could he be said to have completed his Olympian full collection (3/3)!
Swear and fail—that's bragging.
Swear and do it—what do you call that?
Looking at Athena's refined, elegant features—becoming like a blossom struck by white frost as she fulfilled the oath—filled Thalos with a sense of accomplishment.
That it was a textbook divine aunt-and-niece pair made it even better.
At Thalos's level, ordinary worldly things no longer stirred his interest.
He was beginning to understand why some rich men back before he transmigrated grew bored enough to pursue extremes.
Psychologically, only breaking thresholds again and again brings greater joy.
Joy isn't about the absolute value; it's about the increment.
For him, perhaps only world-scale destruction and conquest at this level could rouse his interest.
Gazing at the three luminous, exquisitely lovely faces—slightly similar to each other—gathered in a triangle, Thalos was delighted.
His divine sight pierced space and fell upon the outer reaches of the Greek world.
There, a grand battle had just come to an end.
A battered Apollo, like a doll played to pieces, was being grabbed by the much-larger-by-threefold Thor and dragged like a dead dog into the rainbow light. As for the Greek true gods who had come with the three god-kings—not a one got away; the wolfish Aesir mob cut down or captured them all.
"Oh? They caught Apollo." Thalos's offhand remark earned him a flurry of pecking kisses from Artemis's red lips.
There was nothing to be done about Apollo's beating. Even if he yielded in his heart, his office—his principles—wouldn't allow him to just kneel and surrender. Whether his legs were broken and he was dragged to the Golden Palace steps, or he was left with a breath and tossed in the dungeon, he didn't care.
Saving face to suffer in silence—that was Apollo.
No matter; with Artemis carrying Thalos's child, Apollo's treatment wouldn't be too harsh.
As for what to do with Apollo, Thalos hadn't decided.
The Aesir's god of light certainly wouldn't be Apollo. Even if Baldr was a lightweight, at least he was Thalos's own.
Thalos thought a moment. "Once Apollo recovers, have him be Frey's assistant."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Artemis only grew hotter.
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