— — — — — —
'Who told you this was about that…' Athena thought irritably.
Still, having finally struck gold only to see it walk away, she was naturally unwilling to let it go so easily.
She tried to keep him, "You should know how valuable this Divinity is... no better say Spirit Rank. It's Loki's complete Spirit Rank."
"It's," Ryo said with a shrug, sighing helplessly. "But for me, it only works once."
Loki's Spirit Rank was precious, no doubt. But to Ryo, it was nothing more than proof of his disappointment in Athena.
Don't be fooled by how agreeable he looked, how readily he had cooperated with her up to now. In truth, he had already passed final judgment on Athena's risk assessment.
Why had he agreed to work with her in the first place?
Because of that moment. That brilliant afternoon. That Japanese-style courtyard. When the Goddess of Wisdom had looked at him and said words that made his heart race: "Don't lump me together with Shiroyasha whose path is almost cut off."
Listen to that. How domineering. Even Shiroyasha, once a dominant force among the Two Digits, wasn't worth mentioning in her eyes.
Back then, Ryo had thought he'd found a Two-Digit-level backer. He'd nearly cried tears of joy.
And then what happened?
The backlash from the Campione world hit. And Athena backed down.
Just in time for Omega to protect him. Of course there was Shiroyasha shadow there.
That wasn't even the end.
Athena didn't want to be the scapegoat anymore. No even a trace of connection.
Such a downgrade. From an unlimited scapegoat to a one-time-use Loki Spirit Rank.
Who even was Loki? That tiny Nordic myth pool, how much blame could it possibly carry?
It would probably explode in one go, sending the entire Nordic mythos spiraling into the sky.
Unlimited became disposable. Ryo was tired.
He didn't want to continue a "relationship" that was clearly doomed from the start.
Athena's brow twitched sharply. She pressed a hand against the window behind her and said coldly. "I've never taken back something I've given away."
She didn't care much about losing a Spirit Rank, but Ryo's sudden change in attitude annoyed her more than she cared to admit.
Just days ago, he'd been all sweetness and smiles. Now that she'd lost her value, she was suddenly the wicked woman?
The wording was crude, sure, but it fit her mood perfectly.
Just moments ago, when Leticia was still here, they'd been in perfect sync.
Now Hermes was dead, and he'd turned his back without hesitation.
Wasn't that a little too fast to fall out of love?
"Oh."
Ryo calmly put the Spirit Rank away and looked at Athena, giving a slight shake of his head.
That simple gesture choked off all the words she'd prepared.
She stared at his face in silence for two or three seconds, then finally sighed. "Fine. In the end, I was too greedy."
She'd wanted to draw Ryo in with just some faith, some protection, and Loki's Spirit Rank. Even though she'd kept raising the price, it was reasonable that he wasn't impressed.
Compared to Ryo Yagami's value, she really hadn't paid enough.
"As for cooperation… let's put it on hold for now. We can talk later."
Athena still didn't want to give up.
Like someone who wins ten dollars on a lottery ticket and keeps buying more, dreaming of hitting five million.
She had already invested quite a lot in Ryo.
Faith and authority given to the other Athena. The Spirit Rank given to Ryo. And twice standing against internal pressure from the Greek gods.
After paying that much, she couldn't possibly settle for an equal return.
Especially when Ryo was effectively returning her investment at a discount.
She refused to believe he didn't understand this. Even if she hadn't invested heavily in him, she'd poured enormous resources into the other Athena.
If it weren't for that version of me having that kind of relationship with you, would I really have gone that far?
Athena felt a trace of resentment rise in her heart.
At that moment, Ryo smiled and asked, "Are you still planning to attend tomorrow's banquet?"
Athena paused, then narrowed her eyes as she studied his face. "I will. But in a different way."
Athena had never been one to accept defeat.
She was the Goddess of Victory, after all.
---
"Hey, Kenshin," Mata said, cracking open a beer and taking a sip as she leaned against the bridge railing. "Why do you think Ryo Yagami killed Hermes even after he surrendered?"
"Wasn't he on pretty good terms with Greece?"
"More accurately," Uesugi Kenshin replied, pulling edamame from a plastic bag and casually cracking them open, "he's engaged to Athena's disciple, Aishelia. That doesn't necessarily mean things are good."
"Of course, if he has private dealings with Athena herself, and Zeus got involved too, then it's not that strange."
She popped the warm beans into her mouth.
"But putting everything else aside, that move alone is going to have a huge impact on the Gift Game the day after tomorrow."
Kenshin glanced around at the small communities wandering about, too weak at Five-Digit level to have seen what really happened, just stepping outside to investigate now. She frowned.
"Once this spreads tomorrow and everyone learns that Arcadia killed Hermes's incarnation, a lot of the spectators who came just to watch the show are probably going to bolt."
"Oh, come on," Mata snorted. "Just a bunch of opportunists."
"Those absent gods might stick around out of curiosity. These small communities? Most of them came to 'invest' in Arcadia."
"They think they're Arcadia's talent scouts?"
"Ryo knows perfectly well that Arcadia's leader needs at least Four-Digit strength just to make them show their face. And these people are still playing dumb. Hah."
Mata let out a disdainful chuckle. "They want to invest early in a newborn Arcadia without even checking if they're up to it."
In Little Garden, community development wasn't all that different from building a business.
High-tier communities, especially those at Four Digits and above, would support or indirectly control smaller ones to expand their influence.
That demand naturally gave rise to investment-like behavior.
After all, if you could trade a bit of money and some unimportant resources for "founder shares" in a community destined to grow, who would say no?
And right now, this City was packed with communities like that.
Mostly Five-Digit ones, with a few Four-Digit communities harboring their own ambitions.
For them, success or failure both had upsides.
If Arcadia succeeded, they'd reap the benefits of its rise. If it failed, they could still sell Arcadia-related intelligence, or try to crack whatever exclusive products Arcadia released next.
At worst, they could use the stage Arcadia built to do business with other communities.
In short, none of them were fools. Every last one was sharp as a fox, clearly not the honest type.
Kenshin glanced toward the stream, spotting a Salamandra scout, and said calmly, "For people like them, once this fully blows up tomorrow, I'd say eight out of ten won't even show up to the banquet."
"Wait, Kenshin…" Mata grabbed a few edamame and stuffed them into her mouth, looking suspicious. "What if that's exactly what Ryo wants?"
"The Arcadia Gift Game venue can't handle two million people, so he deliberately thins the crowd?"
"That's… unlikely, right?" Kenshin said, slightly stunned.
"My gossip instincts say that might be the truth," Mata said, waggling a finger with a grin. "Care to make a bet?"
"Sure. What are we betting?"
"Tomorrow, I'll ask him directly at the banquet. If that really was his intention, I'll owe you one favor. If not, you owe me."
"Deal."
The two longtime colleagues exchanged smiles on the bridge, the mood light and cheerful.
'You old gossip hound… just wait till I get you,' Kenshin thought pleasantly. 'I'll show you what happens when you slander me as a manly woman in the papers.'
'Heh heh,' Mata thought as she took another drink. 'If I win, I'll make Iron Virgin Kenshin publicly talk about her ideal partner and run it across all of Little Garden.'
'That reaction would be priceless.'
Their expressions mirrored each other perfectly. Some things didn't need to be said.
.
.
.