Half an hour later, the goddess finally let Akuto go, ending that long farewell kiss.
"That is enough. I shall take my leave for now."
"Akuto, my ally. I look forward to the day we overturn this world together."
Athena's voice lingered by his ear.
In the next instant, she turned into a plume of black smoke and gradually vanished.
...
"Let's move. It's time to head to Sicily."
After conquering Athena and sending her off, Akuto's plans officially entered their next phase.
At noon, when the blazing afternoon sun shone at its fiercest, Liliana and Erica were already dressed and ready.
The two of them had accepted Akuto's invitation and were preparing to go on what he had called "a somewhat thrilling" date.
Even though Akuto had invited both of them at the same time, neither of them expressed any dissatisfaction with how unusual the invitation was. In fact, after learning that Akuto only intended to bring the two of them and no one else, Liliana and Erica exchanged a meaningful glance, as if they had already agreed on something between themselves.
By now, the women around Akuto had all tacitly accepted that the two girls had already entered the stage where their relationship with him was only one step away from becoming truly intimate. As for why Akuto was only bringing the two of them and not anyone else, both Liliana and Erica understood perfectly well.
After everything they had gone through, the way Liliana and Erica thought had already changed.
If, at first, both Erica and Liliana had felt that their relationship with Akuto was progressing too quickly, now they only felt that it was moving too slowly.
After all, putting everyone else aside, even Athena had urged them to hurry. That alone was enough to make them seriously reflect on why they had ended up falling behind everyone else.
The conclusion Erica reached was simple: she had been too shy.
For one thing, Akuto was someone who valued feelings deeply. From the very beginning, he had known that there was no point in forcing things forward with them, so he had never focused too much attention on them.
For another, Akuto preferred to save the best for last.
...
After realizing where the problem lay, Erica and Liliana abandoned their previous hostility and formed a close alliance.
Just a short while ago, the two of them had still been thinking about how to outpace the other and become the first to truly cross that line with Akuto. But now they had become the closest of allies. All one could say was that Athena truly was justice without equal.
When facing Athena, Erica and Liliana had no choice but to cast aside their differences and stand together against such a powerful opponent.
Of course, that did not mean the two of them were on hostile terms with Athena. Quite the opposite. They had even accepted Athena's invitation and become her shrine maidens.
But Athena's appearance had made them fully realize one thing: if they kept hesitating, they might not even get a share of the leftovers.
Hadn't Athena said it herself? She intended to join hands with the Divine Realm and help Akuto establish connections with even more goddesses and queenly goddesses.
Which meant that in the future, they might have to face even more goddess candidates, or even rivals on the level of divine queens.
The situation was far too grim. There was no room left for them to keep competing with each other.
And so, under Athena's prompting and faced with the crisis of new rivals appearing, Erica and Liliana, two girls who had been competing with each other since childhood, formed a tightly bound offensive and defensive alliance.
While Akuto was seeing Athena off, Erica and Liliana had already made up their minds. It would not just be the two of them. If possible, even their two maids could be brought in as well. In any case, they had to make Akuto feel their sincerity and secure their place in his harem as soon as possible.
At this point, Erica and Liliana were no longer as awkward and hesitant as before. They had directly accepted the fact that they were Akuto's companions and that they needed to deepen their relationship with him as quickly as possible.
As for everything else, naturally, it would all proceed on that basis.
...
"So? Are you ready? We're about to set out."
Akuto looked toward Erica and Liliana.
He noticed that the way the two of them looked at each other, and at him, seemed a little different from before.
After a moment's thought, he understood.
With Athena's wisdom, she had obviously anticipated this too. That was why she had deliberately mentioned, in front of Erica and Liliana, that she would be contacting the other goddesses of the Divine Realm.
As expected of the Goddess of Wisdom. She really did think several steps ahead.
Akuto had already seen far too many grand scenes. Something like this was nowhere near enough to surprise him.
He had never particularly minded the possibility of the girls in his harem joining hands. The only thing he could promise was that he would do his best to treat everyone as fairly as possible, satisfy each of them as their partner, and stand before them openly and honestly. That was all.
Once he confirmed that the two girls were ready, Akuto stretched out a hand. Space instantly twisted.
Wrapped in the Holy Spear's power, the way his Vāmana Authority judged distance had changed from targeting only himself to covering an entire area.
Together with the air around them, the three of them vanished from the manor.
...
Sicily, the island long famed as a tourist paradise, now displayed a face completely different from its usual one.
The azure Mediterranean had lost its former calm. Surging waves battered the reef-strewn coast. Dark clouds crowded the sky, and lightning occasionally split the heavens, followed by peals of rolling thunder.
"Akuto-sama, judging from this weather, I'm afraid a storm is coming."
Erica frowned slightly. The sea breeze lifted her beautiful golden hair, making it shine with an exquisite golden luster.
Though in her heart she had already shortened the distance between herself and Akuto enough that she could call him Akuto-kun, as Akuto's knight, Erica still usually addressed him as "Akuto-sama."
As for when she would change that form of address, Erica guessed it would probably happen within the next day or two.
...
"A storm, yes." Akuto nodded.
"This time, we're here precisely to pursue the storm over Sicily."
"If we leave it alone, the storm over Sicily will probably last for several days."
"And if we're going to have decent weather for our date, then of course we'll have to deal with the storm first."
Hearing that, understanding flashed through Liliana's silver eyes.
"You mean... this abnormal weather wasn't formed naturally?"
"Of course not."
Akuto looked out over the churning sea, his gaze seeming to pierce straight through the deep blue water.
"The only thing capable of causing an anomaly on this scale is a god."
At those words, Erica reacted instantly, and a faint blush spread across her fair face.
"Could it be... Akuto-sama, when you said this would be 'a somewhat thrilling date,' you meant..."
Erica had finally realized it. She had mistaken Akuto's so-called "somewhat thrilling date" for the idea that he was planning to spend some private time with both her and Liliana at once.
"Hm? Could it be? Why say 'could it be'?"
Akuto curled his lips into an amused smile and threw the question right back at her.
"I... Hmph! That's because you didn't explain yourself clearly, Akuto-sama!"
Erica's already flushed face turned even redder, making her look all the more adorable.
Still, she did have a point.
Akuto had only told them they were going on "a somewhat thrilling date." He had never told them where they were actually going.
Anyone in that situation would naturally think of a very different kind of thrilling date first.
"Fine, fine. My fault, all right? Erica, you're such a pure child. Without my guidance, you'd probably go on living a spotless and innocent life."
Akuto's smile did not fade. That counted as sparing Erica, at least verbally.
But both Erica and Liliana lowered their heads with reddened faces.
Because Akuto had not really been wrong.
Even if Akuto had not specifically said this would be "a somewhat thrilling date," both of them had already assumed that he intended to make a move on them at the same time, and they had fully prepared themselves mentally for it.
...
"Well, if the two of you are fine with it, then the 'somewhat thrilling date' you were just imagining can happen after we take down the sea god."
Originally, Akuto had intended to keep the first time as close to one-on-one as possible. But if Erica and Liliana, stimulated by Athena, wanted their first time to be two-on-one instead, he did not mind indulging them.
After all, even Akuto had to admit that Athena in her triune form had simply been too overwhelming. Who could withstand three goddesses with similar beauty, each one top-tier and charming in her own way?
"Mmm..."
At those words, Erica and Liliana blushed all the way to their ears.
They had already prepared themselves to support Akuto from the sidelines. What they had not expected was for Akuto to openly ask whether they wanted to join him directly.
After taking a sip of ice water to steady herself, Erica was the first to ask:
"Akuto-sama, do you want us to experience what it's like to fight a god, or... do you mean for the three of us to take him on together as a trial?"
When she asked that, Erica already had a rough guess in her heart.
Because if he had only intended to let them experience it, there would have been no need for him to say that they were the protagonists of this outing.
"Of course this is a trial for you," Akuto replied with a smile.
"Erica, wasn't your wish to slay a god and stand shoulder to shoulder with your ancestor of Astraea? Well, now you have an excellent opportunity right in front of you."
"You should have seen it yesterday. Even without Athena's acknowledgment, I still obtained the authority-bearing staff from Perseus."
"As long as you succeed in defeating the sea god Karl through your own strength, then even if Athena doesn't acknowledge your godslaying, I'll still share Karl's Authority with you."
Because of the Usurpation Disc's upgraded form, Akuto could now not only claim the Authorities he was meant to gain, but also bestow each of them outward once.
"Oh, right, Liliana. Back in Act Three, didn't you say you wanted to become a god too?"
"You wouldn't want to see Erica become a godslayer while you remain where you are, would you?"
"So why not undergo the trial together?"
As he spoke, Akuto directly tossed a gray-white stone tablet toward the two of them.
(End of Chapter)
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