"Miss Saori is as forceful as ever. Once she starts fighting, it's like she becomes a different person—none of that earlier shyness at all." Standing outside a dojo used for sparring, Bado watched Saori effortlessly toss Seiya and the others and spoke earnestly.
"Of course. Miss Saori is personally trained by Lord Meruem. Even you or I might not beat her in pure hand-to-hand. Once she uses Cosmo, we're the ones getting thrashed. Miss Saori truly is the reincarnation of the goddess Athena," Wang Hu said without mincing words.
Yes, you heard right. As the reincarnation of the goddess of wisdom and war, Pallas Saori had been meticulously trained by Meruem all along.
Not just in knowledge—Meruem trained her in martial arts and Cosmo as well.
Let one of the Twelve Olympians, Athena, train like an ordinary Saint? Probably only Meruem would do that.
As for whether Athena would approve after fully awakening, Meruem didn't care.
If it came down to a fight, he was confident he could suppress her. And he was certain that even awakened, Athena wouldn't strike at him.
You, a goddess of wisdom and war, being weak at combat—is that something to brag about? Any god could outgrapple post-awakening Saori. Back when he watched the anime in his past life, Meruem was very annoyed by that.
Could you please learn from your last two incarnations? The previous one, Sasha, wasn't all that powerful in combat, but she fought with her life and never dragged her Saints down.
When Hades's reincarnation, Alone, swaggered into the Sanctuary, he nearly got skewered by Sasha on the spot. If Pandora hadn't intervened in time, the outcome was far from certain—there might not even have been a story left to tell.
The generation before that—the ojou-sama-style Athena reincarnation—stood alone at the front against Hades, the twin gods of Death and Sleep, and the Specters.
Since the Specters of that time could resurrect endlessly, Athena was under immense pressure—yet she didn't hesitate to face Thanatos, Hypnos, and Hades by herself. Judging by the final victory, Athena still won.
So, if Athena is cultivated well early on, she's absolutely at the level of one of Olympus's three chief gods—no wonder she's said to be second only to Zeus in divine power.
Which brings us to the next scene: Saori's daily routine—1v6 against the boys.
A one-sided beatdown, really. Aside from Jabu, that hopeless lovestruck perv, who kept getting tossed by Saori with a dopey grin and happily got back up for more—"being hit means she cares," he claimed—the other five were already too wiped to move.
Don't be fooled by Saori's small, soft-looking fists. Even Wang Hu and Bado couldn't take those punches.
"All right, Saori. That's enough testing for today," Meruem finally stepped in to stop her and called her back to his side.
The instant she returned to Meruem, Saori reverted to her shy self, nothing like the gallant figure she'd been mid-bout.
Still, the boys didn't hate Saori like they had in the original story at Mitsumasa Kido's home. Back then she came off like a spoiled rich princess. Now she was not only adorable but genuinely kind.
Aside from when she was fighting, Saori was quite easy to talk to—just a bit overly shy. Even without knowing she was Athena, she already held a very high place in the boys' hearts.
"Ow, ow, ow—Miss Saori's still so strong. I thought my hard training would count for something, but I'm still no match for her," Seiya said in an exaggerated tone, rubbing his backside. It was always his butt hitting the ground—of course it hurt.
"Seiya, did I hit too hard? I'm sorry…" Saori murmured timidly behind Meruem.
Her bashful look even stunned Shun—pretty as a girl himself—and Jabu practically had his eyeballs falling out. The five were still too young to really understand romance, but that didn't stop them from liking an exceptional girl.
Jabu stared at Seiya with envy and resentment. That damned Seiya beat me to talking with Miss Saori! Unforgivable!
He rapped Seiya on the back of the head in revenge, making Seiya yelp, then stepped in front of him and told Saori, "It's fine, Miss Saori. Seiya's skin is thicker than a castle wall—he doesn't feel pain."
Your skin is thicker than a castle wall! Seiya fumed.
Their antics made Saori giggle again, and the boys reverted to their lovestruck expressions.
Meruem watched helplessly as little Saori became the center of attention. Honestly, he hadn't expected her to naturally become the focus of the boys' gaze.
Originally he'd only hoped the boys wouldn't dislike her. Once they returned from training and officially became Saints, her identity as Athena would rally them under her banner.
But this worked too. At least the boys would recognize little Saori early on.
"Seiya, Hyoga, Ikki, Shun, Shiryu, Jabu—do you remember what I told you when I found you? I said I wanted you to protect someone," Meruem said slowly.
"Of course!" Seiya blurted out first. "The person we're to protect is Miss Saori, right?"
He sounded very sure.
The boys weren't dumb—don't underestimate them. As the reincarnations of Athena's five guardians, IQ was definitely part of the package.
"Correct. Quick on the uptake," Meruem said approvingly. "But as you are now, you can't carry that responsibility. So I plan to send you around the world to be taught by masters—become their disciples and ultimately the ultimate power that guards humanity—the Saints."
"Saints!" the boys exclaimed. Here with Meruem, they'd learned about Cosmo early and even heard of the legendary Sixth Sense. The most gifted among them, Ikki, had already awakened his Cosmo.
So while Saints were an unheard-of secret to most, they weren't here.
"Lord Meruem!" Shun raised his hand to speak. Meruem had taught them to raise hands if they had different opinions while someone else was speaking.
"Shun, what is it? Go ahead," Meruem said kindly. These kids would one day be excellent warriors.
"Lord Meruem… aren't you going to make us into Diao Daoshi like big brother Wang Hu and big brother Bado?" Wang Hu and Bado's Dark Cloths and identity as Diao Daoshi weren't secret here either.
"Dark Cloths are fine, but compared to the Sanctuary's Cloths, they're a bit inferior—both in defense and in amplifying Cosmo. If I could, I wouldn't even let Wang Hu and Bado inherit Dark Cloths. Only Silver or even Gold Cloths would suit them. And believe me, you need more than Dark Cloths. I've already picked out Cloths that match each of you. They're absolutely the most suitable," Meruem explained.
"So that means… we have to leave?" Shun's clear eyes blinked, instantly welling with tears—he was about to cry.
A large hand rested gently on his head, and the tears retreated at once.
"Yes—but only for a while. I want you to grow stronger. After you return from your training, I'll feel at ease entrusting Saori to your care. Remember what I told you? Saori is a fallen-on-hard-times Athena, and you are the Saints who guard her. For certain reasons, the Sanctuary failed to protect Athena's reincarnation, and Saori ended up outside. But the Sanctuary is where she belongs. I want her to take back what is hers—and for that, I need your help. Will you help me?" Meruem mussed Shun's hair as he spoke. In truth, if Meruem really wanted to help Saori reclaim the Sanctuary, he could do it alone.
But saying it this way would spur the boys to go train and earn their Cloths.
"Seiya. I've found a lead on your sister's whereabouts. When you complete your training, that will be the day you reunite."
"Hyoga. The glacier where your mother is buried is where you'll train. After you earn your Cloth, you might be able to see her. But… forgive me, I'm no god—I can't resurrect the dead."
"Shiryu. You'll return to your homeland. It's a beautiful place, and the elder there is a legendary Gold Saint."
"Shun. You'll go to a place perfectly suited to you… though, well, there are lots of beautiful women."
"Ikki. The place you're headed is more dangerous than the others' combined. But I believe it suits you best. If you can earn that Cloth's recognition, I believe you'll surpass even Gold Saints. In some ways, that Cloth is stronger than a Gold Cloth."
"It's time to say goodbye. See you in three years."
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