Hades's scrutiny of Hecate did not last long.
Hades ignored the goddess of magic, who was trying to shrink into the shadows.
He understood the problem.
With Metis's wisdom and reason, even if she encountered the double coincidence of Eros's divine power and Hecate's transferred magic, how could she so easily succumb to an external emotion of eros?
Unless... she wasn't being influenced, but was using it to... flirt with him.
Yes, the overly sweet and cloying tone, if you removed the surface exaggeration, was indeed a very bold form of flirtation.
It was just that this method was too 'novel', and Hades, accustomed to Metis's usual depth of calculation and planning, hadn't been able to figure it out for a while.
Having realized this, most of the coldness around Hades instantly dissipated.
"Hecate," his voice returned to its usual indifference, but no longer carried the weight of investigation.
"Step back for now."
Hecate, as if pardoned, nearly cried with joy and quickly bowed: "Yes! Your Majesty!"
Before she finished speaking, she transformed into a shadow and quickly dissolved into the darkness of the throne room.
In the empty hall, only Hades remained, sitting alone.
He was silent for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts and communicating with a distant being.
"Metis." His consciousness reached out to her—calm and unwavering, but with undeniable penetrating power.
"Ah~ You've been found out, darling ♡?" Almost immediately, Metis's response sounded in his consciousness, the sweet tone still there.
But if you tasted it carefully, there was a hint of cunning and deliberate mischief in it.
"Have you had enough fun?" Hades stated directly, his voice betraying neither joy nor anger.
"Oh, really~ I don't understand this kind of fun at all." Metis's voice instantly returned to its usual clarity and wisdom.
But the coyness was even stronger, as if a layer of disguise had been stripped away, revealing the true intention.
"I just think you have such a serious face all day, dealing with these souls and authorities~ Isn't it fun to interact in a different way sometimes? ♡" She even habitually added the symbol at the end.
Hades was silent.
He had his doubts about this kind of 'fun'.
Seeing that Hades didn't respond, Metis chuckled, and the topic of conversation suddenly shifted, her tone becoming imperceptibly sly, with a hint of seemingly careless nitpicking:
"But on the other hand, my dear His Majesty the King of Hades... This time you really did 'investigate' the 'anomaly' in me quite thoroughly."
Her voice was slow, like the sharpest thread wrapping around Hades's consciousness.
"Olympus, the deep sea, the earth... But it seems every goddess with even a bit of fame, regardless of status, regardless of the size of their priesthood, has been 'visited' by you personally?"
"Oh?" Metis's tone rose, with an aura that made Hades instinctively feel 'dangerous'.
"How do you know the residences, temple locations, and even some hidden dwelling places of each goddess so well?"
"Your Majesty, the High and Mighty King of Hades," her voice grew softer, but each word pierced the heart.
"Apart from your poor Queen of the Underworld, trapped by the power of eros and in need of your 'rescue'... it turns out you still 'care' so much about other women?"
Hades, sitting on the throne, tensed almost imperceptibly for a moment.
Sweating heavily, Your Majesty the King of Hades.
His mind quickly replayed his previous actions:
To find the source of the influence on Metis, he had investigated all possible existences in the most direct way.
Among them, naturally, were many goddesses.
His actions were based purely on logic and necessity, with no extraneous ideas.
But at this moment, with Metis pointing it out in this tone, especially emphasizing the words 'goddess' and 'care'... the flavor of the matter had completely changed.
How to explain?
Explain that this was just a necessary procedure of the investigation?
Doesn't that mean he knows the 'residences' of these goddesses solely by virtue of his authority?
Under Metis's smile, which seemed to see through everything, any explanation seemed pale and powerless, and could even make things worse.
At this moment, Hades found himself in a more difficult situation than when facing the devouring Cronus.
—————————————————————
Meanwhile, Hecate, still in shock, was about to find a quiet corner to calm down when she was stopped by a tall figure exuding blood and steel.
It was Ares.
The war god looked a little unusual right now.
He no longer looked like he was about to roar viciously on the battlefield, but seemed a bit... awkward?
On that face, full of aggression and impulsiveness, appeared a kind of hesitation and embarrassment, completely inconsistent with his temperament.
"Uh... Hecate." Ares's voice was a little dry, like rusty armor scraping.
Hecate rubbed her still-aching temples and glared at him: "What is it, War God? If you want me to help you create a new war weapon, I'm not free right now and not in the mood."
"No... No." Ares quickly waved his hand, his movements so violent they brought a gust of wind.
He opened his mouth, his face a little red, as if he wanted to say something but didn't know where to start, and could only utter meaningless syllables: "I... It's... This..."
Hecate looked at his hesitant look, and being as smart as she was, combined with recent gossip in the Underworld, she roughly guessed a few points in her heart.
The only thing that could make this straightforward man of steel so inarticulate was probably something related to the silent giant god Atlas.
She sighed and decided not to torture herself or the other party: "Is this about Atlas?"
Ares's eyes lit up, as if he had found a savior, and he nodded vigorously: "Yes! Yes! It's... It's..."
He got stuck again, unable to describe his twisted 'infatuation' and desire to get closer, but not knowing what to do.
Hecate helplessly supported her forehead.
Beating around the bush with a guy like this, who only has muscles and fighting on his mind, was a waste of time.
"Help, right?" She said directly, extending her fair hand, her fingertips shimmering with magical light.
Ares stared blankly at her outstretched hand, then at her, clearly not understanding the meaning.
Looking at his bewildered expression, Hecate didn't even have the energy to roll her eyes.
She no longer expected the war god to understand on his own and just did it directly.
A light flashed on her fingertips, and an invisible thread of magic instantly wrapped around Ares.
Ares tensed up but did not resist.
I saw wisps of dark red energy burst from the gaps in his armor, as if pulled and converged into Hecate's hands.
Gradually, it condensed into an irregular dark red crystal.
This was the 'war discontent' naturally concentrated in Ares, which was quite valuable to Hecate.
Having taken the 'reward' she wanted from him, Hecate felt a little better.
She put away the crystal and said to Ares, who was still in a daze:
"Eros's golden bow was confiscated by Catia and was not returned to the Underworld's arsenal. It was handed over to the goddess of memory, Mnemosyne, and is temporarily stored in her Temple of Memory."
She briefly delivered the message, then ignored Ares, her figure transforming into a streak of light and disappearing, leaving the War God alone to digest the information on the spot.
Ares was stunned for a moment, then fiercely slapped his head, a fighting flame igniting in his eyes—although the target of this flame was somewhat strange.
He turned around, took heavy steps, and rumbled off towards the Temple of Memory, pondering how to 'borrow' the golden bow that would allow him to 'do what he wanted'.
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