Chapter 170
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 170
Chapter Title: Goddess of Wisdom and Strategy, Athena
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Goddess of wisdom and strategy, Athena.
She too was a goddess of such beauty that, far in the future, she would rival Hera and Aphrodite in contests of loveliness.
Her hair evoked the pure silver-gray of morning mist, and her gray eyes sparkled with sharp intellect and inspiration.
Yet her androgynous beauty, which revealed no hint of emotion, gleamed with cool precision, and her divine power—forged to razor sharpness without a single flaw—earned her the title of war goddess alongside Ares.
However.
'Hmm, she's tiny.'
It wasn't about her height.
Her sleek, slender build was the perfect form for a female warrior like Atalanta aspired to, but the fruit of womanhood most vital to a man—her breasts—were decidedly small.
No, small didn't even cover it; they were practically nonexistent.
Athena.
The wisest and most sagacious, the eldest daughter of Olympus and advisor to Zeus.
Flat-chested.
What a tragedy.
"Ah, you must be startled. Are you hurt anywhere, young demigod?"
"N-no, I'm fine."
At a glance, the androgynous goddess who could pass for a pretty boy checked on my well-being with a composed voice.
She suited the role so perfectly, it evoked the image of a prince on a white steed from a fairy tale.
No wonder she had the second-most female worshippers in the Forest of Heroes after Apollo.
"Whew..."
"Lady Athena...!"
"I thought we were done for..."
The crowd that had gathered let out sighs of relief at Athena's heroic intervention, which had averted disaster like a prince from legend in that hair-trigger moment.
But I fixed my expression blank and glared past her at Artemis, who had collapsed to the ground, legs giving out.
"Ah, Athena...?"
"...Artemis."
Artemis's eyes widened like a startled rabbit's—she clearly hadn't expected Athena to intervene—but Athena's voice was ice-cold.
"Hah... For gods to abuse their divinity in such petty, foolish ways..."
Athena coldly swept her gaze over Artemis, who stood dazed with her now-arrowless bow, and Apollo, unconscious behind her. Then she turned back to face me.
"...."
"...."
It was a familiar gaze.
Deep, profound eyes brimming with mystery.
Eyes that evoked nostalgia, wistfulness, profound displeasure, and even hatred toward someone from my past.
Those gray eyes, which seemed to peer straight through me just by looking, reminded me of that inscrutable intellect belonging to someone.
Even the faint fragrance teasing my nostrils.
The gray hair utterly divorced from the Middle Kingdom or a million years of history.
That calm demeanor.
The well-muscled, vibrant physique.
Even those pathetically flat breasts.
Not a single feature matched.
Yet for the mere echo they carried, Athena made me step back instinctively.
"...Tch!"
"...?"
I held both the initiative and the justification right now.
Having nearly been shot by an arrow out of nowhere, I could have pressed Artemis and Apollo hard for accountability.
But did this prince on a white horse know? That a single word from her in the past had made a demon—who torched eight fortresses, each larger than most Greek kingdoms—instantly retreat.
I could push forward aggressively and get my way, but my momentum had fizzled. And given who she was, I reined in my own aggression and took a step back.
'The kids are one thing, but Athena's another.'
Personal impressions aside, Athena was a heavyweight goddess.
Artemis and Apollo, who had spiked my blood pressure, were like spoiled chaebol brats born to the chairman's concubines.
But the prince before me was the legitimate eldest daughter of that same household—the child of Zeus's first wife, before Hera.
Her birth had its complications, but she was undeniably Olympus's eldest princess. With her abilities and wisdom, she served as Zeus's advisor.
Her title as patron of mighty Athens—the most prosperous city-state in Greece—meant her influence, authority, and even divine power dwarfed the twins' by comparison.
"I greet you, advisor to Olympus and wise Athena."
"I too am pleased to meet the hero renowned beyond Chiron’s sanctuary."
I dipped my head slightly in greeting, and Athena returned the courtesy politely, both of us revealing our intentions.
Among her myriad titles and epithets, singling out "advisor to Olympus" and "wise" was a warning.
In other words:
'I'll yield a step out of respect for your background and fame, but don't think I'll bend family ties—cross that line, and I'll snap your arm.'
Or something like that.
Catching on, Athena arched her willow-leaf brows slightly and countered:
'You're right, but a newbie just rising to fame talks awfully bold, don't you think?'
This level of verbal fencing was basic for princes and princesses in the Forest of Heroes after a short stay.
"This is still Dionysus's banquet. Though an unfortunate incident occurred, we should move the injured and tidy up for his sake, don't you think?"
"Sure, fine by me."
"Artemis, did you hear? Return to Olympus first."
"Huh? Oh, yeah!"
Snapping to at Athena's words, Artemis gathered her brother and cloaked herself in divine power.
Spatial translocation, teleportation—powers not yet granted to me.
'Handy if I could learn it...'
"Eek!?"
Lost in the thought as I watched her enveloped in silver divinity, Artemis shuddered, noticing my gaze.
But only for a moment. The she-beast and her would-be slave vanished in a blaze of light, and the murmuring crowd dispersed in small groups at Athena's command.
The whole forest was a festival anyway, with wine and song overflowing everywhere nonstop.
And tonight, those who witnessed the sun and moon kneel in shadow, or Athena unveiling her true form, would be honored guests anywhere.
'Boosting my fame in the process.'
This was leagues beyond showing off martial prowess to demigods.
Overpowering gods—especially Apollo, the most beloved and famed of the Olympian Twelve, and Artemis, with her legions of followers drawn to her savage beauty—was a massive event.
It might earn me haters among their devotees, but the benefits from this spreading would be countless, worth grinning through it.
"Ah, Lady Athena! It's an h-hon honor to m-meet you!"
"And you are...?"
"M-Marsyas. I t-teach music to the young heroes in Chiron’s sanctuary, unworthy as I am!"
"I see. Thank you for your service."
As I calmly tallied my gains from today's chaos, Marsyas bolted to Athena and bowed low.
The vibe was odd.
Athena was all business—cold enough that even calling it professional felt warm—while Marsyas was the picture of a lovestruck youth.
'Oh my god.'
So the goddess he meant to propose to was her...?
'Oh, you fool...'
Of all goddesses, Athena.
Oblivious to my inner turmoil, Marsyas—ecstatic that his beloved goddess had finally appeared—forgot everything and groveled blissfully before her.
"Much has happened today. Go enjoy the festival."
"Orpheus's recital is starting over there soon. If your ladyship would join..."
"Regrettably, I must guide a soul who endured trials today and restore justice. Farewell."
Ignoring the goat-youth's pleading tone, Athena rejected him without a shred of mercy.
A rejection straight out of a painting.
With not even a spider's thread of opening, Athena's rebuff left Marsyas in despair, dragged off by fellow satyrs.
'...Tsk tsk.'
As I clicked my tongue inwardly at his plight, Athena called to me.
"It seems quiet now. Follow me."
Athena strode ahead with a dignified voice.
Trailing silently behind, an unfamiliar yet oddly familiar alien air brushed past my head.
"...Hm?"
A disorienting sensation swept over me, furrowing my brow. Suddenly, I stood before a pavilion bathed in brilliant sunlight.
-Whoooosh!
All around loomed sheer cliffs and endless sky.
It reminded me of a three-story pagoda I'd whimsically built atop one of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
"Surprised? I thought somewhere without prying eyes would be best for a quiet talk."
"No, just awed by the view."
"Hehe, good."
My small compliment melted the ice from her face into a faint smile.
'Wow...'
I caught my breath at the goddess's smile, painted to perfection.
Who knew the princely goddess had such a face.
As I marveled, we sat across at the table, and steaming cups appeared from nowhere.
But I jolted at the contents.
"...Tea?"
"Yes, from your homeland... tea, I believe it's called."
Tea.
True Middle Kingdom tea—an unknown concept here—sat before me in the cup.
"To think steeping herbs in hot water turns a mere tonic into such a fine beverage... I partake when headaches strike."
The faint smile from before hid behind her cup, but I could well imagine Athena's expression.
'Well, now.'
I'd pegged her as the successor cleaning up her half-siblings' mess, but was she openly provoking me?
Warning me to watch myself under such scrutiny?
Should I just flip the table?
The urge hit, but that was third-rate.
"Ho... My thanks, then."
She was the famed goddess of wisdom from myth.
Having provoked me so elegantly—unlike Apollo—I'd respond in kind.
Smashing everything outright was too crude, no fun.
"Hehe."
"Haha."
We shared smiles over tea for a moment before Athena moved first.
"Before we sort things out, one question for you."
"Ask away."
Here we go?
Grinning at the prospect of a fun verbal spar, I nodded. Athena fixed me with a straight gaze.
"That flute you shattered today."
"Yes, a shame. Such a treasure..."
My new baby, unnamed and smashed amid the mishaps.
I'd hastily gathered the shards into Marsyas's pouch, but even I saw it was beyond repair.
"Frankly, I've never seen its like before, nor will I again."
No exaggeration—just my honest sentiment.
Why else would I forget image and punch the sun god in the face?
'Using this as leverage?'
Bracing for the mudslinging ahead, her next words made me doubt my ears.
"Th-that incredible?... Heh, hehet."
"...What was that?"
"Ahem, nothing."
Didn't sound like nothing.
Did the prince across from me just giggle girlishly? Hallucination?
Athena lifted her cup with a prim face.
But her lips twitched, dying to curl up.
'...What character is she?'
Anyway.
Gods are all weird...