Atena looked as if she had completely lost her will to fight.
Even when I reached right in front of her, she only looked up at me.
I crouched down to meet her eyes.
"Now are you in the mood to talk?"
"......You’re seriously insane."
She still spat out rough words, but clearly had no intention of fighting.
I said,
"I told you this would be simple. I don’t intend to fight you if it can be avoided."
"......"
Atena looked at me with a face full of things she wanted to say, as though my words were absurd beyond measure.
Well, what does she want me to do about it.
With a half-resigned expression, Atena said,
"Fine. You want me to withdraw from Medusa?"
"So you really call her by that name."
"Of course. I have no reason to use that ridiculous alias she made up on her own—wait, hold on. You knew her real name from the start?"
...Ah.
"......No, I didn’t."
"You just answered like you did."
"I was bluffing, that’s all."
Atena shot me a suspicious glare.
I only kept my calm expression.
Then, with a sigh as if giving up on trying to read me, she said,
"......Whatever. What’s that supposed to mean, anyway?"
She shook her head.
"This is Pandemonium. From the moment you dragged me in here, one of us can’t leave. Well, now you’ve learned that it’s me."
Atena pointed to her erased world with a shrug.
"So you don’t need to bother with that request. Once Pandemonium ends, Medusa’s curse will vanish."
It seemed Atena had already accepted her defeat.
I shifted my weight back from the crouch and sat down on the ground.
This was going to take a while.
"That’s a problem."
"......?"
"I told you to withdraw, not to die."
Atena’s eyes narrowed.
"I have to withdraw from Medusa, but not die?"
"Right. Because there’s something you still need to do."
Atena let out a dry laugh, lips parted in disbelief.
"Do you even understand the situation? You know what Pandemonium is. One of us has to die here."
"Of course I do."
"Then what? You’re offering to stay trapped here in my place?"
"That’s one way to do it. Want me to try?"
Atena’s lips tightened. She raised her hand toward the void where her world had been.
She tried to do something, perhaps restore it, but it didn’t seem to work.
She bit her lower lip.
"......Killing me would be faster."
"Unless I do something about your power, I can’t kill you either."
Then Atena lowered her hand with a thud and shook her head.
"As expected, no good. In this Pandemonium, I’m the loser. It makes my blood boil, but that’s that."
She didn’t look particularly vexed for someone saying that.
Restoration probably isn’t impossible, I thought.
My ability doesn’t wound or destroy—it erases. Trying to restore a world through healing wouldn’t work easily. It would be better to recreate it from scratch.
That kind of shift in thinking was necessary, but there was no need to tell her.
"Like I said, there’s something you have to do."
"And what exactly would that be? Medusa’s curse disappearing is plenty. You can get rid of your eyesore—me—and what more do you want?"
I tilted my head.
"Why would you be an eyesore to me?"
"......Aren’t I? I’m the one who cast the petrification on Medusa."
"That’s Medusa—Carla’s—business. Not mine."
I thought it was the most obvious answer in the world, but Atena blinked with a strange look.
"......You’re not fighting me because you fell for Medusa?"
"What are you talking about? I’m helping her because she seems useful."
Lately, my companions, and now even she—why does everyone assume there’s something romantic between Medusa and me?
My feelings toward Medusa are almost identical to what I feel toward Atena right now.
Right. In fact—
"And the same goes for you."
"What......?"
"Medusa’s curse disappearing isn’t nearly enough. And your death isn’t what I want either."
"Whether you want it or not, I’ll die here. That’s what Pandemonium is—"
"I can pull you out."
Atena blinked.
Her eyes soon changed, as if seeing something incomprehensible.
"You can pull someone out of Pandemonium?"
"Yes. I’ve already done it."
"Liar. That’s impossible."
"Believe it or not, doesn’t matter. I’ll just do it."
This time, Atena’s gaze dropped slightly. Her pupils trembled. Her face showed both confusion and turmoil.
She probably understood I had no reason to lie. Maybe she was picturing the possible outcomes if what I said were true.
"So, from here on, let’s talk under the assumption that I’m pulling you out."
"......That’s absurd."
"In exchange for pulling you out of Pandemonium, tell me about Poseidon."
Atena lifted her head and looked straight at me.
"......I can’t contact Poseidon right now. I can’t say much, but he’s in a rather difficult situation—"
"I know. I saw it on my way here."
I already knew Poseidon couldn’t communicate with any god right now.
Several others like him were sealed away.
But Atena seemed surprised by something else.
"On your way here? You’re not from this country?"
"Not just this country—this continent."
"......You came from the Falind continent!"
Yeah. Took her long enough to figure it out.
Her face stiffened as she looked me up and down.
"Black hair, black eyes, a lethargic face......."
Then finally, finally, she studied my face and build carefully—
"You—you’re Frondier de Roach! You’re Frondier!"
"......Are you really the goddess of wisdom?"
So it wasn’t that she hadn’t been told—it’s that she failed to recognize me.
This casts doubt on that “wisdom” title of hers.
But /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ Atena looked genuinely flustered.
"Ah, but I heard you had arms thicker than a woman’s waist and a full beard!"
"......That’s some weirdly mixed-up information."
That sounds more like Renzo.
Wait—did she mix up details about him? Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him since the war. After the war, he’d obviously come to kill me, so from my side, avoiding him was the smart move. I still don’t know what he’s up to now.
"And that you wield a hammer, sword, spear, and bow, and that black smoke or mist is always billowing around you!"
"That’s half true."
Those are indeed weapons I use, but I don’t carry them all strapped to me. She must have imagined that.
And black smoke always billowing around me? That makes me sound sinister. She’s probably talking about Heukcheon, but I don’t keep it active all the time.
"Anyway, what I want isn’t Poseidon’s current location or situation. I need something more fundamental."
"Fundamental? Like what?"
"A weakness."
At that, Atena immediately frowned.
"You think I’d tell you Poseidon’s weakness?"
"So he has one. Excellent answer."
Her face flushed red.
She’s really drifting away from the title of goddess of wisdom.
Besides, I can answer that question myself.
"And yes, I do think you’ll tell me."
"Wh-why would I ever do that?"
"You hate Poseidon."
"......!"
Atena’s eyes widened.
Medusa’s curse existed because of Poseidon.
I didn’t know how closely the myths I knew matched this world’s history, but Atena had clearly cursed Medusa out of rage. The current state of Medusa herself was undeniable proof.
That kind of fury, she must also hold toward Poseidon.
Atena is a goddess, not one who naturally despises humans. Yet she’d gone so far as to curse one, meaning her feelings toward Poseidon—whom she couldn’t directly punish—must be something fierce.
"......You’re planning to fight Poseidon?"
"If necessary, yes. But I’d rather avoid it. My odds of losing are high."
"......Your odds of losing?"
Atena looked at me, exasperated, as though her eyes alone said, ‘Obviously you’d lose, what nonsense is this?’ But she didn’t say it aloud.
"Of course you’d lose. What are you talking about?"
She said it aloud. Just a little late.
"Anyway, that’s the deal. What do you say?"
"......If you really can save someone trapped in Pandemonium, I’ll agree."
"Good."
I stood up. The deal was sealed; there was nothing more to say.
Seeing me, Atena asked,
"......And if I don’t keep my promise?"
"Everyone asks that."
I’ve always believed that deals are built on trust. Suspicion is necessary, sure—but with only suspicion, nothing begins.
Besides, this time, there’s nothing to worry about.
"You’re a god, not a demon."
"......Huh?"
"You’ll keep your promise, obviously."
"That sounds like something a child would say......"
"Better worry about yourself."
I mimed a gun with my fingers and pointed it at her.
Atena’s throat bobbed as she realized what was coming.
"I’ll be back as soon as I can, but my Pandemonium isn’t easy."
"......What do you take me for? A human’s soul power won’t be a problem even after years."
"......True."
I apologized for underestimating her.
She’s a god, after all—not some nameless deity, but Atena, a name almost everyone familiar with Greek mythology would know.
The goddess of wisdom and war, Atena.
"Bael nearly lost his mind in a few minutes, but you’ll be different."
"......Wait, hold on—"
Whoosh.
I erased Atena.
"Ah."
Didn’t let her finish.
I thought I’d already said the last word.
"......Well, whatever."
She had declared she could endure.
She’ll last for a while.
***
I returned to the original world—proof of my complete victory.
And then what I did next was—
"......."
"......?"
First, grasp the situation in front of me.
Right before my eyes—so close our breaths nearly touched—a pair of delicate eyes blinked.
Eyes that should have been alluring, yet were already glossy with tears, trembling as if they might spill at any moment.
I stared at them for a long moment before speaking.
"......Ah, Madam Principal. Hello."
"......."
At my words, Carla’s already large eyes grew even wider, her red face turning a deeper shade. Her lips slowly closed, then opened again.
"......Le—"
"Le?"
"Let go of me first, Mr. Frondier......!"
Hm?
Only then did I realize I was holding Carla’s face with both hands.
