Chapter 835: Ch 834: What Kind of Victory Prize Is That?

At the edge of the barren plains.

The petite yet inexplicably imposing Goddess of Law, Eunomia, stared toward the south with a troubled expression.

"...This is bad."

Thinking about the stubborn Moon Goddess who refused to listen to reason gave her an instant headache.

Hera had asked her to get close to Ryo.

Apollo had specifically entrusted her with preventing the conflict between Ryo and Artemis from escalating.

Even Hades had sent word, asking her to stop the fight if possible.

Three of the Twelve Olympians had all pinned their hopes on her.

'Why don't any of you try talking Artemis out of it instead?' Eunomia complained inwardly.

"I'll definitely get scolded when I go back..." She let out a long sigh before turning her gaze toward the southwest. "Well... no matter what happens, I have to bring Ryo away after he's defeated. I can't let Lady Artemis do anything reckless afterward."

Knowing Artemis's personality, Eunomia had no doubt the goddess would humiliate a defeated opponent.

After all, Artemis was the same woman who, because Ares had offended her once, persuaded a Poet to rewrite one of her pet boars into 'the Son of Ares' just to humiliate him.

So even if she had to force her way through by activating the divine artifact Lady Hera had entrusted to her, she needed to stop this before things got even worse.

Having made up her mind, Eunomia fixed her eyes on the battlefield.

Then... She saw a light. A dazzling golden light.

The next second, searing pain flooded her eyes, bringing tears streaming down her face.

"W-What was that?"

The stabbing pain spread through her nerves.

Worse still, a strange power lingered within the light, as if it could shatter everything it touched. It even tried to erode her divine sight.

Only after forcing that lingering power out did Eunomia barely regain her vision.

Then she heard Ryo's voice, "Yo. Still here?"

She blinked repeatedly before forcing her eyes open toward the source of the voice.

What greeted her was Ryo... supporting Artemis.

The Moon Goddess looked as though she'd just endured an intense battle. She leaned weakly against him, her legs seemingly too exhausted to support her. The usually proud goddess now carried an almost fragile air.

"Y-You two..."

Eunomia stared blankly at the hand supporting Artemis. It was like discovering an entirely new continent.

After a long pause, she finally managed to ask, "...How did you two make up?"

Artemis slowly raised her head and shot Eunomia a glare.

Eunomia immediately shrank back. "S-Sorry, Sister Artemis. I think I just said something really strange."

Artemis answered coldly, "Be more careful next time."

After a brief pause, she added, "We're not finished yet."

"Not finished?" Eunomia blinked in confusion before looking back and forth between the two, who were practically shoulder to shoulder. "Then... what's this?"

"She's tired. Her legs are weak." Ryo answered with a perfectly straight face. "It's her first time, after all."

What truly horrified Eunomia was that Artemis didn't deny it.

She merely lowered her head in icy silence and continued staring at the ground.

'...What is happening? Normally she'd explode the moment someone said something like that!'

Swallowing nervously, Eunomia cautiously asked, "Lady Artemis... didn't you say you were going to take the cruelest revenge imaginable?"

Artemis's expression changed dramatically. "Who said I was going to marry him?!"

"...Huh? M...Marry him?" Eunomia's brain completely froze.

Artemis herself also froze. Only then did she realize she'd overreacted.

'Damn it... If this bastard hadn't spent the whole walk repeating that nonsense to annoy me...'

She shot Ryo another vicious glare.

Unfortunately, Eunomia interpreted the scene very differently.

She'd merely mentioned revenge. Yet Artemis had immediately blurted out that she wasn't going to marry Ryo.

And then there was that flustered glare. Combined with the way Artemis appeared too weak to stand on her own and had no choice but to lean against Ryo...

Eunomia's eyes slowly narrowed. She smelled something suspicious.

"Lady Artemis..." She smiled knowingly. "Would you like me to support you instead?"

"No."

Artemis rejected the offer without a moment's hesitation.

Her broken arms hadn't fully healed. Neither had her right leg.

If Eunomia found out she'd gone all out, failed to injure Ryo even once, and instead ended up in this miserable state herself... the dignity of Greece's eldest daughter would die on the spot.

No. Absolutely not. A goddess's image had to be protected.

Especially from Athena.

If Athena ever found out, she'd never stop mocking her.

Just imagining it made Artemis grind her teeth.

"But... this looks a little..." Eunomia deliberately left the sentence unfinished.

Artemis calmly replied, "Consider it the victor's prize."

'A victor's prize? Since when is the prize... the winner carrying the loser around?' Eunomia quietly complained to herself. 'And you still say there's nothing going on between you two?'

She gave Artemis an amused look before withdrawing it when the Moon Goddess glanced back suspiciously.

Meanwhile, her thoughts were racing. 'So Lady Artemis wants to compete for the position of Queen too?'

'And she's using the classic "hitting is caring" approach? A domineering girlfriend... Um.. Honestly, that suits Lady Artemis perfectly.'

'But if that's the case... Mother Hera is going to have a serious problem. After working so hard to secure the authority of Heaven, the Underworld, and the Sea, she can't afford to fail here.'

At that moment, Eunomia knew she had to report this immediately.

Hera had to know. So did Lord Hades. Lady Hestia. And even Lord Apollo.

The three of them were all close to Hera. Once they realized what Artemis was planning, they'd surely help persuade her to give up competing for the title of Queen, at least for now.

...Oh, Athena needed to know too.

Those two sisters had always been at each other's throats. But surely Artemis wouldn't want to keep feuding with her future sister-in-law forever.

As these increasingly misguided conclusions piled up in her head, Eunomia carefully organized her wording.

Then, using the concealed communication Gift stored within her Spirit Rank, she quietly sent secret messages to the four Olympians she'd previously contacted.

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