Chapter 43: The Grand Entrance of the Music Goddess

Seeing Kakae run off in a fluster, Ryu Yu patted my shoulder and looked at me with an ambiguous grin. "The boss is truly the boss—girls are casting flirtatious glances at you wherever you go! It’s obvious this beauty is into you. Go for it if you get the chance; you have my full support!"

I chuckled and punched him lightly, scolding him with a laugh. "Who has a mind as dirty as yours? I’m a respectable guy!"

"Oh, come on, Boss, don’t make me throw up. Respectable? You kissed Professor Shuyan on your first day of class, and now you’re seducing a nice young girl. Are you planning to two-time them or what?" He put on a look of utter disgust, which annoyed me no end.

I grabbed his shirt and started roughhousing with him, cursing, "You brat, I’ve told you already that there’s nothing going on between me and Professor Shuyan, and nothing with Kakae either!"

Dodging my attacks, Ryu Yu teased, "Who’d believe that? When I went to Professor Shuyan to ask for your address, she was acting completely strange. There’s definitely something going on!"

"I already have a girlfriend, and she’s way prettier than them!"

"Really? What a waste—sacrificing the whole forest for a single tree. I’d never follow your lead; I have the heavy responsibility of saving all the young ladies out there!" Ryu Yu boasted shamelessly.

I gave him a disdainful look and stopped talking. Yet, thinking back to Kakae’s shy, captivating face, my heart fluttered for a moment—which Ryu Yu caught immediately, leading to another round of playful bickering.

Finding a quiet spot, I called out to Athena once more. "Sis, I have to perform a show later. Help me out!"

"I don’t know how to perform anything," Athena said with a helpless look.

"That’s impossible. How did you help me play the piano last time at Catis French Restaurant?" I asked, taken aback.

"Tee-hee, it wasn’t me who helped you last time, so there’s nothing I can do!" Athena giggled, covering her mouth softly.

Realizing she was teasing me, I gave a foolish smile. "I knew you were tricking me. You can definitely help!"

"You guessed wrong this time. I really don’t know any of that. Last time, Aphrodite took a huge risk to help you. If things had gone wrong, both of you would have been completely finished!" She patted her chest, looking lingeringly shaken.

Startled by her words, I quickly asked, "Is Aphrodite okay then? If she got hurt because of me... then don’t help me this time!"

"Giggle, you dummy. If something had happened, would you still be standing here? Why don’t I call her out so you can ask her yourself?" Athena smiled at me, resting her hands on her chest as rays of golden light radiated outward. She chanted softly, "Aphrodite, Spirit of Music, accept my summons and reveal your true form!"

As Athena chanted, a circular portal appeared before my eyes. My mind was completely captivated by it. Primitive, unadorned patterns carved with ancient Greek divine runes emitted a faint golden glow. The impenetrable sky-blue void inside revealed its mystery. The sky-blue veil of the portal began to ripple as if torn open, and a girl with long blue hair stepped out. Her azure curls were tied behind her with a long blue ribbon that swayed gently with her steps. Beneath her slender eyebrows was a pair of sky-blue eyes filled with artistic flair, looking like a pair of sapphires suspended in the heavens against her fair, rosy cheeks. A soft purse of her crimson lips made my heart quiver. Her tall, slender figure was perfectly accented by a dark gold robe, and a pink music-note pendant danced on her low-cut chest, mischievously flitting in and out of her deep cleavage. The sight made my blood boil—a true classical beauty!

Opening her lips, the goddess asked in a gentle, melodious voice, "Sister, why did you call me?"

Dignified and elegant—that was my first impression of her. Before Athena could introduce us, I rushed up to her, saying with slight excitement, "Hello, I’m Fuitsu..."

As I spoke, Aphrodite looked at me with those expressive eyes. Instantly, I forgot what I was doing and just stared at her foolishly.

Seeing me like this, Aphrodite covered her mouth, let out a soft laugh, and said, "Fuitsu, long time no see!" She looked me up and down, nodded, and added, "Mm, you look a lot more mature!"

"Long time no see?" I stared at her, puzzled.

"That’s right. I helped you play the piano that day!"

If only it were ’playing with my heart’ instead of playing the piano... Tsk, tsk! I cursed myself harshly in my head. How could I have such dirty thoughts? That’s practically desecrating a goddess! Hastily cutting off my wild imagination, I chuckled awkwardly, "So it was you inside my head that day, Sister! No wonder it felt different from Sister Athena."

"Tee-hee, I remember I didn’t admit it was me helping you back then either!" Athena said, wrinkling her dainty nose.

Athena’s cute gesture didn’t feel unusual to me since I saw it often. Aphrodite, however, was startled. Throwing image to the wind, she leaned close to Athena, looking her up and down before shaking her head with a joyful smile. "Sister, you’ve changed so much!"

Feeling embarrassed by her gaze, Athena touched her reddening cheeks and asked, "How have I changed? I don’t feel any different!"

"That’s not true! You haven’t smiled once since Pallas died, but now you..." Aphrodite turned to look at me, her beautiful eyes scanning me briefly. Then, as if realizing something, she nodded with a relaxed expression.

"Who is Pallas?" I asked in confusion.

"She was a childhood friend of Sister’s..." At the mention of this, Athena began to cry.

This panicked me completely, and I tried hastily to comfort her. "Sister, what’s wrong? Please don’t cry—I’m most terrified of women crying!"

Seeing me scratch my head in distress amused Aphrodite, who said to me, "You don’t need to mind her. Every time Pallas is mentioned, she’s bound to cry. She’s used to it, and she’ll be fine in a moment!"

Sure enough, hearing Pallas’s name again made Athena cry even harder, but the storm passed moments later. This made me refrain from asking who Pallas was again. Aphrodite reached out to wipe away Athena’s tears and said teasingly, "I told you that you’ve changed, but you wouldn’t admit it. Normally, once you start crying, you wouldn’t stop for days. Are you embarrassed to cry now just because someone is here? It seems Venus was completely right!"

"I’m not! Don’t listen to that brat Venus talk nonsense!" Athena tried her best to deny it, but her face instantly turning bright red gave her completely away.

Aphrodite smiled noncommittally, turned to me, and said, "Fuitsu really is just like Venus said—he’s super dense!"

"What?" I scratched my head, bewildered.

"Don’t talk nonsense! Fuitsu is very smart. Just wait until I get back, I’m going to spank Venus!" Athena interjected hurriedly.

"Giggle, I didn’t say anything!" Seeing Athena on the verge of exploding, Aphrodite quickly disclaimed responsibility and turned back to me. "Why did you call me out?"

"Fuitsu has a performance later. Please give him a hand!" Athena said.

"Sure, that’s a piece of cake!"

"Will there be any danger? If there is, let’s forget it," I asked.

"Tee-hee, last time was only because my soul had just awakened and my spiritual power was too weak. It’s fine now, so don’t worry. I guarantee the performance will be spectacular!" Aphrodite explained with a smile.