Chapter 196 Sister Ya, Don't! (4.2k)_2
Chapter 196 Sister Ya, Don't! (4.2k)_2
athena has a relatively good advantage: she distinguishes clearly between public and private matters.
when it comes to official business, she seldom allows private affairs to interfere with the public ones.
as a result, luo en, who was always busy, led a stable life.
but this couldn't go on forever; maybe he should find an opportunity to bond with sister athena?
however, for safety's sake, it would be best to involve hestia as well...
"ee-ya~"
just as luo en was mumbling to himself, a petite figure squeezed through the door, bathed in moonlight.
below the hood, characteristic pointy ears and pale purple hair, along with a primary schooler-like stature, clearly indicated it was princess medea of the colchis kingdom.
the not-yet-famous enchantress stood in the courtyard, awkwardly holding a basket, showing a hint of embarrassment to her senior fellow disciple behind the desk.
"auntie refuses to eat, she said if she's not let out, she'll starve herself!"
luo en glanced at the packed basket and looked up with a sneer.
"she's got spirit, huh? fine, leave the stuff here, let's starve her for a few days!"
"is, is that really okay?"
upon hearing this, little medea couldn't help but hesitate.
"don't mind her; she'll quiet down once she's made enough fuss." luo en, picking up another copy of fable stories from the desk, passed it over with a smile, "here's a new one i wrote today, see if you like it."
"great!" little medea's eyes lit up as she snatched the few pages of parchment and dashed into the house, completely forgetting about her aforementioned aunt.
she's still just a child, after all.
watching the young enchantress's delighted reaction, a certain senior fellow disciple, who was obviously much more mature and steadier (and sneakier and more deceitful), shook his head in silent judgment.
obviously, the reason why this girl was willing to run errands for him, delivering hefty prison meals to circe every day, was not out of any filial piety or mentor-disciple fondness, but simply because she wanted to get the first peek at new fable stories.
but remembering circe's character when she tried to escape, selling out her disciple as bait without a second thought, luo en, too, was relieved.
given that foolish bird's lack of principles as a teacher, could he really expect her disciples to hold her in high esteem?
setting aside the documents in his hand, luo en remembered the scene when they first met at the base of war god mountain and couldn't help but his face darkened.
running to athena's turf to sell cakes with added ingredients—she really had the nerve to come up with such an idea!
and to offend stheno, euryale, nike, and chiron—all in one go—had he not been there to intervene on her behalf under the guise of a public trial, that foolish bird might have been beaten to death by several furious victims.
fortunately, astraea understood his intentions and used the complexity of the case as an excuse to temporarily throw circe into the acropolis of athens' dungeon.
however, considering the time, this case should have a resolution by now.
luo en pondered for a moment, reached out to grab the basket full of pastries from the desk, and walked into the moonlit night to astraea's residence, where he knocked on the door.
with the creaking of the door hinges, the goddess of justice, exuding dampness, emerged.
seeing the gold hair wet with droplets and the blue, almost skin-hugging, half-transparent fabric that outlined astraea's figure, luo en averted his gaze and coughed dryly.
however, as soon as she had gotten halfway through, the goddess of justice seemed to realize something. she paused her wrist, hastily wiped away the previous characters, and rewrote the divine name αστραια (astraea).
"alright, i'll take the judgment report now, and first thing tomorrow morning i'll hand the result to the execution officer," he said.
luo en smiled as he picked up the parchment with the fresh ink, tucked it into his chest, and then rose to take his leave.
astraea opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something to make him stay, but before she could speak, the figure had already disappeared into the moonlight.
she had been careless...
the goddess of justice looked at the ink stains on her hands, a tinge of annoyance flickering in her eyes.
but it was just a small writing error, hopefully not so easily noticed, right?
the goddess of justice reassured herself, then closed her eyes, sticking up her right thumb and flipped the gold scales at both ends of the sword of justice 180 degrees.
suddenly, the profound and immense aura, reminiscent of the starry sky, vanished instantaneously.
with the opening and closing of her eyes, the sharp aura of unwavering resolution took its place.
"ha, is that food? it appears to be the special offering used for honoring the deities during a ritual!"
astraea, seeing the delicate pastries in the basket, couldn't help but light up her eyes and immediately grabbed a piece to shove into her mouth, savoring it heartily.
meanwhile, on a certain road.
luo en stopped in his tracks, pulled out the judgment report from his chest, and under the brilliant moonlight, his gaze scanned over the dark smudge inch by inch.
because it had been smeared so heavily, it was actually impossible to distinguish the original letters.
but luo en vaguely remembered the first three letters.
"θεμ..."
a single mistake could be excusable, but messing up both the first letter and the subsequent two was highly unlikely.
combining the previous oddities and the recent performance of that goddess of justice, luo en had a hunch about the answer.
themis?
indeed, it was her...
no wonder hecate did not dare to act rashly that night.
luo en sniffed the faint sweetness in the air, turned back to look at the goddess of justice's residence under the night sky, and the corners of his mouth curled up in a mocking smile.
how does the meal taste, lady themis?
feeling pleased, luo en stuffed the judgment report into his chest and walked with big strides towards his home in the moonlight.
but as soon as he opened the door, he saw a figure standing tall in the courtyard, polishing the gleaming spear of victory and smiling faintly at him, baring eight neat white teeth.
"back already? you were at astraea's, weren't you?"
"gurgle~"
looking at athena walking toward him step by step, luo en's throat bobbed, and a cold sweat began to form on his forehead.
FVN