The scent of old parchment and magic ink always managed to calm Athena's mind. Inside her private study, which had been converted into a small library aboard the Altena stealth ship secretly anchored off the coast of Cetus, the Goddess of Wisdom sat gracefully, turning the pages of an ancient manuscript.
Her appearance radiated absolute intellectuality. Her shimmering silver, straight hair cascaded down well past her waist, with neat bangs framing her bright face. Her expression was calm, serious, and sharp, amplified by a pair of large eyes with greenish-gray irises that seemed capable of laying bare the truth from all the world's lies.
An indigo laurel wreath crown rested beautifully on her head. She wore a pristine white double-breasted uniform with a high collar, adorned with silver buttons and precise gold trim. On her left chest, the embroidered emblem of an owl flanked by leafy branches—the symbol of her wisdom—was distinctly imprinted. Her long, pleated white skirt fell over her legs, clad in strappy sandals ornamented with turquoise gems.
The silence of the cabin was broken by a soft knock. A woman entered and bowed respectfully. It was Althea Wiseheart, a Level 5 mage and her personal bodyguard.
"Goddess Athena, I bring a report from our surveillance team," Althea said, her voice sounding slightly tense. "Cassiopeia Castle is under attack. Dizara's frontline defenses have collapsed."
Athena closed her manuscript slowly. She did not look panicked, merely letting out a long sigh laden with disappointment.
"Human stupidity truly knows no bounds," Athena murmured in a cold, elegant tone. "Jiene thought she could use Altena's Shedar machine to steal the Leviathan's energy from Melen, then present it to me for a seat on the imperial council. What a shallow conspiracy. And now, her foolish actions have provoked an enemy."
Athena strongly disliked fools. She did not hate them—for hatred required irrational emotion—but she viewed them like incorrect mathematical equations that were an eyesore. Much like her disgust every time she saw Ares constantly throwing away the lives of Rakian soldiers for ridiculous wars.
The only reason Athena was willing to leave the comfort of Altena and directly monitor Dizara from this ship was because of a genius anomaly born in that castle. Asfi Al Andromeda. A seven-year-old girl without a Falna who was capable of assembling contraptions out of scrap.
Athena loved talent. Her original plan was to let Jiene create a mess, then tonight Athena would step in with Althea, clean up the conspiracy, and bring little Asfi to Altena as her protégé.
However, Althea's next report caused the goddess's eyebrows to knit together.
"Goddess... according to our spies' observations, the attackers of the castle are not a large fleet. Rather, it is only two Elves," Althea continued. "They subdued dozens of Jiene's elite mages in a matter of minutes."
Athena's greenish-gray eyes widened slightly. Her brilliant brain instantly calculated the probabilities. Two Elves subduing a battalion of elite mages in a flash? Such an absurd combat power required at least top-tier Level 5 adventurers.
In an era where the Zeus and Hera Familias had just collapsed, top-tier adventurers in this world were exceedingly rare.
"Loki or Freya Familia?" Athena muttered, leaning her elbows on the desk. "Did the Orario Guild catch wind of Jiene's illegal movements and secretly dispatch their executives to carry out a purge? This will be very troublesome."
If King Unohm and Jiene were dragged to Orario by a familia as large as Loki or Freya, Altena would be dragged into a humiliating diplomatic scandal. They would have to pay a massive amount of valis in compensation to the Guild to cover up traces of the empire's involvement. As the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena had to prevent that loss. She had to secure Jiene and Unohm tonight, directly from the hands of these attackers.
"Prepare to land in the castle courtyard, Althea. We are stepping in now," Athena ordered as she stood up, smoothing out her pleated skirt. There was a slight sense of displeasure in her heart. If it was Orario attacking the castle with such high speed, she was certain the little genius girl she was after had surely either escaped or been secured by them.
The salty night sea breeze hit Athena's face as she strode across the courtyard of Cassiopeia Castle.
At the threshold of the ruined castle gates, Athena and Althea stood waiting. Not long after, the figures of the attackers emerged from behind the marble shadows.
Athena's eyes narrowed, observing. It was not the blonde pallum from the Loki Familia, nor the boaz warriors from the Freya Familia. Two beautiful yet deadly Elf girls walked escorting two prisoners—King Unohm and Concubine Jiene—who were bound by special anti-magic restraining ropes.
And leading them in the front, with a casual stride as if taking a stroll in a flower garden, was a young man in a green cloak with a wooden lyre in his hand.
Athena was stunned. Her brilliant mind quickly matched the physical features before her with the intelligence reports spreading from Orario.
A young man with a wooden lyre... the Barbatos Familia? Athena thought, slightly surprised. I thought the only anomaly to be wary of in that familia was Alfia.
Seeing the white-clad welcoming party typical of the Magic Empire in front of him, Venti stopped in his tracks. He tilted his head, looking at the Goddess of Wisdom with a playful smile that never left his face.
"Well, well. A quiet night for a stroll, isn't it?" Venti greeted cheerfully. "A pleasure to meet you on this island, Goddess Athena."
Athena stepped forward, her posture perfectly upright, radiating absolute authority. "I could say the same, God Barbatos. Your arrival was outside my calculations. But I suppose we both know why I am here."
Venti chuckled softly. He walked closer to a chunk of a collapsed marble pillar in the courtyard, then sat on it in a relaxed manner.
"Discussing business while standing is tiring. Let's chat for a bit," Venti offered.
Athena stared at the young man for a moment. Without hesitation, the goddess stepped closer and stood before him. Althea was on full alert behind Athena, while Dina and Vena held Unohm and Jiene a few steps behind Venti.
"I will get straight to the point," Athena said, her voice calm but carrying the heavy weight of negotiation. "Taking King Unohm and Concubine Jiene to Orario will only give you piles of troublesome bureaucratic paperwork. Altena is willing to take custody of those prisoners. You may hand over the Altena mages you defeated as proof for your report to the Guild, so you can still cash in the valis reward for your mission."
"Goddess Athena! Please save us!" Jiene wailed from behind, trying to struggle.
Athena did not even turn her head. "Silence," Athena said, her voice not raising but freezing the air around her. "You have disgraced Altena's wisdom with your foolish actions. Do not further degrade your dignity by wailing."
Jiene was instantly silenced, her body trembling in fear at the cold reaction of her patron deity.
Venti propped his chin on one hand, smiling faintly as he looked at Athena. Facing the Goddess of Wisdom was truly different from facing other gods. There were no emotional bluffs, purely an efficient exchange of value.
"A very logical offer," Venti nodded repeatedly. "But, Goddess Athena, money is not something valuable to me. Valis can be easily found in the Dungeon, and honestly, my treasurer already provides enough for our needs."
Athena's eyebrows raised slightly. "Then what is it that you want? Artifacts? High-level magic weapons?"
"Knowledge," Venti answered, his tone suddenly becoming serious, even though his smile remained. "I will trade the two of them for three VVIP Quotas for free access to Altena's Gnome's Great Library. Valid for a lifetime, with permission to read the deepest archives without any noble class restrictions."
The space between them suddenly fell silent. Althea, behind Athena, looked shocked at such an insolent request. Altena's deepest archives were state secrets!
However, Athena's reaction was quite the opposite. Her greenish-gray eyes widened slightly, then the corners of her lips pulled up into a faint, elegant smile.
It was exceedingly rare for a god in the Gekai to prioritize fundamental knowledge over wealth, faction expansion, or worldly pleasures. Venti was willing to trade two high-class political pawns purely for library access.
For Athena, who highly respected intellectuality, Venti's recent request had drastically increased the Wind God's value in her eyes. Her intuition told her that the simply-dressed bard god in front of her was far more cunning, more visionary, and more dangerous than Hermes.
"Three VVIP quotas to the Deepest Archives," Athena repeated, evaluating the deal in her mind. "You realize that the books there contain ancient magic formulas, high-level techniques for creating Magic Items, and priceless world history?"
"Of course," Venti winked one eye. "That is why this deal is very fair. You secure Altena's political reputation from fatal embarrassment, and my children get a nice place to read books. Aren't we both benefiting?"
Athena looked straight into Venti's teal eyes. She knew Venti had already secured Asfi—her main reason for monitoring Cetus. This library quota was surely prepared by Venti for the future education of that genius child. Athena felt as if she had just lost a long chess match, yet strangely, she did not feel angry. She felt amazed.
"Very well. Deal accepted," Athena stated firmly. The Goddess took something from her pocket. Three pieces of mithril metal engraved with owls studded with sapphires were handed to Venti. "These are Medals of Wisdom. Anyone carrying these will be treated as an honored guest at Gnome's Great Library, no questions asked."
Venti accepted the three medals gladly, storing them inside his cloak. "Thank you, Goddess. Doing business with you is far more pleasant than dealing with Guild bureaucrats."
Athena smoothed her clothes and gestured to Althea. "Althea, take the two prisoners to the ship."
The Level 5 mage immediately moved forward. Dina and Vena, after receiving a nod from Venti, untied their prisoners' ropes and handed Unohm and Jiene over to Althea.
Before turning to leave, Athena looked at Venti one last time.
"You claimed a very precious treasure before I had the chance to ask for it, Barbatos," Athena said in a meaningful tone, implicitly referring to Asfi. "Make sure you polish it properly."
"Don't worry, Goddess Athena!" Venti replied, waving his hand cheerfully. "The wind always knows how to lift the right wings!"
With absolute elegance, the Goddess of Wisdom turned around and walked away, bringing those foolish nobles back to the true bureaucratic hell of Altena.
...............................................................…
The Altena stealth ship had disappeared behind the night mist, leaving behind the roar of the waves and a long silence in the courtyard of Cassiopeia Castle.
At the edge of the cliff, Hedin and Hogni had just caught up after finishing cleaning up the rest of the Dizara troops outside the gates. Hedin stared out at the empty sea, then adjusted his glasses.
"Lord Venti," Hedin began, his voice carrying a skeptical analytical tone. "Is trading two high-level political prisoners for library access something worthwhile? If we handed them over to the Guild, we could've used them as political bargaining chips in the future."
Venti, who was walking back towards the ship Star of Melen, stopped in his tracks. He turned his head, looking at his Elven followers with a calm smile.
"Very much so, Hedin," Venti answered casually. "First of all, remember our secret agreement with Guild Head Royman Mardeel. We already secured free access in and out of Orario as a reward for conquering the remnants of the Leviathan and Behemoth. We don't need additional political bargaining chips."
Hedin fell silent, listening carefully.
"Bringing King Unohm and that Altena noblewoman to Orario means provoking an open diplomatic conflict," Venti continued. "The Orario Guild would be given a headache by protests from the Magic Empire. By handing over just the Altena mages that Dina and Vena took down, that's enough to give Royman material for his report. Athena understood that, which is why she agreed to trade them without a fight."
Hogni, who was sheathing his black sword, nodded slowly. "A-Avoiding unnecessary enemies... Lord Venti is very wise."
"Besides..." Venti's eyes gazed far out over the ocean expanse, his smile turning enthusiastic. "You know, I've always been curious about the limits of human knowledge in this world. In Orario, information regarding the creation of high-level Magic Items is extremely limited."
Venti vividly remembered the anomaly in the world of DanMachi. The 'Sage' Fels, the mysterious mage who managed to create impossible items, very likely had roots of knowledge from ancient Altena literature.
"Altena is a paradise for creators," said Venti, turning his head toward their ship anchored not far below the cliff. On the deck of that ship, he could feel the presence of a little girl sitting among piles of her equipment.
"That little girl we just rescued... she possesses an absurd talent for assembling miracles," Venti murmured, his tone softening with full anticipation. "When the time comes for her to receive a Falna and she needs broader knowledge to develop her talents, the Guild's library will not be enough to contain her curiosity."
Venti patted his cloak pocket, where the mithril medals were safely stored.
"These quotas are her future school tickets. In Altena, Asfi will not just be taught how to simply create tools, but how to create tools that can change the world," Venti concluded with a broad smile.
Hedin let out a short sigh. He finally realized to what extent his patron god thought about the future of their Familia. Barbatos never played for fleeting gains; he always positioned his pieces for long-term benefits.
"Let's go home," Venti exclaimed cheerfully, stepping ahead of his followers. "The night air is getting colder, and I'm sure there's a hungry little inventor waiting on the ship!"
The deadly little group then slowly descended the cliff, leaving the silent Cassiopeia Marble Castle behind, bringing with them a new wing of freedom that would soon flap in the sky of the Labyrinth City of Orario.
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