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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 209: Persuasion, Coaxing (3)
"The king of Olympus?"
"Yeah. Father Zeus once said this: If I became the Creator, then either you or Ares... One of you would take responsibility for Olympus. He said he'd pass on the throne to whoever made the greater contribution."
"What about the other gods?"
"They weren't recognized as successors. Only Ares and I were acknowledged. But in the end, both of us ended up in this miserable state..."
Apollo glanced at Ares's sealed stone.
The fates of the two successors are quite the mess.
"One got his power drained by Zeus, and the other got thrown away. So the successor thing was just an empty promise?"
"Who knows... Maybe he really meant to name a successor at one point. But when his SP income got heavily restricted, he probably changed his mind."
Zeus's SP income restriction.
That was due to the system penalty he received because of me.
Did that backlash hit Apollo and Ares too?
"Soul God. Make me the king of Olympus."
"How am I supposed to make you king?"
"It's a very easy task for you. Just do three things."
Apollo holds up three fingers.
"First, provide me with 10 billion SP."
"Ten billion? You think that’s enough?"
"...More would be nice."
His once-confident voice weakened slightly.
Well, I guess I can support more depending on how things go.
At this point, giving away ten or twenty billion SP is like handing over ten or twenty bucks for me.
"Second, capture Zeus, but do not destroy Olympus."
I nodded at Apollo’s words.
Athena is already cooperating with me from Olympus, and a lot of the gods are already dead...
If we just take down Zeus, there's really no need to destroy the whole place.
"That’s fine. As long as I take down Zeus, Olympus can be left alone."
"Lastly, take Artemis as your concubine and declare me the king of Olympus."
"What? Concubine? What do you mean concubine?"
"Does the term 'concubine' not sit well with you? Then let’s call her a 'secondary consort.'"
"...I'm not a king, you know?"
"Hey! Why am I suddenly involved!?"
Artemis, who had been quietly listening nearby, suddenly exclaims in shock.
I’m dumbfounded too.
A concubine?
What era does this guy think it is?
"If you defeat Zeus, you’ll become the de facto ruler of the solar system. Right?"
"Not quite a ruler, but I guess no one in the solar system could challenge me."
"Exactly. Who would dare defy the Soul God who defeated the Creator? If I become your kin by marriage, no god would dare deny my claim to the throne of Olympus."
So, in short, if I become the top dog, he wants to ride the coattails through his sister to take the throne.
This bastard...
This isn’t the Middle Ages.
Using his sister to become king—has he no pride?
What’s going on in his head?
As I wondered what he was really thinking, a message suddenly popped up.
[You have completely dominated Apollo's soul body with your SP.]
[Would you like to read Apollo's thoughts?]
Apollo came back to life entirely thanks to my SP investment.
So, just like with the other deities I blew up, I can read his mind too?
When I selected "Yes," Apollo’s thoughts began flowing in.
"Soul God. Artemis may not be fit to be your lover, but she’s worthy of at least being a concubine."
-Artemis. This is the best I can do to help. The rest is up to you.
"To be king, I need your approval."
-If I get 10 billion SP, my own power will be enough. But if you make a public declaration, you wouldn’t dare destroy Olympus.
His concern for Artemis.
His fear that I might destroy Olympus.
His grudge against Zeus.
Three emotions swirl within Apollo’s thoughts.
There’s barely any sign of ambition for power.
Surprisingly, he's mentally stable and not greedy.
His mind is more filled with concern for his family and home, Olympus, than with hatred toward Zeus.
Impressive...
Then suddenly, without even opening his mouth, I hear another thought.
-But Soul God, to have left Artemis untouched all this time… That’s truly strange. She’s famed for her beauty. Her looks haven’t faded at all… Could it be that you prefer men?
This bastard.
What the hell is he thinking?
-A well-balanced perspective is admirable, but clearly, you understand the aesthetics of Greece. Beautiful boys are always right.
And then he starts spiraling into fantasy.
Countless beautiful boys flash through his mind.
Ugh…
I like women, okay?
Why is he misunderstanding this?
The Greek gods were known for loving beautiful boys, and this guy's no different?
-Ah, but all the beautiful boys are gone. Hmm… Should I offer myself? Transform into a boy?
Then he glances at me.
Scans me up and down.
-No, I’d rather die again. I can’t bear to love someone so lacking in beauty.
This son of a…
Did he just rate my looks?
I almost threw him like Artemis did before, but stopped because I thought he might actually die.
-In that case… let’s think about the gods. Among them… hmm. Ganymede?
A new image forms in Apollo’s mind.
A golden-haired boy kisses a wine cup and offers it to Zeus.
Zeus accepts the cup and drinks it with a look of utter bliss.
Jeez… all of them are…
-But he’s probably already been “used” by Zeus… He’s out. Then… who else…
He goes on, recalling one pretty boy after another, his thoughts becoming more and more perverted.
On the outside, Apollo has a serious expression, arms crossed.
But inside, he’s indulging in all sorts of boy-love fantasies.
Ugh.
I stopped reading his mind.
It was too gross.
Way too gross.
"The third request… hmm. I’ll put that on hold for now."
"I see… As expected."
Apollo nods as if he knew this would happen.
"What do you mean 'as expected'?"
"Hearing that Artemis is still a virgin goddess, I had my suspicions. Do you like men?"
"Hey. No! I don't!"
"No need to deny it so strongly, Soul God. You simply seek a more noble, transcendent love. Even our philosopher Socrates praised love between boys as the highest form of love."
"Oh, shut up. I like women."
"That can’t be true."
He then glances at Artemis.
His gaze says: If you really liked women, would you have left her alone like that?
Ah, the gods of Olympus.
A bunch of lecherous lunatics, every one of them.
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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"Right now, I'm busy dealing with Zeus—do you think I'd be fooling around with women? Once it's over, I'll handle everything, so don't worry."
"Hmm. Alright. Then I'll hold off on that condition."
Apollo nodded after eyeing me carefully.
His gaze was suspicious, and I considered reading his thoughts but decided not to—I didn’t want to see anything unpleasant.
"Then, I’ll cooperate with you from now on. Can you hand over the SP first?"
"Sure."
500 billion for the information.
1 trillion as the first condition.
After handing over 1.5 trillion, Apollo leapt lightly from my fingertip.
Then his soul body began glowing golden and rapidly grew in size.
In the blink of an eye, he had returned to the form that had once fought me to the death.
"Hmm. You really gave the SP that easily. Impressive."
"I’ve got more SP than I need. Now that you've recovered your strength, tell me how we stop Aphrodite’s authority."
"It’s simple. I govern reason, and Artemis governs chastity. Combine the two, and we can eliminate carnal desire."
Apollo drew a circle in the air, and a hologram of Earth appeared.
"First, inform humans that sexual intercourse will be temporarily impossible. Like a public health warning—tell them it could be fatal. That way, my influence of reason can seep in more easily."
"Sure. I’ll just say it’s something they need to abstain from temporarily."
"But Aphrodite’s power won’t stop with just rational thoughts. We need Artemis’ power to suppress sexual desire altogether."
"Hmm... so everyone becomes impotent?"
"Physically possible. But it's more about mentally erasing the desire. Considering that even foreplay now drains the soul, whether the genitals work or not doesn’t matter. The will must be gone."
Apollo’s floating Earth began to rotate.
It cycled between brightness and darkness.
"As the gods of the sun and moon, we’ll cast our power through light—spreading it across the Earth 24/7, day and night."
So they're going to beam “impotence rays” around the globe.
Not bad.
Birth rates will nosedive this year, but it's a temporary measure until we deal with Zeus.
It’s unavoidable.
"Alright. I’m counting on you."
"Once Aphrodite’s power is blocked, the next stage is pestilence. I used to control that, but last time, my father Zeus absorbed that power—so he'll likely be the one to release it. I’ll stop him."
How many authorities does this guy have?
Anyway, that means I can definitely block stage two and three.
That’s reassuring.
"If I run short on SP during the process, I’ll ask for support. So…"
Apollo looked around.
Then said to me,
"How about releasing me from this prison now? No matter how you look at it, this place is far too cramped."
"This is my house."
"…? I must still be recovering. Your words are distorted, sounding like you’re calling this place a house. No way a coop like this is a home."
Apollo stated flatly.
With his soul body now huge, his head touched the ceiling—it was understandable that it felt cramped.
"Artemis. Just send him to the new temple we’re building."
"Yeah, got it."
"And keep me updated on progress. If you need more SP, just ask."
"Okay. Apollo, let’s go."
"The Soul God must be planning to torture Ares. Understood."
Apollo still thinks this is a prison.
"Artemis. Fill him in when you get there."
Artemis opened a portal.
She glared fiercely at Apollo before stepping through first.
Apollo shrugged his shoulders.
Right before stepping into the portal, he spoke to me:
"My sister may seem fierce, but she’s soft on the inside. You can handle her."
"Ha... Let's save that talk for after we deal with Zeus."
"Yeah, that comes first. Then... a word of advice about Ares—his will won’t break easily through torture. Especially if it’s about his mother, Hera."
Apollo mentioned Hera.
Come to think of it, Zeus also brought her up when fighting Ares.
Didn’t sound like it was in a friendly way...
"Now that I think about it, when Zeus sealed Ares, he mentioned Hera. What’s their relationship?"
"I’m not too sure. Hera doesn’t like me. Says I’m a threat to Ares’ throne."
Apollo slowly stepped into the portal.
Just before disappearing completely, he said:
"But she was the one who brokered the contract between Zeus and the other Olympian gods. Ares would know the details."
With that, the portal vanished.
To uncover Hera’s involvement, I’ll need to persuade Ares too?
I looked at the sealing stone containing Ares.
When I was talking with Apollo, I thought I felt some pulses from it, but now it was silent.
Hmm…
I’d rather settle things through negotiation like I did with Apollo.
"Ares. How about cooperating like Apollo? I’ll let you compete for the throne of Olympus. Or maybe I can create a new divine realm just for you?"
Despite my words, the sealing stone showed no reaction.
I tried talking several more times, but got no response.
Should I revive him like I did with Apollo?
But what if Zeus suddenly pops out instead?
This one's wrapped in black thunder…
I should wait until I’m confident enough to face Zeus.
"Zeus…"
The problem is that I haven’t figured out how to fight him yet.
I mentally replayed my battle with Ares.
His soul barrier was torn through like paper.
My attacks didn’t even land—they were all dodged.
Even though it was just an avatar, it had been a hopeless fight.
I only won by overwhelming numbers.
"Creation power... what a headache."
There’s gotta be a good way.
As I scanned through my inventory and skills, my eyes landed on the Soul Sword.
Come to think of it, I fulfilled the promotion requirements when I broke Ares’ weapon.
"Alright. Let’s check it out."
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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