Chapter 298 - 296 : A Productive Evening (1)

Chapter 298: Chapter 296 : A Productive Evening (1)

Aiden’s room had become considerably less peaceful.

Arthur sat on the sofa opposite Athena, his back straight and his hands resting on his knees.

Both his cheeks were swollen.

Painfully swollen.

From a certain angle, he resembled a hamster that had made several terrible decisions and was now forced to live with the consequences stuffed inside its mouth.

Athena sat in the armchair across from him, her arms folded over her chest. She appeared considerably calmer than before.

Arthur suspected his face had something to do with it.

Nearby, Aiden remained unconscious on the carpet, blissfully unaware of everything that had happened since Athena had knocked him out. Of course, given the circumstances, Arthur suspected he would be considerably less blissful once he woke up.

For a while, the only sound in the room was the faint ticking of the clock.

Then Athena broke the silence.

"So, you need four divine blessings."

Arthur nodded.

"The Blessing of Gaia, which the elven princess, Erica, already possesses."

She raised one finger.

"The Blessing of Elysara, the Goddess of Rebirth, which I possess."

A second finger followed.

"Then the Blessing of the Goddess of Life and Light, and the Blessing of the Goddess of Moonlight."

Her golden gaze settled on him.

"And you intend to use all four blessings to bring a new World Tree into existence and help Erica restore her people’s strength."

Arthur nodded again.

"Prooosily."

Athena stared at him.

"Did you just say precisely?"

He nodded firmly.

For a moment, Athena looked almost impressed.

Then Arthur opened his mouth again.

"Stas ay yob shiud commo witn mem. I naad yooour heeelpp."

Athena closed her eyes.

Slowly.

She took a deep breath as she was getting more annoyed by his voice.

Arthur waited patiently.

"What?"

He tried again.

"I nead—"

"Stop."

Athena reached into her storage ring and retrieved a small healing potion. She uncorked it, leaned forward, and splashed the contents directly across his face.

Arthur jerked backward.

"Hey!"

A warm sensation spread across his cheeks. The swelling began to recede almost immediately, the soreness in his jaw faded, and within seconds, his face had returned to its usual shape.

A few drops of potion trickled down his chin.

Arthur wiped them away with his sleeve before cautiously pressing his fingers against one cheek.

Much better.

He looked at Athena.

"With that, we’re even, right?"

Her hand stopped above the armrest.

"Even for what?"

Arthur scratched his cheek.

"You know."

Athena’s expression hardened.

"Last night."

The temperature of the conversation seemed to drop several degrees.

Then, in the next instant, it rose sharply.

"You bastard!"

Arthur froze.

"Do you think a little beating makes up for what happened?"

Her voice grew louder with every word.

"After you took advantage of me, and... and..."

She abruptly stopped.

Arthur tilted his head.

"And what?"

Athena’s face flushed red.

For a moment, she seemed to struggle between the urge to scream at him and the urge to bury him beneath the hotel.

Then she exploded.

"YOU WILL TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!"

The sheer force of her voice shook the room.

The drinking glass on the side table shattered. The decorative glass bowl beside the window followed suit, bursting into glittering fragments. Several smaller ornaments cracked almost simultaneously, scattering pieces across the furniture.

Arthur clapped his hands over his ears.

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT!"

He waited for the ringing to subside before cautiously lowering his hands.

"What do you want me to do, then? Marry you or something?"

Athena stared at him.

Somehow, he had managed to make the situation even worse.

Inside his head, the System spoke.

[Host, why are you so determined to make your situation worse?]

Arthur’s expression stiffened.

’...Oh, shit.’

He had finally recognized the danger.

’I need to change the subject.’

Preferably before his cheeks required another healing potion.

He lowered his hands and forced himself to adopt a more serious expression.

"Alright. That came out badly."

Athena’s eyes narrowed.

Arthur hurried to continue before she could interrupt.

"I’ll give you time to think about it. Whatever you decide you want from me, tell me, and I’ll follow through."

For once, there was no teasing in his voice.

"I’m not asking you to forget what happened. I’m saying we should discuss it properly when we have the time."

Athena looked away, her gaze drifting toward the door.

For a moment, Arthur thought she might stand up and leave.

Then her eyes shifted toward Aiden, who remained unconscious on the carpet.

She drew a long breath.

’Mother, what am I supposed to do with this idiot?’

Her fingers tightened around the fabric of her sleeve.

’He really doesn’t understand anything.’

Arthur, unfortunately, interpreted her silence as a sign of progress.

"Good. Now that we’ve settled that—"

Athena slowly turned her head toward him.

Nothing had been settled.

Not even remotely.

Arthur continued anyway.

"It’s time you kept your end of our deal."

Athena’s eyes narrowed further.

"You promised to help me if I won the academy competition for you."

Arthur spread his hands.

"The competition was canceled, but that was hardly my fault. We were leading, and I also removed your curse and saved your life. I’d say I’ve more than fulfilled my end of the bargain."

Athena stared at him.

Arthur stared back.

"So now," he continued, "I need your help."

A brief silence followed.

Then Athena asked, "What?"

Arthur frowned.

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

Athena leaned back in her chair and regarded him with an expression that made him instinctively straighten his back.

"Tell me something first."

"Go ahead."

"Are you jinxed?"

Arthur blinked.

"...What?"

"Every task you become involved in turns into a disaster."

He opened his mouth to object.

Athena raised a hand, silencing him before he could utter a word.

"I asked you help with the curse that was eating away at me."

"And I removed it."

"Yes. And we ended up trapped in a marriage bond."

Arthur’s mouth slowly closed.

"Then we accidentally spent a night together and did..."

Her cheeks warmed, but she refused to finish the sentence.

Arthur wisely decided that his survival was more important than satisfying his curiosity.

"And now the academy competition has been canceled," Athena continued. "Even though we were winning."

She looked him up and down.

"I’m beginning to wonder whether you’re some kind of bad omen."

For several seconds, Arthur had absolutely nothing to say.

Nothing.

The accusation had struck with the unpleasant precision of an attack he could neither dodge nor counter.

The curse had been removed.

The marriage bond had followed.

The academy competition had gone well.

Until it had turned into a massacre.

His expression stiffened.

’Damn it.’

Athena watched him in silence.

’For once, I can’t even argue properly.’

Then another thought occurred to him.

’System, does that increased Luck stat of mine have anything to do with this?’

The response came almost immediately.

[Host, I warned you before. That stat is dangerous.]

Arthur’s eye twitched.

’That’s all you’re going to say?’

[You simply refuse to listen.]

’That’s not a useful answer.’

[Neither is repeatedly ignoring useful warnings.]

Arthur stared blankly ahead.

’One day, I’m going to dismantle you and see how many screws it takes to make you shut up.’

[Threats against the System have been noted, Host. Unfortunately, your chances of success remain disappointingly low.]

Arthur decided that continuing this conversation would only damage his mental health.

Instead, he turned his attention to a far more important matter.

’What about the Ring of Reversal?’

The reward had not left his mind, even amid all the chaos.

’The competition was canceled, but we were far ahead of the other academies in points. I should still receive it, shouldn’t I?’

[The Nexus mainframe is still evaluating the quest.]

Arthur’s attention sharpened.

[The system must determine whether the quest should be invalidated due to the cancellation of the competition or considered failed because a Sentinel’s intervention caused the quest’s invalidation.]

’And when will it make a decision?’

[A answer should arrive soon.]