"Cough..."
Just as the atmosphere was growing awkard, King Minos, who was lying in bed, gave a light cough and stretched out his hand to pick up the golden scepter from the bedside, handing it over to Luo En, who stood before him.
"This is the scepter that can command Talos; for the specific spells, you can go ask Ariadne."
As he took the scepter, hearing King Minos's tone as if he was entrusting everything to him, Luo En was just about to speak when he was stopped by a gesture from the king.
"Don't refuse. I already feel bad enough for imposing responsibilities that should have been mine onto you. Now that my body can't be of much help, it's better to give you what can still be used—I hope you can put them to good effect."
As he spoke, the old man whistled. A hunting dog with straight, slender limbs, smooth and soft fur that shone with a light golden hue, sprinted from the royal garden and dashed like lightning to the bedside, circling around a bronze badge in King Minos's hand.
"Remember the scent; from now on, he is your master."
The old man rubbed the dog's gentle head, earnestly instructing him, then, with some reluctance, handed the bronze badge over to Luo En's hands.
As soon as the badge changed ownership, the Golden Hound let out a low whine and merged into it as a streak of light.
"So, the rest is up to you..."
After handing over the two items, the old man patted the back of Luo En's hand, murmured something, and slowly closed his eyes, falling back into a deep sleep.
Quietly stepping out, Luo En looked at the two objects in his hands and couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and disbelief.
The Bronze Giant Talos, the Golden Hound, not to mention the gold arrows he had already used up...
Now, all three of Crete Island's heirloom divine artifacts had become his personal belongings.
His opponents hadn't even started losing their gold, and here he was, having used up all his teammate's gold. What kind of situation was this?
Seeing Luo En's face change between various expressions, the guilt-ridden Hestia poked the shoulder of the victim and tentatively asked.
"So, what should we do next?"
"What do we do? Mix it up!"
Luo En snapped back to reality and shot a disgruntled glance at Hestia, who had just thrown him into the fire.
Hearing his unfriendly tone, the ashamed Goddess of the Hearth shrank her neck slightly and spoke softly.
"How about I take care of Keto after seven days?"
"This is a stalemate, not a checkmate. If it comes to you taking action, then we're really hopeless."
Luo En gently refused and then traced a Hermes Script with his hand, storing away the two divine artifacts gifted by King Minos, before moving forward.
"Since there's no escape, let's go. First, come with me to the council hall to get a grasp of the current situation on Crete Island."
"Mm-hmm, I knew I could count on you!"
Seeing Luo En take up the task, the Goddess whose brain was not quite all there suddenly beamed with joy and smoothly followed in the footsteps of her external brain.
~~
In the afternoon, in the royal council hall.
The scribe who had been working diligently finished reviewing the last document on war casualties and breathed a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted. Then, he leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed, his brain whirring with the information at hand and strategizing a solution to the predicament.
In the second wave of the Sea Beasts' onslaught, Crete Island suffered heavy losses, with over half of the elite Divine Blood Guard killed or injured, and King Minos's own unbeatable fleet left with but a few survivors, thus lacking the capacity to take the offensive once more.
The good news, however, was that the Sea Beasts had been equally decimated.
Strange, where is that girl?
"Secretary-General, are you looking for Miss Anna?"
Just as Luo En's frown tightened, a deep voice came from the construction site.
A young man in a rough linen shirt with slightly reddened skin walked out of the crowd and approached Luo En.
Seeing the vaguely familiar face before him, Luo En was surprised.
"Who are you?"
"Constantine is my father, whom you've met,"
The young man with one arm began speaking, revealing a simple smile.
Upon this hint, Luo En suddenly remembered the name.
During the outbreak of the maritime disaster, he had consulted an experienced old fisherman and had deduced the timing of the first sea beast wave from him, which allowed King Minos to prepare and catch the opposition off-guard.
So this was the son of that elderly man, no wonder he looked familiar.
Moreover, considering where they lived, they seemed to be neighbors not far from Hestia, someone Anna always talked about.
Having confirmed his identity, Luo En's gaze softened considerably, and he couldn't help but take a few more glances at the young man's empty left sleeve.
"What happened to your arm?"
"Oh, I didn't listen to advice and insisted on going out to sea, where I got bitten by a sea beast. Luckily I have a strong life force; I managed to cling to a plank and drifted close to shore, and then Miss Anna pulled me back..."
While talking, the young man scratched his head awkwardly, his eyes brimming with gratitude towards the petite divine envoy.
Then, realizing he had digressed, the young man quickly spoke up.
"Secretary-General, you're looking for Miss Anna, aren't you? I saw her heading towards the forest over there,"
Following that, the young man paused, adding hesitantly his own observation.
"And it seemed like she was a bit nervous..."
"Alright, I understand."
Luo En nodded in thanks and watched the young man leave. Then his eyes narrowed slightly.
Nervous?
With the doubts rising in his mind, Luo En turned towards the direction the young man had indicated and strode forward, his hand tracing lines of Hermes script.
Gradually, his figure weaving through the forest became invisible, blending perfectly with the surroundings.
Among the spells he had mastered during his decades of study on Aiaia, concealment was his most accomplished, exceeding even that of his old teacher.
The light breeze rustling through the trees carried a familiar scent and... teasing mockery.
"What's the matter? You find it amusing to play house with those mortals, Medusa?"
"It looks like you're not planning to obey, my foolish little sister..."
Luo En's expression changed slightly as he swiftly took cover behind a tree trunk, peering through the dappled branches at the two figures in the clearing—both unfamiliar and familiar—that suddenly made his heart skip.
Why are they here?