The Greece Antagonist

Since he had agreed to it, he could only repay it honestly.

With the day's first rays of sun, the hard-pressed debtor Luo En started his daily routine of loosening the soil, sowing seeds, watering, fertilizing, and hastening growth.

Thanks to the Goddess of Wisdom's visit last time to apologize, she left behind a bottle of "Essence of Life," which could accelerate plant growth.

By diluting this substance in water, Luo En's debt repayment sped up manifold.

After several months of hard work, the whole yard was bursting with vitality, and his debt was almost fully repaid.

Well past dawn, Luo En put down his watering can and, looking at the seedlings in the nursery that were half a foot tall and lush with greenery, couldn't help but feel satisfied as he laid down his farming tools.

After washing off the dust and grime, he walked into the kitchen to prepare lunch; as Luo En busied himself by the stove, he couldn't help but mutter complaints.

Whether it was because she revealed her true nature or was intentionally training him, after the Goddess of the Hearth tasted his cooking, she not only increasingly relinquished control over what she regarded as her own territory, the kitchen, but lately she didn't even enter the kitchen door at all.

In her place, she would take Little Medusa out early in the morning under the guise of shopping for goods, browsing through the market streets.

By mealtime, they'd often bring back a huge assortment of exotic ingredients for Luo En to experiment with and develop new recipes.

The ostensible reason was to "enrich the Minosians' menu and enhance the quality of life in Knossos City."

"We're back!"

Just as Luo En, reluctantly transformed into a househusband, was bellyaching to himself, a familiar and cheerful shout came from outside the door.

Little Medusa, back from shopping, carelessly dropped a half-person-tall bag on the ground and burst into the back kitchen with a beaming smile.

A rich fragrance of flowers entered his nostrils, Luo En put down his spatula and his gaze fell upon Little Medusa's head, surprise flickering across his face.

"What a beautiful garland, who gave it to you?"

"It's from the florist granny across the street!"

Bearing recognition for the day's difference, Little Medusa gleefully answered while showing off excitedly.

"Luo En, I helped tend the shop today and sold thirteen bunches of flowers! Granny gave me a flower garland and a bag of fresh croissants!"

"It seems Little Anna is quite popular."

Luo En smiled and nodded, patiently continuing his inquiry with curiosity.

"So, any other gains from today's outing?"

"Yes, yes, Constantine's granddaughter finally let me hold her! I took care of her for a while!"

"How did that feel?"

"Tiny, soft, really cute!"

"Is that all?"

"There's more, there's more, I found the herbs Beatrice needed, and also helped the lame man on the other street pick grapes from his vineyard, and before leaving, he gave me a basket as well…"

In the kitchen, Little Medusa's small face was brimming with a sweet smile as she excitedly boasted to Luo En about her labor's fruits along the way.

Her eyes, once filled with wariness and gloom when they first met, now sparkled with brightness, and the reluctance to make eye contact with others had completely vanished.

Luo En listened quietly to Little Medusa's sharing, responding with a gentle chuckle and nods.

"Hmm, no wonder I've heard the whole street praising you."

"No, that's not true…"

Hearing such praise, the somewhat unconfident Little Medusa suddenly felt uneasy, her small face blushing.

Looking at this Medusa who had shed the fierce myth and revealed her innocent nature, Luo En stretched out his hand and gently placed it on top of Medusa's small head, softly stroking her smooth purple hair, his eyes filled with contentment and tenderness.

Compared to the "inevitability" of the myths, he preferred this "chance" he had created with his own hands.

If the role of the "dice" was to nurture these kinds of beautiful possibilities, then being driven by such things didn't seem to be entirely bad.

"Hey! You two, that's enough! Can't one of you come and help me with this stuff?"

While the kitchen's warmth and affection grew deeper between the young and the old, an indignant protest from Hestia came from outside the door.

At this moment, her hands were full with large and small packages from shopping, the bulky scale of which had already exceeded the limits of the door frame.

And because she stood right at the doorstep, it was inconvenient for her to use her Divine Power to dismantle the house, so she could only stand stiffly at the door.

"I'm here, I'm here!"

Little Medusa snapped back to reality and stuffed half a bag of croissant bread into Luo En's hands before rushing out of the kitchen to help unload at the door.

"You've brought back so much, did you go and raid the food market and the grocery store, auntie…"

Amid the teasing banter, Athena, who had been absent for several months, appeared from around the deserted street corner with her own Lesser Deity Nike, walking with grace and composure.

Elegant and unhurried.

However, the composure of the Goddess of Wisdom lasted only a few seconds before Hestia dragged her over.

"Athena? Your timing is perfect! Quick, quick, quick, help carry stuff!"

No sooner had the words of the Goddess of the Hearth left her lips than a bag of purple onions slipped to the ground, rolling in all directions.

Frozen in place, Little Medusa stiffly turned her head to look at the familiar figure with silver hair and purple eyes behind her, her voice hoarse.

"Athe… Athena?"

"…"

The Goddess of Wisdom raised her hand to her forehead, wordlessly looking at Hestia with an exasperated expression.

No matter how much you plan, you can't guard against an ally who exposes herself willingly.

"What? Did I say something?"

Hestia, feeling guilty, feigned confusion in response, trying to bluff her way through with feigned ignorance.

However, such tricks might work on the simple-minded little Anna in the kitchen, but not on her; she wasn't so easily fooled.

"Alright, no need to pretend anymore."

Athena, clearly annoyed, gave her aunt Hestia, who had inadvertently betrayed her, a sharp look; she then gently patted Anna's shoulder as a gesture of comfort, her voice soft.

"It's okay, it's just a name, let's keep things as they were before."

"Eh, you saying that makes me feel relieved! I'm finally unburdened!"

Before Little Medusa could recover from her shock, Hestia, seeing that her great-niece had no intention of pursuing the matter, let out a sigh of relief, her mood lifting greatly.

"Come, come, come, help me bring these inside first!"

"…"

Looking at the bag of turnips in her left hand and the bag of rosemary in her right, Athena, who had regained her goddess status just seconds before, felt her forehead throb uncontrollably.

Forget it, forget it, don't argue with her.

Talking too much is tiring…

Having had a profound experience with such matters, the Goddess of Wisdom, forced by the tyranny of her elder, resigned herself to the hard labor, dignifying herself to carry vegetables into the house.

But having finally lugged all sorts of items into the house, Hestia was still not ready to let go of the labor force, directing them with hands on her hips.

"Hey, hey, don't stand around, the turnips need peeling, the rosemary needs grinding, and you, whoever, get those olives pickled for me!"

By the way, even Nike, the lesser Goddess of Victory who didn't merit a mention, became an object of enslavement.

Seeing that not only was there no chance of having fruit brew, but also having to do this sort of boring manual labor, Nike's expression immediately collapsed, her face filled with gloom.

"Don't be so reluctant, all of this was prepared thoughtfully for me. Wait until tonight when Luo En and I cook together, and you'll taste the new dishes we've recently developed; you'll understand how worthwhile the hard work is now..."

The Goddess of the Hearth, ready to show off her culinary skills, scolded the gluttonous Nike while proudly announcing the plan for tonight's entertainment.

"There's no need to cook."

Athena raised her hand to interrupt Hestia's boasting, gracefully declining the dinner invitation, her purple eyes turning toward the figure in the kitchen, corners of her lips curving up in pleasure.

"Because the person, I'm taking with me!"

Caught!

In an instant, both Luo En and Little Medusa changed their expressions, instinctively assuming a defensive stance, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly turned tense.