Myths Reawakened

Wayne cringed. “Goddess, we’re allies. By giving Darienne to me, you’re damaging our partnership.”

“Just tell me if you’re taking her or not!”

“I will take her, but at a price!”

“...” x3

Siluk fell silent, Vichy smiled without a word, and Darienne seethed. She pointed at Wayne and snarled, “You don’t want me? I don’t want you, either! I would’ve beaten you to death if I could.”

“See, Goddess? This is really bad for our partnership.” Wayne spread his hands. “It’s not even about paying me extra. I’m worried that all the investment you’ve made will go down the drain.”

“It won’t. I feel like you like her quite a lot, and she’s interested in you, too.”

“Impossible!” x2

Darienne shook her head vehemently, and Wayne waved his hands in denial. He had a good impression of Darienne, but only during their first meeting in the Frozen Land. She had been a frosty woman of few words who kept others at arm’s length.

That didn’t last. Darienne opened her mouth and sat down at a card table.

Someone like her would be fine as a card buddy, but she would be embarrassing even as a fake girlfriend.

Siluk smiled. “If you dislike her so much, why don’t you keep her and teach her a lesson rather than pushing her away?”

“She’s bad for my appetite,” Wayne said seriously.

“...” x3

Siluk had no words for that. Her smile faded, and She found herself agreeing with Wayne.

Before Her departure, She said, “I’ll leave Darienne with you. Keep her if you want, or I’ll leave her guarding the Land of Seal in the Frozen Land, never allowing her to return to the Chosen Land.”

The living room fell silent.

Thinking back to her dull life in the Frozen Land, Darienne broke into cold sweat, a drop falling down her forehead. She stared at Wayne with wide eyes, trying to force a gentle smile.

It looked more like a wince.

Wayne not only wasn’t intimidated, but even found her amusing. He looked down at the knight still wrapped in his arms. “What do you think, Vichy? Should I keep her?”

“Hey, why would you ask her?” Darienne protested.

“Vichy is my girlfriend,” Wayne said without looking up. “She has the right to decide whether I keep you around.”

Tell her to go away! Vichy answered in her head. From her perspective, Darienne shouldn’t be kept around, but from the perspective of Darkness, Darienne would be Darienne during the day, while she could become a certain goddess during nighttime. That would be in line with Darkness’s plan to drag Moonlight and Sun into investing more.

From Wayne’s perspective...

“Let her stay,” Vichy said faintly. “I keep losing card games. With her around, I won’t be the biggest loser.”

“How dare you look down on me?!” Darienne exploded. She would accept being called morally bankrupt, but she wouldn’t tolerate any doubt about her card skills. That would be the biggest insult to her character.

“Damn Darkness Knight, let’s have a one-on-one!”

Darienne manifested a card table in the living room with her thoughts. In all of the Chosen Land, her thoughts might not be the strongest, and her manifestation might not be the most efficient, but she had her own forte. She was definitely the best at conjuring card tables and chips.

Once the Goddess of Moonlight left, Holy Maiden Galen returned to herself. Watching Darienne left a bitter taste in her mouth. Before leaving, Siluk had told her to keep executing the oracle. Darienne would most certainly be kept around Wayne. The Moonlight Knight would pave the way, so Galen should follow quickly to play her role.

What do you goddesses take the Holy Maidens for? That’s not what you say when we join the churches.

Galen pursed her lips, feeling assured. She had confidence in Darienne. There was no shortage of gentle and kind-hearted beauties around Wayne, so a gambling addict like Darienne would be left untouched even if she fell on Wayne’s bed. He wouldn’t bother to pick her up.

As long as Darienne failed to pave the way, Galen wouldn’t be able to follow. She was certain of it!

Vichy rose to her feet to play cards with Darienne. Wayne snapped his fingers to get Galen involved. Then he asked the slacker playing dead on the sofa if she would like to join. She didn’t respond.

A game of four began. Wayne asked Anastasia to deal the cards, and they played until the afternoon tea time was over.

As usual, he ended up having a mountain of chips completely blocking him. On top of the chips was a silver longbow—White Night Creed.

Darienne looked at the empty table in front of her and then at Vichy, who still had some chips left. “Damn you, Wayne,” she raged. “You must have played in her favor. I know her skill level. She can’t be a better card player than I am.”

That much was true. Darienne was a seasoned gambler who had practiced playing cards for years. She was skilled. All she lacked was luck.

Vichy was like an inexperienced Darienne. Since she was new to card games, she had neither skills nor luck. If Wayne hadn’t gone easy on her several times, she would’ve lost her pants, and since she was a knight who honored her promise, she would actually undress after she lost.

In the past, Darienne was more important to him than Vichy, but now, it was the other way around. Wayne had no reason to let one of his people undress. He helped her discreetly, and Darienne ended up paying the price.

“Ahem!” Wayne pulled a long face. “Darienne, if you can’t be a graceful loser, don’t play. Times are different now. You don’t know how hard Vichy has been practicing her card skills. She’s been pulling all-nighters, so it’s only right for her to win.”

“I’d believe that she’s pulled all-nighters, but I’m not so sure that she’s been pulling all-nighters to practice cards. She’s disgraced her knighthood,” Darienne said sarcastically. Everyone with a brain would know that Vichy had won through servicing Wayne.

Vichy blushed. She felt ashamed for her unjust victory.

Her sense of morality was too strong!

“That’s the truth whether you like it or not,” Wayne declared with no room for argument. “There are no accidents in sports and matches. You reap what you sow, and Vichy won today because of the sweat she’s shed. Stop messing around, Darienne.”

“Yeah, right. I’m sure she’s shed a lot of sweat,” Darienne shot back.

“Say another word, and I’ll make you sweat tonight!”

“...”

With a huff, Darienne turned away, her anger draining as she imagined beating Wayne until he was crippled.

“Come on, let’s go shopping and go to a cinema.”

I’m not going! Darienne thought. It’s too late for you to suck up to me now. Save your words for Vichy!

To avoid shedding blood and sweat tonight, though, she decided to humor Wayne. When she turned around, she saw him extending a hand to Vichy, who obliged after some hesitation.

(ꐦ￣皿￣)ง

If you aren’t inviting me, why did you speak in my direction?! Darienne seethed, furious that Wayne was using her to amuse Vichy and actually made Vichy laugh. The only thing setting them apart was sex payment. Darienne had the same bits as Vichy. Tonight...

Forget tonight.

It was wiser to avoid another’s advantages and be patient. Once her opponent was alone, she would... take care of Vichy.

“You’re coming too, Darienne.”

“What? I’m not going shopping with you. Dream on!”

“What are you saying? Vichy needs a porter.”

୧(╬▔皿▔)૭

That day, Darienne experienced the pain of having a sadistic superior.

While Siluk seemed haughty, She was quite nice to Her subordinates. For example, Tyrol had only been grounded after making a mistake, and Galen, despite her constant failures at fulfilling the oracle, received no more than a slap on the wrist.

A superior like Wayne was a special case. The only one who could match his freak was Ines.

That night, Darienne went from being a porter to being a guard at the door. It used to be Vichy’s responsibility. Now that Vichy had been promoted and taken into the bedroom, Darienne took over guard duty. She ground her teeth furiously during the process, feeling the urge to barge in and play the same role as Vichy.

However, she couldn’t muster the courage to do it. With the soundproof barrier in place, she cursed up a storm at the degenerates.

Darienne thought that what was taking place in the room was a reciprocal threesome, but it wasn’t. After finishing the soup and the entree, Anastasia had summoned Ines to enjoy the scraps.

(눈_눈)

What a wretched Holy Maiden! Ines groused.

The Holy Maiden and the goddess were in a silent war. Since the goddess was further away, She was at a disadvantage.

Ines pushed Vichy out of Wayne’s arms, sending her to the bathroom with a glare. Then She poked Wayne in the forehead. “Anastasia has gotten more and more unlikable. You’ve spoiled her. Give her to me for a proper lesson.”

Wayne cocked his head and played deaf.

His indulgence annoyed Ines further. While She knew Wayne was provoking Her, She still couldn’t help but bite the bait. “Why did Anastasia call me? Just to irritate me?”

“No, I met Siluk today. It went like this...”

Wayne explained what had happened with Great Sage Garville and Tyrol, Moonlight’s subordinate god. He sold Siluk out easily.

“Tsk, she sure is generous.” Learning that Wayne had acquired resources and left Siluk with no way to pull back, Ines broke into a smile, tucking Herself into Wayne’s arms. “That fool. She really thinks we’re just playing pretend. She doesn’t know that I’ve long fallen for you.”

“Oh, really?” Wayne said in surprise.

“...”

(￣～￣;)

Shut up if you don’t have anything good to say!

“Haha...” Wayne held Her shoulders and blew at Her ear. “Whether you’ve fallen for me or not, I have fallen for you. I turned down the partnership with Siluk and Kaleb, betting my future on you.”

“You just think I’m easy to fool!” Ines huffed, tilting Her head to shut him up. After some tongue action, She said, “Kaleb and Siluk are a package deal. The fact that Siluk has made extra investment means Kaleb’s in, too. My plan can enter the next phase.”

The next phase would involve Ines giving Wayne the information She had prepared for the cultivation of Her third subordinate god. Since Siluk had made an extra investment first, Her plan would need some adjustment.

“You’ll be your shameless self and work with Siluk to cheat resources out of me,” Ines said. They would put the frog in warm water and dial up the heat gradually. If they pushed too hard too quickly, Siluk would be scared away.

Wayne shook his head. “She won’t pull out now even if we scare Her. She’s given me too much.”

The pair of degenerates exchanged a glance and found each other a perfect partner. They were cut from the same cloth and couldn’t have settled on anyone better.

Ines felt hungry as She looked at Wayne. Flipping him over, She straddled him and looked down at him with a derisive expression. “Little pervert, don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. You believe Siluk will stay, so you’ll be able to skip the process to the end where she gets it on with you through her Holy Maiden, don’t you?”

“Not really...” Wayne shook his head. “Objectively speaking, I’m pretty sure you’re the only one capable of doing that.”

“That’s only because of a lack of pressure. Under enough pressure, they would be capable of anything!” Ines huffed. She wanted to say more, but didn’t. While formulating the plan, Ines hadn’t thought there was anything wrong. Now that things had been set in motion, though, She was reluctant to continue.

Imagining Wayne holding Siluk and Kaleb irritated Her. She leaned into Wayne with a vexed look on Her face. “I may have... developed actual feelings.”

Same for me! Wayne thought. He raised an eyebrow and murmured, “The most important thing in life is being happy. That’s true for humans, and especially true for someone at an elevated position like you, Goddess of Darkness. If it doesn’t work, we’ll think of something else.”

“Would you willingly take the loss?”

“Why wouldn’t I, if I would win my goddess’s affection in return?” Wayne took Ines’s hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it.

“At least you aren’t completely shameless...” Ines’s eyes crinkled. She whispered to him, “We can’t give up at this point. There aren’t many gods who are as gullible as Siluk and Kaleb. They will be ours.”

“Ours?!” Wayne’s lips curled up as he held Ines’s gaze with a teasing edge. “If I remember right, you said they would be mine last time.”

Ines scoffed. “If you expect a wicked woman to keep her promise, you must be a fool just like them, and you fully deserve to be toyed with by me.”

“You’re imagining things. I just covet your beauty. I’m actually quite clear-headed.”

Liar, you have feelings for me! x2

The pair exchanged a glance and saw adoration in each other’s eyes. In no time, they were tangled together in the sheets.

Afterwards, Wayne held Ines in his arms and said slowly, “I’ll pay Heaven a visit. We don’t have a lot of time, so we need to hurry.”

Ines rested Her head on him, drawling tiredly with squinted eyes, “Be careful. Heaven isn’t like Hell. If something goes wrong, I can’t get you out.”