The Villain of Ancient Greece

”The flower shop across the street—its owner is a kind old lady. If you help her sell flowers, you can earn ten Hera silver coins in wages…”

”Next door is a bakery. Twelve Hera silver a month, plus free lunch at noon, but it’s tough work…”

”Further down is a butcher shop. If you’re not afraid of getting dirty and don’t mind slaughter work, the pay’s even better…”

On the second-floor corridor, the man standing by the window pointed at the shops down the street and earnestly introduced each one.

Listening to him, the purple-haired twin sisters exchanged confused glances.

Were… they here to look for jobs?

…It kind of seemed that way…

Wait, no, something’s not right!

Realizing their true reason for coming, the two of them quickly shook their heads and put on troubled expressions.

”We’ve never done physical labor at home…”

”At most, we just read books and learned etiquette…”

With a ladylike air, the twin sisters looked toward their savior with pitiful eyes full of helpless fragility and a plea for care.

Lorne’s eyes lit up at their words.

”You can read? That’s even better! Come, help me process these documents first. I need them urgently—monthly salary: twenty Hera silver!”

As he spoke, his hands dropped two towering stacks of paperwork into their arms, each nearly half their height.

Staring at the papyrus and parchment filled with strings of symbols and data, the purple-haired sisters grew dizzy and immediately shook their heads.

”Never learned this!”

”We don’t know how!”

Lorne frowned slightly, a bit troubled.

”Then… what can you do?”

The moment he said that, the sisters also froze, clearly unsure themselves.

After mentally scraping together everything they’d learned in human society, they spoke up instinctively.

”We can eat?”

”We can drink?”

”We know where the fun places are!”

Suddenly, the room fell into silence.

The sisters could clearly feel the gaze cast toward them, it carried a faint sense of contempt.

As if they were just two useless freeloaders with no value or ability…

An unprecedented sense of defeat slowly spread through their hearts.

It really did feel like… in the eyes of humans, they were pretty much useless.

But very quickly, the sisters remembered their unparalleled strengths.

They proudly lifted their chins, confident and self-assured smiles blooming on their faces.

”But—we’re pretty!”

”And cute! Everyone we meet says so!”

Lorne stared at the pair of haughty white swans, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke in a faint tone.

”Well then, how about… dishwashing? You handle all the chores, meals and lodging covered. I’ll throw in three Hera silver coins, and that’s only because I pity you two.”l”

”…”

The two girls, so confident in their beauty, froze.

Their smiles stiffened, and from their tightly closed lips came the faint creaking sound of molars about to crack from clenching.

Dishwashing? Dishwash your damn head!

You bastard—do you not understand what we’re trying to say?

We’re this beautiful, this adorable—shouldn’t you be listening to us obediently, or better yet, throwing yourself at us?!

Sensing that the sisters didn’t seem too happy, Lorne awkwardly cleared his throat and brought over a jar of fruit wine, trying to smooth things over.

”Uh… talking so much must’ve made you thirsty. Want to have something to drink first?”

The sisters didn’t speak.

They simply picked up the cups and drank deeply, then, getting carried away, directly grabbed the whole jar from in front of Lorne and started chugging it together, as if venting some kind of invisible frustration.

The empathetic man smiled slightly, showing his understanding.

”Take your time. No need to rush the job hunt—you’ll find something eventually…”

Yet those words only made the sisters’ faces darken even more.

Do we really look like we came here to work??

Finally, ten minutes later, the twin flowers had emptied the entire jar of fruit wine.

Still not quite satisfied, they licked their cherry lips with delicate tongues.

As a light, floaty comfort spread through their bodies, the irritation in their hearts seemed to melt a bit.

”Like it? I’ll go get you some more.”

Seeing their relaxed expressions, Lorne smiled warmly and made a gesture of hospitality.

But before he could go downstairs, his arm was firmly grabbed.

”No need…”

The elder sister pulled him back.

Her gaze was hazy, and she let out a soft yawn.

”We’re a bit sleepy… Why don’t you help us into a room to sit down for a while?”

Her misty purple eyes glanced toward a half-open bedroom, and her gentle voice carried a tempting charm that tugged at the heart.

”Uh… that doesn’t seem very appropriate…”

Lorne’s eyes lingered on her blushing face for a few seconds as he swallowed, hesitating.

”It’s alright… we don’t mind at all…”

Stheno reached out, drawing a gentle pattern across his chest with her finger, while giving her younger sister a knowing glance.

It was already afternoon, Little Medusa would be back any minute now.

If they kept stalling, who knew how long it would drag out?

With a blockhead like this who didn’t respond to subtle cues, they had no choice but to take the initiative!

Euryale, thinking the same as her sister, nodded excitedly.

Her eyes shimmered with anticipation.

They had waited so long, finally, the main act could begin.

She couldn’t wait to see the look on Little Medusa’s face.

”Come on, just rest with us for a bit…”

Euryale took hold of Lorne’s other arm and then, without giving him a chance to resist, she and Stheno flanked him and pushed him into the room.

Though strangely, their steps were a little unsteady, wobbly, almost like they were walking on clouds.

Bang!

As the door opened and shut, three swaying figures toppled onto the bed, nearly tangled together in a heap.

Pa!

With a crisp sound, Lorne slapped away a hand that had unknowingly slipped to his backside, pressing it from the lower back as he glanced at the two flushed, charming faces on either side, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

”How about… you two get some sleep first? I’ll just head downstairs for a bit?”

However, the slender arms pressing down on either side of him didn’t budge, as if made of iron.

The twin sisters gently licked their cherry lips, exhaling warm breaths.

”No rush…”

”We haven’t thanked you properly yet…”

Lorne shook his head repeatedly, speaking righteously.

”No need to thank me—it was just a casual favor! If there’s nothing else, I’ll just be going, alright?”

Pa!

A crisp snap echoed again as the luminous crystal embedded in the wall shattered into dust, plunging the room into dim light.

”You see? Always in such a hurry…”

As the soft voice soothed and a sudden sense of weightlessness swept over him, Lorne was pushed back onto the bed by two slender arms pressing against his chest.

In the rustling silence, the twin sisters sat up on either side of him.

Their hair, like flowing serpents, spilled across their shoulders.

Though their features were obscured in shadow, under the dying golden light of the sunset, they radiated an intoxicating beauty.

Like two fairies from the water’s edge, rising in the dark, luring lost travelers step by step into a swamp, until, without realizing, the traveler drowns in the mire of warmth and illusion.

For a moment, Lorne was stunned, momentarily forgetting to resist.

Then, those two graceful figures leaned down and pinned his arms open, like predators pressing their prey beneath their claws.

”Relax…”

The whispered words were like a spell that bewitched the soul.

Their lowered faces neared his neck from either side, slow and silent.

In the faint twilight, the sisters slightly parted their rosy lips, revealing gleaming white fangs.

He smells so good.

”Ahem…”

Amid a soft cough and low murmur, the man pinned under the two beauties flicked his gaze, his tone suddenly curious.

”So… are all Gorgons this forward?”

”...!”

In an instant, the twin sisters on either side froze.

Their bodies stiffened as they quickly retracted their exposed fangs and looked up with innocent expressions.

”What are you talking about?”

”We don’t understand…”

Lorne stared at the two identical, delicate faces before him, a playful glint surfacing in his eyes.

”Stheno the Strong’ and ’Euryale the Winged’—the first two of the Gorgon Sisters? …Did I get it wrong?”

”…He actually noticed.”

Stheno frowned, narrowing her eyes at the man before her with a displeased hum.

Yet the eldest of the Gorgon trio soon gazed at the squirming little white mouse beneath her claws, the man who, despite his struggles, still couldn’t escape, and the corners of her lips curled into a faintly pleased arc as she whispered coolly:

”But so what if you did? Think you can escape now? Gonna rely on my stupid little sister?”

”Heh, we came here precisely because she went out. By our count, she won’t be back for another half hour. No one’s going to save you now!”

Euryale’s face was smug, completely crushing any hope Lorne might have had for outside help.

”Yeah, I’m alone…”

Lorne glanced out the window with a helpless expression.

”Hmph, serves you right for being blinded by lust, letting us in even though you knew who we were!”

Euryale lowered her head and sneered coldly.

Her slender hands suddenly burst with an iron-like grip as her rosy lips curled sinisterly..

Her pale, sharp fangs were already pressing against the man’s carotid artery.

She couldn’t help it. He smelled so good.

Just one bite… just a little…

But just as she was about to sink her teeth in and taste the prey’s blood, a low voice full of hidden meaning slipped into her ear.

”But… aren’t you two alone too?”

BOOM!

A burst of monstrous strength erupted like a landslide.

With a violent groan from the bed and a spinning world of chaos, the unsuspecting Euryale was flipped and slammed down, pinned under a silhouette flaring with red-black light.

At the same time, a deep, amused voice echoed beside the serpent-haired maiden’s ear.

”Did you really think, knowing who you are, I wouldn’t come prepared?”

”…!”

Watching her sister suddenly get pinned with overwhelming force, Stheno’s expression changed dramatically and instinctively tried to activate her divine power to regain control.

Wummm!

But a tremendous etheric resonance surged through the room, and Stheno was slammed onto the bed as though crushed by a great weight.

Impossible, he’s just a demigod!

Yet that hand pressing her down radiated an unshakable force, pinning her completely.

The proud Stheno was stunned.

”Click your tongues all you like… but I’ve got to ask—was it confidence, or just arrogance? Even after I exposed your identity, you still thought you were the ones in control? Really, ladies?”

Bathed in sunset’s glow, Lorne curled his lips.

His smile was laced with shadow and mockery.

The sudden shift in situation made the sisters instantly realize their mistake.

”You set us up!”

”Mmhmm. Correct!”

Lorne nodded with satisfaction, his grin widening.

”And as a reward… we can pick up right where we left off. No more interruptions this time. Watch closely… and learn well.”

At that moment, the silhouette, dark as ink in the dim room, slowly leaned toward the immobilized serpent-haired sisters, inch by inch.

It’s over…

We’re going to be defiled by this shameless bastard… we’ll never be clean again…

The two Gorgon sisters felt the scorching breath spraying onto their skin and the restless heartbeat resonating against their chests, causing their delicate faces to pale and their beautiful expressions to falter.

But the more they tried to resist, the fiercer the burning sensation inside their bodies became, and their limbs grew increasingly weak, as if their strength had been drained by something.

Even their surging magical power couldn’t shake off the terrifying oppressive force weighing them down.

The more they thought about it, the more anxious they became, and the more anxious they grew, the angrier they felt.

Finally, the Gorgon sisters could endure it no longer.

”Wuwu, you’re bullying us! We’re gonna tell Medusa!”

”...”

Lorne was momentarily speechless as he watched the two Gorgons, who had previously wanted to tear him apart and devour him alive, now putting on the act of pitiful victims, pouting and wailing.

He fell for it! Perfect chance!

However, just as Lorne’s focus wavered slightly, the two Gorgon sisters pinned beneath him, who had been putting on a meek, submissive act, suddenly flashed a sinister glint in their eyes, their faces twisting into vicious smirks.

Surging blood energy erupted from their bodies, shaking the air.

Bzzzt!

But at the same time, distorted runes flickered into existence across the ceiling, walls, and floor, interweaving into a glowing pattern that washed over the room, forming a thick, oppressive pressure.

Immediately afterward, the two Gorgon sisters, who had just been about to turn the tables, suddenly found their limbs stiffening as an inexplicable force yanked their arms and legs outward, binding them.

Un just an instant, Stheno and Euryale, who had barely managed to break free, were once again tightly restrained by dense red-and-black runic chains, suspended mid-air like two helpless butterflies caught in a spider’s web.

”Suppression curses. Didn’t see that coming, did you, ladies?”

Now, Lorne leisurely sat up from the bed, smirking as he gazed at the two Gorgon sisters dangling before him, offering a cheerful explanation.

”Heh, did you really think I’d climb into your bed with just the bare minimum of preparation?”

Realizing they had been played from start to finish, the two Gorgon sisters pressed their cherry lips together, their delicate faces scrunched up in frustration, their noses tingling with the threat of tears.

Treating two proper ladies like this—how cruel!

After this intense back-and-forth, Lorne, who had once again successfully outmaneuvered these two bratty troublemakers, was in an excellent mood, his grin widening.

At the same time, a long, violet-red whip materialized in his outstretched hand, formed from condensed magical energy.

You two had your fun—now it’s my turn!

Time for some discipline! Bratty Gorgons’ suffering!

”Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!”

A moment later, before the two suspended Gorgon sisters could react, crisp cracks of the whip rang out one after another.

After a brief numbness, a burning, stinging pain spread across their buttocks.

Stheno and Euryale froze in shock for a second before snapping back to reality, their silver teeth grinding audibly, their crimson eyes practically spitting fire.

Like cats whose tails had been stepped on, they flailed and snarled, struggling to retaliate.

”You bastard, how dare you hit us?! Just wait till we get out—you’re dead!”

”Slap! Slap!”

”Tch, you jerk! We’ll remember this!”

”Slap! Slap! Slap!”

”Wuwu, how could you treat two proper ladies like this?! Let us down first, and we’ll talk things over…”

”Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!”

”I—”

Stheno and Euryale hissed through clenched teeth, their necks stiff with indignation, their expressions a mix of fury and humiliation.

They gnashed their teeth so hard it seemed they wanted to tear a chunk of flesh from this damned bastard.

But when their eyes met his smiling face as he leaned closer, their suspended bodies instinctively trembled.

By now, their poor buttocks felt like not a single patch of snake-scale skin remained intact.

Under this relentless barrage of righteous whipping, the two Gorgon sisters finally succumbed to his overwhelming tyranny.

Their cherry lips quivered as they lowered their proud heads like two wronged, pitiful maidens, their voices even carrying a hint of tearful grievance.

”W-we admit it… We were wrong… We shouldn’t have tricked you… shouldn’t have tried to take advantage of you…”

Lorne nodded, his smile radiant—and then…

”Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!”

”We already apologized! Why are you still hitting us?! And… it’s even harsher than before!”

After being subjected to another round of merciless spanking, Stheno and Euryale’s minds went blank for a long moment before they finally processed what had happened, their faces twisting with renewed fury and humiliation.

Lorne spread his hands innocently, blinking with a kindly smile.

”Honestly? I kinda preferred it when you were all defiant. How about we reset and try again?”

”...”

Stheno and Euryale felt blood rushing to their heads, their rage boiling over.

They desperately wanted to break free and chop this smug bastard into hu hundred pieces—no, into a thousand pieces!

Looking at these two Gorgon sisters, who seemed to think they had suffered some great injustice, Lorne chuckled, his eyes cold and devoid of pity.

”If I didn’t have some means of protecting myself and a few extra tricks up my sleeve, I’d be the one pinned to this bed right now, getting my blood drained and tormented by you two.

And then, once little Medusa came home, you’d probably frame me for something. At that point, my fate wouldn’t be much better than yours is now.”

”So, fair’s fair. Don’t act like you’re the victims here.”

Faced with this undeniable truth, Stheno and Euryale immediately deflated, their lips pressed tightly together.

After a moment of silence, the two bratty troublemakers regained their haughty demeanor, their expressions resolute as they glared fiercely at Lorne.

”You’d better kill us now. Because once we get out, we’ll make you regret this!”

”Kill you? Why would I do that? We’re practically old friends by now. Fighting and killing would just ruin the mood.”

Lorne shook his head repeatedly, then cheerfully pulled out a scroll inscribed with Hermetic script, its edges adorned with Athena’s serpentine emblem, and slowly unfurled it.

”Weren’t you two looking for work? Here—just sign this contract, work for me and the city of Knossos for a few years, and we’ll call it even for today’s little incident.”

Earlier, these two Gorgon sisters had tried to charm him into becoming their obedient puppet.

If not for the bracers Athena had given him, which had once again come in clutch, he would’ve ended up as nothing more than their personal blood bank.

Now, his schemes had triumphed over theirs, and he intended to turn these two volunteer laborers into tools for his own plans.

Truly, the tables had turned.

After all, what goes around comes around.

In fact, this had been Lorne’s real goal all along, playing along with these two Gorgon sisters’ little act.

Unlike the naive and innocent little Medusa, these two were cunning, experienced, and far less willing to integrate into human society or believe in the goodness of people.

Now that they had infiltrated Knossos to retrieve their sister, leaving them unchecked would spell disaster.

Moreover, the complicated relationship between the three sisters forced Lorne to tread carefully.

To avoid any nasty surprises, it was best to use whatever means necessary to rope these two beautiful snakes into his plans first.

However, perhaps due to their bruised pride from being outplayed, the two Gorgon sisters stubbornly refused to yield, their resentment boiling over.

Work for this human?! Yeah, right!

Unfazed, Lorne cheerfully raised his whip, ready to administer further education.

”W-wait! We… need time to think it over…”

Stheno and Euryale, who had mustered a shred of defiance just moments ago, now paled in terror at the sight of his approaching figure, their voices trembling and stammering.

Lorne beamed encouragingly, the magical whip in his hand crackling ominously.

”No rush. Take your time. Hang in there—we’ve got all night. I can even ask little Medusa to go on patrol if needed…”

Bastard! Who negotiates like this?!

Stheno and Euryale nearly burst into tears at his friendly encouragement.

Their last hope, delaying until Medusa returned, had been thoroughly crushed.

”Stop! We’ll—”

Just as Euryale and Sth