Chapter 26: The Contest

Do you know that at the wedding of the human hero Peleus and the sea goddess Thetis, when faced with the golden apple meant for the most beautiful goddess, Athena did not even contend for it and simply yielded it to others.

Does that mean Athena was inferior to the other goddesses?

I think Athena had self-awareness, knowing she was not the most beautiful goddess, so she withdrew from the competition.

Although Lady Athena is beautiful, in the end she is not as good as the other goddesses.

On Mount Olympus, for various reasons, Athena had stolen the spotlight and long become a thorn in the side of many.

If word got out that she did not contend for the golden apple, other deities would mock Athena.

Even humans would mock her, Athena.

So faced with this situation, she, Athena, naturally could not back down; she had to contend.

Facing the golden apple, Athena naturally would not yield an inch.

But there were many gods attending this wedding, and goddesses were as numerous as ox hairs; although she, Athena, held high rank and power, not everyone feared her.

Among them were two goddesses of equal status to her.

One was Zeus's wife, the Queen Hera. The other was her sister, the moon goddess Aphrodite.

Both goddesses were no less in beauty or status than Athena, so in the end only the three of them contended for the golden apple.

The other two goddesses thought the same as Athena.

If they did not contend for the golden apple today, they would be mocked by the gods tomorrow.

So they had to contend.

Thus, the three goddesses argued over the golden apple, and the other deities, afraid of offending them, dared not speak. So the three goddesses went to Zeus, hoping he would make a judgment.

But Zeus was also a cunning old fox, unwilling to offend any deity, so he appointed the handsome young shepherd Paris on the mountain as the judge.

To win the golden apple, the three goddesses each offered enticing conditions: Hera promised him supreme power and blessed him to be a lofty ruler.

Athena offered to grant him wisdom and strength, encouraging him to have the courage to take risks and blaze a glorious heroic path.

Aphrodite promised to make the most beautiful woman in the world fall in love with him and become his wife.

Paris was a simpleton; instead of refusing such a matter, he readily agreed.

He thought it over and felt that power and rule he could inherit from his father's throne later, and the heroic path he could boldly tread with his own skills, but love was not something one encountered every day.

So he gave the golden apple to Aphrodite.

Later, Aphrodite did not break her word; she helped Paris abduct the queen of Sparta—the beautiful Helen.

And the cuckolded Spartan king Menelaus naturally would not take it lying down, so Menelaus and Agamemnon summoned nearly all the kings of Greece to wage war on Troy.

After ten years of bitter fighting, Troy fell, and Helen was taken back by Menelaus.

As for Paris the simpleton, not only did he cause the fall of Troy, but he was also struck by a poisoned arrow and eventually died of the poison.

Athena couldn't help asking, "Why did you suddenly bring up the Trojan War?"

Wang Bo replied, "I know of a world where the Trojan War actually took place, but that world has no gods; the Trojan War was entirely a human war."

Athena's eyes lit up, and she gave Wang Bo a thoughtful look.

"The Trojan War without gods?" she murmured, "I really want to see that world."

Wang Bo immediately understood what Athena was up to.

This one wanted to go to that world without gods to establish her own faith.

She wanted to become the queen of a world without gods.

If she succeeded, she would surely become the sole goddess of that world, which would be of great benefit to her.

Although the gods of Greek mythology did not rely on faith to survive, that did not mean faith was useless to them; otherwise, they would not have divided territories.

Wang Bo smiled faintly, lowered his head to drink, and pretended not to have heard this.

A few barrels of divine wine, and she expected Wang Bo to take her into a world without gods to gather faith? This Athena was thinking too highly of herself.

Seeing Wang Bo's expression, Athena knew he was also someone who wouldn't let go without seeing the prey.

This guy would not be bought by her small favors, nor would he be seduced by her beauty; getting him to take her into a world without gods would not be easy.

Athena, not having figured out what to use to move this man, decided not to think about it for now and threw herself wholeheartedly into the banquet.

After all, this man would still be in this world; she didn't have to rush.

…

The banquet lasted about a week.

During that week, Athena, with her superb conversational skills, closed the distance with Wang Bo, and their relationship quickly warmed.

From strangers at the beginning, they became ordinary friends who could talk.

Although Wang Bo knew that Athena was currying favor with him because she needed something from him, he had to admit that Athena really knew how to talk.

He also enjoyed his conversations with Athena.

After the banquet, Wang Bo left the island with Athena, Milo, Marin, and Shaina from the Saint Seiya world and returned to Royal Port.

On the way back, Athena from the Saint Seiya world said with a smile, "What do you think of this world's me?"

"A goddess who knows how to talk and how to handle things," Wang Bo said bluntly.

Athena nodded and said nothing.

When Wang Bo and his group returned to the tavern, they found business had become sluggish again; while he was away, Caroline had been running the tavern.

But it seemed that after Milo thrashed Kizaru last time, all the Marines were scared off.

No more Marines came to drink at the tavern.

In fact, all the Marines in Royal Port had disappeared; after being thrashed, Kizaru, Tashigi, and the others had left Royal Port and gone out into the vast sea.

Where they were now, Caroline didn't know either.

Wang Bo couldn't help sighing; it seemed his tavern was doomed to fail. He had thought there was a turnaround, but Milo had ruined it.

But Wang Bo wasn't angry; instead, he eagerly asked the others if he should switch to another business if the tavern couldn't go on, and what business would thrive.

Milo thought for a moment and said, "I think you should open a restaurant, and you could also sell wine on the side."

Wang Bo thought it was a good idea and decisively nodded.

"Alright, let's open a restaurant."