Chapter 413: Choose wisely
Victor didn't respond to his wife, the only thing he did was smile slightly, his different than usual smile carrying a mysterious feeling.
Not even Ruby could understand what he was thinking right now, and she prided herself on fully understanding her husband, after all, she hacked Violet's entire private collection.
...Which wasn't all that difficult considering the woman's cell phone password was Victor's birthday, and with just a few tries she was able to access the 'holy treasure'.
Victor returned his neutral expression, backed away from the wall, and walked towards the door.
Heavy armor sounds were heard with every step as Victor was training in Clan Adrastea when he'd received Ruby's call and because of that, he didn't even have time to change.
His black armor was quite intimidating, portraying him as a black knight who crawled out of the Seventh Hell.
Victor looked at his father who was looking at Aphrodite as if he were a little koi fish, and clicked his tongue, hitting him on the head:
"Wake up, dude."
"...Ouch, my head!!" He really screamed in pain, after all, the metal hurt ok?
Anna was alerted by her husband's sudden cry, turning to look over, only to see her son...
Her eyes couldn't help but widen when she saw him, looking quite intimidating in that armor.
Which was a normal thing as the armor was made with monster materials, and despite being armor that Clan Adrastea soldiers wore, it carried an intimidating feeling, and that feeling increased even more when Victor was wearing it.
"Victor what armor is that!? And why is your hair so long!?"
"And when did you come home!? You hadn't left!?"
"Woman, lower your voice a little."
"...Ohh..."
"...." Aphrodite glanced at Victor and, seeing the man, she couldn't help but swallow hard.
With that black armor, long black hair, and violet eyes, coupled with his unearthly 'beauty', he was a perfect blend of a warrior, and a handsome man.
The beauty of a warrior.
She felt that adjective suited Victor perfectly now.
When her pink and Victor's violet eyes met, the Goddess felt her whole body shudder, and unconsciously, she contracted her legs and hugged Anna a little tighter.
'Fuck, he's so fucking hot! I want him in my bed since yesterday!'
Victor catered to all the Goddess's preferences.
Attitude of a brave warrior?
Check.
An unprecedented beauty?
Check.
A man who is protective of his family and who will burn the world for them.
Double check!
Added bonus, he's the son of her closest friend!
Triple check!
Final considerations?
'Please fuck me immediately! I'm Horny!'
"O-Ouch."
"Control yourself, perverted Goddess, you are hurting my mother." Victor's eyes gleamed slightly.
"!!!" Aphrodite quickly released Anna.
"I'm sorry, Anna!" She quickly apologized as she looked for any bruises on the woman's body.
"Ugh, it's because your tits are so hard" Anna grumbled as she caressed her shoulders with an annoyed look.
"They are not! I am the Goddess of Beauty, everything about me is soft and squeezable!"
"...Wait, why am I yelling this?!"
"Bleh." Anna stuck her tongue out at Aphrodite.
Veins bulged on the woman's head when she saw the childish attitude of this adult woman:
"Ugh, you get on my nerves sometimes."
"Only sometimes?"
"Okay, always."
"But I know you like me." She flashed a sneaky smile.
"Of course, I wouldn't be here if I didn't..." She sighed.
"Umu, Umu." Anna nodded satisfied. She felt happy when she heard what the woman said, but then spoke with a serious look:
"Sorry, I'm married, and straight."
"Meh, I'm not interested in your saggy tits." She huffed.
"..." It was now Anna's turn to have her veins bulge, now she was the one who was annoyed:
'At least show some interest! Inflate my ego a little!'
"Tsk, look at the state of my Divine Raiment…"
During every interaction with Aphrodite, Victor never took his eye off Aphrodite.
It wasn't that he was infatuated with her or anything, he was coldly analyzing everything, analyzing to see if the woman had malicious intentions or wore a false front.
Analyzing her breathing patterns, movements, habits, thought forms, everything.
'She's going to fix her hair, and show a gentle smile while looking at my mother.'
And just as Victor thought, Aphrodite tossed her hair back, adjusted her clothes, and flashed an imperceptible little gentle smile at Anna.
"...." Victor closed his eyes slightly, and turned to face his father.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah... Did you need to hit that hard?"
"You fell under the charm of a Goddess, what an exemplary father you are, even though my mother is standing right in front of you."
"..." Leon's body trembled slightly, and he felt a chill run down his back. He looked over at his wife, and saw her looking at him with a look that promised death... Death by malnutrition.
'My son just threw me under the bus!'
"Before you blame me for something, I didn't do anything."
"..." The group looked at Aphrodite who raised her hand.
"I'm not using my charm, this is just a natural effect, after all, I'm beautiful."
"......." An even worse silence fell around them.
"Whoa, look at this bitch, stop being such a narcissist, it's not pretty." Anna was honest.
"But it's the truth..." She pouted.
"Father..." Victor sighed lightly as he saw his father's expression.
"Dude, understand me. I am not you who are used to seeing such beauty!"
"…Huh?"
"I mean, look at yourself, you're the perfect definition of Adonis on earth, I just don't feel weird because I'm your Father."
'You have no idea.' Ruby and Victor thought at the same time.
"And as a handsome man, you will definitely be chased by beautiful women!"
'You have no idea...' This time it was Aphrodite who thought.
"Father... Stop..." Victor lightly touched his father's shoulder, and looked at him with a pitying look.
"Stop what?"
"You're just digging your own grave."
"…Eh?"
"...." The chills running up and down his back only got worse, and he looked at his wife.
'Fuck me sideways....'
"A-Anyway, are you Renata?"
"... Hmm? Yes, I'm Renata."
"Unbelievable, and to think you were a Goddess..."
"Indeed, these events tend to surprise people."
"......." This man was so shameless, he managed to change the subject so easily!
"Let's go inside, we need to talk." Victor spoke in a neutral tone, but one that carried an authority that no one could disobey.
He didn't use his powers, this was just something common he'd acquired from ordering his subordinates, and acquiring Adonis' memories.
"...." Everyone looked at each other and nodded.
...
Victor was sitting on the loveseat, Ruby was beside him with an upright posture and neutral face, she was drinking a red tea that was made with her husband's blood.
It didn't taste as good as drinking it straight from the source, but it was good enough to calm her nerves and help her think coolly. She felt this situation was something that required a method to cool off.
On the other side, to Ruby's right, were Leon and Anna sitting on a three-seater sofa.
And in front of Victor and Ruby stood the Goddess of Beauty, Aphrodite.
[Roxanne, hide in Kaguya's shadow for some time.]
[Yes, Master.]
[Kaguya, be prepared to hear my request at any time.]
[Yes, Master.]
Was Victor overreacting?
Yes, he was.
But this was something of his own nature. He was very paranoid about the safety of his loved ones. It was only at times like this that he behaved like a certain bat-themed, caped crime fighter, who lived in a cave.
And he went to great lengths to ensure his family's safety, and believe me, the choice of places was not random.
The couch that Anna and her father were on now was not normal. If something happened, and Aphrodite decided to attack the two of them, a shield would appear, and the couch they were now on would be swapped for a couch that was in the basement. Consequently, the two would be safe long enough for Victor to throw Aphrodite away from here.
The couch was courtesy of the Witches he'd recruited in Greece; he and Ruby had planned this because they knew the Goddess would return.
Although this scenario above was almost impossible to happen, Victor wouldn't be calm if he didn't have this level of precaution.
"Aphrodite."
"Y-Yes?" Aphrodite felt like a child being scolded by her father...
Imagining Victor as her father… Somehow that thought turned her on more.
"...." Anna and Ruby rolled their eyes when they saw the state of the Goddess. Was she really a Goddess?
"I have no right to meddle in the friendship between you and my mother."
"…Eh?" She woke up from her stupor when she heard what Victor said.
"Since you've proven yourself to be non-hostile and you genuinely want to be my mother's friend, and my own mother decided that was what she wanted as well,"
"I have no right to meddle in this matter."
"So if you want to bond with my mother like you did in the past, I won't object anymore."
"Victor..."
"...." Leon displayed a small smile when he saw his son's attitude.
"But..."
Victor's eyes turned serious:
"My mother's friendship aside…-"
"Aphrodite, Goddess of Beauty, are you sure you want to continue this relationship?"
"…Huh?" Aphrodite wore a confused face, wasn't he just contradicting himself now?
"Victor, you-."
"Mother, have you thought about the consequences of being friends with a God?" Victor didn't give her time to respond.
"...." She didn't think, it was quite obvious from her expression.
"Even if you two want things to be the same as they were before, they won't be."
Victor sighed lightly:
"Knowing my mother, she's going to feel curious about the Supernatural World and she's going to want to explore that world, and who is she going to team up with?"
"Yes, her great friend, the Goddess of Beauty. And since this woman has no common sense, she will accept anything that is fun."
"Ugh." Anna and Aphrodite felt an arrow go through their bodies.
"The problems you two will cause will no longer be on the human level, but on the Supernatural Level."
"Aphrodite, can you protect my mother?"
"Of course, don't underestimate me, I'm a Goddess, and not just any Goddess, I'm an auntie!" She spoke confidently.
"Can you protect her from other Gods?"
"Of course."
"What if Zeus looks at my mother?"
"I know that bastard, for God's sake, everyone knows his habits, and my mother is beautiful. Do you think he won't be interested in the human woman that the Goddess of Beauty is friends with?"
"I would destroy him." She spoke without hesitation.
"Zeus isn't even a problem now, what about your contacts?"
"Ares, the God of War, whom you share a son."
"He wouldn't do anything I wouldn't want."
"Hephaestus, the man who loves you."
"He's just a eunuch."
"How about the other infinite Gods and Supernatural Beings you come in contact with?"
"...Well..." She thought of a certain man that even she couldn't let her guard down with.
"Everyone knows that your Pantheon is a cluster of rapist Gods and degenerates to the extreme, and all the male Gods want your attention."
'Ugh...' She couldn't really deny it, after all, it was true.
"I can already imagine it: Did you know? The Goddess of Beauty has a close friend! The Goddess who never had a friend, has a friend!"
"....." She felt hit when she heard the friend part, she has friends, okay? She's a social Goddess, she has friends…
'Does Persephone count as a friend…?'
Her mood only worsened when she realized that she had actually considered Persephone as a friend.
'Gahhh, I don't have any friends! After all, they all envy me which is normal, after all, I'm beautiful.''
"And with just that rumor, thousands of problems would go after my mother." Victor said everything in a neutral tone.
For better or for worse, Aphrodite was a celebrity, she was hated by and loved by multitudes of beings, their opinions were divided, but one thing remained true.
She was famous, and anything she did would attract attention in the Supernatural World.
"...." Aphrodite just lowered her head. She felt really small now, and the worst thing about it all was that she couldn't refute Victor. After all, she herself knew what kind of shit she'd done in the past and the lengths others would go to garner her attention, spite her, or sate their own jealousy/envy.
"Aren't you being too paranoid?" Anna asked.
"I was friends with her for 10 years, and nothing ever happened."
"... Well, that's not completely true." Aphrodite tentatively raised her hand.
"...." Anna looked at her friend with a dry look.
"A few years ago, some Supernatural Beings thought of using you to target me… Of course, I dealt with the situation. I destroyed them all and cursed them to always be born ugly even if they reincarnate."
Anna didn't know whether to be shocked by what her friend said, or what she did, maybe both?
"See?" Victor looked at his mother.
"Hmph." She huffed and turned away.
He smiled a little, and then continued with a serious tone:
"The meeting of Supernatural Beings is near, this is like the UN of the Supernatural World. The Gods and Supernatural Beings will become more active... and the Goddess of Beauty is sure to draw attention."
"What happens if you're near her right now?"
"...."
"Mother, if anything happens to you... I guarantee that Earth will no longer be a habitable place."
Anna was breaking out in a cold sweat when she saw her son's eyes.
That's heavy! Heavy! Was it because she felt like the fate of the world was in her hands!? For God's sake, she just wanted to hang out with her friend!
Worst of all, she knew her son was serious, he had those lifeless eyes she only saw in anime! He was 100% serious!
... She won't deny that she had an interest in learning about the Supernatural World, and that she would've asked Aphrodite for just that.
"Do you understand now?"
"...Yes..." The two spoke at the same time.
"Victor."
"Hmm?" He looked at his father.
"While I agree with your thoughts, you know what your mother is like."
Victor flashed a small smile: "I know..."
"For better or worse, I am like her. I know that when we are curious about something and want to investigate, we won't drop it."
"Indeed." Leon spoke.
"...." Ruby didn't say anything, she didn't need to, she was just mildly shocked.
Her husband was... cold.
She thought he would act more on emotions like the first time.
'I think seeing the previous demonstration made my husband calmer?' As Ruby thought, she just realized her tea was finished.
Looking at her tea, she thought:
'He must have a purpose for saying all this…'
"Due to knowing about my mother's personality, I have two alternatives."
'I knew it.' She flashed a small satisfied smile.
Aphrodite and Anna looked at Victor:
"First, Aphrodite eliminates her alter ego as Renata, and makes another one... Knowing the careless Goddess, she's probably run into some well-known Gods with her alter ego."
"Ugh..." She felt her whole body being pierced by Victor's gaze. His words hurt, especially the ones that were true.
'Yes! I showed my alter ego to the Gods, fuck! I was careless!'
"Since my mother already knows who you are, choosing another alter ego is not a problem... Of course, you would give up everything you built up as 'Renata', you would basically reset your human life."
"And what is the second option?" Anna asked curiously.
Victor displayed a small smile as if he was expecting those words:
"You and my father become Noble Vampires, and join my clan."
"....."