"May I ask you to escort me back to the Oceanic Throne?"
"The seas are now crawling with Poseidon's minions. I fear I won't make it out safely alone."
Eurynome brought her hands together over her chest, right between a deep and unfathomable gorge that made Eros glance twice, then a third time.
Wearing nothing at all aside from the minimal coverage of seashells, who wouldn't be tempted?
What drew his attention even more was the delicate pearl ornament placed just above her navel, right at the transition point between her human torso and the fish-like tail.
Right at the pelvic line of her aquatic form sat a perfectly placed shell, covering her cloaca, something Eros had always been curious about. Whether it was clam or conch beneath... well, either way, it had to be soft.
But the more delicious something looked, the more likely it was poisonous.
Even so, with such a beautiful clam in front of him, Eros still maintained a healthy sense of caution.
"As a goddess, how could you fear a few hybrid sea creatures?" he asked lightly, choosing to decline for now and see how she would respond.
He still found it difficult to believe that Eurynome, once a creator goddess, would be reduced to fleeing from a handful of Sirens.
At the very least, toss in a kraken to make it believable.
"If it were only Sirens, I could manage," she sighed mournfully, "but pursuing me is also that dreadful sea monster with six heads... Scylla."
What? Scylla?
Eros's mind flashed momentarily to a silver-haired maid from a certain mobile gacha fleet, but he quickly shook the thought. Wrong universe.
The Scylla of Greek myth was a horrifying sea monster: six heads, twelve legs, and the tail of a feline beast. Daughter of Ceto and Phorcys, cousin to the Gorgons, a terror of the waves that devoured ships and sailors alike.
In other words: another one of Gaia's unruly grandchildren. Everything eventually traces back to Grandma Earth.
"So she even called in the heavy hitters..." Eros rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Scylla wasn't that powerful, Odysseus only lost six crew members to her, but still, it wasn't an opponent to take lightly.
"I'm just a humble goddess of seagrass pastures," Eurynome continued pitifully. "I have no great power to resist such monsters... not even those lowly beasts."
Her voice trembled with sorrow and helplessness. That paired with her delicate beauty... it could melt even the hardest heart.
Eros, however, didn't believe a single word of it.
No great power? Please. Ask Ophion, whose jaw she kicked in. He'd be the first to disagree.
Wait.
Something clicked in Eros's mind, he had overlooked something important.
All those ancient secrets, most people wouldn't know them. Gods and mortals alike.
Which meant, in the eyes of most, Eurynome really did look like nothing more than a harmless, ornamental goddess.
Ah... that explains it.
No wonder she didn't bother using an alias. No wonder the Sirens dared chase her, but also clearly couldn't catch her.
"I see." Eros nodded with a knowing smile, meeting Eurynome's curious gaze.
"I understand. Leave it to me. In fact, I happen to know Oceanus personally."
"Oh? I know," Eurynome answered with a subtle smile, gently patting the bouncing slime on her chest.
Her eyes drifted to the markings on Eros's arm, the imprint of the Ocean's divine rivers, still glowing faintly with the presence of Oceanus and his daughters.
With that mark alone, Eurynome could easily guess his true identity.
"Endymion, was it? Is that what I should call you for now?"
There was a strange gleam in her eyes.
"Yes, please address me by that name for now."
Eros wasn't surprised she'd figured it out. As an Oceanid herself, she would be hypersensitive to the divine markings of Oceanus.
Not that it mattered.
He deliberately lifted his mask just enough to show a glimpse of his face, never removing it entirely. Sometimes, maintaining a bit of mystery was a more effective move.
After all, they say when a woman becomes curious about a man, that's when she starts to fall.
That much was absolutely true.
And right now, Eurynome was very curious.
She had already heard rumors of the mysterious human who arrived alone at the Oceanic Throne and entangled himself in scandals with numerous Oceanids.
She'd also heard firsthand the raving reviews from her fellow sea goddesses.
They praised him to the heavens, never mind his personality or morals, the one thing they agreed on unanimously was his looks.
A flawless face, a god-tier body, strength beyond imagination.
And when they spoke of the things that happened between them... well, they never gave details, but every last one of them wore dreamy, starry-eyed smiles.
Even without confirmation, the way they sighed and twirled their fingers said enough.
She had long been curious, and now she'd met him herself. The only problem?
She couldn't see what they saw. The mask was still on.
Eurynome felt a little disappointed... but also even more curious.
The two of them walked leisurely atop the sea, heading toward Naxos Island.
"So, tell me..." she began, her voice soft and knowing, "did she come after you already?"
Given their respective statuses, Eurynome as a former wife, and Eros as the new favorite, wasn't it only natural they'd be targeted by the same enemy?
Eurynome wasn't terribly bothered by it, but she was very curious what Eros had done to get himself hunted to the point that he couldn't even use his name or face in public.
She knew Hera's temper well enough. The Queen of Olympus was famously petty and impulsive. Her revenge was always most violent at the start, but after that, she usually calmed down.
So unless someone really provoked her, Hera wouldn't go on a global witch hunt.
If Eros had overheard that thought, he would've immediately barked out a laugh.
Well, yeah. Not many people can survive being caught red-handed in the act by Hera herself, alright?
As for being hunted across the world... who else but him would be crazy, or lucky, enough to survive that?
Well... Io, maybe. She got turned into a cow and was chased across the continent by a gadfly.
Come to think of it, he'd probably need to make a detour soon to go rescue her, too.
Eurynome, meanwhile, was annoyed by his silence.
What, now you're pretending to be a gentleman? After all those orgies in the Oceanic Throne, you're acting upright now?
She mentally stamped him with the label: Fake Gentleman.
She'd clearly noticed the way he looked at her, the hunger behind those cool eyes, the possessiveness hidden beneath the polite smile.
Not that he was the first. But still... quit pretending.
Eurynome pouted slightly and asked again.
"I heard a rumor... that you were attacked by monsters and fell into a great abyss. Clearly just gossip, huh?"
Eros snapped out of his thoughts and replied calmly,
"Not quite. I did fall into the Underworld, and it took some effort to climb my way back."
"Oh?" Eurynome blinked, surprised.
"The Underworld, huh... I heard Hades abducted Demeter's daughter recently. Caused quite the stir."
Eros immediately nodded. "Oh, definitely a big scene. But things wrapped up neatly in the end."
Neatly? Well, if you count seducing both the king and queen of the dead as 'neatly,' then sure. Worked out great.
"I also heard Night Goddess Nyx sent someone to stop Demeter and Hades from destroying each other," Eurynome continued, clearly enjoying her gossip.
That little tidbit must've passed through several mouths before reaching her. Probably Hermes again.
Still, she seemed quite invested in the tale.
Eros nodded along, humoring her.
"Yup, Nyx sent someone alright. And rumor has it that person beat Hades so bad he begged for mercy."
Now that part... yeah, that was total nonsense. Hades had high pain tolerance, never begged once.
But Eurynome didn't seem to care about the facts. She just smiled wistfully at the sea.
"Must be nice..."
She, too, was once a creator goddess.
Nyx, by contrast, had held onto her stature and dignity. Her position remained unshaken. She was even stronger now.
Gaia had fared alright, despite her unruly descendants. At least people still revered her as the Mother of Creation.
But Eurynome? And Hecate? They'd fallen far.
Once the origin of the world, now she was reduced to playing with aquatic grass.
Meanwhile, her old friend Nyx could subdue Hades without even lifting a finger, just by sending a subordinate.
How could Eurynome not feel jealous?
She sighed deeply and shook her head, brushing the thought away.
While they chatted, Naxos Island finally came into view on the horizon.
Prometheus's ship was already docked along the shore, they'd clearly arrived ahead of schedule.
Before they approached, Eros turned to look at Eurynome.
"Lady Eurynome, among my companions is an ordinary human. Would you mind... changing your appearance a little for now?"
Her current outfit, if it could even be called that, was simply too much.
It was one thing among goddesses, but Eros wasn't about to let her strut around like that in front of others.
Especially not in front of his people.
Any goddess he set his sights on, was his alone.