While Ryuga was pondering how to transfer the power of the disobedient Arthur to Artoria with maximum efficiency, Pandora suddenly approached, poking his arm with a beaming smile.
"Let me guess what my most adorable child is troubled about?"
"Are you thinking of letting your little knight directly obtain Arthur's complete divine core~?"
Guessing Ryuga's thoughts wasn't difficult, since Ryuga had never hidden his purpose from her.
But bringing this up proactively at this moment, with such a smug attitude—
"You have a method?"
Ryuga asked with slight surprise.
"Of course! Who do you think I am!"
Pandora immediately straightened up proudly.
"I'm an Earth Mother Goddess who existed since ancient times, possessing the wisdom of a top-tier Earth Mother Goddess. Although this matter isn't simple, it can't match the wisdom I've accumulated over thousands of years!"
After this self-praise, she looked up at Ryuga with a changed tone.
"If a certain disobedient child is willing to call me 'mother' and act spoiled toward mommy, I wouldn't mind telling him all this knowledge!"
The purple-haired twin-tailed goddess blinked with eyes full of suggestion.
"Top-tier Earth Mother Goddess wisdom..."
Hearing this, Ryuga showed slight understanding.
In the Campione world, Earth Mother Goddesses, born during the matriarchal period as the most primitive deities, possessed supreme mastery over earth and magic. In this regard, most Steel Hero Gods were no match for them.
Earth Mother Goddesses who survived from the mythological age to the present all had their own foundations.
For example, Athena in the original work possessed the Black Blade technique—also called the "Sword of Beginning and End" or "Heaven and Earth Opening Ceremony." Though not an Authority, it had power rivaling Authorities, even capable of matching the Last King's White Star that could instantly kill Campiones.
Circe in the original work also hid the [Records of Dawn], a power that could bypass Pandora's Dark Sacrifice.
By this reasoning, Pandora, also an ancient Earth Mother Goddess, should possess similar levels of wisdom.
Whether judging by common sense or Pandora's unconcealed emotional fluctuations, Ryuga could confirm that Pandora wasn't lying—she truly had a method to solve the problem.
However, he didn't immediately follow Pandora's suggestion, instead calmly questioning:
"How do you prove you're not lying?"
Faced with Ryuga's doubt, Pandora wasn't upset—her eyes even lit up.
She had only been making an opening bid, leaving room for Ryuga to negotiate. She hadn't expected Ryuga to skip negotiation entirely and ask the most crucial question directly.
Didn't this mean this child might actually agree to her request?
"This is easy to prove! The principle isn't complex either. Do you remember that married divine couples in mythology share authorities?"
Seeing Ryuga taking the bait, Pandora immediately explained with a delighted expression to gain his trust.
"I remember... I see, I understand now."
Ryuga pondered for two seconds, then showed a look of realization.
"In the process of Steel Hero Gods replacing Earth Mother Goddesses, besides directly seizing their Authorities, they also made them into wives, daughters, or subordinates, continuously obtaining the Earth Mother Goddesses' Authority through these relationships."
"This mythological pattern typically manifests as Steel Hero Gods slaying monsters and marrying princesses to become kings during intense conflicts. Using Perseus and Zeus as examples, the Hero Gods obtained the Authority and power originally belonging to goddesses."
"During peaceful periods, it typically manifests as renowned goddesses marrying male gods, after which the previously active goddesses gradually retreat while the male gods become active instead. Hades is this type."
"The reason Hestia, Artemis, and Athena—the three great virgin goddesses of Greek mythology—vowed to remain chaste was not only to protect virgins but likely also to avoid having their divine offices eroded."
"Therefore, to transfer one's Authority to a retainer, one only needs to reverse this principle and share Authority through contracts similar to married gods."
"To achieve this, one only needs to slightly adjust the Circle of Usurpation technique!"
With Ryuga's comprehension, many times he only needed a spark of inspiration.
Once he could understand the principle, weaving the technique was effortless.
"Ah?"
Miss Pandora was completely stunned.
When she heard Ryuga's first statement, she felt no crisis at all—only pride.
Worthy of being her favorite child, so clever indeed.
Upon hearing the second statement, she was somewhat surprised, thinking she absolutely couldn't reveal more information before he called her mother.
Next, her expression changed from nervous to panicked in less than a second.
Finally, hearing Ryuga directly arrive at the correct answer, she was completely dumbfounded.
Wait, how did Ryuga directly deduce to this extent from just one sentence?
She knew Ryuga's comprehension was terrifying, which is why she'd said so little before—just the simplest hint.
Who could have imagined that with just this one hint, Ryuga would directly figure out the top-level framework of the technique's principle in a few seconds?
That was thousands of years of Earth Mother Goddess wisdom, and Ryuga grasped it in mere seconds?
Seeing Ryuga about to abandon her to attempt modifying the Circle of Usurpation technique, Pandora immediately panicked.
She grabbed Ryuga's arm with tears in her eyes.
"No, no! This is completely different from what we agreed! What about calling me mother and acting spoiled?"
Faced with this goddess's wishful thinking, Ryuga calmly asked:
"Did I ever agree to your request?"
"No."
"Did you directly transmit the Earth Mother Goddess wisdom to me?"
"...Also no."
"Then what are you talking about?"
"..." Pandora was slightly stunned, feeling completely confused.
"Wait! If this is the case, wouldn't I have worked for nothing?"
"Not completely for nothing. Your words did provide me with some inspiration, for which I can express gratitude, but it's not enough to warrant a transaction with you."
Ryuga wasn't the type to turn his back on people after using them.
However—
"I don't want this kind of gratitude!"
Pandora collapsed to her knees with a "puff," looking extremely dejected.
"I just wanted to cuddle with my child. Why are you treating me like this!"
Seeing her pitiful appearance, Ryuga bent down and patted the goddess's head.
"Pandora."
"What is it? Has little Ryuga had a change of heart and is ready to give mommy a comforting hug?"
Pandora immediately looked up with expectant eyes.
"No, I'm saying you're blocking my path."
Ryuga shook his head.
Seeing Pandora show the expression of an abandoned puppy, he shook his head with slight exasperation.
"If you really want to pass on the Earth Mother Goddess wisdom to me, I'm not unwilling to accept it."
"Really?!"
Hearing this, Pandora showed an extremely delighted expression.
"Of course. Although I can modify the technique myself, it would waste ten-plus minutes. Having your knowledge would be faster."
Ryuga gave his reason and added:
"However, your previous conditions are out of the question."
"No problem!"
Pandora immediately got up excitedly.
At this moment, both sides' positions were completely reversed.
Previously, Pandora had used Earth Mother Goddess wisdom as leverage to demand Ryuga satisfy her cuddling desires.
Now, she actively wanted to impart the Earth Mother Goddess wisdom to Ryuga without any additional conditions.
This position reversal occurred not only because Ryuga had grasped the basic principle and could deduce the corresponding technique himself, but also due to another important factor.
That was—
"Hehe~ My dear child! Do you know what the only method to successfully and effectively transmit knowledge to a Campione, given their curse power resistance, is?"
The purple-haired twin-tailed goddess lightly touched her lips, her tone becoming somewhat seductive.
She suddenly remembered that even without conditions, she seemed to have a chance to legitimately cuddle with this child.
"I know, of course."
Ryuga nodded calmly.
"Aside from Authorities, ordinary techniques cannot break through a Campione's curse power resistance on the body surface, and my curse power resistance exceeds that of ordinary Campiones."
"For knowledge transmission magic to work on me, it can only be done from within the body. The most convenient methods are oral mucous membrane contact or sexual intercourse."
Hearing this, little Sakura's cheeks flushed.
Was this something a child should hear?
Artoria's cheeks also heated up, but she suppressed it well.
She could understand the knowledge point Ryuga raised.
Isn't this just mana transfer?
"W-well, we don't need to go that far! I'm your mother, you can't be disrespectful to mother!"
Pandora, who had wanted to tease Ryuga, became embarrassed herself upon hearing his straightforward response.
However, in her eyes, Ryuga belonged to the type who was overly pure to the point of being unsociable, so saying such things wasn't strange.
Therefore—
"Come, good child, let mommy teach you properly about girls' knowledge!"
With a confident smile, the goddess struggled to stand on tiptoe, then grabbed Ryuga's shoulders and directly pressed her lips to his in a quite inexperienced manner.
To be continued...
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