Miss Athena's frown didn't inspire much confidence.

Wepwapet and Horus had come to her as soon as they finished the godly meeting with their classmates, which basically ended up going nowhere. Epona had offered them a few interesting bribes if they threw the competition, but nothing remotely matching Ishtar's Underworld Escape prize. At least Sun Wukong had voiced interest in trading Miracles too, so this opened the door for Wepwawet to complete more Quests.

The blackmail attempt cast a dark shadow over the situation. Horus' clear unease showed that the news would similarly bother him should it spread. Either his parents were as demanding as Wepwawet's own father, or such rumors would harm his bid for the Egyptian Pantheon's throne.

At least they both knew that they could trust Miss Athena to both believe them and keep the matter secret. Their teacher was nothing if not wise, supportive, and fair… perhaps even a bit too much.

"I am afraid I cannot intervene," Miss Athena said, crushing their hopes. "It would have been another matter entirely if this had been sent by an outside party, but I've confirmed that the message was the work of a Miracle cast by one of your classmates."

"But the picture was taken outside of Elphion!" Horus protested.

"While underhanded, this tactic is unfortunately neither illegal nor against the rules of the class project," Miss Athena replied with a sigh. "In a way, competitions like the one on Elphion will prepare you for adult life in the Nexus, which will involve similar plots from unscrupulous parties. You've certainly both experienced your fair share of similar intrigues so far."

Wepwawet grit his teeth in annoyance. He guessed that made sense, considering his father hadn't received any blame for baiting Isis into sabotaging him on Elphion. The gods closed their eyes on Nexus intrigue so long as it didn't directly cross the line into System interference or aiding the Titans.

But still, this kind of behavior sickened him. Did his teachers expect him to gather dirt on his fellow classmates if it could give him an advantage? How did they expect gods to play fair and cooperate against Titans on Elphion if they let backstabbing attempts go unpunished?

Miss Athena sensed his frustration and quickly reassured him. "Remember that trust is a rare and valuable resource, young Wepwawet. Underhanded tactics may bring your foes an advantage in the short term, but gods live long enough for long-term costs to rear their ugly heads. My sister Aphrodite learned this firsthand when she alienated and cheated on her husband Hephaestus with my brother Ares, which he humiliated them both for. Understanding how to navigate the game of cloaks and daggers is part of your curriculum."

Wepwawet nodded sharply. "Then I assume the Board won't interfere either if we find and punish the responsible party?"

"No," Miss Athena confirmed with a slight smile. "In fact, I would be disappointed if you didn't try to outwit them. Power shifts quickly in the Nexus."

In short, the Board won't intervene in this dispute one way or another. While Wepwawet would rather have his teacher put an end to it, being able to retaliate without consequences was fine in his book.

Miss Athena left the classroom afterwards, allowing Horus and Wepwawet some time to think. The cousins exchanged a glance, the same idea probably crossing through both of their minds.

"Truce?" Wepwawet immediately suggested.

Horus considered the offer a moment before accepting, albeit with clear reluctance. "Truce… but only until we've dealt with this blackmailer."

"Wouldn't expect anything else," Wepwawet replied. "My Providence couldn't find the perpetrator in the room with us, so it had to come from another deity."

"No." Horus crossed his arms. "It had to come from either Ishtar or Epona. They're the only ones with skin in this game, and they could have used a Miracle capable of fooling your Providence."

"Or it could be a third party trying to support or frame them," Wepwawet replied. While Ishtar said she would secretly throw the competition, he couldn't rule out the possibility that she might have been trying to sow distrust between them and Epona, too. "I found it odd that Hel, Watatsumi, and Anansi didn't send anyone to the meeting, and Epona said that Watatsumi supported her bid…"

Horus waved his hand and summoned a System screen. Wepwawet blinked upon recognizing a very detailed map of southern Elphion, including the nations' borders, Altar locations, and landmarks. It was so frighteningly accurate that it had probably required an army of mapmakers to record.

"How did you…" Wepwawet's eyes widened as the truth finally hit him. "You had your Champions run aerial reconnaissance across the entire continent?"

"Of course," Horus replied smugly, and the bird bastard couldn't help but take a shot at Wepwawet. "I have maps of Verglane, too. Don't tell me the god of scouting didn't think of that?"

Wepwawet grit his teeth. He would order Wintresse and his wereowl corps to shoot down any angel caught spying on their cities from above from now on.

Nonetheless, Horus' map provided key insight on the world's political situation. While Elphion was mostly made up of a supercontinent, it did have two large lakes that could count as inner seas. One, the Demonlake, was almost entirely enclosed within the Zoramesh Empire; but the second, the Shivering Sea, served as a crossroads between southern powers.

"Watatsumi's, Anansi's, and Hel's civilizations all border the Shivering Sea," Wepawet noted. "As do Ishtar's and Epona's countries."

"That's what I've been thinking too," Horus confirmed. "A formal alliance between Mortis, Shadazar, and Timberan would already dominate this region; doubly so since Timberan and Valentine are close allies already."

Wepwawet thought over the situation. One, Epona and Ishtar's civilizations were at each other's throats, and each goddess was clearly making moves to prepare for a direct conflict; second, an alliance between Hel, Watatsumi, and Anansi would revolve around the Shivering Sea, with any interruption threatening their long-term growth, security, and trade.

An ugly possibility quickly reared its head.

"I'm told that the land border between the Zoramesh Empire and the Republic of Valentine is the most secure in the world, so neither of them would launch an invasion through it," Wepwawet informed his cousin. "Which leaves two potential middle grounds that could serve as battlefields: Lavaland, and the Shivering Sea."

Horus quickly caught on. "If I were one of the countries trading in the south and felt that a war between my neighbors was inevitable, I would encourage them to fight in the far north so it does not disrupt trade in my backyard."

"The blackmailer has to run one of these southern civilizations," Wepwawet guessed. "It might even be one of Epona's allies working behind her back to ensure she bears the brunt of any conflict by fighting over Lavaland."

"I don't think that dumbass Watatsumi has it in him to run such a ploy, but Anansi is a born trickster and Hel is Loki's daughter…" Horus stared at the map for a very long while. "This is a powder keg waiting to explode."

Wepwawet had reached the same conclusion. Epona already warned that she wouldn't rule out the use of force if Wepwawet or Horus won the Miracle competition, since she didn't trust either of them to maintain the peace on the borders; Ishtar had already made a move to secure an invasion route through the area by bribing Wepwawet. Neither goddess could allow the other to assimilate their buffer state, and the only party who could have possibly dissuaded them, Axomamma, had already backed out.

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

Wepwawet could see the writing on the wall. Beelzebub remained unaccounted for, and Ishtar pointed out that no one knew when the next Titan Incursion would hit. With no third-party foe to unite the class against, ambitious gods would seize the opportunity to sabotage the competition and secure a lead for their civilization. It was eminently short-sighted in Wepwawet's opinion, but gods commonly acted foolish.

A conflict would erupt within their class, no matter who inherited Lavaland.

As if I didn't have enough messes to deal with, Wepwawet complained before turning to Horus. "Are you going to throw the contest?"

Horus grunted and sidestepped the question. "Let's focus on finding the blackmailer first. If we can catch them before the contest…" He shook his head. "We'll see."

An evasive way to say he had no idea and would rather not face that choice at all. Wepwawet would have accused him of cowardice if he didn't feel exactly the same way. There was still time to identify the responsible party and nip this plot in the bud.

For now, the cousins agreed to cooperate until they could take out their mutual enemy and split back up. Wepwawet returned to Elphion, where only mere minutes had passed, and then immediately connected with his friends in their shared realm of Influence. His spirit materialized there alongside Ganesha and Artemis; the only two people he had trusted with the truth beforehand.

"So?" Ganesha asked with concern.

"Miss Athena won't help, but she won't interfere either," Wepwawet replied.

"Ugh, that's my elder sister, alright," Artemis complained. "'Wisdom comes from experience and all.' She's so fair, it's unfair!"

"At least even Horus is in my corner until we can find the perpetrator, so that takes a thorn off my foot," Wepwawet said with a sigh. "I hope we can catch the blackmailer before the contest."

"And if we can't?" Ganesha asked the trillion mana question. "What then?"

"You can't back down!" Artemis protested. "If you succumb to pressure once, you'll live your entire life under somebody else's thumb!"

Wepwawet closed his eyes. His friend was right. If he allowed his blackmailer to dictate his behavior, then they would use the dirt against him again in the future. Moreover, he owed it to his followers and the people of Lavaland to give his very best for their sake. Throwing the contest would just bring too much trouble and cause the nation right next to Verglane's borders to fall into chaos.

"I really, really don't want to back down," Wepwawet decided, his teeth hurting from his jaw clenching so tightly. He would rather be shamed than dishonored. "But my father will never let me live it down!"

The worst part was that he knew his dad normally would have shrugged off the entire matter and taken Wepwawet at his word, but not when it involved Horus. The other side of the family simply brought the worst out of Set.

"I need something to distract my dad, or at least convince him without a doubt nothing happened with Horus," Wepwawet said.

"Yeah…" Ganesha stroked his trunk. "I think I have an idea on how to soften the blow."

Wepwawet's head snapped in his friend's direction so fast that it startled him. "You do?!"

"Yes, but first, I really want to make sure…" Ganesha coughed and struggled to find his words. "You swear that you… that you didn't stick it to the rookery?"

Wepwawet squinted at his best friend. The mere wording made him want to puke. "No."

"It's okay, just checking," Ganesha reassured him. "In that case, you need a beard."

A beard? A fake girlfriend? Wepwawet pondered the proposal, and while lying about his relationship status bothered him a bit, it might work. He had never truly been interested in dating anyone, and his father would be too overjoyed at the idea of him having a girlfriend to pay much attention to the Horus fiasco… or at least Wepwawet hoped so. It should at least confuse his father enough that he would dismiss the photo as a ploy.

But where could he find a girl willing to fake a relationship in a way that would convince–

"I could do it," Artemis said.

Oh, right, one of his best friends was a girl and single.

"You're sure?" Wepwawet asked. "You know that half the class and your family think something is going on between us already, right?"

"Exactly, they'll all eat it up!" Artemis grinned ear to ear. "Plus, we can pretend to break up later because things didn't work out, and then they'll finally stop pestering us."

"True," Wepwawet conceded. That would kill two birds with one stone. "But, uh… weren't you proud of being a virgin goddess?"

Artemis blushed all of a sudden. "It should be fine if we stick to hand-holding, right?"

"I can text Idunn, tell her I saw you kiss, and then beg her to keep it to herself, which will guarantee half the Nexus will know you're an item before the day's done," Ganesha said. "Fair warning, you'll have to commit to the charade for some time, or the scheme will be too obvious. A few 'secret' dates and hand-holding sessions should do the trick."

"Great, then I can say I decided to stick to my virgin goddess vow and that it didn't work out between us when this runs its course." Artemis shrugged. "It's no big deal, I'm fine with it."

"Thanks, Arty." Wepwawet was thankful to have such good friends. His relief was palpable. "You're saving my social life here."

"It's okay, you would do the same for me," she reassured him before hitting her palm with her fist. "Let's find that blackmailer and rough 'em up! Any idea who it could be?"

"That's the thing." Wepwawet's mood deflated. "There are multiple suspects, and I fear this is only the beginning of our troubles."

He informed them of what he and Horus had found, from the political situation around the Shivering Sea to the growing web of alliances forming about their class. Hearing that Mortis and Shadazar—who had both raided her shores—were in the process of cozying up annoyed Artemis to no end.

"I knew we couldn't trust that spider bastard!" she complained. "'Not capable of reining in his civilization', my ass! He's got enough control to form alliances behind our backs!"

Ganesha looked more morose than anything. "It's worrying. I don't want a war, but if either of you were to be under attack… I would have to take a stand."

"There's still time," Wepwawet reassured him. "I say we encourage our Champions to investigate the other ambassadors and get to the bottom of this while we prepare our civilizations."

Better safe than sorry.

After splitting up from Ganesha and Artemis, Wepwawet ordered Victoire and the other Champions present in Salamandra to gather information on their fellow ambassadors. Any insight into the alliances forming in the class—and leverage he could use to either break or pacify them—would help.

The Miracle contest being tomorrow left them short on time though, and Wepwawet also ordered his various Commanders in Verglane to prepare troops for emergency mobilization in the near future.

Thankfully, his new Skill: Standardized Crafting Miracle would help with that. He could already see the result of spreading out the Perk among his Crafter Champions when his mind oversaw Narc. Alpine now supervised entire vats' worth of concrete and cement, which golems and workers then used to build ditches slowly draining Whiro's poisonous marsh into a pit away from the city. Wintresse had set Slimon to work on a soap or solvent powerful enough to eliminate those toxins, and the slimy scientist was already hard at work on a solution.

"Quicker, Igor!" Slimon ordered his new mechanical assistant. "Pour the soap with all your heart!"

"Igor," a wolf-faced iron golem replied with a metallic voice as it diligently poured a vat of chemicals into the toxin pit. The soap mixed with the poison, clearing a large patch of it and replacing the terrible stench of death with a sweet aroma.

"Great job," Slimon congratulated the golem before boasting to himself. "Between my non-Euclidean intellect and your powerful mechanical athlete body, nothing can stop us!"

"Igor," the golem replied with a noise of grinding gears that could pass for enthusiasm.

"Indeed, Igor," Slimon said as he hopped in place. "Today this pit of filth, tomorrow, the world's entire sewer system! We will wipe the universe clean!"

Those two seem to have hit it off. Wepwawet had been hard at work using Anima Spirit on the golems Axomamma had gifted him—though those she had only lent remained without a mind of their own. The newly sentient automatons showed greater initiative while still remaining obedient, perhaps because they had been designed that way. Still, I didn't expect a golem to learn how to speak so quickly.

The process by which a common soul gained the spark to become a Champion was quite mysterious and prone to errors. The gods somewhat understood that specific elements affected the odds—such as bravery and potential for growth—but a large part of it remained random and beyond explanation. Gods would have no need for outside recruitment if they understood perfectly how to shape Champions from any mortal soul.

Intelligent constructs and machines with a soul were a great example. They could rise to the same heights as their living counterparts, but whether or not they gained sentience by the will of a god didn't influence the odds all that much.

Would one of these golems rise to the challenge and join the Champions one day? Wepwawet didn't detect the spark in any of them yet, but that could change with time.

Everyone is hard at work healing the land, Wepwawet thought as he observed the marshes that now separated Narc and Verglane from Lavaland. No mortal being could hope to cross it on foot and survive. In many ways, it had become a very physical border between their realms and people.

And all gulfs begged for bridges to cross them.

It's as Lord Odin said, Wepwawet said as he cast his Miracle and caused his Idol to shake. Real gods lead from the front.

Alexandrite wanted a god that could protect her land. A god that cared.

He would give it to her and ferret out his hidden enemies while at it.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.