greek gods in new york

23

After school started, Pandora officially transferred to Changjie Middle School and became our classmate.

She is indeed very smart. She joined us at the end of the summer vacation, but caught up with our progress with terrible efficiency.

Theoretically speaking, Pandora should be the real Mary Sue, but——

On the second day of school, it was lunch time, and the campus restaurant was crowded with people.

Meryl and I just walked into the lobby of the restaurant, and we immediately saw Pandora sitting near the edge of the window wearing earphones and eating.

It's not that I'm looking for it deliberately, but she is so conspicuous!

It's hard not to notice the colorful hair, the smoky makeup and exaggerated costumes.

Not only us, everyone who enters the restaurant will automatically turn their eyes to Pandora, and keep a distance of at least three meters from her in awe.

As a result, the restaurant was obviously full of people, but there was no one sitting around Pandora.

"Ah, it's Maggie."

But Meryl didn't mind.

She blinked: "She just transferred from another school, so she hasn't met any new friends yet."

I:"……"

I don't think it has anything to do with her not making new friends.

Meryl: "Shall we go and stay with her?"

What else can be done?

Anyway, I have completely missed the normal high school life, so if I don’t take the usual way, I won’t take the usual way.

Meryl stepped forward first. She put her lunch on the table, then raised her hand and patted Pandora: "Maggie!"

Pandora was taken aback and took off her earphones: "Meryl?"

As soon as she took off the earphones, the extremely intense drumbeat and guitar sound spread out in a low voice.

I:"…………"

Meryl: "It's bad for your hearing to turn it up so loud."

Is this a bad hearing problem!

I couldn't bear to look directly at my forehead.

I really shouldn't have introduced Pandora to Dionysus!

Since both of them seemed to be out of the ordinary, I just mentioned it casually at the time.Unexpectedly, Dionysus and Pandora really "smelt like each other", when the small metal party met the big metal party, they hit it off and became good friends immediately.

Although Pandora has a good impression of me because of this, but...

Watching Pandora change from a rebellious girl to an extreme metal girl, I feel very sorry for Hephaestus who has never met.

"It doesn't matter."

Pandora took off the earphones gracefully, and leaned back with folded arms.

"Next week is the first test for the competition, are you all right?" she asked.

"With you here," I said, "Passing the written test is a certainty."

Although I'm sorry to say this to Louis who had a car accident, the addition of Pandora has indeed greatly enhanced the strength of our team.

Pandora didn't appreciate it: "I remember our team has six people, right?"

me……"

It wasn't long before Pandora joined the preparation team, during which Rocky went somewhere and was never there.

He was very "busy" throughout the summer vacation, often elusive, and he didn't know what the hell he was doing.

So Pandora only knew that there was Loki in the team, but hadn't seen him yet.

And her words just hit Meryl's dissatisfaction.

"Kainas doesn't know what he's doing," the always good-tempered Meryl muttered, "It's obviously the competition team he proposed, but he's also absent the most times."

I silently said the word "Rocky" to Pandora from an angle Meryl couldn't see.

She rolled her eyes to indicate that she got it.

"Also."

As soon as Meryl turned on the complaint switch, she turned her head and began to scold me: "Nicole really accepted the arrangement of Kainas, and he chose the courses."

I immediately retorted: "Wow, didn't you take his advice yourself?"

Meryl: "That's different. I was going to take a major in computer science, but you don't really want to study religion."

Pandora: "Lo... Kainas helped you choose a major?"

I haven't had time to explain the specific ins and outs to Pandora.She only knew that Hermes and Loki were preparing for the competition, but she didn't know the existence of the Lazarus Project.

"Just like the competition," I suggested, "I'm fine with it."

The implication is that the matter of choosing a major is also arranged by them.

Pandora was stunned.

She seemed to understand my hint, but did not accept my rhetoric.The Shamate girl sitting opposite immediately frowned and let out a disdainful "hum".

"I say, Nicole."

If Pandora is willing to remove the pale foundation and smoky eye makeup, she will be a very beautiful girl.

But now, her exaggerated attire completely covered her appearance, and what anyone noticed was not the real Pandora, but this exaggerated modeling modification.

The colorful hair completely conceals the experiences and stories that "Pandora" should have.

"Just accept your fate so easily," Pandora said, "Are you willing?"

"Yes."

Meryl helped the mirror frame, very solemnly: "Are you willing?"

Me: "...Let me say, can you two stop acting like this?"

A metal party, a game geek, it really doesn't feel out of place to say such a thing.

However, neither Pandora nor Meryl was joking.

My childhood sweetheart and my new friend also have serious faces, which means they won't let me go so easily.

Fine.

Meeting their gaze, I sighed.

"I don't care about others," I responded in a low voice. "For me, I don't have to worry about myself, and just follow the path arranged by others, which is a very happy thing."

I know that many people of my age want to live a life without restraint, and want to live a life that is not controlled by their elders.

Go to bed when you want, and no parents will scold you for staying up late.

You can learn any musical instrument you want, and no elders will force you to play the violin and confiscate the guitar.

I want to lie in bed and eat, I want to take my friends home for an all-night party, I want to go for a midnight ride with a motorcycle party, I want to play games online with my friends for three days and three nights.

As long as you think about it, you can do it immediately, and no one will come to stop you, telling you that this is wrong and that is not allowed.

They think that life is free.

But that's the life I've lived since I was a kid.

Dad looks like this, of course he doesn't look like a normal parent.Even with Fernando, he doesn't live with us and helps me more as a guide than a discipliner.

Compared to living a free life, I hope that someone will "manage" me, at least tell me how to go in the future, instead of stumbling and groping in the dark all the time.

Pandora sneered: "I thought so too back then, but you saw it in the end."

I:"……"

Meryl was very curious: "What result?"

Naturally, Pandora accepted the fate, opened the magic box presented by Zeus, and then released all the disasters to the world.She closes the magic box in panic, but instead keeps Athena's last hope in the box.

Accidentally became a big killer in the world, but in the end it just grew into a rebellious metal girl.

I think Pandora is already very gentle!

"In any case, it's Luo... Kainas's question, I understand," Pandora nodded in a serious manner, "Let me know how big his cards are—"

"what."

Meryl looked over Pandora: "Kaynas is here."

Pandora and I raised our heads at the same time.

The person who has basically lost contact recently and caused dissatisfaction with the team appeared in front of the restaurant.

Loki has no awareness of being targeted at all, he still has the unrestrained appearance: long black hair, simple clothes, dark blue eyes, and will bend when he touches a classmate with a good relationship, showing the girl's heart reaper prince smile.

"Kainas?" Pandora pointed to the popular figures on campus who were striding forward.

Meryl nodded.

Pandora immediately packed her backpack and earphones, and stood up neatly: "Meryl, let's go."

Meryl: "Huh?"

Pandora: "I want to talk to him."

Saying that, Pandora turned around: "Kaynas!"

The restaurant suddenly fell silent.

Loki stopped following the sound.

The new transfer student called out the transfer student from last semester, and Qicai Shamat confronted the campus prince across the air.

The scenes of campus idol dramas are nothing more than this!

Loki in the distance squinted his eyes, and I could feel his gaze quickly passing over Meryl and me, and then he probably understood the origin of this girl with colorful hair.

I saw Pandora leading Meryl forward aggressively.

Loki tilted his head: "What's the matter with you?"

That innocence, that bewilderment, nothing more than that was just right, as if he was really facing a stranger, and he didn't even guess who Pandora was.

Pandora stretched out her hand expressionlessly, grabbing Loki's skirt.

"Come here," she said, "I want to talk to you."

"Talk about what?"

"What is group, team, cooperation, and cooperation?"

After speaking, Pandora directly dragged Loki out of the restaurant.

I stared dumbfounded as Holi's fancy girl dragged Loki away, and her back disappeared into the dining room.

This……

Hermes, did you do it on purpose!

It feels like he found a Loki's nemesis.

…………

……

Moreover, the conversation between the two was extremely effective.

I don't know what Pandora and Loki said. Anyway, when we met again in the afternoon, the Norse God expressed his sincere apology to all the competition team members with Aragorn's face on his face, and promised that he would never be absent again.

Neither Pandora nor Loki revealed what the conversation was about, but it worked.

but……

I feel that Rocky will not be absent without reason.

When I got home, I threw my backpack on the sofa in the living room and went straight to my bedroom.

Do you want to send Loki an email and ask for details?

Let's wait for him to explain himself... If there is something that needs me to know, he will take the initiative to explain it.

While hesitating, I pushed open the door——

My bookshelf is glowing.

To be precise, it is not the bookshelf, but the decoration on the bookshelf.

The lights in the room were not turned on, and the "Death Stranding" that Loki forcibly stuffed me before was placed on the bookshelf, and the fetus "BB" in the petri dish was glowing.

Fetus, child, in, hair, light.

In an instant, my heart stopped beating.

"If 'that thing' appears, BB will sense it." - Loki said at the time.

Without looking back, I went straight to the living room sofa and grabbed the Rocky doll while my dad stared blankly.

"Come here quickly!"

I shook the doll desperately: "'That thing' is coming!"

24

"Don't shake, don't shake!"

The cotton doll struggled frantically in my hands: "My head is about to shake off!"

Thank goodness!

At least Loki does "online".

I hurriedly let go of Aragorn's cotton doll: "The fetus... I said BB, BB, it's glowing!"

If it is glowing, it proves that "the thing" is nearby.

"What should I do?" I asked.

Loki didn't choose to turn into a living person, the cotton doll rolled in my hand, and then barely stood firm with the Q version of the calf.

The doll crossed her arms and looked very disdainful: "Hey, you haven't played games, have you watched horror movies? Don't you understand the exorcism ceremony?"

"I know, but I haven't done it."

"Well."

The baby nodded, thoughtful: "On the way back, I didn't feel the existence of 'that thing'."

I didn't see it either.

Ever since I saw "that thing" near my house, I've been careful going home every day.Even if "that thing" hasn't been here for several months, I have also developed the habit of paying more attention to dark alleys and places with few people.

This time, I really didn't find anything like light and fog like last time, or something that seemed to reflect light from gasoline.

"Maybe 'that thing' hasn't reached the point where it can be seen with the naked eye," Rocky Doll analyzed, "We can take advantage of people...to take advantage of God's danger, and get rid of it first."

"Won't you startle the snake?" I asked nervously.

"Then what do you say?"

Rocky doll asked: "Do you want to wait for that thing to swallow people and then swallow you?"

Also, too.

but--

"How to get it done?"

Last time, it was Loki himself.

"It's simple, let's find 'that thing' first," Loki vowed, "If BB can sense that thing, take it out."

"..."

"It is more convenient to hang on the chest. I remember that there are buckles on the petri dish."

"........."

Crazy!

My flustered emotions calmed down all of a sudden, and I raised a fork high to the cotton doll in front of me: "I don't want it!"

As a result, as soon as my voice fell to the ground, there were bursts of crying babies in the open bedroom.

Rocky Doll: "Look, it's getting closer and closer."

Help.

What the hell kind of idea is this, you must use the fetal model as a detector? !

Fortunately, it's not too late now. Just imagine, if BB suddenly glowed in the early morning and cried in a petri dish...

Obviously it is a prop given by teammates, but I think the lethality is greater than "that thing".

Scared to death, okay?

Who wants to go out with a baby model that can glow and cry!

In a hurry, I emptied all the books and sundries in the backpack, put them on the side of the sofa, and then went back to the bedroom with an empty backpack.

BB on the bookshelf was indeed crying.

It is said to be a "model", but the props given by the god of video games, how could they be simple collectibles?

The petri dish lit up with a warm yellow light, and the BB floating in it had switched positions and was crying inside.

Rocky doll got its head out of my sweater hat: "You try to calm it down?"

Me: "...how to do it?"

Loki: "Take it up and shake it."

Shaking can soothe the fetus?I doubt it.

But other than that, I couldn't think of any good way, so I had to carefully remove the petri dish from the bookshelf.

BB, who was still crying in the last second, seemed to be aware of my existence, and opened his eyes through the "glass" of the petri dish.

I shook the Petri dish a little: "Don't cry, let's fix 'that thing'."

BB blinked.

Then the fetus, who was still crying loudly just now, changed its expression and "quacked" happily.

The Rocky doll held her heart: "Wow, it's so cute! Now it doesn't feel like a scene from a horror movie, Nicole."

Me: "...I, I don't have to worry about it eating, drinking, and going to the toilet, right?!"

It's even more terrifying, okay? !

While BB stopped crying, I immediately stuffed the petri dish into the empty backpack.After saying hello to Dad, he hung the backpack on his chest with one hand and rushed out the door with the cotton doll in the other.

No matter when, the streets of New York will never lack pedestrians.

Compared with me who was facing a great enemy, there were still people coming and going outside, and I had to pretend that I had nothing to go to a place where there were few people.

In the unzipped backpack, BB is always "looking" in a certain direction.

I thought for a while, then raised my legs and took a step in the direction it "looked at".

"You have been busy for a summer vacation," I whispered to the cotton doll on the way, "are you busy with 'that thing'?"

"That's it."

Cotton doll lying in my sweater hat: "I ran to ask the new gods what they investigated."

Me: "Then what did you ask?"

Loki: "Have you ever played Metal Gear?"

me?"

The topic jumped too much, and I didn't keep up with my train of thought for a while.

"Meryl played it," I answered honestly. "I only saw her twice when she played the game. Is it the stealth game? Hideo Kojima also made it."

"There are also stealth elements in Death Stranding."

After the Loki doll finished speaking, the BB in my backpack became restless.

It made the "click" protest sound that all babies would make. I was afraid that BB would cry in the street, so I reached into my backpack and patted the petri dish to comfort me.

"Looks like this is here." Rocky Doll reminded.

I looked up, and found that I had walked a whole block following the direction of BB's sensor, and stopped in front of the garbage disposal site.

It's past the off-duty time of the garbage disposal point, the garbage truck has left long ago, and the huge flat ground is empty.

I took a deep breath: "What should I do?"

Cotton Doll: "Hold your breath."

I complied subconsciously.

The moment I held my breath, the empty flat ground suddenly became "full".

No ghosting, no hallucinations, still nothing in front of my eyes, but I just feel that the garbage disposal site is full of "that thing".

In an instant, my back began to tingle.

"You want to know what I asked? Get close to 'the thing' and you'll know."

Following Loki's words, I took a step forward.

I can only "perceive" the existence of "that thing", but the BB in the backpack is obviously more sensitive than me.

Whenever I get close to "that thing", it will become agitated, and when I lower my footsteps and move away, it will immediately return to calm.

"If you can't hold your breath, cover your mouth with your hand."

Turns out that's why Loki just mentioned the stealth element.

Meryl is looking forward to "Death Stranding", so she followed me and watched all the promotional trailers.

The protagonist in the game is indeed acting like this, avoiding monsters.

Unexpectedly, the god of video games also applied this set to reality.

I followed BB's warning and finally stopped behind a huge garbage container.

Now, even I can see "that thing" with my naked eyes.

It is true that he has not yet formed, what hangs behind the container is not an entity that looks like light and fog, but some kind of power.

I stopped.

The Rocky doll crawled out of my hoodie on all hands and feet, fell all the way down my arm, and then grabbed my wrist.

The moment the doll grabbed me, I felt again the power that Loki used to throw his classmates away.

Somehow, I clearly felt the power of "that thing" in front of me, which was completely different from Loki's divine power.

"Raise your hand."

I did.

The doll hangs from the edge of my wrist, and my fingers slowly move forward to touch the "thing" itself.

When they touched each other, the BB in the backpack made an alarm sound.

After that, a strong wind blew up on the empty flat land for no reason. I tried to retreat, but the "thing" in front of me seemed to hold me back.

The strong wind rolled into the air from below, and the cold air pouring down made me hold my breath again.

The moment I held my breath, when I looked up again, "that thing" appeared.

It is not the gasoline that refracts the light, nor the mysterious substance that looks like light and mist, but a transparent figure between existence and non-existence.

My heart trembled, and my breath relaxed.

With a breath of turbid air, "that thing" disappeared again.

Then the power from him merged with the divine power borrowed by Loki, and as the cotton doll let go of my wrist, that power entered my body along my fingertips.

I almost jumped up in shock: "This, this, what's going on?!"

Cotton Doll: "Give the power to BB!"

Without saying a word, I put my hand on the petri dish in the backpack again.

The already glowing petri dish in the backpack became even brighter.

And the BB in the petri dish followed my finger and raised its head.

The full-term fetus blinked curiously, then stretched out its tiny fingers towards my palm.

Its fingers met mine across the Petri dish.

In the blink of an eye, the power that entered my body slowly left, and I could clearly feel that power finally entered the petri dish.

When the power disappeared, the strong wind that appeared inexplicably disappeared.

BB in the backpack "quacked" again and laughed.

After the crisp laughter, the light of the petri dish disappeared, and BB stopped its activities.

The "revived" model is restored to the appearance of a collection again, no matter how you look at it, it is a decoration made of plastic and resin.

It seems that it was shining, crying and laughing just now, it was all my illusion.

"The idea of ​​the new gods is very simple - the energy that can be sensed can be captured."

At this time, Loki spoke slowly: "The energy that can be captured can be collected and stored. So they spent a long time detecting the data when 'that thing' appeared, and finally created a thing that can collect' that thing. 'Energy items."

Then the cotton doll pointed to the backpack I was carrying on my chest: "It's BB."

"But not everyone can do it. There is a prerequisite for being able to absorb the energy of 'that thing'. The prerequisite is that the person manipulating BB must be a god."

When the baby's words fell to the ground, I was stunned.

"Congratulations, Nicole."

The Rocky doll climbed onto my shoulder, and said in a very proud tone: "This is what I found out——"

"You are indeed a god."

25

After experiencing the game process of "Death Stranding" in reality, there are unexpected gains.

Loki said that only after the gods can connect with BB can the energy of "that thing" be transferred.

Passing this condition is enough to prove that I am indeed a "God".

however……

Today's old gods have lost their divine power long ago. Whether they are gods or not doesn't affect my daily life.

God also needs to take exams, and if he wants to get into Harvard, he has to work hard on his own.

Three weeks after the start of school, the preliminary round of the quiz began.

After brushing the question bank for several months, even a scumbag like me can guarantee a correct rate of more than 80%. The six members of the team are quite confident.

So, on the day of the preliminary written test results, we went straight to the pizza place.

Hermes paid for the treat, and the competition team welcomed the good news of passing the preliminary round with No.3 amidst pizza, cola and laughter.

"Long live--"

"Not surprisingly!"

“Happy cooperation!!”

I downed half a Coke in one gulp and leaned back on the pizzeria couch contentedly.

Very good!

Several months of surprise questions were finally not in vain.

and……

I couldn't help but took out my mobile phone and took a peek at the announced results.

My personal grades are not bad!There are six people in the competition team, and I actually ranked third.

The top two are Pandora and Meryl, two academic gods, it's normal that they can't compare.The important thing is that I'm only five points away from Meryl.

Five points, that is, the gap between the two multiple choice questions.

I have been classmates with Meryl for ten years, and the grades have never been so close to hers!

I am so satisfied, so this is the sense of accomplishment after studying hard.

Meryl was also very happy about this, but Pandora showed a look of disdain.

"That's it?"

She sat down next to me and gave me a piece of pizza: "There are only six people in total, and Rocky is the bottom one. What is there to be proud of?"

Me: "You don't understand the happiness of a fool."

Pandora: "You—"

She spoke, turned her eyes around, and lowered her voice: "You are the daughter of Ares, and you are sure that you are a god, can you make a difference!"

That's right, Pandora also knows about me taking BB out.

The main reason is that Loki will not hide it from Hermes, and Hermes will naturally not hide it from Pandora.

And Pandora itself is a member of the old gods, and now we have a good relationship.

"You care about such a thing."

However, the rebellious girl Pandora expressed very direct displeasure at my secret happiness.

"That old Zeus, no matter you are a god or not, he chose you, and you will be kicked out no matter what." She snorted coldly, "I have a lot of experience in this."

is not that right.

Pandora in the myth was created at the behest of Zeus.

Think about it, it's a good little clay figurine, made out to create disasters for the world.

No one asked Pandora if she would accept this "fate".

and……

When I recalled the fairy tales, I couldn't help but look at Pandora twice more.

Although she has blue hair - it is said that the dyed color is easy to fade, and Pandora has changed her colorful hair into a bright sky blue in just over two months, and she often wears the heavy makeup of unscrupulous students. It can be seen that she is indeed about sixteen or seventeen years old.

Pandora in Greek mythology has a husband.

"Then you now..."

It's not that I gossip, but that a 16-year-old girl has a history of marriage, who wouldn't be curious!

I struggled to choose the words: "You are in high school now, what about your marriage...?"

Pandora: "Oh."

She didn't mind me asking directly.

"Epimetheus is with his brother. It seems that he is still busy with some government work in Greece," Pandora said lazily. "New York State does not allow underage marriages. We are out of luck."

"He, isn't it nice that he's not human?"

"Yeah, he's a nice guy," Pandora judged coldly, "He treated me very well back then, and I'm very grateful to him."

"That--"

"It doesn't matter."

As soon as I opened my mouth, Pandora knew what I wanted to ask.

"It's been so many years. It's normal to break up after falling in love and divorce after marriage. Over 1000 years have passed, no matter how passionate and loving a couple is, they will hate each other.

"Besides, how many couples at that time were together because of love? In the patriarchal slave society, wives were not all cheated, kidnapped and stolen. Now in a legal society, the ropes that are forcibly twisted together are not necessary to be together .”

Also, oh yes.

Among other things, at least Zeus himself cheated at will, and even messed up the couples.

More than 1000 years have passed, people like Epimetheus and Pandora can be said to be good, thanks to him, it is probably a very good result.

Pandora also opened up the gossip box.

She held the Coke and continued: "Let me tell you, Nicole, that Hades and his wife are still in love, and now most of the old gods, divorced divorced, separated separated, Zeus and Hercules Isn’t Ra a good example. They were still in England in the [-]th century, and Britain allowed couples to divorce very late. In order to divorce Zeus earlier, Hera even immigrated to Europe.”

I:"……"

Hera and Zeus divorced!

My eyes widened in shock: "Are you serious?!"

Pandora: "You don't know?"

I really don't know!

That old guy, Zeus, just showed up at my house a year and a half ago, when I was almost out of junior high school.

I don't know how he knew that he had an extra granddaughter.

Even Zeus is like this, let alone Hera.

"I haven't seen the queen Hera," I said, "I didn't expect to get divorced."

"You haven't seen it either?"

Pandora was also shocked: "It's okay for Hephaestus to be rejected, but she doesn't even see Ares?"

Me: "Zeus will come to eat from time to time."

Pandora snorted again: "He used to come to our house often back then. Hephaestus had a very good personality and let him eat and drink for free for half a year."

I:"……"

Half a year!

Now I understand why my dad swung a wrench at his own dad when he saw him.

"In the end, I called the police and drove him away," Pandora said. "Anyway, he couldn't produce a paternity test to prove that he is Hephaestus' father."

I also threatened Zeus in this way, and sure enough, everyone had the same idea.

"so."

Pandora spoke earnestly and earnestly: "Nicole, don't take any supernatural things to heart. It's a good thing if you want to go to the Ivy League, but if you don't want to, don't listen to Zeus lie to you with that set of big theories. He cheats and steals people all the time. Why don't you think about whether it will bring disaster to others when you are a woman? Men just can't."

Wait a minute, I feel that the topic has been twisted.

However, Pandora, who came over, still didn't stop.

She patted me on the shoulder: "Single life is very cool! It's fine to fall in love, but don't step into the grave of marriage on impulse. If you successfully get the admission letter from Harvard University, study hard and work hard to make money. Anyway God will never grow old and never die, how happy is the life of being rich and forever young, you will understand in the future!"

Wait a minute, the topic is really wrong!

Isn't the crux of the matter that gods are born by faith, but I am not?

Today's Pandora is short of hanging the four characters of "timely carpe diem" on its face.

Halfway through Pandora's happy philosophy speech, she still had more to say, and Hermes squeezed over.

"Damn girl," he squeezed between the two of us with a smile, "don't spoil real children!"

"If you say it's bad, it should be you."

Pandora replied very bluntly: "If you say that Loki is a destructive maniac, I don't think you are much better."

After she finished speaking, she turned her head to look at the table.

"Meryl!"

Pandora got up: "Leave me a piece of Hawaiian pizza."

As soon as she walked forward, Hermes came over with her back foot.

"Nicole," he whispered, "Locky and the things that the new gods created, are they in your house?"

what?

what?

I was at a loss for a moment, and then realized that Hermes should be talking about BB.

Thinking back to the model fetus that sat on my bookshelf...

Well, there was a shared adventure where BB helped a lot, and I don't think it's that scary anymore.

"Yes."

I answered truthfully: "What's wrong?"

Hermes: "If Zeus asks, don't tell him."

I:"……"

Seeing my delicate expression, Hermes immediately straightened his back.

"Don't worry," he promised solemnly, "I'm definitely with you. Zeus and Loki are not 100% in the same interest. I bet that Loki definitely didn't tell my cheap daddy about this."

"what do you mean?"

"Not all the old gods can accept being one with the new gods, so if they are particularly concerned about—"

Hermes didn't finish his sentence.

The main entrance of the pizzeria was pushed open, and the bell on the door rang, and Hermes, who was facing the gate, suddenly stopped nagging.

I turned my head away immediately.

Walking in was an African-American youth.

He is dark-skinned, thin, and looks about 27 or [-] years old. He is dressed extremely formally, with a completely refined appearance.

At least it's much better than Hermes, who is still full of street spirit in high-definition clothes.

The young man looked around, and finally his eyes stopped on our table.

Then he directly strode forward with his long legs.

Finally the young man stopped at our table and politely took off his hat.

"Excuse me," he began, "is one of you ladies Nicole Hawke?"

I was stunned and raised my hand: "What can you do, sir?"

The African-American youth nodded and reported his family name: "My name is Benji."

Hermes' expression changed subtly.

"how."

I quietly poked Hermes: "Is he also an old god?"

On the sofa, I sat side by side with Hermes, almost whispering to each other.

Even so, Benji smiled at my words.

"No, I'm not what you think."

In front of everyone in the competition team, he said vaguely: "But for your convenience, you can take me as me."

I blinked in confusion.

He... what does this mean?

Not the old gods.

But can he be?