A Promise

"As of now, the problem with the Mythologies has settled down with the preparation for said tournament. However, the Evil Dragons that managed to escape earlier remain a problem, as they're still leading the remains of Qlippoth. We have no idea what they're planning to do but there are some unconfirmed rumors that they are meeting some Gods." Dylan couldn't help but let out a short sigh and grab his forehead, "Not to mention Hades and Apollo. We can't do anything to them, especially now that our political standpoint has weakened with the absence of our leaders."

Silence overtook the room as a tense atmosphere started building up. Even though they really wanted to speak up and ask a few things, Hestia, Artemis and Line didn't dare interrupt.

A few seconds later, Kisuke stretched his arms and took a deep breath. He'd already thought of a way to make Hades and Apollo's movements predictable, "Please announce that I'll return to Mount Olympus in one month's time."

"Huh!? I'm happy that you're going home, but why would you want to announce your arrival!? And you'll attack Mount Olympus again!?" Sakura inevitably had an outburst when she heard Kisuke's intentions.

Dylan raised his hand to interrupt her and asked, "Are you restricting their movements by letting them set up an ambush against you?"

"That's correct."

"Then you won't really come?" Sakura was glad but also a bit disappointed.

However, Kisuke suddenly grinned and said, "Of course I'll go~! Honesty is one of my virtues and I have no intention of desecrating my good name~!"

Sakura and the others on her side were stunned while those behind Kisuke could only smile wryly.

"...Why would you put yourself in such danger? I know you're strong but if you play on the stage where they've written the script, it'd be very hard even for you to come out of it alive." Dylan asked after a few seconds of contemplation.

But against his expectations, Kisuke just laughed at his words and replied as a glint of light passed through his eyes, "They're preparing a stage for me? That's fair. However, I'm pretty sure that they're still not aware that they've been playing on the stage that I prepared for them long ago."

Dylan's eyes widened and pulled the information about Kisuke's last movements from his head while asking, "...Since when?"

Kisuke then became embarrassed and started scratching the back of his head, "Ehehe, although I bragged about planning ahead of time, it wasn't that long. I only started it when I returned home last time."

Dylan laughed dryly, "Isn't that the only time you could do it since that's the first time you could retaliate after being forcefully evicted? So it all started when you said you'd crack Hades' skull, huh? What makes you sure that they'll give you a warm welcome?"

But instead of answering, Kisuke asked, "Has Apollo appeared in public yet? If so, is there anything worth mentioning about him?"

It was Cleria, who'd been collecting and managing most of the information regarding the movements within Mount Olympus, who answered him after thinking about it for a moment, "After your attack on Mount Olympus, there were very few occasions where Apollo's appeared. And each time, he seemed to be in a bad mood and there's always a strong barrier around him, making others think that he's very wary of assassins."

"S-seriously?" Kisuke couldn't believe what he had heard, "Looks like I'm giving him more credit than he deserved... He's way too incompetent."

Sakura narrowed her eyes and asked, "Why did you suddenly start insulting him? He's a scheming God, you know?"

"No, I mean, what he's doing might be actually not for what you think." Kisuke then took out a ball as large as a golf ball wrapped in paper with inscriptions, "This is the stink bomb that I used to annoy him."

"And?" Sakura really couldn't get used to his fascination with stink bombs and wanted to know where he got that habit.

"I made it so that it would seem easy to remove at first, but it's actually pretty tough to get rid of it once it's invaded and mixed with your own Magic Power, Ki, Soul Power, or Divine Power. He's most likely using that barrier to hide the smell of sewers coming off him."

Yoruichi grabbed the stink bomb and inspected it while curiously saying, "You really put effort into the weirdest things. But it shouldn't be that hard to remove. As long as you can purify your own energy source, you'll be fine and I doubt he didn't know how to do that."

"Oh, it's because I still had Great Red's flesh and blood, so I mixed it in. Since Ophis-chan was also on board with the idea, she also gave it a snake too."

As soon as Kisuke said that, Yoruichi's fist landed on his head. But due to the changes to his body to accommodate his new energy source, he hardly felt any pain and the shockwave was only transmitted back, hurting Yoruichi's fist, "Damn you and your thick skull! Why would you use such important resources for a simple prank!"

But Kisuke just chuckled away and said, "Don't worry about it~ If it was such a simple prank, then he should have dealt with it long ago~!"

Dylan had to consciously hold back his sigh, since he has noticed that he has been doing it a lot ever since this meeting started, "...With his pride tarnished, I can see how much he resents you. Let's then move on to the next thing you said. One month? Why? I'm sorry if this sounds like I'm interrogating you, but we'd like to match our schedule with yours and I'd like to have a better idea of what you're about to do."

"The one month's time isn't actually for me, but for Athena, for her to prepare and gather her forces. Once I arrive, it'll be the start of a civil war on Mount Olympus."

Sakura wanted to say something but Kisuke cut her off, "I know what you want to say, Mom. But this is actually safer than just passively waiting for them to make their move."

Sakura pursed her lips in frustration but she agreed with him. A moment later, Sakura held his hands and said, "Once you get home, make sure to see us first."

Kisuke closed his hands and reassured with a smile, "You'll be the first one I'll meet."