Chapter 12 How Will You Repay What You Owe Me?
A snake-patterned twelve-sided die tumbled across the stone table with each flick of pale fingers, the pleasure in the curve of cherry lips beneath a veil obvious.
"It seems you've been taught well."
"Thanks to your grace, Lady Goddess."
Luo En closed the doors of the temple and sat down at the stone table, giving insincere compliments to a certain creditor with a forced smile on his face.
"Oh, by the way, should I address you as 'Persephone' Your Highness?"
"We are born nameless; a name is just a handle, call me whatever you prefer."
The smile remained on the face of the "Queen of the Underworld" across from him as she spoke indifferently.
I don't believe you for a second!
Luo En's somber gaze drifted over the head of this "Queen of the Underworld" and settled on the statue of the goddess with three faces and six arms in the main hall, as he sneered internally.
Mingyue's Hecate, strictly speaking, was a goddess who did not clearly belong to the Heavenly Gods or Earth Deities. In a world where divine attributes are categorized, she represented a certain kind of game, joy, chance, and the randomness of fate. She could be beneficial to someone or harmful, and the other party would be none the wiser.
For Hecate could bestow luck or misfortune at will.
She could make fish species plentiful in the waters or drive them to extinction, and it was the same for birds in the sky and livestock on the ground. In the world of the gods, she represented an element of chance, adding a touch of luck. Zeus and Gaea stretched out time, and they could predict how time would unfold; whereas Hecate would smear a bit of lubricant into the gears, leaving a bit of unpredictability, and that made the world turn more smoothly.
She interfered with the birth of infants, the education of children, the creation of wealth, and the affairs of mortals such as fishing and sailing. In later times, it was said that apart from the Sun God Helios, only she witnessed Hades, the God of the Underworld, abducting Persephone. She helped Demeter, the Agriculture God, find her daughter, becoming the protector and godmother of the Queen of the Underworld in the Netherworld…
——The protector and godmother of the Queen of the Underworld Persephone…
——Representing[a certain game], [joy], [chance], and [the randomness of fate]…
These records in [TheoGraph] undoubtedly corresponded closely with the creditor before Luo En's eyes.
Therefore, the true identity of this "Queen of the Underworld" was practically self-evident.
Moreover, this was Hecate's temple, who else but the goddess herself could appear here so silently?
Obviously, his drifting to Aiaia, being picked up and raised by the enchantress Circe, was no coincidence; everything was within this goddess's control.
After all, which creditor would let their debtor off the hook so easily based on a few words?
As for that favorite disciple of Hecate, his dear foster mother and teacher, the Great Witch Circe - whether she knew the inside story or had a part in it…
Each time Luo En thought of the wise look in that foolish bird's eyes, and the several instances she'd nearly "nurtured" him to death, he immediately shook his head, dismissing such speculations from his mind.
Quickly organizing his thoughts, Luo En managed a strained politeness and said, "What brings you to this godforsaken island instead of enjoying the Netherworld?"
His words seemed imbued with an apparent disdain.
"Naturally, it is to visit my adorable disciple and grand-disciple," responded Hecate, ignoring the tone. With her delicate hand propping her mysteriously beautiful profile, her interested gaze scrutinized the "grand-disciple" before her.
That familiar feeling took Luo En back to the past, transforming back into the piece of pork that once lay on the chopping board.
A shiver ran through him.
Unable to help himself, Luo En twitched the corners of his mouth and hurriedly, albeit reluctantly, stopped the goddess's "loving gaze" with a forced chuckle on his face.
"Your timing is impeccable, I just have some questions about magic I was hoping to discuss with you."
"Do you want to know the fastest way to ascension as a demigod?"
Hecate smiled faintly, directly uncovering the grand-disciple's purpose.
Clearly, this goddess had not refrained from secretly spying on him.
Luo En wondered just how many times this woman had leered at him since his youth.
Realizing this, Luo En felt a momentary tightening and discomfort, but considering the vast difference in their statuses and power, he had no choice but to swallow his frustration and nod in agreement.
"I do know that," came the light, pleasing voice, leaving Luo En momentarily thrilled.
But before he could maintain his smile for a few seconds, Hecate tilted her head and looked at him slyly, her tone suddenly shifting, "But why should I tell you?"
"..."
Seeing that playing on sympathy was ineffective, Luo En's pursed lips twitched silently, and he could only inwardly scorn his so-called ancestral master.
Meanwhile, Hecate was in no hurry, idly flicking the snake-patterned twelve-sided die on the table, waiting with a smile.
After a brief silence, Luo En conceded defeat and resignedly complied.
"Alright, old rules, if I win, you tell me the method."
"Deal!"
With these words, Hecate readily agreed.
Under the expectant gaze of his mentor, Luo En very reluctantly took out from under the long table a storage compartment, a wooden board divided into squares and dyed with different pigments, and two marble boxes, each containing 16 black and white chess pieces.
Based on the layout of the chessboard and the number of pieces, one could clearly make out the contours of international chess.
However, to conform to local customs, the figures carved on the pieces were modeled after more Greece-oriented characters like kings, legion commanders, famous mythical creatures, and so on.
In plain terms, it was a pirated version of international chess.
The only reason for creating this was to keep the gambling goddess in front of him occupied, so she wouldn't come to Aiaia Island to wander around and constantly seek entertainment around him.
Incidentally, he could also use the chess bets as a way to gain some advantages from Hecate's hands.
But to his surprise, as soon as Hecate started playing, she developed a strong interest in this kind of intellectual chess game and learned it very quickly.
After just over a dozen matches, Luo En's mind was almost emptied of strategies and chess moves by the opponent, and the battles on the chessboard became increasingly fierce.
Seeing that he, the founder, was about to be defeated by a student he had only taught for a few days, Luo En decided it was best to quit while ahead and permanently closed the game, resolutely refusing to play chess with Hecate again.
However, to a gambling addict, winning or losing didn't matter.
The worst punishment was not allowing her to continue gambling.
For this reason, Hecate, who was itching for a game, would swing by now and then using various methods to coax Luo En into resuming their betting games.
And today, she finally got her wish.
After setting up the chessboard and placing the pieces, Luo En immediately took out another snakeskin-patterned twelve-sided die from the box.
"Rules as usual, whoever rolls the higher number goes first."
"Wait a second."
However, just as Luo En was about to open his fingers and roll the die to determine the playing order, Hecate lifted her gaze with a playful smile.
"You seem to have forgotten to say what will happen if you lose?"
"Have I?"
Luo En forced a smile, dodging the question.
"Games are all about having fun, aren't they?"
With that, he subtly released his fingers, trying to roll the die first.
But in the face of absolute power, such cunning was in vain. Hecate merely smiled and raised her hand slightly, and Luo En became like a frozen statue, losing control of his body and could only move his head.
"Fun is indeed important, but fairness is even more important in a game."
Hecate swayed her pale finger in front of Luo En's eyes, smiling as she laid out the rules.
"If I lose, I have to give you what I own; correspondingly, if you lose, you have to pay the same price. For each game I win, you have to give me something that you own."
"But what that is, I decide!"
Luo En's gaze flashed as he forcefully added his condition.
"Otherwise, I refuse."
Hecate looked at the face that read "If you don't agree, I will resist to the end" and reluctantly nodded in consent.
"Fine, we'll do as you said."
Almost at the same moment, Luo En's body relaxed, and the die in his hand dropped onto the table, rolling several times before stopping on the number 12.
"It seems today is your lucky day."
Hecate glanced over with a teasing look and casually threw her die.
It was also twelve.
But as the rule goes, in the event of a tie, the first player wins.
The pre-game skirmish settled, a new game formally began.