Myth: The Ruler of Spirituality

Shaking his head with a smile, Laine said indifferently, "In fact, as long as the winner isn't an Athenian, I don't care who ends up winning."

Though he said this, Laine felt that the victor of this grand competition would definitely be an Athenian, or even simply a follower of Athena. Perhaps the very reason the competition was held in Athens was to make such an outcome appear more reasonable.

As to why this was, Laine wasn't sure. So if the outcome couldn't be changed, then he would put someone he could control in their place.

"...Even if what you say makes sense, but assuming none of these are an issue, why don't you go up there yourself?"

With a raised eyebrow, Andrea asked once more.

"Well, that's because it's dangerous, of course."

With concise words, Laine smiled in the face of Andrea's accusing gaze.

"Just like you said, what if I get exposed... But you probably won't get burned at the stake. Anyway, captive miss, go ahead, you are already a learned person. With what I've taught you, you should be able to sweep these so-called wise men."

Where the danger came from needed no explanation: the Disguise Art that Laine used, empowered by the Serpent of the Central Court, could fool almost everyone, but it was highly doubtful whether it would work in front of those great or nearly great beings.

After all, he wasn't a deity specifically in charge of disguises, and his ability in this arena relied entirely on brute force and the authority lent by Keto, who had joined the Nine Hells long ago.

By contrast, Andrea was different; she was the princess of Athens. Even if Zeus or someone else recognized her identity, they would probably think it was an arrangement made by Athena behind the scenes.

As for sweeping the wise… Laine could only say that philosophy might not vary much from ancient to modern times, and no one can guarantee that some clever person might have an epiphany, but mathematics was different.

No one should suddenly have an epiphany in mathematics, right... He mused silently; before him, Andrea turned after a standoffish look and helplessly walked towards the wooden table that had been prepared not far away.

At this moment, a large crowd had already gathered around that table, with a big sign inclined at the side of the road.

People were whispering among themselves, while a large stack of Gold Coins was displayed on the table.

In the current world, the circulation of gold was much lower than that of silver, but in many places, the consumption of gold was higher than that of silver.

Whether for the construction of The Temple or the preparation of certain Alchemy products, a large amount of Gold would be consumed, resulting in an Athenian Gold Stater not only officially priced at twenty large silver coins but also commonly inflated by fifty percent in actual transactions.

A big stack of Gold Coins laid out like this was akin to placing millions of cash on a street in later times; the visual impact was quite strong. And right beside the wooden table, there was another open box filled with Gold Coins.

This was almost like having a cash transport truck without Guards nearby, loaded with money, next to a stack of millions in cash. If this wasn't the Acropolis of Athens, where the grand event was about to take place, someone would have probably been tempted to do something already.

"Ahem, excuse me, make way, ladies and gentlemen, please make way."

Feeling somewhat nervous inside, but recollecting the so-called 'mathematical knowledge' hastily learned last night, Andrea nevertheless mustered up the courage to make her way through the crowd towards the back of the table.

Although she had previously stated that her 'Wisdom' was not up to standard, as a follower of Athena, who wouldn't be proud of their intelligence? Now with an opportunity to try her hand, the Little Princess was actually quite excited.

"Are you the owner of this newly opened gambling house?"

The crowd parted as they were told; they had been waiting here for a long time.

Not long ago, they had heard that someone had set up a wooden table and was willing to bet against anyone who came here, with the stakes being one-tenth of their wealth.

If they lost, well, there was no need to speak of that; but if they won, they could claim a hundred times their stake from the other party.

No one doubted the ability to pay because shiny Gold Coins can't be counterfeited.

"Yes, sir, but this can hardly be called a gambling house, since I'm the only one here. And this isn't really gambling; it's just a game."

Circling to the other side of the table, Andrea put forth an unripe smile that paradoxically made it all the more distracting under her present guise.

"Would anyone like to give it a try?"

"How can I be sure you'll stick to the bet?"

Without even asking what the game was, it was clear that the young man speaking had been blinded by the allure of the Gold Coins.

In response to his question, Andrea simply placed a Sacred Badge of Athena on the table and spread her hands.

Clearly, there were people who dared to cause trouble in front of the sacred emblem of the deity, after all, the sacred emblem was not the statue of a god, and even the statue of a god might go unnoticed by the deity.

But in the Acropolis of Athens, if anyone dared to break a promise in front of the sacred emblem, even if Goddess Athena did not descend punishment, the streets full of Godhood Practitioners and Guards would not be pushovers.

"The Goddess as a witness, huh... But I wonder, what are the rules of this game? If it's heavily in favor of the house, I'm better off keeping my distance."

Another voice raised in skepticism, belonging to a middle-aged businessman who appeared harmless, but no one would really believe he was anything like a simple lamp.

However, Ande remained calm and composed, she reached out and smoothed the stack of Gold Coins across the wooden table, the dazzling gold light shook the hearts of those watching, even drawing more people from a distance to the scene.

"The game is very simple, place three rows of Gold Coins on the table, there's no limit to the number per row. The participants in the game take turns taking Gold Coins with me, each time you can only take from one row, at least one, with no upper limit, and the person who takes the last coin wins."

"Oh, right," as if recalling something, Andrea said with a smile, "To be fair, if it's me who decides the number of Gold Coins in each of the three rows at the start, then the participant will be the first to take the Gold Coins, conversely, if you plan to arrange a reasonable opening set up yourself, then I will be the first to take the Gold Coins.

There shouldn't be any objections to such rules, right?"

As her words ended, a wave of discussion erupted on the spot, but no one found anything wrong with it.

It was a completely fair and reasonable act, just as the gambling game with the twelve-sided dice that's popular in the Mortal Realm now, where the person rolling the dice can't guess the number, the same goes in reverse.

"Alright, I'm in!"

The one who spoke was the same young man who had spoken earlier. He immediately sat down at the table, threw a large money pouch onto the table surface, and even had a document that Andrea glanced at, which was proof that the other party promised to mortgage their house in the city.

Theoretically, that thing had no legal effect. But if it was written in front of Athena's sacred emblem in full view of everyone, it would become binding even if it originally had none.

"Are you sure this represents one tenth of your wealth?"

With a skeptical look, Laine was not in need of money now, and Andrea was not truly there to earn money but to make a name for herself, which was why she had stipulated that only one tenth of the wealth be wagered. But no matter how you looked at it, this did not seem like one tenth.

"What, can you tell at a glance how much money I have?"

The young man waved his hand, clearly not intending to pull back.

One hundred times... This was practically a game to change one's fate, and he might only encounter this opportunity once in his life.

He knew others were still watching, but he could not wait.

"Well then, your move or mine?"

Good words cannot persuade a damned soul, Andrea remembered Laine's words of caution from the start of the day.

Lay aside the desire to help, respect the fates of others. The moment this chest of Gold Coins was placed here, many outcomes were already destined.

"I'll go!"

The young man who spoke was not about to let this opportunity slip. Who knew if arranging the coins could involve some cheating? He'd heard that the twelve-sided dice had plenty of ways to have an unfair advantage, mostly requiring a personal touch.

So he decisively took the Gold Coins and arranged three rows on the table.

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It's said that the simpler things are, the more they rely on luck, so the young man did not intend to lay out long rows of dozens of Gold Coins; he just prepared a number that seemed neither too many nor too few.

Sweating slightly from his back, as he placed the last Gold Coin, the young man's hands were a bit shaky. The game that would decide his fate was right in front of him. He took a deep breath as if using his voice to cover up his nervousness.

"I'm ready, you start."

"Alright."

Without further ado, Andrea's gaze swept over and a string of 1s flashed through her mind.

Then she reached out and decisively took two Gold Coins from the second row.