On screen.
After Caenis left, Tribbie looked at Aglaea with some worry and asked, "Agy... Are you alright?"
Aglaea's expression remained calm. She showed no sign of being affected by Caenis at all, on the contrary, she turned around and comforted Tribbie instead.
"It's nothing more than an empty threat, much like before, a reflection of their inner fears."
Tribbie blamed herself. "I'm really sorry, Aya… If 'we' were a bit more mature, you wouldn't have to bear everything alone."
Facing Tribbie, Aglaea rarely curled her lips into a smile.
"Would you like me to slice their throats with golden threads? It would be done in a flash. All I need is your blessing, and the Council will be no more."
Tribbie was startled and hurriedly waved her hands. "Wh-What are you talking about!? D-Don't scare us like that, Agy!!"
"Haha, I'm just teasing you." Aglaea smiled.
This was not a joke. She was merely stating a reality.
To Aglaea, cutting Caenis' throat would be an easy matter.
But her moral bottom line was still too high. Killing Caenis would mean the collapse of public trust in the Chrysos Heirs.
Okhema would fall into even greater chaos. That was not something Aglaea wanted to see.
As for this great beauty who had initially left a poor impression on the audience, their perception was quietly changing.
At least for now, the audience no longer simply thought of Aglaea as a cold person.
On the contrary, in her attitude toward Caenis, they could see Aglaea's restraint.
For someone who possessed great power, this was an exceptionally rare quality.
....
: I used to think she was cold, but now it feels like she internalizes all her emotions into absolute rationality. This kind of leader is actually scarier, and more reliable.
: The greater the power, the more one understands restraint. Aglaea's moral bottom line is higher than we imagined.
: She clearly has the ability to remove them, but she chose the hardest path, maneuvering within the rules to protect everyone, even her opponents.
: I'm gradually starting to feel Aglaea's personal charisma.
: Aglaea's charm really lies in that complex gray area, neither a pure saint nor a fallen villain.
: Kind of feel sorry for Aglaea. Titans outside, idiots inside, troubles on all fronts.
....
The comments scrolled past.
Then, Aglaea bid farewell to Tribbie. After Tribbie disappeared from her sight, the faint trace of humanity on Aglaea's face vanished as well.
At a corner, a uniquely shaped "clothes rack" stood there silently.
The Garmentmaker.
This creation of Aglaea's looked like a wooden humanoid mannequin, dressed in equally gorgeous attire, holding a slender golden sword in its hand.
When Aglaea stood beside the Garmentmaker, It always made people unconsciously think of something strange.
Back to the point. Standing before the Garmentmaker, Aglaea issued her command.
"Garmentmaker, can you give me the intel the nymphs have gathered?"
The camera pulled back. In the streets and alleys of Okhema, Nymphs flew out from various places. As they fluttered their wings, they observed their surroundings.
In the end, invisible golden threads transmitted all the gathered information to the Garmentmaker, and then delivered it to Aglaea.
The intelligence Phainon had brought back from Castrum Kremnos, it was time for Aglaea to deal with it.
With the help of this information, she quickly locked onto several targets.
Before long, Aglaea arrived at the first location.
In a silent, deserted alley, she stopped and scanned her surroundings.
Three or four Nymph crawled out from different corners, looking toward Aglaea.
"Mmm… this is the right place."
After receiving the Nymph's report, Aglaea's gaze turned icy as she looked forward.
There was a pile of trash there. Hundreds of resilient golden threads reach into the corrupted void,
extracting from within...
No! It wasn't contamination. It was a round, purple unidentified creature, its limbs completely disconnected from its body!
The moment it was pulled out by the golden threads, it began screaming.
"O-Ouch! Watch where you're going, will you-"
The screen gave it a close-up. A caption appeared on the left.
["Spirithief" Bartholos]
Bartholos's voice was comical and shrill, with an oddly jarring tone.
Just as it was about to fly into a rage, it saw the golden figure standing before it.
The curse words about to spill out were instantly swallowed back down.
"O—Oh, it's Lady Aglaea! Teehee, what a delight to see you here! Praise Phakele, every inch of your skin is glowing like the dawn itself!"
Bartholos's voice instantly became incomparably obsequious. It looked exactly like a treacherous little villain.
The moment this guy appeared, he brought his own comedic atmosphere like some kind of jester.
....
: Pfft… what even is this thing, a medical-colored bean?
: Its limbs aren't even connected to its body, hey! That's way too half-hearted!
: Hahahaha, this guy's a joke.
: Bartholos: Sorry officer, didn't recognize you just now.
: Definitely a troublemaker, no doubt.
: So this is the spy that infiltrated Okhema? That doesn't seem right!
....
The comments flooded past.
Aglaea, however, showed no interest in the thief spirit's flattery.
She corrected it expressionlessly. "How can you still mix up the sky father's name? It's Kepha-"
Halfway through speaking, she suddenly felt a bit helpless. Explaining these things to a thief spirit was pointless.
"...Never mind. I bet you did that on purpose. Tell me, Spirithief, why are you hiding in the filth?" Aglaea asked.
Her tone carried an unquestionable command. Bartholos's round face showed no visible expression, but its thoughts were obvious enough.
"Uh, it's... it's we're just trying to get rid of any threats to Okhema, haha!"
"See? We turned this crazy stone monster inside into pieces with our spectacular skills, teehee!" Aglaea's gaze shifted.
She knew that the Thief Spirit was hiding its true intentions.
But there was no denying it. The threat lurking within the filth had indeed disappeared.
It seemed that the corruption had truly been dealt with. Regardless of what that fellow's real objective was, in the end, they had at least done one good thing.
Thinking this, Aglaea had no intention of taking any action.
On the contrary, because of Bartholos's appearance, she could find some information on another person she was looking for.
"Answer me one question, Bartholos." Aglaea spoke coldly, but when the topic shifted, a faint emotional ripple surfaced in her tone. "Where is Cipher?"
Bartholos's eyes rolled slyly as he let out a strange cackling laugh. "Uh... There seems to be a misunderstanding, Lady Aglaea. Even though she and I work in the same trade, it doesn't make us allies! On the contrary, we're more like competitors! No competitor would want to cross paths with one another, teehee!"
This was an obvious attempt to change the subject and evade the issue. Aglaea shook her head and did not press further. Instead, she said directly, "...Forget it. If you see her, let her know this: As demigods, we can't avoid our duties forever."
Demigod?! Hearing that word, the audience's spirits were instantly stirred.
A so-called demigod was a Chrysos Heirs who had already returned and absorbed a Coreflame.
They had already witnessed Tribbie and Aglaea's almost miraculous abilities.
And now there was yet another mysterious demigod?!
Another top-tier powerhouse?! What kind of abilities would they possess?
The audience was filled with anticipation. And from the dialogue alone, everyone could tell, this demigod was probably not someone easy to deal with.
Otherwise, why would Aglaea offer such a warning? After achieving her goal, Aglaea did not immediately let Bartholos leave.
Hidden within the filth, she only needed a moment's thought to realize that this fellow must have concealed stolen goods.
Bartholos, unwilling to hand over the goods, tried to flew by slowing time.
But before it could even more in the slowed down time, golden threads had tightly bound it, not allowing it even take a step.
After forcing him to hand over the loot, Aglaea scolded it and left the place.
Immediately afterward, she headed elsewhere, continuing to deal with the corruption.
At the next location, Aglaea encountered a young girl.
The girl stood there blankly, unresponsive to Aglaea's calls. Only after drawing a little closer did Aglaea realize, the child could not hear.
Compared to Bartholos earlier, Aglaea showed an entirely different level of patience.
She used her golden silk to bind their hands and communicate with the girl through her mind.
Upon learning that the girl's precious talisman had fallen into the corrupted area, Aglaea softly said in her heart, "Ah... I see. Don't worry, I'll help you find it. Just do me a little favor, okay?"
The girl nodded vigorously.
"I want you to turn around and count to thirty."
Aglaea's mental voice was as gentle and soothing as possible.
The girl obediently turned around.
After that, in just thirty seconds, Aglaea used golden threads to completely defeat the Furiae monster and cleanse the corruption. And from within, she retrieved the girl's talisman.
"Is this what you're looking for?"
"Thank you!" The girl happily took the talisman and thanked her sincerely.
"Yes! That's it! Thank you, big sis!"
"Big sis..." That sudden form of address caused Aglaea to lose focus for a moment.
This clear emotional fluctuation was also caught by the audience.
However, since everyone already knew that Aglaea had lived for a very long time, they assumed she was simply startled because she hadn't been called "big sister" in ages.
On screen, Aglaea took only a brief moment to rein in her emotions.
She shook her head and quietly advised, "Nothing. But promise me you won't play on the streets alone from now on, even in Okhema."
"Your vulnerabilities will make you a target for others' malice. For many, it's easier to do wrong than to do good, believe me, I know from experience."
....
To the little girl, this advice sounded incredibly confusing.
Only then did Aglaea realize that she might have been away from such pure, innocent children for far too long.
"...Sorry, it seems I've forgotten how to talk to a child. Your innocence feels so distant to me now."
"That's alright. I might not understand everything, but I still appreciate your advice. I'll be careful!" The girl didn't mind at all. Instead, she stared intently at Aglaea's face, then said with a dazed, envious tone, "Oh, and by the way, you look so pretty! Just like Goddess Mnestia on the teleslate, so shiny and sparkly! Your eyes are like two beautiful gems! I'm so jealous!"
The words were clearly praise, yet once again, they left Aglaea momentarily speechless.
Not for any other reason, but because of that line… just like a goddess.
Standing before this innocent child, Aglaea suddenly realized that she herself seemed to have become… more and more like a distant, lofty "god."
In the end, the little girl gave her talisman to the beautiful big sister.
Aglaea fell silent for a moment, then, unexpectedly, did not refuse, but accepted the ordinary little charm.
After bidding farewell to the girl, Aglaea did not rest. She continued rushing through the streets and alleys of Okhema, cleansing every trace of corruption hidden in the shadows.
Throughout this long stretch of Aglaea's pov, the audience's understanding of her grew ever deeper.
From her initial coldness and lack of human warmth, she gradually became a responsible, calm, and rational leader.
And now, a more complex, more profound Aglaea took shape in the audience's hearts.
A demigod who bore the entirety of Okhema on her shoulders with reason and strength, whose heart still retained gentleness, even as it was worn down by endless years.
The psychological distance created earlier by her interrogation of the Nameless was, to a great extent, slowly dissolving, replaced by understanding.
At this moment, the comments also expressed their respect for Aglaea.
....
: Can't even criticize this, it's genuinely solid.
: That's way too exhausting, damn, she's doing everything herself.
: Fighting Titans outside, dealing with the council internally, cleansing the corruption, protecting children above, holy crap, being the boss is way too hard.
: No wonder most Chrysos Heirs respect her so much! I would too!
: It always feels like there's a hidden blade in Aglaea, that sharp, dangerous aura.
: Is it because she's lived for too long?
: But no matter what, if she's lived this long and deals with this stuff every single day, that's basically a prison sentence!
: Prison Aglaea!
....
On screen, as the scene shifted toward evening, just after Aglaea had mostly finished cleansing the filth, that irritating figure appeared once again.
Caenis.
No one knew when, but this women had been sneakily following behind Aglaea.
Only after being sharply rebuked by her did he finally reveal herself.
The moment she appeared, that mocking, sarcastic tone, openly hostile, came crashing in head-on.