“So am I,” Diana nodded.
“Oh… looks like we have something in common.” Duke smiled.
Then he realized he had no idea what to say next, and the atmosphere became a little awkward.
After all, in his previous life, he hadn’t dated many times.
He wasn’t exactly good at talking to girls.
Emmmm…
Even though the heroine was old enough to be his great-great-great-great-great-great… great ancestor, she still counted as a girl.
“I’m going to the temple. What about you… do you want to come?” As soon as the words left her mouth, Diana smiled and shook her head.
“That’s the duty of us Amazons. What about you? Once you leave here, where do you plan to go?”
Hidden within her words was the message that Paradise Island… did not welcome men to live there.
Duke scratched his head.
“This is an unfamiliar era for me.”
“It is for me too.” Diana turned to look into the distant horizon.
She had never left Themyscira.
“Oh? Looks like we have another thing in common.”
The heroine smiled but said nothing.
“Since we’re so destined to meet, and I don’t have any plans for the time being, I’ll accompany you. I can protect you while I’m at it.” Duke stood up and stretched his body.
“You… protect me?” Diana smiled charmingly, as though she’d just heard a joke.
“I wonder who it was that I sent flying with one punch just now?”
“Ahem… That’s not what I meant.” Duke was so embarrassed he wanted to crawl into a hole.
“The outside world is full of deceit. You’ve never been out there before—you’ll probably get tricked. And that spy… I admit he’s on the side of justice, but… he’s hiding something from us.”
“Steve? Why?” Diana frowned.
She felt that the spy was a good man.
“I’m not saying he’s a bad person! It’s just… in my world, I’ve met all kinds of people. Just by looking into someone’s eyes, I can tell whether they’re telling the truth, and how much of the truth they’re telling! Even though I don’t understand English, people’s eyes are the same.” Duke pointed to his own eyes.
Although he did have the intention of driving a wedge between the two of them, he wasn’t making everything up.
This really was one of his special abilities.
He was remarkably accurate at judging people.
Just by looking at someone’s face, he could get a good read on their personality and character.
Besides, Steve really had been deceiving them at first.
His only goal had been to use Wonder Woman to leave Paradise Island and return the notebook.
As for this nonsense about “Ares, the God of War”… was that supposed to be a joke?
Duke didn’t believe Ares actually existed.
And even if he did, he didn’t believe killing Ares would magically end the war.
In the end, it was simply that even heroes cannot escape the charms of beauty that led Steve to accompany her onto the battlefield.
Diana frowned.
She hadn’t believed Duke.
Or rather, she trusted her own judgment of people more than anyone else’s.
“Forget it. Whether he’s good or bad has nothing to do with me.”
Duke had a bad feeling.
Speaking ill of another man in front of a woman… that seemed rather tasteless, didn’t it?
Better change the subject!
“Oh, right. You’re… just leaving like this? Aren’t you going to see your aunt first?”
Just a reminder—I’m the man who saved your aunt, while that spy is the one who got her hurt.
Shouldn’t that make us the ones who are closer?
Diana froze for a moment before shaking her head.
Then she looked at Duke hopefully.
“She’ll be alright… won’t she?”
“Relax. I’ll go check on her!”
As he spoke, Duke spread his Dark Archangel wings once more.
“Oh, right. Where should we meet?”
“Southeast. There’s a small boat there.”
“Got it!”
With that, Duke shot into the sky.
Diana watched him disappear before turning toward the temple and breaking into a run.
With several tremendous leaps and agile movements, she climbed into the temple with her bare hands.
Ding—
Obtained: “Lasso of Truth” ×1
Obtained: “Godkiller” ×1
Obtained: “Bracelets of Submission” ×1
Obtained: “Cloak of the Gods” ×1
Inside the cave, Steve was trying to figure out how to escape.
Unfortunately, although he still had his map, his compass had stopped working.
Frustrated, he tossed it aside.
Whether it was because of Paradise Island’s unusual environment or because it had been damaged in the crash, he had no idea.
In any case, the needle simply refused to move.
When Diana appeared, she startled him badly.
He thought one of the Amazon warriors had come, and that his escape plan had been discovered.
His heart nearly leapt out of his chest.
“That outfit looks good on you.”
“Thank you. I can tell you how to leave the island, and in return, you’ll take me to find Ares.”
Ares?
Is something wrong with this woman?
She looks perfectly beautiful, but…
Still, this was an opportunity.
“OK. It’s a deal!”
On the other side, Duke sped across the sky before slowly landing on the beach.
The Amazon warriors who still remained there were startled, but after recognizing him, they all respectfully nodded.
“Mr. Duke.”
“Hello, everyone.”
They’re all beauties… well, except for the dark-skinned one, Duke thought with a smile.
“How is she?”
The roof was tightly covered with wooden planks, while the walls had wide gaps between them.
The roof kept out the rain, while the gaps allowed the breeze to flow freely around her.
The physician had already treated her wounds.
What surprised Duke was that even after a wound that pierced the heart had been stitched up, an ordinary person would remain unconscious for at least three, four, five, six, or even seven days.
The Amazons might possess extraordinary physiques, but…
For her to wake up in less than half a day was unbelievably impressive.
Then again, it made sense.
Antiope was, after all, the younger sister of the Amazon Queen and, aside from Wonder Woman herself, the strongest warrior on Paradise Island.
She was already awake and staring at Duke.
She still had a faint impression of him—the man who had spread his wings and soared into the sky.
“They told me… cough… it was you who saved me. Thank you… cough… If it weren’t for you, I…”
Duke quickly walked over.
“Alright, you’re the patient here. You should get more rest. Let me take a look at your injury.”
Although the wound had struck her heart, there was nothing awkward about examining it.
Besides, the bandages were wrapped so tightly that nothing could be seen anyway.
He sensed the injury through the flow of magic.
“Hmm. It’s in even better condition than I expected. You should be able to leave by tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Where’s Diana?”
“She…”
“She’s leaving, isn’t she?”
“Huh?”
“You don’t have to hide it from me. I know what she’s like. I’ve already heard what happened. My sister… cough… Help me give this to her.”
As she spoke, Antiope slowly removed the Starlight Tiara from her head and placed it into Duke’s hands.
She gently patted his palm.
“Please… take care… of Diana… for me.”
Duke was momentarily stunned, but he still nodded.
“I will.”
So this counts as an aunt giving a gift to her niece?
In the end, the Starlight Tiara still found its way into Wonder Woman’s hands.
In the original story, Antiope died, and Hippolyta gave it to Diana.
Now, however, Duke would be the one delivering it.
“Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, no one will hurt her.”
That was a pretty manly thing to say.
“Thank you… haa… haa…”
Although her heart had already been stitched back together, merely saying those words left Antiope gasping for breath.
She needed to rest.
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(End of Chapter)