A smile crossed Algol’s face.
She now had a bit more leverage over Ryo.
“Hey, brat.
Want to fix that little bat’s curse?”
“Hm?
Lamia?”
Ryo blinked, then turned to Lamia with concern.
“Lamia, you have a curse inherited from your mother?”
Lamia blinked too.
She felt fine.
No problems at all.
“I didn’t know…
There’s no sign of any curse on my Spirit Rank.”
Lamia checked her Spirit Rank, and even used her Gift Card to scan her own status.
Only after confirming she truly wasn’t cursed did she breathe a sigh of relief.
Ryo also relaxed, then looked at Algol in confusion.
“So why does Lady Algol say Lamia has a curse?”
“Call me Al-chan!
Everyone’s idol, Al-chan!!”
Algol corrected him.
Using her real name made her feel…
ugly.
Ryo’s mouth twitched.
Is now really the time to be correcting forms of address?
“And Al-chan never said she had a curse.
Do you want a curse broken or not?
Any curse, on anyone.”
Algol said with supreme confidence.
When it came to curses, she considered herself the foremost expert in Little Garden.
And that naturally included breaking them.
Ryo glanced at Shiroyasha doubtfully.
It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Algol’s words — he just didn’t trust her character.
Shiroyasha’s character, at least, was well-established in the original story.
But Algol?
Hard to say.
After all, she also went by the title Primordial Demon — Lilith.
She was literally called a demon.
How good could she be?
Shiroyasha gave a small nod, indicating that Algol was telling the truth, and that she’d vouch for her.
With that confirmation, Ryo relaxed. Get faster updates on g.com.
Then he turned to Algol and sat up straight.
“Including the vampire clan’s curse?
Those curses are enough to lift a person to three-digit levels.”
Lamia’s mother, Lamia I, had single-handedly shouldered every curse directed at the vampire clan, degenerating into a monster.
And as a price, she’d gained unimaginable power.
Were it not for the Omnipotence Paradox limiting the lower layers — and the seals placed by Ouroboros’s upper echelons — Lamia I would likely have become a three-digit monster like Medusa or the Hydra.
But at that stage, she’d have been completely lost to monstrosity.
No hope of saving her.
“Only three-digit?
Al-chan thought this would be hard.”
Algol had pulled out her mirror at some point, fussing with her violet hair.
“Back in the Dawn Era, when Al-chan challenged the gods and demons of three thousand worlds, Al-chan created countless arch-demons to draw fire.”
There were differences even among three-digit beings.
In her prime, Algol wasn’t just among the strongest three-digit existences — she was at the absolute peak.
If that damn monk hadn’t broken through mid-battle, she might have actually won.
“So what price would you demand?”
Ryo wasn’t about to get swept up in the sudden good news.
Breaking the curse on Lamia’s mother might be difficult, but it wasn’t hopeless.
He was confident that Ouroboros’s upper ranks contained people who could do it.
They just didn’t consider Lamia I worth the effort.
Once he grew strong enough to join those ranks, paying a price for their help wouldn’t be hard.
And if all else failed, there were always workarounds.
Algol set down her mirror, narrowed her eyes, and looked Ryo over.
The corner of her mouth curved upward.
“Simple.
Help me break my seal.”
“Sorry.
I refuse.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Ryo set down his teacup and prepared to leave.
Ally with me against Athena?
Algol, you’ve got some nerve!!
His little body wouldn’t survive more than a few rounds with Athena.
She’d have him destroyed in no time.
Pfft!
Shiroyasha spat out her tea and burst into laughter.
“Hahaha!
Al-chan, even you strike out sometimes.”
“Kid, I like you more and more.
Your decisiveness rivals that woman Canary.” You are reading on g.com, the official source.
Shiroyasha slapped the table, laughing.
Calm.
Rational.
Bold yet cautious.
Not swept away by sudden good fortune, while still caring about his companions.
Ryo was looking more and more like someone who’d go far.
So whose kid was he, exactly?
Could she poach him?
Algol’s face darkened.
She stared at Ryo with cold eyes.
If she weren’t currently summoned and bound by Shiroyasha — with no autonomy whatsoever — Ryo would’ve become a stone statue the moment he refused.
“Besides, breaking curses isn’t impossible for me.
It’ll just take a few years.”
Ryo said with confidence.
If he remembered correctly, in the second novel of the original series, there was a method for Lamia to break Lamia I’s curse — using the Two-Digit Polar Star Sword, Ame-no-Murakumo, to sever the boundary between human and divine and separate the curse.
And if things went as expected, Ame-no-Murakumo would eventually end up in the hands of one of the main cast — Kuon Asuka.
As long as he built a good relationship with that young lady in advance, asking for her help in the future wouldn’t be difficult.
So offending Athena just to break a curse sooner?
That wasn’t wise.
Algol said nothing.
She just stared at Ryo, expressionless.
She knew this was her only chance.
The moment Ryo walked out of this room, her fate would be sealed — sold off by Shiroyasha for a good price, then returned to that ugly hag Athena’s hands.
“So, Algol — how about a partnership?
I’ll hold off the pressure and look for a way to break your seal.
In exchange, until the seal is broken, you willingly serve under me.
How’s that?”
He could force Algol into submission, sure.
But that would just get him a demon with some combat ability.
If she cooperated willingly, though?
He’d gain the guidance of a top-tier three-digit veteran.
For that, making an enemy of one goddess was absolutely worth it.
Algol stared at Ryo in silence, her crimson eyes radiating endless killing intent and malice.
But Ryo, calmly holding his teacup, sat like a boulder — unmoved by the pressure, a faint smile still on his lips.
After a long moment, Algol spoke, her voice slightly hoarse:
“Fine.
I accept.”