Ryosho watched Ikki, who had concealed himself beside the Sagittarius Cloth.
Should he warn Seiya and the others beforehand, or stop Ikki from acting?
If Ryosho intervened, Ikki would not be able to seize the Sagittarius Cloth so easily.
But if he stopped Ikki, would Seiya and the others lose a valuable opportunity to grow?
Would Ikki then be unable to let go of the hatred in his heart, causing him to continue down a path of no return?
In the future battles at the Twelve Temples, would the five Bronze Saints fail to awaken the Seventh Sense because one of them was missing—or because they lacked enough real combat experience?
If he stayed out of this, the future would remain somewhat predictable.
If he interfered too much, however, it could lead to unforeseen changes.
He might even lose Ikki as a result.
After weighing the matter carefully, Ryosho decided it would be better to let Ikki proceed.
After all, allowing events to follow their original course would clearly benefit Seiya and the others more.
Of course, the most important reason was that a Cloth possessed a will of its own.
Simply taking one did not mean it could be used.
Furthermore, the will of Aiolos of Sagittarius still resided within the Sagittarius Cloth.
Without Aiolos’s approval, no one could truly obtain the Sagittarius Gold Cloth.
In other words, even if the Gold Cloth were handed over to the Sanctuary, it would make little difference.
With that in mind, Ryosho reached a decision.
As long as Ikki did nothing unnecessary, he would not interfere.
…
At the strong insistence of Miho and Shunrei, Seiya and Shiryu went to the hospital for a full physical examination.
With that, the day’s matches came to an end.
Before leaving the arena, Ryosho glanced back at Ikki beside the Cloth Box, and a question occurred to him.
Since Ikki had already come to the arena, why did he not secretly take the Gold Cloth away now?
Why wait until tomorrow, during the match between Jabu and Shun, before revealing himself and seizing it?
The thought flashed through Ryosho’s mind, but he did not dwell on it.
After all, this was how events were supposed to unfold.
He could only assume that Ikki wanted to overshadow Seiya and the others before taking brutal revenge on everyone connected to Mitsumasa Kido, including Saori Kido.
After leaving the arena, Ryosho did not return home.
Instead, he stopped outside the entrance and waited for Saori Kido to appear.
Since he had decided not to interfere with Ikki, it was time to deal with the true reason he had come to Japan.
The golden scepter he had seen within the Crateris Cloth.
There was no doubt that it was the Staff of Nike, the Goddess of Victory, a sacred artifact capable of guiding Saints to victory.
He and Deathtoll had speculated that the Crateris Cloth had revealed the image of the staff as a warning because someone was plotting to seize the Staff of Nike.
Misty, for example, had been acting suspiciously.
It was entirely possible that he had come for the Staff of Nike.
Of course, he might have come for some other purpose.
Whatever his reason, Ryosho could not afford to lower his guard.
The Staff of Nike was far too important.
It was a sacred artifact that could guide its bearer to victory and possessed the power to bring about miracles.
If such an artifact fell into the hands of Evil Saga, it was difficult to imagine what might happen.
Seiya and the others might fail in their future attempt to fight through the Twelve Temples, resulting in Saori Kido’s death.
Of course, Ryosho did not believe Sagitta Ptolemy had any chance of succeeding this time.
But if Seiya and the others failed to make it through the Twelve Temples, Saori Kido would likely accomplish nothing.
She might even be killed.
Ryosho could hardly imagine how humanity alone could contend with the gods who coveted the Earth and sought to wipe out mankind.
Rely on Saga and his split personality?
He certainly did not want to face those hellish battles in the future without the Goddess.
As Ryosho pondered this, Saori Kido emerged from the arena accompanied by her butler, Tatsumi, and Unicorn Jabu.
She was a beautiful young woman.
Her long purple hair cascaded naturally down her back, lending her an air of nobility and elegance.
Her skin was as fair and clear as snow, its radiance undiminished even beneath the dim yellow lights.
The gleaming gold jewelry she wore added a touch of distant, unapproachable grandeur.
Saori Kido was indeed strikingly beautiful.
She was truly worthy of being the reincarnation of the bright-eyed maiden from Greek mythology.
In beauty alone, she fully lived up to the name of the Goddess Athena.
After admiring her briefly, Ryosho stepped out from the shadows to the left of the archway and called out, “Good evening, Miss Saori Kido.
Do you have a moment to talk?”
“Who’s there?”
Unicorn Jabu immediately stepped in front of Saori Kido and cautiously looked toward the source of the voice.
When he saw Ryosho emerge from the darkness, he visibly relaxed.
“It’s you?”
Saori Kido raised her beautiful oval face and studied the unfamiliar man who had called to her.
Confusion first appeared in her bright blue eyes, but a moment later, she seemed to remember something.
“Are you Ryosho-san, the Crateris Silver Saint Shun and the others mentioned?”
“I am Ryosho.”
“Shun has already told me what happened with Seiya, Shiryu, and the others.
Thank you for helping them.”
“There’s no need to thank me.
It was a small matter.
Besides, Seiya, Shunrei, and I are friends.
A friend of a friend is still a friend, and I could hardly stand by when my friends were in danger.”
“Even so, I must thank you.
You healed Seiya and Shiryu’s injuries and brought them out of danger.”
Saori Kido clasped her hands before her and bowed slightly in gratitude.
Had Ryosho not known that she also had a willful and arrogant side, he might have thought she had already awakened.
“May I ask what business you have with me, Ryosho-san?”
Ryosho glanced at Jabu and the butler, Tatsumi, before replying, “I would simply like Miss Saori Kido to take a walk with me.
There are also a few things I would like to ask you.”
At those words, Tatsumi could no longer remain silent.
He hurriedly stepped in front of Saori Kido.
“Miss, you cannot go with a man whose background we know nothing about.
He may be after the Gold Cloth.”
Ryosho looked at Tatsumi.
Although the man had an unpleasant character, he was utterly loyal to the Kido family.
He was quick-witted and vigilant enough, so it was no wonder he had become their butler.
Of course, that only applied when he was not being tortured for information.
Ryosho closed his eyes.
“If I had come for the Gold Cloth, why would I waste my time talking to you?”
“What did you say?”
Tatsumi gritted his teeth, his violent temper immediately showing itself.
Ryosho smiled without answering.
Instead, he demonstrated the answer through his actions.
A psychic wave emanated from his forehead, instantly taking control of Tatsumi’s body.
“Y-You…
What did you do to me?”
Tatsumi remained frozen in place.
It felt as though something had bound his entire body, leaving him completely unable to move.
Seeing this, Unicorn Jabu immediately grew wary and moved in front of Saori Kido.
“I don’t care what your relationship with Seiya is.
If you intend to take Miss Saori away, you’ll have to get past me first.”
Ryosho raised one hand, a cold smile touching his lips.
A beam of white light shot from his fingertip and skimmed past Jabu’s shoulder.
The pressure alone tore through the fabric there.
“Ah!”
Saori Kido cried out in alarm.
Jabu felt as though an electric current had struck his shoulder, followed by a sharp, tearing pain.
He tried to fight back, but he could not even move a finger, much less throw a punch.
“My body won’t move either.
Damn it, what did you do to us?”
“Nothing.
I only wanted to prove that if I meant you any harm, the two of you would never be able to stop me.”
Ryosho lowered his hand and calmly released his control over their bodies.
Then he turned toward Saori Kido.
“Miss Saori, can you believe now that I mean you no harm?”
Saori Kido looked at Ryosho, who had subdued Tatsumi and Jabu with ease, and understood that his strength far surpassed theirs.
If he truly wished to harm her, there would indeed be no need for him to waste time talking.
“You two wait here.
I believe Ryosho-san means no harm and will not hurt me.”
“Miss!”
Tatsumi and Jabu shouted at the same time.
Saori Kido shook her head and walked away alone.
Ryosho followed closely behind her.
Seeing him leave with her, Tatsumi became frantic.
He immediately turned to Jabu.
“Jabu, hurry and inform Hyoga and Shun.
Tell them someone intends to harm Miss Saori!”