Ritsuka, who had been lazily sprawled out on the sofa, shot upright in shock at Athena's sudden declaration.
"Y-You're serious?!"
"Mhm." Athena nodded solemnly, her eyes never leaving the screen where Mordred was currently struggling against a boss in Dark Souls 3. "Of course. In return, you must provide me with suitable offerings. This... 'gaming console' and the 'internet' shall suffice as my initial tribute."
Ritsuka clutched her head, feeling a familiar throbbing behind her eyes. Great. Just what Chaldea needs—another high-tier gamer addict. And this one is a literal goddess.
"Fine..." she sighed, defeated. "But before you become a full-time shut-in, I have to take you to the library. If you're going to live here, you need to learn how modern society works. No more ancient Greek standards, okay?"
Previously, Athena was just a "tourist" or a potential enemy, so Ritsuka didn't care about her archaic views. But now that she had officially joined the ranks of Chaldea, Ritsuka felt a sudden, heavy burden of responsibility.
Unlike the summoned Servants, Athena didn't come with a "standard package" of modern knowledge provided by the Holy Grail. (Speaking of which, Chaldea had so many Holy Grails locked in storage that Ritsuka once considered using them as fancy ramen bowls, mostly just to keep them away from Amakusa's sticky fingers.)
As a Rogue Deity descending directly into the modern era, Athena's default setting was "Humanity is beneath me." Ritsuka knew she had to fix that attitude before the goddess accidentally erased a city because someone forgot her fries.
"This is the library," Ritsuka announced, dragging the small goddess through the massive doors. "That section over there is for modern history and sociology. Read up so you don't treat people like sacrificial lambs."
Athena looked ready to protest until Ritsuka added: "Besides—don't Emiya's modern meals taste a thousand times better than the bland roasted meat from three thousand years ago?"
Athena instantly fell silent. The logic was irrefutable. Emiya's cooking was, quite literally, the ultimate diplomatic tool of Chaldea.
Obediently, Athena wandered into the modern section. Ritsuka, meanwhile, grabbed a volume of manga and settled into a beanbag. Peace lasted for exactly twenty minutes.
"Comrade..."
Ritsuka looked up to see Athena standing before her, her face flushed a deep crimson, her hands trembling as she held out a book.
"What is it? Did you find a difficult concept?"
Athena didn't speak. She simply raised the book. The cover featured... well, things that definitely didn't belong in a workplace-appropriate library. The bold letters [R-18] and [TENTACLES] screamed across the front.
"Humanity today... Has it truly grown so shameless?! Is this what you call 'progress'?!" Athena cried, covering her face in scandalized horror. For a virgin goddess who had guarded her chastity for millennia, this was a mental nuke.
Ritsuka's expression went pitch-black. A demonic aura erupted from her body.
"BLACKBEARD!!! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!!!"
"A-Ahhh! Ow, ow, ow! Master, please! Not the face!"
"You dared put your 'private collection' in the public library?! You've got a death wish, Teach!!!"
The chase that followed involved half the Heroic Spirits in Chaldea. Some, like Cu Chulainn, were laughing so hard they couldn't stand, while others, like Raikou, joined the hunt with murderous intent. By nightfall, Blackbeard had been "executed" and respawned at least three times.
Ritsuka stood before a mountain of confiscated contraband, her head throbbing. "Jeanne Alter. Burn it. All of it. Don't leave even a single pixel behind."
Jeanne Alter's face was just as red as Athena's, but she wasted no time. "[La Grondement Du Haine — Roar, My Fury!!!]"
The black flames of vengeance reduced the mountain of filth to ash in seconds. Ritsuka made a mental note: if Blackbeard ever did this again, she'd tie him up and toss him into the Land of Shadows for Scathach to use as a literal punching bag.
A Few Days Later
Life in Chaldea settled into a strange, chaotic routine.
Ritsuka and Athena spent their days eating, gaming, and watching the Servants cause mayhem. Athena had become surprisingly adept at Dark Souls 3, though her divine pride took a massive hit every time she died. She had even vowed that if she ever manifested in the "Real World" again, she would track down Hidetaka Miyazaki and "teach him the true meaning of despair."
"Ugh... I'm so bored..." Ritsuka groaned, sprawled across the couch in the common room.
Next to her, Athena was furiously tapping her phone screen. She was playing Azur Lane, currently farming Map 3-4 for the elusive fox-ship drops. "Oh, Great Gods of the Stars... please grant me the drop this time..." Athena muttered.
Ritsuka stared at her, deadpan. "Athena-chan... you ARE a god. Who exactly are you praying to?"
"The RNG God," Athena replied without looking up. "A deity far more cruel and capricious than any I have ever known."
In just one week, Athena had successfully shattered the worldview of the Greek Servants. Atalante, who was already struggling with the existence of the "Gundam-Artemis," saw Athena playing mobile games and declared herself "spiritually exhausted." She had checked herself into the medical bay for a week of "purity treatment."
"Athena-chan, I'm bored. Let's head back to Tokyo and scare that pompous History Compilation Committee again!" Ritsuka suggested.
"Wait... after I finish this oil farm..." Athena muttered.
"By the time you finish, the world will have ended twice!" Ritsuka growled, forcibly grabbing the goddess and dragging her toward the teleportation chamber.
Just as they reached the circle
"Wait, Master! Don't leave me behind!"
Ishtar swooped in aboard the Maanna, her golden boat-bow shimmering with divine light. "I've been stuck in the workshop for days! I'm coming too!"
"Fine, fine. The more the merrier," Ritsuka sighed.
"I don't mind," Athena added, feeling a strange sense of kinship with this flashy, modern version of Ishtar.
The operator for the day, Vlad III, spoke with his usual dry elegance. "Very well. The spiritron coordinates are locked. Please brace yourselves for transfer."
In a flash of brilliant blue light, the trio dissolved and were hurled across the dimensions toward Tokyo.
Tokyo: History Compilation Committee Headquarters
"Captain Sayanomiya!" A ninja burst into Kaoru's office, his face pale with terror. "It's a disaster! Another Rogue Deity has descended no, three of them at once!"
"What?!" Sayanomiya Kaoru shot to her feet, her heart sinking. "We just finished the paperwork for the last two! What curse has fallen upon this city?!"
"The readings are off the charts! Two are confirmed as the Heretic Savior and the Heretic Athena. The third is an unknown entity, but she's radiating a massive amount of divine energy... and she's riding a golden flying boat!"
Kaoru felt a migraine coming on. "So they went back to their realm just to bring reinforcements? This is a nightmare... And to make things worse, the oldest and most brutal God-Slayer, Sasha Dejanstahl Voban, is already in the city. He's hunting Kusanagi Godou as we speak."
She looked out the window at the darkening sky. "If three Rogue Deities and two Devil Kings clash in the middle of Tokyo... there won't be a Tokyo left to save."
The Outskirts of Tokyo
Kusanagi Godou was running for his life.
Behind him, the ancient and terrifying Marquis Voban laughed, his voice echoing like a wolf's howl. Voban had kidnapped Mariya Yuri, intending to use her as a ritual sacrifice to summon yet another god for him to slay.
"What's the matter, boy? Is this all the 'newest' Devil King can do?" Voban mocked, his legion of summoned Death Knights and spectral wolves closing in on the exhausted Godou.
Godou gripped his blade, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He was cornered. Just as he prepared to unleash his final, desperate Authority
A familiar, cheerful voice rang out from the sky above.
"Well, well! Seems like you guys are having a real party here. Mind if we join in? We brought a goddess and a very spoiled archer!"
Godou froze. He knew that voice. It was the "Savior" who had ruined his lunch and almost nuked him a few days ago.
High above, Ritsuka stood on the edge of Ishtar's Maanna, looking down at the battlefield with a mischievous grin. Beside her, Athena adjusted her cat-ear hat, and Ishtar began charging her golden arrows.
"Hey, God-Slayer! Need a hand? Or should we just sit back and watch the 'puppy' play with his toys?"