" I am here to take her back" Hermes still had that mischievous smile on his face as if he was defying the whole world, however, there wasn't a sliver of care for his half-dead subordinates who just suffered while trying to protect his honour.
"Not a chance, Ophelia would never have forsaken you if you did not abandon her first, therefore, you can just leave knowing it's your own fault" although Yunan seriously wanted to cast Hermes and his lackeys out of the house, he still had enough respect for someone who has ascended from being a mere mortal. Ophelia was silently hiding beside Yunan with a shadow of a smile on her lips, she felt safe beside this man and it made her happy.
Hermes kept his eyes on Ophelia with his smile still making both her and Yunan feel like they were trapped in something they could not comprehend. "Would you forsake me because I don't involve myself in the affairs of mortals, even if you pray to me, am I obliged to manage my children like they were chess pieces, at least let me know why you chose a mortal over me, the god you willingly swore yourself to".
"Because this mortal dared offend a god for me a woman he does not expect anything from, while my god ignored my prayers to reign in his followers simply because it's boring to do that while expecting my unwavering devotion" there was disappointment in Ophelia's voice, she did not rage or hate, she just felt she had made the wrong commitment to the wrong person.
"It would have been fun to see how he can deal with my worshipers, however you could not hold on for a few days to let me enjoy the scene of a single man burning my temples and killing my devout followers for your sake" Hermes did not deny his way of thinking he even unveiled his expectations for the face-off between Yunan and the priests. "Thanks to you being unable to handle some mental torture, I had to make do with this little uneventful clash that was over within a blink of an eye, that is why I came here, I came for my compensation, you are mine and that is the consequence of taking away my anticipated fun".
Yunan could not help but smile when he heard the requirements of Hermes, if the value of Ophelia, was some amusement then that can be arranged for easily "if all you seek is amusement how about you watch me clear 4 bosses in 4 weeks, I'll even let you watch my every moment during that time, the suspense should be enough to pay for what Ophelia owes you and pay for an apology to her, does that sound good?".
A light flashed in the scheming eyes of Hermes "which floors? And what kind of bosses are they?". "From the 36th through the 39th, I have not been in those floors so I have no idea about what is in there, Hephaestus can confirm, as for the power level I am sure the 39th boss is at least 1500 attribute points ahead of me so there will be some suspense in me trying to clear each boss within one week".
" Fine, but you will not use any spells and have to rely on your own skills, and Hephaestus himself will be the judge, of course, I reserve the right to watch and broadcast your time in the dungeon to my own discretion". Hermes was getting interested and that was his fatal mistake. " And in case I win, I will gain all the bets made against me, if you're interested then it's a deal". "Deal". said Hermes with haste, he was afraid that Yunan would change his mind.
"It's a deal then, we start next week, I have been working hard and I need a few days to relax, and you can promote our little deal better in the time of 5 days, now take your lackeys and leave this place, I need to rest, and don't even think about staying for a meal or a drink, I do not want you in my house". Hermes made a pout but still could not contain his excitement as he teleported his half-dead subordinates and disappeared from the guest room.
Yunan sat down and called Sapphira to sit on his lap as he conversed with Hephaestus about this and that. "You cheated him," said Hephaestus after a while, "he is an old man with the personality of a bored toddler, besides that, he really wanted to see me do something he considers impossible, I hope the gods and not all like him". Hephaestus smiled at Yunan " I also wish to see how will you clear the next floors without spells, it would be fascinating". Yunan smiled and said nothing, his win would be based on a technicality, something that even the gods could not refute.
After Hephaestus left, Yunan took Ophelia to the bath for a relaxing soak and a round of therapeutic massage to help her relax and loosen up a bit of the stress she had been exposed to lately, he knew very well that the source of her pain was none other than himself, and she chose him over her own beliefs, therefore he decided to pamper her as much as he could and bring back her radiant smile once again.
Ophelia was much more relaxed now that Hermes was going to leave them alone, as for his followers, they just had the shock of a lifetime and would not consider attacking anytime soon, as for why she thought Hermes was leaving them alone was because she had confidence in Yunan, at least he would make the bet as exciting as possible. That was the core of the trick Yunan played on Hermes, he would let go of Ophelia's debt if the bet was exciting enough, even of Yunan did not win Hermes only had to enjoy watching Yunan for the bet to be fulfilled as for the fact that he would gain so much from winning and there was nothing to lose, that one must have been Hermes's reward for Yunan because he could trick him into such a situation.