Chapter 137 The Lion Protecting his Lioness
"I understand if it’s difficult to believe, but you’re welcome to request the recording from the Director. I trust this will serve as sufficient evidence to substantiate my claims," Hera explained, her composed demeanor unwavering as her gaze remained sharp.
However, Minerva found it difficult to accept such a straightforward explanation. To her, it seemed implausible that all the fortunate occurrences would befall a single individual among ten participants. ’After all, if only two were deemed lucky, what did that make the rest? Purely unlucky cronies?’
"Isn’t that cheating already?" Minerva argued, her voice laced with indignation. "Why resort to an exchange system when everyone else is putting in the hard work to complete tasks for their items? It’s inherently unfair." Her words resonated with the female participants, who nodded in agreement, lending their support to Minerva’s stance.
"Against the rules? Wouldn’t I have been disqualified already if that were the case?" Hera reasoned, her tone calm yet firm. Sensing the need to address the matter decisively, she continued, unwilling to allow Minerva to dominate the conversation further. "As per the rules outlined by the Director, acquiring items from villagers is permissible as long as it’s done with their consent. Failure to obtain such consent results in nullification of the items. I secured the villagers’ agreement for the exchange system without resorting to the designated tasks. It’s simply a different strategy, not cheating."
"Tsk, tsk! Just because you didn’t consider such a solution and opted to follow the crowd, doesn’t mean there’s only one way to approach the event," Hera remarked, her tone matter-of-fact rather than demeaning. However, her words carried enough weight to inadvertently challenge the intelligence of some. Inside, Hera chuckled to herself, while outwardly maintaining her composed demeanor.
Hera relished the sight of Minerva’s rapidly shifting expressions, a mix of anger, frustration, and shame. Despite her efforts to formulate a response that would counter Hera’s words, Minerva found herself at a loss. She was utterly speechless.
"Hera, surely you’re not suggesting everyone here is stupid?" Alice interjected once more, seizing an opportunity to stoke the group’s anger against Hera.
Unyielding, Hera responded with a deliberate pause. "Well," she began, a smirk playing on her lips as she directed a mocking chuckle toward Alice. "If the shoe fits." Her chuckle trailed off into silence as no one dared to respond.
The reason? Xavier, standing steadfast behind Hera, exuded the calm intensity of a brewing storm—ready to pounce if anyone dared to confront Hera further. He resembled an angered lion, fiercely protective, standing guard behind his lioness.
However, Hera remained oblivious to this, her attention entirely consumed by the ongoing challenges presented by Minerva and Alice. She failed to notice the surreptitious glances exchanged among the others towards Xavier, as they observed the unfolding confrontation.