But this time, he clearly felt that his current situation actually had little to do with Athena's prophecy.
Oli's affection for him was objectively real; it had not arisen because of Athena's prophecy.
At the very least, the one who had lit that flame was not Athena, but Apollo, the "God of Light."
Thinking of this, he suddenly realized what Apollo must have said to Oli...
"If you're really bored, go bite a lighter! You bastard!"
What if there wasn't a lighter? Couldn't he just make one later and give it to her?
And so, on some day in some year, Dark Dimon really did give Apollo, the "God of Light," a lighter.
But that was a story for later.
Although Dark was furious at Apollo's antics, he knew perfectly well that this was a problem he would have to face eventually. The actions of the two gods had merely caused it to erupt ahead of schedule.
Fortunately, it had not erupted too obviously. At least Oli was being relatively restrained.
"So this is what it feels like to fall in love amid a war capable of destroying a nation and ruining its people."
Remembering those eight-o'clock soap operas, Dark felt suffocated all over again.
"It's come to this."
"I can only watch the projection!"
Just as Dark was about to steer the topic toward this year's Dungeon tournament, he suddenly noticed Apollo appearing among the crowd.
On the other side, as if they had arranged it beforehand, Aphrodite also appeared among the crowd.
The appearance of the two gods drew everyone's attention.
Unlike last night's opening ceremony, today was a brand-new day. In theory, the Twelve Heavenly Gods should no longer be as "idle" as they had been the previous night.
They should have new arrangements, or at least