"Did I hear that right? You were actually asking for my opinion?"
A'e was quite surprised. Russell had always done things his own way and never handed the initiative to anyone else. Why had he suddenly changed?
"Don't underestimate yourself. You can do it."
Russell said seriously, "I need you to think with an ordinary person's brain for a moment. Do Silver Cloths and Bronze Cloths really need to appear?"
A'e rolled her eyes. After pondering for a moment, she said, "You wore the Sun God Battle Armor and defeated Poseidon alone, while the Golden Cloths drove back Hades. If Silver and Bronze Cloths appear as well... that would be very bad. You'll become a thorn in all the gods' eyes. Even Zeus won't help you."
"That makes sense."
Russell nodded. "In that case, I'll start designing the two kinds of Cloths now. Once the gods deliver the forging materials, I'll get straight to work."
"Hey, were you even listening to me?"
"Of course. It's not like you're mute."
Russell began sketching designs. Seeing the anger on A'e's face, he tried to comfort her. "Don't be mad. I'm not making fun of you. I was just indecisive and wanted to use your clever little brain to rule out the wrong options."
"..."
The more she listened, the angrier she became. A'e couldn't be bothered with Russell anymore and turned the water mirror toward the east of the Sanctuary to see how the other trial-takers were doing.
The chances of becoming a Saint Seiya were far too slim. A'e didn't think anyone in this group would successfully reach the summit.
Taking Perseus as an example—assuming he was the reference point, the standard, the threshold—anyone chosen by a Golden Cloth had to be a Half-human, Half-god.
A'e did not say this aloud.