"Huff… Sorry, Mr. Kahn, it was my fault before. I apologize. Even though we can't be sure yet of Poseidon's true goal, it's clear that if his plan succeeds, Asgard will suffer greatly. Please, Mr. Kahn, for the sake of Asgard's countless lives, help me!" Feeling the dark cosmo of the personality that had begun taking over her body and giving orders, Hilda took a deep breath and spoke to Josh.
"Fine, I accept your apology. But Your Majesty still hasn't figured one thing out—we are only trading partners, not some kind of charity group. The life or death of Asgard's people has nothing to do with me! If you want help, you must pay the right price!" Josh said coldly.
Unlike past deals, Josh's attitude toward Hilda wasn't friendly at all. Compared with his other main trading partners, Hilda's true self was far too righteous.
She wasn't as much of a saint as Athena's incarnation, Saori Kido, but she was still basically a symbol of justice. Her way of doing things was completely opposite to Josh, who only cared about profit.
So trying to win her over with kind words to strike a deal Josh wanted was not going to work.
If anything, he actually preferred to trade with her darker side.
Unfortunately, the trading system was bound to the soul. Hilda's evil side had no control over it. That meant Josh could only use Asgard's safety as leverage before their war with Sanctuary began.
Of course, once Hilda was freed, this might cause the trade channel to break off completely,
but at least for now, he could still get some benefits out of it.
For example, the basic methods of forging Cloths and the way to train Cosmo. Otherwise, judging by Hilda's past behavior, she might not have wanted to trade at all, and Josh would get nothing.
And after learning this was the world of Saint Seiya, Josh had an idea… if he could pull it off…
"What do you want?" Hilda sighed, knowing Josh wouldn't move without seeing real gain.
"The technology for forging Cloths, and the methods of training Cosmo," Josh demanded straight away.
"Fine! As long as you can free me, I will give them to you!" Hilda nodded without hesitation.
In the Saint Seiya world, Cloth forging and Cosmo training weren't really secrets. Any god or their chosen followers could get them.
But the strength of a Cloth didn't just depend on its materials or how it was forged, it depended on the constellation it was linked to, and the Cosmo of the one wearing it.
As for Cosmo, that was even harder. It required extreme talent, and a match with the Cloth. Without reaching the Sixth Sense, one was nothing more than cannon fodder. (TL/N: In Saint Seiya, the Sixth Sense (or Yishiki) is a fundamental extrasensory perception that allows a person to perceive and manipulate the universe's energy, Cosmo, beyond the five normal senses. It serves as the baseline for Saints, enabling them to perform superhuman feats such as telekinesis, illusions, and destroying matter at the atomic level. By awakening and attuning to the Sixth Sense, a Saint can harness their inner Cosmo to execute extraordinary acts)
And humans who could awaken the Sixth Sense were less than one in ten million.
The Seventh Sense was even rarer—across all the gods and their followers, fewer than a hundred had it. (TL/N: In Saint Seiya, the Seventh Sense, or "Miraculosity," is a state of complete mastery and awareness of Cosmo (the essence of your universe), granting the user "miraculous" abilities that defy natural laws, such as moving at light speed or creating absolute zero temperatures)
So Hilda didn't worry too much about these two things leaking out.
But just as she finished speaking, she saw Josh looking at her like she was a complete fool.
"Is there a problem?" Hilda asked, puzzled.
"Of course there is! What do you mean, 'once I free you, you'll hand it over'? How do I know you'll still keep your word after you're freed? And even if you do give me something, how do I know it's real?" Josh shot back.
"…You're overthinking. As Odin's representative, how could I lie about something like this?" Hilda's face darkened. "If you don't trust me, I can swear in Odin's name!"
She could tell—he was doubting her honor. As the queen who had protected Asgard for so many years, when had she ever suffered such suspicion and insult?
"Sorry, but before meeting you, I've already dealt with countless worlds and seen far too many tricksters—including gods. So, no, oaths mean nothing to me. You'll give me the forging method and the Cosmo training technique first. Once I test and confirm they work, then I'll help free you," Josh said with a shake of his head. "Don't tell me you don't know them—you're Odin's representative, of course you do."
"…And how do I know you won't break your word?" Hilda asked in a low voice.
"Do you have a choice?" Josh replied with disdain.
Hilda fell silent. He was right—she was the one asking for help. She didn't know Poseidon's fate, only that she needed to escape quickly.
"Fine, I'll tell you. I only hope you'll keep your word," she said after a pause.
Then, word by word, she carefully explained the two techniques to Josh.
"Good. Once I confirm them, I'll arrange for your release," Josh said with a satisfied nod.
"Please hurry! If Asgard goes to war with Sanctuary, who knows what disaster will follow!" While Hilda and Josh spoke, her evil side had already ordered the God Warriors to gather and had openly expressed her intent to declare war on Sanctuary.
Because of Hilda's unmatched prestige in Asgard, her followers—though shocked—did not question or oppose her. This only made the real Hilda even more anxious.
"I think a war between Asgard and Sanctuary might not be such a bad thing," Josh said with a smile, in sharp contrast to her worry.
"What do you mean?" Hilda frowned.
"It's simple. You can use this as a chance to stage a play with Sanctuary," Josh said, grinning.
"A play? You mean using the war as a cover to draw out Poseidon's schemes?" Hilda caught on quickly.
"Exactly. In this, you and Sanctuary share the same enemy. And you can also test Sanctuary's strength… If they turn out weak, then why shouldn't you replace Athena as Earth's protector?" Josh chuckled.
He knew full well that Asgard alone couldn't possibly stand against Sanctuary. But that didn't stop him from planting a seed of ambition in Hilda's heart.
Even if it failed, he lost nothing. But if it worked, maybe he wouldn't need to replace her as his trade partner after all.
Yes—ever since meeting Hilda, Josh had already been calculating how to switch her out as his trading partner.