◈ Chapter 35 - Story of the Gods
King of the gods.
The most powerful god.
Ruler of Olympus.
Who would defy the great name of defeating the son of Cronus and the Titan God-King who rules time?
Although many people forget about him because of his unique frivolous words and actions and his shameless flirtation that makes Hera furious.
Even if all the gods of Olympus except him joined forces, they could not overcome his thunderbolt unless the king of the sea and the ruler of the underworld joined forces.
Zeus always reigns from a high throne with his mighty power and protects all of Greece.
But who knows?
Even the king of the gods sometimes stays up at night due to nightmares and struggles in the pain of dreaming.
Although it seems to me that he is hiding this well.
When he was in a cold sweat and complaining of pain in his bedroom, it was Hera who stayed by his side and comforted him and led him back to his dreams.
Every time Zeus went out and showed off his loins as he pleased, and shamelessly gave her flowers and jewels as gifts, Hera felt like her whole body was going upside down.
Nevertheless, he was her only companion and her king who twice faced the world's crises with his whole body.
Just like Hermes, when Zeus cried out Typhon's name and trembled alone, Hera would quietly go into his bedroom, put him to sleep again, and quietly escape before the morning sun rose.
"If Zeus found out about Dianes' blood, he would be even more anxious than you."
"Yes? Oh, your father?"
That father is anxious.
Although Hermes could not dare to imagine, Hera gently shook her head and denied his words.
"That's what a king is. Aside from the fact that his power would be at risk, it would be more terrible for him than anything if there was even the slightest possibility that the Olympus he had built and the humans and gods living peacefully beneath it could fall at the hands of a disaster like Typhon. "
Although Hera was enraged by the fact that he continued his affair even though he had the goddess of domesticity as his companion.
The reason Hera tolerated Zeus and remained her queen even though she despised her own vocation was because the affection and responsibility he showered on Olympus and Greece as her king were sincere.
"He is different from my father, the King of the Titans. He always sits at the top of Olympus. "I am always happy to see so many people living freely."
Sometimes, when Hera went to visit her on the summit of Olympus, he would gently take her in her arms, look around the whole Greek world, and brag to her like a child looking at her treasure chest. .
Yes, Hera must have been captivated by those eyes and accepted his proposal.
Zeus mobilized his storm power to capture her and broke into her bedroom by transforming himself into an injured sparrow and holding it in her hands.
Hera was furious at the outrage, and while she repeatedly lowered her head in anger, Zeus did his best to explain the world he was drawing.
Unlike the previous world where the king of the Titans, their father Kronos, held everything in his hands and shook everything through tyranny and violence, a free world where gods, humans, spirits, and other races freely love, fight, get along, and circulate among each other.
In order to realize this, Hera, the most benevolent and just, was needed as his companion and mediator. Hera decided to become his companion despite his cuckoldry.
"So even if you tell him about Dianeth's lineage right now, he won't commit an act of harming that child."
However, you will feel anxious that much.
The first pureblood protogenoi to appear after Typhon's death.
He is now wearing a human body, but looking at his use of divine power earlier, it is likely that he will awaken to his divine karma much sooner before Dianeth's body decays.
And Zeus' anxiety as he looks at this will deepen, and the nights he suffers from Typhon's nightmares, like Hermes, will become even longer.
Even Hera couldn't have predicted what tragedy would lurk in the end.
"I wouldn't dare harm the old night mother's blood relatives directly. "There will probably be no end to tragedies around that area."
Zeus loved a free world, but he was merciless against threats that might harm that world. As expected, if Dianes is confirmed to be a destabilizing factor, he will do whatever it takes to send him into the abyss.
Hera also did not want the child she was so fond of, to the point of marrying her herself, to fall into such tragedy.
"But even so, it is clear that there is a high possibility that the child will become a threat in the future. "I also agree that we need to prepare for this."
"So think about it this way, how safe would it be if a child who might be a threat were to be with Olympus?"
A direction Hermes could not see, buried in the nightmare of Typhon.
If the blood relatives of the powerful Protogenoi loved Greece and this world as much as they did, they would be of great help in preventing the confirmed Gigantomachia.
"That's too much optimism!"
"You must have forgotten what kind of goddess I was before I took over my current business."
Hera smiled softly at Hermes, who stood up to her in an uncharacteristically strong manner, and boosted her luck.
At those words, Hermes also closed her mouth as she was about to say something passionately, and slowly recalled Hera's past.
Queen of the gods, protector of the home, goddess of beautiful eyes.
But the previous Hera?
"Ah...!"
Hermes stroked her forehead and her eyes widened.
Why did her head, which was always spinning so tightly, become so sluggish today?
The beginning of a new era in which the mighty Kronos was defeated and the Titanomachy was won.
Hera, the third daughter of Cronus and a natural magician, was a disciple of Gaia, a great mother goddess who mastered the secret arts of the earth and the underground, and a priest who served the protogenoi.
However, with the new age, the protogenoi gradually withdrew from this world, and Hera also naturally resigned from her position as a priest.
She accepted Zeus's proposal and passed on the earth deity to Demeter and the ancient mysteries and secret arts to Hecate, and instead accepted her deity as the queen of the gods and goddess who protects the home, the foundation of the whole world.
Therefore, she had a closer relationship with the descendants of Protogenoi than any of the current gods of Olympus, and among her children, she communicated directly with Nyx, the primordial night mother, and learned all kinds of old secret arts, and was nothing more than a disciple of Nyx. .
"Perhaps no one knows the old chestnut mother better than me."
In the mind of Hera, who smiles bitterly and remembers her old teacher, Nyx can be summed up as an unpredictable and mischievous person.
"Normally, he just quietly observes from the depths of the abyss, but out of nowhere, he makes even Cronus feel chills with his extraordinary pranks. However, it is not the person who hates us like Gaia and sends a disaster like Typhon."
Don't you know Nyx's descendants well?
Hermes also slowly nodded to her kind question.
The three goddesses of fate, the Moirae, are Zeus' advisors.
Her god of dreams, Hypnos, who taught Hera her own secret arts, tricked by Zeus's nightmares.
Eris is a villainess of jealousy and discord who brings competition and struggle to all things.
Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance, feared and revered throughout Greece for her stern judgment and revenge.
The primordial death Thanatos and her underworld boatman Charon were also descendants of Nyx.
Is that it?
Before their birth, Hemera, the now-vanished day goddess who passed on her divine vocation to the Titan gods Hyperion and Eos and later became the name of Hera, was also the daughter of Nyx.
"They all... Have great power, but rather than being greedy for the throne of Olympus, they enjoy their new job itself."
In particular, Thanatos was a god who occasionally encountered Hermes, who was also the messenger of the underworld.
Old Death, with red wings spread and black hair hanging down, for some reason, whenever he met Hermes, he would give him candy or snacks without saying a word.
When Hermes expressed his gratitude with a joke, he was a strange god who smiled without saying a word and then disappeared.
"I guess it's because they all resemble Nick's personality."
Should I say that he transcended even as a god?
The descendants of Nyx were those who enjoyed the way this world worked more than Zeus.
"Only Nyx knows the inside story, but first of all, the child named Dianeth is also the child of Nyx, who cherishes this world. So don't worry."
Hera smiled as she looked down at Dianes and Atalanta, who had finished kissing passionately.
"More than anything, how many children are there these days who love the world and people so much?"
Seeing Hera smiling at a human for the first time in a long time, Hermes asked out of curiosity.
"By any chance... Did Hera see this ahead of time and give that child her love? "Do you know that this child, Atalanta, is Artemis' daughter?"
"Well? We don't know yet. Not all lovers come under my protection. And Artemis..."
At Zeus's entreaties, Hera mustered up all her patience and granted her illegitimate son Zeus the throne of Olympus.
How dare she harm her blessed pair?
The Queen of the Gods only smiled, as if she found it ridiculous to even think about it.
"If Artemis wants to harm those children, I will try. "If you think you are going too far, I will personally break the spokes of the crescent moon."
◈ Chapter 36 - Interesting Guy
The secret conversation between the messenger and the queen ended with Hermes smiling stiffly in response to Hera's bloody threats and ultimately telling his father about the matter.
It is inevitable that a ray of uneasiness remains, but since the Queen of the Gods made such an assurance, it is difficult for Hermes to do anything to fight back.
However, Her Majesty the Queen must have noticed such anxiety, and sent Chiron to a treatment center where all the important figures of the current era were gathered, saying hello to Chiron.
"...Ugh"
"Please relax. Hermes"
"Chiron, that's so...Huu..."
Hermes took Chiron, who just happened to meet him in front of the treatment center, to a quiet warehouse nearby and told him everything that had just happened.
In response, Chiron also wiped his face and stiffened as if he was dizzy, but if the Queen of the Gods had ordered that, he also had nothing more to say.
First of all, no matter what the bloodline was, Dianeth was a disciple whom he personally led, and perhaps Nyx intervened and led from beginning to end.
However, as expected, even though her bloodline was extraordinary and shocking, in Chiron's eyes, Dianes was far from the seed of disaster.
Wasn't it all Dianes' work that led Atalanta back to the bright world and prevented Hercules from going on a rampage?
"So, let's meet in person and judge for ourselves."
"Ha.Haha, that's right. "It would make sense to do so..."
Chiron entered the treatment center, comforting Hermes, who was looking pale as if he was being dragged to Tartarus for some reason.
Hercules with his entire face covered in bandages and Atalanta aiming her bow at Hercules.
And in the meantime, Dianes, who was quietly distracted, greeted them.
"These guys!! Are you causing trouble again at the treatment center? "What kind of disgrace is this in front of a precious guest!"
It was a hero's forest that was always in turmoil, and Hermes went in and out of the forest to resemble a threshold.
Still, there is a degree.
Hermes quickly changed his complexion and smiled brightly, but Chiron had a duty to guide the disciples who behaved like this in front of the messenger of Olympus, not at any other time.
Above all, it was an opportunity to provide a space for Hermes to calmly treat Dianes alone.
"S-Master! Atalanta suddenly uses her bow...!"
"Master Chiron, that's not it!"
"...I tried to stop you."
Hercules and Atalanta made excuses to Chiron as if they were wronged, but the brave little hero and the beautiful huntress were quickly grabbed by the back and dragged away by their teacher.
"..."
"..."
The treatment center, which had been bustling as if a storm had raged, suddenly became quiet.
In the hospital room, where there was a strange, indescribable silence, there was a beautiful messenger of the gods with curly blonde hair.
Only the beautiful Little Hero with impressive black hair was left behind.
"H...Hello?"
"Ha, haha... Ah, hello?"
What should I do with this atmosphere?
The jokester of the gods, the genius of Olympus.
Hermes felt like he was going to have cramps from the cold sweat soaking his back and the slowly hardening muscles of his face.
At first glance, he was a small hero who seemed like a truly beautiful boy.
His black hair flowing softly as if it had been cut from the chestnuts, and even his pretty face that, if dressed well, would make you believe he was a woman. If you didn't know his origins, you would have suspected that he was a child of Aphrodite.
'If brother Apollo had seen it, he would have gone crazy.'
Hermes shook his shoulder as he remembered his half-brother, who had recently lost his lover in an unexpected accident and was stuck in his temple, tearing at the lyre in vain.
In any case, he is a proud messenger of Olympus.
As someone who watched Typhon's last days, I had the responsibility to find out whether this child would become the Red Fortune of Olympus or a disaster in the future.
After gathering his thoughts, Hermes opened the conversation with a bright smile that he called a disarming smile.
"Are you the new Dianes?"
"Greetings to the Messenger of the Gods, the Fastest God. "I am called Dianeth, who entrusted me to the Forest of Heroes."
Dianes, who calmly bowed her head and greeted him, stood a few steps away and made eye contact with him.
Certainly, he was an extraordinary child, even if he was not of that bloodline.
Regardless of his birth, he must have been young, but when Hermes came in, his black obsidian eyes did not lose their calm glow even in front of the god.
Now that I think about it, how is this child supposed to figure out the line?
'If he is Nyx's direct descendant, he can be said to be higher in rank than his father... But looking at it like this, it is clear.
This child, God, was not transformed or incarnated and bound. 'He's a real human being'
To be precise, is he a half-human, half-god with deep god's blood?
In any case, it was certain that when the Mother of Night sent that child up to this land of Greece, she made him a human being.
'But it's strange...'
Seeing it in front of me like this, I was able to understand why Hera recommended that I meet her in person.
Hermes' original job was to be the guardian god of travelers and pilgrims.
However, after the disaster of Pandora, the newly created humans became steeped in maliciousness, and travelers and pilgrims soon turned into thieves and fraudsters, and their believers also accepted them with a smile.
Hermes was still the protector of travelers, and he was also a traveler who wandered the world day after day.
When Hermes met those black obsidian eyes.
His new job whispered that the child in front of him was a wanderer from a farther and farther away place than any other traveler he had ever seen.
Even Hermes wearing Talaria cannot compare to his journey.
"Hmm, can I sit down for a moment?"
"Oh, I was rude to the customer in front of me. Sorry"
Meanwhile, as he watched Dianes offering him a seat, Hermes' interest slowly rose through the wariness that had filled his head.
From what I've heard, he has already seen the blood of Artemis at first glance, is a minor hero praised so highly by Ares and Poseidon, and is a descendant of the Protogenoi who has appeared for the first time in hundreds of years.
And his divine work whispered that he was a traveler who had arrived in this land of Greece from a faraway place that even Hermes could not have imagined.
'How on earth is that possible?'
Of course, it was meaningless to argue about something impossible since the original ministers had taken care of it.
Nevertheless, how can we see a wanderer exhausted from a long journey through the eyes of this young child?
Hermes was so curious that he couldn't hold back.
Dianes offered him a seat and set out fruit and steaming green water in front of him, like a host welcoming his guest.
"...This?"
"Ah, it's the tea I used to drink in my hometown. Yesterday, while chatting with Asclepius, there was a familiar herb, so I tried making it."
Hometown!
Hermes did not miss the way Dianes' pretty face turned faint as soon as those words were uttered.
According to what he found out, his hometown is Passos Island.
According to the knowledge of Hermes, who recently searched Passos, there was no culture in Passos where herbs were mixed in hot water like this.
In other words, the water made with this medicinal herb must be the culture of a distant place in his memories!
"Is this the first time I've heard that there was a custom in Pasos of serving water made with herbal decoctions?"
Hermes smiled sweetly and lifted the cup served to him, and Dianes, who was sitting across from him and putting her own cup to his mouth, smiled and looked at him.
"Because it's what I used to eat in my real hometown."
"Oh"
I once tried to guess what kind of reaction I would have, but was it actually I who revealed my true feelings?
Hermes couldn't help but laugh bitterly at the fact that those black eyes resembling obsidian were actually observing him.
"It looks like you probably did some background research on me... Instead of doing that, just ask me honestly."
Hermes' joy grew even greater at the recommendation of Dianes, who was outspoken and confident, but did not feel rude.
Humans before God are usually divided into three categories.
A believer who cannot raise his head in despair and fear.
A robber who holds his head high, saying that he will not bow down to God or anything else.
A hero who greets God or anything else appropriately, saying that he will die in hardship.
But this black-haired boy was a new type who did not fall into those three categories.
God or anything else, you are a preliminary god who faces you as you and I as me.
I felt like I could understand why Ares and Poseidon liked it.
First of all, I respect him and even have a certain fondness and respect for him.
He does not know the gods, but knows their power and prestige and respects them.
But that's it, and looking at Artemis' example and the way she is facing him now, if he crosses the acceptable line, he will probably be punished harshly.
Even considering his lineage, the wound Artemis suffered on his shoulder could be said to be a small reward for crossing the line.
"You're the kind of hero who made Artemis suffer. "It's a significant distribution."
"Oh, is that goddess still sick? "Well, if you don't mind, please ask me how I'm doing later."
"Giggle giggle. "It should be like that."
He's also witty in his own way.
In Hermes' mind, the wariness gradually disappeared and instead he was filled with new friends and interest in a world he did not know.
◈ Chapter 37 - A Pretty Good Friend
If there is one absolute rule in the long history of the Heavenly Demon God religion, which spans 10,000 years, it is the rule of the fittest and the strength of the strong.
Only the strong reign, and only the strong rule, and as the ruler of Sura-do, the land of endless war, Asura's agent, he becomes the absolute ruler who will subdue the hypocritical political faction that has occupied the vast and rich central land.
Therefore, most demonic cult leaders were possessors of powerful martial arts that would dominate the world, but how did this person actually become the cult leader? There were also people who raised questions.
A representative example would be my master of stealth and silver art, Ghost God Tu (鬼車神偸).
As if riding a carriage of Yeomra, there is no place in the world that he cannot enter, whether it is the Daeseogak of Gupailbang or the Bigo of the Five Generations, there is no place he cannot enter. The infamous great thief.
He said that in his old days, he went into the hidden vault of the old file room and swept up all kinds of treasures.
He sneaked into the bedroom of Kangho Jeil-mi, the flower of the Namgung family, and bossed her around.
When I trained with him, he would tell me strange stories that made people confused as to whether this was really the leader of the Demonic Cult or a first-class Hao Mun sect.
However, when I look for and open his hidden archive of 100,000 Daesan, which he told me was a graduation gift. The disciple was simply moved and moved by the great teacher's grace.
"So, the moment you lift the last move and open that door!"
"Moment?"
"...What can I say? The golden Buddha statue, or rather the statue of a god, that was said to have been brought by esoteric Buddhist monks from beyond Daesan hundreds of years ago was looking down at me! "Below, dozens of sacred items and a mountain of gold and silver treasures are dazzling in the light of the night pillars embedded in the ceiling!"
"Hiya...! "My mouth is watering just thinking about it... No, it's fantastic!"
Just as I thought.
I nodded to Hermes, who was grinning quietly and shaking his feet with excitement at the story of the Giant Ears, just as I thought.
When this blonde curly god named Hermes ran into me.
Although it was only for a moment, the emotions that crossed his face were clearly wariness and embarrassment.
In addition, I had a quiet chat with Chiron instead of coming in right away, and Hermes' reaction to the medicine cart I brought out as a test.
Passos was a provincial island city located a bit far to the north, so it was rare for Hermes' believers to stop by on pilgrimages, and the main religion also tended to be to Ares, the god of war, and Poseidon, the god of the sea.
However, when I presented the Joongwon, or Shingang-style, medicine tea, the response that came out was that there was no custom like this in Passos?
This quick-witted god had researched me quite thoroughly, and as a result, he must have figured out something about me that I didn't know about and wanted to take a look at me.
I wondered if the King of the Gods had sent me to watch or take coordinates after Artemis saw the blood on my hands.
In that case, rather than interviewing him directly, he would have observed from afar and then returned.
'Then Chiron? Actually, I was very surprised that it was comparable to Hercules.'
If Chiron had requested it, I could understand it to some extent.
In the first place, in a dream, I received an oracle that seemed unknown to me, so much so that it came to faraway Passos and brought me back.
If you are close to Hermes, you may be able to ask him to gather information.
If, while collecting information at Chiron's request, he found out a secret about me and approached me with caution, what would that secret be?
'Is this information about my blood?'
The lightning-like power shown by Hercules, the power that should probably be called divine power, is the exact opposite of that, but it is my divine magic that shows a similar ability.
And above all, if I recall the gigantic being beyond the fog that came to me in my dream when I fainted earlier, there is a high probability that it is not my mother or father, but it is not the god of Olympus.
Then who is it?
Who is it that the god who laughs so cheerfully at the anecdote I told about returning home makes me, who is still weak, wary?
The answer was my purpose in generously revealing the story of my past life.
Even if that wasn't the case, to be honest, Hermes was a pretty good opponent.
When speaking, he speaks; when listening, he listens, concentrates well, and reacts well.
How much I was tormented by twelve seemingly young people who were thousands of years old.
Among them, there were people like Gwangpungsinchang or Manghyangguieum who showed the qualities of truly respectable teachers.
Most of them were old people who were tired of the boring life of the third world, dominated by infants, and who would recite latte stories from the past whenever they saw me.
If he had become a member of the Demonic Cult, or at least a member of the martial arts world, that single story or word would have been a precious secret story of the martial arts world.
At that time, just before I died and crossed the three paths, I was a poor Korean who was kidnapped after witnessing the grim reaper in charge being stabbed.
I had to relive the experience of dealing with truth-tellers during my part-time job in the past and listen with all my might until I memorized all the boring stories.
If you doze off or lose your attention even a little, the teacher punches you right away, so it can be said that these were truly bloody days.
"...So I returned with military funds to fight against the corrupt cult leader's family and a spirit to gift to my followers who would later become the Four Heavenly Kings."
"Hiyaa! It was a great story. I can't believe there was such a history in a land I didn't know about.
"If I get a chance later, I definitely want to visit."
"If your wings will guide you to that land, then name me or your name to the million demons who dwell beyond the hundred thousand mountain peaks. "They will probably treat you very kindly."
Surprisingly, Hermes seemed to believe everything I told him about the Jungwon martial arts team.
Compared to Greece during the mythical era, not only the Republic of Korea where I lived, but even the martial arts world of Jungwon is a story from the far future.
I started the story by roughly revealing that I was a person who had crossed over from another world.
I was a little worried that this god would actually believe this, but fortunately, Hermes was willing to listen to the fact that it was a story from another world.
Naturally, I was talking about the great thief Gwigeoshintu, who robbed the entire midfield, and his story.
"If that happens, I will definitely do as you say. "I'm sure if this new business becomes easier someday."
Hermes was happy just thinking about it, like a child who heard that a gift was being delivered.
"But you take it lightly after hearing that I am a soul from another world?"
"What? "This was done not by anyone else but by the night of the beginning, so what could be impossible?"
Bingo.
Was it worthwhile to work hard to solve the story? Hermes blurted out the answer I wanted to a lightly asked question.
"The night of the beginning?"
When I pretended not to notice and tilted my head, Hermes chuckled.
"How do you feel about your hard work telling the story of your hometown and the great thief?"
This.
The messenger spirit with attractive golden curly hair raised the corners of his mouth, as if it was a small revenge for my earlier deception.
"As an answer to the boldness of daring to compete with God and to a strange and surprising story that has never been heard anywhere else in the world. "I'll give you one chance."
"What if you say it's an opportunity?"
"This is an opportunity to ask a question to the messenger of the gods who knows nothing about Greece."
Does this mean it's my turn to take the test?
Hermes smiled softly and held out his hand to me, speaking in a dramatic tone like a skillful theater actor.
"Hmm..."
"Just say it. From the most beautiful woman in the world to a mountain of gold and silver treasures that are no less than the notes of the mysterious thief you spoke of! Even delicacies that cannot be found even if you search all over Greece and the sea! "I'll tell you anything."
The Twelve God Demons were the most powerful cult leaders in the history of the Heavenly Demon Church.
These are the Twelve Gods of Olympus who rule over Greece, which is full of all kinds of monsters and heroes.
If there is one thing that powerful beings who have lived for such a long time have in common, it is that they pursue their own fun in everything they do.
Starved for stimulation, whether it was different from what they expected or not, they enjoyed seeing other people's reactions, seeking entertainment even in small things like this.
Look at that pretty god.
Those bright eyes are slyly smiling as if they know what questions I'm going to ask, but they're also thinking about how I'm going to answer and cause trouble!
The knight, a deceiver by birth, declared as a messenger to my father, Zeus, the king of the gods, that he would not tell lies, but would not tell the whole truth. What more should I say?
However, I wasn't about to miss this opportunity by asking the question he expected.
"Then let me ask you a question."
"Whoa, calm down. Did you think about it well? Just once. As far as that question is concerned, I will not mix any lies. "How you decide that question is up to you."
"..."
At first glance, it seemed like God was worried about the young hero who would act recklessly over a precious opportunity, but this was written in his eyes.
'Honey' 'Jam!'
'Anyway, these seemingly strong young people...'
Even as I internally shook his head, I refined my clothes, looked straight at him, and nodded.
"All right. Then, I will ask the Great Commander of Olympus, the Lord of Caduceus, who knows everything in the world."
"Yes, I am listening. "Young believer"
You hedonistic trickster bastard.
Let's see what you think.
"Who is the one who sent you, who protected me and Atalanta just now?"
◈ Chapter 38 - Victory of the Heavenly Demon...?
"..."
"..."
Hermes frozen with a bright smile.
Looking at this, I internally shout "Nice".
The hospital room at the treatment center was filled with silence, filled with all sorts of emotions.
"Hmm?"
"Why are you doing that?"
As I smiled innocently with a face that knew nothing, Hermes tried to tilt his creaking head.
"Well, so... Aha! Have you ever asked where Perseus's treasury is?
Hey. That friend was also a truly great hero. "The sword that cut off Medusa's unfortunate head..."
"The person who sent you seems to be quite a high-ranking person?"
Would this sly messenger spirit change his words so obviously, instead of trying to hide it like a worm jumping over a wall?
Honestly, I was able to get a rough answer just from that response, but I decided to go a little further.
"I don't think it's Styx's oath. "If I had been in a situation where I shouldn't have said anything, I would have messed up even this and made people worry."
If you make a joke like that, you could end up in big trouble if the news gets to the person in question later.
Even his wit and deception skills may not work, or even if they do, there is no way to turn things around, so he's an opponent you can't even think about engaging in a strategy with.
"Well, that thing over there..."
"That means that my issue is a very serious one between him and Hermes.
It was even confirmed that the person who decorated Atalanta beautifully and gave her the unknown elixir was the same person who sent you."
To be honest, anything related to Atalanta was half a gamble.
Asclepius also had a few drops of the elixir left in the bottle, as well as the elixir given to him by Atalanta, who highly praised it as a magical power far beyond the level of modern medicine, and the extraordinarily beautiful and fitting twilight-colored Hitaion of Atalanta who brought it.
After all these things happened one after another, a messenger from the gods suddenly came running to the treatment center instead of anywhere else?
Aren't there too many coincidences?
So, just in case, I mixed it up with one question.
As expected, this was bingo.
"If the one who adorned Atalanta, the one who gave her her elixir, and the one who sent her were all different people. There's no way you'd be this embarrassed."
If he had played a hand or helped Atalanta, the reaction would have been different.
Maybe they'll smile and sarcastically say that only one answer is possible.
Wouldn't they have tried to trouble me with another bizarre riddle?
"Aha..."
"What is it again?"
"I guess he was intuiting the battle between me and Hercules?"
In other words, his eyes may still be looking towards this place.
That's why Hermes couldn't play with words, even if it was just to avoid the immediate situation.
"Now, shall we summarize? You, the messenger of the gods and the proud first among the twelve gods of Olympus, cannot help but feel uncomfortable talking about it, and you cannot turn it into a riddle about it.
"If you are satisfied with the battle between me and Hercules and are willing to give me a beautiful woman and a magic elixir..."
Sometimes, it is neatest and most convenient to crush everything with great force.
In fact, after I integrated all of the Heavenly Demon Church under my command and began the conquest of the Central Plains, no one dared to confront me directly. That's obvious.
However, before I got to that position, I had to face and deal with a lot of troublesome people.
In particular, Gwihyeonsa, who encouraged me to stay up all night answering questions to test me before becoming my advisor, and Shin Jaegui, who gave me a headache with a random riddle during the meeting of the Twelve Gods, etc.
And when they met and talked to Hermes, they could see that he was one of their kind.
He is a somewhat twisted person who enjoys dramatic fun by tricking people with riddles and using tricks to make fun of them.
And the best way to deal with such a human being.
It is refuted in exactly the same way.
'Of course, this time Hermes was almost as if his hands and feet were tied tightly.'
It might offend Hermes, but the reason I pushed him like this was to drive a wedge in him.
"...I guess I should change the question."
"What?!"
Like Buddhism's Zen questions or Socrates' midwifery, I tried to organize it by explaining it to Hermes without realizing it.
It was as if the answer was already there.
'...Not Zeus'
Not Zeus.
I haven't seen Zeus in person yet, so I'm not 100% sure.
If Zeus had been watching me, he wouldn't have spun around like this.
Amman In modern times, it turns out that by 21st century standards, the character Zeus was portrayed as a lustful and somehow snobbish person, but he was in fact a king in mythology.
The first farmer, the god of time, the most powerful god who overthrew Cronus, the titan god.
In addition, Hermes is like his personal messenger, and Hermes is also proud to be Zeus' messenger and is a close friend of Zeus' close associates who also accompanies him on his secret journeys.
If he had come by Zeus' order, he wouldn't have been so uncomfortable with me in the beginning.
From the very beginning, he must have proudly stated that he came at Zeus's command.
And that person, a libertine of all ages and genders, dressed up a pretty girl like Atalanta and sent her to me?
The story that Saekma shaved his head and took refuge in Buddhism would be more credible.
But is this another Olympian god?
That's definitely not the case.
The opponent is a rare thief god who robbed the ranch of the sun god Apollo as soon as he was a toddler and even destroyed the evidence.
Even if he was one of the twelve gods of Olympus like Amman, it made no sense for him to be this uncomfortable.
It is also an ambiguous situation for this busy messenger god to come in person at the request of Ares, Poseidon, and Artemis, who live and die with him, who have already done some well-liked works.
Then there is only one god left.
"Queen of the gods, mistress of Olympus, three daughters of Kronos"
"Hekkuk! Hekkuk! Hekkuk!"
Every time I recited the nickname of the goddess who was watching me, which I was about 50% sure of, the blonde curly god started shaking with hiccups.
After all, the thing that is scarier to an office worker than the chairman is the chairman's wife.
"...I don't need to hear the answer."
As I laughed at the rare sight of the hiccups of a noble god, Hermes quickly came to his senses and grabbed his head.
"Hey, this, this! My, I! "My reputation as the trickster of Olympus has been put to shame like this!"
Honestly, Hermes was at a very disadvantage in this debate(?).
Because I was struck by a subject that cannot be easily discussed, and from a completely unexpected angle.
Of course, it was his fault for lowering his guard first and allowing free fire.
If it had been any other Greek hero, it might have been different, but the opponent was me, so it was natural for him to be in such trouble.
"Yes, that's right! Brother Ares, Poseidon! Even Hera thought you were so beautiful! "He couldn't stand seeing me so scared and struggling that he asked me to come see you in person!"
Hermes jumps into the bed next to him and cries as if he is desperate.
However, without the strength to laugh at that sight, I held my head at the fact that it had finally become clear.
"Hera, Hera-sama..."
If Zeus in my knowledge is the king of the gods and a libertine.
Hera was the queen of the gods and the scourge of heroes.
Her husband can't control her, but instead of treating her mistress and her children horribly, isn't that the number one thing a hero or demigod should avoid?
But such a goddess is paying attention to me?
"I'm not going to be murdered later, right?"
"Awful?"
"It means dying a terrible death."
First of all, looking at the divine magic power, which is the exact opposite of Hercules' divine power, it is almost certain that I am not of Zeus' bloodline.
It was clear that the Queen of the Gods was favoring me for some reason, seeing as she had personally decorated Atalanta and even given her the elixir that Asclepius had praised.
However, if we consider that in this world of mythology, the favor of the gods usually has a bad ending for the heroes, even though the general public may not know it.
The fact that the wife of the Supreme God showed favoritism was quite embarrassing to me.
"...What are you saying? "Among today's heroes, he is one of the rarest to receive much blessing from Her Majesty the Queen."
Hermes got up from the bed, pouting and grumbling, and sat down to face me again.
"Huh... I never thought they would come in and stab me in that direction. Are you not even curious about your blood?
"Of course I knew I would ask that question, and I put a lot of thought into preparing the riddle of conversion."
I knew it.
Hermes knew about my lineage.
However, I have just met the being who created my body.
Investigating and exploring its existence was my training in itself.
Rather than wasting this golden opportunity like cheating on the answer sheet, the priority was to explore the unknown being that was just around the corner and take a hit at the sly messenger spirit who reminded me of these old friends.
Honestly, it was kind of fun.
"Getting to know him is both his little pastime and my task.
In addition, the guardian spirit of some beautiful travelers also dropped a big clue."
"Oops...! "I underestimated you too much!"
Even though he hit his forehead as if he had taken an exaggerated blow, Hermes did not seem to be hurt.
"Are you not offended?"
"Huh? I? "What could feel bad?"
In response to my question, Hermes shrugged his shoulders as if he was amused.
"Whether they are humans or heroes, it is better than those who are surprised and grovel at the name of God.
It's much funnier to have a guy who asks you to play like this. In that sense, you are a really interesting guy!"
Hermes was smiling brightly, like a professional gamer who narrowly lost an exciting game.
"Then I'm glad."
"Yes... Her Majesty was right. "I was anxious for no reason."
Hermes nodded as if he had confirmed everything and looked somewhat refreshed.
"Just as you said, the Queen of the Gods, the Goddess of Beautiful Eyes, took care of you.
"If you didn't know, I'll be sure to thank him later."
"Of course, if you offer an offering that you like, will your head break?"
"It's a sacrifice where the head is broken when offered... It's a new expression, isn't it? Fun!"
As expected, is the 21st century's canyon-style vocabulary a bit excessive in the era of cleanliness, where the best swear word is something that a crow will bite?
Seeing Hermes getting excited like a elementary school student getting excited about swearing, I decided to be a little more careful.
"Well, let's see... Hera accepts without rejecting any offering made with sincerity.
However, the poetry you posted on Olympus is popular these days. "I'm going to write something fancy, like I posted it to my father, and I'm going to kill a fat cow and post it together."
"...A poem?"
Did I suddenly write a poem?
As I thought about it for a moment, Hermes frowned as if she was dumbfounded.
"Why, wasn't there a poem written with a wild boar in Brother Ares' temple and a poem written with a poem written to Zeus, the father?"
"Ah! That? No, why is that?"
The first time I went to the temple of the war god Ares, I had that thought.
I may be like this now, but in my past life, I was a Heavenly Demon of the Heavenly Demon Church and the high priest of Asura, the god of war and the god of war.
They say the world is different, but when you go to say hello to the god of war in this land, it is not good for the spirit to just throw down an offering.
So, I appropriately applied the Cheonmarok and ancestral rites that had been memorized in the past and offered them along with the offerings.
That's popular in Olympus?
I have a feeling that something big is happening somewhere I don't know...
"Keuuuuu...!"
"Hoo...?"
As I ponder this mysterious feeling of something very, very strange.
Hermes, with a playful expression on my face, secretly dropped another bomb.
"... What about the news that the Moon Goddess, filled with rage, ran to my brother's temple with tears in her eyes?"
"Yes!?"
Holy shit.
The offering wasn't the problem now.
◈ Chapter 39 - The Riddle of Hermes
Shit.
I gave literally and received with words.
With one light jab, you can land a one-inch punch straight away.
This time, as I was at a loss for words, the trickster god once again began to scoff with amusement in his eyes.
"Kihihihi... Why are you doing this? "Is your face white?"
"Now we don't know when or where an orbital bombardment will come. "If it were you, wouldn't your head hurt?"
I shot him a glare with such deep intentions, but Hermes was shaking in the air in his winged shoes.
He just held his stomach and giggled.
"Originally, Apollo and Artemis have a special friendship because they didn't have easy childhoods, right? "Your worries right now are not in vain."
"That's it..."
To be honest, the information Hermes gave me was only very helpful.
Where else in the world would one hear news of the distant kingdom of the gods?
That face that comes and goes before my eyes. The problem is that obnoxious teabagging that says this is the so-called bad face.
"Wow... If I tease you any more, I'm going to explode. "Are you that worried?"
"It was only a few days ago that I went for a walk in the forest and almost got my head blown off by Moonlight Lightyear."
"Light years to the moon... Puheup! Puhahahaha!! Oh my god!"
Hermes laughed heartily at the nickname I gave him, but isn't this really the work of a light year or a brat?
Oh my god, he's not embarrassed that he got hit by a headshot without saying a word first, but he actually ran up to my brother and said, 'Oppa! Casting 'He hit me!'?
'The reason Atalanta was so shameless was because she took after my mother...'
Young master! Mencius!
You were right!
People can be taught and rehabilitated, but animals that bite people have no choice but to be struck down!
'Should I have patched things up and just kept an eye out?'
Still, he's a god, so he won't die, but wouldn't it be okay to put his hands on him and make him crazy?
If he was going to touch it anyway, he should have been thrown in a corner of the room and begged for it...
'If that were the case, it would have been lightning instead of sunlight.'
Thinking about it again, it was probably the best I could do at the time, but I couldn't help but think about screwing it up when I had the chance.
"Ugh... That's not what I'm thinking right now, is it?"
"Myo?"
"...You said you had to end up with the real Artemis in the forest back then?"
After all, he is a god who has earned his place as one of the twelve gods of Olympus thanks to his quick wit.
I saw exactly what was going on.
However, I couldn't reveal that I wanted to mock a god of the same status, so I smiled and shook my head.
"No way, I wanted to punch the face of that handsome young man who was flying around and giggling like crazy in front of me."
"Eh..Huh?! "Me so cute?!"
...Should I kill Dianes?
Be patient, the heavenly devil within me.
Even though she was handsome, she was furious at the charm of this black man, but she could barely bear it with all the patience of her three lives.
Honestly, if I were to regain the inaction of my past life, a bullet would have been blown away from my shiny forehead.
"Okay... What should I do?"
It's just a fly, but he's still a god, so is his evaluation poor?
As if it was just an immature kid running around the room, I started to think of a solution.
'Should I at least go into training right now? If you get poison from Asclepius and Asclepius and switch to producing poison... But if you absorb the poison like that, you will have a hard time raising your level later...
Still, you have to be alive...'
"Keuhum!"
"...What is it?"
"Therefore. What are you worried about? Right now, before my eyes, there is the god of resourcefulness and intelligence who defeated Apollo without saying a word!
Even oh my! That God is so merciful that he never forgets the one opportunity he declared!"
Wisdom and intelligence are a thing of the past, and you wouldn't know it if he were the god of fraud and trickery.
However, what the blonde curly said made sense.
In the myth that I remember, Hermes stole all of Apollo's cattle, but in exchange for his favor and gave Apollo a lyre as a gift, Hermes was given the title of God of Herding, so there may be something clever about it.
"Well, should I at least write down a poem like Hermes said?"
"Hey, it's weak. "No matter how much Brother Apollo praised your poetry and promised to meet you later, it is not as great as my brother's love for you."
Looking at Hermes shaking his head as if he was tired of thinking about it, I had to pass on this one.
From the beginning, my teacher, Neungseohwa, also told me about the mindset when composing a poem.
Poetry written in an old manner is worse than the noise on the roadside, so he advised us not to let go of the brush when inspiration strikes, but not even to sharpen the ink if we are not moved by it.
In the first place, the poetry that was posted to the Temple of Ares and the Temple of Zeus came out of my own accord, reminiscent of old times. Even if I force myself to use it, the bard's guardian deity won't be convinced.
"And if you're going to ask me for an answer, use the opportunity I've officially given you. "Where else are you trying to sneakily ask for an oracle for free?"
"Tsk"
Did you notice?
The teachers, however, gently scratched the itch and opened their mouths in a positive manner when I asked them questions.
As expected, it was not an easy opponent.
"Then, I formally ask Hermes for an answer. "How can I escape the wrath of the god Apollo?"
Asking God for an answer could be said to be asking for an oracle in his own way, so he knelt on the floor and showed his respect.
Then Hermes, grinning with satisfaction, crossed his arms and spoke in a dignified tone.
[Okay, traveler from a far away place. I will bless your new journey and teach you how to avoid the wrath of the sun.]
Hermes, who exudes divine power so powerful that you can't even think of him as a light god.
No matter how friendly and light his appearance was, he was still one of the great gods of the mighty myth called Olympus.
[Follow the story of a child born without the help of a midwife and how he obtained a new job to find the answer.
If you show the answer to the sons of Hephaestus located deep in the forest where heroes grow here, the way will be opened.]
"...What?"
I knew it would be like this.
When I asked about the word trust, it turned out to be true.
Hermes, who was emitting divine power from his entire body after saying something incomprehensibly, was smiling in satisfaction.
[The oracle is over! My karma bestowed by the Queen is over. Please stay safe until we meet again! A new friend I met after a hundred years!]
"No, wait! "Some hint...!"
-Woe!
Before I could catch her, Hermes had disappeared along with a bright light, leaving only a playful wink.