Chapter 46 Enemies and Best Friends

He was the one who was truly infected by her.

Apollo was now frozen into an ice sculpture by Hermes with frost and snow, completely unable to move, and could only stare at her with eyes full of astonishment.

There was no anger in his light blue eyes, because even though she treated him so recklessly, he couldn't bring himself to be angry at her; all he felt was helplessness and indulgence.

He had long since accepted his feelings for her, but she seemed unaware of it.

“Hermes.” Apollo stared intently at the girl who always surprised him, even in the frigid temperature emanating from the power of the winter god. “Let me go.”

Let go of that bastard Apollo? No way!

He deserves to be taught a lesson so he knows that Hermes is not someone to be trifled with!

Hermes was furious when she recalled how Apollo had suddenly hugged her. Although she sometimes liked the God of Light like a pitiful big dog, that didn't mean he could go crazy on her anytime, anywhere!

"No, who knows what you might do next, dear Apollo?" Hermes chuckled and withdrew her scepter, no longer using it to gently tap Apollo's chest—oh, it was also made of ice.

"Weren't you scared, Pan?" She turned to her adopted son and asked with concern, "Don't worry, don't be afraid of Uncle Apollo. Although he looks super scary, Mother Goddess is much more powerful than him!"

"I will protect you forever, my dear Pan!"

Hermes deliberately added this last sentence, and her gaze also glanced meaningfully at a certain ice sculpture.

Instantly, Apollo became even angrier. If he hadn't been frozen by the frost and snow, his usually calm and indifferent face would probably have twisted into a grimace, and he would have grabbed that extremely arrogant goddess and given her a good lesson on the spot.

Unfortunately, just as she said, he was being held captive by her and was indeed no match for her.

Pan's handsome face was initially gloomy, his heart burning with rage because of the men who kept coveting his mother. But after his beloved mother said those words, his anger suddenly vanished.

Pan immediately relaxed his eyebrows, smiled, and his eyes curved into a smile, just like Hermes.

"Yes, dear Mother Goddess."

The strong and handsome goat boy walked up to Hermes and, in front of an ice sculpture and a mermaid prince who was just a backdrop, threw himself into her arms in a coquettish manner.

"You child..."

Pan rubbed against Hermes' neck and was pleased to have her gently stroke his head.

"Because you will always be by my side, you will always protect me, so I no longer feel afraid."

As he spoke, Pan slightly raised his eyes from an angle where Hermes couldn't see him, casting a provocative glance at the immobile ice sculpture of the God of Light.

—You? You mere Apollo wretch!

—Give up! Mother Goddess belongs to me, and you can never take her away from me!

Nestled in Hermes's arms, Pan triumphantly issued this silent declaration to his enemies, as if this were a war without gunpowder.

Apollo: "..."

He was getting angrier and angrier. Even if he was in charge of diseases, he would eventually get seriously ill from the anger caused by this mother and son.

No.

Apollo thought to himself.

He would never admit that Pan was Hermes' child, even if it were true.

Just then, the mermaid prince, who had been ignored for a long time, splashed the water a few times with his huge fish tail, successfully attracting the attention of the goddess of Olympus.

"Would you like to come to my house as a guest?" This time, Triton ignored them—except for Hermes. "Last time you came and went in a hurry, and as the prince of this sea, I haven't had a chance to properly entertain you."

Very well, after hearing this, Apollo and Pan's eyes were so dangerous that it looked like they were about to devour him alive at any moment.

But Triton simply stared intently at Hermes, who raised her eyebrows slightly upon hearing this; all he cared about was her answer.

From the day they first met, after she comforted him and helped him overcome his confusion and distress about his mother, he couldn't forget her.

Even after she completed her mission and left the sea, he waited on the shore every day, hoping to see her again.

Hermes had promised to come back, so Triton had been waiting there ever since.

She certainly did not disappoint him.

"Great!" Hermes flew over and excitedly embraced the beautiful and irresistibly kind mermaid prince. "Anyway, my itinerary for today has been changed to the sea, so please take me out for a fun-filled day in the ocean!"

"...!"

Triton was taken aback as she embraced him, and he stood helplessly before the goddess so close to him, under the increasingly dangerous gazes of the two male deities.

Hermes, however, paid no attention to the increasingly strange atmosphere and cheerfully raised her head, winking her right eye at him.

"You won't mind, will you, dear Triton?"

She did it on purpose.

Triton's body was strong and cold, and because he was born in the ocean, his whole body was covered in moisture. When you hugged him, it felt like being embraced by the sea.

Hermes had always liked this mermaid prince, who, despite his melancholy demeanor, was innocent and naive.

Her gaze lingered on the enormous fish tail behind him, appearing and disappearing in the air and water, its colorful scales shimmering like shattered fragments in the splashes and sunlight—a treasure unparalleled in the world.

—I want it, I want to own it completely.

Hermes couldn't control her instincts; her eyes were filled with greedy desire.

But Triton was unaware of Hermes' true feelings. He only felt that being held tightly by her was quite comfortable, which instantly lifted his depressed mood.

Her body was supple yet powerful, and when he was in close contact with her, he felt a seemingly inexhaustible natural force.

Triton controlled his erratic breathing and gently raised his hand to touch her shoulder, which was clasped with a green cloak.

“I don’t mind, Hermes.” Triton finally responded to Hermes. He had never frozen his heart towards her, so even his melancholy amber eyes softened towards her. “You are my… friend.”

In this boundless ocean, the mermaid prince was truly lonely.

Even though he had parents and so many sea creatures to keep him company, he was still so lonely that he wanted to die.

He never told anyone about his sad feelings.

He wanted to have a good friend with whom he could confide, someone with whom he could open his heart and rely on with peace of mind.

Now, Triton has found the friend he's always dreamed of.

"Not just today, but every day in the future, I can take you to explore my hometown."

Triton's words were so sincere, and even his tone was so gentle, that Hermes left his embrace contentedly.

As her warmth faded from her body, Triton moved her fins with a hint of disappointment, her clear eyes looking pitiful.

But it doesn't matter, because she's still here.

"Thank you, Triton, then we'll go right away—"

"no!"

Pan's words interrupted Hermes and broke the strange, ambiguous atmosphere.

Hermes and Triton both looked over and saw the red-skinned goat boy glaring at them angrily and resolutely, while the ice sculpture next to him had already melted.

Apollo, equally enraged as the goat boy, was drenched in snow and glaring coldly at the damned fourth man and the even more damned Hermes.

"What's wrong?" She even tilted her head at them with an innocent and puzzled look. "Why not?"

"Wait, Brother Apollo, why has the ice and snow on your body melted?"

Before Apollo could speak, Pan charged straight toward Hermes.

His angry and aggrieved expression made it seem as if he had been abandoned by his mother again—that she had betrayed him.

“Because I’m afraid of water, I’ll definitely drown if I go into the sea!” Pan hugged Hermes tightly around the waist and buried his head in her warm embrace. “Besides, there are a lot of ferocious monsters in the sea… How about we change our plans and go to Apollo’s bad luck—Apollo’s Uncle Delphi?”

Apollo: "...Tsk."

Don't think I can't tell you're trying to call me a loser, you little rascal.

However, in order to prevent Hermes from going to the sea, this guy would rather choose Delphi, and even came up with an extremely absurd reason.

Apollo suddenly found it somewhat amusing.

It was so funny that he burst out laughing.

Hermes, who was already annoyed by her unruly little brat, suddenly found an outlet for her anger, glaring at him with her emerald green eyes filled with irritation.

"What are you laughing at? I haven't forgiven you for your previous outburst!" Hermes pushed away the little brat snuggling against her, gritting her teeth as she said, "And how exactly did you escape from my ice and snow?!"

It seems her control over the power of the Winter God is not firm enough, as that bastard Apollo was able to break through it.

Damn it, next time I'll freeze him even longer, and throw the Apollo ice sculpture onto Mount Olympus to show all the gods what I'm made of!

Apollo seemed to sense Hermes' thoughts; the corners of his eyes turned up slightly, but the curve of his lips softened a little.

“Aren’t you supposed to be smart? Think it through yourself, Hermes.” Apollo glanced at the goat boy she had pushed away, and seeing his jealous expression, he was unexpectedly pleased. “Before that, there’s something else you should be interested in.”

"That's why I came here to find you."

Upon hearing this, Hermes bit her lip warily.

"Did you do something again that you need me to clean up your mess?"

Apollo: "...I remember it's always been the other way around; it's usually you who gets into trouble and I have to help you solve it."

She truly deserves the title of Goddess of Fraud and Theft; her invention is undoubtedly the ability to distort the truth and confuse right with wrong.

"What brings you here, God of Light?" Triton looked at the famous Apollo, who, like Hermes, was a chief god of Olympus, which made him feel an inexplicable sense of crisis.

Pan scoffed at Triton's question, then Hermes tapped him on the head with her scepter—quite hard.

Pan, clutching the large bump on his head, looked at Hermes with a pitiful expression: "Mother... Mother Goddess..."

“I haven’t even taught you a lesson yet, Pan,” Hermes said to the troublesome brat with a forced smile, a trait he seemed to have inherited from her. “What’s wrong with you, kid? You’re always getting me into trouble. Have you forgotten what I taught you?”

Hermes hated things beyond her control, and she worried that Pan would again incite her disgust and hatred as he had done with Periuse before.

If her hard-won goodwill towards Pan were to vanish completely because of this, then this time, she would definitely tear off her pretense of gentleness and completely sever ties with him.

She won't kill him, but she will punish him far more severely than just experiencing extreme heat and cold.

Only when Hermes has complete control over this child, who was powerful enough to devour and take away his mother's life even before he was born, can she truly find peace of mind.

Fortunately, Pan did not forget her teachings, and he learned a great deal of knowledge and wisdom from her.

“Of course I will listen to you, dear Mother Goddess.” He even became cautious in his expression and tone, quite observant of others’ feelings. “But I am a goat, I am timid, and I am really afraid of water.”

Look at this, it's that ridiculously absurd reason again!

Apollo was trying to suppress a laugh, Triton was frowning, and Hermes was speechless.

“You are not only a goat, but also an elf and a god.” Hermes had long seen through Pan’s scheming, but she really couldn’t understand why he would use such a scheme to prevent her from going to the sea. “Stop being willful, Pan. Even the Mother Goddess has her limits.”

Upon hearing the last sentence, Pan drooped his sheep ears in grievance and disappointment, almost as if his curved, sharp horns hadn't softened.

"Alright, Mother Goddess, it was my fault, please don't be angry..."

It seems the brat always wins the contest between the brat and his son.

Apollo recited the tongue twister in his mind as he spoke, regaining his sense of presence.

“What a coincidence, the monster Pan mentioned is the reason I came to find you, Hermes.” Apollo said with a half-smile, the snow water on his body had disappeared, and the cold feeling was finally gone. “Humanity has encountered a new enemy—the siren.”

When talking about 'enemies' and 'sirens', Apollo's gaze lingered for a moment on Triton, who had remained silent for a long time.

The mermaid prince lowered his eyes, seemingly deep in thought.

But that had nothing to do with Apollo, because Hermes was indeed intrigued by him.

"A siren?" Hermes's expression changed instantly. She frowned slightly, and her quick-thinking mind soon understood the situation. "An enemy of humanity... Are we going to go and talk to the Sea God again? To persuade him like last time?"

Hermes was indeed going to the sea, but not with Triton's help for a fun-filled adventure.

Apollo gazed at Hermes, whose expression was one of distress, a glint of light flickering in his light blue eyes, and the last remaining smile on his handsome face vanished.

He said calmly, "If you want to negotiate with the sirens or simply eliminate them, then you don't need to go to the Sea Emperor."

Negotiating with the sirens is possible, but what's with the idea of ​​just annihilating them? Wouldn't that be tantamount to trampling on the dignity of Poseidon, the Sea King, and angering him?!

Hermes twitched her lips, strongly suspecting that Apollo was deliberately teasing her.

At this moment, Pan interjected, "Then let's go and negotiate with the sea monster! I refuse to believe that the few of us can't subdue a mere sea monster!"

—Another one has appeared who has trampled on the majesty of Poseidon, the god of the sea!

Hermes was too lazy to hit Pan anymore, so this time she froze him into an ice sculpture on the spot to make him sober up.

Pan's Ice Sculpture: "...!!!"

Damn it, I clearly didn't say anything wrong, because Mother Goddess is the most powerful!

Damn it! I'm frozen into an ice sculpture, and it's all Apollo's fault!

Seeing that the little rascal Pan had followed in his footsteps and been frozen into an ice sculpture by Hermes, Apollo was amused, but he didn't show it, his face remaining calm and rational.

"Negotiations with the sirens won't work. They belong to the Sea Emperor, and even if there are any willing to listen, we can't possibly go to them one by one."

Hermes was somewhat troubled, and then her gaze fell on the mermaid prince who was still lying on the rock behind her.

I almost forgot, isn't there also a son of Poseidon here!

"What do you think of this, Triton, my dear friend?" Hermes asked, her face breaking into a bright, sunny smile again. "Humans are so pitiful, aren't they?"

“I truly feel sorry for them, including my Arcadians.”

"Humans are like my children."

It was like a gentle persuasion, because she was cunningly pretending again.

Apollo watched this scene silently, unwilling to admit that he too had been tricked by her in such a way.

Finally, Triton slowly raised his eyes and met the green eyes of the goddess who had captured his heart.

They are pure, clear, sincere, and truly beautiful.

“I will take you to my father,” the merman prince said, his eyes fixed on her. “I will help you, Hermes.”

Because he liked being treated as her best friend.

Before heading to the underwater palace, Hermes released Pan from his icy control.

The moment the Pan brand ice sculpture melted, Pan gritted his teeth and whispered to Apollo, who seemed completely unaffected, "You did this on purpose, didn't you? Poor Apollo."

Apollo remained remarkably calm in response: "You inherited her wisdom, and you also inherited my nickname for her, you brat."

Pan: "..."

He's determined to smash Apollo's temple when he gets back!

At the same time, Hermes glanced strangely at Pan and Apollo, whose atmosphere was extremely tense.

"What's wrong with those two today?" she wondered. "Could madness be contagious among gods?"

Triton paid no attention to the two male gods he instinctively loathed.

“Maybe.” Triton looked at Hermes beside him and took her hand for the first time. “Forget about them and come with me, my dear friend.”

He was the one who was truly infected by her.

“The ocean is always clear and beautiful, and you will love my hometown,” Triton said earnestly. “Just treat it as a game.”