Chapter 60 Hera's New Mission

...Alright, the god of prophecy resigns himself to fate.

Hermes' feelings were extremely complicated as she returned to the Queen's Palace.

After all, the last time she came here, she disguised herself as Hebe to deceive Hera, but was exposed and witnessed Hephaestus plotting to kill Hera, but in the end she managed to resolve all of them.

But this time, Hera—the queen with a crown of power whose eyes often concealed ambition and desire—would not summon her and Apollo in front of Zeus merely for amusement.

Not to mention that there were some unspeakable secrets between Apollo and Hera, which began when he obeyed Hera's orders to bring Hephaestus back from Thetis.

Hermes gazed upon Her Majesty the Queen of the Gods, seated on the golden throne atop the ten-tiered staircase, flanked by Hebe, the goddess of youth, and Iris, the goddess of the rainbow.

When Hebe looked at her sister Hermes, whom she had once admired, a glimmer of light flashed in her eyes, but it was only for a moment.

Immediately, Hebe lowered his head, making Hermes realize that the other party definitely had some unspeakable secret.

At the same time, the Queen of Heaven spoke.

“You should know why I have summoned you here today.”

A graceful and noble woman sits on a golden throne. She does not hold a scepter, a symbol of power, but her index finger, which is constantly tapping the edge of the throne, is adorned with a rare and exquisite diamond ring.

As she spoke, her piercing golden eyes glanced at Hermes with an air of menace.

She is clearly a goddess with beautiful eyes like a bull's, but her personality is not at all like that of a gentle bull.

Hermes thought to herself, "If I hadn't seen through Gaia's true nature, I wouldn't have thought that Hera might have a close relationship with Gaia."

Apollo glanced sideways at Hermes, who remained silent beside him.

He calmly replied to Hera: "As you said, Your Highness, we have completed the task you assigned us."

Hermes: "..."

What is this? A mission?

Or was it a task assigned to them by Hera?!

Could it be...

Hermes' heart skipped a beat as an unbelievable guess popped into her head.

She couldn't help but turn her gaze to Apollo, whose face remained expressionless.

Could it be that Apollo's trip to Cilicia that day was at Hera's request...? No, that's too absurd!

She always thought Apollo was doing it for her.

Hermes' already less-than-ideal mood plummeted even further.

After all, on that day, she stole the Thunder Scepter from Cilicia, which had been stolen for reasons unknown, right under the nose of a monster whose face could not be seen.

She could tell that the scepter belonged to the old man and was genuine, so she couldn't help but swallow it.

And this may be exactly what Hera wanted.

Just then, the satisfied voice of the mistress of heaven drifted over:

“Although your biological mother was of lowly status, I am glad that you made the right choice to become my children,” Hera said with pleasure, her long, beautiful fingers no longer tapping the armrest of the throne. “The Moileans always lament the impermanence of life. They are sensitive and tender-hearted. I think you might go to the Underworld and consult them carefully when you have some free time.”

Just tell her and Apollo to go find the three Moilei to resolve the matter directly, instead of bringing up all this unnecessary stuff, and there's no need to drag their mother down with you.

Hermes was completely speechless. Sometimes she really hated her own charming and shrewd persona, otherwise she wouldn't have ended up being ridiculed in this way.

Fortunately, I managed to drag someone down with me.

Hermes looked up again at Apollo, who had been implicated by her countless times, and a hint of schadenfreude crept onto her smile.

—Dear Brother Apollo, even if you are the god of prophecy, please accept your fate. No matter what, you cannot escape my shadow!

"in addition."

Hera paused for a moment, then turned his gaze to his silent daughter, Hebe, who was standing beside him.

The emotions woven into that were ambiguous, much like the undercurrents surging within her heart.

“I hope you all understand with whose permission you have gained your current status and power. Today’s battle was not fought perfectly; I thought you could have done better.”

"Therefore, going to the Moilei is my last chance for you."

Upon hearing this, Hermes struggled to control the sudden surge of fear and uncertainty within her.

Sure enough, she realized as soon as she stepped into the palace of the goddess of love and beauty that this was an elaborate gamble. Moreover, the beginning and end of this gamble were not arranged by Hera beforehand.

Hephaestus, who was summoned back to Olympus by Hera and secured a high position, would certainly be one of Hera's pawns. According to her judgment, the unrestrained Aphrodite had a complicated relationship with Zeus, and Hera must have long regarded Aphrodite as a thorn in her side, otherwise she would not have agreed to let her marry her son Hephaestus.

But Hera's other son, Ares, broke up with Aphrodite the day after she married Hephaestus and was caught red-handed by the gods.

Is this really just a coincidence?

Hermes didn't believe it; she was just as sensitive and suspicious as Hera, so she understood why Hera had set up such a scheme.

The play orchestrated by the gods, ostensibly meant to annoy the actors and humiliate Hera, was actually a way to secretly force Zeus to make a choice.

The equally suspicious God-King treats all deities equally, showing no special trust to any one of them—not even their closest relatives.

Although Hera did not regard Hermes as a confidante, that did not stop her from making Hermes the most omnipotent confidante by Zeus's side.

Zeus once wanted to make Hermes the messenger of the gods in order to marginalize Iris, the rainbow messenger, and weaken Hera's power... just as he had often belittled her children while praising the children of other goddesses.

So.

Hera then did as Zeus wished.

Hera closed her eyes, imprisoning the noble gold, filled with anger and ambition, in the gloomy darkness.

She waved impatiently at the two children who still disgusted her.

“Get this done as soon as possible,” said the noble lady of Heaven. “Don’t delay the Pythian Games that you are about to hold on Earth.”

Just as Hermes and Apollo were about to turn and leave the magnificent palace after accepting the order, a clear, trembling girl's voice rang out.

They turned their heads and saw the goddess of youth, no longer a child, gazing at them with unwavering determination.

Under Hera's scrutinizing gaze, Hebe announced loudly, "Three days from now, I will accompany you to the underworld to visit the goddess of fate."

"At that time..."

Heber mustered her courage and tried her best to continue speaking.

“I will wait for you in Arcadia, Sister Hermes.”

Because Hera gave Hermes and Apollo important tasks as well.

After leaving the Tianhou Temple, the two unfortunate companions remained silent, each lost in their own thoughts.

Hermes was debating whether to steal Apollo's Delphi before or after the mission was complete. After all, she truly hated the feeling of having her sincere feelings betrayed.

Suddenly she jumped up and reached out to grab Apollo's cloak and clothes.

"Damn it! You bastard! I'll pluck every single feather from your flock of swans!"

Fortunately, Apollo had learned to prepare in advance through his long-standing battle of wits with Hermes, and he had a linen belt tightly around his waist. With the help of his divine power, she was sure she couldn't tear off his clothes.

Even though the predetermined future is unchangeable, he still wants to try to break free from the shackles of fate.

Then he watched helplessly as his clothes were stripped off his body.

As the chill enveloped my entire body, the familiar feeling of a heart attack appeared for the umpteenth time.

...

...Alright, the god of prophecy resigns himself to fate.

"You kept saying you loved me, but all that talk about doing it for me was just a lie about doing it for another goddess! You bastard, you scumbag! When we get to the underworld, I'll make Cerberus swallow you whole!"

"What's gotten into you now, Hermes—"

"Shut up, you scumbag! You're not even going to bother with excuses anymore?!"

Apollo: "???"

Hermes glared angrily at Apollo, who remained expressionless even in his dazed state, and 'accidentally' tore all the clothes and cloak she had taken off him into pieces.

"She's angry! The kind you can't appease!"

"I'm going to turn your Delphi into my territory right now!"

After speaking, Hermes dashed off towards the foot of the holy mountain, transforming into a shooting star in the sky in a mere second.

Apollo, forced to run naked, was left standing there, frozen in place, becoming a stone resembling a masterpiece of nature, a stone gazing at his wife.

Nearby, there were also deities who had passed by and witnessed the spectacle, pointing and gossiping as if they didn't want the show to end.

"Tsk tsk tsk, who would have thought that His Highness Apollo, who is always so upright and honorable, would do something like juggling multiple relationships!"

"Scumbag! He deserves to be despised by Princess Hermes!"

"Wow~ But the God of Light has such a sexy figure, broad shoulders, narrow waist, and strong abs~"

"..."

While Apollo was still in a daze, he suddenly felt new clothes with a familiar scent being put on his body.

He turned his head and saw that his twin sister, the Goddess of the Hunt, had returned.

"I say, Apollo, you're such a loser."

Artemis disdainfully dragged her foolish brother onto her golden-horned deer chariot and left the scandal-ridden Mount Olympus.

The destination, of course, was Delphi, which was in big trouble.

"Let me guess, you've had another fight with that brat Hermes?"

"..."

"It seems so." Artemis sighed, poking Apollo's forehead with exasperation. "You're like a wooden stake, you don't understand girls' feelings at all, you're not even as good as your bunch of dumb geese!"

Apollo touched the red mark on his forehead where he had been poked and frowned.

He said in bewilderment, "But I always go along with her wishes and always consider her feelings."

He had always cared about her so much.

Even his agreement to serve Hera was partly for her sake.

“In any case, Apollo, winning a girl’s heart is a profound art.” Artemis patiently reassured her brother, who still seemed somewhat puzzled. “It’s not enough to just do what’s best for her; you have to let her see your efforts and understand your determination.”

"By the way, why did Hermes just say you were going to the underworld? Did you really become a scumbag?"

"..."

Apollo was silent for a moment.

"Sister, you wouldn't happen to be Hermes' sister, would you?"

Forgive him for uttering such idiotic words for the first time in his life.

To everyone's surprise, Artemis replied, "Yes, I am Hermes' sister. What's wrong?"

Apollo: "..."

Nothing much, I just feel like he's about to become the god of darkness.