Chapter 69 Meeting
"This is certainly important to us, isn't it, gentlemen?"
"Zeus, what's gotten into you that you summoned us to this meeting today?"
Hera was clearly furious, and upon seeing Zeus arrive late, she immediately launched an indiscriminate attack.
Oh, perhaps it's not exactly indistinguishable, because she had long been unhappy with her philandering, scheming husband.
Demeter and Poseidon exchanged a glance, both revealing meaningful smiles.
"Calm down, my dear sister," Poseidon said, seemingly trying to smooth things over. "So, who has had the audacity to provoke our noble Queen this time?"
“Yes, it’s really hard to guess.” Demeter covered her lips and chuckled.
Zeus, who had just sat down in the main seat: "..."
As the older brother and sister, do you two have to keep messing with your younger brother like this?
"Ahem, let's put that aside for now, today—"
"You must make things clear today, Zeus."
Good heavens, Hera is at it again. She interrupted Zeus's words and glared at him angrily.
"What should be done with Aphrodite, who has brought shame upon us? Didn't I mention this to you before?"
Hera's eyes swept over the goddess of love and beauty, who stood with her arms crossed and an indifferent expression, with a sinister look. She chose to bring up the old scandal of her husband's infidelity on the second day of their marriage, completely disregarding that this was the solemn main temple.
“This vile goddess who toyed with my two sons at will, who disregarded my dignity as the lord of marriage and procreation… and now, I can even see her here.” Hera’s face and tone gradually darkened, just like Hephaestus and Ares. “Don’t tell me you’re just going to pretend nothing happened, Zeus.”
The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
Everyone's expressions seemed to become a little strange.
Hermes, with her keen intuition, felt that something was amiss.
In her mind, the dignified and solemn Her Majesty the Goddess should not lose her composure in public to such an extent, especially while simultaneously emphasizing her own dignity.
Because Her Majesty the Goddess will never be forced into a state of anger and helplessness.
Is this just another act? Like what happened the day Aphrodite was caught cheating in public.
As Hermes pondered this, she couldn't help but pinch Apollo's waist, the firm, tight feel of which instantly relaxed her furrowed brows.
Apollo glanced down at her, then helplessly let her do as she pleased.
Meanwhile, Aphrodite, the woman at the center of the scandal, leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed. Although she still had a red smile on her lips, her emerald eyes were fixed on Hera with a deep, dark gaze, and she let out a soft snort from her pert nose.
Aphrodite remained silent, merely watching Hera's performance with a half-smile.
Apart from her, no one present knew what this esteemed Empress was really thinking.
After all, compared to Zeus, the goddess of love and beauty preferred Hera.
Zeus noticed Aphrodite, his lips twitched, and he suddenly smiled and spoke again.
"This is one of the main topics I'm going to talk about today, my dear."
Hera: "Oh?"
Even Hera's expression changed to a half-smile, which made Zeus's head spin.
He's not some heinous criminal, is it really necessary to make such a fuss?
“You speak for yourself, Aphrodite,” Zeus said, handing the reins of the conversation to the woman involved in the scandal.
Hearing this, the three gods who had stayed in Zeus's palace to talk the previous night all understood the situation perfectly.
Especially Hermes.
"Hiss." Hermes tugged at Apollo again and whispered to him, "I'm getting more and more excited for this show, Brother Apollo."
"Let's go somewhere else next time," Apollo said, pressing down on Hermes's hand that was groping him, and sighed.
Hermes winked mischievously with her right eye: "Don't you dare teach me how to do things~"
Yes, yes.
Artemis, who was standing nearby, noticed the little squabble between the two and instantly found them even more annoying than Aphrodite.
No, do you really think there are no other gods here?
At the same time, Aphrodite sat up straight and placed her hands on her flat stomach.
She lowered her eyes, avoiding the gazes of the couple and also shutting out the probing stares of the other deities.
“Alright.” Aphrodite’s voice was still so soft and alluring. “Yes, I am pregnant.”
Amid a gasp of surprise, her smile spread.
"Would you all like to guess whose child this is?"
Gods: "..."
I always feel that Aphrodite's smile looks really mean.
Because that would be like openly sowing discord.
As for whose relationship they're trying to sow discord between...
As the sound of slamming the table rang out, it was the words of Ares, the god of war, reaching the ears of the gods.
"Is this true, dear Copris?" Ares asked, his face beaming with surprise, like a naive young man. "When did this start?"
Aphrodite tilted her head at her lover: "I don't know, it shouldn't be long~"
Seeing this, Hephaestus's expression grew increasingly grim.
"Disgusting." The God of Craftsmen gripped his hammer tightly. "What a pair of adulterers..."
But this time Ares had no time to pay attention to Hephaestus. He jumped off his seat and rushed to his lover's side. The usually violent and irritable God of War completely changed his style at this moment.
Ares couldn't resist reaching out and gently stroking Aphrodite's belly.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" This doesn't sound like a reproach; it sounds like a sweet whisper between lovers.
All the gods witnessed this scene and noticed Hephaestus's visible resentment.
Although Aphrodite just said those things, no matter how you look at it, the child she's carrying... should indeed be Ares's, right?
Perhaps this is the reason why Hera is so angry today?
“Is that so?” Apollo suddenly said.
Even though his voice was very soft, it still startled Hermes, who was deep in thought.
"What? Did I just say what was on my mind?" Hermes stroked her slightly heaving chest, looking at Hera's cold and stern face with lingering fear. "Think about it, Hephaestus certainly didn't consummate his marriage with Aphrodite, let alone catch them in the act."
I'm sure everyone here anticipated this step.
Hestia, who had been resting with her eyes closed, couldn't help but open them and frown at the three gods with complicated relationships.
Then her gaze shifted to Demeter, who was still watching the show with great interest, especially her belly.
“Is something the matter, sister?” Demeter approached Hestia. “Don’t you find this ridiculous?”
Hestia shook her head and remained silent.
Because it doesn't matter to her no matter what.
Seeing that her sister was still so taciturn, Demeter knew she was being frivolous, so she turned to Poseidon, who was already beaming with joy, and started chatting with him.
Artemis, who always enjoys watching the excitement, couldn't resist sharing her little tidbit with Athena.
Their gazes lingered on Demeter for a few seconds.
Artemis is the goddess who governs childbirth, and naturally, she is also the protector of newborns.
Thinking about this, the observant Hermes realized that she had discovered another great secret.
—Foresight God, do you think my guess is correct?
Hermes thought to herself.
Apollo beside him: "..."
"Fool."
Apollo raised his hand and gently tapped Hermes on the head in response.
“Damn it,” Hermes complained. “Next time, try a different approach, you pesky Apollo.”
At this point, she stopped calling him "brother".
Apollo smiled slightly, his heart softening.
However, Hera and Zeus had completely opposite feelings. Of course, this doesn't refer to their feelings towards Hermes and Apollo.
“Ares,” Hera said again, her face expressionless, “go back to your place.”
“Aphrodite, that’s not the point,” Zeus said again.
The couple spoke almost simultaneously.
What a strange tacit understanding.
After Ares obediently followed his mother's orders and sat back down, Aphrodite stood up, her charming face as always filled with a beaming smile.
“Is this important, everyone?” the goddess of love and beauty said gently. “My child will inherit my power and position after birth, and will also bear the more important responsibility of procreation. Therefore, I will name him Eros.”
"This is certainly important to us, isn't it, gentlemen?"
The gods were in uproar.
“Eros?” Hermes was the first to exclaim, “Isn’t that the creator god?”
Eros, one of the five primordial gods, the god of love and desire... This is something all the gods know!
But isn't that person supposed to live in the underworld?
Hermes, who frequently traveled to the underworld for work, found this incredible.
Aphrodite winked at Hermes: "Yes, that will be the name of my child."
The wise Athena quickly figured out the logic behind all of this.
"Father God, could it be..."
Zeus nodded: "Yes, Eros has chosen Aphrodite."
Just as when Aphrodite was born, it was Eros who took her from the sea to the land and raised her with great care.
In the near future, Eros will be reborn in Aphrodite's body.
"It seems that the great god is not truly in eternal slumber." Poseidon frowned, deep in thought.
Wait, never to wake up again?
Hermes opened her eyes wide.
Combined with Zeus's recent announcement, an absurd conclusion came to her mind.
Could it be that the Eros inside Aphrodite's belly... really is the great god Eros?
Demeter chuckled softly and exclaimed, "How touching! Isn't that right, Poseidon?"
Poseidon clicked his tongue twice and replied, "That's true."
"No, what does this mean? What does it have to do with my child with Aphrodite?" Ares was a little confused.
This reminded Hephaestus.
“A muscle-bound but simple-minded fellow like you can’t understand this.” Hephaestus wouldn’t let any opportunity to get back at Ares slip by—at least for now. “I advise you to distance yourself from this unborn child as soon as possible. You are not fit to be his father.”
Ares was immediately enraged: "Are you crazy? That's obviously my child, how am I not worthy to be his father?"
Hephaestus: "Fools are lucky."
Ares: "I've disliked you for a long time, you bastard! Let's go outside and fight one-on-one if you dare!"
Hephaestus: "Arguing with a fool like you would only lower my standards."
"..."
The two brothers started arguing again, oblivious to everyone else.
Now, Hera not only had a terrible headache, but she also couldn't keep an eye on the two of them.
That evil fire completely dissipated.
“So, Zeus,” Hera glanced sideways, her deep gaze sweeping over her husband, “is that the reason?”
She already knew who had told him the news.
Zeus sighed.
"Yes, my dear wife."
Hera then fell silent.
She closed her eyes and remained silent, just like Hestia.
Immediately afterwards, Zeus announced another important matter.
Regarding the decision he made last night during his conversation with Hermes, Apollo, and Artemis.
"I intend to destroy humanity and create a new generation."
"But I will give humanity another chance before that."
Because Aphrodite's pregnancy had already occurred, the gods did not react much to this matter.
Aside from Athena, who had long regarded humanity as her own.
“I disagree, Father,” Athena said calmly. “Humanity has done nothing wrong.”
Zeus patiently said, "Their very existence is a fault."
Athena: "If that's the case, then why were they created by us?"
Zeus: "Because we also make mistakes, and we did not expect this to happen. Besides, I said I would give humanity a chance."
But Athena's face turned sorrowful.
It was as if she had already foreseen the ending.
"What exactly did those children do wrong?"
To this, Zeus patiently replied to his wise daughter one last time: "I thought you knew, Athena."
Athena remained silent.
Now there are three deities who are resting with their eyes closed.
The matters discussed at the meeting were minor, such as keeping a close eye on the defenses of all sides, and the Titans imprisoned in Tartarus making new moves.
But since they are all minor matters, there's no rush.
After the meeting, before flying to Zeus, Hermes seized Apollo, who was preparing to return to Delphi.
Apollo looked down at the girl who was tugging at his cloak and raised an eyebrow.
"Got another new brilliant idea, you little genius?"
“Yes, dear brother Apollo.” Hermes chuckled, her winged shoes gliding as her delicate, rose-like face drew close to Apollo’s ear. “Don’t rush back to Delphi yet. Why don’t you come with us to the mortal realm? I heard Father God is planning to take me to Attica first. Why don’t you sneak along?”
Apollo chuckled and said, "Sneakily?"
Hermes blinked and added a sly remark.
"Yes, you can play hide-and-seek with Father God then!"
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