Chapter 49 Ambiguity
"Ah, there's plenty of time in the future."
Hermes had already guessed that Hera, the Queen of the Gods, would also be in the sea, and even anticipated that she must have important business to discuss with Poseidon, the God of the Sea, just as she and Apollo had also come for important matters.
She hadn't really figured out what Hera's attitude towards her. Hera had helped her secure a place on Mount Olympus and even promoted her to one of the twelve Olympian gods. It was quite unusual that the Queen of Gods, who originally detested extramarital affairs and illegitimate children, would tolerate her existence and even secure a high position for her.
Even if Hera was using her, she was happy to do so, because it was something she needed.
Hermes knew that as long as she had value and the ability to win the favor of those in high positions, her position would become increasingly secure.
She also knew perfectly well how to maintain the trust of that arrogant high-ranking person in this secure position.
After Hebe returned to Hera's embrace, Hermes put her hand on Pan's shoulder and spoke with a confident smile under the gaze of everyone present.
“You are right, Your Majesty the Great Goddess.” She met Hera’s gaze, neither humble nor arrogant, but with an air of complete confidence. “This is my mission, for I am your loyal messenger.”
Hermes crossed Poseidon and responded to Hera first.
As intelligent as she was, she naturally knew whose prestige was more awe-inspiring and whose authority was more powerful.
From the moment she first caught Hera's subtle expression of satisfaction, she knew she had made the right bet.
As long as she continues to cultivate her relationship with Her Highness the Goddess, she can temporarily achieve her goal.
Siren? They're under Poseidon's jurisdiction? So what?
Power and glory were practically made for Hera.
Sure enough, the inquiry in Hera's eyes lessened, transforming into a hazy, indistinct fondness. Yes, Her Majesty the Queen of Gods favors those who know how to adapt to circumstances; this has always been true, and it remains true now.
For the cunning Hermes, being a messenger of Hera was better than being a messenger of the wretched old Zeus.
"Such a sweet and lovely child, she truly fills my heart with affection." Hera held Hebe in her arms, letting her innocent and simple daughter sit on her lily-white arms. "Who can argue with that? Poseidon, why not listen to what this child has to say before making a decision?"
Those bright, beautiful golden eyes, as piercing as an ox's, were smilingly fixed on the god of deception and theft who stood upright and looked at him.
Even if she is a little bastard, she is still a little bastard that Hera can use.
Just look at the reclusive mermaid who was willing to be close to her, not to mention that stubborn and arrogant fellow Apollo.
but……
Hera glanced at Pan, whose features resembled a goat and whose skin was fiery red, before turning her gaze away indifferently.
...Was this monster also created by that person?
Seemingly sensing her foster mother's complex emotions, Thetis lowered her eyes slightly, continuing to minimize her presence in this battle of the gods.
The ability to protect oneself is a fine quality of this sea goddess.
Unfortunately, her sentimental sister Amphitrite could never do that.
"ha."
In the eerie atmosphere, Poseidon finally spoke again.
His cold gaze swept over his son, who was standing behind Hermes, and then all the emotions hidden in his eyes vanished.
— Foolish guys.
“Very well, for your sake, Hera.” The Sea God gripped his golden trident tightly. His long, wavy, dark green hair was thick and voluminous, as if it held countless secrets beneath his crown of glory. “Spit out all your sweet words, laced with intrigue and deceit, Hermes! Cunning daughter of Maya!”
In front of Hera, he naturally wouldn't address Hermes as 'Daughter of Zeus' as he had done before.
Poseidon could openly mock Hermes, Athena, and even Zeus, but he couldn't be unkind to his noble and powerful sister, Hera.
That was one of the secrets he was hiding.
Hermes has keenly grasped this point, and thus she is now able to act with even more impunity—this is almost entirely due to Hera's favor towards her.
"Just as I sought your leniency last time, Your Majesty the Sea Emperor, my stance remains unchanged this time."
Hermes took a step forward, stretching out her arms so that the golden scepter she held in her right hand shimmered in the ocean.
Pan and Trit watched her back with expressionless faces, but deep thoughts remained hidden in their hearts.
They were all seriously considering how she would exert her strength.
“I do not expect you to command the sirens to stop harming humans and their ships. Every living being in this world has its own will. Blindly interfering will not solve any problems and may even disrupt the originally orderly laws of nature.”
"But we also know that excessive killing and slaughter will pollute our environment, just as one of the reasons you once hated humanity so much was that they tried to catch and kill the life in your domain, Your Majesty the Sea King."
Upon hearing this, Poseidon slightly loosened his grip on the trident.
He narrowed his blue eyes, which were even purer than Zeus's, and stared at the arrogant girl with a rather obscure look in them.
What kind of perfect solution will she come up with this time?
Hermes wasn't going to launch into a long speech, so she smiled slightly and dropped the real bombshell: "So, it would be better to simply limit the number of humans that sirens harm, allowing them to satisfy their appetites while also saving humanity from the tragic fate of total annihilation."
"What is your opinion on this, Your Majesty the Sea Emperor?"
...
...So that's how it is.
Poseidon was somewhat surprised, and even Thetis, who was quietly trying to make herself less noticeable, couldn't help but frown and stare at Hermes in astonishment.
She gave such an ambiguous answer!
That impartial and unbiased demeanor, as if he didn't favor either side, was truly comparable to the righteous Themis!
Triton tilted his head, his gaze on Hermes's back becoming slightly blurred—he didn't shed a tear of sadness or weeping; he had seen through her true nature from the moment she befriended him.
But Triton was always lonely and isolated, and he chose to accept this friend who did not meet his perfect ideal expectations.
Pan, who possesses Hermes' bloodline and power, was quite satisfied with her words. In the mind of the young shepherd who worshipped his mother, she was gentle and kind, but also cold and ruthless, and above all, she was a person who adhered to morality.
This morality may be extreme and cruel, but it can indeed play the greatest role in maintaining order.
Pan admired Hermes in this way, and he indeed inherited everything from her.
"..."
Only the goddess of youth, only Hebe, tightly clutched a strand of Hera's black hair, bit her lower lip, and lowered her head.
"...No, it's not the same..."
Hebe was murmuring something in a whisper, and Hera heard her and bent down to kiss her daughter's forehead.
“From now on, every word you speak must be spoken at a volume louder than this, along with your straight back and confident, upright attitude.” Hera whispered a warning in Hebe’s ear, then turned some of her attention back to Hermes. “Strive to learn from her, my outstanding daughter. This is how I have always taught you.”
While Hebe was still in her cradle, Hera would sit beside her every day and night, telling the story of the little bastard born of Maia in a gentle and melodious voice.
Therefore, Hera would often recall the past day after day in anger, self-blame, and distress, in those days filled with all sorts of bittersweet memories, when she had also received glory from the great Earth Mother Sanctuary.
That was a glory far more sacred and radiant than it is today.
Hera's siblings were unaware of it; only Zeus knew of it and never forgot it.
She hated this, so she chose a new piece.
And this chess piece, which is also favored by Mother Earth Gaia, is now shining brightly, like precious gold, as glorious and immortal as she was in the past.
“Yes, Hermes,” Poseidon said, still staring at the girl goddess who always spoke wonderful words, but glancing at Hera beside him out of the corner of his eye. “I still stand by my opinion from last time: you have the voice of a lark, and your speech is as beautiful as singing, which I wholeheartedly agree with.”
Is he wavering?
No, he was just watching a good show.
"Your deep love for humanity moves me deeply, Hermes."
Upon hearing this, Hermes blinked, then smiled brightly and said, "After all, to humans, we are the law, Your Majesty the Sea Emperor."
Poseidon was taken aback, then burst into laughter.
In Hermes' memory, this king of the sea had never been so unrestrained—although the two of them had only met a few times in private.
“Yes.” Poseidon rubbed the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes, recalling fragments of his memory of being vomited out of his father Cronus’s belly. “So I promised you that the sirens would no longer hunt down and kill any human who sets foot in the sea.”
“You have always been kind, wise, and discerning,” Hermes said glibly. “I bet you won’t regret making this decision, because you will gain even more love and faith!”
Poseidon asked with a smile, "Oh? Then am I wiser than Athena with her bright eyes?"
Hermes: "..."
What the heck? How did we suddenly get onto Athena? Poseidon, what strange competitive spirit have you developed?!
And Athena is truly the goddess of wisdom!
Of course, Hermes didn't say these words aloud, even though she really wanted to give Poseidon a piece of her mind.
"Also, if I remember correctly, I seem to have given you a task before, little divine messenger."
Upon hearing Poseidon's latest statement, Hermes' heart skipped a beat, and the face of a certain god of light involuntarily appeared in her mind.
Could it be...?
"How are your plans for my Collins Isthmus Games coming along, Hermes?"
Hermes: "..."
—So that's how it is!
No matter what, the God of Errands still has to shoulder the mission of errand running, right?!
That's enough, you bunch of damn elders!!!
Of course, the above shouts are merely empty emotional outbursts with no real deterrent effect.
Hermes maintained a smile—no, a polite, fake smile.
"To be honest, Your Majesty, we haven't even begun planning your Collins Isthmus Games yet." She was about to launch into another attack, "because Brother Apollo's Delphi Games are still in the planning stages. Didn't you entrust this task to Brother Apollo and me? Alas, that's a bit of a stretch, he—"
"Bang!"
"?"
Hermes, bewildered, clutched the large bump on her head, staring even more bewildered at the God of Light who had suddenly appeared before her.
He caught up?
Was he eavesdropping the whole time?
Even the other gods present were somewhat surprised. The way the God of Light strode in and hit Hermes on the head was so unique that it was truly astounding.
—As expected, the relationship between Hermes and Apollo is extraordinary!
Apollo's fair and handsome face was full of sneers, his tightly clenched fist still stretched out in mid-air, as if it was about to fall on Hermes's pitiful yet hateful head at any moment.
"What's wrong with me?" Apollo said in a detached tone to this brat who couldn't stand not messing with him. "Go on, Hermes."
His usually calm and collected demeanor always crumbled in front of her, and he would always break down in a trivial way, because he seemed to have her completely under his control.
After being 'abandoned' by her repeatedly, especially after the last time when she was accompanied by another male god, he realized that he really couldn't tolerate this kind of thing happening.
...and that's not all.
Apollo's once light blue eyes were now filled with obscure emotions. He looked down at the cunning and despicable Hermes, seeing only her.
He was stubborn and arrogant, and he knew his own nature.
"..."
"……there is none left."
Hermes shuddered at his inexplicably terrifying appearance and involuntarily took a step back.
Then Pan grabbed his arm.
"Mother Goddess, I'll protect you!" The young shepherd shielded Hermes behind him, glaring angrily at the despicable God of Light. "My mother goddess has been so good to you, tolerating your reckless behavior time and time again, yet you still trample on her dignity like this! Outrageous! With me here, you won't be able to touch a single hair on my mother goddess's head again!"
"You despicable, shameless, and vile god!"
Wow.
Hera and Poseidon, witnessing this scene, both felt a sense of admiration for the boy who had the appearance of a half-goat.
At the same time, it is a pity that he was born of Hermes.
Apollo narrowed his eyes slightly, his sinister gaze turning to Pan, who was blocking Hermes's view.
What an arrogant brat! Does he really think that just because she gave in to him before, he can do whatever he wants? It's utterly unreasonable! He even dares to spout such distorted and misleading arguments like she does!
Why would she want to have a child with an unknown nymph fairy?
Apollos initially despised Pan's existence, but also felt pity for him because he possessed Hermes' bloodline.
But Pan insisted on shattering this affection with his own hands, time and time again.
"I will protect Mother Goddess forever!"
Behind them, Triton, who had remained silent until now, finally decided to break the awkward atmosphere.
“Hermes.” Triton didn’t even glance at the other gods. He swam forward and took her hand. “I’ll take you to other places to play. I promised you.”
So he couldn't let her down.
Hermes turned her head and met a pair of bewitching amber eyes, as alluring as those of a siren.
She could barely see the fish's tail with its colorful scales.
"good."
But Hermes could actually see it, and her heart was filled with that beautiful fish tail.
The ocean was the domain of Poseidon and Amphitrite, as well as the domain of their son Triton.
Therefore, in an instant, numerous bubbles appeared where Triton and Hermes were, surrounding them and emitting a dreamlike rainbow-like light.
In the blink of an eye, the man and woman vanished, leaving behind only colorful bubbles and other deities in the empty crystal palace, creating an extremely awkward and eerie atmosphere.
Poseidon turned and went back into the drawing room without expression. Thetis got up and followed him; after all, she was Amphitrite's sister.
"Have you learned anything new, my lovely daughter?"
Hera carried Hebe toward the exit, and as she passed Apollo and Pan, who were still locked in a tense standoff, she gave a meaningful chuckle.
"Ah, there's plenty of time in the future."
Little monsters.
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