Chapter 11 The Twin Serpent Scepter
The god of deception and theft habitually uses feigned sincerity.
As one of the creators of humankind, Athena did not stay in Arcadia all the time. Therefore, after handing over the parchment scroll depicting the design of a sailboat to the craftsmen, she left and went to Crete, the abode of the Earth Mother Gaia.
Before leaving, Athena gave Hermes a gift.
A gray helmet with wings.
Hermes looked at the gift in her hands, her gaze drawn to this novel object. Moreover, it was a gift from the god of wisdom and war.
“Because your shoes have wings, I also added a pair of white wings to this helmet, like your personal mark.” Athena raised an eyebrow, watching the girl in front of her eagerly put the helmet on her head. “It can protect you from anyone.”
Of course, this is on the premise that those who attempt to harm Hermes are weaker than Athena.
This gift is a token of gratitude for the immense benefits it has brought to humanity.
"Wow~ That's so cool! It feels like stepping onto a battlefield!" Hermes touched the helmet on her head with both hands, and happily spun around the kind and generous older sister with her feet off the ground. "Thank you, dear Athena! If you ever need any help in the future, just come to me. I'll stake my old man's reputation on it and I'll definitely lend you a hand!"
Upon hearing that title, Athena was taken aback: "Old geezer?"
Hermes quickly flew down from mid-air and awkwardly but politely corrected herself, "Oh, sorry, I misspoke. It should be His Majesty Zeus, the ruler of all things and our supreme father god!"
Oh no! I was so excited that I accidentally blurted out the private nickname I use for my philandering father!
Upon seeing the god of deception, Athena blushed slightly, put her hands behind her back, looked up at the sky, and whistled. She understood, but didn't expose his clumsy disguise. She reached out and cast her divine power upon the temple under construction atop the mountain. As specks of light danced and merged into the temple, Athena's blessing enveloped the area.
Athena is the patron goddess of craftsmanship; with her protection, the construction of this temple will proceed more smoothly and successfully.
"I have to go now. See you next time, Hermes."
"Please wait a moment!"
Seeing that her sister had transformed into a brown owl and was about to fly away, Hermes immediately reached out and grabbed the little guy, bringing him back.
Pallas the Little Owl Athena: "???"
What happened?!
The goddess of wisdom truly did not expect that this child would be so bold as to directly capture her, who had transformed into an owl, and then knead and squeeze her in various ways.
To be honest, I felt a bit ashamed and helpless, but she seemed to enjoy it quite a bit...
"Please, please forgive my rudeness. Actually, I have a small question I want to ask you, dear Athena." Hermes stroked the owl in her arms, even though it was her sister in disguise. "Wow! You're so cute, sister! *rubs against you*"
Its round head and equally round eyes are so adorable, even its pointed little mouth is so cute. Anyone who sees it would want to pet it, right? Oh dear, I really want one of these little mascots!
Unlike the previous Apollo raven, that little guy only complained to its owner!
Although that was part of her plan.
Athena, however, quickly recovered from her shock, struggled to break free from Hermes's demonic grasp, flapped her wings and flew to her right shoulder, where she firmly stood with her two small claws.
“Tell me what's bothering you,” the little owl tilted its head. “I’ll answer you.”
"Thank you again, Athena, the best sister in the world!" Hermes couldn't resist rubbing her face against the little cutie on her shoulder again, and surprisingly, the other didn't refuse or dodge. "It's just... can this winged hat on my head transform into other forms? The kind that I can change at will? I'd like to change it to something softer, preferably a different color!"
Athena remained silent for a moment, not expecting such a pointless question.
“Yes,” the little owl sighed. “It’s yours to do with, Hermes.”
So after Athena left, Hermes took off her gray helmet and recalled that every time she used her divine power, a green light would appear, which looked particularly youthful, energetic and healing. So she changed her helmet into a soft, sun-shading green cloth hat.
Of course, the iconic white wings remained on the brim of the hat.
"it's beautiful!"
Hermes looked at the new hat with great delight and finally put it on her head with satisfaction.
When humans passed by, they saw that their guardian deity had new decorations on him and couldn't help but admire him.
"Sacred wings and a beautiful cap! Love comes from Arcadia!"
“That green winged cap suits you perfectly, noble Hermes!”
Seeing this, Hermes became even happier, and the idea of waving her winged hat in front of Apollo to show off even flashed through her mind.
After all, it was a gift from Athena, and a precious possession that belonged to her.
As for the scepter Apollo gave her? Who cares! She didn't care about what that stingy guy gave her!
—Retracting the foreword.
As night fell, Hermes crouched by the lake in their usual spot, raging helplessly at her newly transformed, youthful self in the mirror and at the deep golden scepter.
Damn it! She'd come this far, and she wasn't about to give up! Was she really going to lose everything because of this ridiculous thing, or even have the arrogant Apollo scorn and mock her powerlessness? No way! Absolutely not!
Moreover, she had already successfully made a deep impression on the humans, Artemis, and Athena here. Yes, besides the humans, she could also sense that her two sisters had accepted her, and her sisters were both chief gods of Olympus.
She never forgot her goal—to return to Olympus.
We must become stronger.
Whether it's a trial for others or an improvement for oneself.
Thinking of this, Hermes' eyes darkened. She took a deep breath and picked up the deep gold scepter from the ground again.
The staff faintly shimmered with specks of green light.
After this period of effort, Hermes found that she had become more and more proficient in using her divine power. This inexhaustible power seemed to come largely from nature. When she felt the life of all things in the mountains and forests every night and received their responses, she even had the illusion that the Earth Mother Gaia was calling her.
But... why would that great primordial god bother with a newly born little god like her?
Hermes wiped the sweat from her brow, which had been dripping with the sweat from overusing her divine power, her eyes still fixed on the scepter in her hand.
Before that, she did something big: she added another pair of white wings to the top of the scepter, just like her hat and shoes.
It's worth mentioning that her efforts paid off. Now, the divine power that Hermes infused into her hands would no longer be rejected or devoured. She could feel the heat emanating from the scepter in her hand and her own aura, which at least meant that it was marked with her mark.
Even though Apollo's divine power still lingers within the scepter.
That powerful and annoying guy is so awful!
And he's the older brother! Can't he learn from the gentle and generous Athena?
Growing increasingly angry, Hermes decided to climb a tree, pick fruit, and eat it to relieve her distress through overeating.
Speaking of which, surprisingly no Nymphs came out tonight. I wonder what the sisters went to do... Maybe they wanted to rest early and didn't come to keep me company?
Hermes leaned against a large tree, surrounded by piles of freshly picked fruit—apples, oranges, bananas, and more. Gazing at the tranquil night, she munched on the juicy, sweet fruit, and for a moment, everything seemed insignificant. She truly loved this leisurely and carefree feeling.
Amazing things always happen, like when cute little animals come into view.
"...Huh?"
Hermes opened her eyes wide and saw two snakes crawling past her feet, about a meter away. Their skin was a light green, as clear and translucent as jade, and their hard scales shimmered with a hazy light in the dark night.
They remained entangled, their scarlet tongues flicking at each other, occasionally opening their gaping maws for a thrilling collision.
You idiot! It's all your fault! You messed everything up!
[Are you introducing yourself? It's all your fault, you bastard!]
Come on! Today I'm going to bite you to death, you idiot!
[Who's afraid of who, you bastard!]
Both snakes were creatures of Arcadia. Hermes could sense their words and thoughts, so she determined that they, like the humans she had helped before, were also arguing and fighting to the death.
However, this time, she came up with a new and brilliant idea.
She watched for a while until the two snakes were fighting and bleeding profusely before she got up and stepped forward, holding a deep golden scepter in her hand.
"Hello, you two adorable little ones." Hermes sat cross-legged in front of the two snakes, smiling as she looked at their pitiful, raised faces. She even reached out and tapped their slightly protruding little heads with familiarity. "Did you have a fight? You can't hate each other, this is a world of love and peace!"
I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but it seems like these two little guys are looking at her like she’s mentally challenged.
[Where did this new idiot come from? How could anyone possibly listen to her?]
Wait, this aura... is it a deity?
Hermes?!
“You guessed right, my name is Hermes, and I am the child of the goddess Maia who lives on Mount Kulenne.”
To solve the problem more efficiently, Hermes used her divine power to transform the two green snakes, who had learned of her identity, into human form. Two boys and girls, who looked slightly younger than her, instantly appeared before her. Both had green hair, yellow eyes, and healthy, smooth bronze skin—although they were naked.
She also gave the two little ones the language of gods and men, so they bowed to her and respectfully called her name, and were then kindly helped up by her.
So now they also sat cross-legged opposite her.
"You don't understand." The girl glared at the boy, then hurriedly grabbed Hermes' hands. "This idiot has squandered all the meat we've stored up for so long! Winter is coming soon, how are we going to survive!"
“How can that be called squandering? Your Highness, don’t listen to her nonsense!” The boy forcefully pulled the girl’s hand away and took Hermes’ hands in his own. “Let me explain, it must have been stolen from our cave by other animals! Besides, the warm sun on Mount Kulenne will continue for a long time, and look at all this green grass, how could we possibly not survive!”
"So we're just going to eat grass? That really suits this miserable, impoverished life." The girl sneered, revealing sharp teeth. "How many times has this happened? Every time it's when I go hunting and you guard the house that the accident occurs. What have you been doing behind my back?!"
Hearing this, the boy felt a little guilty: "Uh, I just took a nap, and after waking up I went out to sunbathe for a while, and then ate some fruit not far away..."
"Idiot! You scourge! You should just die!!!"
The girl jumped up, grabbed the boy by the neck, and bit him. He retaliated, and the two rolled around on the ground, cursing at each other, and started fighting again.
Hermes, upon learning the whole story, recalled something happy and smiled even more brightly.
"I'll help you find a new home and make sure you have everything you need, from food and clothing to shelter and transportation. How about that?"
She stepped forward, pulled the two children apart, and placed the winged scepter between them, leaving them stunned.
The next day, Apollo was again performing his duties of herding sheep. He thought that Hermes, who had finally been quiet these days, would not come again, but after a while, he still caught sight of the brat in the distance.
but.
He squinted and noticed that Hermes had grown a bit; she no longer looked like a young girl, but rather a more youthful and vibrant young woman.
And there's a new decoration—a green hat with wings.
Hermes rushed straight at Apollo, this time without the octopus hugging him or engaging in pointless whining.
“I’ve figured it out, Brother Apollo.” She said expressionlessly, looking very serious. “True strength doesn’t mean absolute power; mutual tolerance and harmonious coexistence are the most important things.”
"So it doesn't matter whether we go to Delphi or not. I'm giving up this scepter too, so I'm returning it to you."
Hermes took the deep golden scepter from behind her back and placed it in front of Apollo, who had stopped plucking the strings.
Even though it has two white wings and two green snakes coiled around its staff.
"..." Apollo stared at the completely transformed scepter, locked eyes with the gaping maws of the green serpents for a few seconds, and said, "Are you sure, Hermes?"
How could she possibly give up so easily?
Apollo could sense that more than half of the power within the scepter belonged to Hermes, mixed with her original natural consciousness. Even his own portion within it could not resist being devoured, so it was not hard to imagine how much she had grown in strength these past few days.
Perhaps it should be said that she was originally a powerful goddess.
Now, Hermes finally showed her usual smile and even winked at him.
"How could I deceive you, dear brother Apollo?"
Upon hearing this, Apollo paused, once again unable to discern the true face of the god of deception after many days.
But he still raised his hand and touched the white wings of the scepter.
Resilient and strong, yet also flexible, just like...
Just as he was thinking this, he was bitten by the two green snakes coiled around the scepter.
Apollo: "?"
At the same time, Hermes burst out laughing.
"I'm so sorry, I forgot to introduce them. These are my newly adopted children. They love this scepter; they seem to think it's their home!" Hermes wiped away the tears welling up in her eyes—of course, they were tears of joy. "The girl's name is Apistoni, and the boy's name is Tokei. They like you very much too~"
Apollo's gaze swept across the face of the girl who was laughing and rubbing her stomach, then over the two green snakes that proudly raised their heads and flicked their tongues, and finally settled on his right finger, which had been bitten and was bleeding.
Apextoni – Trust.
Tokei – Interests.
"Brother Apollo, being the most handsome man on Olympus, will surely forgive us, right?"
The god of deception and theft habitually uses feigned sincerity.
Apollo: "..."
That brat really won't change his ways.
[Author's Note]
Εμπιστοσνη
τκοι
Both of these are Greek, haha, I think they are the pronunciations of Apistoni and Tokei, Wuhu!
In addition, in mythology, Hermes' scepter represents commerce (two snakes for commerce, one snake for medicine), and is the scepter of the god of commerce.
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