Hephaestus's Request (3)
Our pace of movement was truly terrifyingly fast.
I opened the Wisdom Pocket and calculated how long it would take to reach Mount Olympus from Argos based on modern standards. Even following the modern road, it was around 430 kilometers—more than enough to walk if judged by ancient Greek standards.
Most people walk about 4 kilometers per hour. After 17 hours in 24 hours, that's 68 kilometers a day. For 430 kilometers, that's roughly six days. Adding the rugged mountains and hills unique to ancient Greece, even ordinary people would need at least nine days.
Of course, riding a horse wouldn't change that. Fast, long-distance horses are the result of repeated breeding efforts, and in this era's war horses, that's where they fall short. They can barely pull a chariot, let alone heavy loads or soldiers. That's why battle scenes in Greek movies and epics often show heroes on chariots.
In that sense, we were truly blessed by the environment. As for me, there's nothing to say, but the horse I sired with Achilles—Epiphos—was a legendary steed. Not only did he carry his mother, Achilles, and dash through every dangerous terrain, but after galloping all day, he'd "rest" by gulping down water like crazy.
It's a bit embarrassing to say this, but my child was a monster in the literal sense.
The way he trampled the bandits' faces bloody with his hooves during chases hid a wildness that shouldn't have been there unless raised by our hands.
“Purrurururururu!!!!!!”
On top of that, even though he was a horse, he enjoyed meat—the one thing that usually caused food problems—and handled it himself. He’d chomp down raw bandit meat, then poop immediately and get ready to go. I couldn’t tell if he was my son or a living weapon.
“I was shocked when we first really ran together. I thought we’d take a long time, so I had planned rest stops in the middle, but we’re already at the entrance?”
“This place is killing me.”
I had reached the end of the world before, but that had been thanks to Hermes’s help and wings, so it was a fresh reminder. Galloping a thousand li in horse form is something that makes even drool pour out in sweat. Riding side-by-side with Epiphos wasn’t suited for me. Even solo, it was tough, but with Epiphos carrying his own mother, his stamina and speed were clearly on another level. So we pushed the pace without thought and reached the entrance to Mount Olympus in three days.
The great gods live atop that lofty peak. The divine aura is so radiant that one wrong step might cause severe injury, so I didn’t push it and instead went straight to find Hephaestus’s descendants as planned. Fortunately, since Achilles knew the way, she rode Epiphos’s back quietly in her child form. My fatigue hadn’t eased at all.
‘Feels like we’ve covered two full days already…?’
It was exactly two days. We’d ridden at around 200 kilometers a day. I racked my tired brain trying to calculate the time on Epiphos’s back, but Achilles found my efforts hilarious and burst out laughing.
“At first you were so confident, but even a father can’t handle a son?”
“If I don’t have a legendary horse in this world, he’s a divine steed. He can reach the opposite side of the planet.”
“Overdoing the son’s pride, aren’t you?”
“Not a joke. You ride him and say such things?”
Right, Achilles agreed with my words and looked around.
This area lined with high peaks and sheer cliffs looked completely undeveloped by modern standards—truly wild. The mountain tops were hidden by clouds, and the modern mountain trails we knew would be terrifying without human hands touching them. At least in our era, there were cable cars and even pre-cleared paths, but here we had to figure out from where to start.
To give you an idea of the height: Mount Baekdu, which we know, is about 2,740 meters. Mount Olympus is 2,900 meters. The Eiffel Tower, a world heritage site, is 324 meters. If you stretched nine of them straight up, they’d barely reach Olympus. From this, you can somewhat grasp the majesty of the gods’ home mountain.
“Have you found the way?”
“This way! Hey, Epiphos~! Dad’s completely wiped out, so take good care of him~?”
“Purrururururu!!!”
While laughing and leaving my exhausted self to Epiphos, we headed deeper inside. I’d almost never ridden a horse, so my butt was aching. “We need to go a bit higher,” she said, clearing away the grass and bushes at the bottom. Since someone had already broken the path, we followed that. The moment Achilles and I reached the mountain trail (though it wasn’t really one), screams echoed from high up on the peak.
Save me! Save me! Uwaaaaaaah!
Aaaaaaaaah!!! Aaaaaah!!!
Aaaaaah!!!! Stop! It hurts! Hurts!!!!
The screams coming all at once were heart-wrenching. At first I thought it might be the incident Achilles had mentioned, but the way the woman was making those noises didn’t sound like she was being overpowered. I tilted my head in confusion, and my cheeky wife puffed out her chest and explained the situation.
“People get carried away when their heads swell and do dangerous things, don’t they?”
“Ah…”
Even without a detailed explanation, I was already convinced.
“This place is literally the path to the gods’ palace, so ordinary people aren’t allowed to climb. The best we can do is Floks in this pass. Among those who make it here, some crazy ones exist.”
“You’re not saying someone got carried away trying to reach the palace, are you?”
“Seriously?”
“……Insane?”
I matched her words, but I found it odd. I knew from epic stories and myths that there were heroes who climbed Olympus seeking blessings from the gods, so the reward for just climbing seemed plausible.
“I can understand climbing to the palace, but did something else happen?”
“Funny enough, they doubted the gods’ existence.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re the reason they opened the temple—because people in the current era have no faith. Most of those who climb all the way here have that same reason. They reached Floks, boasted they were descendants of heroes, didn’t consider themselves children of the gods, and climbed all the way to the palace to test their divine nature. How humiliating must that have been? So the ones who climbed without faith are all hanging from the top of Olympus, being pecked at by giant eagles.”
“I don’t get it.”
In this era, simply offering tribute and praying vaguely shows you the gods’ existence. A dryad or nymph appears after tending a forest a little, so no one doubts the Twelve Gods exist. Yet they still did that and received punishment—it was only right.
Someone once said that if a self-proclaimed hero’s descendants live like this, calling oneself a hero’s descendant is just arrogant with no substance. That’s why I usually didn’t boast about being Perseus’s descendant during temple visits, but looking back now, it was a good thing.
“Purrurururur! Purrurur!”
“Yes, good boy, good boy. You don’t have to worry. Even if you’re a horse, if you pray with sincerity, the gods won’t treat you differently.”
“Purrurururu!!!”
Even while soothing my smart son Epiphos, we went deeper inside. It wasn’t that deep yet, but it wasn’t somewhere ordinary people would stumble upon immediately. Since we didn’t know the entrance, climbing would be impossible, so this unique pass meant we were heading toward a human settlement. Soon, the sound of footsteps reached my ears, and buildings near the mountain slope came into view.
“Hm?”
“Oh my, a guest?”
“Seriously?”
“Bringing a kid too—what kind of trouble is this?”
The moment we arrived, more than the buildings, people caught my eye. They had beautiful blonde hair and emerald green eyes in common, and all had fair skin and were wearing almost transparent chitons. They were clearly descendants of Aphrodite in direct bloodline. The closer we got, the more pungent and lewd scent pierced the nose, making me involuntarily wrinkle my nose.
“Where have I seen this kid before?”
“Ah—! Achilles! Adanasia Achilles!”
“Are they our friends?!”
“Oh my, you’ve come again!”
“Greetings. Everyone looks healthy. I thought you’d all die from syphilis.”
“You too! The front yard is still the same! But when did you have a kid?!”
Achilles was apparently someone famous here, and soon many women flocked over, calling her by name. In this situation, saying they had a child meant they had me, so she quickly denied it.
“Stop it, stop it, it’s a joke, right? It’s been a while since we last came—how could there be such a big kid? This little guy is just along for my trip. This is my mount, Epiphos.”
“Purrurururur!!!!”
“Oh my, what glossy fur! Are you a male?”
“You look so sturdy!”
“Hey! You’re not planning to do anything crazy to my mount, are you? Stop it!”
“Crazy? What’s crazy? We’re the ones who soothe travelers’ spirits, aren’t we?”
I got down from Epiphos’s back for a moment, stretched my waist, and relaxed. My fatigue had eased a bit, and I could walk on my own two feet. The moment I did, the blonde beauties gathered, touching and feeling my body.
“Oh my, you look so reliable.”
“Traveling with such a wild woman makes your spine strong.”
“Your body is quite sturdy for a kid.”
“What’s your name?”
“My name… is……?”
While I was thinking how to answer, Achilles grabbed my body and pulled me back.
“Eeh! Eeh! Eeeh.”
“What? Why all of a sudden?”
“You lot! No matter how loose you are, you don’t touch a kid!”
“You’re the one throwing out such tempting words while wandering around—why not put on lipstick first if you don’t want to be taken?”
“Saying that to a kid out loud?!”
For some reason, her hands felt lewd. Had I been the one to aim for? I was an idiot for thinking I could just handle it without transforming into an adult. Shota sex was possible? How far could these crazy women go?
“Anyway, touching means death! Not a joke!”
“Fine. Still, since I know your face, I won’t force myself on you.”
“Force?”
In other words, “Instead, I’ll take you when this little guy shows interest in our bodies.” To be safe, I kept my guard up in case they slipped something in. But they asked the same question again.
“So what’s the kid’s name?”
“What do you want to know?”
“You know, don’t you? Our village records every guest’s name here. If someone reaches this far, they’re not ordinary, so they leave a record and history.”
“I know that…”
“But if I tell you, it becomes a problem?”
“Tsk.”
Achilles’s palm patted my shoulder—meaning I could speak. Since this was a place the gods lived, it was better not to lie and get into trouble. Instead, it turned out well.
“Asking again? What’s your name?”
“I’m Perseus 2. I run a temple in Argos.”
“Perseus 2?”
“Yes.”
“……Eh?”
While scratching our stone wall at the village entrance and writing my name, her hand suddenly stopped. The other women blinked in surprise. When Achilles asked why, they didn’t answer.
‘Hearing my name at this point……’
Just in case, I waited to see their reaction. And sure enough, the women quickly backed away, trying to hide the surprise on their faces while scratching their blonde hair.
“Argos’s Perseus?”
“Yes.”
“Eh, I heard he was young, but this young?!”
“What’s going on?”
“Aaah, th-that, th-th-th-that! There was an oracle recently! Not prophecy—a divine oracle!”
“It was a divine oracle bestowed only upon this place’s descendants by Aphrodite! She threatened that if anyone here ever starts chasing that child’s body, they’ll suffer for the rest of their life! This is the first time such a thing has happened, so everyone was bewildered!”
“Ah…”
I’d thought someone would intervene soon, but it turned out to be Aphrodite’s turn. She was cursing her own lewd descendants, and I ended up receiving help from an unexpected source.
“Then there’s no need to hide anything. This is quick. I came to make weapons, and Achilles came to repair weapons. Could you guide us to Hephaestus’s descendants?”
“Um… y-yes…”
Fortunately, we didn’t receive any test of mixing bodies. They feared Aphrodite’s divine anger toward their direct bloodline and guided us immediately. We were able to meet them without any real trouble.
When people say “hero,” the first thing that comes to mind is the honor gained through battle. To gain honor through battle, you need a good weapon. And when it comes to weapons, it’s natural to imagine special weapons made for yourself……
So, I ended up acquiring fine items here too…