Hera's Aid

Hera, Goddess of the Family.

Anyone well-versed in Greek mythology would also call her the incarnation of jealousy.

But let me put in a word in her defense — from her perspective, it was only natural.

Among the gods of Greek myth, a pantheon crawling with moral disasters, I would dare call her one of the few decent people in the bunch.

No, seriously, think about it.

Wouldn't the real lunatic be the woman who just sat back and let Zeus screw around with every female he could get his hands on?

Sure, some of those women were raped and got no mercy either — but Hera was, first and foremost, the goddess of the household. Leaving mistresses and bastard children to run wild meant abandoning broken homes to their fate, which was nothing less than neglecting her own domain.

Callisto?

Who the hell is that?

Anyway, the real reason I was talking her up like this was simple.

The goddess standing right in front of me was devastatingly beautiful.

Thank god I'd thrown on a tunic in a hurry and covered my lower half. Without it, I would have been the kind of deranged bastard who gets a hard-on in front of a goddess.

But why the hell was this Status Window popping up now of all times, with zero sense of timing?

What, fuck?

It's telling me to screw Hera right now?

I can't!

I won't!

Touch that woman the wrong way and they wouldn't even find my bones!

I stood frozen, head bowed before Hera, unable to say a word.

She must have taken my silence for pure terror, because the look she gave me grew even more pitying.

"You poor child. Zeus… just what does that creature intend to do to one so young…"

Sympathy poured from every word.

Right. This woman is the goddess who guards the family and its ethics.

I was an orphan abandoned by my family, reduced to slavery. It made sense that she would pity someone cast out from a shattered home.

"D-Does that mean… you'll help me?"

I managed to ask at last.

Hera nodded.

"With Ganymede, I was too late to intervene. But this time, it should be possible."

She ground her teeth.

They said she was one of the greatest beauties in all of Greek myth — and even her anger was lovely.

"I will not repeat the same mistake."

Hera's gentle hand reached toward me.

"Come here, child. I shall ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠see to it that you escape his clutches."

But escape to where?

And how, exactly, was I supposed to get away from that bastard?

Even as I trembled, I couldn't bring myself to take her hand so easily.

"How, exactly?"

A tear slipped from the corner of one eye.

In that moment, I was nothing more than a boy paralyzed by fear.

"Where would I go?"

Hera looked at me with aching pity.

"Regrettably, you are a child cast outside the family. So I cannot fully save you myself."

Guh—!

Without warning, Hera pulled me into her arms.

Her chest — full enough to burst — crushed against my face.

I swallowed hard and went completely rigid.

"Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth, cares for orphans. I will guide you to her — endure until then. She will protect you completely."

Thank you! Thank you, my goddess!

Playing the terrified kid had been the right call after all!

Hera, Queen of the Gods!

And Hestia, the first virgin goddess, whom no one dared touch lightly!

With those two, I could actually get away from Zeus!

What?

That still wasn't enough?

And if Hestia helps too?

The odds had dropped sharply.

But they hadn't vanished.

No — half the danger still remained.

Hera and Hestia's help alone isn't enough!

Even if they pitied me and actively tried to protect me, that still wasn't the whole solution.

Right. The Status Window had been correct from the start.

I have to bed the goddesses!

It had told me to leave Reviews, hadn't it?

So what exactly would that get me?

The Status Window answered my question as if it had been waiting for it. I clenched my fists tight.

Grow into a god?

In Greek mythology, a human becoming a god only ever happened through the gods themselves. Without divine blood, nearly all such elevations came from a god's grace. The alternative was performing heroic feats — and that was out of reach for me as I was now. That path belonged only to those of divine lineage.

But with this Status Window…!

It had told me to bed the goddesses.

Crude as it was, it was offering me a single real possibility — a choice that could free me from Zeus completely.

I'll do it. I swear I will!

I lifted my head.

"We've arrived."

I looked at the place Hera had led me to.

Along the way, she had turned aside every other goddess and attendant who passed, under the pretense of personally escorting me to my lodgings.

"This is the path that leads down to the mortal world."

My resolve.

My will to bed other goddesses before Zeus could take me.

I had reached the starting point of that path.

"Hephaestus."

A god was already waiting for Hera at the entrance that led to the human world.

Hephaestus, God of Blacksmiths.

One side of his face was hideously twisted with scars, but the other belonged to a strongly featured man. He limped with a cane, yet his well-built upper body was the hard-forged product of a lifetime at the forge.

"Mother."

In a deep, heavy voice, Hephaestus bowed his head to Hera.

She gently pushed me toward him.

"Take this child to the Temple of the Hearth."

"Father will…"

"I can no longer stand by and watch that creature lust after other men."

Hera clenched her teeth.

"As if chasing other women weren't enough — now he lusts after men as well. It is a violation of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the laws that demand fidelity to the family."

She was a woman who would rather die than accept polygamy. Monogamy alone was the absolute truth of the household she embodied.

By modern standards, her thinking was the most reasonable of all.

But in this deranged world of ancient Greece, a goddess who thought that way was dismissed as nothing more than a jealous shrew.

"Understood."

Even so, Hephaestus obeyed his mother. He wrapped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an arm around my waist and hoisted me onto his back.

"If we should be discovered…"

"I will take responsibility."

Hera spoke softly, then sank to one knee. She gazed at me where I clung to Hephaestus's back, and cupped my face in her hands.

"Handsome child. Let us meet again."

With those words, she pressed her lips to my forehead.

A blessing flowed from her mouth and poured through my entire body.

I closed my eyes and bowed my head.

"Thank you, Queen of All Things."

Hera smiled faintly, then waved her hand.

Whoooosh—!

And just like that, with Hera and Hephaestus's help, I was carried down toward the mortal world.

"So this is…"

The Temple of the Hearth.

The temple dedicated to Hestia — Goddess of the Hearth, and the first virgin goddess.

I had visited temples a few times since reincarnating into this world. But every time, the atmosphere had been sacred, solemn, and absolutely forbidding of any casual speech. Whether it was Zeus's temple or Hera's, it was always the same.

This place was different.

"Kyahaha!"

"Over here, over here!"

"Catch me if you can!"

Children were running and playing — and doing it with pure, unclouded joy.

I had known Hestia was a compassionate goddess who looked after orphans. But seeing it with my own eyes made it hit differently.

Ah.

That bastard Zeus really was a piece of shit of a god.

"This is as far as I go."

Having guided me here, Hephaestus pulled a hood over his head.

His sharp crimson eyes bored into me.

"An interesting one, aren't you."

With that single remark, Hephaestus turned his back.

Only after he had limped away into the distance did the meaning of his words sink in.

Wait a second.

Hadn't I just stood face-to-face with the true bodies of three different gods — and survived?

I looked down at myself.

Nothing seemed particularly unusual.

Status Window. Don't tell me…

Ha…

And it only bothers telling me this now?

So it has to be the goddess herself — not a clone or avatar — for a Review to count.

And once I rated them and wrote a Review, I would receive their blessings and be able to grow.

I raised my head and stared at the window floating before my eyes.

Fleeing to the human world with Hera's help had shaved off one percent.

But it was still high.

To lower it even a little further, I needed Hestia's help by any means necessary.

I pulled down the hood that had covered my face and set my feet toward the Temple of the Hearth.

The orphans all turned to look at me at once. The priestesses carrying fire looked as well.

"My. Who is this handsome boy?"

One of the priestesses walked over, tilting her head.

"Is something the matter? Have you nowhere to go?"

I began to tremble. I clutched my arms and started to sob.

"O-Oh?"

Toward the flustered priestess, I cried out with everything I had.

"Please save me!"

This time, it wasn't an act. I meant every word.

"S-Someone's after me! Please, save me!"

I just didn't mention who.