After the Typhonomachia (2)
After crossing Iris’s rainbow, my body transferred to Olympus. It had been so long since I last felt the sensation of stepping onto clouds that were both soft and strangely heavy. In a world blanketed entirely in white, the Olympian Divine Palace stood in the far distance. It looked as though it had been built from white marble, but in truth the structure was forged from metals refined by Hephaestus and the Cyclopes. The temple—no, the divine palace—was so vast it seemed to brush against the Milky Way hanging in the sky above…
“Why does it look perfectly fine?”
Iris let out a small sigh at my muttered question.
“Lord Zeus ordered Hephaestus to lead the reconstruction and spare no effort in restoring the palace as quickly as possible.”
I could practically see Hephaestus—the courageous warrior who could summon blazing flames against Typhon and Olympus’s greatest blacksmith—being worked to the bone. Iris’s complexion didn’t look great either. I see. So you suffered too.
I gave the goddess of the rainbow a brief, sympathetic glance before walking toward the entrance of the Olympian Divine Palace. The gates were unmistakably more extravagant than the entrance to the Underworld where I lived. Pillars covered in gold and engraved with dragon and lightning motifs, door handles made of strangely luminous metal. From a short distance away, the faint glow of the Milky Way flowed like a river of stars.
“Ah, that ornament was something Lord Apollo and Lord Hephaestus agonized over together…”
Iris began explaining when she noticed me staring at the decoration, which clearly bore the touch of a god with exceptional aesthetic sense. But I was ready to go inside, so I listened with half an ear before pushing the doors open.
Srrrk—
The floor of the Olympian Divine Palace was made of cloud. That was why the doors opened smoothly without the slightest unpleasant creak. A banquet of Olympus was underway, filled with countless gods and attendants. Splendid tables and chairs were arranged throughout, and plates of ambrosia—the food of the gods—had been generously portioned out.
I ignored the murmuring lower gods and servants and scanned my surroundings. The faint sound of a lyre reached my ears.
Tiririring~ Ting~
“Wow…”
“Shh…! I can’t hear the music!”
The first thing I saw was the god of music, Apollo, setting down a golden cup filled with nectar and sitting in a chair as he played the lyre. Goddesses and female attendants around him wore utterly enchanted expressions as they listened.
“Here, pour me some nectar.”
“Yes! Right away!”
Whenever the gods held out their cups, servants wearing comfortable chitons would hurry across the clouds, pouring from bottles of nectar. They were attendants of Hebe, the goddess of youth who oversaw nectar and ambrosia. As the daughter of Zeus and Hera, she was always busy directing her servants during these divine banquets.
“Hebe.”
“Ah! Lord Hades, you’ve arrived!”
She bowed with a bright, refreshing smile. After exchanging brief pleasantries with my niece whom I hadn’t seen in a while, I reached for a nearby golden cup.
Or I tried to, until a sea god with blue hair stretched his hand out first.
“Hey, Hades. I honestly thought you wouldn’t come to Olympus.”
“Poseidon.”
The god who ruled the seas grinned as he downed the nectar in one gulp. In his other hand he held the Triaina he was so proud of.
“So… what do you think of this Olympus banquet?”
“It’s just another ordinary banquet. Is there a problem?”
Poseidon picked up a piece of ambrosia from a plate and spoke to me in a lowered voice.
The second-in-command of Olympus glanced around, his expression tightening slightly as he sent the telepathic message. I gave a small nod.
Yes. This was exactly why I had bothered to attend the banquet. When gods gathered in one place, all sorts of news, secrets I didn’t know, and shady stories tended to surface. As the King of the Underworld, I couldn’t afford to keep my eyes and ears closed.
After setting up the appointment with Poseidon, we exchanged ordinary conversation before naturally moving in different directions. I felt the surrounding gazes briefly gather on the two chief gods who ruled the sea and the underworld before scattering again. The host of this banquet, Zeus, seemed like he would appear a little later. He would probably show up once enough gods had gathered, raise his cup, and set the mood.
“Hades. I didn’t expect you to come.”
“What’s so strange about me coming to Olympus?”
Hair the color of ripe grain—golden-brown mixed with yellow. A gorgeous appearance paired with an expressionless face. It was Demeter, one of the Twelve Olympians and the goddess of the earth. She had been drinking nectar but now gazed down at the mortal world visible between the clouds.
“You’re always busy ruling the Underworld from underground, so I naturally assumed you wouldn’t come.”
“It’s not like I spend every single day buried in work.”
She looked at me as if she didn’t believe it, but it was true. Though honestly, it wouldn’t be wrong to say I was neglecting my duties right now to take a break. She turned her head again to look at the lower world. The view of the mortal realm from the divine palace atop Mount Olympus was… not the usual scenery.
“Are those workers on the half-destroyed Mount Olympus your subordinates?”
“I only gave the lower gods and nymphs a small task.”
Well, restoring Mount Olympus after Typhon had smashed it hardly looked like a “small task.” The nymphs down there were clearly complaining with their whole faces. I focused my ears for a moment to listen to what the workers below were saying.
Dryads were nymphs who lived inside trees. They had long lives but were not immortal like gods, and they could not stray far from their trees. That was why they had no choice but to perform this heavy labor without complaint. If they didn’t want to wither and die overnight, they had to obey.
“Still… go a little easier on them.”
“The earth is essentially my child, and they are beings who live depending on me. What’s wrong with making them do this much?”
Demeter wore an expression that said she genuinely couldn’t understand, but I wished she would show a little mercy. If she spent some time working in the Underworld, she might learn to consider the hardships of those being worked to the bone beneath her…
“The King of the Gods, Lord Zeus, chief deity of Olympus, is entering!”
A lower god who could control wind raised his voice and shouted. At the same time, the muscular male god with the golden hair I knew so well—Zeus—appeared.
“It looks like everyone is enjoying themselves.”
The sweet melody that had been flowing gently from Apollo’s lyre stopped. The gods who had been eating nectar and ambrosia paused their meal and bowed their heads in respect. Once everyone’s eyes were on the King of the Gods, he spoke again.
“As the one who hosted this banquet of Olympus, I, Zeus, will say only a few brief words.”
Zeus cleared his throat, then spoke in a majestic voice infused with divine power.
“Not long ago we faced the powerful enemy Typhon, but every god present here combined their strength and succeeded in repelling that monster!”
Everyone already knew this victory banquet was held to commemorate the defeat of Typhon.
“Using this occasion, let us take a moment to praise the gods who performed great deeds in the battle against Typhon. First… Hermes!”
The cheerful young man holding the Caduceus, Hermes, stepped forward before Zeus and bowed. Zeus patted his shoulder, said something, then raised his voice again.
“Hermes here suffered serious injuries at Typhon’s hands yet still managed to reach the Underworld and successfully request reinforcements. Had it not been for Hermes, Olympus might have been defeated! As a reward, the greaves made by Hephaestus and…”
I quietly watched Zeus praise his son’s achievements. Hermes wore an awkward smile, as if he felt the reward was more than he deserved.
“Next, the goddess of wisdom and my daughter, Athena, step forward!”
As expected, Athena, fully armed, walked forward confidently and knelt on one knee before Zeus. Her strategy during the fight against Typhon had certainly been effective.
“The plan that so beautifully deceived Typhon came from your mind. The title of goddess of wisdom is truly well-deserved…”
Earlier Zeus had said he would hold a moment of praise. The word “praise” meant a superior commending an inferior. That was why the names of Poseidon, who had dealt Typhon a heavy blow, and myself were not called by Zeus. Although we acknowledged him as the strongest and therefore King of the Gods, the three of us were nearly equal chief gods.
“…Ares! As befitting the god of war, you fought with true valor…”
And well… if he wanted to praise his own sons and daughters, there was no reason for me to interrupt. I took a sip of nectar while watching Zeus go around praising the various gods. Hmm. Olympus nectar really did taste different. Why did it seem sweeter than what I drank in the Underworld?
“…That concludes the commendation for the brave heroes who stood against Typhon! I, Zeus, shall now take my leave, so please enjoy the banquet to your hearts’ content!”
Rumble!
Zeus vanished from the banquet hall along with the sound of thunder. It seemed he was being considerate; if the ruler of Olympus stayed, the lower gods would feel uncomfortable. Still, did he really have to leave with thunder? It was just noisy to me.
The gods who had performed well in the battle against Typhon were soon surrounded by many others. Some wanted to hear their heroic tales, while others hoped to build connections with the Twelve Olympians while they had the chance.
“Lord Poseidon! Although Lord Zeus did not mention it…”
“Right, whose son was that again?”
Incidentally, no one approached me while I stood in the corner sipping nectar with Demeter. Even that wild Poseidon had gods coming up to talk to him… Why…
Demeter, who had been watching me, let out a small laugh and spoke.
“That’s obvious. If they offend you, they fall into Tartarus. If you like them, you drag them off to the Underworld. Who would dare approach carelessly?”
“Did I say that out loud?”
“…It’s all over your face, Hades.”
Of course, I couldn’t say it was incomprehensible. Aside from the Twelve Olympians who could sit on the golden thrones of Olympus, plenty of gods revered and feared me. The Underworld was a deep, dark, pitch-black, terrifying, gloomy, and melancholy place… That was true, but still. It was a banquet, yet the number of gods I could talk to was limited, so it felt rather dull. There wasn’t anything particularly interesting either.
I did at least greet a few newly born gods. To be precise, they had trembled violently while greeting me, so I simply sent them off with appropriate responses.
“Relax your expression. You look even more gloomy. It’s like you’re about to drag someone off to Tartarus…”
“I’m not.”
Demeter pointed out my appearance with a slightly fed-up face. If anything, wasn’t this prejudice against the Underworld?