Poseidon’s Ambition
Poseidon’s Story - (2)
“Obviously, the only thing we’d talk about is joining forces to overthrow Zeus, right?”
Even after his bold declaration, I didn’t show any surprise. Poseidon picked up his wine cup again.
“Is the throne of the King of the Gods really that tempting to you?”
“Oh… it’s not that.”
The sea god shook his head slowly and began to speak. When Poseidon raised his hand, his attendants hurriedly moved away from us.
“Zeus no longer has the qualifications to stand above us. Just think about what happened with Typhon…”
“Didn’t he win in the end?”
“But he lost once, had his sinews cut, and was shamefully stuffed into a cave. Even though he fought with the Scythe.”
Poseidon had always been overflowing with ambition. When we drew lots for dominion over the world, I had drawn the Underworld that everyone else avoided. Yet he had always regretted not obtaining the sovereignty of the sky.
Still, I hadn’t expected him to start plotting a rebellion so soon. He must have thought I’d grown disappointed with Zeus after helping him fight Typhon.
“It’s absurd for the King of the Gods, the one who rules the heavens, to suffer defeat. Zeus, who even begged you for help, Hades, will never be able to win against the Gigantes that will come someday.”
He was referring to the time he had Hermes ask me for assistance. But kicking Zeus out just because he lost once didn’t sit well with me.
“This kind of thing only happens because we decided dominion by drawing lots. Even with that overwhelming power, watching him struggle pathetically against Typhon was quite the eyesore.”
“So you’re trying to drag me into this?”
“Of course. You might not be interested, but if I drive Zeus out, I promise you a very satisfying reward.”
No, I don’t need any reward. There isn’t much I want in the first place.
“Do you really think you have a chance of winning if I help? No, that’s the wrong question…”
“Hahaha! Obviously! If the Underworld helps, our chances are more than enough.”
Zeus was incredibly strong. The King of the Gods, master of lightning, the supreme deity who ruled the heavens. It was said that even if all the gods joined forces, they couldn’t defeat Zeus alone… but that was only if Poseidon and I were excluded.
If two of the three great gods teamed up, there was a decent chance of victory. But why should I participate in some rebellion? Wasn’t Zeus ruling well enough so far?
“Forget it. I oppose this rebellion.”
“Even if I said I’d grant you anything except the sovereignty of the sky?”
“No matter what you offer, I think things are better as they are right now.”
Poseidon frowned slightly and fell into thought. He seemed unable to understand why I, like Zeus, wouldn’t be swayed by power.
“But… if you’re unlucky enough to end up stuck at the bottom of the underworld…”
“If I hadn’t gone to the Underworld, one of you two would have fought to the death over who had to take it.”
“Hoo… I didn’t expect this from you, Hades…”
Poseidon, who had been thinking for a moment, crossed his arms.
“Then how about I show you proof that Zeus lacks the qualifications to be king? Hera!”
“What…?!”
The moment Poseidon spoke, the door behind where we were sitting opened. The one who emerged was the Queen of the Gods with her chilling beauty—Hera. She spoke in a cold tone.
“Hades, I can no longer stand by and watch Zeus’s misdeeds.”
I was a little surprised when Hera walked out after opening the door. So Poseidon hadn’t brought up the rebellion for no reason.
“Wait, there’s no way Zeus doesn’t know you came here…”
“Zeus ignores me, his wife and the goddess of marriage, and constantly commits adultery. Right now he’s off having a grand time with another goddess.”
You can just speak comfortably. You don’t need to use honorifics with me. Just like before you obtained the position of Queen of the Gods…
“The number of goddesses he’s touched so far exceeds dozens. And that’s only the ones I know about…”
Hera hurled insults at Zeus with a face full of rage. Well, of course you’d be angry.
“Haa… How can he sleep with any goddess or mortal who catches his fancy for just one night! My insides are burning like the flames in Hephaestus’s forge…”
Yeah… uh… it does seem like rebellion is the right choice here. Isn’t this entirely Zeus’s fault for never listening no matter what anyone says?
When I made a dumbfounded face, a confident voice flowed from Poseidon.
“See? Even though he took the goddess of marriage as his wife, the so-called King of the Gods…”
“Can’t you hear your own wife screaming in the depths of the sea?”
“…Of course, unlike Zeus, if I become the ruler of the heavens, I have the confidence to look only at Amphitrite.”
At least wet your lips before you lie. Who the hell would believe that?
“Not only Hera, but Apollo will also join our plan. With this much, we should have a chance even without you, right?”
“Do you really think so?”
“Hades, even if you don’t help, the position of King of the Gods is scheduled to change to me, Poseidon. What’s wrong with siding with the winning side?”
Now you’re trying to persuade me with that kind of logic? Even with Apollo, Hera, and Poseidon, it feels like you’ll still lose… And Zeus is also the god of kingship. You and Zeus are about the same, but Zeus might be slightly better…
Apollo is Zeus’s son, yet he agreed to rebel together. Maybe he’s dissatisfied with his father for neglecting his mother Leto and fooling around with other women?
“Zeus is strong. Even if you all work together, there’s no way you can win. I’ve said it several times—I oppose any rebellion.”
“Haa… After seeing how you fought against Typhon, it’s not like you’ve become a coward, so why are you acting like this…”
“If you help us overthrow Zeus, I will give you my daughter, the goddess of youth Hebe. Is this still not enough?”
Now she’s even offering her own daughter… Your daughter would be my niece. Niece.
“I already have beautiful goddesses of the Underworld.”
“Are you talking about Styx, who rejected the persistent courtship of the Titan god Pallas? Or Lethe, who always walks around with that vacant look on her face? No matter who it is, none are more beautiful than my daughter…”
“That’s enough. I’ll be taking my leave now.”
I stood up from my seat, feeling a bit irritated. Hera’s anger toward Zeus was justified, but that wasn’t a reason for me to support a rebellion. Even if Poseidon, Hera, and Apollo joined forces, I didn’t think they could defeat Zeus… and I didn’t think Poseidon would do a better job as King of the Gods than Zeus.
Most importantly, I had no desire to join the losing side. And I didn’t like how Hera seemed to look down on my precious companions in the Underworld by comparing them to her daughter.
Poseidon let out a low groan and slowly nodded.
“Damn it! Fine. I understand for now, but if you ever change your mind, contact me anytime.”
“You won’t have to worry about me telling Zeus, right?”
“You’re telling me not to tell Zeus…? Ha! It would be best for all of you to stop having such useless thoughts…”
With Hera’s final addition, I left the sea and returned to the Underworld. Even if they rebelled, they’d just get struck by lightning and beaten to a pulp. Poseidon was constantly wary of Zeus… and even if I told Zeus now, while Poseidon might not know, Zeus would probably trust his wife and son’s words more.
Since the rebellion hadn’t even happened yet… if they made excuses claiming it was just a false accusation without solid evidence, I’d be the one in an awkward position. Zeus knew I had no interest in his seat, but he might think I was trying to drive a wedge between him and his wife, so I decided to hold off on reporting what happened today.
Besides, from what I remembered of my previous life, the King of the Gods had always been Zeus. Not once had it ever changed to Poseidon.
As Hades left the room with a mocking laugh, Hera and Poseidon looked at each other. Sighs escaped their lips.
“Ugh… If Hades had helped, it would have been a guaranteed victory.”
“Was it a mistake to tell him? If he informs Zeus, it could be dangerous.”
“In that case, you and Apollo can just make up a good excuse. The distance between Olympus and the Underworld is far. And…”
Poseidon shook his head.
“There was no other choice. Athena said that if I could bring Hades in, she would join as well…”
“If the goddess of wisdom helped, it would have been much easier…”
They had asked Athena to join them as well, but the only answer they received from the goddess of wisdom was that there was no chance of victory, so she would decline.
“Athena, Zeus was afraid of you and swallowed Metis while she was pregnant with you. Have you already forgotten?”
“…I’m not without complaints, but to defeat Father, at least two of the three great gods must work together.”
“So bring in Hades?”
“But Uncle Hades has no interest in power struggles. Even if I join, the result is obvious.”
Still, after Hera’s persistent persuasion, Athena had said she would join if they could bring Hades in… but in the end, it had come to this.
“That bastard Zeus is someone Apollo and I can take down together!”
“There’s no other way. We have no choice but to launch a surprise attack while Zeus is off guard…”
A few days after Poseidon’s invitation, I was handling paperwork in the Underworld. As usual, the mountain of work left me looking utterly exhausted as I flipped through the parchment when…
“Lord Hades! A goddess who identified herself as Thetis has arrived at the entrance to the Underworld!”
“Goddess Thetis? Let her in.”
Thetis. She was a sea goddess and the sister of Poseidon’s wife Amphitrite. I remembered Prometheus’s prophecy that the son she would bear would become a hero who surpassed his father… Thanks to that, she had been able to reject the marriage proposals of both Zeus and Poseidon. But why had she come all the way to the Underworld? We didn’t have much connection…
Creak—
A beautiful goddess reminiscent of blue waves entered the office. She looked extremely urgent, as if she had come to ask me for a favor.
“Haa… Hades! Right now, there are gods in Olympus who have raised a rebellion against Zeus!”
“Is Poseidon among them, by any chance?”
Just as I expected. They’re still going to fail anyway.
“How did you know…? While Zeus was asleep, Goddess Hera, Apollo, and Poseidon launched a surprise attack, stole his lightning, and subdued him.”
That completely exceeded my expectations. So that’s why she came to the Underworld for help. Attacking while he was sleeping, stealing the lightning, and subduing him—Zeus must have been wary of Poseidon, but he never anticipated betrayal from Hera or Apollo. Since there weren’t any other gods who posed a major threat to his power besides Poseidon, it made sense.
Maybe I should have warned him to be wary of Hera even if it meant drawing suspicion? No, that wouldn’t work. He would have suspected me instead. He might have thought his brother was trying to frame his wife and son…
“Please summon just one of the three Hecatoncheires brothers for a moment! We must save Zeus!”
Thetis cried out desperately for help. But Tartarus was currently in a state where Cronus frequently rampaged and even Typhon’s head had been thrown in. If I took one of the hundred-handed Hecatoncheires, the rebellion might be suppressed… but in this unstable situation, we had to prepare for any contingency.
“I cannot summon any of the three Hecatoncheires brothers. Recently, Cronus has been causing disturbances in Tartarus quite often.”
“Then… but the rebellion happening in Olympus…”
“There is no need to worry.”
Thetis looked devastated, but I wasn’t finished speaking. No matter how I thought about it, Zeus was more suited to be King of the Gods than Poseidon. Both were authoritarian, loved showing off their power, neglected their wives, and went around committing rape and adultery—they were both terrible gods, but…
“So Big Brother truly has the qualities of a king, which is why he has no interest in the position of King of the Gods.”
“On this occasion, let us briefly hold a commendation ceremony for the gods who made great contributions in the battle against Typhon.”
At least Zeus seemed to have some awareness of his role as king. If I didn’t save Zeus now, I might suffer disadvantages once Poseidon became King of the Gods… and we had to prepare for the upcoming battle against the Gigantes. We couldn’t eliminate our strongest fighting force with our own hands.
I summoned the Bident that Hephaestus had made for me and grabbed the shabby helmet lying next to the throne of the Underworld. The opponent who started the rebellion was one of the three great gods—Poseidon. I too would have to wear the Kynee and fight with all my strength.
Thetis seemed to realize my intention and let out a small gasp of admiration.
“I will head to Olympus myself.”
Another annoying task has been added to my plate.