The Tale of Otus and Ephialtes - (1)
The messenger had barely departed when Iris arrived shortly after. "My Lord Hades, what brings you to summon me..."
"Open the passage to Olympus."
"...Understood."
From the tips of Iris's fingers flowed seven bands of colored light. Soon a beautiful rainbow formed, creating a pathway that connected one space to another. As expected, calling Iris really was the most convenient way to travel long distances.
Shaaaa—
As I stepped through the passage, space twisted and the cloud-filled Olympus appeared before me. Let's see... where was Zeus right now...
"Oh? Uncle Hades?"
"Apollo."
My nephew Apollo, with his brilliant golden hair and eyes that sparkled like sunlight, was nearby. As usual, he was carrying his lyre and heading somewhere.
"What brings you to Olympus today, Uncle?"
"You don't need to know that. Where is Zeus?"
"Ah, if it's Father, he's probably at the banquet hall over there."
Oho, a banquet, huh. After all that talk about a heinous criminal and dispatching Thanatos, it turned out to be a false accusation, and now he's throwing a banquet without a single thought about the mess caused by his own rape? I entered the banquet hall and saw all kinds of gods gathered there. Drinking nectar and eating ambrosia while enjoying themselves—it was the same old banquet as always.
"Huh...? Lord Hades?"
"You don't look particularly happy today..."
"The reason for your rare visit to Olympus is..."
And there, comfortably seated on the golden throne, was the King of the Gods.
"Thanatos was sleeping, you say? He is not a god who would do such a thing. You must have seen wrong..."
"It's true, Father! He was lying there so comfortably that..."
Zeus wore a dumbfounded expression as he listened to Ares's report, the very god who had just returned from the Underworld. His face was filled with disbelief.
Thud. Thud.
I walked straight toward Zeus, and the bastard looked startled upon seeing me.
"Eh? What brings my older brother Hades to Olympus this time..."
"Everything Ares said is the truth."
"What? Then Thanatos really disobeyed my orders...!"
Veins bulged on Zeus's forehead, but I wasn't finished yet.
"By the way, about that human you ordered Thanatos to drag down to the Underworld."
"You mean Sisyphus?"
"Just what crime did he commit that the King of the Gods himself would summon Thanatos to send him to the Underworld?"
"Ah... haha..."
Zeus forced an awkward laugh, as if he'd realized something. That's right. As you know, we have the Goddess of Memory, Mnemosyne, in the Underworld.
"As Lord Hades said, what exactly did this human named Sisyphus do to deserve such treatment?"
Hera, who had been eating ambrosia a short distance away, approached. The Queen of the Gods wore nothing but pure curiosity on her face. It seemed she didn't know the details of this incident. Since you have the right to know, I should tell you clearly.
"Well. It's because Zeus raped..."
"Aaaah! Ahem! Brother, wait. Just a moment!"
"Hmph! You stay quiet! So what about Zeus?!"
The bastard tried to change the subject in a panic, but it was no use. Hera had sensed something strange and silenced Zeus. You understand why I'm bringing this up here, right? Reap what you've sown, Zeus.
"Hera, you know the river god Asopus, don't you?"
"I've heard of him as well."
"Zeus raped his daughter, and the human who informed Asopus of that fact is Sisyphus."
"...?!"
Zeus glanced around nervously and tried to sneak away from his seat, only to be caught by Hera.
"So... in conclusion, when Zeus realized his rape had been discovered, he tried to kill the human who had revealed it...?"
"That's correct."
Hera shot Zeus a quick glare before turning her gaze back to me.
"This isn't a lie, is it?"
"I confirmed it with the help of Goddess Mnemosyne. I swear on the River Styx that all of this is true."
"Ze... Zeeeeus!!!"
Hera's face instantly transformed into that of a vengeful demon. As the Queen of the Gods and the Goddess of Marriage, acts like rape and adultery were absolute evil in her eyes.
"Ahem!"
"Did you really think I'd stay quiet after you forced yourself on yet another goddess?!"
"Should the God of Death, Thanatos, really be punishing a human who revealed your rape?"
The bastard couldn't say a word and only broke out in cold sweat. Oho... look at him avoiding my eyes.
"No, Brother, that's... Thanatos was merely upholding the dignity of me, the King of the Gods..."
"Dignity? Since when did the God of Rape, who forces himself on anyone he fancies, have any dignity?!"
Zeus's complexion grew even paler. That was understandable, since Hera was glaring at him with fiery eyes and ranting nonstop right beside him.
"You're always like this. Leto, Europa, human women—anyone with a pretty face makes your eyes roll back and you pounce on them. I can't tell if you're the King of the Gods or the King of Adultery. Shall I tell everyone how many times you flirted with Iris today? And now you're raping the daughter of a river god? Then sending the brave human who reported it to the Underworld? If even one thing I've said is wrong, go ahead and refute it..."
"Ugh... I... I was wrong."
So he finally admitted it with his own mouth.
"Then pay me compensation."
"C-compensation?"
"Because of you, the Underworld's workload has been so overwhelming it's practically bursting for the past few days. I'll need to borrow some of Olympus's gods for a while."
Zeus glanced around, his eyes darting back and forth, before cautiously opening his mouth.
"Ahem. Ahem. Of course. Take whoever you want, Brother..."
"And stop arbitrarily ordering around the busy gods, especially for pointless matters like this..."
If he'd said no, I was seriously considering cutting off that thing of his with the Scythe, but... well, he was still the King of the Gods, and Hera was already giving him an earful, so I'd let it slide this time.
"Zeus! I'm not finished talking yet!"
"That is... this matter..."
The other reason I'd come all the way up here was to take a few gods back to the Underworld with me. Rather than pressing Zeus further, I needed to return quickly and get back to work. Let's see, who should I take to put to work? Athena, who had experienced Underworld duties before? Or Ares, who was good at commanding souls? My gaze shifted to the side. Ares, who had been listening blankly, met my eyes and frantically waved his hands.
"Huk...! Uncle Hades, you'd be much better off taking Athena instead of me!"
"...Since you promptly reported Thanatos's misconduct to the Underworld, I'll let you off the hook."
Leaving behind Zeus, whose ears were practically bleeding ichor from Hera's endless scolding, I scanned the banquet hall. Where might I find talent—rather, divine material—perfectly suited for the Underworld?
Gods possess far superior senses compared to humans. Even conversations held at a moderate distance could be heard clearly unless blocked by divine power. Therefore...
"So Lord Zeus has violated someone again."
"No... Father..."
"This time it's Asopus's daughter who became the victim..."
It was only natural that Zeus's notoriety grew even further. The virgin goddesses sighed, and even the married goddesses shuddered.
"Should I just swear my virginity on the River Styx too?"
"Or perhaps become like Goddess Athena..."
"So the rumor that Lord Zeus holds the divine authority of rape and adultery was true?"
Amidst all this, one goddess showed a completely different reaction.
"Oh my, Lord Zeus never comes to visit me..."
Beauty that seemed to embody all the loveliness of the world. It was Aphrodite, the Goddess of Beauty and Love. When she smiled with the corners of her lips slightly raised, Ares's face melted and his eyes grew hazy. That would probably lead to him getting badly hurt by Hephaestus later... tsk tsk.
Aphrodite lightly walked across the clouds and approached me as I observed the gods. Oh, she's wearing that headache-inducing girdle again.
"Hades, seeing that you've come to Olympus today, you must have wanted to see me again, didn't you?"
"Go to your husband."
The beautiful forehead of the Goddess of Love furrowed slightly. Yet even that was transformed into beauty by this goddess, who smiled at me.
"Hehe... How long will you keep playing hard to get..."
"Aphrodite, don't make things too difficult for Hades."
"Oh? Lady Hestia?"
Hestia, who had been tending the hearth in a corner of the banquet hall, quietly approached and spoke.
"Lady Hestia, didn't you swear your virginity on the River Styx?"
"...? What does that have to do with this?"
"There's only one thing I can think of that would make someone try to block free love between men and women?"
Aphrodite circled behind the relatively short Hestia and whispered. Was that sly look a characteristic of the Goddess of Love?
"Hah! Hades and I are not like that!"
"Aww, you can just tell me secretly. For love advice, come to this Goddess of Love~"
Wait a moment. Couldn't Aphrodite's charm be useful for commanding the souls in the Underworld?
"Aphrodite."
"Yeees~ What is it, Hades?"
"Would you be interested in coming to the Underworld for a bit?"
Aphrodite beamed at me with a wide smile.
"Ah~ So you had those kinds of preferences. You should have said so sooner. Spending time together in a quiet, intimate place isn't bad at all."
"So, are you coming or not?"
"Of course I am!"
Her smile carried a seductive divine power that made my head ache, but I smiled back. If even I felt this way, the souls coming to the Underworld would probably lose their minds completely.
"Anyway, as the Goddess of Beauty and Love, you don't really have any specific duties in Olympus, right?"
"That's right! I could even spend a hot night with you... no, hot days and nights!"
Hestia, who had been watching us, shivered and put on a determined expression. That's not what I meant...
"H-Hades! You can't do that! You already have Lethe and Styx..."
"They're goddesses who haven't even married Hades yet, right? I should get to enjoy some fun time with him first..."
"Hmm. Fun time. That's a very good way to put it."
If you came to the Underworld, everyone would be able to work a little more enjoyably. Especially the ferryman Charon and the lesser gods—they'd be absolutely thrilled.
As Aphrodite and I gazed at each other with expectant smiles, a tremendous roar suddenly erupted from the outskirts of Olympus.
Boom! Boooom!