Hephaestus's Tale - (2)
Hephaestus shed tears for a moment before summoning flames to dry them. The fire somehow seemed to carry emotion, looking almost sorrowful… Was there truly no other way? Could he not use divine power to reshape his appearance to match Aphrodite’s tastes…?
“Ah, what about visiting Apollo? As the god of medicine, perhaps he could—”
“I already went to see Apollo as well.”
According to Hephaestus, he had sought out the sun god hoping he might change his looks to suit Aphrodite’s preferences. But that too proved impossible. Altering the appearance of one of the Twelve Olympians—not some ordinary mortal—was no simple task.
“Whenever I ignite flames for my smithing work, my face quickly reverts to its original form.”
“Ah…”
No matter how perfectly Apollo fixed a handsome face with his power, the fire god Hephaestus’s own flames and strength would restore him to his true appearance. That made sense. We gods generally retain the form we were born with… The reason the smithing god was ugly and lame wasn’t because he had been thrown onto Lemnos Island, but because he had been born that way.
“Still, thank you. For listening to my troubles so seriously.”
“No, I… I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. It’s all because I couldn’t keep my wife in line.”
As Hephaestus finished speaking and turned to leave, a fiery glint appeared in his eyes. Again…? What thought has struck you this time, my nephew?
“But I simply cannot forgive that bastard Ares!”
“You mean Ares, who committed adultery with your wife and fathered Harmonia?”
Aphrodite loved Ares enough to bear him the goddess of harmony, Harmonia. But one could hardly suppress the goddess of love and tell her not to love… Still, since she had already given birth to Harmonia, I thought Hera would have told her to restrain herself by now.
“Didn’t Hera once tell Aphrodite to stop her affairs?”
“Yes, that did happen. However…”
Unable to endure it any longer, Hephaestus had reported the matter to Hera. Feeling guilty for having once thrown her son from Olympus onto Lemnos, Hera accepted his request. I had heard that the Queen of the Gods had summoned the adulterous pair and quietly rebuked them. To be precise, it was Hermes—who frequently visited the Underworld—who had relayed the story.
The Olympian gods were rather free-spirited when it came to love. But once an affair had produced a child, the message was likely that they should exercise some restraint. In fact, even Zeus rarely engaged in affairs that went beyond a single night. Once a child was born, he would lie low for a while, mindful of his lawful wife Hera’s gaze…
“Even after Mother spoke to them, they continued as before. Just the other day, I happened to catch them enjoying a secret rendezvous.”
Ares possessed the solid, muscular build befitting the god of war. With his handsome face and the affection he showed his children, it was understandable that Aphrodite found it difficult to let him go.
“To think they would continue meeting even after having a child, and even after being caught! So shamelessly!”
“Hmm…”
“I am furious with my wife as well. Considering our forced marriage, turning a blind eye once or twice is one thing, but…!”
“That does seem a bit much…”
“Still, thanks to coming to the Underworld, my thoughts have become perfectly clear! Thank you, Uncle.”
Just what kind of thoughts are you having? What exactly are you planning to attempt this time… my nephew?
“Apollo is hosting an arts festival on Olympus for several days. I would be grateful if you could attend as well, Uncle.”
“Well, I don’t particularly want to go up to Olympus…”
“If you come to Olympus, I will personally inspect and maintain the Styx Sword, the Bident, and the Kynee for you.”
“…But since it’s my nephew’s request, of course I must go up.”
The Styx Sword did seem to have developed a bit of rust, and if he was going to inspect the helmet of invisibility and the Bident as well, it was a good deal for me. Upon hearing my answer, Hephaestus nodded heavily, as if he had made some firm resolution.
“I also happen to have a splendid piece of art I wish to present at the festival. Since I would like to show it to as many gods as possible, I would like to invite the other gods of the Underworld as well…”
Just what are you trying to do?
And so the day of the arts festival on Olympus finally arrived. Since it was a festival hosted by Apollo, who possessed the divinity of the arts, I was looking forward to it, but…
“I will be accompanying you this time!”
“I want to go too… Styx.”
Lethe and Styx both said they wanted to follow me to Olympus. However, only one of them could leave. If both goddesses disappeared from the Underworld, the workload on the remaining gods would become far too heavy, so one of them had to stay behind and handle the duties…
“Are you going to keep doing this?”
“You were secretly hugging Hades behind my back last time…”
“Speaking of which, Styx, with those huge breasts of yours…”
“What did you say?!”
The goddess Styx stood with her hands on her hips, puffing out her cheeks in a pout, but the goddess Lethe, arms crossed and lips pushed forward, refused to back down. Please… please stop.
“I’ll just… go alone…”
“Then let’s settle it with a lottery.”
“That’s a good idea.”
The sight of the goddesses quickly drawing lots to decide my companion somehow filled the air with a suffocating tension.
“Wow! I won! Let’s go to Olympus quickly, Hades!”
“Ugh… The goddess of luck, Tyche, only turns her back on me at times like this…!”
The excited goddess Styx raised the winning lot high, shaking it, then hugged me. But if you bury your face in my chest like that… Hup! ....#$%@%!
“Eek! Get away from Hades, Styx!”
“No~”
The Underworld remains peaceful today as well.
And so I arrived at Olympus with the goddess Styx. Even from outside the divine palace, lively laughter and music could be heard. Lyres, kitharas, auloi, and many other instruments created harmonious melodies.
“Oh…? It’s Lord Hades.”
“And the one beside him… is the goddess Styx? Could it be…”
“I hadn’t heard that the master of the Underworld had gotten married?”
It’s been a while since I’ve heard gods whispering about me as I pass by. No matter how much you try to block the sound with divine power, I can hear everything, you young ones…
“Wow… Hades, look at that.”
The goddess Styx, clinging to my arm, pointed somewhere with her other hand. There, a weaving competition among many goddesses was taking place.
“Ooh… Their handiwork is truly impressive.”
“Did weaving also require wisdom?”
“I wonder which goddess weaves the best on Olympus…”
Carving beautiful patterns into the fabric was also considered an art. The participants were Athena, Hera, and Hestia.
Swish. Creak. Clack.
Athena’s tapestry depicted Zeus seated on a golden throne. It also showed numerous gods fighting Typhon, and Athena herself bestowing blessings upon humans. Hera portrayed a warm scene of a happy human family in daily life. The depiction of a woman holding a child with a joyful expression was particularly masterful. Hestia had woven her own hearth illuminating the dark night, and it created the illusion that her warm energy was flowing out from the pattern.
“As expected of Lady Hera…”
“Lady Athena is the goddess of wisdom, yet she weaves so well too.”
“It’s hard to judge superiority, but… Athena’s tapestry has the most splendid patterns…”
“I agree. Does the divinity of wisdom also include dexterity?”
The surrounding gods each added their comments as they looked at the completed tapestries of the three goddesses. Even to my eyes, the patterns on Athena’s tapestry appeared the most splendid and skillfully made.
“Athena, you truly are remarkable.”
“It is but a small skill, Lady Hera.”
“You captured our battle against Typhon so well…”
Athena’s tapestry, which depicted the Olympian gods during the Typhonomachy, also included me—holding the Scythe in one hand and the Kynee in the other. As I slowly examined the tapestry, I heard a voice calling me.
“Lord Hades.”
“Dionysus.”
A male god with golden curly hair resembling Zeus and exuding a rich aroma of wine. It was Dionysus, the god of wine and madness. He shook the golden cup filled with nectar once, and its contents transformed into a deep, rich red wine.
“Please try it. I made it with the most popular flavor among humans.”
I accepted the cup and slowly drank. The bittersweet yet sweet taste and the strong grape aroma delighted my tongue. Of course nectar was superior, but I thought Dionysus’s wine was quite a delicacy as well. When I set down the empty cup, the god of wine sighed and spoke.
“Sigh… Because of the recent incident, my faith in Thebes has greatly diminished.”
“Was that when King Oedipus went mad?”
“The temple burned down, the believers fled, and it seems difficult for my faith to grow again in Thebes.”
But Thebes… When you were spreading your faith there, you even killed the king to instill fear, so the believers’ loyalty and faith don’t seem particularly deep to begin with…
“I have one request, Uncle.”
“Go ahead and speak.”
“I understand that Gaia cannot be helped, but could you not give that human Oedipus an even harsher punishment?”
That I cannot do. No matter how much my nephew asks, I cannot arbitrarily change the laws of the Underworld.
“A judgment that has already been decided cannot be changed. And I judged that the degree was appropriate.”
“But that human also killed my beloved leopard.”
“I fully understand your circumstances. However, I hope you remember that he too was a victim.”
“As expected… Yes, I understand, Uncle.”
Dionysus bowed his head with a bitter smile and quietly withdrew. I had clearly explained to him how the punishment had been decided last time, but it seemed he still couldn’t shake off his grudge against Oedipus.
“Uncle Hades remains generous toward humans as always. To refuse even your nephew’s request.”
“Hermes.”
“And, if I may have a word in your ear…”
Hermes approached me with a bright, beaming smile. Why my ear…? Did he have some secret to tell?
“Hehe… In truth, isn’t it because Dionysus isn’t a cute female niece that you refused the request?”
“Enough with the nonsense. By the way, has a war broken out somewhere?”
“Why do you ask?”
“It’s a grand festival, yet several gods are nowhere to be seen. Ares is missing too.”
It was similar to the usual festivals held on Olympus, but from earlier, several gods were absent. Ares, who should have been enthusiastically drinking nectar, was nowhere to be found. Aphrodite, who should have been sitting in a corner gazing lecherously at the male gods, was also missing. And above all…
“I came because Hephaestus invited me, so where has he gone?”
“Huh? As for Brother Hephaestus, I heard he had business on Lemnos Island and would be away for a few days.”
What is this? As both Hermes and I wore puzzled expressions, the smithing god ascended onto a wide platform.
“Huh…? I thought Lord Hephaestus had gone to Lemnos Island.”
“I heard he would return on the last day of the festival.”
Hephaestus first sought Zeus’s permission before opening his mouth. His booming voice shook all of Olympus.
“Ahem. Ahem. Everyone! I, Hephaestus, have created a work that can be called the pinnacle of art for the gods who have participated in this festival!”