Love and Fire - (2)
I stopped Hephaestus just as he was about to hurry off to the sinners' torture chamber with Eros.
"...Hephaestus."
"Yes?"
The God of the Forge paused mid-step and turned around. Right... this nephew of mine had given me the Bident, regularly repaired my weapons, and had even built Charon's boat. It was only fair that I help balance the scales by resolving his marriage troubles.
"Do you still harbor feelings for Aphrodite? Think realistically and answer carefully."
"...Hmm."
"If you want, I can find you a goddess whose beauty is not far behind hers."
Hephaestus sank into deep thought. Confusion, sorrow, affection, and regret flickered across his eyes in rapid succession.
"Aphrodite has relations not only with Ares but with countless other male gods. She's given birth to so many children..."
"But I..."
"Yes, I know it's hard to let go. But a marriage cannot stand on one-sided courtship alone. Even though Zeus forced the two of you together, you understand that, don't you?"
"......"
"What you did this time has surely reached Aphrodite's ears by now."
The God of the Forge hung his head. For a long time he didn't move at all. He seemed frozen in place until Eros's voice finally reached his ears.
"Um... Lord Hephaestus."
"What is it, Eros?"
"Well... As the God of Love, I know this. Mother's heart has already left..."
"Haa..."
Hephaestus let out a sigh so deep it seemed the Underworld itself might collapse. When he finally spoke, his words carried bitter resignation.
"Hahaha... Uncle. It seems Aphrodite and I were never meant to be."
"...I see."
Now that Hephaestus had given up on continuing his marriage to Aphrodite and left, I turned my thoughts to persuading Zeus. The marriage between Aphrodite and Hephaestus had been decided by Zeus himself, the King of the Gods, out of concern that the incomparably beautiful Goddess of Beauty would cause fights among the gods.
"I will hear no further objections! From this moment on, the husband of the Goddess of Beauty shall be Hephaestus!"
Declared so forcefully under the authority of the highest god, overturning that decision would not be easy. I would need proper justification, evidence, and the agreement of the other gods.
To persuade Zeus, I needed a way to prevent conflict among the gods... and Poseidon's cooperation. But if Aphrodite's official husband disappeared, the other male gods would lose their minds and swarm her. Wait... male gods...
Come to think of it, the moral high ground was on my side. I'd heard that the most important piece, Poseidon, was currently on Olympus...
I needed to head to the divine palace above the clouds right away and persuade the gods.
The divine palace of Olympus. The peaceful beings living above the clouds stirred uneasily at the sight of me.
"Wait... Isn't that the King of the Underworld...!"
"Lord Hades?! Could this be about him taking Demeter's daughter to the Underworld last time?"
"It's been a while, but maybe it's about that minor goddess named Medusa..."
Poseidon was nowhere to be seen. He was probably inside somewhere drinking nectar. I flagged down a young female attendant carrying nectar nearby.
"Ah, ah, I greet you, Lord Hades!"
"Where is Poseidon?"
"The Lord of the Sea is... over there..."
I nodded and was about to move when the attendant's face caught my eye. I'd never seen her in the divine palace before... Wait, did this person look somewhat masculine?
"What is your name? Are you a newly born minor god?"
"I am... Ganymedes, a prince of Troy. Lord Zeus brought me to Olympus. O Lord of the Underworld!"
I looked at the boy who had prostrated himself before me. His face could rival most goddesses, yet he was called a boy? And wait—Zeus brought him here? This couldn't be...
"Did Zeus bring you here by force? If so, nod slightly and I will return you to the living world."
"Th-that is not the case. Lord Zeus has treated me well."
He was so frightened he could barely speak. It was obvious he hadn't been here long. He didn't seem to possess any special powers or bloodline either... Had Zeus simply kidnapped him for his looks? But Troy was a fairly significant nation. Taking their prince like this—was this acceptable? It wasn't as if he were an important hero needed for some great undertaking. It seemed he'd been taken purely for his beauty.
"I see. Continue with your duties."
"Yes...!"
I could bring up the boy's story when persuading Zeus. Actually... if I spoke to Hera properly about this, convincing Zeus would become much easier.
While pondering, I walked across the clouds and finally spotted Poseidon. The blue-haired god was drinking nectar and listening to music flowing from a lyre. I approached him directly and sat beside him.
"Poseidon, I need to discuss something."
"Hades? What brings you..."
"I need to divorce Hephaestus and find him a new wife. Help me persuade Zeus."
"Hmm."
He downed the nectar in one go and made an indifferent face.
"Is this because of what Hephaestus nearly did to Athena this time?"
"That's right. I'm worried that if we keep giving him beautiful goddesses, he might defect to Gaia's side."
"Well..."
"Didn't you incite Hephaestus? Thanks to you, Athena suffered some damage too, so show some mercy to your nephew who was used."
"If my nephew joins Gaia's side, won't that only cast doubt on Zeus's rule? Why should I bother?"
The way he smirked showed he still hadn't given up on his dreams of rebellion. Though simply disliking Athena wouldn't be enough reason to incite Hephaestus... the more discord arose among the gods, the more Zeus's authority would be questioned. He'd seemed uninterested in the throne of the King of the Gods for a while, but was he dreaming up strange ambitions again?
"I don't understand why you care so much about the position of ruler of Olympus."
"No, from my perspective, I understand you even less, Hades. Anyway, I don't particularly like Zeus, so do as you please."
"Are you still thinking of overthrowing him?"
"Hmph! If I were, would you join me?"
The Lord of the Sea grumbled softly and turned his head. Hmm. It seemed he wasn't seriously considering rebellion. Just some petty mischief, then. Even so, thinking about it made me irritated. Did this bastard really plan to pretend he hadn't incited his pitiful nephew? The same guy who constantly tormented mortals...
"...Then I'll try a different approach to persuasion. It seems no one believes you incited Hephaestus, but what if I publicly confirm that it's true? And thanks to you raping Medusa, she's currently grinding her teeth in the Underworld. How about I bring the victim to Olympus and expose your crimes? I can't even count how many human victims you've sent to the Underworld. If I send even a small portion of them to the training camp connected to the living world as attendants... your reputation among the heroes ascending to the living world would plummet to the bottom..."
In truth, most of that was something I was reluctant to actually carry out. I had to respect Medusa's and the other victims' wishes, so it was impossible. Besides, I had no real reason to clash with Poseidon to that extent... If I wasn't actually planning to oppose him, I shouldn't have said such things in the first place. Working in the Underworld must have built up more frustration than I'd realized. There were simply too many victims coming to the Underworld with grudges because of him...
At that point, Poseidon's face reddened. He slammed the table with his hand and shot to his feet. Fortunately, his explosive temper meant he hadn't noticed the bluff and had simply taken the bait. If he thought about it later, he'd realize it was all bluster, but...
"Wh-what! Hades, are you threatening me right now?!"
Blue divine power flickered in both his eyes, and the gazes of those around us focused on us. I'd shown the whip; now it was time for the carrot. Don't get so angry, Poseidon.
"...I wouldn't do this if I didn't have to. If you help me this time, I'll let you meet those who have already died."
"I can meet my dead children?"
"All of your illegitimate children, and even the human women you loved."
"Khm!"
Poseidon sat back down and looked at me. The authority over the souls of the dead was something not even Zeus could interfere with. I'd even refused Zeus's request to meet Semele again—Dionysus's mother and the human woman Zeus had accidentally killed. Except for extremely rare cases like Phaethon and Helios, meetings between the dead and the living were strictly forbidden for the gods as well, since they directly affected the balance of the world. This offer worked because Poseidon overflowed with affection for his children.
He grumbled as he sat and tossed more nectar into his mouth.
"Hah. They call you the God of Mercy among humans, yet you're utterly merciless toward your brother."
"Consider it the weight of your own karma. Victims you've harmed come to the Underworld on a regular basis."
"Hmph... all because of mere humans..."
"It seems Hephaestus has given up on Aphrodite. If we divorce them and find a new wife for our nephew, wouldn't he owe you something in return?"
Poseidon rolled his eyes in thought, calculating the benefits of agreeing with me versus the losses of refusal.
"I'll be sure to tell Hephaestus that you helped greatly. You wouldn't want to earn unnecessary resentment from your nephew, would you?"
"Fine. But know that I cannot help too actively."
"That's enough. Now let's go persuade Hera."
As long as he showed some sign of agreeing with my opinion, it was fine. The fact that Poseidon and I shared the same thoughts would be enough to sway Zeus.
Though I'd heard that when Aphrodite first appeared, Poseidon had courted her as well. It seemed he'd given up after she bore a child with Ares. Or perhaps he was wary of his official wife Amphitrite's reaction...
Poseidon and I moved to where the Queen of the Gods, Hera, was. The beautiful goddess, who had been applying olive oil to her face inside a suitably large building, jumped in shock when she saw us.
"Hades and Poseidon...? Don't tell me... a rebellion?!"
"...It's a misunderstanding."
Of course she'd think that first.