The Trial of Ares and Poseidon - (1)
I was chatting with Lady Styx while handling Underworld affairs after wrapping up the Thebes situation. The reason my work doesn’t pile up too badly whenever I leave the Underworld is all thanks to her…
“I swear on the River Styx that I speak only the truth—your hair is shining brilliantly again today, my lady.”
“Ugh… I told you not to make weird oaths right in front of me…! You stopped for a while, but now you’re doing it again…”
Once again, Lady Styx was extremely embarrassed about the oath made in her presence. But how could I possibly hold back when those beautiful black locks, comparable to silk woven by Athena herself, were swaying right before my eyes?
I set the parchment down for a moment and stared blankly at the dark waves rippling in front of me. The goddess, her cheeks slightly flushed, finally spoke.
“…Then, would you like to… touch it? Just a little…”
There was no way I could resist that. When I nodded absentmindedly, the Goddess of Oaths approached and pressed her body against mine. What I smelled at the tip of my nose—was it the scent of the mountain of parchment, or the olive fragrance that wafted from her?
Without looking at me, she forced her head down to focus on her work. I gently placed my hand on her hair. As I slowly stroked the goddess’s locks that seemed ready to slip through my fingers at any moment, an indescribable, strange atmosphere filled the air.
“Mmm…”
Was I feeling happiness right now? Despite the exhausting and busy duties of the Underworld, I was spending such a pleasant time with the goddess…
Clack.
“Lord Hades! At the entrance to the Underworld, Brother Ares is… huh?!”
“Ahem… What is it?”
“Ah…!”
The one who opened the door and entered was the Goddess of Spring and Seeds, Persephone. After quickly scanning the office, she saw me and Lady Styx pressed together and immediately pouted, placing her hands on her hips.
“Hmph… You’re always only spending time with Lady Styx. Am I completely invisible to you, Lord Hades?”
“You don’t even call me Uncle anymore…”
“Well, once we’re married, I have to call you ‘you’! So when exactly are you going to go up to the surface world with me?”
“…? You and I going to the surface world together?”
“Aww~ You’re pretending not to know again. Are you really going to keep acting like this? The rumor that Lord Hades is going on an outing to the surface with the goddesses he has his eye on has already spread like wildfire throughout the Underworld. You spent time with Lady Styx and Lady Lethe, and even with that minor goddess named Mente, but why only with me…”
Please, my niece… Of course, it’s not a big issue among gods, but there’s a bit of psychological resistance… To me, your existence still feels a little… no, quite premature. Meeting the beautiful Goddess of Spring had been the catalyst that changed my mind, but the relationship with her still felt uncomfortable… For now, I should change the subject.
“…What was that about Ares coming to the entrance of the Underworld?”
“Oh. That? He said he needed help opening a trial because he had a huge fight with Uncle Poseidon…”
Ares and Poseidon had a huge fight? As far as I knew, the only time they had clashed was during Poseidon’s rebellion.
And so I found myself watching a male god walk into the audience chamber.
With muscles as solid as steel armor, divine armor crafted by Hephaestus, and a divine sword at his waist. My nephew and the God of War, Ares, knelt on one knee before me with an awkward smile.
Ares, who used to freak out at the mere mention of the Underworld ever since the Great Flood—what could have brought him here?
“Uncle Hades, it is good to see you.”
“…Yes. I’ve heard the general story. You and Poseidon had a big fight? And why have you come to the Underworld?”
“I will explain slowly. So, what happened was…”
According to Ares’s story, the incident stemmed from a demigod named Halirrothios, one of Poseidon’s sons. Born between Poseidon and the nymph Eurytia, Halirrothios had believed in his father’s identity and run wild in Athens, the city where Athena was the patron goddess.
“Hey! You’re a priestess serving Lady Athena, so you look pretty decent, huh?”
“P-please stop this. We have all sworn vows of chastity…”
“A vow of chastity? So what? Do you know who I am?”
He would habitually grope the breasts of Athena’s priestesses and harass them…
Thud—Crash!
“What?! You’re kicking me out because I have no money? To me?!”
“Even if you are Lord Poseidon’s son… ugh!”
“No, no. How dare you treat me like this when you’ve received so much grace from the sea?”
He took items from various restaurants and inns in Athens without paying, caused disturbances, and…
“Wait! Please stop, that is the olive tree symbolizing Lady Athena…!”
“What about it?! My father is Lord Poseidon!”
Rumble… Boom!
He had arbitrarily cut down olive trees symbolizing the Goddess Athena, incurring her wrath. But Athena couldn’t confront Poseidon directly, so she only gave him a moderate scolding…
After hearing up to this point, I asked Ares,
“Did you hear all of this directly from Athena?”
“Yes. That trash apparently did all those things.”
“…Continue.”
The God of War, Ares, had one demigod daughter named Alcippe. The girl had been grazing in a field near Athens when… unfortunately, she ran into the scoundrel Halirrothios.
“You know who I am, right? Come with me. Marrying me will be good for you too…”
“Wh-who are you! Kyaaa! Father!”
“Shut up! My father is Posei—urk!”
Slash—Roll.
“Alcippe, are you alright?!”
“F-father… Sob. Thank you…”
Halirrothios, who had tried to force himself on Alcippe, encountered Ares who had rushed over after hearing his daughter’s scream… Naturally, upon seeing the madman who tried to rape his daughter, Ares drew his sword and severed the bastard’s neck.
When his son died, Poseidon furiously condemned Ares.
“Ares! You damn scoundrel! You cut off my son’s head?!”
“What?! Your son tried to rape my daughter, Uncle Poseidon!”
“Even so—!”
“I did nothing wrong!”
As their quarrel grew increasingly heated, Zeus and the other gods decided to hold a trial to mediate… or so the story went.
“…I see. The one who tried to rape your daughter is probably already being punished by the three Minos brothers. So why did you come to the Underworld?”
“Everyone said that only Uncle Hades is fit to be the judge! Please deliver a fair verdict!”
The God of War poured out his passionate appeal before me, his eyes filled with emotion as he looked at me. He wanted me, who ruled the Underworld, to deliver the verdict?
“The one who tried to violate your daughter is already dead, so he falls under my jurisdiction. But shouldn’t the quarrel between you and Poseidon be handled by Zeus?”
This was clearly a matter of the surface world. Wouldn’t Zeus handle the verdict himself? The fact that this problem had been passed to me meant…
“That is… as I said, everyone recommended Uncle Hades.”
“Explain in more detail.”
The situation on Olympus that Ares described was as follows. When their quarrel intensified, the King of the Gods, Zeus, decided to hold the trial in Athens, and the other gods also expressed their intention to attend. However…
“Hoo… Then this Zeus shall listen to both sides and render judgment…”
“Zeus. Wouldn’t it be better to entrust this matter to Hades rather than you?”
“I think Hera is right… After all, hasn’t Hades always handled these kinds of things in the Underworld?”
“…In my opinion as well, Hades, who is accustomed to rendering verdicts, would be…”
When Zeus offered to serve as judge, the goddesses opposed him and recommended me instead. Once Hera, Hestia, and Aphrodite voiced their opinions, the other goddesses agreed, and…
“Ha! Fine, let’s leave it to Hades instead.”
“I have no objection. There is no god fairer than Uncle Hades.”
“Hmm. Then does everyone agree to entrust the role of judge to Brother Hades?”
Even Poseidon and the Ares before me had said that I would be more suitable as judge than Zeus. After Ares finished his explanation, I looked at my nephew.
“That is how it happened, Uncle.”
“…So now you’re even entrusting me with matters of the surface world.”
“Father said that if you help, he would give you a ring with effects similar to the Necklace of Harmonia.”
The Necklace of Harmonia, belonging to the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite and wife of Cadmus, was a divine artifact that granted youth and beauty to its wearer. But since we gods are immortal, we have no need for it. Still, a Ring of Youth… It would be useful to bestow upon a favored human or as a collector’s item.
“Hmm…”
That aside, the fact that Poseidon’s son had caused a ruckus specifically in Athena’s city of Athens. It was possible the bastard was simply a scoundrel, but it was also possible Poseidon had tacitly allowed or even instigated it. Given how poor the relationship between Athena and Poseidon was, it was entirely plausible.
I could also guess why the other goddesses had brought up my name when Zeus offered to judge, and why Zeus had so readily stepped back. Originally, he would have insisted on being the judge to keep Poseidon in check, but he must have assumed that given my personality, I would side with Ares. It wouldn’t look good if he checked Poseidon too blatantly. Perhaps Poseidon thought I would be better than Zeus.
Still, this was only what I had heard from Ares. I would need to listen to both sides fully before making any judgments.
“…Very well. I understand. Where must I go?”
“Thank you, Uncle! The trial is scheduled to be held tomorrow on a hill near Athens, so if you could attend then…”
Sigh… Fine. Another fight had broken out among the gods, so I suppose I had to mediate. I could examine the memories of Halirrothios—who had died by Ares’s hand and become a citizen of the Underworld—before heading to the trial.