The Messenger
"That box seems to be built around 'Pandora's box,' which ties into the Prometheus myth."
"Yes. My thoughts are the same as yours, Yang Myeonghyun."
He said Yang Myeonghyun's specialty was writing. Which explains why he knows the mythology so well—I don't even need to explain it.
Pandora's box.
Pandora was the woman Zeus sent to Prometheus's brother in order to destroy humanity. Zeus deliberately warned Pandora never to open the box.
But unable to contain her curiosity, Pandora opened it in the end—and as a result, a plague of suffering spread across the world of men.
'I am a jar. A vessel that once held all things. But now I contain only a single "one." You who wish to see the truth—know that the truth is painful.'
"Everything the box said refers to the hardships and calamities that would spread through the human world. And the only thing left inside was 'hope.'"
"Right. Hope seems certain. But Jisan-hyung, there's something strange here."
"What is it?"
"If it's Pandora's box, shouldn't it introduce itself as a box? Why did it say it was a jar?"
"Ah, that would be because it was originally Pandora's jar. The mistranslation as 'box' spread when the story made its way into Korea."
"Ooooh."
At Yang Myeonghyun's sound of admiration, I cleared my throat.
It felt similar to when Jang Siwoon and Go Gyumin complimented me.
"So the box holds hope. The pottery would hold abundance, and the statue divinity—that's what I'm thinking."
"…!"
The look in Yang Myeonghyun's eyes as he marveled that I had already completed my deduction. Even without him voicing his admiration, it poured out of his gaze so openly that I grew embarrassed instead.
"Ah—and that pottery is probably an amphora, by the way."
"An amphora… So that's the name for pottery with two handles."
"Yes. It's an ancient Greco-Roman vessel. They mostly used it to store and transport wine."
"Then couldn't the answer be wine, or grapes?"
"Wine was the main product, but they also stored olives, fish, grain, and all sorts of other goods in them, so it's hard to pin down just one."
Which meant we could consider 'food' as the answer, but…
'The "this" within me overflows without end. But to make it is labor, and the hands of labor shall be long.'
"The pottery clearly said that 'this' inside it overflows endlessly. If it's something overflowing from a jar meant for long-term storage rather than immediate eating, I thought it had to be abundance."
Yang Myeonghyun looked around carefully, then pointed a finger at the belly of the pottery.
Painted across it were farmers reaping grain with sickles at harvest and picking grapes to make wine.
"Seems right. Then let's tentatively assume the thing inside the pottery is abundance."
And finally, the statue.
"For a statue imitating someone to have any power, it would have to be Zeus at the very least, wouldn't it?"
"You're saying the statue is a god? No—a goddess?"
The statue had to be Zeus, or at least a god of equal rank. But the owner of this fierce visage was a goddess.
Within the span of the upper body, the sculptor had done everything possible to depict a woman—the musculature, the soft curves of the body, the long hair. And no beard.
"Ah, it's Gaia."
Yang Myeonghyun, who had been racking his brain for a goddess whose power rivaled Zeus's, clapped his hands together in realization.
The goddess of all things and of creation. Gaia, who was birth itself. To put it simply, she was Zeus's grandmother.
'I am a shell molded in someone's likeness. The "this" within me—even the gods shall take notice.'
Zeus may have been the chief god of Olympus, but Gaia—who delivered prophecies to him and even waged war against him—was not a power to be underestimated.
"A statue of Gaia rendered in human form. The people of this era must have gazed upon it and worshipped her."
"……"
"So whatever lies inside this statue, I believe it's divinity."
Since Yang Myeonghyun said nothing, I hurriedly blurted out the rest of my reasoning.
Whether he was convinced by my words or not, Yang Myeonghyun simply stared at me in silence.
"Jisan-hyung. You said you weren't an arts major, didn't you."
"…Yes, that's right."
"Do people normally shine so brilliantly even in fields outside their own domain?"
Yang Myeonghyun was tossing sudden compliments at me again.
But his complexion as he praised me was subtly dim.
'Shine brilliantly, huh…'
So that's how I appeared in this place. Since I'd never once heard such praise outside the tower, I had no idea how to react.
"You're the one shining plenty bright, Yang Myeonghyun."
"…In what way, exactly?"
"Well, you're a skilled healer, you have deep artistic refinement, and on top of that you write well."
"I come across that way, do I."
"You do. And since we're both embarrassed now, shall we call it a day on this compliment exchange?"
Yang Myeonghyun murmured to himself as if talking in his sleep, sighing between the words.
I'd offered all those compliments because something about his condition seemed off, but somehow the mood had only gotten more awkward.
There was no point in the two of us patting each other on the back right now—we needed to get back to the quest.
"So, Yang Myeonghyun—which will you choose? Hope, abundance, or divinity?"
"I don't know yet. There's no explanation of how these three will each be used."
Yang Myeonghyun tilted his head in confusion. I wholeheartedly agreed with him.
We'd succeeded in deducing what each of the three objects contained. But would simply confirming those keywords be enough to choose one of the three?
'This is the path to facing a god. Who knows what variables might arise—would it really be wise to grab one of these and go without hearing any explanation?'
Neither Yang Myeonghyun nor I could come up with a satisfactory answer, and we were quietly turning the problem over in our heads when—
Suddenly, a great flutter of wingbeats echoed from the sky. Just as I wondered if it was the eagles again—
"I shall provide the explanation!"
…It wasn't wings. It was the sound of a billowing cloak.
A boy wearing a winged hat and winged sandals came flying toward us, cloak sweeping behind him.
Staff entwined with serpents in hand, the boy hovered in the air, looking down at us with a hearty laugh.
"Haha! So Zeus was telling the truth when he said the fire-thieves had climbed the rocky mountain!"
'The messenger god. Hermes!'
The young-looking god, with the face of a boy barely high school age, kept laughing as he touched down on the ground.
What was so funny? Was he delighted that we'd soon be hauled off to Zeus?
"To have already solved what lies inside the box, the pottery, and the statue—not bad at all. And there were plenty who just grabbed whatever they liked and walked off with it."
Hermes flashed an easy smile and gestured toward the objects laid out on the pedestal.
His hand moved as lightly as when he'd been soaring through the sky.
"I shall grant you one favor."
"A favor?"
"Just as you surmised, the thing inside the box is 'hope.' Inside the pottery, 'abundance.' Inside the statue, 'divinity.' All correct."
'Thank goodness my deduction wasn't wrong.'
Hermes saw straight through my wandering thoughts and abruptly pointed a finger at my chest.
"Then I shall ask. Among these three, what is most desperately needed by you humans?"
'Am I supposed to flatter him and say divinity, since we're in the presence of a god…?'
"Haha! Lip service to me is useless. Give me an honest answer."
Gods really are gods, aren't they. He read my mind with perfect accuracy.
To be honest, I didn't want to choose divinity.
Not since the day my home and family burned to the ground—since then, I'd had no occasion to pray to any god.
'Abundance tempts me too. Who doesn't want to live comfortably?'
But what I needed most right now was—
Hope. The hope that if I climbed to the top of this tower, I could have my wish granted.
That hope—something I could grasp no more firmly than material wealth, yet something I couldn't help but yearn for and beg for all the same.
"It seems your hearts are in agreement. Then take it."
"…Yes."
Yang Myeonghyun must have arrived at 'hope' just as I had.
Told that their hearts matched, he lifted the box without hesitation.
'Yang Myeonghyun must have a hope of his own too, some wish he wants granted.'
"If 'hope' is truly what you need, then that box will serve you well in time."
"…Ah. Excuse me for interrupting mid-sentence, but there's something I'd like to ask."
"Jisan-hyung…?"
The moment I raised my hand to ask a question, the uncomfortable gazes of Hermes and Yang Myeonghyun snapped toward me at once.
Yang Myeonghyun was probably worried the god would fly into another rage.
Fortunately, Hermes only smirked at me with a roguish grin.
"Saying 'excuse me' with a face that looks not the least bit sorry. You're a poor flatterer indeed."
"…I suppose I am."
"Haha!!"
At the sound of Hermes's booming laughter, the dark clouds that had been casting a gloom over everything startled and scattered.
The eagles that had filled the sky seemed to have already swarmed back to Prometheus—not a single one remained in sight.
"Now then, you insolent human. What is it you wish to ask?"
"Zeus is the god who rules Olympus. And you, Lord Hermes, are his son."
"……"
"Why are you helping us?"
Hermes was Zeus's son and the messenger of the gods—especially the errand-runner charged with delivering Zeus's commands.
Could we really accept help from someone who was essentially Zeus's secretary? No—could we even trust him?
"You doubt me. Insolent wretch."
"…!"
"Very well. Before you reach Olympus, I shall deal with you myself."
"W-wait a moment!!"
Hermes's eyes turned abruptly frigid, and a chill crept into his voice.
'Right—I know perfectly well how unhinged these gods are, and I still let my guard down!!'
Startled, I hurriedly thrust my hand out toward Hermes.
Intending, if nothing else, to grab that cloak and hold him back.
"Haha, just having a bit of fun."
"……"
Then Hermes abruptly changed his tune and shrugged his shoulders.
He'd scared us for no reason at all. Just for his own amusement.
'These creatures call themselves gods, and they really just do whatever they please….'
The curse was on the very tip of my tongue, but if I actually let it out, I had a feeling Hermes would reduce me to dust.
Determined not to let my true feelings slip, I forced a smile.
"Consider yourself fortunate that the god come to collect you is I, Hermes."
Yes, yes.
"This is not something to dismiss lightly. I am Hermes."
There it went again—my thoughts, betrayed.
Hermes smirked at my inner grumbling and thumped his own chest with a resounding smack.
"I am the guardian god of travelers and thieves. The god for wanderers like you, drifting through this tower in pursuit of your wishes."
"…!"
"Besides, aren't you thieves yourselves—out to steal fire?"
'Just like the Hermes who lied to Zeus and played all those tricks…'
From his manner and speech, he seemed, among the gods, to be one of the more flexible sorts.
And he had every justification to help us.
"Now—will you place your trust in me?"
Hermes extended a hand toward Yang Myeonghyun and me.
Yang Myeonghyun held the box he carried out toward me.
"Will you carry it, Jisan-hyung?"
"…Are you sure?"
"Of course."
Frankly, I would have felt more secure keeping the item inside my own Leaflet, but Yang Myeonghyun…
Perhaps he was trying to place his faith in me again, because he kept offering me the box.
"All right."
Shff—
◈ Description: Within this vessel, hope alone remains.
I tucked Pandora's box into my Leaflet.
A small illustration of a box appeared in the item window of the Leaflet.
'For now, Hermes is the most trustworthy god after Prometheus. And hope really is what we need most.'
Yang Myeonghyun and I exchanged a glance, then took Hermes's hand at the same moment.
"Good. Quick decisions—just how I like them."
'Wha—?!'
My feet left the ground, and my body floated into the air.
Like balloons filled with helium, Yang Myeonghyun's body and mine rose upward together.
"To Olympus!"