The Sage of the Deep Forest (4)
“Sorry about this, Zeus! To think you came all the way into Aesir territory, only to make a wasted trip without even seeing my father!”
What caught Zeus's eye upon arriving in Aesir territory was not the usual rowdy feast of the Aesir gods, but a single god drinking alone.
The blond, burly male god let out a hearty laugh before downing the cup in his hand. The god emptied the golden-glowing tankard filled with mead made from honey in one gulp.
Zeus furrowed his brow slightly at the sight of Thor.
“I thought for sure I'd gotten the message through Hermes.”
“Mm. That flighty little punk, huh? I heard the story, but unfortunately, I'm the only one here to greet you right now. The other gods are all out on errands Father assigned them... so I've just been pounding drinks alone. How the hell did things end up like this?”
“Errands from Odin?”
“Mm. Details are a secret. Hell, I don't even know! Father's the one who handed out the jobs, but the old man's been MIA for days now—who knows what he's scheming. That's why you can't see him, even if you came all this way.”
“Why can't I see him? Is the rumor true—that he's holed up in shock?”
“Mm. Pretty much! All the gods who need to know already do, so no point making excuses!”
With that, Thor refilled and emptied his tankard once more.
“Even so, for this Zeus to come calling and not even catch a glimpse of a single hair... doesn't that seem a bit serious?”
At Zeus's words, Thor tore into a hunk of jerky as a chaser, chewed it roughly, then laughed.
“What can ya do? It's that old coot's fault for overthinking everything. Sorry about this, though. You came all the way here, and now it's all for nothing.”
“......”
“Don't make that face. It's not like Father wants it this way.”
Thor filled his empty tankard with mead again as he spoke.
“Father talked with that so-called sage, read whatever he read, foresaw some future... but he didn't tell us what it was, or what lies ahead for us. But seeing how shocked he is, it's obviously some dire problem on the horizon.”
“Then why are you just sitting here swilling booze? Shouldn't you be preparing for something?”
“Preparing...”
Thor drained his tankard in one go again before replying.
“A warrior's only preparation is to ready himself to fight with his life on the line. Nothing else matters. Stake your life in battle, seize victory, or lose everything in defeat. Those are the only two paths for a warrior.”
Thor gripped the hammer at his waist with his free right hand, then smashed the table to splinters as he bellowed.
“If there's a fight, then fight! No other distractions for a warrior! That's the mindset of a god of war!”
“So straightforward.”
“That's a warrior's role.”
The shattered table slowly reformed to its original shape over time, and Thor set his empty tankard down on it.
“So if there's a fight, I won't hesitate. No idea what we'll be facing yet, though.”
Zeus gazed at Thor and said curtly,
“Sometimes that simplicity of yours is enviable.”
“Warrior's privilege! Why not ditch that needless heavy burden of responsibility and authority for once—be just a warrior yourself?”
“Regrettably, there's already far too much weighing on my back for that.”
Zeus let out a quiet sigh.
“Anyway, I get it. Confirming Odin's situation indirectly like this is worth the trip.”
Zeus turned and began walking away.
Indirectly, at least, he'd confirmed Aesir's state... so it wasn't a total loss.
For starters, the Aesir were preparing for something. Odin had vanished to scheme in secret, assigning tasks to the other gods suited to their roles. Thor was just a simple brute who fought—that was all he did. No special orders needed, so they'd left him be. Or perhaps, as the god who had to charge at the forefront, they'd deliberately kept him free.
“Odin... is preparing for war...”
Zeus inferred Odin's intentions as he took to the skies toward Olympus.
He had no idea who the war was against... but he hoped Odin's spear wouldn't point toward Olympus.
“Athena, so the wasted trip was true?”
“Yes, Father.”
What greeted Zeus upon his return to Olympus was news that Athena, who'd gone to meet the sage, had come back empty-handed without seeing him.
“Why? I never imagined you—the wisest among Olympus's gods—would return with nothing to show for it.”
“I'm sorry for coming back fruitless... but I couldn't even meet this sage. It felt like the forest itself was blocking my path.”
“Blocking you?”
“Yes. A thick fog rose up, blinding me so I couldn't see an inch ahead. I got lost because I couldn't make out the way, and even when I flew up into the sky to search, I somehow ended up popping out in the wrong place... It was like a labyrinth.”
“A labyrinth...”
“My guess is the sage chooses who he meets.”
“Chooses who to meet...”
Zeus nodded slightly.
A being of unknown nature like that would surely have the power to screen visitors. Or perhaps he'd already spoken with Hermes and had no intention of sharing anything else with Olympus... but that might be jumping to conclusions.
In that case...
“Should we send Hermes again?”
“Even if we send Hermes back, I'm not sure we'd get solid info... but if he can meet again, entrusting it to Hermes makes sense. Just in case, I'll compile questions for the sage and pass them to him.”
“Do that. If he picks and chooses who to see, no other choice.”
At that moment, the door to their room burst open, and another god strode in.
“Why make such a fuss over this! Who cares what that sage really is—we crush him with raw power and force out everything he knows!”
The youthful god in a golden helmet bellowed loudly.
“Ares.”
“Who are we? The pinnacle among all gods—Olympus! And we're getting jerked around by some shady nobody who's not even a god? What will our human believers think!”
“Quiet, Ares. This isn't your place.”
“What do you mean not my place! Sis is always overthinking—that's her problem! Overwhelm with sheer power! Simplest way!”
“Ares!”
Athena shouted at him, but Ares ignored her completely and addressed Zeus.
“Let me raze that forest to the ground and drag that sage here! Problem solved!”
“Ares, don't do anything foolish. If the Life Goddess is truly behind that sage, it'll backfire...”
“Then I'm off!”
“Ares!!!”
Before Zeus or Athena could stop him, Ares bolted from Olympus, conjured a chariot pulled by two horses, and charged into the sky.
“Ugh, that brainless idiot with no sense of front or back!!”
“Athena, send Hermes. Only his swift feet can catch Ares.”
“Hermes is currently away...”
“Find him quick! Ares's stupidity could ruin everything!!!”
At that instant—
“Big trouble, Father!”
“Hermes! Perfect timing! Ares ran off to forcibly drag the sage here—hurry and stop him!”
“What?! What the—wait, more importantly! Indra's in the Pantheon plaza! Indra's appeared!”
“What?!”
Zeus was momentarily speechless.
Indra. Why Indra? Those guys from Lokapala territory never left easily. Why here? And in the Pantheon plaza, no less.
“Grr... I'll head to the Pantheon plaza. Hermes, you go catch Ares now!”
“Huh? B-but I kinda wanna see what Indra's up to...”
“No backtalk! Grab Ares!!”
Zeus kicked the dawdling Hermes in the butt.
“Y-yes, sir!”
Only after the kick did Hermes hurriedly take flight.
Watching Hermes's retreating figure, Zeus turned to Athena beside him.
“No clue what that inscrutable Indra's scheming, but let's hurry, Athena.”
“Yes, Father.”
With that, Zeus headed to the Pantheon plaza alongside Athena.
