Battle of the Main Wives (4) If Someone Strikes Your Cheek
Battle of the Main Wives (4) If Someone Strikes Your Cheek
What's the fastest way to win someone's favor?
A gift.
You draw out their goodwill by offering something they find pleasing.
No matter how small the gift, as long as it's sincere, the recipient will at least say thank you.
That's the power of a gift.
And what if it happens to be quite expensive, or something the other person wholeheartedly adores?
—He went to all this trouble for me... sniff, I'm so touched...!
Then you can yank their affection straight to the maximum.
—Those who wish to become my Principal Wife shall gather here by tomorrow.
—And each shall prepare a gift for me.
—Anything will do.
—I shall say no more, for it might serve as a hint. Every one of you will be given one equal chance. You must each bring one gift.
—Truly, anything will do.
—To the one who presents the gift I like best, I shall welcome her as my Principal Wife.
Zeus told the goddesses to each bring him a gift.
As if demanding they come and seduce him on his own terms, he committed an act of absolute tyranny as the chief god.
—A gift... is anything really all right?
—Of course. Whatever you think of—if it is for me, anything goes.
He placed no restrictions on the gifts.
He set no particular theme, specified no object, and simply told them to prepare a gift for him.
—What do you think Lord Zeus would like?
—Sex?
—But he does that every single day.
—He sleeps with at least three a day, eating goddesses instead of three square meals. Is sex going to catch his interest? Haven't you heard anything about what Lord Zeus likes?
—How would we know what he likes?! We're usually too busy passing out on his cock!
Suddenly, a fire had been lit under the goddesses.
—Ah, this must be...!
—A test from Lord Zeus to see who understands him best...!
They realized that this gift was, in effect, a test from Zeus.
It aligned perfectly with the fact that the one who becomes the mistress of Olympus is also Zeus's wife.
The goddesses had been so fixated on the position of Olympus' highest goddess that they had overlooked the essential point.
How Zeus regarded his own wife.
The goddesses remembered the weight of the existence called Zeus.
—The cause and effect were backward...!
—It is because she is the wife of Zeus that she can hold true authority on Olympus.
—She becomes Zeus's wife because she's the highest goddess of Olympus? No. It means the woman Zeus chooses is the highest woman on Olympus...!!
Zeus considered the position of being his wife more important than the title of Olympus' highest goddess!
—Ah, we were fools! The wife of the supreme god and the highest goddess are essentially the same thing!
—Why do you think Metis had so much power even as a nymph? Why do you think Themis, advanced in years though she is, wields authority as the guardian of the Law? It's all because they are Lord Zeus's wives.
—Anyone can bear a child of Zeus. But the position of Zeus's wife is limited.
And so, determined to properly prove their charms as goddesses, they set out to find gifts for Zeus.
The problem was that none of them dared think of asking Zeus himself directly.
When Zeus himself had told them to bring a gift for him, how could they possibly ask the person in question?
So the goddesses each devised their own schemes.
First, the first group.
"For the authority of the great chief god, nothing less than the finest objects will do!"
They valued material things.
They considered the items they themselves had deemed best—items that everyone else coveted without exception—as gifts, and wrapped them prettily.
A garment woven from spider silk. A hundred-year-aged Nectar. A beautiful flower said to bloom once a century. The lion rumored to be the largest, fiercest specimen anywhere near Olympus.
In barely a single day, they gathered astonishing treasures.
They would offer to Zeus the things they considered the most valuable, the things everyone considered valuable.
In short, they offered up "treasures."
And next.
The second group at least tried to gather a little information.
"Do you truly think Lord Zeus would go this far just to have us bring expensive things?"
"Lord Zeus wants to see our sincerity!"
"Any commoner and their goat can bring a crown or jewels...! I need a gift of my own!"
"To find out what Lord Zeus likes, we have to ask the people around him, after all!"
So these goddesses sought out those who were relatively close to Zeus.
"Lady Neptune!"
"Lady Hades!"
"Lady Rhea!"
"Lady Hera... eep!! I'm sorry! I came to the wrong place!"
The goddesses sought out Zeus's mother and his sisters.
Some among them also demanded information from the goddesses participating in the Principal-Wife Contest, citing "fair competition," but they quickly had to retreat in fear before the formidable power of those directly involved.
"Something my brother would like? Hmm... a good weapon? He always said you need good equipment to defeat Cronus."
"As for something worth giving as a gift... nothing in particular comes to mind. He already possesses the mightiest armaments, and he already rules all of Olympus."
Neptune and Hades gave the goddesses answers that didn't hold much appeal.
Even though they were outwardly female, the goddesses felt a certain sympathy for their talk of armaments and armor.
In fact, Titan males used to brag and strut whenever they received good armaments or armor!
If they received armor from a craftsman famous in his own right—even if not on par with the Cyclopes—Titan males would love armaments so much they'd wear it year-round.
"Men are all the same. Give them a sword to clash or something like that, and they all love it."
Zeus was a Titan male too.
Therefore, he too would surely love a very fine weapon or suit of armor.
And so, each carrying the treasures they had in mind, everyone headed for the venue of the showdown.
The day of the gift presentations.
"Lord Zeus, I bring ten-thousand-year-aged Nectar I obtained from a river nymph..."
"What I have brought is a sword forged from ore said to have formed from the shed blood of Uranus!"
"I shall present my daughter's virginity as a gift!"
The goddesses bombarded Zeus with a barrage of every kind of gift.
Zeus himself merely gave an indifferent response, saying thank you, he appreciated it.
The goddesses compared each other's gifts while carefully observing Zeus's reactions.
"Lord Zeus... doesn't seem very interested in jewels, does he?"
"He actually seemed to like that single blossom Lady Demeter brought more... Oh my, what a wonderful man...!"
"Did you see the kiss on the cheek Lady Hestia gave him? The corners of his mouth nearly reached his ears. Ugh, I should have done that..."
Zeus was a being who valued sincerity over material things!
"My jewels were garbage...! They couldn't even match up to a single peck on the cheek?"
"And what about the one who said she couldn't prepare a gift so she prepared her pussy instead? Zeus saw that, looked pleased as could be, and slept with her. Just what... is that man?"
"We already knew he was different from ordinary Titans, but..."
Amid the goddesses' deepening confusion.
Finally.
The last turn.
Hera stood before everyone.
Zeus's eyes lit up as he looked at Hera, who had brought nothing at all.
"Hera, why have you brought no gift?"
"Why should I give a gift to you, Lord Zeus?"
The air froze at Hera's words.
But Hera stood with an utterly haughty, self-assured expression.
"What did you say?"
"If I become your Principal Wife, I automatically hand over the most valuable, finest gift in the world. So why would I prepare a present?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"It's simple. The gift for Lord Zeus is..."
Hera pointed at herself with her thumb.
"Me."
The atmosphere chilled.
The goddesses exchanged glances and murmured among themselves.
Can she really do that?
Isn't she getting too cocky just because she's his little sister?
What's she going to do if this makes him detest her?
I think she picked the wrong strategy.
Look, Lord Zeus's expression is turning sour. Serves her right.
Herself as the gift.
At Hera's declaration, Zeus did not open his mouth for a long moment.
"Is that so? I suppose at the very least Hera should manage that much. So..."
"If you decide on your Principal Wife, call me then."
Hera cut Zeus off and turned her back.
Without a backward glance, she made to leave the spot.
"Hera!"
She was about to leave.
Zeus blocked Hera's way, and Hera, visibly irritated, tried to step aside and pass him.
"Where are you going?"
"To my room."
"Hand over your gift first."
"Ha—were you planning to take me, a goddess, empty-handed?"
Hera lifted her chin arrogantly and sneered at Zeus.
"I will give my gift only to my husband. The single most valuable thing in the whole world. Lord Zeus is my brother, but not yet my husband, is he? Well, if you become my husband, I might reconsider."
"...You."
Zeus seized Hera by the wrist.
In response—
"Don't touch me as you please."
Smack!
Hera's palm flew at Zeus's cheek.
"Don't touch me with the hands that have touched other women."
With those words, Hera left the scene.
Zeus stood still in place for a long while without a word.
"L-Lady Hera...!"
"Lord Zeus! No matter that she is Hera, this is an act that can never be condoned! At once...!"
"...Wow. Fuck."
Zeus let out a curse as if he were completely dumbfounded.
"She's cool. Sexy. Cute."
"...Pardon?"
"Ha... goddamn it. She shouldn't be."
Rustle.
Zeus swept a hand across his forehead.
The sight of him pushing back his bangs to quell his anger sent a slight thrill down the goddesses' legs.
"Yes. A woman needs to play a little hard to get."
Lick.
"You're the first to treat me this way... Hera."
Ah.
All the goddesses were horrified when they heard Zeus's words.
A niche market.
Not a single goddess had ever played hard to get against Zeus's courtship. Not a single goddess had ever rejected his advances.
"She dares reject me? I can't stand that."
Hera's strategy had successfully worked on Zeus.
* * *
"Brother, I'm sorry! I'm sorry I hit you! Did it not hurt?! Ahh, what do I do...! I didn't hit you too hard, did I?! If it hurt, you should have slapped my cheek right back on the spot!! Ahh, I'm a crazy bitch...! No matter what, how could I do that there...!! Brother, hit me as much as you want!!"
"Usually you drop the formal speech with me. Why the polite tone now?"
"Ahh... sorry, I, I mean... I-I'm sorry... D-Did... did it hurt a lot?"
"Yeah. That's the Hera I know."
It was all a set-up act.
The script by Athena.
The lead actors: Zeus and Hera.
"Still, I would've liked a gift."
"Wha—what should I do, then? Open my legs?"
"...A kiss on the sore spot."
"Ah, ahh..."
Smooch.
With a face flushed redder than her hair, Hera planted a kiss on my cheek.
"Then I'll have to kiss your womb with my glans."
I, Zeus—
I'm a man who, when slapped on the cheek, strikes a pussy in return.
Squelch.