Children of Zeus (1)
Children of Zeus (1)
Two years is a fairly long time.
To put it in extreme terms, military service is about two years.
What? These days they say it's over in a year and a half?
Back in my day...
Anyway.
Two years is enough time for something to get done.
Even farming, which demands a tremendous amount of human labor, is called a year's farming—so how long is its double, two years?
"It's already been two years since Leto gave birth to the twins."
It felt very short.
Once again, I spent the time frantically governing Olympus and looking after my children.
After Leto's flight.
Hera looked after Leto with genuine care.
Leto confessed all the fears she had felt to Hera, and Hera scolded her, asking how she could possibly dislike her when they were all equally children of Zeus.
"But to dare try not to bear Zeus's child right away... That calls for punishment."
"What?"
"Until the children's bodies reach adulthood, you will have to couple with Zeus using the 'Anywhere Zeus.'"
Hera imposed a punishment called 'Dick Control' on Leto.
And after that, no goddess dared to think of running away after bearing my child.
The women who weren't satisfied with merely bearing my child and waited for a night with me stayed quietly on Olympus.
And so, for two years, Watching my children grow up one by one made me proud.
Unlike when Themis bore children, childcare became easier because the older children I'd played with so diligently before were now big enough to help with the babies, lightening my burden.
Why did the children help with the hard work of childcare?
Because they were cute?
That was part of it, but each of them had their own ulterior motives.
Hurry up and grow up so you can do my work for me.
Children are the future.
The children born earlier instinctively knew it too.
Even if playing with the kids was hard in the moment, as these children gradually took over the tasks of the existing Olympian gods one by one, the burden on themselves would steadily decrease.
Ooh, the great power of division of labor!
Just as Titans and humans form groups and build societies, everything worked out well because each person did their best in the field they were capable of.
By each person's field, I mean the talents each god possesses.
My children, the gods newly born on Olympus, were each born with abilities exceptional compared to other gods.
For example, Hephaestus has talent for the blacksmith's work, and Ares has talent for war.
And the next-born twin sisters, Apollo and Artemis, have talents in medicine and hunting respectively.
Each of them honed their talents, and today finally became the 'day of decision.'
The day to decide each one's specialized field so that Olympus could be structured into the Twelve Olympians system.
The day to designate who is responsible for solving problems whenever they arise for Olympus in the future.
So to speak, a division of duties.
Overall supervision is handled by me, the chief god, Zeus.
This concerns matters of the sky and the earth, and the sea is handled by Neptune.
Because the Underworld is too vast and complex, requiring Hades to work at a level equivalent to mine, I made Hades's domain an independent organization.
Sky and earth.
Sea.
Underworld.
Since I cannot handle every single matter occurring in these three places, the field of duties each god handles first is defined.
For instance, if someone is designated Goddess of War, at least regarding war, it was decided that the goddess in charge—Ares—would make the initial judgment.
Whether the war is truly necessary, how much more beneficial it would be to Olympus, and how the forces should be organized if Olympus enters the war.
Such matters will now be done by Ares, not me.
Why?
One, because I want to rest a bit now.
Two, because Ares may still lack experience in the field of war but possesses ample talent.
Each god has exceptional talents.
But that doesn't mean other gods completely lack that talent.
Athena also has a talent for war.
And that military talent of Athena's surpasses Ares's.
Even Ares herself, driven by an inferiority complex toward Athena, picks fights repeatedly, yet Ares is routinely defeated by Athena every time.
So should Athena also take on the role of Goddess of War since she fights better than Ares?
"Lord Zeus, I have seniority, but I'm not supposed to take on war too, right? Isn't being the Goddess of Wisdom enough?"
"That goes without saying. The war you'll handle is more than enough as war in bed."
Our generation has worked enough, shouldn't we rest a little!
We founded Olympus starting from bare ground, eating dirt and enduring brutal hardship in caves, and now it's time to work while enjoying it!
Even if they're our children, they can't just lie down and swallow the peace we earned through blood and sweat.
He who does not work, neither shall he eat.
I feel sorry for my children, but if they want to enjoy authority as chief gods of Olympus, they must work just as hard.
And the Twelve Olympians I am envisioning will gain more authority and higher status than other gods, but accordingly must work harder for Olympus.
I offered this to them one by one in order of birth, but...
"Dad, we'll work hard in the places we're good at. Hoho." "We've been working hard since Olympus was being built, so can't we just do what we're good at now?" "Ahh, my back...! My back hurts from looking after my younger siblings too much...!" "Honestly, let's be frank, wouldn't our younger siblings work harder than us~?"
There were children born even before the mass pregnancies, like the Horae and Moirai.
Since they were born much earlier than Apollo and Artemis, they could be considered higher in rank, but they yielded authority and chose an easy life.
Could this be them pulling rank on their younger siblings?
That thought crossed my mind, but even so, the younger siblings' abilities were outstanding enough.
Especially the four I already knew well, even more so.
Hephaestus, Ares, Apollo, and Artemis, whose names are listed among the Twelve Olympians.
These four possessed talents far superior to the other children.
And above all, their respective exceptional talents would be a great help for the future in leading Olympus forward.
Manufacturing, war, medicine, hunting.
All powers indispensable for surviving the ancient era, and also the core for preparing against the future we will face.
The war against Gaia.
I remembered.
That the Titanomachy was not the end.
That I couldn't just lie back and spectate the Trojan War that would happen someday.
Gigantomachy.
Olympus and Gaia will go to war.
I don't know what the original cause of war was, but as things stand, I have already created the cause for war.
How did I come to remember this? I realized it while organizing the seats of the Twelve Olympians.
1. Zeus
2. Neptune (Poseidon)
3. Hades
4. Hera
5. Demeter
6. Hestia
7. Athena
8. Hephaestus
9. Ares
10. Apollo
11. Artemis.
12. ...
Something felt strange.
There was only one seat left, but as many as three candidates had suddenly emerged.
One was the Goddess of Beauty, Aphrodite.
This goddess, also called Venus, was said to have been born long ago from the transformed severed genitals of Uranus by Cronus.
I've never heard a story about Aphrodite and Zeus being involved, but I'll judge after I see her first.
One was the Goddess of Wine, Dionysus.
That goddess, who looks like she'd demand you take responsibility if you ruined the mood, snatched a seat among Olympus's chief gods with the single achievement of inventing wine.
And the remaining one.
The owner of the winged sandals that seem like they'd reduce status ailment duration and grant magic resistance when worn.
Hermes.
While recalling her legend and thinking, I ended up remembering a very terrible story I had seen.
They say Hermes, using her winged sandals and nimble movements, retrieves Zeus's sinews for him.
They say Zeus, having recovered his sinews, defeats some monster with Hermes's help and wins.
That is the Gigantomachy.
They say all the other gods besides Zeus transform into animals and flee Olympus, and Zeus alone remains fighting, only to be defeated by a monster and have his sinews torn out.
That cannot happen.
I refuse that future.
If that is a fate decreed by Gaia, I shall splendidly overcome that fate.
Sinews?
I don't know what monster will come, but before I even receive Hermes's help, I will tear out the monster's sinews first.
Heracles.
The birth of famous children yet to be born.
The division of labor still concentrated on a very small number of people.
And Greece's greatest grand hero whom even those gods fear.
Until he is born, my impregnation of many women is by no means a bad thing.
Yes.
For the sake of Olympus's peace, I must impregnate numerous women.
Even if they are not only Titan goddesses but also nymphs and humans.
For that, humans must first thrive, and for that too, I needed to first establish the seats of the Twelve Olympians.
So I will interview my children one by one.
Are they truly prepared enough to list their names among the Twelve Olympians as per the original texts.
If they pass this interview, they will sit at the Round Table with the six siblings of Rhea and discuss various matters of Olympus.
"Shall we begin, Lord Zeus?"
"Yes, Athena. Tell them to come in."
Accompanied by Athena, I began the one-on-one interviews with my children.
Creaaak.
The woman who entered as the door opened had red hair and freckles.
Hephaestus.
"Come in, my daughter. What goddess do you wish to become?"
"I..."
After hesitating for a long while, Hephaestus raised her head with a resolute face.
"I want to become the Blacksmith Goddess."
At Hephaestus's words, I hit a snag right from the start.
"Well..."
"...A woman, as the Blacksmith Goddess."
From behind me.
"Heh. We clearly... talked about this yesterday."
Hera was smiling.