Poseidon's Story - (2)
"Of course, there’s only talk of uniting to drive Zeus away, right?"
Even at Poseidon's bold statement, I showed no surprise, prompting him to lift his cup again.
"Is the throne of the king of gods that tempting?"
"Oh... that's not it."
The sea god slowly shook his head and began to speak.
As Poseidon raised his hand, his followers hurriedly distanced themselves from us.
"Zeus no longer deserves to stand above us. Considering the matter of Typhon..."
"Still, he would have won, wouldn't he?"
"But he lost once and was humiliated, thrown into a cave. Even though he fought with Squite."
Poseidon was always filled with ambition.
When the dominion of the world was decided by drawing lots, I drew the underworld, which everyone avoided, but he always regretted not having the dominion of the heavens.
However, it didn't seem like he was about to start a rebellion just yet.
He must have thought I would be disappointed in him for helping Zeus in the fight against Typhon.
"It’s absurd for the king of the gods to lose. Zeus, who even sought your help, Hades, will never win against the Gigantes that will come."
He must be referring to the time Zeus asked for my help through Hermes.
But I wasn't inclined to drive Zeus away just because he lost once...
"The reason such things happen is because the dominion is decided by drawing lots. It’s a bit disheartening to see someone with such overwhelming power struggling against Typhon."
"So you want to drag me into this?"
"Of course, you might not care much, but if I can drive Zeus away, I promise you a very satisfying reward."
No, I didn't need any reward.
I didn't really want much in the first place.
"Do you think there’s a chance if I help? No, I asked the wrong question..."
"Hahaha! Of course! If you just help the underworld, there’s a good chance."
Zeus was incredibly strong.
The king of the gods, the master of thunder, the supreme deity ruling the heavens.
Even if all the gods joined forces, they couldn't defeat Zeus...
But that was when excluding me and Poseidon.
If two of the three main gods teamed up, there would be some chance.
But why should I join in a rebellion?
Zeus would be better than you.
"Enough, I oppose that rebellion."
"What if I said I would agree to anything except the dominion of the heavens?"
"No matter what you offer, I think it’s better as it is now."
Poseidon frowned slightly, deep in thought.
It seemed he couldn't understand why I, like Zeus, wouldn't be swayed by power.
"But... being unlucky and getting stuck at the bottom..."
"If I hadn't gone underground, one of you two would have fought to the death in the underworld."
"Huh... Hades, I didn't expect this from you..."
After a moment of thought, Poseidon crossed his arms.
"Then, should I show the evidence that Zeus is unworthy as a king? Hera!"
"What...?!"
As soon as Poseidon opened his mouth, the door behind us swung open.
Out stepped the queen of the gods, Hera, with a chilling beauty.
She spoke in a cold tone.
"Hades, I can no longer stand by and watch Zeus's tyranny."
I was a bit surprised when Hera stepped through the door.
It seemed Poseidon didn’t bring up the rebellion for no reason.
"No, there’s no way Zeus wouldn’t know you came here..."
"Zeus ignores my words as his wife and the goddess of the household, always committing adultery. Even now, he’s having fun with another goddess."
But why not just speak casually? You don’t need to be so formal with me.
Not like before you became the queen of the gods...
"The number of goddesses he has touched is already over dozens. Even those I haven’t tracked..."
Hera cursed Zeus with an angry face.
Of course, she had every right to be angry.
"How can he sleep with any goddess or human he finds attractive, as if it’s nothing! It burns me up like Hephaestus's forge fire..."
Oh, right...
It seems like a rebellion is indeed justified.
Isn’t it Zeus’s fault for not listening even when spoken to?
As I wore a blank expression, Poseidon’s confident voice flowed out.
"See? Even though the king of the gods has the goddess of the household as his wife..."
"Can’t you hear your wife’s anger from the depths of the sea?"
"... Of course, unlike Zeus, if I become the master of the heavens, I would only look at Amphitrite."
Spit and lie all you want.
Who would believe that?
"Not only Hera, but Apollo will also join our plan. With this, you should have a chance even without you, right?"
"Do you really think so?"
"Hades, even without your help, the king of the gods will soon change to me, Poseidon. What’s wrong with siding with the winning side?"
Now you’re trying to persuade me with that logic?
Even with Apollo and Hera, it seems they would still lose...
And Zeus is also the god of kingship.
You and Zeus are about the same, but perhaps Zeus is a bit better...
Apollo is Zeus's son, but he decided to rebel, perhaps because he was unhappy with his mother Leto being left behind while he cheated?
"Zeus is strong; even if you all join forces, it won’t work. I’ve said it many times, I oppose any rebellion."
"Ha... You weren’t a coward when fighting Typhon, so why now..."
"If you help drive Zeus away, I will give you my daughter, Hebe, the goddess of youth. Is that not enough?"
Now he’s offering his daughter...
Your daughter is my niece.
Niece.
"I also have beautiful goddesses of the underworld."
"Are you talking about Styx, who rejected the persistent courtship of the Titan god Pallas? Or are you referring to Lethe, who always walks around with a blank face? None of them are more beautiful than my daughter..."
"That’s enough. I’ll take my leave now."
I stood up, slightly annoyed.
Hera’s anger towards Zeus is justified, but that doesn’t give me a reason to support a rebellion.
Even if Poseidon, Hera, and Apollo gathered, I didn’t think they could defeat Zeus, nor did I believe Poseidon would perform the role of king of the gods better than Zeus.
In conclusion, I didn’t want to side with the losing side anyway.
I didn’t like how Hera seemed to disregard my precious companions in the underworld by comparing them to her daughter.
Poseidon, who was spitting out his frustration, slowly nodded.
"Damn it! Fine, I understand. But if you change your mind later, feel free to contact me."
"You don’t have to worry about telling Zeus, right?"
"Don’t tell Zeus...? Ha! It would be better for you to drop such useless thoughts..."
With Hera’s final remark, I left the sea and returned to the underworld.
Even if they attempted a rebellion, they would just get struck by lightning and be thoroughly defeated.
Poseidon was still wary of Zeus...
Even if I informed Zeus now, Poseidon wouldn’t know, but he would likely trust his wife and son’s words more.
Since a rebellion hasn’t even started yet...
If I claim it’s a baseless accusation without solid evidence, I would be the one in a difficult position.
Zeus knows I have no interest in his position, but,
He might think I’m trying to sow discord between him and his wife, so I decided to withhold today’s events.
And as I remember from my past life, the king of the gods has always been Zeus.
He has never once changed to Poseidon.
As Hades laughed at the two and left, Hera and Poseidon looked at each other.
A sigh escaped their lips.
"Hmm... If Hades had helped, victory would be assured."
"Was it a mistake to mention it to him? If he tells Zeus, it could be dangerous."
"At that time, you and Apollo can come up with a good excuse. The distance between Olympus and the underworld is far. And..."
Poseidon shook his head.
"It couldn’t be helped. If Athena could draw Hades in, she would have joined as well..."
"If the goddess of wisdom had helped, it would have been much easier..."
They had asked Athena to join them, but the response from the goddess of wisdom was simply that she would refuse as there was no chance of victory.
"Athena, Zeus swallowed Metis because he feared you. Have you already forgotten?"
"... I’m not without complaints, but to win against my father, at least two of the three main gods must join."
"Draw Hades in?"
"But Uncle Hades has no interest in power struggles, so even if I join, the outcome is obvious."
Still, if Hera’s persistent persuasion could draw Hades in, she would join, but...
It ended up like this.
"That bastard Zeus is enough for me and Apollo to defeat!"
"It can’t be helped. We’ll have to ambush him when he’s off guard..."
A few days after Poseidon’s invitation, I was working in the underworld.
As I sifted through the usual workload, looking quite tired...
"Hades! A goddess who identifies herself as Thetis has come to the entrance of the underworld!"
"The goddess Thetis? Let her in."
Thetis.
She is the sister of Amphitrite, Poseidon’s wife, and a goddess of the sea.
I remember the prophecy that her son would become a hero surpassing his father...
Thanks to that, she was able to reject the proposals of both Zeus and Poseidon, but why has she come all the way to the underworld?
I don’t have much connection with her...
Creak—
A beautiful goddess reminiscent of blue waves entered my office.
She looked very urgent and seemed to have something to ask of me.
"Hah... Hades! There are gods in Olympus rebelling against Zeus right now!"
"Is Poseidon involved in that?"
It seems my expectations were not off.
They would likely fail anyway.
"How did you know...? Taking advantage of Zeus’s slumber, Hera, Apollo, and Poseidon ambushed him, stole his thunder, and subdued him."
This was completely beyond my expectations.
So she came to ask for help from the underworld.
To ambush and steal thunder while he was asleep, it seems Zeus was wary of Poseidon but never anticipated betrayal from Hera or Apollo.
Aside from Poseidon, there were no gods that posed a significant threat to his power, so it made sense.
Perhaps I should have told Zeus to be wary of Hera, even if it meant raising suspicion against Poseidon?
No, that wouldn’t work.
Then he would have been wary of me instead.
He might have thought of me as a brother trying to sow discord between him and his wife and son...
"Please call one of the Hecatoncheires! We need to save Zeus!"
Thetis, the goddess, cried out urgently for help.
But right now, Tartarus is in chaos with Cronus causing disturbances and Typhon’s head involved.
If I were to bring one of the three Hecatoncheires with a hundred hands, the rebellion would be suppressed, but...
In this unstable situation in Tartarus, I must prepare for any eventualities.
"I can’t call the Hecatoncheires. Recently, Cronus has been causing disturbances in Tartarus."
"But... the rebellion in Olympus..."
"You don’t need to worry."
Thetis looked dazed, but my words were not finished yet.
No matter how I think about it, Zeus suits the role of king of the gods better than Poseidon.
Both are authoritarian, boastful of their strength, and are vile gods who cheat and commit adultery while leaving their wives behind,
"My brother is already a true king, so he has no desire for the throne of the gods."
"I will take this opportunity to hold a ceremony to honor the gods who made great contributions in the battle against Typhon."
At least it seems Zeus has some awareness of his role as king.
I summoned the trident made by Hephaestus and grabbed the shabby helmet next to the throne of the underworld.
The opponent who started the rebellion is Poseidon, one of the three main gods,
I too must use all my strength.
Thetis seemed to have caught on to my intentions and let out a small gasp.
"I will go up to Olympus myself."
Another troublesome task has increased.