Love and Fire
Recently, Gaia has been quiet.
Could it be because the aspiring heroes who gathered in Thebes have returned to the mortal realm after finishing their training and are busy hunting monsters?
To prevent the heroes from falling into Gaia's madness...
It might also be the reason why they were each given an item imbued with the power of Dionysus.
Perhaps Chiron was aware of this, as he seemed to have put considerable effort into mental training.
"Hades, Demeter and Persephone have come to the entrance of the Underworld."
"Is it time for Persephone to arrive... Let them in."
As the messenger approached to report whether it was indeed time for Persephone to come to the Underworld, I waited for a moment.
The door to the audience chamber opened, and the two goddesses entered.
The cold-faced Demeter and the golden-haired one running towards me...
"Hades Uncle! I missed you!"
I hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to avoid her or not... but after meeting Demeter's gaze, I simply embraced her.
Seeing me accept her daughter, Demeter's expression softened.
She used to be so fierce...
"Huh? You're welcoming me so well now? Hehe..."
"It's been a while, Persephone. Now, stay to the side for a moment."
I set the smiling girl down beside me and looked at Demeter.
The goddess of the earth, with her arms crossed, finally opened her mouth when our eyes met.
"Hades. There must be news from Olympus this time."
"If you mean the document saying that Hephaestus caused an accident and wants to send him to the Underworld, then yes."
I pulled out the official letter sent to the Underworld, written in Zeus's own hand.
It was clear from the scrawled handwriting that he was furious.
"Hades, did you say the Underworld is very busy? That rascal Hephaestus caused a big accident, and for the time being, he should..."
I didn't know what had happened, but adding another hand to the already busy Underworld was a good thing.
I promptly sent a letter of consent back to Olympus...
"So, the goddess of the earth, you came all the way to the Underworld to talk about..."
"That accident is the problem! That rascal tried to rape Athena and ended up getting Gaia pregnant!"
"What nonsense is that, Demeter?!"
What on earth is happening...
The full story that Demeter shared was as follows.
Athena had visited Hephaestus's forge in the Olympus temple.
The goddess of wisdom had intended to ask the god of blacksmiths to make her a good weapon.
It seemed she was quite angry because her temple had recently been attacked by a Chimera.
However...
"Hephaestus, could you make me a shield and a spear..."
"Whoosh... Athena!"
After being rejected by Aphrodite and feeling dejected, Hephaestus attempted to rape Athena due to her beauty.
But Athena, being the goddess of wisdom as well as war...
"Hey!"
"Uh?! Aaaah!"
Boom!
She threw Hephaestus, who was trying to assault her, away.
However, due to the impact, Hephaestus's seed splattered onto Athena's thigh...
Athena wiped it off and threw it to the ground.
"So, Gaia, the goddess of the earth, gave birth to Hephaestus's child, and that child is being temporarily raised by Athena?"
"Yes, that's right! That rascal ended up resembling his father so much that he even tried to assault a goddess who swore purity..."
The reason Zeus sent Hephaestus to the Underworld in a fit of rage was not merely for the attempted rape of Athena.
We are currently in a situation where we are at odds with Gaia, the goddess of the earth.
Now that Gaia has unexpectedly given birth to a great-grandchild, it is uncertain what kind of schemes she might concoct.
An unnecessary provocation against a powerful enemy, or rather an insult... an act of rape?
Although she is my grandmother, so I have used honorifics, she has now had a child with my nephew Hephaestus...
"Hmph! So you understand why I came all the way here? If Hephaestus comes down to the Underworld..."
"Ah... yes. I won't let him approach Persephone."
Fortunately, thanks to Demeter speaking up, I was able to halt the flow of consciousness that was drifting into the abyss.
She came to see Persephone off and to talk about preventing the blacksmith god from approaching her daughter.
Wait a minute, if Hephaestus's seed splattered on the earth and Gaia became pregnant...
Isn't there also a goddess of the earth on our side? Like Demeter, who is right in front of me.
I glanced at Demeter's belly, but it didn't seem like she was pregnant at all.
Still, it would be better to hear it directly from her.
"But aren't you also a goddess of the earth? You're fine..."
"Ugh! I must say that I was able to remain safe because I do not fully possess the dominion of the earth!"
"... I apologize."
Demeter, her face flushed and huffing for a while, left the Underworld.
Persephone, who could be considered a cousin of the blacksmith god, approached after realizing the truth about him...
She hopped up onto my lap, sitting on my knee and giving me a seductive look.
Hmm.
She's much more clumsy than Aphrodite...
"Hehe! Hades, if Gaia can give birth to Hephaestus's child, wouldn't it be okay for us?"
"... Demeter should have seen you..."
Why is Hephaestus being treated like an uncle?
He is your half-brother... no, cousin...
Ugh, I need to stop thinking about this.
"Hehe... Did you miss me?! I think about you every day, Hades!"
Why did you drop the title of uncle, niece?
And don't... don't rub against my arm.
After sending Persephone back to a suitable room, some time passed before two gods visited the Underworld.
"Hades Uncle, it's been a while."
"Greetings..."
One was a muscular male god with his wrists bound and shoulders drooping, Hephaestus...
The other was the moon goddess, Artemis, who seemed to be watching him closely to ensure he wouldn't escape.
From the way Artemis glared at Hephaestus with contempt, it seemed that this incident had spread throughout Olympus.
Most of the gods must know the full story of what happened.
"I know what happened. Artemis, you may leave now."
"Ah... and..."
"Did Zeus have any message for me?"
Artemis's sharp voice echoed in the audience chamber as she spoke with her head bowed.
Since Athena, who swore purity at the Styx River, almost got raped, it was no wonder she felt personally affected.
"Yes, my father said to tell Hephaestus, 'Use him as you wish.'"
Hephaestus's face darkened even more.
But no matter how I think about it, isn't this just reaping what he sowed?
"Tell Zeus I understand, and you may leave."
"Understood, Uncle."
Before leaving, Artemis shot a glare at the gloomy blacksmith god.
It seemed he was guilty of something... he merely avoided her gaze, showing no response.
"... Hmph!"
Stomp, stomp.
After Artemis returned to the mortal realm, I turned to Hephaestus.
As I opened my mouth, his trained muscles, which hung like a piece of rotten meat, twitched.
"Hephaestus."
"Yes, Uncle."
"Why on earth did you do that? Athena is a virgin goddess who swore purity at the Styx River, and you tried to force yourself on her without even a proper marriage."
"That's... I'm innocent!"
What on earth is he claiming innocence for?
You tried to rape her and failed...
As I looked at him with disbelief, Hephaestus exploded in anger.
"Surely, Uncle Poseidon must have told me that Athena was coming to the forge because she liked me...!"
"Ah."
As soon as I heard it, I understood.
The two of them never had a good relationship.
During Poseidon's rebellion, Athena was invited by Poseidon but did not participate.
Medusa, who had a relationship with Poseidon, was turned into a monster by Athena...
There was even a time when they fought over a city, with Poseidon offering horses and Athena offering an olive tree.
In the end, the people of the city chose Athena, who gave them the olive tree, over Poseidon, who offered horses, so she won.
That city was named Athens.
It is where the most devoted followers of the goddess of wisdom reside.
"Poseidon tricked you into trying to teach Athena a lesson... tsk."
"I think so too. But no one believes me."
"Of course! Who would believe the words of someone who tried to assault a goddess who came to the forge and failed!"
"That... that is..."
Hoo...
I need to hold back.
I don't know if this is right, really.
No. This is an educational issue; it is likely that he learned this because of Zeus's womanizing.
Moreover, he hasn't even slept with his wife, Aphrodite, yet.
The firstborn of the supreme god Zeus, the god of volcanoes, fire, and blacksmiths, is in such a state...
The future of Olympus is indeed bright today.
"Bring Eros, who is in charge of torturing major criminals."
"Yes!"
After waiting in the audience chamber with Hephaestus for a moment, a young male god entered, dripping ichor from his fingers.
As soon as he crossed the threshold, the god of love prostrated himself.
"Hades, I've reflected a lot now..."
"Eros. Teach Hephaestus what you were doing, and you may return to Olympus."
Eros's face brightened, and his eyes widened.
The exhausted look he had just shown had vanished.
"Thank you! Hades! If my mother orders me, I won't do it again, really!"
"That... Uncle."
"What is it?"
"Do I have to take on the role of torturing sinners? If you could give me something to do as a blacksmith instead..."
"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll tell Zeus to transfer your position to the Underworld."
...::;;
The fundamental cause of the attempted rape of Athena is Hephaestus's loneliness.
It must be because he couldn't satisfy his desires even with the goddess Aphrodite as his wife.
"Then I will take my leave..."
"Follow me, Hephaestus!"
As I watched Hephaestus and Eros leave the audience chamber, I scratched my head.
Wait a minute... if he is so shaken that he would try to assault a goddess who swore purity like Athena,
If a beautifully adorned Gaia were to appear, would he not turn his attention that way?
Now that they have a child together, really, what if...
I can't force love on his wife, Aphrodite, so should I really divorce him and find him a new goddess?
"... Hephaestus."
"Yes?"
I need to resolve your troublesome marriage issue.