Chapter 112
Heracles questions me.
"What do you mean, about myself?"
"First, you already know that your father is Zeus, right?"
"Yes. My foster father said so... and my mother and Teacher Chiron too..."
Well, they couldn't have hidden it since he was extraordinary from childhood.
"You incurred Hera's wrath from birth."
"Well, because I'm an illegitimate child..."
"No, that's part of it, but you suckled Hera's breast while held by Zeus. I had you dipped in the River Styx because her anger could strike you at any time."
"What?! You, Lord Hades? And I... the Queen of the Gods'..."
Heracles is flustered. I told him the truth.
"Yes. Of course, that wasn't the only reason I had you dipped in the Styx. It was also because you were destined to be a hero."
"......"
"It was calculated that if you received the power of the Styx, you wouldn't die easily."
"I had a vague idea, but... this is more shocking than I thought. I never imagined..."
Heracles hesitates, bewildered.
He must have just learned the truth about his birth for the first time.
"Then do you understand what you need to do when you leave this place?"
"Is it because of Lady Hera's anger towards me?"
"Yes. Go to Hera's temple and prostrate yourself, begging for forgiveness. You've done nothing wrong, but you must do this."
"...I understand."
"Storms may rage, and curses may fall. But never stop begging for forgiveness."
Heracles nods with a sour face.
Surely Hera will give him tasks, and those tasks will be both her venting and a way for Heracles to gain experience.
"You must have heard rumors about the River Styx in the living world."
"Yes... that it makes mortals who enter it invincible..."
"Not invincible. It just makes the body a bit tougher. Don't flaunt the strength of your body."
Pssht!
I moved my finger and made a small wound on his shoulder.
Heracles couldn't hide his bewilderment. It's understandable, as he had never been wounded since birth.
But that's all. It might be invincible power among mortals...
But for those with a certain level of divinity, breaking through the Styx's enhancement is easy.
Not to mention the Gigantes. Especially attacks using poison, fire, or water.
"At the human level, it might be an invulnerable body that can never be wounded, but in the realm of gods, it's a bit different. Your goal is to become a god, isn't it?"
"Blood from my body..."
"I'll find you suitable sparring partners. First, to get you used to being wounded..."
As I turned my head back, Megaera, one of the three goddesses of vengeance, walked over.
It hasn't been long since I sent the message, but she's already here... She must have been quite bored staying in the cave.
"Snake hair and bronze wings...! The... the goddess of vengeance?!"
"...Hades."
"Thank you for coming, Lady Megaera."
"We had to draw lots to decide who would come... Alecto is sulking again."
"Ahem. As I mentioned, please spar with Heracles here."
Blood-shedding eyes looked at Heracles.
The gaze of the goddess of vengeance who follows the guilty until death.
An ordinary human might faint, but Heracles smiled, burning with competitive spirit.
"If I defeat you, goddess, could I become a god too?"
"...Pfft."
The goddess of vengeance chuckled slightly, seemingly amused by the mortal's impudence.
All mortals have a longing for godhood, Bellerophon and Menthe were the same.
But at Heracles' level, he could never defeat Goddess Megaera, and even if he did, it wouldn't make him a god.
"Do you know what a god is? Do you think they're just strong, immortal, perfect beings?"
"...? Aren't they?"
"Gods exist to maintain the balance of the world. With just that kind of thinking... no matter how many great deeds you accomplish, you'll never become a god."
What the Olympian gods are. What burden they carry.
I think he'll come to understand as he progresses through his tasks.
Of course, I should tell Chiron to focus more on character education.
Still, with Lady Megaera here, shouldn't that arrogance and pride be quite curbed?
I bid farewell to Heracles, who had a puzzled look on his face.
"Well then, I'll be going now. The next time we meet... I hope to face you as a god."
"...!"
As I slowly disappeared with a black wind,
I heard Heracles' final greeting as he bowed towards me.
"...Thank you, Uncle."
***
Back on the throne in my fortress, I closed my eyes for a moment to organize my thoughts.
I needed to refine my plans for Heracles and the future once more.
Zeus's bloodline, Hera's milk, the Styx's enhancement, Chiron's education, the experience of sparring with a goddess, the goal of becoming a god.
This should be of great help when Heracles becomes an adult and completes his tasks.
If he completes all the tasks difficult for a mortal and helps us against the Gigantes, there's no reason he can't become a god.
Of course, he might become a god even before that.
Since I spoke to Hera through Iris before, difficult tasks will befall him.
Still, as long as it's not direct divine punishment enough to turn Heracles' eyes, he should be able to handle it.
I'd like to give him the blessing of Tyche, the goddess of fortune, but that might be too much.
The tasks should be just challenging enough to be meaningful.
"Lord Hades. A letter has arrived from Olympus requesting mediation for a conflict."
"What is it this time."
Looking at the letter brought by the messenger, I saw all sorts of disputes.
Since I gained the divine status of fairness, I've occasionally been tasked with mediating conflicts between higher deities, so letters come from time to time.
This time it's about Eos, the goddess of dawn, Aphrodite, and Ares.
If Aphrodite is involved, it's probably just a love triangle, so I don't really need to go... should I ignore it... Zeus?
There was a letter from Zeus, the king of the gods and my brother, asking me to come to Olympus for a while.
But why is Zeus looking for me?
Maybe there's something to discuss about Dike, who's been lecturing the gods like a fish in water lately...
***
The biggest change since gaining the divine status of fairness.
The fact that gods occasionally seek my help.
Although my workload decreased considerably when Dike, the goddess of justice, came to the Underworld, there were situations where my mediation as the god of fairness was needed.
Of course, I don't mediate all conflicts, but cases that are awkward for Zeus to intervene in yet significant enough tend to come my way.
Just like now, when the 12 Olympians or deities of similar status have a major dispute...
"Eos! Just because mortals revere you as the goddess of dawn, do you covet my lover too?"
"It's just that Ares' infatuation with such a vicious goddess as yourself has worn off! You have nothing to appeal to others except your beauty!"
"No... Aphrodite... that's..."
"Shut up, Ares!"
Aphrodite and Ares are lovers, but... did Ares have an affair with Eos?
Is that why they're fighting like this? But is it really an affair? Didn't this happen after they broke up?
"Let's all be quiet for now and speak one at a time. Goddess Eos, you first."
The sister of God Helios, a goddess with deep reddish-brown hair reminiscent of the night sky, looked at me.
Unlike Helios and Selene, who more or less handed over their divine status of sun and moon to Apollo and Artemis,
Eos, the goddess of dawn, still fully retained her divine status.
"Ahem. Ahem. Hades, I've heard that you received the divine status of fairness, but seeing you come all the way to Olympus to mediate this fight, I can't help but express my gratitude."
"Small quarrels often lead to big fights. Like the dispute between Apollo and Eros..."
Actually, it's not a small quarrel. How is a fight between the goddess of dawn and the goddess of beauty over the god of war a small quarrel?
If curses that work even on gods fly around, and a god becomes so angry they neglect their duties, it'll be another headache.
Above all, those who suffer the most are the mortals caught in between.
There might be those who get involved without knowing why, so it's better to resolve such disputes in advance.
"Ares and Aphrodite are no longer in a loving relationship. Ares even told Aphrodite beforehand."
"So you're saying Aphrodite is acting like this because she can't accept it?"
"Of course. Even though they've had many children together, isn't it a relationship that's over?"
I glanced at Aphrodite, who was suppressing her anger on the other side.
And Ares, who was fidgeting beside her.
"Aphrodite. According to Goddess Eos, aren't you and Ares in a relationship that's over?"
"Eek! How is it an over relationship when Ares here unilaterally announced it! And that Eos clearly flirted with Ares even when he and I were dating..."
"Wait. Don't get too excited, speak slowly."
After listening to all of Aphrodite's words as she breathed heavily, I looked at Ares.
He closed his eyes tightly, then opened his mouth to me with a face revealing complex emotions.
"Ares. Don't you have anything to say?"
"...Uncle. It's that when things became neglectful between Aphrodite and me, Goddess Eos..."
After hearing all three of them, I realized it was a simple love quarrel.
Eos originally had feelings for Ares and continuously courted him. Of course, even when Aphrodite and Ares were on good terms.
Aphrodite was very displeased with this, but until now, she hadn't taken any major action because she was fully receiving Ares' love.
When Ares and Aphrodite's relationship became neglectful, Eos approached Ares and became his lover...
They're asking me to mediate such a trivial love quarrel, were there no trustworthy gods?
If they had just spoken to Eros or Zeus, or any of the other 12 Olympians...
No. Is there no one who gives proper advice?
Finishing my thoughts, I looked at them.
"I wish you wouldn't call me for such love quarrels. Goddess Eos. I'm quite busy too, so perhaps Dike or..."
As soon as I finished speaking, immediate objections arose.
"But how could Dike mediate such a matter!"
"Um... Uncle. Dike is a goddess who has sworn virginity, and she said this doesn't seem to be a matter of justice..."
"Well, since it's related to love, we entrusted it to Hades, who receives the most pure love."
While I do receive excessive love from various goddesses...
I'm not the god of relationship counseling.