Chapter 18
As I crossed Iris's rainbow, my body was transferred to Olympus.
The feeling of stepping on soft yet heavy clouds, how long has it been?
In a world full of white clouds, the Olympian divine palace can be seen in the distance.
A building that looks like it's made of white marble, but is actually constructed of metal forged by Hephaestus, the Cyclopes, and others.
The temple, no, the divine palace large enough to touch the Milky Way in the sky...
"Why is it so intact?"
Surely it should be in a miserable state with more than half destroyed by Typhon?
Iris sighs and answers my muttered question.
"Lord Zeus ordered all efforts to be focused on the rapid reconstruction of the divine palace, led by Lord Hephaestus."
I can almost see Hephaestus, the brave warrior who summons raging flames against Typhon and Olympus's finest blacksmith, being worn out rebuilding that.
Iris's complexion doesn't look good either... Ah, I see, you've had a hard time too.
I cast a sympathetic glance at the rainbow goddess and walked to the front of the Olympian divine palace.
Clearly more magnificent than the gates of the underworld where I live.
Columns covered in gold with dragon and lightning motifs engraved, and handles made of metal that emits a strange light.
The Milky Way, a river of starlight flowing gently from a short distance from the door.
"Ah, that decoration was devised by Lord Apollo and Lord Hephaestus together..."
As I was looking at it for a moment, thinking it must have been made by a god with excellent aesthetic sense, Iris started explaining.
However, as I was about to enter, I listened halfheartedly and opened the door.
Swish-
The floor of the Olympian divine palace is cloud.
That's why the door opened smoothly without any unpleasant creaking sound.
The Olympian feast where numerous gods and attendants pass by.
Many splendid tables and chairs were set out, and ambrosia, the food of the gods, was served on plates ready to eat.
"Black hair, black eyes, and this chilling aura..."
"To think the lord of the underworld would really come to Olympus..."
"I heard Lord Zeus invited him, but..."
Ignoring the whispering lesser gods and attendants, I looked around.
Tinkle tinkle~ Ting~
"Wow..."
"Shh...! I can't hear the music well."
First, I saw Apollo, the god of music, sitting in a chair playing the lyre, having set down his golden cup filled with nectar...
The surrounding goddesses and female attendants were appreciating the music with faces completely captivated by him.
"Here, pour some nectar."
"Yes! Right away!"
As the gods held out their cups, those wearing chitons for easy movement ran busily across the clouds, pouring nectar from bottles.
They are the attendants of Hebe, the goddess of youth who manages nectar and ambrosia.
She, the daughter of Zeus and Hera, is always busy commanding her attendants at the gods' feasts.
"Hebe."
"Ah! Lord Hades, you've come!"
She bows with a fresh smile.
After exchanging proper greetings with my niece whom I haven't seen in a long time, I also picked up a nearby golden cup.
No, I was about to pick it up. If only the sea god with blue hair hadn't reached out first.
"Hey, Hades. I actually thought you wouldn't come to Olympus."
"Poseidon."
The sea god who rules the oceans grinned and downed the nectar in one go.
In his other hand, he held his prized trident.
"Hmm... What do you think of the Olympian feast?"
"It's just an ordinary feast, is there a problem?"
Poseidon spoke to me while picking up ambrosia from a plate.
[Could you come to the feast held in my palace next time? There are things I find difficult to say here...]
The second-in-command of Olympus looked around, slightly hardening his expression, and quietly sent a message,
and I nodded slightly.
[Send my subordinate to the entrance of the underworld later.]
[That's fine.]
Yes, this is one of the reasons why I bothered to come to this feast, in case something like this happened.
If you stay for a while in a place where gods gather, you're bound to hear all sorts of news, secrets I don't know, and suspicious stories.
As the king of the underworld, I shouldn't close my eyes and ears.
After making an appointment with Poseidon, we engaged in casual conversation and naturally moved in different directions.
I can feel the gazes around us gathering briefly and then dispersing as two chief gods ruling the sea and the underworld come together.
Zeus, who hosted this feast, seems likely to appear a little later.
When he feels enough gods have gathered, he'll probably appear in the middle, raise a toast, and set the mood.
***
"Hades. I didn't expect you to come."
"What's wrong with me coming to Olympus?"
Hair color reminiscent of well-ripened grain, a mix of light brown and yellow.
A gorgeous appearance with an incongruously expressionless face, it's Demeter, one of the Twelve Olympians and the goddess of the earth.
She was looking down at the earth visible between the clouds, pausing from drinking nectar.
"You're always busy ruling the underworld below, so I naturally thought you wouldn't come."
"I'm not always immersed in work."
Even if you look at me with such a disbelieving face, it's really true.
In fact, you could say I'm neglecting my duties and resting even now.
She turns her head again to look at the lower world.
The view of the lower world from the divine palace atop Mount Olympus was not... the usual scenery.
"Are those working on that half-disappeared Mount Olympus your subordinates?"
"I just gave the lesser gods and nymphs a small task."
Well, restoring Mount Olympus that Typhon smashed doesn't seem like a small task.
In fact, aren't those nymphs over there looking full of complaints...
I listened for a moment to hear what those working in the lower world were saying.
"Huff... How long do we have to do this..."
"It's a task Lady Demeter ordered, if we do it sloppily, our main bodies will wither!"
"I-I'm a dryad too, so I can't anger Lady Demeter!"
Dryads are tree spirits (nymphs).
They have long lifespans but are not immortal like gods, and cannot stray far from their trees.
So they have no choice but to do that hard labor at Demeter's word.
If they don't want to wither and die overnight, they have no choice...
"Hey... don't push them too hard."
"The earth is my child, and they are beings who depend on me to live. What's wrong with this much work?"
Demeter makes an expression of incomprehension, but I wish she would show a bit more mercy.
If she worked in the underworld once, she'd know to consider the hardships of her subordinates...
"The king of gods, the chief god of Olympus, Lord Zeus is entering!"
A lesser god who can control the wind shouts loudly.
Simultaneously, Zeus, the muscular male god with golden hair that I know, appeared.
"It seems everyone is enjoying themselves well."
***
The sweet melody that had been softly resonating from Apollo's lyre stopped.
The gods eating nectar and ambrosia briefly paused their meal and bowed their heads in respect.
As everyone looked at the king of gods, he spoke again.
"I, Zeus, as the host of this Olympian feast, will say a few brief words."
Zeus clears his throat and speaks in a majestic voice imbued with divine power.
"We recently faced a powerful enemy, Typhon, but all the gods gathered here combined their strength and succeeded in repelling that monster!"
Everyone knew that this feast was a victory celebration for defeating Typhon.
"I'd like to take this opportunity to briefly commend the gods who made great contributions in the battle against Typhon. First... Hermes!"
Hermes, the cheerful-looking young man holding the caduceus, walked up to Zeus and bowed his head.
Zeus patted his shoulder, said something, and then raised his voice again.
"Hermes here, despite suffering serious injuries from Typhon, succeeded in going to the underworld to request support. If it weren't for Hermes, Olympus might have been defeated! As a reward, greaves made by Hephaestus and..."
"Ooh..."
"As expected of the messenger god..."
"...Hermes did do well."
"If Lord Hades hadn't recaptured Schythe, it would have been dangerous..."
I quietly watched Zeus praising his son Hermes's achievements.
Hermes wore an awkward smile as if it was more than he deserved.
"Next, the goddess of wisdom and my daughter, Athena, come forward!"
As expected, Athena, fully armed, walked forward confidently and knelt on one knee before Zeus.
Athena's strategy was indeed effective during the fight against Typhon.
"The strategy that beautifully deceived Typhon came from your mind, truly worthy of the name goddess of wisdom..."
Zeus said earlier that he would commend.
Commendation means a superior praising a subordinate.
That's why the names of Poseidon or me, who dealt great blows to Typhon, are not called by Zeus.
Although we acknowledge Zeus as the king of gods because he is the strongest, we are almost equal as the Big Three.
"...Ares! You, befitting the god of war, bravely..."
And well... there's no need to particularly object if he wants to praise his sons and daughters for doing well.
I took a sip of nectar while watching Zeus commend the gods in turn.
Hmm... Is Olympian nectar different? Why does it seem sweeter than when I eat it underground?
"...That concludes the commendations for the brave ones who courageously faced Typhon! I, Zeus, will take my leave now, so I hope everyone enjoys the feast!"
Rumble!
Zeus disappeared from the banquet hall with a thunderclap.
It seems he was being considerate, thinking lesser gods might feel uncomfortable if the ruler of Olympus was present.
But did he really need to move with thunder instead of just walking out?
It's just noisy to me.
"Lord Hermes! I'd like to hear in detail about how you escaped from Typhon's grasp..."
"I wasn't at Olympus then, so I didn't know, but was that monster really that strong?"
"As expected of Lady Athena, goddess of wisdom!"
"Ares, later, let's ride the chariot together..."
Many gods gathered around today's protagonists, those who played active roles in the battle against Typhon.
There's an overflow of those wanting to hear tales of valor or trying to build friendships with the Twelve Olympians on this occasion.
"Lord Poseidon! Although Zeus didn't mention it..."
"Yes, whose son were you again?"
For reference, no one came to me, sipping nectar with Demeter in a corner.
Even that rough Poseidon has gods talking to him... why...
Demeter, who was looking at me, smirks and speaks.
"Of course. Who would dare approach you when displeasing you means falling into Tartarus, and pleasing you means being dragged to the underworld?"
"Did I speak my thoughts out loud?"
"...It's all evident in your expression, Hades."
Of course, it's not incomprehensible.
Except for the Twelve Olympians who can sit on the golden throne of Olympus, there are plenty who revere and fear me.
The underworld, the realm of the dead, is indeed a deep, dark, gloomy, fearful, eerie, and depressing place... but...
Still, it's a feast, and with limited gods to talk to, it's a bit boring, nothing interesting...
I did manage to become acquainted with a few newly born gods.
More precisely, they greeted me while trembling, and I sent them off appropriately.
"Relax your expression, you look even more gloomy. Like you're about to take someone to Tartarus."
"No, I'm not."
Demeter points out my appearance with a sour face.
Isn't this underworld discrimination?