Chapter 19
The feast of the Olympian gods above the clouds, revered by humans, is not much different from theirs.
"This time, when humans prayed to me for wind, I showed a little mercy..."
"Lady Artemis, you're beautiful today as well!"
"After the feast, I'll have something to say to the nymphs."
"Was that monster called Typhon really that strong?"
They converse while eating ambrosia and drinking nectar, the food of the gods,
"Hmm... Would you like to come with me to a quiet place and continue talking?"
"Whenever you wish, my dear."
When a man and woman hit it off, they leave for a quiet place,
"I heard one of the nymphs under your command offered quite a useful weapon..."
"Hmm? Are you talking about my sword?"
"How about wagering it on a round of pankration with me? I'll bet one of the buffaloes I'm raising."
"Are you two going to fight? Then I'll bet on this side..."
They make interesting bets through pankration, a combat sport,
"Hahaha! Terpsichore! You're amazing as always."
"You flatter me, Lord Poseidon."
"That was dancing skill befitting one of the Muses who oversee learning and arts!"
They also enjoy arts like listening to Apollo's music or dancing.
At such a feast of the gods, I, Hades...
"Hmm... Are you really not going to play with me?"
"Uh, and take off that girdle, it's giving me a headache."
"But without this, you won't even look at me...?"
I was rejecting the seduction of Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love whom everyone admires.
Of all things, she even came wearing that Kestos Himas (magic girdle of seduction).
My head is throbbing because of that thing, get away from me.
Still, I know she's doing this half-jokingly rather than seducing with full force.
"Tch... How boring. Are you going to keep doing this?"
"Go to your husband, Hephaestus."
Of course, it's a bit uncomfortable because it seems half-serious.
No, why are you doing this when you have a husband?
"Stay as far away from me as the distance between the underworld and Olympus..."
"Huh? Even when I, the goddess of beauty, am going this far, you have to be like this?"
Aphrodite crosses her arms and strikes a seductive pose that emphasizes certain parts.
The male gods around can't take their eyes off such a figure, but...
"Someday, something will really happen if you keep doing this."
"I'd prefer affection over worry... I'll withdraw for today."
From her perspective as the one who oversees the intense emotion of love...
It must feel unsettling to see someone as high-ranking as one of the Big Three completely outside her domain.
Seeming offended that her beauty and love didn't affect me,
Aphrodite left with a deeply furrowed brow.
"Wow... What did I just see? Uncle Hades, did you just reject the goddess of beauty?"
Hermes approaches with his mouth agape in admiration, holding his caduceus.
Even the snakes on his staff were turning their heads in the direction Aphrodite left.
"If it were me, I don't think I could refuse. Wouldn't you be able to spend an exciting night?"
"Sigh..."
Hermes whispers softly with a lewd face, but I'm not interested at all.
Why would I enjoy a secret meeting with a goddess who has a husband and children?
Moreover, Hephaestus hasn't done anything wrong to me.
"So why did you come?"
"Hephaestus, who was working in the forge, said he wanted to see you, Lord Hades. I am the messenger, after all."
They say Zeus ordered Hephaestus to make a weapon for me.
It seems he needs my help with something in making the weapon.
"I should go see him now."
I put down the golden cup filled with nectar and walked out.
Is Hephaestus's special forge in Olympus this way?
***
After passing through what seems to be a makeshift Milky Way that Iris worked hard to draw water for...
And walking through densely packed white clouds for quite a while...
"Kyahaha!"
"Hahaha! Slow down a bit!"
Just as lesser gods who seem to be in love pass by my side, Hephaestus's forge came into view.
Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal being hammered, heat intense enough for even gods to feel, flames soaring high into the sky.
The walls of the forge were full of all kinds of divine weapons and tools that would cause wars for possession if they fell into human hands.
Is that a sword that emits flames with each swing, and is this blue-tinted armor something that gets harder as it's impacted?
"You've come, Uncle."
"Mm."
As I was admiring the weapons touched by Hephaestus's hand, he came out to greet me.
Though lame, the muscular male god with a tough appearance held a hammer in his hand.
"All these here are failures, so I'm embarrassed to show them..."
No matter how I look at it, any one of these items would cause an uproar if it fell to the lower world.
But from the perspective of the god of smithing who made Aphrodite's magic girdle and Hermes's winged sandals, it's natural.
When I asked him why he called for me,
Hephaestus scratched his cheek with a seemingly innocent face and said,
"I was in the process of making a spear called a Bident for you, Uncle, and I was hoping you could infuse it with some divine power..."
"Bident...?"
I did use spears a lot during the war with the Titan gods.
Did Zeus tell him to make a spear after seeing that?
"Then will my weapon be a trident like Poseidon's?"
"No, this is a two-pronged spear."
"But I already have this Styx sword, so I don't need a weapon..."
I unfastened the scabbard at my waist and handed the Styx sword to him.
The god of smithing examined the blade intently for a moment, then smiled at me and said,
"This sword is quite excellent, but it's no match for the Trident and the thunderbolt. However, the Bident I'm about to show you will dare to compare with them."
"Oh..."
Hephaestus spoke confidently and then brought out a two-pronged spear from the forge, wearing iron gloves.
I reached out to touch the spear, which was still glowing red with residual heat.
Hiss...
As the dark divine power emanating from me touched the Bident, the surface of the spear was slightly eroded.
But that was only for a moment; soon the Bident accepted the divine power and turned black.
It was clearly extraordinary at a glance, but that wasn't the end.
"Please wait a moment, there's still some finishing work left."
Hephaestus carefully took the spear back and went into the forge again...
Soon, the sound of metal being hammered and explosions from different energies colliding began to be heard.
Clang! Tsss... Bang! Clang!
The only ones with skill comparable to Hephaestus, the god of smithing, are the Cyclops brothers who made my Kynee.
I waited patiently for the work to be finished.
When Helios's sun chariot had reached the end of the world and it was now Selene the moon goddess's turn,
Hephaestus, who had been absorbed in his work, called me.
"It's finished! Please give it a swing!"
The spearhead with a shiny black surface.
Just looking at it emits a chilling aura, but it's a familiar underworld feeling to me.
As if entranced, I grasped the Bident with my right hand.
The spear emits a soft resonant sound as if recognizing its master.
When I infuse a little power into the spear that fits perfectly in my hand, it emits an aura several times stronger.
Ominous black divine power envelops the Bident, and after looking down at the spear for a moment, I thrust it fiercely towards the sky.
Whoosh-
A large hole opens in the clouds above Olympus, and a fierce spear strike flies straight beyond the sky.
Really, it's the best.
I'm not envious of Poseidon's Trident at all.
"Are you pleased with it?"
"Pleased... doesn't even begin to describe it."
"And now that your divine power has been imprinted, you should be able to summon it anytime, even from far away!"
What, it even has such a function?
There's absolutely no way I'll ever lose this.
It really doesn't fall behind Poseidon's Trident at all...
Shouldn't I give him some kind of reward for this?
I asked Hephaestus, who looked satisfied, if there was anything he wanted.
"I'm glad you like it. I do have one request..."
"Go ahead and say it, I'll grant it if it's a wish I can fulfill."
"Please use that Bident often and spread the word that I made it!"
Isn't that a given?
"That is... I'd like it to be widely known that Hephaestus, the world's greatest blacksmith, made this Bident comparable to the Three Sacred Treasures made by the Cyclops brothers!"
I assured the god of smithing, whose eyes were sparkling as he spoke, that I would certainly do that much.
It seems he wants the honor of having made an excellent weapon, so that's not a difficult task.
But aren't the Cyclops brothers a bit higher up when it comes to being the world's best...?
Ah! I'll know if I compare it with the Kynee that Arges made for me!
***
Clang! Clang clang!
Having returned to the underworld, I held an old, shabby-looking helmet in one hand and clashed it with the Bident.
Sparks fly as the two items of nearly equal strength collide.
"Kyaaah! Hades! Again, testing weapons with that precious helmet!"
Goddess Styx, who was passing by, sees me and tries to stop me in panic.
No, just a few more times and...
"First my sword that I made for you, and now this, why do you keep testing weapons on that?!"
"Ah, by the way, this Bident was made by Hephaestus, the best blacksmith in Olympus..."
Goddess Styx approaches me and scolds furiously.
Her hands are flapping and her feet are stomping like that, there might be a hole in the underworld floor... No, there won't be.
"Bident or whatever, when we should be preciously storing Kynee in the treasure vault, why do you keep overworking(?) it! I told you last time too..."
I wanted to naturally change the subject, but it didn't work.