Chapter 21: The Tale of Poseidon - (2)

"Of course, it's nothing but talking about joining forces to overthrow Zeus, right?"

As I didn't seem surprised by his bold statement, Poseidon picked up his cup again.

"Is the position of king of the gods that tempting to you?"

"Oh... that's not it."

The sea god shakes his head and slowly opens his mouth.

As Poseidon raises his hand, his subordinates hurriedly move away from our surroundings.

"Zeus is no longer qualified to stand above us. If you think about the Typhon incident..."

"But he would have won in the end, right?"

"But he was defeated once and had his sinews cut, pathetically holed up in a cave. Even while wielding Schythe."

Poseidon has always been full of ambition.

When we drew lots for the rule of the world, I clearly drew the underworld that everyone avoided,

but he always regretted not getting the authority over the sky.

However, I didn't think he would start a rebellion so soon.

I guess he thought I was disappointed in him for helping Zeus in the fight against Typhon.

"It's absurd that the one called the king of gods who rules the sky was defeated. Hades, Zeus, who even asked you for help, can't win the fight against the Gigantes that will come someday."

He must be referring to when Zeus asked for my help through Hermes.

But I'm not keen on overthrowing Zeus just because he was defeated once...

"This is what happens when we determine rulership by mere lot-drawing. It was quite a sight to see him struggling against Typhon despite his overwhelming power."

"So you want to draw me in?"

"Of course, you might not be interested, but I promise a very satisfying reward if I just overthrow Zeus."

No, I don't need anything like a reward.

I don't really want much to begin with.

"Do you think there's a chance of winning if I help? No, I asked the wrong question..."

"Hahaha! Of course! If the underworld helps, there's more than enough chance of victory."

Zeus is incredibly strong.

The king of gods, master of lightning, the chief god ruling the sky.

They say all the gods combined can't defeat Zeus alone...

But that's when excluding me and Poseidon.

If two of the Big Three join forces, there's some chance of victory. But why should I participate in such a rebellion?

Zeus would be better than you.

"Forget it, I'm against this rebellion."

"What if I promise to grant anything except the authority over the sky?"

"No matter what you offer, I think I'm better off as I am now."

Poseidon frowns slightly and ponders.

Like Zeus, he doesn't seem to understand why I'm not swayed by power.

"But... being stuck at the bottom of the underground due to bad luck..."

"If I hadn't gone to the underworld, whichever of you two ended up there would have fought tooth and nail."

"Well... I didn't expect you to be like this, Hades..."

After thinking for a moment, Poseidon crosses his arms.

"Then, would it be enough if I show you evidence that Zeus is unqualified as king? Hera!"

"What...?!"

As soon as Poseidon opened his mouth, the door behind where we were talking opened.

Out came Hera, the queen of gods with chilling beauty.

She spoke in a cold tone.

"Hades, I can no longer stand by and watch Zeus's atrocities."

***

I was a bit surprised when Hera opened the door and walked out.

Somehow, it seems Poseidon didn't bring up the rebellion talk for nothing.

"No, Zeus wouldn't know you came here..."

"Zeus ignores my words as his wife and goddess of family, and always commits adultery. Even now, he's having fun with another goddess."

But why are you speaking formally to me? You don't need to use honorifics with me.

Like before you got the position of queen of gods...

"He's been with over dozens of goddesses so far. And that's just the ones I know of..."

Hera curses Zeus with an angry face.

Well, I suppose you have reason to be angry, but...

"Sigh... How can he spend a night with anyone, goddess or human, as long as they look good to him! My insides are burning like the flames of Hephaestus's forge..."

Oh... yeah... uh...

You might be right about the rebellion.

Isn't this Zeus's fault for not listening no matter what's said?

Seeing my dumbfounded face, a confident voice flows from Poseidon.

"See? Even though he's supposed to be the king of gods and married the goddess of family..."

"Can't you hear your wife's angry voice from the sea?"

"...Of course, unlike Zeus, if I become the lord of the sky, I'm confident I'll only look at Amphitrite."

Lie through your teeth.

Who would believe that?

"Not just Hera, but Apollo will also join our plan. With this much, we should have a chance even without you, right?"

"Do you really think so?"

"Hades, even if you don't help, the king of gods is set to change to me, Poseidon. What's wrong with joining the side that will win anyway?"

Now you're trying to persuade me with that logic?

Even with Apollo, Hera, and Poseidon, it seems like they'll lose...

And Zeus is also the god of kingship.

You and Zeus are much the same, but Zeus might be slightly better...

Apollo is Zeus's son, but he agreed to rebel, perhaps he's dissatisfied with Zeus cheating on his mother Leto?

"Zeus is strong, you won't have a chance even if you work together? As I've said many times, I'm against any rebellion."

"Sigh... Looking at how you fought Typhon, you're not a coward, so why are you like this..."

"If you lend your strength to overthrow Zeus, I'll give you my daughter, Hebe, the goddess of youth. Is this still not enough?"

Now she's offering her daughter...

Your daughter is my niece. Niece.

"I already have beautiful goddesses of the underworld."

"Are you talking about Styx, who rejected the persistent courtship of Pallas, a Titan? Or Lethe, who always goes around with a dazed face? Neither is more beautiful than my daughter..."

"That's enough. I'll be going now."

I stood up, feeling a bit irritated.

Hera's anger towards Zeus is justified, but that's not a reason for me to agree to a rebellion.

I don't think Poseidon, Hera, and Apollo together can defeat Zeus, nor do I think Poseidon would perform the role of king of gods better than Zeus.

In conclusion, I don't want to side with the losing side anyway.

I didn't like Hera seeming to dismiss my precious underworld colleagues by comparing them to her daughter.

Poseidon sighed and slowly nodded.

"Damn it! Fine. I understand for now, but if you change your mind later, contact me anytime."

"You don't have to worry about me telling Zeus, right?"

"You're asking me not to tell Zeus...? Ha! It would be better for you to stop such useless thoughts..."

With Hera's addition, I left the sea and returned to the underworld.

Even if they rebel, they'll just get hit by lightning and suffer a crushing defeat.

Zeus is always wary of Poseidon too...

Even if I told Zeus now, he's more likely to trust his wife and son's words than mine, though I'm not sure about Poseidon.

Since the rebellion hasn't happened yet... if they make excuses that it's slander without solid evidence, I'd be in a difficult position.

Zeus knows I'm not interested in his position, but

he might think I'm trying to drive a wedge between him and his wife if I'm not careful, so I'll hold off on telling him about today's events.

And as far as I remember from my past life, Zeus was always the king of gods.

Not once did it change to Poseidon.

***

As Hades left, mocking them, Hera and Poseidon looked at each other.

A sigh escaped their lips.

"Hmm... If Hades had helped, it would have been a sure victory."

"Was it unnecessary to tell him? It's dangerous if he informs Zeus."

"Then you and Apollo can make excuses, the distance between Olympus and the underworld is far. And..."

Poseidon shook his head.

"It couldn't be helped. Athena said she would join if we could bring in Hades..."

"If the goddess of wisdom had helped, it would have been much easier..."

They had also asked Athena to join,

but the answer they received from the goddess of wisdom was that she would refuse because there was no chance of victory.

"Athena, Zeus swallowed Metis, who was pregnant with you, because he feared you. Have you already forgotten?"

"...I'm not without complaints, but to defeat Father, at least two of the Big Three must join forces."

"Bring in Hades?"

"But Uncle Hades has no interest in power struggles, so even if I join, the result is obvious."

Still, after Hera's persistent persuasion, she said she would join if they could bring in Hades...

But it ended up like this.

"That Zeus bastard is enough for me and Apollo to take on together!"

"We have no choice. We'll have to ambush when Zeus lets his guard down..."

***

A few days after Poseidon's invitation, I was working in the underworld.

While flipping through parchments with a very tired look due to the usual workload...

"Lord Hades! A goddess who identified herself as Thetis has come to the entrance of the underworld!"

"Goddess Thetis? Let her in."

Thetis.

She's the blood sister of Amphitrite, Poseidon's wife, and a goddess of the sea. I remember there was a prophecy by Prometheus that the son she would bear would surpass his father...

Thanks to that, she was able to reject the courtship of Zeus and Poseidon, but why would she visit the underworld?

We don't have much connection...

Creak-

A beautiful goddess reminiscent of blue waves entered the office.

She looked very urgent and seemed to have something to ask of me.

"Huff... Hades! There are gods who have rebelled against Zeus in Olympus right now!"

"Is Poseidon among them by any chance?"

Just as I expected.

They'll fail anyway.

"How did you know...? Taking advantage of Zeus being asleep, Goddess Hera, Apollo, and Poseidon ambushed him, stole his lightning, and subdued him."

This is completely beyond my expectations.

So you came to the underworld for help.

To ambush while he was asleep, steal his lightning, and subdue him,

It seems Zeus was wary of Poseidon but didn't predict the betrayal of Hera or Apollo at all.

It's understandable since there are no gods who pose a major threat to his power except Poseidon.

Should I have told him to be wary of Hera even if it made him suspicious of me?

No, no. Then he would have been wary of me instead.

He might have thought I was a brother slandering his wife and son...

"Please summon just one of the Hecatoncheires brothers! We need to save Zeus!"

Goddess Thetis cries out urgently for help.

But right now, Kronos is occasionally causing trouble in Tartarus, and Typhon's head has been thrown in there too.

If we bring one of the Hecatoncheires brothers with their hundred hands, the rebellion would be suppressed...

But in this unstable situation in Tartarus, we need to prepare for any contingency.

"I can't summon the Hecatoncheires brothers. Kronos has been causing trouble in Tartarus recently."

"But... the rebellion in Olympus..."

"There's no need to worry."

Goddess Thetis looks dismayed, but I'm not finished speaking.

No matter how I think about it, Zeus is more suitable as the king of gods than Poseidon.

They're both authoritarian, boastful of their power, and terrible gods who leave their wives to go around raping and cheating, but,

"Brother, you don't covet the position of king of gods because you're already truly a king"

"I'd like to take this opportunity to commend the gods who made great contributions in the battle against Typhon"

At least Zeus seems to have some awareness as a king.

I summoned the Bident made by Hephaestus and grabbed the shabby helmet placed next to the underworld throne.

The one who rebelled is Poseidon, one of the Big Three,

I too must wear Kynee and give it my all.

Goddess Thetis seems to have caught on to my intention and lets out a small exclamation.

"I'll go up to Olympus myself."

Another troublesome task has been added.