Chapter 38 – The Victory Of The Heavenly Demon…
“…..”
“…..”
Hers froze with a bright smile.
Watching this, I silently shouted, “Nice!”
The infirmary was enveloped in silence, filled with mixed emotions.
“Hmm?”
“What is it?”
When I smiled innocently as if I knew nothing, Hers tilted his creaking head with effort.
“So, um… Ah! You were asking where Perseus’s treasure vault is? Wow. That friend was indeed a great hero. The sword that beheaded the unfortunate dusa…”
“Is the person who sent you quite high-ranking?”
This sly ssenger god wasn’t even trying to hide it; he was just blatantly diverting the conversation.
Honestly, his reaction alone almost gave the answer, but I decided to push a bit further.
“It seems it’s not an oath of Styx. If you were in a situation where you shouldn’t speak, you would have twisted this to make people suffer.”
If he played such word gas, it could lead to big trouble if the news reached the person later.
Moreover, his eloquence and scamming skills wouldn’t work, or even if they did, the aftermath would be unmanageable, making it impossible to even think of carrying out the plan.
“Well, um, that is…”
“It ans that the matter involving is quite critical between that person and Lord Hers. Moreover, it has been confird that the person who dressed up Atalanta beautifully and gave us the mysterious elixir is the sa person who sent you.”
Honestly, the matter related to Atalanta was half a gamble.
Asclepius praised the remaining few drops of the potion, calling it a magical power far beyond the level of modern dicine. Atalanta had given him the potion and brought it with her excessively beautiful, well-suited twilight-colored clothing.
After a series of such events, suddenly, the ssenger of the gods ran to the infirmary—not sowhere else?
Wasn’t it too much of a coincidence?
So, with a hint of curiosity, I threw a question mixed with various hints.
As expected, this was also a bingo.
“If the person who dressed up Atalanta, the person who handed her the potion, and the person who sent you were all different, you wouldn’t be this flustered.”
If he himself had intervened or helped Atalanta, his reaction would have been different.
Perhaps he would have smirked and sarcastically said that only one answer was possible.
Wouldn’t he have tried to confound it with another bizarre riddle?
“Aha…”
“Wh-what is it again?”
“That person was watching my duel with Hercules, wasn’t he?”
In other words, their eyes might still be directed here.
That’s why Hers couldn’t play word gas, even to escape the situation.
“So, shall we summarize? You, the ssenger of the gods, an eminent mber of the twelve Olympian Gods, find it uncomfortable to ntion this directly, and, therefore, can’t turn to riddles. If that person watched my duel with Hercules and was satisfied enough to bestow a beautiful woman and a magical elixir…”
Sotis, it’s the simplest and most convenient to crush everything with overwhelming force.
In reality, after unifying the entire Heavenly Demon Cult under my command and starting the conquest of the Central Plains, no one dared to face head-on. It was only natural.
But before reaching such a position, how many troubleso people did I have to face and deal with?
Especially before he beca my strategist, Gwi Hyun-sa, who tested by proposing all-night debates, and Godly Ghost, who gave headaches with his elusive riddles among the Twelve Godly Demons.
And when I conversed with Hers, I realized he was of the sa kind as them.
People who take extre pleasure in mocking others with riddles and tricks, in short, twisted individuals.
And the best way to deal with such individuals was to refute them using the sa thods.
‘Of course, Hers is almost completely tied up this ti.’
Even if it might upset Hers, the reason I was pushing this hard was to drive the nail in.
“…I need to change the question.”
“What?!”
Like a Buddhist koan or Socratic maieutic, I unconsciously explained and organized things to Hers.
The answer was already clear.
‘…It’s not Zeus.’
It wasn’t Zeus.
I couldn’t be one hundred percent sure since I haven’t seen Zeus directly yet.
If Zeus were to be watching , he wouldn’t have been so roundabout.
No matter how modern, considering the character of Zeus by 21st-century standards, he was depicted as a lecherous and sowhat lazy figure, but strictly speaking, he was a king in mythology.
The first farr, the most powerful god who overthrew the Titan King of Ti, Kronos.
Hers was like his exclusive ssenger, and Hers was also proud to be Zeus’s herald and often accompanied Zeus on his secret missions as a close confidant.
If he had co by Zeus’s command, he wouldn’t have felt so awkward around in the beginning.
He would have proudly announced from the start that he ca by Zeus’s order.
Moreover, would that notorious womanizer send a gentle girl like Atalanta to ?
The story of a sex maniac shaving his head and becoming a monk would be more believable.
Then, could it be another god from Olympus?
That, too, was definitely not the case.
The opponent was the legendary thief god, who, as soon as he could walk, completely raided the ranch of Apollo, the sun god, and erased all evidence.
Even though he was one of the twelve gods of Olympus, it made no sense for him to be this uncomfortable.
Considering that even Ares or Poseidon, with whom I’d built so rapport, or Artemis, who had a life-or-death relationship with , wouldn’t ask this busy ssenger god to co personally, it was a perplexing situation.
Then, there was only one god left.
“The Queen of the Gods, the Mistress of Olympus, the third daughter of Kronos.”
“Hiccup! Hiccup! Hiccup!”
Every ti I recited the nickna of the goddess who was watching with about 50% certainty, the curly-haired god’s body jolted with hiccups.
Indeed, for an office worker, nothing would be scarier than the chairman’s wife.
“…I guess I don’t need to hear the answer.”
As I chuckled at the rare sight of the noble god hiccupping, Hers quickly snapped back to his senses and grabbed his head.
“Th-Th-Th-This i-i-i-s…! M-M-M-! For my reputation as the trickster of Olympus to be so overshadowed like this!”
Honestly, Hers was at a severe disadvantage in this debate(?)
He had been struck from an angle he hadn’t even considered, on a topic that couldn’t be easily discussed.
Of course, it was his fault for lowering his guard and allowing a pre-fire.
If it were any other typical Greek hero, maybe, but since the opponent was , it was natural for him to be this flustered.
“Yes, that’s right! Brother Ares, Lord Poseidon! Even Lady Hera holds you in such high regard! They were so fed up with seeing cower that they sent directly to confront you!”
Hers, seeming to give up, threw himself onto the bed beside him and started whining.
But without a mont to laugh at his antics, I ended up clutching my head over the fact that it had beco certain.
“Hera, Lady Hera…”
In my knowledge, Zeus was the king of the gods and a philanderer.
Hera was the queen of the gods and a calamity to heroes.
If they were heroes or demigods, she was undoubtedly the number one entity to avoid since she couldn’t deal with her husband, so she would instead tornt that man’s mistresses and their children.
And such a goddess was paying attention to ?
“I won’t get brutally killed later, right?”
“Brutally killed?”
“It ans to die a horrible death.”
For now, considering the divine power opposite to Hercules’s and the divine weaponry, it was almost certain that I was not of Zeus’s lineage.
Moreover, seeing that she personally adorned Atalanta and sent her with the elixir praised by Asclepius, it was clear that, for so reason, the queen of the gods was showing favor towards .
However, considering that the favor of the gods in this mythical world generally led to rather unpleasant outcos for heroes, if not for ordinary people…
The fact that the queen of the highest god showed interest in was quite a perplexing matter.
“…What are you saying? Among the heroes these days, it’s extrely rare for soone to receive such abundant blessings from Her Majesty the Queen.”
Hers, who had pouted and grumbled as he got up, sat back down, facing .
“Sigh… Who would have thought you’d strike from that side? Aren’t you even curious about your own blood? Of course, I thought you’d ask about it, so I prepared a great riddle with much deliberation.”
As expected.
Hers knew about my lineage.
However, I had just t the being who had ford my flesh.
Investigating and exploring that being itself was my training.
It was better to take a shot at the smug ssenger who brought to mind these old friends and explore the unknown entity that had approached right in front of , rather than waste this golden opportunity like cheating on an exam.
Honestly, it was a bit fun.
“Getting to know her is my little amusent and my task, you see. Moreover, a certain guardian god of beautiful travelers has left a big clue.”
“Oh…! I really underestimated you!”
Even as Hers exaggeratedly smacked his forehead as if he had been struck, he didn’t seem genuinely upset.
“Are you not offended?”
“Huh? ? Why would I be upset?”
At my question, Hers shrugged his shoulders as if he found it amusing.
“Whether human, hero, or otherwise, those who grovel at the na of a god are far better. It’s much more fun to play with soone who charges in like that. In that sense, you’re really an interesting guy!”
Like a pro gar who just narrowly lost an exciting ga, Hers was laughing heartily.
“Well, that’s a relief.”
“Yes… Her Majesty the Queen was right indeed. I was worrying for nothing.”
Hers, nodding as if he had confird everything he needed to, looked sowhat refreshed.
“As you said, the queen of the gods, the goddess with beautiful eyes, has been watching over you. If you didn’t know, make sure to thank her later.”
“Of course, is there any offering she likes that might get my head cracked if I give it?”
“An offering that would get your head cracked… That’s a new expression? Interesting!”
Indeed, 21st-century Rift-style vocabulary might be a bit much for a pristine era where the worst insult was a crow taking sothing away.
Watching Hers, who was excited like an elentary school kid over swear words, I decided to be a bit cautious.
“Well, let’s see… Lady Hera does not refuse any sincere offerings. However, your poems are currently in vogue on Olympus. Write one as splendid as the one you wrote for Father and offer it along with a fat cow.”
“…Poems?”
Did I ever write a poem?
As I pondered for a mont, Hers frowned as if it were absurd.
“Why, don’t you rember the poem you offered at Ares’s temple with the wild boar and the one you offered to Father Zeus?”
“Oh! That? Why?”
When I first went to the temple of Ares, the god of war, I had such thoughts.
Though I am like this now, in my previous life, I was the Heavenly Demon of the Heavenly Demon Cult, the high priest of Asura, the god of war and combat.
The world might be different, but when going to greet the military god of this land, just tossing a sacrifice and leaving didn’t seem right.
So, I improvised using the Heavenly Demon poems and idioms I morized long ago, and offered them with the sacrifice.
Were they trending on Olympus?
I had a feeling that sothing trendous was happening sowhere I didn’t know…
“Grrrr…!”
“Oh…?”
As I was savoring a very peculiar feeling.
Hers, with a playful look, threw another bombshell.
“How about the news that the goddess of the moon, filled with anger, ran to her brother’s temple with tears in her eyes?”
“What?!”
Damn it.
The sacrifice wasn’t the problem now.
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