The fact that Metis’s restoration began with me is something no one can deny.
The Golden Pen award ceremony has had a butterfly effect leading us here.
Of course, I only acted under the guise of righteous reasons,
while Athena was the one who actually persuaded the other gods and carried things forward.
Athena ascended to Olympus, convinced many gods, and managed to align the lottery date with her own victory celebration.
So Hera made one final gamble.
If I, who still possesses the Golden Pen, were to fail the task and be erased from this world,
everything would fall back into chaos,
and Hera would have achieved her objective.
Moreover, Hera’s cunning manipulation behind the scenes is still ongoing.
“Hera-sama, there’s something I’d like to ask… rather, confirm.”
“……”
Normally, Hera would have snapped something like “Shut up, you filth!” But now she remains silent,
merely swallowing down a glass of sweet-smelling wine in one gulp.
A short silence ensued, during which Hestia lightly nudged my side.
When I glanced over, Hestia nodded her head, seemingly suggesting that she was rather surprised by my secret alliance with Dionysus and was telling me to speak freely.
“Hera-sama, there’s one thing. I still have yet to complete Dionysus’ dual task.”
After pausing briefly, I extended my left arm to show all the goddesses present the two bracelet-shaped tattoos on my wrist.
“I haven’t finished the task, yet I’m curious why Hera-sama so easily confirms my speculative responses.”
More accurately, I wanted to ask why she seemed to have given up and was drinking so heavily,
but I didn’t want to irritate her further, so I omitted that part.
Still, I’m sure Hera could easily grasp what I left unsaid.
“……”
“Hera-sama. That’s something I’m curious about too. You’d think you’d beg me not to kill Ark, but seeing you like this, so dejected…”
Athena couldn’t help but add some words, seeming unable to adapt to Hera’s demeanor which seemed like an admission of defeat.
Trying to fill her empty cup with wine once more, Hera instead shook an almost-empty bottle that only produced a few droplets.
Clang!
The wine bottle she threw shattered against the wall, glass shards scattering across the floor with a sharp sound.
“Hmph! Nothing seems to be going my way.”
“Hera…”
“Still in progress? That’s laughable. This task is already over.”
After adjusting the slipped strap of her negligee, Hera extended her right hand into the air.
Gathering a red glow on her index finger, she lightly grazed upward with it.
The space began to tear apart and widen, and suddenly, the stack of petition parchments I handled daily at my job burst out and piled on the floor, forming a small mountain.
Hestia and Athena, the two maiden goddesses, instinctively picked up a parchment each to read.
“This is a petition handled by Hera’s priests… huh? It says Hera should normalize her estranged relations with Artemis?”
“This parchment explains the reason. The soda developed in City Luna is showing signs of becoming a nationwide trend. Given that the soda tasting event held a week ago started in the neutral gods’ city, supplying soda to Hera’s city seems hopeless…”
Hestia and Athena read out the contents in turn.
As they did, Artemis, sensing something strange, picked up a few parchments to check their contents.
Her face turning serious, she crumpled the parchments in both hands and looked at me.
“Ark, what is this? The reason we called journalists to promote soda distribution wasn’t to stimulate the curiosity of the Twelve Great Gods, was it?”
“…”
“Hah! Filthy priest of a god. It seems you didn’t even inform your own deity of the true purpose.”
Artemis’s flustered expression made Hera scoff sarcastically,
a reaction that wasn’t much different from that of the three maiden goddesses who had also arrived in the VIP room,
each pressing their eyes on me, silently urging for an explanation.
I, who had been bowing my head,
slowly raised it.
Then the light hidden behind my fallen hair repelled the shadow, pulling into the gleam of my eyes.
“Well… it would be boring for just the fifth task, wouldn’t it?”
“What?”
The three maiden goddesses furrowed their brows and questioned in unison.
“True, it is a build-up for the fifth task. But… the effects won’t just end there.”
“Could you explain what you mean? I’m curious if my thoughts are correct.”
Here, the most rational Athena seeks a detailed explanation.
Or,
more accurately, like classmates gathering after a final exam to compare answers, it seems she’s eager to find out if her thoughts align with mine.
“The key is the journalists. If it was purely to make money, we would’ve called merchants who understand the value of soda.”
“So the goal was truly ‘propagation’?”
“Yes. We gathered reporters who followed the neutral gods and handed each of them a small oak barrel of soda.”
“Thus, without needing to advertise separately, it captured everyone’s attention.”
“Indeed, Athena-sama. You’ve likely already understood the content of the petitions you’ve just read?”
“Yes. Still, Ark, I’d like you to explain everything.”
Smiling slightly at my question, Athena.
She stepped back slightly, leaving the entire explanation to me.
Including, the credit for this ingenious strategy.
“Hera-sama has broken off relations with us. Since then, she cut diplomatic ties with us and tried to involve surrounding gods to isolate us.”
“…”
“But, what happens if soda, which is becoming a national hit, doesn’t circulate around Hera-sama’s followers?”
To lighten the mood and add emphasis, I phrased it as a question,
prompting Hestia to confidently raise her hand.
“I think I get it. Hera’s cities have such a strong economy and citizen unity. So from the mid-level deities to the minor gods following Hera, they’ll start to wobble and fall apart. Even Hera’s followers will likely start to tremble like wildfire.”
“That’s right. Actually, in our Luna, a riot broke out due to the curse of alcohol. But if we trace it back, it was clearly because of dissatisfaction among the citizens as the city policy kept isolating them.”
“Aha~ So that’s why you tried to lift Hera’s blockade.”
In reality, the priests of Aphrodite, who had cut ties with us, had already sent letters of friendship along with gifts.
It’s widely acknowledged that if they fail to secure this newly developed soda, they will fall behind other gods in terms of economics, culture, and faith.
Thus, the simple articles by the reporters who had tasted the soda ultimately lifted the blockade.
Indeed, the pen is mightier than the sword.
“Yes. Actually, the crux was whether the taste of the soda would succeed. And my lady, Artemis, helped resolve that.”
Expressing my gratitude, I looked warmly at Artemis,
who, embarrassed, pulled down one of her eyelids playfully and stuck her tongue out.
But when Hestia and Athena looked at her cutely,
the flustered Artemis ducked her head and hid behind me.
“Hooho, truly Ark! You aim for two effects with one action. War is no different.”
“Your praise is an honor, Athena-sama.”
“Hehehehe, not at all, not at all. I was sometimes wondering why you dared to challenge Hera despite being merely human. But indeed… I see now.”
“Not at all. It’s thanks to Hestia-sama that I learned the confrontations without dialogue are nothing but immature actions.”
As Athena and Hestia praised me,
they looked at me with changed gazes.
The color of trust lingered in their eyes.
Their eyes seemed to say this:
“Ark, who sees through everything, can you turn even the Hera of now around?”
Yes.
I can.
I will try.
This conversation will now serve as the turning point, the flag to return everything.
“Hera-sama.”
“What is it? After narrating your heroic achievements in front of me, aren’t you done? Just leave already. Anyway, the task has no chance of failing, right?”
“…Do you hate me?”
“Of course. Zeus, Metis, you, all the goddesses here!”
Hera’s eyes, charged with anger, listed names as if squeezing out her voice.
She is…
afraid, surely.
She must fear everything that will arise with Metis’s restoration.
For a king is one, and his order is absolute.
If there are two, three, the power of that order diminishes two or three times accordingly.
It’s no different for a queen.
She desired to maintain her dignity and image.
The return of the first wife, Metis,
certainly pushed the third wife, Hera, to an even more precarious position.
The insecurity of every god getting closer to the calm and intellectual Metis instead of her hysterical self must be nothing new.
That’s why she attacked me.
That’s why she pressured her stepchildren even more.
Her increasingly anxious and hurried choices were all unbearably cruel.
I, who wanted to wipe the tears from Athena’s eyes, ended up making Hera’s eyes well with tears.
“Hera-sama, I’m sorry.”
“…”
Hera didn’t accept my apology.
Instead, her unfocused eyes frantically analyzed me, trying to discern my intentions.
With my whole body subject to her suspicion, I knelt at her feet.
“Why… why are you kneeling…?”
“Please forgive my wrongdoing for causing mental scars to Hera-sama.”
“…What intention? Metis is returning tomorrow. You’ve already achieved your purpose. What could the reason be for this now?”
Suddenly rising from her sofa, Hera grabbed my collar,
and after briefly pulling me up, demanded my intentions with a loud voice.
“I haven’t achieved everything.”
“What?”
“There are the tears Hera-sama has shed that I didn’t manage to wipe away.”
“It’s already too late. From now on, I’ll have to endure the mocking sneers from gods or humans that I’m just one of Zeus’s concubines.”
“Why?”
“Hmph! Are you really asking? Anyway, this matter is black or white—there are only two sides. Since Metis won, I—”
“No, you haven’t lost.”
I shook my head vigorously.
And gently holding the hand that had gripped my collar, I slowly pulled it away, gazing steadily into Hera’s endlessly trembling eyes.
“Please appear at tomorrow’s victory commemoration. I plan to deliver a speech there.”
“And…?”
“If you have the intention to accept my apology and reconcile, please smile.”
“What…? Smile?”
“Yes. Hera-sama hasn’t shown a relaxed smile lately, has she?”
“…”
“Please, come tomorrow. Definitely.”
Yes.
Tomorrow is Athena’s victory commemoration day.
The day Metis returns.
On that day, I…
will embarrass Dionysus,
will make the bloodless Hades laugh out loud,
and will make even Hera smile genuinely.
Tomorrow, March 15th, will feature Metis and Hera,
both mothers, as the main characters!
