‘Have a discussion before opposing each other.’
Hestia’s reprimand.
Her noble intentions have been the driving force behind my growth.
Above all, it made me realize that I still lacked much despite unconsciously harboring arrogance from possessing modern knowledge.
And so, while I follow her advice and try to converse with Hera, I still find myself lacking in some ways.
The tasks to be resolved aren’t mine alone.
Isn’t it such a waste for only me to be the one talking to Hera?
“Um, L-Lady Hera!! Cho—ke! Choke!”
There she was, Hera, who had tried to block her own true self, with her ears tightly plugged. And then, just in time to deliver the final blow, a certain goddess arrived.
It was none other than Maia, my 9th rank secretary!
Even she, mother to Hermes, surely had many unresolved matters with Hera.
Although she was aware of the power of language that Hera possessed, she mustered the courage to appear here at my request.
Alright.
The stage is set.
The situation – the bottom of the ninth inning, two outs, bases loaded.
Facing Hera, the fiery closer who refuses everything with her ears plugged, stands Maia, the cleanup hitter. Everyone is eagerly awaiting her swing.
“You, you… Maia!!!”
Only when Maia approached did Hera finally notice her presence, and began tearing at her own lips in a fit of rage.
Springing to her feet, Hera grabbed Maia by the collar with one hand and began shaking her violently.
Under the immense physical force emitted by Hera, the supreme goddess, Maia was thrown back and forth like a wooden puppet, offering no resistance.
“What have you come here for? Are you so crazy that you want to die?”
“Choke!! Choke!! He… Hera… Lady Hera.”
Maia, who lacked the justification or defense that she now belonged to Artemis, was gradually losing consciousness.
With a face contorted in irritation, Hera violently dragged Maia close and then kicked her hard in the stomach with her left foot, sending her sprawling backwards.
Hera, who knows no mercy.
Fearing a repeat of the incident on Mount Kalline, I stepped in to intervene, only to be stopped by Maia, who was clutching her stomach and struggling for breath.
Despite being on the brink of death, Maia’s unwavering, radiant gaze turned to me and her head shook gently.
Pushing me slightly aside, she crawled on all fours towards Hera, bowing her forehead to the ground.
“Choke! Choke! Hera, Lady Hera…”
“Disgusting creature!!”
Furious and unrelenting, Hera raised her foot to trample Maia’s back, applying such force that one might fear Maia’s spine had snapped.
Still, despite being pressed to the ground, Maia managed, with great effort, to look up at Hera and speak.
“I’m sorry.”
“!”
The single word stopped Hera mid-motion, her foot lingering in the air.
Despite the ridiculousness of her frozen pose, no one dared to point it out.
And none would know that this was the first time Hera’s heart had ever been stirred.
“What are you sorry for?”
“For lacking the courage… for hiding…choke! choke! I’m sorry.”
“To love Zeus and to have no regrets for giving birth to Hermes…choke! But… but…”
“But you also knew that, without hearing anything, Lady Hera would be left in confusion and anger… You knew that too, didn’t you?”
Maia’s labored breathing gradually slowed, just a little.
Her smoke-filled coughs began to subside.
Maia, as she dared to seek Hera’s forgiveness, saw her PTSD, like melting snow in the warmth of an approaching spring, slowly fading away.
“Every time Hermes secretly came to the Storm Mountain and said that Lady Hera was kind to him, my heart ached so much.”
“So what? What is it you’re trying to say now?”
“I was afraid of Lady Hera’s punishment and hid. But I shouldn’t have. I should have approached you directly and explained everything.”
“…”
“Artemis was right. Instead of seeking your forgiveness, I only thought of how frightening you were and hid in a cave out of fear. Only now, only now, do I humbly seek forgiveness.”
With her knees still on the ground, Maia bowed her upper body further.
Having wounded Lady Hera’s heart as Zeus’s official wife.
Even though Hera cherished Hermes, the two gods’ betrayal still wounded deeply.
Without shame, Maia confessed her sins, coming forward at last.
And how would Hera respond?
In this tense moment, my body froze. I glanced at Hera cautiously, even hearing the faint rolling of her eyes.
Hera’s surroundings, where red energy pulsed, caused flowers and grass to bow under its heat.
At the same time, she levitated a sharp fragment of ruby, aiming its point straight at Maia’s head.
Would a face-to-face apology, direct and honest, truly fail?
Hera raised her right arm.
The moment this arm descends, the ruby would fly and shatter Maia’s head.
This would create a river of enmity far deeper than the river Styx between Hera and Hermes.
What shall we do?
Should I intervene again?
Or should I trust?
I alternated my gaze between Hera and Maia dozens of times in that brief span.
And I placed my left foot, which had moved forward, back where it started.
Yes, let’s trust.
I trust in Hera, the one who harbors a great maternal embrace that embraces all.
“Hnngh! Hnnngghh!!”
Hera can easily kill Maia, hated as an enemy, by lowering her raised arm.
But within her mind, pardon and vengeance clash fiercely,
As if invisible angels and demons were pulling at her arm, making it tremble back and forth.
The fourth hitter Maia had certainly hit Hera’s fast ball.
However, it seemed to lack just the tiniest bit of distance to clear the wall and become a home run.
It might hit the wall’s edge and be caught by the center fielder, leading to an out.
There’s nothing to do about it.
Let me blow some wind into the ball flying through the air.
Then, like a sail filled with a gentle breeze, it will soar cleanly over the wall.
Pushing the stone chair to the side and sticking close to Maia, I knelt down next to her.
And to Hera, the goddess of the family, who was still wavering and uncertain,
“Mom!”
I dropped a bomb that could obliterate everything.
The dumbfounded Hera, her mouth wide open at the word “mom,” looked utterly stupefied.
The ruby piece, trembling violently as it sought to pierce Maia’s head, had now fallen to the ground and rolled.
Even Maia, staring at me with goldfish-like expressions, seemed caught off guard by the unexpected turn of events.
“What… what… what did you say?”
“Mom Hera!”
“I didn’t misspeak! What nonsense are you spouting?!”
“Mommy!!”
“Are you Apollo, you little brat… Is this your scheme, Maia?”
“Maman!”
“That’s enough from you!”
With a throbbing headache, Hera slammed her forehead with her palm, and as though pushed by an invisible hand, she backed away step by step until the stone chair caught her behind, forcing her to sit down.
“What’s your intention? You, who aren’t even my illegitimate child, why would you call me that… that…”
Unable to bring herself to say the word “Mom,”
Hera simply fell silent after clicking her tongue.
Even Maia, who stood beside me, gave me a bewildered look, silently asking what on earth this was all about.
“Lady Hera, because you’re my mom…”
“Do you ever stop talking?”
“…I apologize. As a goddess, you must have already done your due diligence in investigating me, yes?”
“…And?”
“You must know that I’m an orphan, do you not?”
In this world, I have no family.
If I were to nitpick, Artemis is technically my family.
Two years ago, when I was of an unknown identity, I lived as a beggar until I met the kind-hearted Liam by chance, enabling me to settle in Luna as an adventurer.
With unknown family ties, it was natural to classify me as an orphan.
“So, just because you’re an orphan, you want to call me your mom? Ha! Hahaha! Even passing dogs would laugh.”
“But I firmly believe that you, Lady Hera, cannot bear to dismiss children like that.”
“Why?”
“Because of the maternal love that only Lady Hera possesses and not Lady Hestia.”
“…”
That’s right.
The reason why, no matter how pleasant Hestia may be, she cannot take on the role of family.
Maternal love.
Even if it is a trait that develops after having children, it is still true that Hestia swore her virginity.
There is no goddess who can take on the domain of family in place of Hera, who brims with maternal love in her very essence.
The fact that she still wears carnations gifted by children is proof enough.
“I declared during the commemorative speech that I would announce a charter granting the right to praise Lady Hera. All shall declare Hera as the spiritual mother of all! Thus, I intend to wield such influence that I could impose disadvantages on any gods who do not follow this charter.”
“So… mother. Or rather, tut tut! Are you asking me to be your guardian?”
In answer, I pulled out another jade medallion from my bosom and handed it to her.
The moonlight-imbued jade medallion was the only one imbued with the essence of Artemis!
It has the same effect as a blank check.
“I offer this jade medallion in exchange for managing and donating to orphanages. In return, I will provide you with all of my developments, such as foods, scientific tools, and books, free of charge.”
“…”
“Therefore, won’t you forgive the slave, Maia, and me, the orphan, Arc? Rather! Please be our patron!”
A shameless apology.
No, it was a request for cooperation.
Hera crossed her arms and crossed her legs.
The sleek curves of her legs peeking out from under her lifted skirt were no less than those of Artemis or Athena.
Without sparing me a glance, Hera alternated her gaze between the two jade medallions I had given her,
Then she threw back the inscribed jade medallion, symbolizing drink exclusivity, to me.
“Lady Hera?”
“It’s decided. You developed the beverage. Handle it as you see fit. However…”
Hera swung the blank-check jade medallion back and forth two or three times.
“I’m taking this. There have been too many war orphans lately, and this will come in useful.”
“Lady Hera? More importantly, what’s your answer regarding my plea for patronage?”
“Hmph! What makes you think I’d accept? I will continue to monitor your every move, and I’ll think about it.”
“That’s my private life…”
As if blushing, she covered her face with her hands,
And for the first time, Hera, who had maintained a heavy expression, smiled wryly and got up.
“I’m leaving.”
With a short farewell, Hera strode past us kneeling on the ground.
Our eyes followed her back, which did not turn once,
And we couldn’t look away until Hera opened the glass door and disappeared from view.
After Hera was completely gone, we looked at each other.
“Hm? Why did it end like this?”
“Um… Arc, this is just my thought…”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t this Lady Hera’s way of forgiving?”
“Is it?”
“Yes. That’s how I feel. It must be.”
Maia’s speculation grew more certain.
Having judged her reasoning to be valid, I stroked the jade medallion returned to me by Hera with my thumb.
The jade medallion felt as if it still carried Hera’s warm presence,
“Then this truly is Hera’s stubbornness, isn’t it? It’s so very her.”
