“My apologies, Zeus! After coming all the way to the territory of the Aesir and not getting to meet your father, it feels like a wasted trip!”
When Zeus arrived at the domain of the Aesir, what caught his eye wasn’t the usual raucous feast thrown by the gods of Aesir but instead one lone deity drinking alone.
The tall golden-haired god laughed heartily and raised the cup in his hand.
The god who had just drained a golden honey-filled goblet in one gulp turned slightly toward Thor. Zeus frowned lightly.
“I thought Hermes clearly delivered the message.”
“Hmph. That swaggering dark spirit manager, you mean? Yeah, I got the word, but unfortunately, I’m the only one here to greet you. The other gods are out on some errand Father sent them on… So here I am, drinking away. Honestly, how did it come to this?”
“Odin’s errand?”
“Mm. Details are secret stuff. Even I don’t know much! Though Father himself hasn’t shown up for days now—some hidden agenda or another. Thanks to that, even though you’ve come all this way, there’s no meeting with him.”
“Why can’t I meet him? Is the rumor true—that he’s holed up after receiving a shock?”
“Hmm… Well, yeah! Most of the gods who should know already do, so no point in excuses!”
Thor refilled his goblet again and downed it in one go.
“No matter what, it’s odd that even Zeus himself couldn’t find a single hair of Odin’s… It seems kinda serious.”
At those words, Thor roughly chewed on a piece of jerky before laughing and replying,
“What can I do? The old man’s overthinking things again. Sorry about that, though. You came all this way directly and still ended up with nothing.”
“…”
“Don’t make that face. Father didn’t choose this—it wasn’t his intention.”
Thor refilled his empty goblet while speaking.
“As for what Father discussed with that sage and what future he foresaw… He didn’t tell me anything specific. But judging from how shocked he was, it must be some serious problem ahead.”
“If that’s the case, why are you just drinking? Shouldn’t you be preparing somehow?”
“Preparing…”
Thor gulped down the drink in one go again.
“The only preparation a warrior can do is to get ready to fight with everything on the line. Nothing else is needed. Either you win by putting your life on the line or lose everything in defeat. Those are the only two paths for a warrior.”
Thor gripped the hammer hanging at his waist with his empty right hand, slammed it onto the table, and shouted,
“If we have to fight, then we fight! Anything else is unnecessary baggage for a warrior! That’s the mindset of the God of Warriors!”
“That’s overly simplistic.”
“It’s the role of a warrior, period.”
As the shattered table returned to its original form over time, Thor placed his now-empty goblet back on the table and said,
“So if we have to fight, I won’t hesitate. We just don’t know what we’re fighting yet.”
Zeus looked at Thor briefly and spoke,
“Sometimes, that kind of simplicity is enviable.”
“That’s the privilege of a warrior! Sometimes, you should put aside that overly heavy responsibility and authority of yours, Zeus, and just be a simple warrior.”
“Unfortunately, there’s too much riding on my back now to do that.”
Zeus muttered lowly.
“Anyway, I understand now. Even indirectly confirming Odin’s current situation makes this visit worthwhile.”
Zeus began to turn around and walk away.
Even indirectly, the situation of Aesir had been checked—so it wasn’t a total loss.
First off, Aesir was definitely preparing something.
Odin was hiding somewhere while plotting something, assigning tasks to the other gods according to their roles.
Thor’s job is simply to fight, so leaving him alone like this works fine without further instructions.
Or maybe, since he’s supposed to lead the charge into battle, they left him alone intentionally.
“Is Odin… preparing for war?”
Zeus mused over Odin’s thoughts as he flew back toward Olympus.
I don’t know against whom, but I hope his spear isn’t aimed at Olympus…
—
“Athena, is it true you made a wasted trip?”
“Yes, Father.”
Upon returning to Olympus, Zeus learned that Athena had returned unsuccessful after trying to meet the sage.
“Why? I didn’t expect someone as wise as you among the Olympian gods to return empty-handed.”
“I apologize for returning without results, but I couldn’t even meet the sage. It felt like the forest itself was preventing me from advancing.”
“Preventing?”
“Yes. Dense fog rose, making it impossible to see even an inch ahead. Lost in confusion, I tried flying above to search, but inexplicably ended up somewhere else entirely… It was like a maze.”
“A maze…”
“My guess is that the sage filters who he meets.”
“Filters who he meets…”
Zeus nodded slightly.
For such an enigmatic existence, it’s reasonable to assume he’d screen visitors.
No, perhaps after speaking with Hermes, he decided not to share more with Olympus… But that might be jumping to conclusions too quickly.
Then…
“Should we send Hermes again?”
“Even if we send Hermes again, I’m unsure if we’ll gain sufficient information… If we can meet again, it would be best to entrust it to Hermes. Just in case, I’ll organize the questions to ask the sage and relay them to Hermes.”
“Alright. Do that. If he selects who he meets, there’s no other choice.”
At that moment, someone entered the room where the two were talking.
“What’s with all these complications?! Who knows what this sage’s identity is, but wouldn’t it be simpler to overpower him and force him to spill everything he knows?!”
A young-looking god wearing a golden helmet burst in loudly.
“Ares.”
“Who are we?! The gods who pride ourselves as the pinnacle among all gods! Isn’t this Olympus?! To be swayed by some mysterious guy who’s not even a believer… What will our human followers think of us?!”
“Hold your tongue, Ares. This is none of your concern.”
“Not at all! Sister always thinks too much, and that’s the problem! Overwhelming power is the simplest solution!”
“Ares!”
Athena shouted at Ares, but he completely ignored her and addressed Zeus directly.
“I’ll destroy the entire forest if I have to and bring back this ‘sage’! That’ll solve everything!”
“Ares. Stop your nonsense. If the Goddess of Life truly stands behind the sage, it could backfire…”
“In that case, I’ll be going!”
“Ares!!!”
Before either Zeus or Athena could stop him, Ares rushed out of Olympus, creating a chariot pulled by two horses, and soared through the sky.
“Ugh… That fool who doesn’t distinguish front from back!!”
“Athena, send Hermes quickly. Only Hermes’ swift feet can catch Ares.”
“Hermes is currently absent…”
“Find him immediately! All plans could unravel because of Ares’ foolish actions!!!”
Right then,
“Big trouble, Father!”
“Hermes! Good timing! Ares went out to forcibly bring back the sage, so hurry and stop him!”
“Wait… What?! Before that—more importantly! Indra has appeared in the square of the Divine Hall!”
“What?!”
Zeus froze momentarily. Indra. Why Indra? Aren’t the Lokapalas usually confined to their own territories? Why?
And in the square of the Divine Hall, no less.
“Ugh… I’ll head to the square of the Divine Hall. Hermes, go and catch Ares immediately!”
“But… Can I at least check what Indra intends to do…?”
“No excuses! Go catch Ares NOW!!”
With that, Zeus kicked Hermes’ butt.
“Y-Yes sir!!!”
Only after being kicked did Hermes finally take off hurriedly. Watching Hermes fly away, Zeus turned to Athena beside him.
“I don’t know what Indra’s intentions are, but let’s hurry regardless, Athena.”
“Yes, Father.”
Thus, Zeus and Athena headed together toward the square of the Divine Hall.
