The meaningless argument, disguised as a debate, had already lasted twenty minutes.
It was all talk without any physical exchange,
but shouts were hurled back and forth, and items were thrown, causing a commotion to begin.
It started with books and pens,
and then progressed to Artemis and Ares destroying the statues at the back themselves and throwing the chunks of stone like ammunition in a challenge to fight.
While I found it absurd to watch, the hall buzzed with fervent energy.
Hestia and Demeter were exhausted from trying to calm both sides, but to no avail.
Poseidon heartily cheered, clapping while picking up roasted meat and eating it as if watching a show,
and Hermes, faking a serious expression, went around stirring up further trouble by aggravating both sides and supplying them with more rocks as ammunition.
“Excuse me…”
“This isn’t a snowball fight, you know.”
“Is this really the council of the gods?”
“Is it really okay to just keep watching this?”
BANG!
It was at that moment.
The camera zoomed in on Athena, who had plunged her spear into the floor.
At the same time, as if by magic,
all the statues in the hall and the scattered stones on the ground turned to powder and drifted out the window.
It was such a relief that at least we had one normal god among us.
“Everybody, take your seats!”
Athena, Zeus’s eldest daughter, shouted with a voice like thunder.
At Athena’s glare, Ares and Artemis froze as if struck by lightning.
When Athena’s blue eyes swept up and down, warning them to sit down quickly, the two gods sheepishly returned to their seats.
Following their example, the other gods gradually took their places as well.
In this way, Athena restored order in the hall, emanating a stern atmosphere.
Given this was a matter concerning her mother, one could understand why her heart wasn’t light.
She then turned to Zeus.
Zeus, whose unkempt appearance suggested he hadn’t been able to properly return home,
looked pitiful today, unable to utter a single word.
I had heard rumors that he had been chased out by Hera, but I didn’t expect that he had actually been homeless.
“Father. This way, we won’t reach any conclusion. Please conduct the meeting of the Twelve Great Gods.”
“Ah… Then, Athena. Would you mind conducting—”
“Yo—what?”
Just as Zeus, showing no initiative, was about to hand the proceedings over to Athena,
Hera interrupted with a sinister smile.
Oh, there goes the good momentum!
That lady just ruined the flow.
“Hmm? Uh… Uh… Hera, is there an issue?”
“Athena cannot possibly be impartial concerning the agenda item about her mother.”
“Hera!”
Athena flared up to protest, but Hera silenced her with a raised hand.
Then she continued to persuade Zeus of her point.
“How could we entrust the facilitation of the agenda to an emotional Athena?”
“Then who do you recommend?”
“Obviously, since I called this general meeting, it’s only natural that I take the lead—”
“Hera?”
But just as Hera was about to argue that she was fit to be the facilitator of this general meeting,
this time Athena cut into the conversation with a slight curl of her lips.
“…”
“What is it?”
“Can Hera be impartial concerning the agenda about Ark?”
“What do you mean?! I am the Queen of Olympus! How could I have personal feelings toward such vermin… Ah.”
The moment Hera used the derogatory term for the priest Ark,
it was as if she admitted to having personal feelings towards him.
Hera quietly repeated my name over and over in her head, grinding her teeth as if to chew it up dozens of times.
Her expression was so terrifying that even watching it on screen caused a cold sweat to run down my spine.
A few of the gods stifled their laughter at Hera’s silly mistake.
Hera, enraged again, was about to confront the gods who were mocking her but was stopped by Hestia and forced to sit down, chewing on her lips in frustration.
And so, the ball returned to Zeus.
Zeus, sighing, promised not to assert his own will and agreed to follow the judgment of the remaining eleven gods.
It was wise to decide by an odd number of eleven gods to avoid tied votes, which could easily skew towards Zeus’s preference if it were six against six.
“This kind of matter shouldn’t drag on. Let’s immediately consult the will of the gods.”
Zeus, mentioning the vote, slowly stood from his seat.
“Those opposed to Metis’s reinstatement, raise your left hand.”
Hera, Ares, Hephaestus, and Aphrodite—four gods in total—raised their left hands.
Aphrodite’s opposition was unexpected, differing from the three anticipated names.
“Those in favor of Metis’s reinstatement, raise your right hand.”
Athena, Artemis, Apollo, and Poseidon—four gods in total—raised their right hands.
Indeed, the supporters were those allied with me, and their intentions were fairly predictable.
“Hmm… Four against four, then?”
Zeus stroked his disheveled beard in confusion.
He paused the squabbling gods on both sides, then turned to look at the remaining gods who hadn’t raised their hands.
Hestia, Demeter, Hermes.
A total of three abstentions.
“So, not raising a hand means you’re neutral?”
Hestia and Demeter nodded in agreement.
Especially Hestia, unable to hide her regret as she alternated her gaze between Athena and Hera.
These two goddesses usually sought reconciliation and prayed for everyone’s well-being.
Zeus respected and understood their position.
However,
“Hermes~?”
Zeus glanced sideways at Hermes sitting next to him.
His eyes were filled with suspicion as if asking what kind of prank Hermes was about to pull.
Hermes, leaning back with his hands clasped behind his head and whistling innocently despite the suspicion aimed at him.
That’s when Hera glared at Hermes and wagged her finger at him, her face turning red.
“Hermes! You traitor!”
“Me? What do you mean, Hera?”
“Didn’t you promise me support the other day?”
“Hmm… Did I?”
Truly, Hera had meticulously predicted the majority decision and worked hard to rally the surrounding gods beforehand.
If Hera’s claim were true,
then Hermes’s joining the opposition would have resulted in a 4-to-5 loss, effectively barring Metis forever.
Phew~
Every minute feels like walking on thin air, chilling and dizzying.
“Hermes! What hypocrisy!”
Hera, shaken by his betrayal, scolded him.
In her fierce anger, capable of easily twisting a person or two like rags, everyone looked away,
except Hermes, who grinned like a troublemaker and accepted everything.
“Nah~ I tried to oppose, but the reasons for the pro side were just too strong, and I couldn’t raise my hand.”
“Hmph! That’s always your style!”
“Huh?”
“To apply a useless middle-ground theory to everything and act as if you have realized some great truth — I’ve seen this from you many times before!”
“Nah~ Hera, your words are too harsh. I do have thoughts, you know.”
“Hmph! If there had been more ‘no’ votes instead of a tie, Hermes, surely you would have joined the yes side. Isn’t this your way of abstaining only because it ended in a tie?!”
“…”
Hermes, who had been smiling all along, finally showed a crack in his smile at Hera’s pointed remark.
It seemed Hera had perfectly seen through his true intentions.
At the same time, by Hera’s final rebuke, silence enveloped the grand hall,
and no one dared to break it easily.
As time passed, the atmosphere began to shift towards the shelving of the proposal for Metis’s reinstatement.
Apparently, the Twelve Great Gods judged that it wasn’t bad to stall this issue by maintaining neutrality,
as they couldn’t handle Hera’s overwhelming anger that seemed to flip their eyes,
and they didn’t wish to offend Athena either.
Most critically, Hermes’ attitude was the problem.
“Speak, Hermes! If the vote had been 5 to 4, would you have sided with the losing side, regardless of yes or no? Bat-like creature!”
If Hera’s statement were correct,
Hermes intended to join the weaker side if anyone changed their mind, adopting an underdog mindset.
In other words,
it meant that Hermes didn’t have any thoughts of his own from the beginning.
As everyone turned their gaze to him, Hermes slowly lifted his head, wiping the smile from his face.
Then, his sparkling yellow eyes met each of the other gods one by one as he began to smile silently once again.
This time, only with his mouth.
“Because… it’s boring. Just driving everything by majority isn’t fun.”
His words, flowing out from his crescent-shaped grin, were unexpected.
What is this? Such chaos?
It’s like between two warring nations,
he plays the role of an arms smuggler who helps the weaker side to sell weapons!
Hermes! What’s wrong with you?
You’re not like this!
Cheeky, playful, mischievous…
“Huh!?”
Caught between flusteredness, I stared intensely at the screen,
witnessing an eerie scene.
Zeus and Hermes briefly met each other’s eyes and shared a small, mutual smile!
“This flow is strange…”
The gods who had grown weary of Hermes’ antics shook their heads from side to side.
Apparently, the decision on this agenda would neither be approved nor rejected,
but would be indefinitely postponed.
“This won’t do.”
I lightly shook my wrist, transforming the bracelet-like Rainbow into a bow.
