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“I’m sorry, Zeus! I’ve come all the way to the territory of the Aesir, but I couldn’t meet Father and ended up with nothing to show for it!”

Instead of the usual chaotic festivities of the Aesir gods, what greeted Zeus upon arriving was a solitary god, quietly drinking alone.

The burly blond god laughed heartily before downing the drink in his hand. He emptied the goblet filled with golden, honey-sweetened liquor in one go, and Zeus squinted at Thor.

“I thought I clearly communicated through Hermes.”

“Well, that chatterbox! I heard the story, but unfortunately, I’m the only one here to welcome you. The other gods are all busy with what Father ordered. So, I was just drinking alone. Really, how did it end up like this?”

“Is this something Odin ordered?”

“Well, the details are a secret! I don’t really know either! The old man himself hasn’t shown up for days, so it’s no wonder you can’t meet him.”

“Why can’t I meet him? Was the rumor of him being shocked and hiding true?”

“Uh, yeah, something like that! All the gods who should know are aware, so I won’t make any excuses!”

With that, Thor filled and emptied his goblet again.

“Even still, for the great Zeus to visit and not see a hair of him… seems a bit serious, doesn’t it?”

At Zeus’s remark, Thor chewed on a piece of jerky and laughed.

“What can we do? The old man just thinks too much! You know, I do feel sorry for you. I mean, you came all this way just to end up with nothing.”

“……”

“Don’t look so glum. Father didn’t want this either.”

Thor filled his empty goblet with honey liquor again and continued.

“What Father read from the wise man, what future he foresaw, and what lies ahead for us, he didn’t tell me…but seeing him so shaken means there’s a serious issue in the future.”

“Then why are you just drinking? Shouldn’t we be preparing for something?”

“Preparing…?”

Thor downed his drink quickly again.

“A warrior can only prepare to fight with their life on the line. There’s nothing else needed. Fight for your life, win, or lose everything. Those are the only two paths for a warrior.”

Thor then picked up the hammer hanging at his waist with his empty hand and smashed the table, shouting.

“If we must fight, then we will! No need for distractions for a warrior! That’s the mindset of a warrior god!”

“Ah, so simple.”

“That is the role of a warrior.”

The shattered table slowly returned to its original form over time as Thor placed his empty goblet on the table.

“So if we must fight, we won’t hesitate. Though I still don’t know what we’ll be fighting against.”

Zeus looked at Thor and remarked briefly.

“Sometimes I envy such simplicity.”

“It’s a privilege of a warrior! How about you, sometimes set aside that heavy responsibility and authority and be just a warrior?”

“Unfortunately, I have too much weighing on my shoulders already.”

Zeus sighed softly.

“Anyway, I understand. Just confirming Odin’s current situation makes this trip worthwhile.”

Zeus turned to leave.

Indirectly, he had confirmed the situation with the Aesir…so it wasn’t entirely a waste.

First priority, the Aesir was preparing for something.

Odin was hidden, planning something, and the other gods were occupied with their respective tasks.

Thor just fought blindly. Even without orders, it was okay to leave him like that. Or rather, he might be the god who should lead the charge in battle, so it made sense he’d be left alone.

“Odin… Is he preparing for war?”

As Zeus pondered Odin’s thoughts, he ascended towards Olympus.

He didn’t know who the war was against, but he hoped that Odin’s spear would not be pointed at Olympus.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

“Athena, is it true that you ended up with nothing?”

“Yes, Father.”

When Zeus returned to Olympus, he heard that Athena had gone to meet the wise man but had come back empty-handed.

“Why? I didn’t think you, the wisest of the gods in Olympus, would return without any results.”

“I apologize for returning without any achievement, but… I couldn’t find the wise man. It felt like the forest was blocking my way.”

“Blocking?”

“Yes. Thick fog appeared, and I couldn’t see an inch ahead. I got lost and tried to fly up to find a way, but I ended up popping out in ridiculous places… It was like a maze.”

“A maze…”

“I suspect that the wise man is choosing who to meet.”

“Choosing who to meet…”

Zeus nodded slightly.

If it was such a mysterious entity, it would likely have the ability to sift through those who come.

Or perhaps it was possible that it had finished speaking with Hermes already and didn’t want to talk about Olympus… but that was a hasty assumption, wasn’t it?

Then…

“Should we send Hermes again?”

“Even if we send Hermes again, I don’t know if we’ll get enough information… However, if we can meet again, it would be best to assign it to Hermes. Just in case, I will prepare a list of questions for Hermes to ask the wise man.”

“Alright. Do that. If it’s the sort of entity that picks who it meets, we truly have no other choice.”

Just then, a god entered through the door of the room where they were.

“What are you all being so complicated about! I don’t care what that wise man’s identity is, but can’t we just force him to spill what he knows?!”

The young god, wearing a golden helmet, shouted loudly.

“Ares.”

“What are we, if not the gods who pride ourselves on being at the pinnacle of all deities! This is Olympus! And yet we’re being pushed around by some suspicious figure who isn’t even a god. What do you think the humans who believe in us would think?!”

“Shut up, Ares. This isn’t your place to speak.”

“No way it isn’t! Athena always thinks too much, and it’s a problem! Let’s just overpower him! Isn’t that the simplest solution?!”

“Ares!”

Athena shouted at Ares, but Ares completely ignored her and spoke to Zeus.

“I’ll destroy that entire forest to capture this wise guy! Then all the problems will be solved!”

“Ares. Don’t be foolish. If that wise man really has the Goddess of Life behind him, it will backfire…”

“Then I’ll go now!”

“Ares!!!”

Before Zeus or Athena could stop him, Ares stormed out of Olympus, creating a chariot pulled by two horses and took off into the sky.

“Damn it, that idiot who can’t tell front from back!!”

“Athena. Send Hermes. Without Hermes’ speed, we won’t be able to catch Ares.”

“Hermes is currently unavailable…”

“Find him quickly! Ares’ foolish actions might throw everything into chaos!!!”

In that moment…

“Big trouble! Father!”

“Hermes! You came just in time! Ares has gone out, claiming he’ll force the wise man to come back, so hurry and catch him!”

“Eh?! What’s that… No, more importantly! Indra is in the Square of the Divine Hall! Indra has appeared!”

“What?!”

For a moment, Zeus was speechless. Indra. Why was Indra here? The beings of Lokapala who rarely came out of their territory? Why?

In the divine hall square, no less.

“Ugh… I’ll head to the Divine Hall square. Hermes, you hurry and bring back Ares!”

“Eh? But I want to see what Indra is up to…”

“Enough chit-chat! Go and catch Ares!!”

With that, Zeus kicked Hermes’ backside as he hesitated.

“Y-yes!”

Only after being kicked did Hermes hurry off to fly. Watching Hermes dash away, Zeus turned to Athena next to him.

“I don’t know what Indra, that unpredictable one, is planning, but let’s hurry. Athena.”

“Yes, Father.”

Thus, Zeus and Athena headed toward the Divine Hall square.

 

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