King of Underworld

Chapter 21 The Story of Poseidon – (2)

“Of course, the only story is that we should join forces to overthrow Zeus, right?”

When Poseidon saw that I wasn’t surprised by his bold statement, he picked up his glass again.

“Are you so eager for the throne of the king of the gods?”

“Oh… that’s not it.”

The sea god slowly opened his mouth, shaking his head.

When Poseidon raised his hand, his followers hurriedly moved away from us.

“Zeus no longer deserves to stand above us. If you think about the matter with Typhon…”

“He still won in the end, didn’t he?”

“But he was defeated once and pathetically shoved into a cave, even though he fought with the Scythe.”

Poseidon was always ambitious.

When we drew lots to determine the dominion of the world, I clearly drew the underworld, which everyone avoided,

But he always regretted not getting the dominion of the sky.

However, it didn’t seem like he would start a rebellion just yet.

Maybe he thought I was disappointed with Zeus after I helped him in the fight against Typhon.

“It makes no sense for the king of the gods, who rules the heavens, to be defeated. Hades, Zeus, who asked for your help, won’t be able to win the coming battle with the Gigantes.”

He must have been talking about the time Zeus asked for my help through Hermes.

But I’m not inclined to overthrow Zeus just because he lost once…

“That kind of thing happens because we decide dominions by drawing lots. It was rather sad to see him struggling against Typhon despite his overwhelming power.”

“So, you want to draw me in?”

“Of course, you may not be very interested, but I promise you a very satisfying reward if you help overthrow Zeus.”

No, I don’t need any rewards.

I don’t really want much in the first place.

“Do you think there’s a chance of winning if I help? No, that’s not the right question…”

“Hahaha! Of course! As long as the underworld helps, we have a sufficient chance.”

Zeus was incredibly strong.

The king of the gods, the master of lightning, the main god ruling the sky.

Even if all the gods joined forces, they couldn’t defeat Zeus alone…

That’s if you exclude Poseidon and me.

There’s a fair chance if two of the three main gods join forces. But why should I participate in a rebellion?

It doesn’t matter much who rules the sky, does it?

“It doesn’t matter much to me whether you or Zeus becomes the king of the gods…”

“What if I promise to do anything except give up the dominion of the sky?”

“Of course. I’m not interested in mere power or status.”

Poseidon frowned a little, deep in thought.

Like Zeus, he couldn’t understand why I wasn’t swayed by power.

“But… If I hadn’t gone to the underworld, one of you would have fought to death for it.”

“Huh… I didn’t expect this from you, Hades…”

After a moment of thinking, Poseidon crossed his arms.

“Then, I’ll show you the reason why Zeus is unfit as a king, Hera!”

“What…?!”

As soon as Poseidon spoke, the door behind where we were talking opened.

What came out was Hera, the queen of the gods, with a chilling beauty.

She spoke in a cold tone.

“Hades, I can no longer watch Zeus’s atrocities.”

* * *

When the door opened, and Hera walked out, I was a bit surprised.

No wonder Poseidon didn’t bring up the rebellion for no reason.

“No, Zeus must know you are here…”

“Zeus always ignores me, his wife and the goddess of the hearth, and continually commits adultery. Even now, he’s having fun with another goddess.”

You could have just said it plainly, without the formalities.

Just like before you became the queen of the gods…

“The number of goddesses he has touched is over dozens. Even the goddesses I couldn’t identify…”

Hera vented her anger at Zeus with a very angry face.

Well, of course, you have every reason to be angry.

“Phew… How can he spend the night with anyone he finds attractive, be they goddesses or humans! It burns me up like the fire in Hephaestus’s forge…”

Well, yes… um…

It does seem like a rebellion.

Isn’t this Zeus’s fault for not listening, even if you tell him?

When I looked dumbfounded, Poseidon spoke with a confident voice.

“See? Even though he married the goddess of the hearth, as the king of the gods…”

“Can’t you hear your wife yelling from the sea?”

“…Of course, unlike Zeus, if I become the ruler of the sky, I can promise to look only at Amphitrite.”

That’s a lie no one would believe.

“Not only Hera but Apollo will also join our plan. With this much, we have a chance even without you, right?”

“Well…”

“Hades, even if you don’t help, the king of the gods will be replaced by me, Poseidon. What’s wrong with siding with the winning side?”

Now he was trying to persuade me with such logic?

It felt like they would still lose, even with Apollo, Hera, and Poseidon…

And Zeus was also the god of kingship.

You or Zeus, it’s much the same, but perhaps Zeus is slightly better…

Apollo decided to join the rebellion, even though he is Zeus’s son. Did he resent Zeus for cheating on his mother, Leto?

“Just fight amongst yourselves. As I’ve said many times, I have no interest in power struggles on the surface.”

“Hah… Looking at the fight with Typhon, you’re not a coward, so why…”

“If you help overthrow Zeus, I’ll give you my daughter, the goddess of youth, Hebe. Is that still not enough?”

Now she was offering her daughter…

Your daughter is my niece. Niece.

“I already have beautiful goddesses in the underworld.”

“Are you talking about Styx, who rejected persistent courtship from the Titan god Pallas? Or Lethe, who always walks around with a dull face? None of them are more beautiful than my daughter…”

“Stop there. I have no intention of joining a rebellion.”

Feeling a bit irritated, I stood up.

Although Hera’s anger towards Zeus was justified, that didn’t mean I should join the rebellion.

Even if Poseidon, Hera, and Apollo gathered, I didn’t think they could defeat Zeus, nor did I think Poseidon would perform better as the king of the gods than Zeus.

Ultimately, there was no reason for me to participate in a pointless fight.

I also didn’t like Hera, who seemed to belittle my precious colleagues in the underworld by comparing them to her daughter.

Poseidon sighed and slowly nodded.

“Ha! Damn it. Fine, but if you change your mind later, contact me anytime.”

“I suppose you won’t tell Zeus about this?”

“I have no intention of telling him, so go ahead and try…”

With Hera’s final words, I left the sea and returned to the underworld.

Even if they rebel, they’ll just get struck by lightning and get smashed, Poseidon will still keep an eye on Zeus… I don’t want to bother with this any longer.

And from what I remember in my past life, Zeus was always the king of the gods.

Never once had Poseidon taken his place.

* * *

After Hades, who didn’t look very pleased, left, Hera and Poseidon looked at each other.

A sigh escaped from their mouths.

“Hmm… If Hades had helped, it would have been a sure victory.”

“Was it a mistake to tell him? What if he tells Zeus…”

It would be a disaster if Hades told Zeus about their rebellion.

But Poseidon shook his head.

“It couldn’t be helped. Athena said she would join if we could bring Hades in…”

“If the goddess of wisdom helped, it would have been much easier…”

They had also asked Athena to join, but

the answer they received from the goddess of wisdom was only a refusal, saying they had no chance of winning.

“Athena, Zeus was so afraid of you that he swallowed Metis, who was pregnant with you. Have you already forgotten?”

“…I also have no shortage of complaints, but to win against father, at least two of the three main gods must join forces.”

“Bring Hades in?”

“But uncle Hades has no interest in power struggles, so even if I join, the outcome is clear.”

Still, after Hera’s persistent persuasion, she had said she would join if they could bring Hades in…

But it ended up like this.

“Ha! That damn Zeus, I can handle him with Apollo.”

“There’s no choice. We’ll have to strike when Zeus is off guard…”

* * *

A few days after Poseidon’s invitation, I was handling my duties in the underworld.

As usual, I was tired from the workload and flipping through the parchment…

“Lord Hades! A goddess identifying herself as Thetis has come to the entrance of the underworld!”

“Thetis, the goddess? Let her in.”

Thetis.

She was the sister of Poseidon’s wife, Amphitrite, and a goddess of the sea. I remembered the prophecy of Prometheus that her son would become a hero surpassing his father…

Thanks to that, she was able to reject the courtship of both Zeus and Poseidon, but why would she visit the underworld?

We didn’t have much connection…

Creak-

A beautiful goddess reminiscent of the blue waves entered my office.

She looked very urgent and seemed to have something to ask me.

“Hah… Hades! There are gods rebelling against Zeus on Olympus right now!”

“Is Poseidon involved?”

Just as I expected.

They’re bound to fail

, though.

“How did you know..? While Zeus was asleep, Hera, Apollo, and Poseidon ambushed him, took his lightning, and subdued him.”

That was entirely unexpected.

So, she came to the underworld to ask for help.

They subdued him by taking his lightning while he was asleep,

Zeus must have been wary of Poseidon but didn’t foresee the betrayal of Hera or Apollo.

Well, if you exclude Poseidon, there are no gods who pose a significant threat to his power.

So this is the karma of Zeus cheating on Hera.

“Please call one of the three Hecatoncheires brothers! We must save Zeus!”

Thetis desperately pleaded for help.

But recently, Cronus had been causing trouble in Tartarus, and Typhon’s head was also down there.

If we take one of the Hecatoncheires brothers with 100 hands, the rebellion will be quelled, but…

In an unstable Tartarus, we need to be prepared for any emergencies.

“I can’t call the three Hecatoncheires brothers. Recently, Cronus has been causing trouble in Tartarus.”

“Oh no… But the rebellion on Olympus…”

“You don’t need to worry.”

Thetis looked dismayed, but I hadn’t finished speaking yet.

No matter how I think about it, Zeus suits the position of the king of the gods better than Poseidon.

Both of them are authoritative, boastful of their power, and notorious for their affairs, but

“At least Zeus has the awareness of being a king.”

“So let us take a moment to commend the gods who made great contributions in the battle against Typhon.”

I summoned the Bident that Hephaestus had made for me and grabbed the worn-out helmet placed next to the throne of the underworld.

My opponent was Poseidon, one of the three main gods,

I too had to put on the Kynee and give it my all…

Thetis, understanding my intention, uttered a small exclamation.

“I will go up to Olympus myself.”

Another bothersome task was added.