Chapter 72

“What a peculiar instrument.”

“The artisan of the forest was quite skilled. Do you like it, Senior?”

Surprisingly, the Goddess Hera was quite communicative.

Maybe it was because I wasn’t of Zeus’s lineage, or perhaps Hermes’s poem was quite effective.

Initially, Hera’s face was stern, and she merely warned me not to use such magic recklessly. But at some point, we were engaging in casual conversation in a relaxed atmosphere.

“Senior… That’s an unusual title.”

“Does it displease you?”

To be honest, I had never really spoken to anyone on equal footing with me before.

More accurately, I had never encountered anyone who could be considered an equal.

The Twelve Divine Demons who guided me in the River of Three Crossings were barriers I couldn’t surpass until I graduated.

When I devoted myself to the sect, I kept a low profile due to my lack of influence, but in terms of martial arts, even the elders of the council could not match me.

When I ventured into the martial world, there were a few masters and recluse warriors who made me feel a sense of crisis.

However, as I was in the midst of conquering the martial world, I never had a long conversation with them.

In that sense, the queen of this Greek land was not only a god to me, but in the martial arts of handling divine power and magic, she was like an unfathomable senior.

Moreover, look at the grace and beauty that naturally make one call her sister.

‘She’s on a completely different level than some pink tantrum.’

Thus, I almost called her sister, but out of respect and reverence, I called her senior.

“I suppose it doesn’t really matter. I’m called Your Majesty and Goddess all the time; there’s no need to be so formal with a cute disciple.”

And since the goddess seemed quite pleased with it, wasn’t it a win-win situation?

“Hmm… let’s see. Like this?”

-Diding~

As we continued our conversation, the Queen, who had been gradually descending from the sky, for some reason placed the gayageum I was holding on her lap and was receiving music lessons from me.

‘I have no idea how things ended up like this, but…’

Perhaps because she was a goddess who had lived far longer than both of my previous lives combined, she had a natural way of leading the situation exactly where she wanted it to go.

With a single clap, she restored the Forest of Heroes that had been devastated by twelve strikes, and with a wave of her hand, she laid out a refreshment table with wild strawberries and wine, asking me various things.

Now, I found myself in a private lesson, teaching the Goddess how to play my gayageum.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Raise your fingers more and lower your wrist, or you’ll suffer later.”

“I am a god.”

“Do gods not get muscle aches? Really?”

“Hahaha! What do you think?”

“Regardless, if you place your wrist like that, it will press down on the strings and muffle the sound. In situations like this, you should…”

“Hmm, should I maintain it neither too high nor too low?”

Before I knew it, I was teaching the Queen of the Gods the basics of the gayageum and the art of sound.

“About that spell you used to block the dissonant note earlier…”

“Are you talking about the shield of divine power? To master it, first…”

In return, the Queen of the Gods and former sorceress taught me how to handle divine power and the basics of sorcery commonly used in Greece.

As I thought about how peculiar my counterpart was, I found myself unexpectedly comfortable welcoming her and conversing, making me question whether this goddess was indeed the hysterical god from myth who sowed hardship and suffering. How should I put it? It was a comfort that made me feel like I might end up calling her ‘mom’ rather than ‘sister.’

-Di-di-ding~!

“Hmm, I think it went well this time?”

“Ah… yes, it was good.”

The Queen of the Gods was smiling brightly at the gayageum that produced sound properly like a child.

I wondered if I was now facing an extremely dangerous or rare event.

“Yes, yes, the timbre is very unique and beautiful. Even Apollo would be quite interested in this.”

“You knew, after all?”

I had a rough guess from her earlier comment about scolding Artemis.

It seemed that the Queen of the Gods knew all about the movements of those twin gods with questionable personalities.

“Anyway, they seem to tarnish the name of Olympus in every possible way…”

-Zzzz…!

Come to think of it, both Artemis and Apollo were of Zeus’s lineage, but they were clearly not legitimate offspring.

Though, in my memory, there weren’t many incidents where Hera clashed with those two, so I thought it was somewhat fine.

Seeing the gayageum scream in her delicate jade hands as soon as I thought of them…

It seemed that the Queen of the Gods also held a grudge against them.

“It already drove me mad to let them into Olympus… If I had endured it a million times and let them in and even given them divine seats, they should have lived quietly…”

“…Oh.”

Just thinking about it made Hera’s anger rise, and the ground began to tremble with a hot gust around her.

Was this why, in my previous life, whenever I was about to burst a blood vessel, even the attendants and subordinates would flee?

-…Slurp.

Hmm, the wine is delicious.

Having lived long enough, achieved quite a lot, and enjoyed a fair share of money and power, I knew.

The best course of action was to just leave such a master who was fuming alone.

“Hoo… It’s all thousands of years ago anyway; it’s just laughable now.”

“You are wise.”

“Hehe… Thank you.”

Hera, with a bitter smile, as if feeling drained, gestured towards the gayageum.

Then the gayageum floated in the air and gently landed in my arms.

“Anyway… Apollo, appeasing that flower-brained sun god with an instrument from another world, was a very wise choice. He, who is crazy about instruments and music, would surely love it.”

“Oh. Then…”

“However, that alone won’t be enough.”

If you’re going to do it, you should do it properly.

Hera told me with a satisfied smile.

“You must have borrowed Hermes’s cunning, right? But Artemis, that immature girl, is quite clingy to her brother. So earlier, Apollo only watched you in the morning and left. If you try to get away with just music, you’ll likely face trouble later.”

Hmm, this is some bad news.

According to Hera, the sister was a psychopath, and her brother Apollo seemed to be quite eccentric.

“Well, if he were sane, he wouldn’t have taken a nymph-turned-tree that ran away from him and claimed it as his sacred tree.”

“Eros’s prank… it was an incident that shocked even Olympus.”

In any case, even if I brought out the gayageum as my secret weapon, it would only get me through the moment. Later, the Sun God with a fourth-dimensional mindset might target my head with sunlight.

“Then… what should we do?”

Should we drop the sun?

“Or should we beat up the moon-gazing maniac?”

Honestly, considering the divine power that Artemis unleashed in her fury resembling moonlight.

If it were just a pure bet, it would be one thing, but if I used the divine demonic weapon and unleashed the Twelve Divine Demons, it seemed possible to keep her immobilized for at least a few years.

Even earlier, while drinking wine, the Goddess Hera had casually mentioned…

That crazy woman not only thought I betrayed her, but also Atalanta, and went berserk, disregarding the sanctuary and everything, grabbing her bow and charging in. Hera stopped her.

I had no reason to retreat or endure any longer.

“Oh my, such a bold statement. No matter how extraordinary your origins, they are still gods. And no matter how displeased I am with them, do you think I would simply overlook an attack on my fellow Olympians?”

“Hmph, when the moment comes to see blood, if you avoid it, it will only come back to you in a greater amount. Besides, it’s not just anyone, but Atalanta and Neri who might be in danger. Who cares about gods or anything else?”

Anyway, the Sun God was already trying to be at odds with me.

Rather than shedding blood, we decided to sweat and prevent it with Hestostias, but if that too was ambiguous and in the future, not my blood but those around me bleed.

It didn’t seem so bad to just strike so hard that they wouldn’t dare touch us again.

“Hmm… Atalanta is one thing. But even my youngest sibling…”

“…What?”

Youngest what?

This Goddess just said something about Neri.

“Didn’t you know? Nesneria, that child, is my youngest sibling. Lord Oceanus and Lady Tethys are my adoptive parents.”

“…Oh.”

I knew that the genealogy of the gods could be unpredictable, with relationships popping up out of nowhere like sparks, but this was entirely beyond my expectations.

Damn, I should’ve read more comic books.

“Hmm… Well, everyone is still young. It’s too soon to push my divine work onto them.”

I was grinding my teeth, and Hera mumbled something to herself, then looked at me with a daring gaze and shook her head.

“Anyway, stay put. I don’t like those twins’ behavior. But if you lay a hand on them, Zeus will intervene.”

“Ugh…”

“Is it because you’re Nyx’s son… You have a combative nature in mysterious ways…”

Tch, I was finally starting to get a handle on Artemis, and if it wasn’t for Apollo’s long-range sniping, I could see a way forward, but if the higher-ups got involved, it would definitely be a problem.

“Don’t worry. For now, Hermes’s advice will surely be effective.”

“Effective?”

“However, it needs to be refined and dedicated with more detail.”

As if planning an amusing prank, the mischievously smiling Goddess leaned in and whispered her scheme into my ear.

“…You can do it, right?”

“Are you serious?”

It might be considered blasphemous or rude.

But due to her cunning nature, I had no choice but to ask that.