Gaia felt a mixture of guilt, joy, and gratitude toward Poseidon’s consideration.
Moreover, she was confused as to why Poseidon would show such consideration.
The actions of Pontos, who was both her child and her husband, went beyond simply trying to seize hegemony, and reached the level of a heinous act where he manipulated even his own granddaughter and his own children.
Even a Protogenoi absolutely should not commit such deeds.
Seeing Pontos control Thetis and even torment Nereus, who was also her child, made her feel—as long as she could—like she wanted to tear Pontos apart with her own hands.
Yet even so, the truth was that she felt complicated emotions toward Pontos, who was both her child and her husband, now having gone mad.
‘Whether the child before me knows this feeling of mine or not…’
Gaia looked at Poseidon, the new ruler of the sea, the bold young man with blue hair, and acknowledged one thing.
“You are different from the gods of this world. You are the one suited to be King of the Gods.”
“Hey!”
Poseidon tried to cut off her words, which were full of seeds for conflict. But Gaia continued without caring, reciting her oath.
And she did so according to the rules of the world the three brothers and three sisters had established.
“I swear on the River Styx. I shall not, by any means, take out anyone imprisoned in that Oceanus. Furthermore, if anyone inside that place causes trouble, I shall personally punish them with my own hands.”
Poseidon scratched his head at Gaia’s sudden statement and at an oath that was more accommodating toward him than he expected.
He had not shown consideration for Gaia herself…
‘I only did this because it reminded me of children locking up a senile old man in a nursing home. When a person who could be considered a child figure brings down an elderly person, they have to be careful.’
In his past life’s memories too, he had seen many people who mishandled the elderly and were hit with backlash.
However, the personalities of gods in Greek myth were worse than Poseidon imagined. And from Gaia’s perspective, his action was nothing short of saintly.
The gods of Greek and Roman mythology were famous for their pettiness.
* * *
Meanwhile, Gaia did not know Poseidon’s thoughts, and seeing him scratching his head at her words, she gave him a smile.
Then she picked up the regressed Pontos, who was whining because the chains were uncomfortable, and entered the deep place of the Oceanus Sea.
“I shall personally place this child inside. I again promise, sworn upon the River Styx, that I shall not forget the consideration you have shown me.”
With Gaia’s final promise, the figures of the two disappeared.
And with that, the sea that had been opened like a hole was filled again.
Later, according to rumors among nymphs and gods, from the deep-sea prison of Oceanus, a crisp sound could be heard.
Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!
It might be the sound of someone’s bottom being smacked, but the truth is something no one knows.
‘Terrifying… mothers.’
* * *
Quite a long time passed.
All the aftermath of the war was resolved, and the sea became peaceful once again.
If there was anywhere noisy in the sea, it was only Sicily, the island Poseidon gifted to the Cyclopes to whom he entrusted the construction of his palace.
Crack-rumble. Boom boom boom.
And deep in the sea near Euboea, after the completion of the palace, Poseidon entrusted everything except the first rules and laws he had established to Eurynome.
After that, Poseidon’s daily routine was to ride the waves stirred by the wind and travel all around the world’s seas.
Or play with the mysteries of the sea in his palace.
Well, sometimes he would go check on the condition of Thetis, who was being cared for by Nereus and Doris and Amphitrite, but to others he looked no different from a leisurely idler.
For reference, Poseidon forgave all of Thetis’s sins around the time everyone else began forgetting her.
‘I can’t help it. I need Nereus, Amphitrite, and Thetis. They all work well, and no one has owed me such great favors.’
Because of this, the busiest ones in the sea were Nereus, Amphitrite, and the sea nymph gods.
The primordial sea Oceanus was also being managed on Poseidon’s behalf by Amphitrite.
The interesting part was that this kind of rule by Poseidon was supported by the sea’s creatures and mysteries.
Eurynome simply enjoyed doing what she had waited thousands of years to do, and Amphitrite, the mightiest nymph and goddess, also showed loyalty to Poseidon for forgiving her entire family.
As a reference, Amphitrite—who was considered the strongest—was judged by Poseidon as someone who could have reversed the outcome of the battlefield had she fought with full sincerity.
With such powerful gods holding these attitudes, the creatures of the sea broke free from the influence of Pontos and, for the first time, felt true freedom, thus supporting Poseidon.
Of course, for the gods managing things, it was harder than it was under Pontos.
* * *
In this peace, some intelligent creatures thought that the balance of the sea was unstable.
The representative creature of that thinking was the dolphin.
“This peace is very nice, but it can’t last forever…”
“Dolphin, you worry too much. Haven’t you experienced Lord Poseidon’s power?”
“But in the end, the current gods have no connection to Lord Poseidon. Before time, everything changes and becomes powerless… And what of the land above?”
The dolphin respected Poseidon’s method of rule, but the more he saw the behavior of the gods above, the more worried he became.
Just now, the dolphin had seen the chief god Zeus flirting with yet another woman despite already having Metis practically as his wife.
Furthermore, all those sky gods were expanding their influence by binding themselves through bloodlines.
Especially the powerless gods on earth followed Zeus in such behavior.
Naturally, the dolphin began to worry whether such behavior would later affect the sea.
“No matter how I think about it, gods forget quickly and become arrogant just as fast because they possess immense power. Lord Poseidon is different, but…”
One day, as the dolphin’s worries deepened, he witnessed a scene.
“Zeus! Are you flirting with women again?”
“Uh… uh-uh. Am I not?! Metis. This is all to stabilize my authority.”
“How can you even say that!!”
“But these women fill in my shortcomings. Just like you, Metis.”
“Enough. Don’t think about seeing me again. Just go chase after whatever authority you want to ‘stabilize.’ ”
“M-Metis. Wait.”
The dolphin had seen Zeus cheating and getting caught by Metis.
“Tsk tsk, he’s at it again.”
Seeing something he saw all the time now gave the dolphin little reaction, and he shook his head, continuing his worries.
Then suddenly, Zeus’s words from just now came to mind.
“What did Lord Zeus say just now? It was definitely…”
—This is all to stabilize my authority!
“Wh-whaaat!! Wait. Stabilize authority? Then if Lord Poseidon marries many women, wouldn’t no one ever dare challenge him again!!”
* * *
The dolphin immediately moved to action the moment he achieved enlightenment.
If Poseidon married the strongest goddesses in the sea and produced many powerful children, then no one would forget Poseidon’s power and cause something like what Pontos did.
Moreover, the unity of the sea would rise, making it certain that the gods of the land would not dare act carelessly.
The dolphin then traveled throughout the sea, investigating which goddesses held the greatest support underwater.
The two goddesses he found were Amphitrite, who received overwhelming support from the nymphs, and Eurynome, whose authority had been acknowledged by Poseidon.
“Hm… something is missing. For the sea, the two of them are enough, but Lord Poseidon is also connected to earthquakes and the earth. Inevitably he is tied to the land…”
In the dolphin’s thoughts, for Poseidon to remain as he was now, there needed to be someone on the land who could display Poseidon’s authority there as well.
Amphitrite had fine lineage, but she was also, in a sense, a war criminal who once stood as Poseidon’s enemy.
Eurynome was a goddess of the sea and an old god, but because she had once been pushed aside by Pontos, she was not someone whose influence reached the land.
So even if they could be Poseidon’s strong supporters in the sea, on land they were beings with flaws.
“Hm… someone like the heavenly goddess Hera should be included… And if we choose someone whose divine name is close to Poseidon’s earthquakes and earth, then Lady Demeter fits… And if we look bigger, maybe Lady Gaia?”
He thought that Lady Gaia, being a Protogenoi, would be difficult, but Lady Demeter might be possible.
Above all, Demeter got along well with Poseidon.
“No, I should request Lady Gaia first, and if that doesn’t work, then Lady Demeter. If we’re doing this, it’s best to aim for the highest.”
The dolphin then immediately went to meet the goddesses to learn their intentions.
“Lady Amphitrite.”
“Oh my, come in, Dolphin. Last time you were also doing some sort of investigation, weren’t you?”
“Yes. I’ve completed all of that. But today I’ve come to ask one question.”
“What is it?”
“What do you think of Lord Poseidon?”
“Lord Poseidon?”
At the dolphin’s question, Amphitrite’s face unconsciously flushed bright red.
From the moment Poseidon forgave her sisters and family, Amphitrite was deeply smitten with him.
She thought of him several times a day, and even imagining him made her happy.
Especially when he came to check on Thetis’s condition—though she felt sorry as an older sister—those were truly happy moments.
Amphitrite could not say anything and lowered her head deeply. The dolphin nodded.
‘Lady Amphitrite is already in love. Then only the remaining goddesses are left.’
When the dolphin, satisfied with Amphitrite’s reaction, was about to swim away to meet another goddess, Amphitrite grabbed the dolphin’s tail firmly.
“Um…”
“Yes?”
“Well… is what you asked something Lord Poseidon is interested in?”
“No. This is a plan I made on my own.”
“Ah… I see…”
As Amphitrite lowered her head weakly at the dolphin’s answer, the dolphin, feeling sorry for her, explained the plan in detail.
Amphitrite’s face brightened at the explanation.
Seeing that expression, the dolphin left behind one final remark before quickly swimming off.
“Please make yourself look as beautiful as possible. I’ll be back soon.”
He still had many goddesses to meet.
* * *
The next goddess the dolphin went to meet was Eurynome.
Eurynome was just as easy as Amphitrite.
She already held deep affection for Poseidon, who had respected her and restored her authority after she had been humiliated and cast aside.
“Go safely. I hope you succeed.”
Finally, hearing news that Gaia had come to visit Pontos in the Oceanus Sea, the dolphin went straight to her.
“Lady Gaia.”
“It’s the dolphin. Rumor has it you are Poseidon’s pouch of schemes.”
“Haha, it’s not that much. I came today because I have something to ask.”
“All right, ask me.”
“How does Lady Gaia think of Lord Poseidon?”
“What?”
The dolphin expressed his plan and worries to Gaia, who displayed confusion.
After listening for quite a while, Gaia laughed and said:
“Hahaha, how fortunate Poseidon is. To have a vassal like you right by his side.”
“Oh, come on~”
“I also have fondness for Poseidon. Among those wicked gods, he is the only one who considered my feelings. He did something even Uranus did not do. As a husband, he is not a bad choice.”
“Really?”
“Yes, but have you persuaded Poseidon? If he refuses, nothing can happen.”
“Persuading Lord Poseidon is easy. He is like flowing water, who does not block those who come nor cling to those who leave.”
As the dolphin had confidently told Gaia, Poseidon did not oppose the dolphin’s plan.
He also agreed with the dolphin’s words that it was necessary to fully stabilize the sea.
In Greece, once you showed weakness or left an opening, there were gods ready to stab you in the back.
And Amphitrite, Eurynome, and Gaia were all famous for their beauty—there was no reason for a man to refuse.
Of course, whether they were blood-related or distant relatives, or even if Gaia was practically his grandmother, it didn’t matter—this was the Greek gods’ average.
“Well, isn’t this all just average for Greece? There are even records of Zeus doing it with men.”
And in Greek mythology, the average reaction to seeing anything different from oneself was to pick a fight first.
Thus, through the dolphin’s efforts, the wedding of Poseidon and the three goddesses proceeded.
As guests, the gods of Olympus, the gods of the Underworld, and all the gods and creatures of the sea attended.
With that wedding, Poseidon now became the true master of the sea.
The primordial sea chose him as its master, and at last, in the moment he was recognized by all creatures, gods, and nymphs of the sea, he became perfectly unified with the sea.
This was an event where destiny was rewritten.
It was such a colossal incident that even the Moirai goddesses recorded it as the complete change of fate for gods and humans alike.
* * *
Later, Poseidon had Triton, Rhode, and Benthesikyme with Amphitrite; and with Gaia he had Charybdis and Antaeus.
With Eurynome, he fathered the goddesses of beauty who would originally appear as Zeus’s children: Aglaia, Thalia, and Euphrosyne.
These children would later be described as expressions of the changed fate of Poseidon and the gods and humans connected to him.