A month passed after the council reached its conclusion.
Rhea, Hestia, and Demeter took turns caring for Metis, but Metis’s condition only worsened.
Ever since Hestia, Hera, Demeter, and Rhea joined forces with Poseidon and declared their stance to Zeus and Olympus, the attacks from Zeus and Hades had grown far more blatant.
Furthermore, Hades—true to his nature as the god of the Underworld—was sending all kinds of malicious gods to kill her and her children.
And since Metis had already passed down her divine power to Athena, her state could only grow worse.
Her once-glossy red hair had become dry and brittle, her skin roughened, and her eyes had sunk in like a deranged woman.
And whenever her children weren’t directly in front of her, she shook with anxiety and screamed at the top of her lungs.
She was no different from a completely insane woman.
“Athena!”
“Metel!”
“Athena!!”
“Metel!!”
“Athena!!!”
“Metel!!!”
“Mother, we’re right here.”
Athena, now grown to the size of a ten-year-old girl, understood her mother’s behavior and always carried her younger brother on her back, staying close to her.
But the problem was…
Even when Metis found her children, unlike before…
She had begun showing aggression toward them as well.
It was manageable while the goddesses were present, but even they could not watch over Metis every day.
Crack!
“Ugh, that hurts, Mother.”
“WhereareyougoingoutsideZeusandHadesareouttheretargetingyouthat’swhyyourmothermustbebyoursideI’llprotectyounomatterwhatyoumustneverleaveyourmother’ssideyoumustalwaysstaycloseunderstandunderstandunderstandunderstandunderstandunderstandunderstandunderstandunderstandunderstandunderstandunderstand.”
Watching her mother’s rapidly deteriorating condition, Athena became certain that things couldn’t go on like this.
Especially since, despite not yet being able to fully use the power her mother had passed down, Athena could glimpse fragmented futures.
And in one of those futures, she and her brother died at Metis’s hands.
* * *
Athena—powerful as befitted a child born of Zeus and Metis—awakened all of her mother’s magic at a very young age.
And using her own magic, she secretly listened to the voices of sea-nymphs and gods, and even overheard a prophecy about her younger brother without Metis knowing.
‘Mother became like this because of my brother’s prophecy. In the end, I must resolve this somehow…’
From Athena’s perspective…
The only fortunate thing was that her brother’s growth was slower than hers.
She had already grown to look about ten years old, while her brother was no more than a three-year-old child.
Inside Poseidon’s palace—
When Metis finally collapsed from exhaustion and fell asleep, Athena formed a plan and quietly went out to scout.
The result of her scouting: aside from the blue-haired god lying outside on a mat, she saw no other gods nearby.
‘That blue hair must be Lord Poseidon. Which means he is my father Zeus’s older brother, so for me he is my second elder uncle… my second uncle.’
But one thing Athena wondered was: why was he outside instead of in one of the beautiful buildings nearby?
“Why is he out there? Is that a hobby of gods?”
He was a little strange, but…
The goddesses who cared for her increasingly unhinged mother had told her: if something should happen, she must go to the blue-haired beggar outside.
So Athena trusted Poseidon.
Mother trusted only the goddesses who visited from time to time.
After finishing her scouting, Athena decided today was the perfect day.
Normally…
She would see Zeus’s astrapē and Poseidon’s trident clashing above, accompanied by shouting and small-scale fights.
Or…
She would see days spent fending off sinister gods sent by Hades—such as “Geras, god of Theft and Senility,” and “Oizys, goddess of Worry, Anxiety, and Pain.”
But today, because Poseidon was outside, she didn’t need to worry about those.
“The plan is perfect.”
Firmly convinced, Athena rechecked her plan and equipped her adventure gear.
She put on yellow shorts and a matching vest, wore a round explorer’s hat, and slung a bag over her shoulder.
“Good.”
Wearing the children’s explorer set she had found inside Poseidon’s palace, Athena stepped forward with a solemn expression.
* * *
Meanwhile, Poseidon was living his daily life on a mat outside his own palace.
“Once you get used to it, this life isn’t half bad.”
Eating food Amphitrite brought him, Poseidon lay on his mat, looking up at the sky and swinging his legs.
“Seems Zeus is still confused.”
Above him, Hera and Zeus were fighting.
Their fights weren’t as intense as his fights with Hera.
They were probably holding back, exchanging blows lightly.
“That bastard. That insolent brat.”
And elsewhere, Demeter and Hestia were surely fending off Hades.
The remaining Olympus and Underworld gods were being blocked by Amphitrite, Euryname, and the sea gods.
“Gods acting like this, trying to kill children—honestly, they deserve to have their lower parts ripped off.”
Poseidon sighed.
So far, only small skirmishes were occurring.
But he could tell…
It was a prelude to something far bigger.
From the start, Poseidon didn’t care deeply about Metis and the children.
He’d never wanted the place among the Three Chief Gods anyway.
Whether things went one way or another meant little to him.
But a promise was a promise, and his sisters—Hera excluded—wanted Metis protected.
And his powerful sea-goddess wives, though cold on the surface, clearly wished to help Metis.
“Seriously… Amphitrite and Euryname pretend to be cold and say we should kill them during meetings, but when I supported Oceanus’s position, they looked secretly pleased. What’s that about?”
Well. He agreed to listen to them because he had confidence that he could resolve things no matter what happened.
“So, what do you think about women’s feelings, kid? Honestly, if I hadn’t gone with this option, they probably would’ve thrown me out, right? Don’t you think so?”
“I’m not a kid. My name is Athena, Uncle.”
* * *
A tiny child in explorer clothes appeared beside him and tugged at Poseidon’s collar.
“Lord Poseidon, why are you living like a beggar like this?”
“Where did you learn such words?”
“I heard the dark-colored god saying it.”
Poseidon sensed a familiar aura in the little girl who had suddenly appeared and started talking as she pleased.
Ignoring his questions and speaking whatever she wanted—she was just like one of his sisters.
“You… you feel more like the daughter of some grumpy auntie than Metis’s daughter.”
Poseidon lifted Athena—who was still holding his collar and staring at him with owl-like bright eyes.
“Hup.”
“So, why did you suddenly come out here? A kid your age should still be drinking your mother’s milk.”
Athena involuntarily frowned at his question.
“I don’t drink mother’s milk anymore.”
“What, are you angry because I said you’re at the age to drink it?”
“No.”
“You’re angry.”
“I’m not!”
Poseidon looked up at the sky, noticing that Athena seemed more relaxed than when she had first grabbed his collar.
But even so, her body still trembled.
Probably an involuntary response.
‘Honestly… what are we doing to these children…’
As Poseidon sensed, Athena had relaxed a little, but her trembling wouldn’t stop.
Because she could sense everything—the powers and sounds of Hera and Zeus fighting above the palace.
And the energies of Hestia and Demeter fighting Hades.
Seeing small, chubby-cheeked Athena trembling, Poseidon involuntarily laughed softly and infused her with blue energy.
Athena’s trembling gradually eased.
“Huh?”
Adjusting both the unconscious flow of his own aura and the waves of power from outside, Poseidon rummaged through his mat and pulled something out.
“Here, let’s talk over tea. This is some rare tea I stole from Demeter’s temple.”
“But… um…”
“Don’t worry about your mother. I already put her into a deep sleep. Euryname and Amphitrite will protect your brother inside the palace.”
“…….”
“If you’re a Chief God, can you really do things like that?”
“No, not exactly. But your mother is insane right now.”
Athena lowered her head at Poseidon’s words.
Seeing the power of one of the Three Chief Gods firsthand, she imagined what would have happened if Poseidon had been hostile toward them.
Knowing exactly what Athena was thinking, Poseidon just chuckled and patted her head.
“Don’t worry, kiddo. Acting like an adult already.”
“What?”
“You and your mother, and Metel—was that his name?—I won’t let you die. And if I betrayed you, the goddesses who visit your mother and my wives would kill me. They pretend they don’t, but they monitor me heavily to see whether I change my mind.”
As Poseidon spoke—
KWA-BOOM!
Suddenly an explosion of thunder erupted above the palace.
Hera and Zeus must have realized Athena had come outside, and the shockwaves of their fight were reaching all the way here.
Screeee—ech!
And from another direction came a harsh, metal-scraping noise.
Startled, Athena instinctively shut her eyes and buried her face into Poseidon’s chest.
With her overly sharpened senses, the scene was terrifying.
Poseidon gently stroked her back to calm her.
“Ha, reminds me of Charybdis. It’s okay. It’s okay. Uncle will protect you.”
Athena kept her eyes closed and covered her ears in his arms for a long moment, until gradually, the fear faded.
When she had been in the palace with her mother and brother, she had been terrified every moment.
‘Is this… maybe my father’s embrace…?’
Athena, always unconsciously frightened, finally found a place that felt safe.
For the first time since her birth, she felt truly at ease—and the energy she had been wasting on survival and constant future-sight finally shut off.
And with that, the divine wisdom she inherited from Metis finally began to work properly.
‘Ah! My plan was only half. Now I see it. The path our family must take.’
Poseidon blinked, startled, as Athena’s owl-like eyes shone while she activated her divinity within his arms.
It was the same look Metis had shown during the war.
Then, like a machine switching off, the light in Athena’s eyes faded, and she gathered in her divine power and spoke to Poseidon.
“If this situation could be resolved without going to war… would you accept that?”
“What?”
“Just as I said. You would suffer a loss, but if everything could be ended easily—would you accept the solution?”
Poseidon looked into Athena’s owl-like eyes.
And asked:
“Uh… but why am I the father…?”