“U-hahahahahaha!”
A loud burst of laughter echoed from a palace in the Underworld.
“Zeus — that bastard was tricked by humans?”
“Yes. He was outwitted by the very humans he ordered to be created.”
“Hah. If it’s that idiot, I’m not surprised. Without Metis, what does he have left?”
“Shall we begin preparing?”
“No, we should watch a bit longer. We need to see how our other siblings respond.”
In the Underworld, Hades’s roaring laughter did not stop.
Elsewhere, Demeter, Hestia, and Hera — who had gathered for the first time in a while in Demeter’s garden — sighed when they heard the news.
“That brat really hasn’t changed.”
“After Metis disappeared, Zeus feels… diminished.”
“That’s why he’s been meeting so many goddesses and having so many children lately, isn’t it?”
“Probably… what happened with Athena must have caused a major shift in Zeus’s heart.”
“So what are you planning to do, Hera? You anticipated this might come, and you supported Metis back then.”
At Demeter’s question, Hera set her teacup down and looked over the wide farmlands.
“Well? I’m not entirely sure what else I need yet.”
* * *
Poseidon’s palace.
The first thing Iris and Leuke heard — sent at Hera’s and Hades’s request to discuss Zeus’s situation and the events to come — was the sound of a child running around.
The source of that sound was a small child bouncing up and down on Poseidon’s throne.
The nymph attendants, who were trying to take care of the child, were panicking and attempting to stop her — but instead were being overpowered and toyed with.
She was still a child, but her strength was far beyond what the nymphs could restrain.
“Lady Kibele, please come down. Lord Poseidon — no, Her Majesty your father and Lady Metis will scold you terribly if they see you.”
“Hehe, I like it here.”
Kibele plopped herself onto Poseidon’s throne and simply giggled happily, ignoring her nannies entirely.
While Iris and Leuke stood awkwardly watching that scene…
“It seems your absence dealt quite a blow to Zeus.”
“Well, it’s not as though my influence didn’t help him sit on the throne of the King of the Gods.”
“At this rate, it’s concerning. Who knows what Hera and Hades will do.”
“Hard to say. I don’t know about Hades, but if it’s Lady Hera, she might set her sights on another seat. And what Prometheus and the humans pulled will act as another wild card.”
Talking about the situation, Metis and Poseidon entered the palace.
What they saw first were the flustered nanny nymphs and the awkwardly standing Iris and Leuke.
And on Poseidon’s throne — Kibele, sitting proudly wearing Poseidon’s crown.
The Trident beside the throne was too heavy for her to lift, so it simply floated in the air.
Poseidon looked at Kibele sitting confidently on his throne, wearing his crown, and let out a small laugh.
“She suits that seat better than I do.”
But unlike Poseidon’s lighthearted reaction—
Metis saw Iris and Leuke standing awkwardly and her expression immediately turned stern. She called out to her daughter with a hard voice.
“…Kibele!”
Sitting on the throne, Kibele didn’t register Metis’s expression at all — she just smiled innocently and stretched her arms toward her mother.
“Impressive, right?”
Metis approached with an even harsher expression.
Athena, who was usually always with her, was nowhere to be seen.
As her mother approached, Kibele expected praise and held her arms out, wanting to be picked up.
But instead — as if to prove Kibele had completely misread the situation — Metis lifted her up and placed a firm hand on her backside.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
The sound of Kibele’s burning backside echoed through the palace as her wailing filled the entire hall.
“Waaaaaah!!”
What are you crying for? I told you to stop causing trouble.
Honestly. You act so mature when you’re with your sister, and now this!
“Waaaaaaaaah!!”
Watching the chaos, Poseidon chuckled.
“Total mess. Still, I’d love to show this scene to your masters and Zeus. Don’t you think?”
At Poseidon’s light remark, Iris and Leuke had no idea what to do — they only lowered their heads and thought:
‘I want to go home.’
* * *
At that same time—
Zeus, humiliated before gods and humans alike, could not contain his fury even after returning to Olympus.
“How dare they turn me into a laughingstock!”
What enraged Zeus most was that, without Metis, his weakness had been exposed.
“I need a capable goddess to assist me… And I must inflict suffering upon Prometheus. The problem is how my siblings will respond…”
In his heart, he wanted to punish Prometheus and the humans harshly — but he still had many things restraining him.
The power divided into three.
And even gods who had not yet joined Olympus…
* * *
Some time passed since the incident spread to all the gods.
This was Hera’s residence, somewhere high in the sky outside the Olympus palace.
As always, Hera awoke at the time when Helios’s sun-chariot began its first run.
After waking, she ate an apple and drank clean water for breakfast, then went to her office to check her duties.
“Hmm… this is Eos’s request.”
“This one is about Circe’s potion-research budget?”
“This one is the Muses’ concert schedule.”
After sorting through various goddesses’ requests and meeting documents for quite a while, she rose around the time Helios began his second run.
Right on schedule, her faithful secretary — Iris, goddess of the rainbow — entered Hera’s palace.
“Did you sleep well, Lady Hera?”
“Mm.”
“Shall I prepare tea first?”
“Coffee.”
“Oh my! It seems you’ve grown fond of what Lord Poseidon sent you.”
“……”
At Hera’s silence and sharp gaze, Iris gasped and fled the spot in a hurry.
Hera did not enjoy hearing that she had received anything from Poseidon, or owed him anything.
Time to work again.
Hera and Iris worked for quite a while, and when Helios’s chariot passed overhead, both stood up.
“Iris, we have the meeting today, don’t we?”
“Yes. The meeting with your sisters.”
Hera’s gathering with her sisters.
This was a group Hera personally organized after the seats of the Three Great Gods were set, to make sure she would not be overshadowed by her younger siblings.
Though now, Hestia and Demeter seemed to think of it more as a way to maintain sisterly bonds rather than power balancing.
Still, some goddesses who knew about the gathering often assumed it was Hera’s private political faction.
“Then no other obligations today?”
Iris checked the schedule again, wondering if there was something she had missed.
“Uh… there is one thing.”
“What is it?”
“That is…”
Iris struggled to continue.
Seeing that, Hera furrowed her brows and urged her.
“Iris, you know I don’t like dithering…”
Hesitating under Hera’s warning, Iris finally spoke.
Even though she knew the moment Hera heard it, she’d explode.
“Lord Poseidon is coming. To the meeting…”
Hera was silent for a moment.
She wished she hadn’t heard that.
With a slight grimace, Hera asked:
“And why would that delinquent come?”
“Um… he says there are many things he needs to take from your storage…”
Seeing the veins rise on Hera’s forehead and the fist she clenched tightly, Iris tensed up.
This was the clear sign Hera was about to explode.
And just as expected — divine power burst outward around her like small detonations.
“And?!”
“What?”
“What else did he say? That idiot wouldn’t come just for the storage. If he needed something, he’d steal it.”
At Hera’s confident declaration, Iris re-read the letter Poseidon had sent.
“He also requests the gold you, Lady Demeter, and Lady Hestia have been storing — the gold infused with your divine power.”
And finally…
“He wrote: ‘Therefore, I shall attend your gathering in person. It would be wise to have the gold prepared. If not, I may be forced to become a righteous thief.’ ”
At Iris’s continued explanation, Hera finally failed to contain herself.
Her divine power exploded outward, and half the palace was blown apart.
“AAAAAAAAGH!!!”
“Mmm… She finally blew up again.”
Honestly, Iris thought, if she herself had a younger brother like Poseidon, she’d also have a permanent headache.
“Last time he emptied the entire storage to build a permanent underwater rainbow garden. And the other day he stole all the materials saying he was making a bi*** su*** or whatever that was…”
Remembering several of Poseidon’s previous stunts, Iris checked her watch, wondering how long Hera’s rage would last today.
‘Hopefully her tantrum doesn’t last too long… We’re supposed to watch a drama at the sister-gathering today…’
Hera didn’t know, but Iris herself was extremely excited about the drama Poseidon had produced.
It was rumored that the Muses themselves handled the screenplay, filming, and acting — making it the most anticipated work of the week.
* * *
Even after half the palace was blown apart, Hera continued raging until she finally calmed down.
After such a long outburst, she felt empty.
After all, Poseidon — whose oceanic storerooms were confiscated by his wives — would just continue raiding her or the other sisters’ storerooms.
“That damned idiot. He shows proper manners to other gods, but only does this to us…”
But Hera knew the truth.
If not them, who would put up with that idiot sibling?
Hera collected herself and began preparing.
Especially since there would be a new member joining today — she couldn’t afford to be late.
“Iris, are preparations ready?”
“Yes, Lady Hera.”
“Then let’s go.”
Meanwhile, at the meeting location — Hestia’s palace.
Poseidon had arrived first with the goddess he intended to introduce.
“U-haha! Hestia, thank you!”
“Poseidon… Well, I don’t have much use for gold anyway, so I can give you some. But Hera won’t.”
Hestia gently smiled at Poseidon, who was laughing happily while holding the gold.
He would surely get scolded severely by Hera again, but such things had become almost an annual festival for the sisters.
“With this, I can finally build a giant amusement park.”
“Hmm? Amusement park? What is that?”
Hestia couldn’t understand Poseidon’s excited words.
She had never heard of such a term or object among humans or any other race.
And the drama premiering today was another example — Poseidon always tried unusual things.
Poseidon puffed himself up proudly at Hestia’s confused reaction.
“Ahh. You don’t know. It is something wonderful.”
He spoke with the tone of someone boasting: I know things you don’t.
Unfortunately for him, if Hestia had been alone, she would have indulged him — but Hera arrived earlier than expected.
Just as Poseidon was bragging—
Hera rammed into him with her lioness-drawn chariot.
Wham!
“Squawk!”