Something shot out with a strange thud, and Poseidon was sent flying to who-knows-where.
When the goddesses, stunned by the sudden development, blankly stared in the direction Poseidon disappeared—
Hera’s chariot naturally settled into the exact spot where Poseidon had been standing.
“Long time since that day, Hestia. But I think I need to wash my ears. I’m pretty sure I just heard the voice of some idiot.”
Hestia greeted her with a warm smile, as if fully accustomed to Hera’s tone.
“Oh my, you’re early today?”
“Mm… some idiot had the audacity to send me a letter demanding gold.”
“Huhu.”
The attendants preparing the gathering and the goddesses who had long attended these meetings didn’t show a hint of surprise, as if this sort of thing happened regularly.
Only the two goddesses who had followed Poseidon were so shocked they seemed unable to speak at all.
And Hera, finishing her greeting with Hestia, turned her attention to the two Poseidon had brought.
One of them was a goddess Hera had heard plenty about, and had seen several times on the battlefield.
Hecate — a goddess holding rare and powerful domains: magic, night, moon, the dead, and necromancy.
Her presence at this meeting was unexpected.
Even during the Titanomachy, she had quietly worked under Poseidon’s side.
The other one was someone Hera had never seen before.
Golden hair, porcelain-white skin, clear and deep green eyes, cherry-red lips — her appearance itself was a weapon.
Her beauty alone made the attendants and goddesses working nearby sneak glances at her.
“Hm, the black curly-haired goddess here must be Hecate.”
“Ah, yes. It’s an honor, Lady Hera. I’ve heard much about you from Lord Poseidon.”
“Hm. You were one of those who aided us during the Titanomachy — no way I’d forget you. Though it is unfortunate that someone of your level works under Poseidon.”
Hecate could only give an awkward smile at Hera’s smooth, unhesitating insult aimed toward the direction Poseidon had flown.
Even she sometimes wondered if Poseidon deserved a beating every now and then.
Ironically, there was no god like Poseidon for her.
When other gods avoided her for knowing and using forgotten ancient magic like necromancy, it had been Poseidon who approached her.
Hera knew this as well, so she said no more.
“Then who is this goddess of striking beauty? I’m seeing her for the first time.”
Hera asked as she looked at the sea-born goddess with golden hair, green eyes, and porcelain skin.
“It’s an honor, Lady Hera. Even in the sea, your name is well-known. My name is Aphrodite. It would be an honor if Lady Hera remembered me.”
Her identity: Aphrodite. A sea nymph born from the blood of Uranus’ severed genitals falling into the sea.
Born as a sea nymph, yes, but far more importantly as the Goddess of Love and Beauty — the daughter and reflection of the Protogenos Eros.
“With that kind of beauty, forgetting you would be harder. But it must be tough for you, still being under Poseidon.”
Hera nodded slowly as she examined Aphrodite.
She suspected this must be the goddess Poseidon had mentioned earlier.
Hera knew her origins, but she did not see her as someone above herself or someone she needed to respect.
Because even though Aphrodite was Uranus’ child, she had not sided with the Titans during the war.
“No, actually Lord Poseidon lets me safely spread love everywhere.”
Aphrodite didn’t bother reacting to Hera’s dismissive tone.
This was something she had expected the moment she heard Poseidon had sisters.
Fwip.
Around the time the goddesses finished introducing themselves, Poseidon returned from the distance where he had flown.
“Hey, hey, did the introductions go well?”
“…….”
The entire room fell silent at the sight of him.
Poseidon looked like a drenched rat — and no one dared comment on the state of one of the Three Great Gods.
* * *
While all the goddesses fell into wordless silence at Poseidon’s dripping-wet, ratlike appearance—
Hera calmly signaled the start of the meeting.
At the same time, she cast magic to clean and tidy Poseidon’s appearance by hand.
It looked bizarre to everyone else, but the two involved were perfectly unfazed.
“Demeter should be here soon, so let’s begin with the simple matters first.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Hera struck her scepter — her symbol — and a round table and chairs appeared in Hestia’s palace.
It was the same design as the meeting hall in Poseidon’s palace.
Hera had seen Poseidon’s and liked it, so she borrowed the idea.
The gods who had awkwardly been watching Poseidon and Hera soon sat down one by one.
They witnessed this every time — but many still couldn’t get used to it.
“What is today’s agenda? Iris.”
Iris snapped out of her daze and recited the agenda.
“Ah… yes.”
“There are two items today. First: Lord Zeus is becoming increasingly sensitive and his womanizing is worsening. Second: more goddesses are requesting the official establishment of the Olympus Divine Authority Council, which performed outstandingly during the recent incident with Goddess Metis.”
As Iris finished speaking, the gathered goddesses began seriously considering the agenda.
Except one.
“Pff!”
Poseidon accidentally let out a sound and clamped his hand over his mouth.
All the goddesses slowly turned their heads to stare at him with flounder-like eyes.
“…….”
Silence lingered, and Poseidon began to break into a cold sweat—
Click.
The meeting room door opened, and Goddess Demeter entered.
“Oh dear, sorry I’m late. I was evaluating the crops the goblin children grew.”
As Demeter walked in apologetically smiling, the gazes aimed at Poseidon finally withdrew.
“Huueeeng, Demeter…!”
Poseidon welcomed her like a man relieved of ten years’ worth of suffering.
“Did you cause trouble again?”
Demeter shielded Poseidon, who hid behind her as if this were routine.
Of course, Poseidon, who was nearly twice her size, could not actually be hidden.
Ignoring Poseidon hiding behind Demeter, Hera greeted her instead.
“Just in time. We just announced the agenda.”
“Oh? And what is it?”
After hearing Hera’s explanation, Demeter nodded.
“Hm. The second agenda doesn’t really need discussion.”
Demeter spoke as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
“Huh? Why not?”
“Well, we’ve already been actively running the council using Poseidon’s name.”
All the goddesses in the room stiffened in shock.
Already active?
“You didn’t know? Hestia and I have already been using Poseidon as our consulting chair. Thanks to that, cases of goddesses or weaker gods suffering unfair treatment have dropped by a full 40%.”
Even Hera couldn’t hide her surprise.
“When did this happen without me knowing? And if it’s already running, why did it come up as an agenda item?”
Hestia answered this question.
“Oh! That’s because you’re supposed to be the council chair, Hera — but we couldn’t use your name. Poseidon’s, however, we used freely.”
“Exactly. We do operate with my name and Hestia’s as well, but since you’re the official chair, we need your name and seal for the council to be formally established, don’t we?”
Hera, overwhelmed by her sisters’ forcefulness, looked at Poseidon.
Poseidon scratched his head with a vacant expression.
Gaia, dear gods!
The goddesses present were even more shocked.
Of all gods, the one who should care the least about divine authority is the one running around doing all this?
They suddenly felt guilty for glaring at Poseidon earlier.
We didn’t know anything.
Aphrodite and Hecate nodded proudly.
Poseidon, receiving all this praise, was utterly confused.
Uh… did I ever lend them my name?
He didn’t think so.
But Demeter and Hestia were not the type to recklessly use his name.
Well… not too recklessly.
Knowing exactly what he was thinking, Demeter whispered to him.
“You gave us an ‘all-access pass’ during the Titanomachy.”
Ah!
Poseidon smacked his knee.
“Right. I did do that.”
During the war, he had been annoyed at constantly having to approve things, so he had handed out passes allowing trusted gods to use his name for a limited number of times.
He remembered thinking it was a brilliant idea at the time — and it had been effective.
Hera pressed her fingers against her forehead at the sight of him.
She had received one herself.
But she had assumed it was a wartime measure to streamline command and logistics.
“That idiot… how many did he even hand out?”
Hestia quietly spoke up beside her.
“I still have five left.”
Hera felt a headache coming on.
Even after the war ended, the passes apparently still worked — no expiration date.
* * *
Thanks to Poseidon’s great “contribution,” the second agenda was resolved quickly.
From Hera’s perspective, more variables had appeared, making things more complicated.
Still, only we sisters would dare use that idiot’s name freely. He is a Great God, after all.
They decided the Divine Authority Council would be structured under Hera’s and Poseidon’s names.
Who could have predicted that what Demeter and Hestia requested would grow this large?
Thankfully, despite its ongoing activity, there had been no issues from reckless use of the council’s name.
Thus they finalized:
Chair: Hera
Vice Chair: Hestia
Treasurer: Demeter
Consulting Chair: Poseidon
And the one managing document intake would be Goddess Hecate.
She was the most versatile among the goddesses.
Using necromancy, she could command tireless undead servants — extremely efficient for handling paperwork.
(Though admittedly unsettling.)
Thus, the second agenda passed far more smoothly than the first one.
What remained was the first — and in some ways, it was far more troublesome.
“We will now discuss Zeus’s womanizing. If you wish to speak, please raise your hand.”
The first to raise her hand was Aphrodite.
As the Goddess of Love and Beauty, she did not see Zeus’s actions as severely wrong.
In fact, she believed the issue was not Zeus’s womanizing itself, but the fact that Zeus, like any god who walks on two legs, currently had “lost” one of his legs — thus leading to his imbalance.
“What we should focus on is not Lord Zeus’s womanizing, but the fact that Lord Zeus, as King of the Gods, seems to be seeking a Queen of the Gods.”
“You’re saying we should overlook Zeus’s indulgence?”
As the goddess who self-created Eileithyia and held domains over household and marriage, Hera disapproved strongly.
Aphrodite calmly continued despite Hera’s cold tone.
“It’s more that the absence of a spouse for Lord Zeus plays a significant role. And… there were unfortunate events because of that.”
The goddesses around them nodded.
Everyone knew that Zeus’s behavior worsened after Metis left.
Of course, it could also simply be that he liked women.