The Little Golden Mouth

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Just as Hermes thought something might be wrong, he decided to abandon his plan to absorb the power. He was about to go out and investigate when he heard the sound of someone persistently knocking on the door.

Turning around, he noticed a white raven was repeatedly crashing into the door of his temple in a rather silly manner.

Wait, why does this white raven look so familiar?

Isn't it Apollo's sacred beast?

A twitch passed through Hermes' mouth as he recognized the familiar aura of divine power and opened the temple door that he had sealed earlier.

Originally, he had planned to absorb the power in peace, so he wanted a quiet environment.

"Caw, caw! Hermes, I know you're probably inside your temple integrating your powers, but you haven't started yet, right? Zeus has caused some trouble again, Hera is furious, and she called me in. You need to come back quickly…"

After finally flying into the temple, the once-shiny white raven now looked rather dull. It flapped its wings and cawed, playing the pre-recorded message that its master had stored for Hermes.

"Of course, it's him again..."

Listening to the news coming from Apollo's white raven, Hermes couldn't help but rub his aching forehead.

When he heard the bell ring earlier, a bad feeling had already begun to form in his mind.

And it turned out his suspicion was correct, which was exactly why he was feeling this headache now.

After all, having a father who was shameless and loved to stir up trouble every few days—if it were someone else, they would have thrown in the towel by now.

But he was Hermes, so even as a god, he couldn't avoid this kind of mess.

Forget the reasons, but to maintain his integrity, he had to rely on Zeus' favor.

In fact, Hermes knew Apollo wouldn't bother him for no reason, especially not at a time like this.

So this time, it was clear that it was Zeus—Hermes' biggest golden leg—who had orchestrated this mess.

If it weren't for the rationality of being a god, Hermes would have been tempted to curse his "father."

Here we go again, here we go again!

He clearly remembered the last time he had covered for Zeus, only to be scolded by Hera, the queen of the gods.

When Hera discovered Zeus' infidelity, she furiously said, "If I find anyone helping Zeus in his antics again, I'll hang them on Mount Olympus for everyone to see!"

Hearing Hera's punishment, Hermes felt a chill run down his spine.

His divine intuition told him that Hera's fury wasn't just because of Zeus' philandering, but that much of her anger was directed at him.

Why? Because as the messenger of the gods, he spent the most time with Zeus, running errands for him.

But as a "bastard" with little power or influence, Hermes knew very well that in a world where the gods were constantly surrounded by wolves, someone like him, who had neither strength nor support, had to hold on to Zeus' leg to survive.

Even though he complained inwardly, Hermes still had to put on his clothes, grab his divine artifact, and head toward the mountaintop.

Despite being hundreds of years old, Hermes still appeared young and was relatively small among the gods.

Because he was skilled at understanding Zeus' intentions, combined with his eloquence and deceptively charming appearance, Hermes had earned the affection of the king of the gods.

In Zeus' own words, Hermes was more "thoughtful and adorable" compared to his other children.

But Hermes knew better—"adorable" and "thoughtful" to Zeus meant one thing: he was useful for covering up his affairs!

Forget familial bonds. In Greek mythology, those didn't mean a thing!

Even though Hermes enjoyed the favor of the king of the gods, it didn't mean his life was free from troubles.

For Hera, Zeus' current wife, Hermes' existence was a symbol of shame.

As the goddess of marriage, Hera was the guardian of pure marriages and an advocate for monogamy.

Before her, Zeus had had six wives…

Hera was the seventh and the only goddess he married after becoming the king of the gods.

Hermes had heard from his mother that Hera initially didn't want to marry Zeus because of his infidelity, but in the end, Zeus used some tricks to win her over as his seventh wife.

As a price, Zeus promised Hera that she could share half of his power.

This was the only case among Zeus' lovers where such a privilege was granted, solidifying Hera's unique status.

But even Zeus probably didn't realize that Hera's divine office was marriage.

After she ascended, Hera immediately began reducing Zeus' harem to an alarming degree.

She made it clear: there could only be one wife, and all the others were to be dismissed!

Even those who couldn't be dismissed would lose their titles as queens.

Hera made it clear: she was Zeus' legitimate wife and would be his last one.

Because of this high-pressure policy, Zeus had turned his attention to Earth.

Beautiful nymphs from mountains and rivers, women from other races, even mortals...

From Hermes' perspective, his father was quite extraordinary.

Zeus' tastes were very particular, and he didn't turn anyone away, which made Hermes cringe every time he helped cover for his father.

Hera, the epitome of a goddess, couldn't control her wandering husband, which turned her into a laughingstock among the gods.

Though the gods kept up appearances due to Zeus' and Hera's status, gossip about their personal lives was rampant.

Every time someone mentioned Hera, the topic always veered toward Zeus' lovers and illegitimate children.

With so many people gossiping and recounting his father's history, it wasn't surprising that Hera hated Zeus' illegitimate children with a passion.

"If only I didn't have to deal with her, I'd pray to the great Chaos to protect me..."

Fully armored, Hermes flew through the clouds, silently praying to the mythical god of Chaos.

According to the message from Apollo's white raven, Zeus had once again been caught in one of his infidelities by Hera.

But unlike before, this time Apollo, the god of light, had been dragged in as well, which explained why it was Apollo's raven that was warning Hermes.

Although Hera had only rung the golden bell for this trivial matter, it still showed that the queen hadn't lost all her temper yet.

Aside from a few main gods who were summoned to the temple of Zeus, the rest, though full of gossip, couldn't even enter the doors.

The ones responsible for opening and closing the temple doors were the three goddesses of time, daughters of Zeus and Themis, who also acted as the gatekeepers of the gods.

Without the orders of Zeus or Hera, they would never allow anyone irrelevant to enter.

However, since Hermes had received a "special invitation," he was granted entry.

"Hehe, well, Hermes is here. Let's see what he has to say this time!"

Inside the Olympus temple, six or seven gods stood.

Hermes looked up and saw Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, trying to calm down a furious Hera, with Hestia, the goddess of the hearth, standing by her side.

Demeter, who controlled agriculture and seasons, was a kind-hearted goddess, and Hestia, the eldest of the gods, had high status. Even Zeus held great respect for her.

With these two goddesses trying to mediate, Hera's anger had subsided a little, though she still wore a stern expression.

Apart from these three goddesses, the rest of the gods were familiar faces to Hermes.

Poseidon, Apollo, and Zeus, the king of the gods.

Except for Zeus, who had been scolded by Hera, the expressions of the other male gods were rather subtle.

Hermes bet that they were enjoying the spectacle.

After all, it was Zeus who had been rebuked, and there were no consequences for the others, so both Apollo and Poseidon seemed to be quite happy about it.

This time, though, Hermes was also involved, but that didn't mean Apollo would join forces with his father to confront Hera.

"Alright, alright, Hera, how many times have I told you? It was just an accident!"

Zeus, a middle-aged man with a beard and shining golden hair, appeared before Hermes.

In terms of appearance, both Hermes and Apollo resembled Zeus, thanks to the gods' powerful bloodlines.

But compared to Hermes' youthful appearance and Apollo's sunny demeanor, Zeus radiated an aura that they could never match.

However, after being scolded by his wife, Zeus looked somewhat embarrassed, which inadvertently diminished his imposing aura.

"Greetings, great Father and Queen Hera."

As the gods turned their gaze to Hermes, he stepped forward with heavy steps.

Before Hera could speak, Hermes was quick to greet them.

"Oh, my dear child!"

Seeing Hermes, Zeus' face lit up, and he immediately opened his arms, as though about to give him a warm hug.

However, Hera, standing beside him, merely snorted. "I told you last time, Hermes, don't you dare help Zeus get out of trouble again."