Chapter 176: Heracles (1)
While Njord was focusing on the Calydon affair together with Artemis,
The king of the gods, Zeus, was quietly suppressing his sense of regret as he thought of his son Perseus.
According to the prophecy, a human hero would lead the war against the Gigantes to victory.
When the prophecy was first heard, most of the gods didn’t put much faith in it.
But after Zeus personally witnessed the exploits of his hidden son Perseus, even they had no choice but to nod in agreement.
It really seemed possible that a mortal might play a decisive role in the war against the Gigantes.
“Sigh… If only Perseus had been born just a little later. Or if he had at least wished to become a god.”
In Zeus’s eyes, it didn’t seem likely that another son of Perseus’s caliber would appear after his death.
Above all, Perseus had long since entered his twilight years and had been living in quiet seclusion with Andromeda for quite some time—so long that even Zeus no longer knew his exact whereabouts.
“Sigh… No helping it. In the end, do I have to make another decision myself?”
And so, through Zeus’s act of self-sacrifice(?), the child who would later become known as Heracles—originally named Alcides—was born.
***
“So what about that Alcides?”
Poseidon tilted his head at the unfamiliar name of a child he had never heard of.
‘Was there a hero by that name?’
“Sigh… Of course you wouldn’t know. This happened while all of us were busy with the Calydon business—something Zeus did on the side.”
“Zeus?”
“Yes. The story is long, but to sum it up shortly: ‘Zeus disguised himself as a married woman’s husband and raped(?) her.’”
“…From what I’m hearing, Zeus just sounds like a total bastard?”
“Well, because he is.”
As Themis summed it up in her short, blunt way—
After Perseus, Zeus wanted a hero who would leave a great mark on the world and plant the flag of victory in the upcoming war against the Gigantes.
While scanning the human world, the woman he set his eyes on was Alcmene.
She was none other than Zeus’s great-granddaughter—and Perseus’s granddaughter.
Perhaps because of such a fated lineage, Alcmene’s life had never been easy.
Right from the start, her father Electryon (who succeeded Perseus) became embroiled in a property dispute with the neighboring king of Taphos, and eight of her nine brothers were killed.
Moreover, her fiancé and cousin Amphitryon was an outstanding general and warrior who served as Electryon’s closest aide.
The problem arose when Amphitryon was bringing back hundreds of cattle obtained as spoils from the conflict with Taphos.
A sudden stampede caused by the herd resulted in King Electryon’s accidental death.
After that, Sthenelus ascended the throne in Electryon’s place and banished Amphitryon.
“You failed to properly protect your lord and caused his death—that much is true. Still, considering your past service, I will end it at exile.”
And so, following her exiled husband Amphitryon, Alcmene returned to Thebes. Fortunately, King Creon warmly welcomed the skilled general and warrior Amphitryon and his party, allowing them to settle safely in Thebes.
“I will definitely return victorious from this war as well.”
“Yes. Please come back victorious once more and avenge my father and brothers.”
And it was then that Zeus discovered Alcmene.
“Tsk tsk. A leopard can’t change its spots. That guy really is a disgrace to us brothers.”
“Sigh, indeed. If it weren’t for my own daughters, I wouldn’t even want to associate with such a scoundrel. Anyway, the child born from Alcmene after she lay with Zeus—who had disguised himself as Amphitryon—is Alcides.”
“I see. But why did you bother coming all the way here to tell me this?”
‘From the sound of it, this Alcides is probably the future Heracles? If it’s the Heracles I know, isn’t he the one who goes around smashing everything by himself?’
“That’s because…”
***
Atalanta also headed toward the Chiron Academy after the Calydon matter was finally wrapped up.
Though Artemis didn’t seem particularly satisfied.
“Stubborn, so stubborn. Even after all this, you still aren’t satisfied? Just how much more do you want?”
“Hmph. I only acknowledged Meleager because he showed a truly heroic figure to the very end. I never said I liked Calydon. Do you think a goddess’s wrath dissipates so easily?”
“Hah! Isn’t it mostly because of the offering Meleager made?”
“You little—!”
Although the mage teased Artemis, Njord didn’t truly believe it was solely because of the [Blessing of Thorns].
If Artemis truly set her mind to it and spent a little time, she could still wither Calydon to death.
Even if she could no longer kill with a single curse like before.
Most frightening of all was that the crescent moon blessing she had bestowed would likely have a high chance of bypassing the [Blessing of Thorns].
‘Hmm… Thinking about it that way, doesn’t it kind of feel like Meleager made a mistake? Ugh! Still, just blocking divine intervention as a mortal is already impressive. And since Artemis herself helped with the ritual, she’ll probably refrain from doing anything more.’
As Njord fell into his own thoughts and spaced out, Artemis, watching him closely, shook her head in exasperation.
She wondered if this mage even realized how obvious his strange thoughts were written all over his face… tsk tsk tsk.
“Sigh… Whatever. So where are you going now? Haven’t you accomplished everything you wanted in Calydon? You’ve even sent most of those swaggering so-called heroes off to Chiron. I plan to go to Chiron myself to keep an eye on Atalanta.”
While lost in thought, Njord suddenly widened his eyes at Artemis’s words.
Ah, right—I never told her!
“Well… I’d rather not say it to you, Lady Goddess, but if I must—I’m heading to Thebes. I received a request to become someone’s teacher there. I haven’t accepted yet, but I’m going to at least check out the situation first.”
“I see. Thebes… you mean Alcides? That child who’s soon going to die?”
“Huh? You already knew, Lady Goddess?”
“…Don’t speak to me informally. Sigh… More importantly, word reached me that Lady Hera found out about Zeus’s illegitimate child, and Olympus was thrown into chaos. By now, everyone on Olympus knows that illegitimate child is Alcides of Thebes.”
“I just hope… the entire city of Thebes doesn’t suffer collateral damage.”
Both Njord and Artemis wore slightly pitying expressions as they thought of Thebes, which might have to bear the brunt of Hera’s wrath.
And for Njord especially—who would be in Thebes and might witness Hera’s curse unfold in real time—it felt even more unfortunate.
***
Amphitryon, filled with rage and bewilderment at the realization that someone had impersonated him in his absence and raped Alcmene, first sought out the blind prophet Tiresias to identify the culprit.
“Hmm… General. It would be best to let this matter rest.”
“What! Why? For what reason? Is someone involved whom even I cannot handle?”
“Yes. It pains me to say it directly, but the one who violated your wife, Lady Alcmene, was none other than Lord Zeus.”
“?!”
“Sigh… And your wife is now pregnant with twins. One of those children is Lord Zeus’s.”
Though Amphitryon had been brimming with fury, he could only return home with a hollow, defeated expression after hearing Tiresias’s prophecy.
There was nothing a mere mortal like him could do when it came to the affairs of the gods—especially the king of the gods, Zeus.
Thus, all he could do was painfully relay Tiresias’s advice to Alcmene.
“…How could this be? How could Lord Zeus do such a thing? If I had known, I should have followed in Grandfather Perseus’s footsteps and become a priest of Lord Poseidon.”
Alcmene was shocked by Amphitryon’s words and regretted having refused the offer to become a priestess back when her talent had been recognized.
If only she hadn’t turned it down back then…
Alcmene indulged in belated regret, but it was already too late.
***
Time flew by like an arrow, and soon the day came for the twins to be born.
“Haha, my child will soon be born. With Perseus’s bloodline, the chances are extremely high that this will be the child of prophecy.”
“Congratulations, Lord Zeus.”
“I feel the same. May the child of prophecy indeed be born.”
“Heh heh. In that case, it’s as good as another great king succeeding Perseus being born.”
“Hmm… Probably so. My child will be born first and inherit the Mycenaean Empire. Perseus was a priest of my brother Poseidon, which was a bit regrettable, but this time it won’t be the same.”
And Zeus’s loose lips reached Hera’s ears as well.
“Lady Hera! Lady Hera! Lady Hera! Urgent news!!”
“Ugh, Iris, I told you not to shout like that. Hearing such a loud voice when I’m already swamped with work is giving me a headache.”
“Ah! I’m sorry. But it’s really urgent.”
Hera frowned slightly at Iris rushing in shouting and pointed out her attendant’s behavior.
But since it was her close aide Iris, rather than getting angry, she calmed her down to hear the report.
When her secretary screamed like that, it usually meant something major.
“It’s nothing other than this: the child Lord Zeus fathered through violation is said to succeed Perseus and become the king of the Mycenaean Empire.”
“Hmm… Zeus, that incorrigible fool still hasn’t broken his bad habits. After what happened with Leto, and all the women he’s killed off since then.”
Iris flinched at Hera’s words but said nothing.
‘Most of them were killed by Lady Hera’s hand, though…’
After all, she was a goddess who served Hera, not Zeus.
“So… what shall we do?”
“Tsk. I already have so much to do. Just send Eileithyia—that’ll be enough. In a way, Alcmene is also a victim.”
And so, through the power of Hera’s daughter Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, Sthenelus’s son Eurystheus was born prematurely as a seven-month child, arriving before Alcmene’s twins.
Contrary to Zeus’s hopes, the next emperor of the Mycenaean Empire was designated as Eurystheus, son of Sthenelus—not Heracles.
Moreover, Alcmene’s labor was delayed, and she endured days and nights of agonizing pain in childbirth, just as the goddess Leto (mother of Apollo and Artemis long ago) had suffered.
***
“Ugh… Somehow I’ve ended up coming to Thebes again.”
After quite a long time had passed, Poseidon returned to Thebes, which hadn’t changed much on the surface.
The Beltaine festival was still being held, and the petrified rocks of Niobe and Amphion from long ago still stood inside the palace.
“Huh? But the scale of the festival seems way bigger than I imagined?”
It was the same festival as before, but unlike what Poseidon had seen in the past, there were far more merfolk and mermaids visible now.
Above all, even dryads and other fairy folk—which weren’t commonly seen—were appearing here and there without much rarity.
Intrigued by the sight, Poseidon approached a merchant selling fruit at a stall, casually picked up an apple, and asked,
“Hey, shopkeep. It’s been a while since I last visited Thebes. Why does it feel like the scale and the crowds have grown so much compared to before?”
“Huh? How long has it been since you were last here for you to say that? From what I know, it’s been decades at least?”
“That long?”
“Yes, sir. After the tragedy that happened in Thebes long ago, the festival grew in size. I didn’t see it myself, but people from that era claim someone spotted Lord Poseidon. Even among the old folks still alive today, plenty say they saw him. And most importantly, even that infamous merfolk pirate crew that turns anyone they meet into slaves or strips them of all their wealth behaves themselves here.”
The merchant pointed somewhere with his hand as he spoke.
Following the direction of his finger, Poseidon saw a splendid three-story building with the merfolk pirate crew’s emblem carved into it, where they were openly doing business.
“That place is Thebes’s famous landmark. It’s directly run by the merfolk pirate crew. You can enjoy all kinds of entertainment there—pretty much everything. From what I hear, they’ve dug deep underground levels too. A bumpkin like me has never been inside, though.”
Poseidon nodded at the merchant’s explanation.
Indeed, if the merfolk pirate crew was behaving this tamely and operating openly, it meant sufficient power and guaranteed safety were in place—naturally drawing all sorts of people to the festival and expanding its scale.
“Thanks for the info. Here’s a little something for your trouble.”
Clink.
Poseidon flicked a silver coin from his hand to the merchant and headed toward the merfolk pirate crew’s building that had piqued his interest.
Thank you!!! Sir!!!
He walked on, the hearty shout echoing from behind him.
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