The trial of Ares and Poseidon - (1)

After taking over the affairs of Thebes, I sat down with the goddess Styx and talked business. 
It's thanks to her that I'm not overwhelmed with work every time I leave the empire...

"I swear by the River Styx that I am telling you the truth, Goddess, your hair is shiny again today."
"Ugh... don't keep swearing strange oaths in front of us! You haven't for a while, but then again..."

Even today, the goddess Styx is very shy about swearing in public. 
But I can't help it when her beautiful black hair, like silk woven by Athena, flutters in front of my eyes.

I put the parchment down for a moment and stare at the black waves growing in front of me...
The goddess blushed slightly and opened her mouth. 

"Then touch it... Do you want to see it? Just a little..."

I couldn't stand it anymore. 
I nod dumbly and the Oath Goddess stands next to me, pressing her body against mine.
My nostrils catch the scent of piles and piles of parchment, or is it her olive scent?

I run my hand through her hair as she bends over her work, forcing herself not to look at me. 
As I slowly stroke the goddess' hair, which seems to flow in my hands, I feel a strange, unrecognisable current of air. 

"Mmm..."

Am I happy right now?
Spending quality time with a goddess, despite the hard and hectic work of the other world...

A thud.

"Hades, there's Ares at the entrance to the underworld... Huh?!"

"Hmph... What's going on?"
"Ugh...!"

It was Persephone, the goddess of spring and seeds, who opened the door and entered. 
She quickly scanned the room, and as soon as she saw me and the goddess Styx clinging to each other, she pouted and put her hands on her hips. 

"Blood... You're with the goddess Styx again and I'm nowhere to be seen, Hades?"
"You don't even call me uncle anymore..."
"That's because I have to call you when we get married, so when are you and I going to leave this world together?"
"...? You and I will leave this world together?"
"Oh, you act like you don't know. Rumours of Hades leaving with his favourite goddesses have already spread like wildfire in the underworld. Styx, Lethe and your mentor have also spent time with lesser gods, so why only me..."

Please. He's my nephew...
Of course, it's not a big deal between gods, but there is some psychological resistance...

Perhaps your presence is a little... premature for me.
The beautiful goddess of spring has given me a chance to reconsider my thoughts, but I'm reluctant to have anything to do with her...
Let's change the subject.

"...What do you mean by Ares coming to the entrance of the underworld?"
"Oh. That's right, he said he had a big fight with Little Poseidon's father and needed help to hold a trial..."

Poseidon and Ares had a big fight?
I thought the only time they had clashed before was during Poseidon's rebellion.

* * *

Just like that, I saw a male god step into the real world. 
Muscular as iron, the armour of the gods forged by Hephaestus, a greatsword at his waist.

Ares, my nephew and god of war, knelt before me on one knee with an awkward smile. 
Ares, who had been freaking out since the Flood, what was wrong with him?

"Good morning, Big Brother Hades."
"Yes. I've heard the story. What happened in the great battle between you and Poseidon, and why did you come to the other side?"
"I'll tell you slowly, what happened is..."

According to Ares' story, it was because of a demigod called Halirrothios, son of Poseidon. 

Halirrothios was the child of Poseidon and a nymph called Euryte.
He believed that his father was Poseidon and went on a rampage in Athens, the city where Athena was the goddess.
 

"You're a priestess of the goddess Athena, so you're not bad-looking, are you?"
"Oh... please don't do that. We've all taken a vow of chastity..."
"Vow of chastity? So what, you know who I am, right?"

I'm not the kind of guy who habitually gropes the breasts of Athena's shrine maidens...

Pfft!

"What?! Did you just tell me to leave because I don't have any money?"
"No matter how much you are Poseidon's child... Pfft!"
"No, no. No. You are so favoured by the sea and you dare to treat me like this?"

In the various restaurants and inns of Athens, he took things without paying or went on a rampage...

"Wait! Wait a minute, that's an olive tree, the symbol of the goddess Athena...!"
"What?! My father is Poseidon."

Ddddd... Boom!

The olive tree, symbol of the goddess Athena, had been cut down by Poseidon, incurring Athena's wrath. 
However, Athena didn't dare to confront Poseidon directly, so she only scolded him moderately...

After listening to this story, I asked Ares a question. 

"Are these the stories you heard from Athena herself?"
"Yes, that's right, that bastard did it."
"Well, go ahead and tell me."

Ares, the god of war, had a daughter who was a demigod. 
Her name was Alcippe and she grazed in a field near Athens...
She had the misfortune to meet Halilithios, a cripple. 

"Do you know who I am? Follow me," he said, "and marry me, for it is for your own good..."
"Who... Who are you! Gahhhhhhh, father!"
"Be quiet, my father is Posei... Kwak!"

Chwaak-degurr.

"Alkipfe, are you alright?!"
"Ah... Burge... Hmph. Thank you..."

Halithios, who was about to take Alciphae by force, was confronted by Ares, who had rushed over after hearing his daughter's screams...
Naturally, seeing the madman trying to rape his daughter, Ares swung his sword and beheaded him.

With his son dead, Poseidon lashed out at Ares. 

"Ares, you son of a bitch, you cut my son's throat?!"
"What?! Poseidon's own son tried to rape my daughter!"
"But you did!"
"I didn't do anything wrong!"

So their quarrel became increasingly violent,
Zeus and the other gods decided to hold a trial to settle the matter... La.

"Yes. The man who tried to rape your daughter is probably being punished by the three Minoan brothers. So why did he come to the underworld?"
"Everyone said that Big Brother Hades is the most worthy judge, so please give him justice!"

The god of war looks at me with great emotion as he rants in front of me.
You want me to judge you in the underworld? 

* * *

"The man who tried to rape your daughter is already dead, so it's my jurisdiction, but your quarrel with Poseidon is Zeus' business, isn't it?"

This is clearly a matter of this life. 
Shouldn't Zeus decide for himself? But the fact that it was brought to me...

"It is... Because, as I said, everyone recommended Big Brother Hades."
"Tell me more."

The situation on Olympus, as Ares told it, was as follows. 

Zeus, King of the Gods, decided to hold a trial in Athens because their quarrel had become so intense,
and the other gods had expressed their intention to attend. 

But...

"Hmmm... So this Zeus is going to listen to both sides of the argument and make a judgement..."

"Zeus. Don't you think it would be better to ask Hades to do that instead of you?"
"I suppose that's Hera's point... After all, hasn't Hades always been in charge of such things in the underworld?"
"I think Hades is used to passing judgement..."

When Zeus offered to take on the role of judge, the goddesses disagreed and recommended me. 
Hera, Hestia and Aphrodite gave their opinion and the other goddesses agreed...

"Ha! Yes, let's give it to Hades."
"I don't mind either, there's no fairer god than Hades."

"Hmmm. So everyone agrees to let Big Brother Hades be the judge?"

Even Poseidon and Ares before me agreed that I was a better judge than Zeus.

When Ares had finished, I looked at my nephew. 

"So it is, big brother."
"And now you leave the affairs of this life to me."
"My father has said that if you help him, he will give you a ring of similar power to Harmonia's necklace."

The necklace of Harmonia, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite and wife of Cadmus, is a divine object that brings youth and beauty to its wearer.
But our gods are immortal and have no need of such a thing. 

Nevertheless, the ring of youth...
It could be given to a favourite mortal, or it could make a fine collector's item.

"Hmm..."

Poseidon's son ran amok in Athena's city, by the way.
He may be an asshole, but I don't think Poseidon would have allowed or encouraged that, would he?

Athena and Poseidon don't get along, so it's quite possible.

I can see why the other goddesses told Zeus about me when he offered to preside over the trial...
I can also see why Zeus declined the offer. 

Normally he would have offered himself as judge to keep Poseidon in check,
I'm sure he assumed that my character would side with Ares, and it wouldn't look good for him to be so blatantly against him.

Poseidon must have thought I was better than Zeus.

For now, that is what Ares told me.
It's something to think about, having heard both sides of the story. 

"I see. I understand. Where do you want me to go?"
"Thank you. There's a trial tomorrow on a hill near Athens, and if you'd like to attend..."

Huh... Yes. There's another fight between the gods and I have to mediate. 
I'll just have to go through the memories of that Halolithios... the one who was killed by Ares and became one of the people of the underworld... and go to the trial.