#1073 The Circumstances of the God Who Escaped

It’s me.

Apparently, something big has happened.

I heard about it from Hades, the god who barged into my farm unannounced.

He always drops by out of the blue, it’s quite a hassle.

While shoveling down garlic fried rice, Hades told me what happened on his way here.

“Verily, when word reached me that Zeus had escaped, I was chilled to the bone. But thanks to the divine security system, we were saved. Should any anomaly arise, it is set to inform me or Poseidon immediately. Truly, the sealed temple crafted by Hephaestus is well-maintained,” he said.

Apparently, an evil god has been resurrected.

Well, that’s certainly a big deal.

Depending on how things go, the world that had finally found peace might plunge into chaos again.

However, it seems that this time, the righteous gods who wish to protect the world have averted the crisis.

Well, that’s what gods are supposed to do, so it’s nice they’re actually doing their jobs.

Receiving the emergency signal, Hades hurried to the scene.

As soon as Zeus escaped from his sealed space, he could be tracked via the GPS—the God Positioning Search system—so they found him quickly.

Fortunately, Hades met up with Poseidon, who was also tracking Zeus using the same system. Even luckier, Cronus, who had been playing Smsh Brs with them at the time, decided to tag along.

Zeus found himself cornered with no escape, surrounded by his worst sibling gods and his father, whom he had actually waged war against.

And surprisingly, it wasn’t his siblings or his father who delivered the final blow.

“Lord Sugawara no Michizane... did lay hands upon him.”

Wait, what? Why that god?

Sure, he became buddies with Cronus, but isn’t that someone else’s turf? Is it okay to meddle so freely?

“He did insist upon it. It seemeth he could not abide that this world hath no god of learning. Thus, he did hold Zeus, the chief deity, to account.”

Of course, Zeus didn’t take him seriously, and it escalated into a battle.

“When Lord Michizane enters battle mode, he is truly fearsome. Zeus was helpless, beaten down without any means to fight back. Though both wield the power of lightning, he was no match whatsoever.”

And so, after being thoroughly pummeled until he couldn’t move, Zeus was apprehended and returned to his sealed prison, still bound.

“Had he but behaved and shown a hint of repentance, I would have considered releasing him in a hundred thousand years or so. But fleeing as he did, one cannot help but feel one’s goodwill was spurned. So perhaps ten million years of imprisonment is fitting. ‘Tis a shame; had he not escaped...”

He sounds regretful, but not really.

I’m sure that even if Zeus had sincerely served his sentence, Hades would have found some excuse to keep him sealed for a hundred million years.

“Saint, another beer.”

Coming right up.

As proof, Hades, who had safely returned Zeus to prison, is happily drinking beer.

It’s as if he’s celebrating with a toast.

But is it okay to be so carefree?

The fact that Zeus successfully escaped means there was a way to nullify the seal you used to imprison him, right?

If you don’t figure out the cause, won’t the same thing happen again?

“On that point, fear not. We have already uncovered the cause.”

Oh.

“Zeus’s escape this time was orchestrated by his fellow deity, Athena. She has been raising Hephaestus’ child, Erichthonius, and used the same genetic information as Hephaestus, who crafted the seal, to create a flaw in it.”

Goddess Athena.

So she was the culprit!

Speaking of Athena, it’s fresh in my memory how she caused a scene here at the farm, spouting nonsense, and was blasted to the ends of the world by Hero Momoko when her patience ran out.

That Athena was working to resurrect Zeus? It doesn’t seem unrelated to what happened at the farm.

Maybe she wanted revenge for having her ideas rejected and being sent flying.

“Preventing a recurrence is simple. We threw Athena into the sealed space along with him.”

Wow.

So now, in the celestial prison, it’s just Zeus and Athena.

“Athena’s wailing as she was thrust in was a sight to behold. She cried, ‘To be alone with such a lecherous old man, mine own chastity is surely doomed!’ and such!”

A virgin goddess and the god of infidelity, alone together in an eternal isolated space.

Something’s bound to happen...

“Even Zeus hath never laid hands upon his own daughter. He looked wounded, wondering if he truly hath so little trust. Not that he hath any right to feel wounded!!!”

And finally, Hades burst into laughter.

“Well, in this world, Velesares handles matters of war, so we art not troubled by Athena’s absence. In fact, her presence caused more problems, so this joint sealing is naught but beneficial!”

Ah, so that’s how she was regarded.

“The only problem is Hera, who, for some reason, is utterly smitten with that Zeus. By happenstance, she was at a cake banquet during the incident, and upon her return and discovering it, she did throw a fit.”

—What?! Lord Zeus hath been paroled?! Why did none inform me?!

—And Athena hath been sealed away with him again?! How brazen!

—In the end, the daughter of a homewrecker is herself a homewrecker too!!!

“Thus did she cause a great uproar, eventually demanding to be sealed within the same space as Zeus. Velesares had much difficulty calming her down.”

That is...

Indeed quite a mess.

But that’s Hera you’re referring to, right?

Did you really need to stop her?

If anything, sealing her along with them would have been great for the world...

“To Velesares, she is still his biological mother. Given his nature, he could not abandon her—especially considering her relationship with her other son, Hephaestus, is utterly broken...!”

Velesares...!

Despite his admirable character, he has such a terrible mother.

He also gives off the vibe of a workaholic person...

Or should I say, a workaholic god?

“Hera herself doth play an important and irreplaceable role as the celestial mother goddess. Unlike the god of war or the chief deity—positions that can, surprisingly, be substituted—we cannot carelessly remove her, which is troublesome. Verily, she is the most difficult to handle in the divine realm,” grumbles Hades.

That said, with Athena, who tried to stir up endless wars, now sealed, the world is heading toward greater peace.

Moreover, Athena was also responsible for granting skills to us, the summoned people from other worlds.

I alone happened to receive a gift from Hephaestus, who was acting as a substitute during her absence.

However, Athena treated the summoned individuals like disposable pawns, granting them skills and throwing them into war to fight until they perished.

Thinking about it that way, this sealing is a very reasonable outcome.

“Things are finally getting resolved, aren’t they?” says Hero Momoko.

She’s been staying at the farm since her first visit.

“Ever since I found this farm, I feel like all the things tangled up inside me are getting sorted out. I’ve defeated the Demon King and fulfilled my duty as a hero, and the goddess who summoned me and so many others without permission has been given divine punishment.”

It’s quite ironic for a divine being to receive divine punishment.

But Momoko must have had her own thoughts about the path she’s walked so far.

Exalted as a hero, believing that fighting demons was just, and after having that justice completely denied, she searched for her own path up to this day.

Even though we’re both people from another world, she has experienced the standard sorrows of an otherworld protagonist, completely different from me.

Her various struggles have finally reached a conclusion.

It’s understandable that she would feel deeply moved.

“Hmm... When I consider it thus, though it was the celestial gods who did this, I feel responsible as a fellow deity,” murmurs Hades.

Isn’t it strange that a hero and a god are casually chatting in the same space?

“Those who were summoned from other worlds art victims, called hither without regard to their own will. Is it right to leave them thus and say, ‘The root of all evil hath perished, and all lived happily ever after’...?” mutters Hades to himself.  “Very well. I hast decided.”

Huh? Decided what?

“As fellow gods, ‘tis our duty to take responsibility for the misdeeds of the celestial gods. Let us, the gods of the underworld, devise various ways to care for those who were summoned from other worlds!”