#602 Graduation Test Preparations: Part 2

The graduation test for the farm students.

Time is passing by without any concrete progress being made.

“Good boy. Goooood, good, good boy. Who’s a good boy? You are!”

Odin, the chief god summoned from another world, is petting Pochi, whom he found roaming around the farm. 

Pochi, a wolf monster Hypercaon, is completely confused by the sudden stroke on his head and chin. 

“Um... Odin? Maybe we can tone down the teasing a little...?”

“Oh, my apologies. I am a bit of an animal lover myself, so I tend to lose my composure.”

A bit?

That’s a good thing, I guess... No animal lover is a bad guy, after all!

“My family has two dogs, two crows, and a horse. They art all irresistibly cute. If I fight Loki’s Fenrir in Ragnarok, I might die from being mauled while I pet its fluffy fur!” 

“Is that so...”

Yep. He’s the real deal.

He’s more talkative when it’s about animals.

“As I thought, chief deities are a bunch of oddballs...Ah!”

Anubis shudders as he feels a sharp gaze. 

Odin is staring at him.

“A doggy...”

“No! I am a jackal incarnate, not a dog! More importantly, I am a god...!”

“Aww, good boy! Good boy, good boy!”

“Stopppp! Do not come any closeeeeeeeer!!!”

The gods have begun their epic chase!

Please don’t destroy the farm’s facilities!

“It’s so rowdy that we can’t get anything done...” says Sensei, sighing in dismay at the current situation.

After the spectacular secret art of summoning gods from other worlds, we’ve only achieved trivial results.

“The tea here is exquisite. Can we pack it in a bag and bring it back to hell?”

“Indeed. This sweet bean jelly they serve with the tea is delicious too.” 

The other visiting deities, Enma and Themis, are in their own world, relaxing.

What is this, a tea party?!

“Ahem, pardon me...”

“Woah!”

The current situation is already a mess with all the gods here, but another god joins the fray.

It’s Hermes! 

As the celestial envoy, he’s the only deity who can descend to the mortal realm at will.  

“I was asked to come here and bid thee that a certain god wants to be summoned after she observed thy peculiar activities.” 

“Oh... And who is she?”

“It appears she has had a great deal of experience assessing heroes. She says she is the only deity who can meet thy needs right now.”

I don’t get what’s going on, but that goddess sure sounds confident in herself.

If she insists, we have no choice but to ask Sensei to summon her.

And who appeared was...

“So this is the farm. I am glad to be finally summoned.”

“Hera?!”

The celestial queen and wife of Zeus, Hera, is in the very top class of the most troublesome gods!

“Dieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!”

“Oh, Themis, long time nay see. Thou art still a ferocious goddess, assaulting me with thine blade whenever we meet.”

Hera stops the sword between her hands, acting complacent.

She must be used to being hated.

“What is the meaning of this, Hermes? Isn’t this goddess banned from this farm?”

Poseidon and Hades told us the same thing!

They said the celestial gods, especially the top two, Zeus and Hera, are greedy and arrogant, so we should be wary of them.

“She had her powers restricted in various ways because of the recent war. I decided that it would be harmless to bring her here. Besides, she is mine own mother-in-law. Tis difficult for me to keep refusing her requests...”

Don’t try to act like a filial son now, you celestial god!

“Moreover, her claims art not all that wrong. If thee want to test whether the young people here art heroes or not, Hera is the deity thee need.”

“Hermes is right!”

Hera joins the conversation while casually controlling the goddess Themis, relentlessly slashing at her.

She’s strong.

“If thee want to assess heroes, wherefore bother summoning examiners from the other world when there is already a worthy goddess here? How did thee not consider this, Immortal King?!”

Because of your bad record...?

But to be so confident, does Hera have that many achievements or accomplishments?

“I has’t screened and guided various heroes since time immemorial! All of mine own children who have overcome those trials have become most wondrous heroes! I can even boast of being the best hero-guide ever!”

“Oh!”

I don’t really understand, but that sounds amazing!

With that confidence, maybe we should consider appointing her as our proxy!

“So, how is she really, Hermes?”

“Um...!”

I’m a cautious man and always seek a third party’s opinion.

“Well, mine own father hast had affairs all over the place in ancient times. Children born under such circumstances become heroes because they art essentially half-gods...”

“Uh-huh.”

“And his wife, Hera, is so jealous of his mistresses that she even sparks the fire of jealousy in their children by harassing them in the form of her ordeals.” 

“Harassment?!” 

So, her ordeals are just a fancy way of saying personal sanctions that come from personal grudges, huh?

“The hero who made it biggest after undergoing my ordeals is...Hercules!”

“Oh, she is going to get bashed for this.”

Hermes already has a look of resignation on his face.

“I gave that boy so many troublesome trials through the king of the human race! Those trials gave birth to many heroic tales and made him the greatest hero in the world!”

“Ever heard of the words unwelcome favor?”

“First, I robbed him of his sanity so he could focus on his ordeals, then I hadst him deal with his family, which was around at the time! How nice it must be to be a bachelor free from responsibility!” 

From the first case, everyone was left speechless.

“After that, I made him fight Hydra, wrestle with a lion, step on a crab... Anyway, the whole world hailed him for his exploits! Amazing, right? I hath raised him to excel!"

It’s like someone who was bullied as a child grows up and becomes a great person, but the bully takes all the credit for their development...

“For his achievements, Hercules was welcomed into the heavens after his death and even became a god! Mine own production powers could never go wrong!”

“Why doth thee think Hercules refused to cooperate in the recent war?”

“I wonder about that too. Wherefore did he not help me, his mother-in-law? Is he in his rebellious phase?”

“How can thee remain oblivious to his hatred towards you?”

I could feel Hermes is done with Hera from his tone of voice.

“Um...So, about Hercules...”

“Oh, the gent hates Hera from his very core. She is responsible for his messed-up life, after all—even ruined his family twice.” 

That’s terrible.

“I have made an appearance of reconciliation since I was welcomed into the celestial realm, even now. Did thee know? Hercules’ name, which he was forced to change by an oracle, means ‘glory of Hera.’ Tis HILARIOUS that they would inscribe the name of the person you hate the most.”

He emphasized the word ‘hilarious,’ but Hermes’ dead eyes and tone say otherwise. 

“Whenever he introduces himself, his expression turns grim and grumbles, ‘What glory? Nothing but disaster has befallen me...”

“He became a great hero because of my ordeals, so he shouldst feel grateful. What do you think, saint? If thee leave it to me, I will make all youngsters into heroes on the same level as Hercules. Be grateful!”

...

“...By the way, how long did Hercules take to finish your trials?”

“Hmm, about twelve years?”

That’s too long.

I expected as much, considering he had to clear so many trials. 

We can’t put our students through that long of an ordeal. It’s even longer than the time they spent studying on the farm!

“...”

Meanwhile, the other gods summoned earlier gathered in a circle, chatting amongst themselves.

Themis, the goddess of law, Anubis, the judge of the underworld, Enma, the chief judge of hell, and Odin, the chief god who safeguards warriors.

Their unanimous view in the face of the goddess Hera is...

“GUILTY.”

“What?!”

At that moment, Hera was bitten by a crocodile that appeared out of nowhere, thrashed around by multiple Valkyries, and dragged into the Avici hell.

“Oh my, what is going on here? Is this how gods of different underworlds welcome others? Being popular sure is difficult!”

“How can she still be positive in that situation?!”

In the end, we only caught a glimpse of the gods’ quarrels, and none of the concrete plans regarding the graduation exam were decided.

What are we even trying to accomplish here?