The Little Golden Mouth

Meeting Ares halfway was undoubtedly an unexpected interlude for Hermes, and clearly, he didn't take it seriously.

After all, when it came to words, not even Ares, let alone a few more gods, could outmatch him.

If Hermes remembered correctly, he would later acquire the divine office of Eloquence, so he was even more confident in his abilities.

"Anyway, you'd better take it easy."

With a smile, Hermes left those words as advice, not at all concerned by Ares' gaze that seemed as though he wanted to swallow him whole. He turned and walked past Ares, heading down the stairs.

This was Mount Olympus, the realm of the gods.

As long as Ares didn't want to be exiled from the divine realm, he couldn't act against Hermes here.

Killing a god was a crime; even gods would be rejected by the world if they recklessly committed such an act.

Though Ares was a god born from the primal forces of war, it didn't mean he had the power to determine whether other gods lived or died.

Even if Hermes was not the most powerful, he was still a god officially bestowed by Zeus in front of the other gods. He had the protection of the holy light of Olympus by default.

Descending the stairs, Hermes gazed into the distance and saw the resplendent Temple of Zeus.

That was where Zeus, the god of thunder and king of the gods, resided. Naturally, the temple was constantly shrouded in thunderclouds.

However, this brilliance was not something mortals could see. Only gods could feel the oppressive aura emanating from the light.

That was the majesty belonging to the king of gods—

Hermes waved toward the direction of the temple before looking at a temple located beneath Zeus' temple.

That was the temple of the Rain Goddess, Maia, on Mount Olympus, and it was also his destination.

Compared to the imposing and regal Temple of Thunder, the temple of the Rain Goddess looked far inferior.

In terms of appearance, it didn't even compare to the dwellings of some higher-tier minor gods.

Looking at it more closely, Hermes sighed.

There was nothing to be done—after all, it came down to power!

In a place like Mount Olympus, where strength ruled above all else, respect was always earned by power.

Otherwise, like himself, he could rely on Zeus' favor.

Unfortunately, Maia, the Rain Goddess, was in a tragic position, as she lacked powerful strength and didn't enjoy Zeus' undivided favor.

After being disheartened, Maia's only hope was her son, Hermes.

Relying on one's child to gain status was not unusual in this world.

Many goddesses, once mere nymphs of mountains and rivers, rose to divine positions due to the glory their descendants brought.

"Is it Hermes?"

Just as Hermes was observing the temple, a goddess, dressed simply, sensed the approach of divine power and walked out of the temple.

Hearing the slightly hesitant call, Hermes suppressed his helplessness, flashed a smile, and complimented her, "Oh, of course it's me, my dear mother. You look even more radiant than before."

Listening to those words, it almost seemed like a plastic mother-son relationship.

But as a woman, such compliments were always appreciated, and the goddess was no exception.

"Though it's only been a few months, my son looks even more handsome now."

Facing the smiling youth, the goddess smiled slightly, before asking about the purpose of Hermes' visit.

Maia, the Rain Goddess, was the daughter of a Titan and a water nymph. However, she had no divine power of her own and was merely a wandering spirit in the world before Zeus took notice of her.

Though she had become a goddess now, her power was entirely derived from Zeus, so she rarely had occasions to venture out.

In a sense, Maia was quite a homebody goddess.

"Actually, it's nothing major. I just realized I haven't seen my mother for a few months, so I thought I'd come visit."

Having not seen her in a while, Hermes couldn't help but glance at his mother.

It was apparent that this goddess seemed somewhat troubled. Hermes wondered if she had been troubled by Hera, the queen of the gods.

Thinking back to Ares' attitude toward him earlier, Hermes couldn't help but form a big question mark in his mind.

According to past experiences, if she had truly been bullied by Hera, Maia would have kept quiet and put on a brave face, presenting everything as fine.

So, even if Hermes wanted to inquire, he wouldn't get much of an answer.

On the surface, Maia appeared incredibly gentle.

She had no obvious aggressive traits, and perhaps that was why Zeus had taken an interest in her back then.

After all, according to Olympus customs, the goddesses with powerful personalities and tempers were often much fiercer, as was evident with the queens of the gods.

As the object of frequent oppression, Zeus needed someone like Maia to soothe his bruised ego, especially after being constantly torn down by Hera.

"How did you come here? Did your father summon you to run some errands for him?"

Hearing her son's concern, Maia couldn't help but smile with squinted eyes.

Maia's personality was as gentle as her appearance. Despite not possessing great power, her years of service to Zeus made her realize that, on Mount Olympus, she and her son could only rely on the king of all gods, Zeus.

Although it sounded untrustworthy, it was the truth. Without Zeus' favor and protection, what was the son of Zeus worth?

Let's not forget, after Zeus had a quarrel with Hera, he cast their own son, Hephaestus, off Mount Olympus in a fit of rage.

After that event, everyone realized that, among the gods, familial ties or friendships were not something one could rely on.

"It's not a summons from Father. I just happened to meet a member of the Temple of Light and went to sit with Apollo for a bit."

Shaking his head, Hermes, still concerned about Maia's well-being, decided not to tell her the whole truth.

His mother's mouth was far more dangerous than his, and Hermes was afraid of being sold out, so he had to be cautious with his words.

"Oh dear, you know your father's temper! Don't go to the Temple of Light too often. If you're suspected by him, what will happen then?"

Once Maia heard that Hermes hadn't gone to help Zeus, her smile faded slightly, followed by a long string of advice.

Her words were always about holding onto Zeus tightly, being loyal to him, and other such advice Hermes had heard many times before. His ears were practically numb to it.

The reason he didn't like coming here was because Maia's way of thinking was so different from his.

Words were hardly exchanged; just one remark caused Maia to lose yet another opportunity to bond with her son.

After a few more exchanges, Hermes excused himself, citing business to attend to, and quickly left the Temple of Rain.

There was no other choice—he had to leave!

If he didn't understand Maia's hidden meaning, he'd really be a fool.

It was clear that she wanted him to sever all ties with his siblings and focus entirely on clinging to the king of the gods.

Well, it wasn't wrong, at least in the short term. It was certainly the most advantageous path for them at the moment.

However, holding onto that leg was like working for someone else.

Though he might have peace for a while, once the favor was gone, it would be like being laid off from a job.

"If it really comes to that, there will be no place for us in Olympus."

Before leaving, Hermes muttered to himself.

Perhaps because of his nature as a traveler between worlds, Hermes found that, despite his efforts to integrate into this world, there was still a huge gap in core values between him and these gods born here.

In reality, all these gods were born at the top of the pyramid, so they rarely thought about becoming stronger. Most of them were complacent, only seeking pleasure.

In contrast, Hermes had a different mindset.

Even though he currently relied on Zeus, deep down, Hermes felt that power could only come from oneself if it were to be trusted.

That was why he continuously sought out gods for transactions on Mount Olympus. By making reasonable trades and receiving rewards, he not only increased his own strength but also gathered justifiable belief.

This intangible accumulation, though not immediately tangible, would benefit him in the future when pursuing the divine office of commerce.

Gods could hold many offices. Take Hermes for example, besides being the messenger of the gods with his "communication office," he also held the offices of trade and herding.

The trade office was one Hermes had established with his own strength and was the foundation for his future commercial pursuits.

The herding office, on the other hand, was a gift from Apollo, who had separated his powers and given them to Hermes. It was also a power tied to the Earth gods.

Because of this, the goddess Artemis, associated with nature and hunting, had some dissatisfaction with Hermes in her heart.

Hermes wasn't unaware of this, but when it came to Apollo, who meant well, he couldn't just return the divine office after accepting it.

If he hadn't accepted it in the first place, that would have been fine, but now that he had, rejecting it would be far worse.

"Dong dong dong—"

As Hermes muttered to himself, returning to his temple to absorb the divine power in the golden lily, he was suddenly startled by the sound of a bell ringing outside.

This sound—was it the golden bell on Mount Olympus?

His eyelid twitched. He remembered the bell that summoned the gods to the top of the holy mountain for meetings.

The bell was only struck in times of great importance, so hearing it now—did something big happen?