Reborn As Hades In Olympus

Ch. 29: Distractions

How did things come to this again? Ares was simply introducing his date, not "CHAOS BRIDE," but her real name. But he didn't need to because I knew who she was even before he said it.

"Oh, this is my date. She's a real beauty, you know what I mean," Ares joked. "Her name is— ERIS!"

F-- It was all under my nose again. So deep under there was no way I would ever know. And if Eris was here, then that would mean she was trying to prevent me from hindering her plans. That would also mean that I was right—it really is the apple of discord plot!

So I had met Eris all along, but I could work this to my advantage. She just played herself into my hands. Perhaps I can convince her not to trigger the calamity.

Looking at her closer, I could tell she was panicking inside even without the use of the eye. All I would have to do was restrict her through the entire night. I sometimes hate my mind for overthinking things, but I was not confident I could confront her— for all I knew, she might not be Chaos Bride but an associate of hers.

Now I was seriously regretting not answering the call earlier. Curse you, Hermes. Where is Hermes anyway?

"Hi~ Lord Hades, it's a pleasure meeting you in person," Chaos Bride, or should I say Eris—I still wasn't sure if she was Chaos Bride—said. Damn, I feel played.

ERIS: GODDESS OF STRIFE

LIKABILITY TO HADES -200

ROLE TO HADES - UNRESOLVED

CONFLICT - NONE

I realized what I needed to do: talk to her privately. Hard to do that when you're at the biggest party of the millennium.

"Big brother Hades, you kind of zoned out for a moment there," Ares chuckled nervously. He seemed afraid for some reason. Did I look weird or something? "That was scary, man. It felt like you were thinking about death just now."

I shifted my gaze away from Eris and looked at Ares. "Don't spite me!" I cast him a threatening glance and walked past them both. This was not the right time to confront her about the apple.

I was relaxed since her name did not appear on the list of invited guests, but I forgot the +1; invited guests can bring an extra person to the party. I brought along my assistant, Hecate, but still, Eris' arrival clearly caught me off guard. Everything was coming together; all I had to do was play my cards right.

"My lord, are you perhaps troubled? I noticed you were a bit startled by that goddess," Hecate opined. I swear I keep forgetting how sensitive she is. I still haven't forgiven her for screwing up my lead with Hermes. Come to think of it, where is he anyway?

The crowd started to murmur loudly. I could barely make anything out of it. I could see a gleaming light coming from up ahead. There was only one person I knew who could make a flashy entrance like that—it's the birthday boy.

Bolts of lightning started to sizzle in the air. There were light booms and crackles—the crowd was amazed. I, for one, was deeply concerned if it was safe to throw lightning bolts indoors. I might be immortal, but I'm not shock-proof. Zeus walked down from the long flight of stairs, dressed in a flawless white suit with gold buttons.

He wore a pair of gold shoes and a gold mask over his eyes; his hair fell down his back and sparkled wonderfully—why do I feel like he's running for pageant queen?

I swear if I had a pair of sunglasses, I would have dazzled them on. What caught my eye was in fact something more beautiful than the elaborate display of my baby brother—the second figure accompanying him. Dressed in a fine milky dress was a real queen, her powerful yellow eyes shot out with a piercing intensity that entranced me, her long yellow hair carefully packed behind her back.

She had her arms wrapped around Zeus' arm.

Didn't need a wild guess to tell who that was—HERA, THE QUEEN OF THE GODS. Man, was she a beauty. Kind of made me wish I was still single.

It took all of my willpower to look away. I had to not make it seem obvious. Staying on track was the priority here; can't have a beautiful goddess ruining my day.

"Good day, people of Olympus! Who's ready for a paaaaaaaartyyy!!!!" Zeus boomed, and a loud cheer followed. Just reminding me of how much I hated crowds. And why does he have to be so damn childish? The stories always said he was old and wise; this one's the exact opposite. At least I get to enjoy my first-ever gods-only party in peace.

"And there is my big bro Hades!!" I spoke too soon. Zeus came up from nowhere and threw his arm around me. "I'm so happy you came. I would have been grieved if you didn't. It's all the better with you here."

Just how did he spot me in this huge crowd? Oh right! It's not like anyone here has blue hair and dresses as if they are attending a funeral. "Um—hey, Zeus." Still not used to calling him that. "I see you've been well."

Zeus snickered as he swiped a cupcake from one of the waiters passing by. "More or less. Sorry about last time with the wound. Hope it didn't hurt too bad."

A little too late for that. I've been asleep for two hundred years. Back on Earth, that is two lifetimes. Another thing caught my eye—Hermes, not so far off in the crowd. All I had to do was ditch the glam prince. As if it would be that easy.

Zeus pulled me off in a different direction away from my goal. From my knowledge, very few people found me—the god of death—not scary. Hecate, Hermes, but Zeus tops the chart. This guy is not afraid of anything under the sun. "Now hasn't it been a while since you've seen Hera?"

Wait, Hera? And before I knew it, I was before the queen of the gods. She stood there, giving off a beautiful aroma that almost made me smile. Good thing Hades used to be a sadist; I managed to maintain my composure. Just to be clear, I wasn't flustered. It's not like I haven't spoken to a beautiful young-looking woman who is actually over a millennium old before.

Boy, was I kidding. Of course, I was flustered. How many men my age have fantasized about standing before a literal goddess and just saying, "Hi!" Shit! Did I just say my thoughts out loud? Should I talk with her casually or—let me try the eye first, just in case.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE CHARACTER CANNOT BE DISPLAYED DUE TO WEAK LEVEL OF THE EYE.

Curses, she put on the firewall. Now, what do I say? Hera's lips parted and broke off into a light smile that made my heart sing. "Hades..."

Now, why did she just end things there? Why do women always have to be so damn complicated? Since she called me so casually, I guess I do have to take the same approach. "Hera, it has been a while." Not really my best line again—when you come to know me pretty well, I have a lot of terrible first lines in my vocabulary.

Hera rubbed her temples softly with her thumbs. I had a bad feeling about that because Zeus just backed off and said, "Then you two can catch up. I have to go find Poseidon. He's probably holed up somewhere here." And then the god of Olympus vanished into the crowd, leaving me alone with Hera, who was now glaring at me like that one candy left on the counter at Christmas.

"It has been over a thousand years since you last spoke to me, Hades. So I guess it really has been a while." Despite her strict tone, her voice really was a melody to my heart.

Now, what do I say? Just why did Hades have to be a mess with his family? I'm practically turning into a life coach right about now. "He—ra, I'm sorry. I must have been busy back then." Maybe I said something wrong, or it was the approach I took, but she gasped and cupped her hands under her breasts.

"Y—you're sorry?" I think I saw her cheeks redden, or perhaps it was the lighting.

There was another long silence that I was yet again forced to fix. "Yeah, what about it?"

She looked away from me as she spoke. "Nothing. Just never heard you commit to your mistakes before." Well, I have been getting that a lot lately. "So did you just come here for Zeus, or did you have another reason in mind?"

I looked at her with an annoyed glance, good thing she wasn't paying attention to me. Like, what the hell does she expect me to be looking for here? I can't even have fun because I have to stop some no-good goddess from causing a war over an apple. "I just came to settle some matters. After it's done, I'll leave."

"Oh, right?" Hera dropped her head and said in a sad tone, "Enjoy the party then." She said this without a moment's notice as she started to walk away.

I would have liked to hang out with Hera more, but I had to find Eris first, which makes me feel stupid for losing her in the first place if I had to find her later.

My eye started to whirr again—I wasn't even doing anything.

THE CHARACTER "HERA" HAS HIGH AFFINITY FOR YOU.

What the hell? I thought the eye didn't work on her. Now it's telling me that Hera has high—my hands dropped by my side and my jaw fell wide open. Don't tell me, does Hera have feelings for me?

It's never one problem at a time, is it? It's always one thing after another. I couldn't let myself get carried away. I took out my phone and dialed Chaos Bride twice, but there was no response. I turned back to where I had seen Hermes earlier, and he was gone. Hecate was gone too.

I was foolish to get swept away by all the celebration—now chaos could strike in any direction, and I would have no way to stop it.

Talk about a hiccup~!

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