True Magician

Chapter 160

Olympus.

After some time spent in complete silence in the temple of Hestia, the moment of the gathering finally arrived. And now Hermes led me, Archer, and the still undetected Grandpa to the highest point of Mount Olympus, where the gathering of the twelve Olympians was taking place.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the others, and Hestia stood out the most, of course, while Archer behaved as usual and Hermes, as a skilled and professional diplomat, kept a polite smile on his face with a hint of apology for the antics of his family members.

The goddess of the hearth, since her return to the temple, looked as if she was seriously considering some idea. And, considering her last words, I had no doubt what she was thinking about.

In fact, putting her at the head of Olympus was an extremely good idea, if only because it would reduce their influence on humanity. Of course, in theory, Olympus could lose some of its power, but that could easily be compensated for.

Zeus was the strongest only because he had his own symbol of power — his lightning bolts. And if a similar analogue were created for Hestia, she could surpass Zeus on all fronts. After all, Zeus's dominion is limited exclusively to Greece, while Hestia has gained power bit by bit from all over the world.

There are many gods of the sky, thunder, and lightning, but there are only a few gods of the hearth. Some have already disappeared under the pressure of time, like the Sumerians, as I have discovered, because people no longer believe in them.

- "Once again, I apologize for my sister and the others, Mr. Archaman," Hermes distracted me from my thoughts. "Unfortunately, not all of us can boast of restraint and the ability to adapt to situations."

And then there's Hermes. In all the time we've known each other, he has never shown himself to be an unpleasant person. On the one hand, this was his specialty as an emissary of Mount Olympus and Zeus himself, but nevertheless, it was easy to do business with him.

I would even add him to the list of relatively good Greeks, along with Hestia and Hades. However, the latter may be non-canonical. I haven't met the others personally yet, so let's leave it at that. Heh.

- "But not you, Hermes," I smiled. "Have you always been so polite, or has time had an effect on you?"

- "Thank you for the compliment," he smiled politely. "And your second guess is correct. The flow of time is relentless and eternal, and no one can influence it on a global scale, not even the gods of time themselves. And that is precisely why you have to adapt to it, if you want to survive, of course."

- "Oh dear, I see, it's only thanks to you that Olympus hasn't gone to war with anyone yet?

- "Partly," Hermes replied smoothly, with a hint of pride in his voice. "But any war between pantheons would have no winners or losers. And there are always plenty of strong opponents."

- "Oh, I like you. And, of course, I'll overlook the fact that you're so talkative not only because you want to make up for the inconvenience, but also because Zeus ordered you to," I chuckled, to which Hermes' expression didn't change, maintaining a polite smile.

- "Was it that obvious?"

- "The combination of the words 'adapt' and 'survive' together with 'strong opponents' and the current circumstances? Even I wouldn't have missed that," I said cheerfully. "Won't you share what your father wants, approximately? I don't think such a question should go beyond the scope of his order."

- "Since you noticed such a small detail, you already understand his goals. Is there anything else? Definitely not. My father is quite straightforward in that regard."