hotmtlnovel Chapter 113
Chapter 113
Chapter 113 – Father-in-law (?) Poseidon
In this mythological era of Greece, if you were to pick the three most powerful gods, you would immediately choose the three great gods of Olympus.
The three sons of the former Titan God-King Kronos.
The ruler of the underworld, Hades.
The lord of the sea, Poseidon.
The king of the sky, Zeus.
As for the ruler of the underworld, well, when you meet him, chances are nine out of ten, you’re already dead, so there aren’t many well-known stories about him in Passos or the Forest of Heroes.
But Poseidon and Zeus were names that were praised and feared every single day, and even more so for their amorous escapades that far exceed that, so in Greece, their names never have a day of rest.
It was generally thought that if, by any chance, you were targeted by the gods of the sky and sea, you could kiss any chance of a peaceful sleep on this Greek land goodbye.
Anyway, whether you get praised or criticized, once you get noticed, it becomes troublesome, so just offer a small prayer of thanks when going to the sea or when something good happens.
That was the general approach to dealing with the three major gods in Greece.
And yet, here I was, prostrate on a white sandy beach, head buried in the ground under the sharp gaze of one of those three mighty gods.
The God of the Sea, the deep, and white-crested waves. The father of horses. Poseidon, a towering figure with a dark, oceanic hue, stood over me.
“So, are you saying you’re confident in your stamina? Huh?”
“No, sir!”
“If not, then what? Are you saying the guardian god of these sailors is blind or something?”
“No, sir!”
And squatting in front of me, glaring like a senior officer, was a 2.5-meter-tall pirate captain, or rather, the God of the Sea, Poseidon, who still looked displeased.
I felt my mouth go dry, as if his burning gaze could pierce me with the trident standing next to him if he was displeased.
“Roll to the left.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Roll to the right.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Head down again.”
“Yes, sir!”
It was like a scene from naval literature, reminiscent of a marine’s rigorous training.
I was deeply puzzled as to how this familiar drill was taking place in ancient Greece.
Without a word, I silently followed the orders of Sergeant Poseidon, who was boiling with anger. I had no choice but to comply.
Because, indeed, I am a bastard.
“What? Losing your posture now?”
“No, sir!”
-Swish!
The seawater, splashing back and forth against my forehead, was very salty.
Three hours earlier.
Having assessed the situation, I hurriedly leapt through the air, landing on the shore faster than Poseidon’s wave.
“Hoo...? Are you challenging me? At least you’ve got some guts for a man.”
Perhaps he didn’t expect me to shake off his divine power and come down before him. Poseidon began to unclasp his hands, glaring at me.
-Crack!
Just unclasping his fists made a sound like breaking rocks.
I wondered if I could resolve this with words, so I hastily opened my mouth.
“Uh, O God—”
[Shut your mouth!!!]
However, the God of the Sea, boiling with rage, seemed unwilling to listen, and started approaching step by step, enveloped in a massive aura.
[How dare you?! The wife of this Poseidon, sister of Amphitrite, and the youngest daughter of Oceanus, the God of the Ocean. Even if you offer all the treasures of the ocean, it might not be enough to get a glimpse of that face, receiving more love than one deserves from the precious treasure of the sea. And you dare to be distracted and make those beautiful eyes shed tears?!]
“....What?!”
Distracted? Me?
Is it perhaps about Atalanta?
No, I even apologized repeatedly, bowing my head to both Neri and Atalanta, and they agreed to let it go for now.
“Heh... I see; you’re not entirely hopeless.”
Seeing that, Poseidon seemed slightly impressed, letting out a snort, and his overwhelming presence seemed to diminish a bit.
Could it be...? Was he going to let me off?
Just when I was about to sneak a peek with a sliver of hope.
“I won’t kill you. My youngest sister-in-law would be sad.”
“...What?”
Before I could even internally protest, an overwhelming strike landed on my stomach.
-Boom!
“Huh?”
It was a boom.
Not a thud or a bang, but a boom.
A colossal roar that resonated not through the ears, but directly through the bones and muscles within my body, hammering my head.
Ah, what did this feeling remind me of?
Ah, right. When that psycho bastard from the Zhuge family ran his mouth again and deployed the emperor’s cannons.
In the midst of the chaotic melee, it reminded me of the cannonball as big as a child’s head that directly hit my stomach.
Back then, it didn’t cause any serious damage, but it exploded directly on my stomach, making me writhe in pain for the first time in a while.
However, although the feeling was similar, the power was not something that could be compared to a mere cannonball.
“Strike... Striking Attack?”
An immense force that accurately struck my stomach without wasting a single bit of power.
The overwhelming force, which refused to let me dissipate the impact as I flew or spread it to the ground, would have burst all my internal organs and shattered my muscles and bones if I hadn’t entered the state of supreme martial arts yesterday.
“Hmph... Your body is sturdy.”
“Ugh... ugh...”
It felt as if the power of a tsunami swallowing a giant ship and an earthquake overturning the land had all condensed and struck directly into my stomach.
I was sinking like a boiling kettle, and the dark blue eyes of the God of the Sea glaring at me were still flickering with anger, but had quite calmed down.
“Unlike the other Greek bastards, you seem to know how to take responsibility.”
Saying that, Poseidon snorted, squatted in front of me, who was wheezing, and said this while making eye contact.
“However, the sin of making the treasure of the sea cry is deep. If you think you can settle it this way, you’re mistaken.”
If his anger earlier was a raging tsunami, now his voice was calm and eerie, like the coastline of a sudden ebb tide foreshadowing a tsunami.
Then came the punishment.
Whenever I tried to recover with divine power or demonic qi, I ended up rolling on the beach, unable to even breathe properly, under the ghostly shadow of a trident.
Was it after roughly three hours of rolling in a trance?
“Wake up.”
“Wake up!”
The slightly calmer voice of the God of the Seaquietly declared the awakening.
Ah, the vivid days of the training ground etched into my soul, even after three reincarnations.
Gritting my teeth to endure the pain in my still-throbbing belly, drenched in sweat, I stood before the mighty God of the Sea.
“You know your sin is very deep and serious, right?”
“Yes, sir!”
“However, considering your devotion to the gods since you were young, and your dedication to the trident-wielding god through your skillful spear techniques... I will give you exactly 30 seconds from now. If you can’t convince me within 30 seconds...”
-Hoo...
Poseidon, fiddling with his trident as if suppressing his anger, soon seemed to make up his mind and stared straight at me.
“I swear by the River Styx, if you fail, no matter how much my youngest sister-in-law cries and makes a fuss later, you will never see Nesneria’s face in your lifetime.”
And with that, my time began.
With those words, I confessed to the god with the most desperate and sincere heart I ever had in all three of my lives.