Ancient Greek Gods, Mount Olympus.
Temple of Hera, Queen of Heaven,
Inside the temple.
The most noble goddess in the world, Queen Hera, sat on the Queen's throne, with beautiful golden curly hair pouring out from under the crown.
Her amber eyes shining as she looked at the three nymphs and the Hesperides who were guarding the golden apples on her behalf.
From her smile it was clear that she was in a good mood.
Looking at them she said, "Why are you here? I was just about to go look for you."
Hearing this, the three beautiful nymph fairies couldn't help but be stunned.
Did she know everything?
But it doesn't look like that,
After all, she's obviously smiling so happily!
"I'm going to hold a grand celebration in a few days. Go pick some golden apples this time and send them to the gods...well, send one to Athena as well, so she won't say I'm stingy behind my back."
Hera said this with a smile on her face,
And at this moment, she looked very proud.
Because giving the golden apple to Athena was not out of kindness, but was intended to deliberately make her angry.
Now, after receiving Promise's painting and making a vow with him, Hera believed that her relationship with the boy was unbreakable.
And now, Athena and the others no longer have any chance!
Therefore, towards this "mistress" who was eager to get promoted, Hera felt that as a noble and kind person, she should show the magnanimity of a "principal wife".
When the three nymphs heard this, they looked at Hera who was in a very good mood, and then looked at each other, their expressions suddenly becoming very wonderful.
Then, they were crying; pushing and pulling each other, and no one dared to stand up for a while.
"Hera, why are you suddenly in such a good mood? You are planning to hold a celebration and distribute golden apples to everyone?"
At this moment, Hestia, the eldest sister with pink hair and purple eyes, walked in and said to Hera in front of her with a smile.
Seeing Hestia coming, the latter stood up from the throne, came to her, took her hand, smiled happily and said: "Sister, didn't you see everything that night? The child's painting, now don't we still need Zeus and Ares?"
Hestia heard this and asked Hera curiously, "But I remember, isn't this the promise between you and that daughter of yours?"
"But it's also that child's wish," Hera replied. "He wants to become a great hero, and this is an unprecedented feat. As his goddess, how could I not help him?"
"Moreover, he has already completed half of it.
You must also be looking forward to seeing him collect all the paintings, right, sister?"
Seeing Hera winking at her, Hestia couldn't help but laugh and said, "I understand, you're asking me to quickly give him the painting, right?
Actually, I don't resist this, but so far, every one of his paintings has been so special and beautiful.
It can't possibly fall short when it's with me, can it?"
Hestia recalled the six paintings she saw that night and finally understood why Athena and Demeter had been competing with Hera.
Even Zeus had been ignored by Hera during this time.
Hera thought for a moment and realized this was true.
She had always been envious and anticipated Promise painting for her, even suppressing Artemis and Demeter's paintings until the other night when it all burst out.
Thus, the current situation is that none of the twelve Olympian gods reject the boy.
Instead, they are all eagerly awaiting his arrival.
But the gods' expectations are not easy to satisfy.
"Hmm, why haven't you left yet?"
Hera, pondering these thoughts, suddenly noticed the three nymphs hadn't left and couldn't help but ask in confusion, "Didn't I ask you to pick the golden apples for the upcoming banquet?"
Looking at their expressions after hearing Hera's words, Hestia also blinked her violet eyes curiously at them, as she had already sensed something was off with their emotions.
At this moment, the three nymphs who had been listening all along felt like the maid who had been constantly worried about being discovered.
No, they were even more scared.
Under the gaze of Hera and Hestia, they couldn't withstand the pressure and started crying.
As they cried, they despairingly and intermittently explained the situation with the golden apples.
Hercules hadn't lied to Promise and Chiron.
He did cut off only a small part, so the golden apple tree was still alive.
But as for the golden apples on the tree...
"Who did it?!" Now aware of what happened, Hera's once gentle eyes were filled with uncontrollable rage, and the entire temple shook with her anger.
Faced with Hera's questioning, the three nymphs cried even harder because they truly didn't know who did it.
They suddenly felt very tired that day and fell asleep.
When they woke up, the golden apple tree had been stripped bare.
Not only them, but even the hundred-headed dragon Ladon had fallen asleep at that time.
Hearing this and looking at the useless three nymphs, Hera, in her rage, was about to give them the harshest punishment by throwing them into the abyss of Tartarus in the Underworld, a place for imprisoning gods and punishing those who committed eternal sins.
"Hera, let them leave first," Hestia, who had been listening thoughtfully, said with a smile to Hera, who frowned at her. "I think I know who did it. If it's truly them, these three did not commit a major mistake."
Although Hera was puzzled, seeing Hestia's confident look, she suppressed her anger and let them leave first.
After they left, crying with relief, she asked with a dark expression, "Who?"
"If I guessed correctly, it should be Athena and Hermes. As for the reason..." Hestia saw Hera's bewildered then suddenly enlightened expression and covered her mouth, chuckling without continuing.
Hera had banned the gods from giving golden apples to Athena.
Athena must have found someone and ended up at Hestia's place.
Hestia still remembered Athena's anxious appearance.
If not for this, Hestia might not have gone to meet Promise.
As for Hermes, he had a history of mischief.
He once stole Apollo's cattle for fun and got a severe beating for it.
Moreover, knocking out the nymphs and even the hundred-headed monster Ladon, could only be done by Hermes with his caduceus.
Recalling what Promise said when he left Hephaestus's temple, Athena and Hermes knew his situation all along but deliberately didn't tell Hera and only returned that night...
Hera's face turned completely dark.
She wasn't stupid and understood that this wasn't a guess but the truth!
She then turned to leave the temple, but Hestia quickly stopped her.
"Hey, Hera, where are you going?"
"Of course, to settle the score with them!" Hera said furiously, her voice echoing through the temple, causing many gods outside to look up curiously.
They speculated that Zeus might have been caught cheating again by Hera.
"It's useless, Hera. Think about it, so many days have passed. They must have already hidden. And..."
Hestia didn't immediately continue.
After all, Hermes was easy to deal with, but Athena?
Even if you caught her, what could you do?
In terms of wisdom, she was the first among the gods.
In terms of combat, she was second only to Zeus.
Although Hera's son Ares was the god of war of Olympus.
According to mythology, this war god had been beaten by Athena so badly that he didn't even have the chance to fight back...
So, after thinking it over, Hestia continued, "And Hera, do you think Athena would act personally and let you catch her? I estimate she didn't act directly but had someone else do it."
Although Hera was almost exploding with rage, she strangely calmed down.
Mainly, because she had to deal with Zeus's infidelity and had often been angered by Athena and the other goddesses due to Promise throughout the year.
Over time, Hera had gained experience.
So, she understood Hestia was right.
It wasn't about whether she could catch Athena.
After all, even if she did, it wouldn't help.
"Do you mean to let her go? No, this time, I must teach her a lesson!" Hera said excitedly.
Stealing the golden apple tree was one thing.
But what was Athena's reason for stealing the golden apples?
It couldn't be for herself, right?
'Oh my god, she was targeting my believer, holding on and not letting go, right?'
Moreover, Hera realized something else: those two unreliable fellows, Athena and Hermes, had stripped the golden apple tree bare.
Now, what would she do?
She had just run out of golden apples!
Hestia blinked, understanding from her experience with Hephaestus and the paintings that night, the true reason for Hera's anger.
Neither Athena nor Hera cared about the golden apples but about Promise!
Hestia found this very amusing.
She even thought Zeus should be called back to see this wonderful scene.
He would probably be bewildered.
After all, Hera's current attitude was no different from catching a mistress, only now she was catching her believer's mistress, and the mistress was the goddess Athena!
"Well... how about this, sister, I'll help you capture Hermes," Hestia thought for a moment and then smiled. "If we plan to deal with Athena, we at least need to know what's going on, and we need Hermes to help us."
All the gods knew that Athena was the smartest, and Hermes was the most cunning.
Hearing this, if it were any other time, Hera should have been very happy, after all, she had a reliable helper, however now, she was stunned instead.
Looking at the beautiful smiling Hestia before her, she couldn't help but swallow.
If you only look at appearances, Hestia undoubtedly seemed like a very gentle goddess, just like the agricultural goddess Demeter.
Moreover, Hestia's proud figure and natural charm made her even more noticeable than Demeter.
Therefore, whether on Olympus or among humans, she was highly adored.
Even in the chaotic ancient Greek mythology, there were no scandalous stories about this goddess, and only praises.
But what kind of goddess their eldest sister really was, if others didn't know, didn't they, as her siblings, understand?
Why were there no scandals about her in mythology?
Why hadn't any of those old Greek perverts ever touched Hestia?
Because they didn't dare!
Hera had no doubt that if Hestia said she could capture Hermes, then even if Hermes hid at the ends of the earth, their eldest sister would definitely capture him.
"Sister, you... plan to help me, right?" Hera asked uncertainly, blinking at Hestia, who immediately put on a very hurt look and grabbed the fleeing Hera.
With a bright smile and a sad tone, she said, "My dear sister, what are you talking about? Of course, I'm on your side. How could I not help you when they bully you like this?"
It sounded reasonable, but if you think about it, aren't you also the aunt of Athena and Hermes?
Hera suddenly felt like she was making a wrong decision.
But thinking about what Athena and Hermes did, she got so angry that her chest felt tight, so she gritted her teeth and said, "Alright! I believe you, sister. This time we must teach Athena a lesson!"
"Great!" Hestia replied happily.
Let's make a big deal out of this!
"But sister, if Hermes really hides, I might not be able to find him, so I'd like to borrow someone from you."
Just as Hera had made up her mind, she saw Hestia's smile become even more radiant, and a bad feeling crept into her heart.
"Who do you want to borrow?"
"Of course, your lovely little believer, Promise~~"
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