The Little Golden Mouth

If there's one thing that makes Hermes most feared, it isn't his favor with Zeus, but his mouth.

Once, when Apollo and Hermes first met.

At that time, Hermes was still a little brat who stole a herd of sacred cows that Apollo had been raising and immediately roasted them.

When Apollo tracked him down, Hermes not only denied it but smiled and said to Apollo, "You can't come any closer to me, or else the tree will bear fruit."

It was early spring, and it wasn't the harvest season for crops, so Apollo scoffed at those words.

However, just as he was about to catch Hermes and bring him to Zeus, the tree, which hadn't yet grown leaves, suddenly bore countless fruits, and they began falling, hitting Apollo on the head.

Although such an attack wasn't painful for the gods, Apollo was more astonished by Hermes' mouth.

"With you saying that, I feel like this matter is already half-succeeded."

With a very warm smile, Hermes took the reward and was then politely escorted out of the temple by Apollo.

It was clear that, while Apollo was very pleased with Hermes helping him in a critical moment, he also feared Hermes' mouth.

To avoid any more complications, the best course of action was to quickly get Hermes out of there.

"Is this what you call using someone and then tossing them aside?"

With a smile, Hermes teased while playing with the golden lily. After sensing the power contained within it, he left with no hesitation.

Apollo was not like those minor gods; as the son of Zeus and the shining star of Olympus, the embodiment of light, Apollo's actions were always grand.

Just like now, even though their transaction hadn't begun yet, Apollo had already paid Hermes in advance.

The golden lily not only contained the divine power Apollo had promised but also held control over the Tarslo Mountains.

"The power of the Earth God, Crys, is really something to look forward to."

Although this Titan god had perished long ago, and his powers should have been reclaimed by the Earth Mother, Gaia, in Hermes' calculations, some of Crys' power should still be lingering.

If he could absorb this portion of divine power, Hermes might be able to rise from being a low-tier god to a mid-tier one!

Just the thought of this made Hermes let out a light chuckle.

After all, compared to the actual benefits he could gain, Apollo's disdainful words didn't really bother him.

Looking at the dazzling golden lily in his hand, Hermes didn't hesitate and swallowed it.

Mmm, it didn't taste very good…

But the divine power contained within was quite nice—rich with the essence of light and very warm, just like Apollo's usual demeanor.

Wiping the petals left on his lips, Hermes couldn't help but feel a little helpless about his own mouth.

As the old saying goes in the East: "What made you successful can also bring your downfall."

It was through his mouth that he gained the divine office of transactions, and it was also because of this very mouth that the gods feared him.

But Hermes knew deep down that while the gods feared him, it was more out of wariness than an actual fear of his power.

As a traveler between worlds, Hermes felt that the biggest difference between himself and the gods in myth was his mouth.

Anything that came out of his mouth had a certain chance of becoming reality.

This could almost be described as an enhanced and uncertain "Wishcraft"!

He'd say it would rain, and even on a clear, sunny day, clouds would gather immediately.

At first, many thought this was due to the power of Zeus, the father of the gods.

But it was proven that even Zeus, while controlling the weather, had been tricked by his own son.

However, whether it was a backlash or because he was too weak, it seemed that whatever Hermes said, good things turned into bad outcomes, and if it was bad, it usually turned worse.

Also, this power wasn't easy to use. From what he had experienced, Hermes' "word magic" could only manifest with high probability when he was in a life-threatening situation. Otherwise, it seemed he had to wait for fate's favor.

In other words, it didn't work consistently; sometimes, its low probability was maddening.

Because he couldn't guarantee success every time, Hermes didn't consider this power as a reliable shield.

Similarly, Zeus was very doubtful about this power.

After all, such an unpredictable force, even the King of the Gods couldn't resist it—it was too strange!

Zeus, a god of great ambition, didn't even hesitate to bring Hermes to the Underworld to ask his old lover, the Goddess of Justice Themis, for help.

As a goddess who governed the laws of justice, Themis was always upright and was also one of the few gods who could see the true origin of things.

Ever since her fallout with Zeus, Themis and other ancient Titan goddesses, such as the Goddess of Memory, Mnemosyne, had taken residence in the Underworld. Since they lived near each other, Themis also had a good relationship with the Fates.

When Themis saw Hermes brought by Zeus, she merely glanced at him and immediately concluded the origin of his power.

"That mouth has the ability to pronounce the randomness of fate."

This was Themis' assessment of Hermes' power, and it inadvertently elevated him to a very high status.

After all, it was widely known that in Greek mythology, the goddess Nyx, the primordial goddess of the night, and her family had always controlled fate.

Hermes, as the son of Zeus, belonged to the Gaia family, and even his mother had no relation to Nyx.

So, everyone found it quite strange that Hermes had the ability to influence the randomness of fate.

It was strange, indeed, but after hearing Themis' words, no one was surprised that Zeus had started to treat Hermes with even more favor than before.

"Never mind, never mind, it's better to focus on consolidating my divine office in commerce than to ponder the unfathomable nature of fate."

Walking down the steps of Mount Olympus, Hermes, before heading back to his temple to refine the divine power in the golden lily, suddenly decided he should visit his mother.

The Rain Goddess Maia, though gentle like a small white flower, was very loving toward her son, despite her lack of power.

In Olympus, there was a custom of respecting mothers, and this was reflected in the cases of several of the great goddesses.

For this reason, Hermes was quite filial to his mother, as long as she didn't cause any trouble.

Otherwise, Hermes wouldn't hesitate to distance himself for a while.

After all, when they first arrived at Mount Olympus, Maia, due to Zeus' favor, had become somewhat arrogant. She dared to openly confront Hera, which indirectly caused trouble for Hermes.

For a few days, even from a distance, Hermes could feel the cold killing intent from Ares, the God of War, whenever he faced him.

This was clearly because his mother, in her ignorance and courage, had angered Hera, which led to her son's immense displeasure.

With these thoughts in mind, Hermes had planned to visit Maia.

But just as he reached the bottom of the steps, he ran into a burly man.

"Hermes?"

The man hesitated before calling his name. When he saw Hermes' face, he immediately wore a proud expression. "So it's really Hermes. What, are you going to run errands for father again?"

It seemed that his word magic had indeed been triggered.

Looking at the man, who seemed to be looking for flaws in an egg, Hermes smirked and replied, "Long time no see, Ares."

Yes, the man standing before him was Ares, the God of War, the first son of Hera and Zeus.

As the god of war, Ares had always looked down on Hermes, whom he saw as a weakling with no real strength.

Unlike Hermes, who was often seen as a weak god with no physical prowess, Ares preferred powerful, formidable beings.

This preference had led to Ares' attendants mostly being muscular women.

"Not running errands for father. And I think Ares, brother, you've misunderstood my divine role. I am the messenger of the gods, true, but that doesn't include running errands for them."

With a smile, Hermes slowly continued, "Of course, out of brotherly love, if one day you can't move in the temple, I'd be happy to help you run some errands. Even if I can't do it myself, I can always ask Poseidon, after all, the horses pulling your chariot were a gift from him, right?"

If Ares couldn't hear the sarcasm in Hermes' words, he truly was a fool.

"You weakling, hiding behind Zeus and begging for his protection!"

A red glow flashed in Ares' eyes, but he kept warning himself not to lash out. If he did, it would be hard to explain to Zeus.

"Well, that's my skill. After all, I don't want to be like my brother, always fighting. That might end up with father getting fed up with me."

Smiling broadly at Ares, Hermes silently scoffed.

This was his way of retaliating. If Ares wanted to act tough, he could do so. But in the end, Hermes was in a better position, with Zeus' favor and a clever mind.

In the family of gods, even the mighty Ares had his own difficulties. He was just too strong, and Zeus feared him.

As the prophecy of Prometheus had predicted, Ares' power could one day overthrow Zeus' throne. This fear had made Zeus careful with Ares.

So between Ares, the strong god, and Hermes, the seemingly weak one, who would Zeus favor?

The answer was clear.