The Queen of Heaven is worried about the hero

"Athena! What exactly have you done?"

On Mount Olympus, Hera arrived at Athena's temple with a face full of fury. The powerful aura of the Queen of Heaven radiated from her entire being as she angrily interrogated the Goddess of Wisdom.

If the Goddess of Wisdom did not provide a reasonable explanation, Hera would tear down Athena's temple immediately.

Upon hearing this, Athena smiled and said, "Do not worry, Queen of Heaven. Thaumas is fine. As for Hermes, if you do not put him down soon, he really will be in trouble."

Hearing this, Hera finally remembered the wretched thing in her hand. She flicked her wrist, tossing Hermes onto the ground at will, causing him to howl in pain.

Bruised and battered, Hermes sat up resentfully, rubbing his hands and feet, which were red and swollen from being lashed by Hera's "Whip of the Queen of Heaven."

He then protested, "You clearly said you would stop hitting me if I confessed! How could you do this? You lied, Queen of Heaven!"

With a "crack," Hermes received another lashing from the Queen of Heaven.

He didn't even dare to cry out in pain anymore.

But at this moment, Athena smiled with a dark expression: "Oh~ so it was Hermes! Long time no see. I'll have a chat with you later."

Oh no! She wants to beat me, doesn't she? She definitely wants to beat me!

I'm doomed. My teammate knows I sold him out!

Thinking of how Athena also held authority over war—and the side of victory at that—Hermes felt his future turn pitch black.

However, neither Athena nor the Queen of Heaven paid him any further attention; Hermes was not worth their concern.

"Athena, tell me. You knew full well that Thaumas is my most loyal believer and my most cherished child. Since that is the case, why did you send him to Hephaestus? What exactly is your intention?" the Queen of Heaven asked angrily, suppressing the surging irritation in her heart.

Then, Hera vented her unplaceable rage on Hermes, raising her whip to lash him fiercely once more.

"Ah—! Athena, save me! Ah----!"

Wait, no? You two are arguing, what does that have to do with Hermes?

Besides, isn't it you, Hera, who goes around boasting to all the gods every day about having a proud child?

If Hephaestus, who has long been away from the holy mountain, knows about this, isn't that your own fault, Hera?

Why are you taking it out on him! He was just a guide, at most he played a tiny part...

Athena watched Hera quietly, embodying the grace of the Goddess of Wisdom. She was completely unfazed, ignoring Hermes on the ground, and spoke:

"Queen of Heaven, what are you talking about? Wasn't this what we agreed upon from the start? Thaumas is to be a hero, and since he is a hero, he must accept the trials that come with it. He is currently undergoing the trials of the God of Fire, and even Father has permitted this."

"Zeus? Even so, I will not allow Hephaestus to bully my child! My poor Thaumas, he must be starving, poorly clothed, and living in fear day and night, praying for me—the deity he believes in—to save him!" the Queen of Heaven said with feigned compassion.

"If that is the case, Queen of Heaven, you can go fetch him yourself," Athena said with a sudden, cunning tone.

"You—you know full well I will not see Hephaestus!" Hera was so angry she laughed. If she dared to see Hephaestus, would she have come to pressure Athena?

To put it bluntly, Hera's goal was to have Athena step in and help her bring Thaumas back.

Anger flared in her heart again, and she lashed out at Hermes with her whip once more.

"Ah—" It was hard to imagine what this young man would become after enduring such devastation.

"Then, my respected Queen of Heaven, I am afraid I cannot help you. Hephaestus has declared that he will not see any god, including you. However, if it were you, I imagine he would care quite a bit. Perhaps then he might let Thaumas go," Athena said with a hint of feigned regret.

This naive Queen of Heaven was actually very easy to manipulate; even though she looked like a venomous snake, she was nothing more than that.

The Goddess of Wisdom held the winning hand; she was going to be victorious once again.

"Ah—!"

Helpless, Hera said nothing, gave Hermes one last vicious lash, and departed directly.

After Hera had gone, Hermes breathed a sigh of relief and quietly stood up, intending to sneak away.

However, a slender, fair hand grabbed his shoulder, and a demonic whisper followed:

"Where are you going, Hermes? I recall saying that I wanted to have a good chat with you."

"No, please, don't, Goddess of Wisdom, I've already suffered enough..."

Hermes felt like crying without tears; why was he so unlucky today?

Then, "Ah—"

It seemed today was destined to be an unforgettable day for this young man.

Inside the temple of Hephaestus, Thaumas, whom the Queen of Heaven Hera worried was "not eating or dressing well," was leisurely sunbathing, enjoying the service of a doll maid.

"Lord Thaumas, how is this level? Is it alright? Should I increase the pressure?"

The little maid massaged Thaumas with all her heart and soul, then asked earnestly.

After all, as a product of god-forged technology, her strength was immense, and Thaumas, who had not yet become "invulnerable," was merely a mortal.

If she used too much force and crushed him to death, she would surely be dismantled by Lord Hephaestus, wouldn't she? She couldn't afford to be anything but careful.

Thaumas had said it long ago: sooner or later, he would teach this little maid a harsh lesson. Day after day, her attitude was just so terrible!

As for why he could be so leisurely right now?

That went back to what happened a few days ago, when Hephaestus had him learn how to forge divine artifacts.

As it turned out, after trying his hand at it a few times, he was already able to forge something "usable."

Even he was surprised at the time; he hadn't expected that besides music, he also had a talent for forging.

This had left Hephaestus exceptionally astonished, so she assigned the little maid to take care of him.

Then, she hid herself inside the forge to begin refining the Golden Bracelet of Hera, and she hadn't come out since.

Therefore, "Add a little more pressure, but don't go too hard! Also, the food today needs to be different; I have quite a few insights into culinary arts myself. If I find out you're slacking, I'll tell Goddess Hephaestus that you're incompetent!" Thaumas threatened.

"Ye-yes! I understand!" the little maid said hurriedly. Looking at this "villain" before her, she felt helpless.

Master Hephaestus had only told her to take care of him and then never came out again.

This guy kept using that to threaten her. Oh, heavens!

If he were to do that kind of thing, what should she do?

Master, are you almost done? I miss you!

Compared to the fear and trepidation of being with you, Master, I hate this guy's nasty character even more!

Someone, please save her!