[ I'M JUST A HUMAN ]

「 4 - Zeus's 1039th breakup 」

I woke up with a loud bang ringing in my ears. Outside was still dark so I wondered if it's morning already. The rain was very heavy with a few loud thunder strikes nearby.

"Mmn," Ren grumbled.

I immediately backed away to the head of the bed. That's right, Ren decided to rest next to me yesterday while trying his best to comfort me. I hope I didn't squash him while sleeping.

"Good morning," he yawned.

"Good morning," I replied.

He stretched his cat body and jumped out of bed. He then opened the bedroom door. The small opening was enough to reveal a good smell from outside. I went to the bathroom and washed my face.

"Do you have any new toothbrush I can use?" I shouted.

No reply. I guess they don't. Well, it's not like the end of the world not brushing your teeth. Though, it does feel disgusting. I walked my way to the kitchen. Hades was cooking and Igneous was getting ready.

"Oh! Mornin Ki!" Igneous gave a wide and cheerful smile.

"What's with those clothes?"

"It's my uniform. I have school today. If anything fun happens today, I'll tell you ALL about it!"

"Goodluck."

He made his way to the table. With a mouth full of food, he left.

"Bye!" He waved.

"Careful! Don't run!" Hades shouted.

Igneous opened his umbrella and closed the door behind him. It felt a little quiet without his presence. It has only been a minute but the table was filled with awkward silence. I chomped on the green dough. It tasted extremely good, as expected of Hades. Similar to a pancake with blueberries.

"I wonder if Igneous will be okay…."

"You worry about your son too much. Knowing him, he should be fine," Ren said.

"He's not my son."

"Consider yourself a dad. Especially the way you treat him," Ren snickered.

Hades shut his mouth. There was no way he could refute it. He knows how special he treats Igneous and how much he cares for him. I truly envied.

"The rain is quite heavy today, isn't it?" Ren worryingly said.

"Must be that old man. I won't be surprised if it's about his love life."

Suddenly, a loud thunder struck near the cabin. It almost burned down a tree but the heavy rain immediately put it out.

"Knew it."

"Again?"

"He'll be here soon."

Hades sighed. I just listened to the conversation knowing nothing about what they were talking about.

Knock knock

Since I finished the meal first, I got to the door to open it.

The lightning shone a certain tall figure. He was taller and more muscular than Hades.

"H-hello?" I stuttered.

"BROTHERRRRRR WILL YOU HELP ME."

The tall figure came running in and hugged Hades. He wailed to Hades, begging Hades to help him. His crying was unbearable to hear, like a baby's.

Hades showed an unwavered expression. Maybe a little annoyed.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"There, there," Hades patted his back.

"UUWAAAAAAAAAAAA," he cried louder.

"I thought you and Neptune were meant to be. What happened?"

"She said I was too nice and too good for her…."

Hades gave a more annoyed look behind his back. I could hear Ren chuckling quietly.

"I just proposed to her and she rejected me."

"That must be tough."

"What do I do…. I feel helpless."

"How about we take a walk. Take a breath of fresh air and think this through."

"Will that really stop my heartache?"

"Nothing wrong with sightseeing right?"

Ren nodded. He hugged Hades tightly.

"P-please…. Let go…." Hades gasped.

"Oh. Sorry."

"Is this your first break up?" I asked. Curiosity got the best of me. He cried way too much for a breakup, not that I've been there.

"Although it's my 1039th, this is my longest relationship I have had. We were together for 10 years."

"That is a long time…."

"Don't be fooled. 10 years is like 10 days for us immortals," Hades exclaimed.

I nodded. I never experienced it so I really don't know what to say.

"Well, let's get ready. I also have to buy groceries…." He mumbled to himself.

Hades went into the storage- I mean, bedroom to get changed. After a few seconds, what came out was a completely different person.

"You're short!" I noticed.

"It's a disguise. No mere mortal is as tall as I am."

His hair was suddenly brushed to the side. His stubble was gone and he wasn't wearing some shabby clothing.

He does know how to keep his appearances. I guess he doesn't want to taint the gods name.

Yes, I have soon accepted he was indeed a god. Although I haven't seen his full powers.

"Who is this handsome man," he pointed at me. "I'm sure you got some fine ladies flocking to you, how about you show me some~"

What the hell. He was crying over a breakup just seconds ago.

His head was smacked by Hades.

"Zeus, meet Ki." He introduced him to me. "Ki, this is Zeus. Please don't mind his…. Questionable taste and personality."

"I won't," I shook my head.

We went down the hill following the given stone path. It was steep but we were careful enough not to fall. Ren was on my shoulder the whole time. I didn't mind as he was very light.

We arrived in the bustling town. Filled with humans and other creatures with each unique taste, but most of them wore old style clothing. I felt like an outcast with my simple button up shirt and shorts from Igneous. I won't complain as all eyes were on Zeus.

He went out in his god form….

All the girls stared at him in awe while blushing crazily. They whispered to each other and gave small chuckles.

"Stay close. It's crowded in the market," Hades grabbed my hand.

"I'm not a kid."

But I was pulled into the crowds with them.

The smell of fish and meat stung my nose. It was awful, I wanted to throw up right there. Ren noticed my disgusted expression and decided we would rest somewhere near.

"I'll see you later then."

We waved Hades goodbye and picked a sitting spot a little far away from the smelly market.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes."

My stomach rumbled in an unpleasant way. I felt like something was going up from my stomach and started to drool. I covered my mouth while searching for somewhere to let it out.

"There's a drain here."

Bleerrgghhhh

It was incredibly unpleasant. Ren covered his nose with one paw and patted my back with the other.

We sat back on the wooden bench. I layed on my side trying my best to stay awake.

"Hang in there. Hades should be finished by now," Ren patted me on the head.

Suddenly, a bunch of scrawny looking men asked us.

"Have you seen a white haired boy elf around here?" They asked nicely.

"No," Ren replied.

With no hesitation, they scurried into an alleyway.

"Who was that."

"Probably a bunch of thieves. I don't really want to get involved."

I agreed.

I got up. My nausea seems to have calmed down. Ren was still worried about me and told me to rest more.

"If I don't push myself, it'll be worse."

"I'm going to get some medicine from a nearby shop," he sighed.

He ran up to a shop right across the street. I sighed and almost teared up.

Why am I here…

Suddenly, a white haired boy approached me with a scared face.

"Mister, please help me! I can feel you're a kind hearted person! A bunch of poachers are trying to capture me!" He begged on his knees.

Eh?

The 'thieves' who asked before came out from the alleyway. Without a second thought, I grabbed his hands and we ran. Where were we going, I don't know. For some reason, I had to keep this boy safe. We continued until we ran into a wall.

"Shit! We're cornered!" That boy clicked his tongue.

We turned back and the thieves were just meters away from us.

"Don't you dare run away this time! We'll take that man with us too."

They were most definitely referring to me. I was barely able to breathe and my lungs hurt so bad. Even the boy was gasping for air.

The boy got into a stance and whipped out a sword from thin air. His swings were swift and were able to injure the thieves. While he fought with them, I tried to find our way out.

Then came more from above the buildings and in front of us. They jumped at us with magic. His cuts were precise but we were outnumbered.

I was pinned down on the ground while the boy struggled out of his cuffs.

"I'm sorry!"

Apologising was the only way I could think of. I felt helpless and weak.

Fuck! Why am I so stupid?

"Hang on there Ki!"

A familiar voice shouted from a distance. Igneous came crashing down with his fiery whip. A blonde woman followed him and shot out white beams at every thief. Igneous whip was able to engulf each one of them without burning the buildings. The whip wrapped around their bodies leaving tons of burn marks.

"Sorry I'm late!"

A girl with ball-joints skipped down from the top of the building. She carried a large axe and swung through all the thieves and chopped off their heads. Blood splattered everywhere and tainted everyone in red.

"Aaaghhh! PANDORA! Can't you be more gentle?" The blonde woman closed her eyes.

"You killed them! Who will take responsibility now?"

"Let's just… RUN!" She sprung to the skies and landed on top of a building.

The woman gave a foul look. A carriage appeared and we were dragged in.

What- what happened?

It happened so fast I couldn't even comprehend what I just saw.

"Ki. Are you alright?" Igneous asked

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. I think so," I snapped back to reality. "What happened to the boy?!"

"I'm fine."

"I'm glad. I am very sorry I wasn't able to help you," I sighed in relief.

"It's alright. Thank you for accepting my begging anyway. I begged a lot but no one batted an eye."

"I'm sorry," Igneous said.

Everyone in the carriage was tired. All of us were covered in dirt and blood. But at least, we're safe now. Once I get back to the cabin, I'll immediately go to bed and sleep.

I wonder how Ren and Hades are doing? I'll just hope I don't worry them too much.

.

To be continued….