The King of the Underworld is Tired

"...Persephone, do you know what it means to eat the food of the Underworld?"

"What?! I’m not supposed to eat it? I’m sorry..."

Persephone’s expression quickly turned gloomy.

The Underworld is a world completely different from the living realm, so it has its own set of rules.

These rules are carefully kept in a parchment infused with divine power...

The Laws of the Underworld:

Article 1, Clause 1: Once dead, one cannot come back to life.

Article 1, Clause 2: All the dead must undergo judgment to clear their karma from the living world.

...

...

Article 5, Clause 2, ...

Article 5, Clause 3: Anyone who has eaten the food of the Underworld, even once, must live here.

The case that applies to Persephone... is this Clause 5, Section 3.

It doesn’t mean she can never leave the living realm, but it does mean she must make the Underworld her residence.

Even gods are bound by this law, which is why gods sent temporarily to the Underworld never touch its food.

Neither Athena, Ares, nor Aphrodite ate anything while in the Underworld.

"Well... anyone who eats the food of the Underworld must live here."

"Huh? Is that so? So now I’ll be living with Uncle?"

Since Persephone had been struck by Eros’ golden arrow, she didn’t seem to mind.

But what would Demeter or Zeus think?

Wait a minute... She may be a young goddess who hasn’t even lived for 300 years, but could she really be unaware of the laws of the Underworld? Did she eat it on purpose?

The position of Queen of the Underworld naturally comes with power and authority, and if struck by Eros' golden arrow, Persephone would especially...

"...For now, just follow me. Don’t leave my sight."

"Okay!"

It seems better if I just keep her with me.

* * *

I took her with me as I carried out my duties.

"For losing your chastity and being cast out of Artemis’ followers, leading to your death..."

"...May the god of mercy be glorified... Thank you, Lord Pluto."

While listening to the pleas of the unjustly deceased and racking my brain to deliver fair judgments, Persephone wore a face full of questions.

After finishing the pile of trials, she approached me.

"Uncle Hades, why are you so merciful to humans?"

"Merciful?"

"Yes. It seems like you show mercy even to humans who have insulted or acted arrogantly towards the gods."

Her eyes were filled not with mockery or dissatisfaction, but with pure curiosity.

The kind of thought an innocent young god born under a high divine status, raised without want, might have.

With divine power and authority as formidable as hers, a god’s pride in maintaining the balance of the world and their sense of superiority over humans...

This isn’t just a Persephone issue.

Most gods likely think the same way.

"...You’d do well to rid yourself of that mindset."

"Huh? What?!"

"The Underworld is where mortals meet their end, their final destination. If I were harsh to them, what then?"

"But aren’t we gods to be revered by them? If I simply don’t use my power of spring, humans would..."

Young gods, despite their innocence, possess great power, and because of this, they can sometimes seem capricious and harsh to humans.

Born to be worshiped, with the abilities and lineage to match, Persephone, of all gods, would surely think this way.

Demeter and Zeus sometimes treat humans harshly too... seems like she takes after her parents quite a bit.

"...Just like a goddess who governs one of the seasons."

"But I’m the goddess of spring and seeds..."

"That’s not what I meant. I meant that even your smallest actions could seem like a natural disaster to humans."

As I looked into Persephone’s eyes full of questions, I continued speaking.

I hope what I’ve seen and felt in the Underworld can help you, even a little.

"We gods are not perfect beings. Even Zeus and Athena can make mistakes."

"My father and the goddess of wisdom?"

"There are no perfect gods. So be cautious when using your powers based on a momentary whim or fleeting thought."

"Uncle Hades, one of the three ruling gods... Have you ever had regrets?"

"...More times than I can count."

After living for so many long years, how could I show only a perfect image?

No matter how much I’m called the god of mercy or the just ruler of the Underworld...

"I’ve regretted passing wrong judgments by mistake, and there were times when I was overcome by emotion."

"Oh..."

"When you are enraged, it might seem insignificant that mortals perish as a result of the fallout from your anger..."

"......"

"But remember that for them, it is an unavoidable catastrophe. It is those unjustly killed who come to the Underworld."

Persephone, deep in thought about my words, causes her free-spirited divine power to ripple intensely.

Had she realized her role? Perhaps she was beginning to grasp the responsibility that came with her domain.

"As gods, we must always strive to make the best possible decisions, though we cannot always achieve this."

"...I’ve never heard anything like this from my mother before..."

Persephone quietly murmured while staring at the ground.

At this moment, I could sense her growth, albeit faint.

The once lively and energetic Persephone’s power seemed to calm and settle.

Spring, one of the four seasons, became a little more stable, and the seeds scattered on the earth would grow well.

"I will assign you a temporary residence for now. And I should inform your mother of this..."

"Hades, we’ve got a serious problem! Right now, in the Underworld..."

The goddess Styx burst through the door, rushing towards me.

Could it be another Gigantes attack?

"In the Underworld... the soul of the deceased Chiron has arrived!"

* * *

Chiron.

A centaur, with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse, and a wise sage.

He was skilled in all sorts of arts and possessed great knowledge, but his greatest strength was in teaching.

He was the one responsible for raising many heroes in the living world.

If Chiron had died, it would become much more difficult to raise the hero prophesied to defeat the Gigantes.

"I will meet him immediately. But wasn’t he an immortal being?"

"Yes, but... he was tortured by the Gigantes who suddenly attacked, and he voluntarily gave up his immortality!"

"This is terrible..."

Only a few hundred Gigantes had come targeting Typhon on Mount Etna.

But for them to split their forces and manage to kill Chiron...

Just like when they corrupted Oedipus—could Gaia be targeting the heroes?

Could Gaia have learned of the prophecy we gods know?

No, if she were certain, she would have declared full-scale war by now.

It’s likely she has some inkling that a hero is connected to the Gigantes, but...

Maybe she’s not completely convinced yet?

Luckily, she doesn’t have the ability to see all futures.

Not even Prometheus possesses such a skill...

With Persephone and the goddess Styx, I hurried to meet Chiron.

Yes, niece, you’d better stay where I can see you.

Soon, the transparent figure of Chiron’s soul came into view.

He had really died and come to the Underworld...

"Chiron."

"Lord Hades. It’s been a long time. I regret that we’re meeting under such circumstances."

When I spoke, the centaur lowered his head with a bitter expression.

"I heard the Gigantes tortured you. Rest peacefully here now."

"...I feel guilty, as though I fled to death after failing to properly train the heroes."

"Who could endure torture from monsters that rival gods?"

"Thank you, Lord of the Underworld. They... even killed the students I was teaching..."

Due to Chiron’s widespread fame, his place was always filled with those aspiring to become heroes.

However, when the Gigantes suddenly attacked, countless people were slaughtered.

Chiron and his disciples resisted, but they couldn’t defeat creatures that were each as powerful as lesser gods.

According to him, many of his students were either killed or fled.

"I only learned after coming to the Underworld, but fortunately, Lord Dionysus and Lord Ares descended and drove them out."

"Hmm... while you were in the living realm, Corinth and Athens were also attacked."

"It seems they appeared in many places."

"The Olympian gods descended and killed the Gigantes, but the damage was still severe..."

"Rather than killing ordinary humans, they seemed to focus on destroying temples and severing the connection between mortals and gods. They especially targeted heroes or demigods."

After Chiron finished speaking, Thanatos and the other gods offered additional details.

The Gigantes had attacked human cities, including Corinth and Athens...

"Many heroes were killed in this attack."

"Athena descended in haste, but I hear her temple was partially destroyed."

"What does Olympus think of this incident..."

I motioned for the gods to stop sharing their opinions.

"The goddess of the rainbow will probably descend soon and summon me to Olympus. Until then, we will maintain our usual vigilance."

"Shouldn’t we make some preparations, though?"

"Demeter is with us."

"Ah... the goddess of the earth has the Omphalos Stone, so she must have pinpointed the Gigantes’ base by now!"

Though the Gigantes' last attack succeeded in killing Chiron, it had, in turn, revealed their base to us.

Demeter must have informed Zeus by now, and the other gods are surely monitoring the Gigantes’ hideout.

The Gigantes can no longer launch an attack without being detected by the gods.

All that remains for them is full-scale war or Gaia’s schemes."

* * *

From earlier, Persephone hadn’t interrupted at all, simply watching with sparkling eyes.

At least she wasn't disturbing me while I worked. Did my earlier words affect her state of mind?

The goddess Lethe tilted her head and looked at Persephone before asking, 

“Hades, who is that goddess who's been here for a while now? She doesn’t seem to be a lesser deity…”

“Oh, I’m Persephone!”

I didn’t want to be falsely accused of tricking a goddess into the Underworld, so I’d better explain now.

If you stay quiet, unnecessary misunderstandings tend to arise.

“She’s the daughter of Demeter and Zeus, whom I met near Mount Etna. By the way, she was struck by Eros’ golden arrow and saw me, and she’s also eaten food from the Underworld.”

“Whaaat?!”

“Struck by Eros' golden arrow… Wait, does that mean…”

“Does Demeter know about this?”

“I plan to explain everything directly when I ascend to Olympus soon.”

The expressions of the many gods gathered here changed.

Even if they stared at me, there was nothing I could do. I had to bring her along briefly because I urgently needed to receive reports of the Gigantes' attacks, not only near Mount Etna…

“I’m perfectly fine, even after being hit by the golden arrow!”

“Sure, sure.”

“Ugh... I’m serious! You saved me before I got hit by the arrow, so take responsibility!”

“...What?”

“Hades… why is it that every time you leave, another goddess ends up coming back with you?”

“Before this gets out of hand…”

Everyone quickly glanced at the goddess Styx and the goddess Lethe.

They also noticed Mente, who had arrived late, frozen in the doorway.

As the room fell silent, Persephone suddenly began to tear up and speak.

“Hades, you touched me so gently back then! I don’t care! You have to take responsibility!”

“W-What did you say?”

“Wait, am I getting old and losing my hearing? Should I go see Apollo…?”

“Who touched who?”

“Hades…! What did you do?”

Why is everyone acting like this toward me?

This is a misunderstanding…

Persephone, even though you've grown as a goddess, you still have the lively personality of spring...!

“Niece… You’re saying strange things because I held you by the side and set you down in the chariot when the Gigantes were strangling you…”

“T-That’s the same thing! I want to marry Hades!”

“Hades, did you really only set her down in the chariot without touching her?”

“The issue now isn't the Gigantes! Spill everything…”

“H-Hades… I don’t mind being a concubine, but if there are too many…”

The Underworld has always been chaotic, but lately, it seems even more so. Could this be some kind of curse from Gaia?

“Hades. The rainbow goddess Iris has arrived. She was likely dispatched from Olympus about the Gigantes...”

“...! Bring her in immediately.”

She must have come to summon me to the upcoming meeting at Olympus.

We need to discuss the Gigantes and figure out how to explain things to Demeter.

Amid the chaos of the Underworld, the rainbow goddess Iris arrived.

“I greet the Lord of the Underworl…”

As she entered, Iris stopped speaking and looked around at the situation, her eyes widening.

Seeing her reaction, Moros, the god of inevitable death, spoke nonchalantly.

He had been standing with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall of my office for some time now.

“Oh, Iris, don’t be alarmed. This is just the usual scene in the Underworld.”

“Lord Moros, what exactly is going on here…?”

“It’s really nothing. Just the daughter of Demeter and Zeus who was struck by Eros’ golden arrow, ate food from the Underworld, and is now involved in a quarrel with three goddesses who all like Hades.”

“Wh-Whose daughter did you say?”

The rainbow goddess’s face turned pale, and the seven-colored halo she always radiated dimmed behind her.