King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 18

After the Typhonomachy – (2)

Crossing Iris’s rainbow bridge, I teleported to Olympus.

It’s been a while since I felt the sensation of stepping on soft yet firm clouds.

In this world of white clouds, the Olympus Divine Palace was visible in the distance.

It appeared to be made of white marble, but it was actually constructed from metal forged by Hephaestus and the Cyclopes.

The massive shrine, no, the Divine Palace, seemed to reach the Milky Way above…

“Why is it so intact?”

Surely, Typhon should have destroyed more than half of it, leaving it in a miserable state.

Iris sighed and answered my mumbling.

“Lord Zeus ordered Hephaestus and others to focus all their efforts on the rapid reconstruction of the Divine Palace.”

A brave warrior who summoned flames against Typhon,

And Hephaestus, the best blacksmith in Olympus, seemed to be working tirelessly to rebuild it.

Iris’s complexion wasn’t good either… Right, she’d suffered a bit too.

I cast a sympathetic glance at the goddess of the rainbow and walked towards the gate of the Olympus Divine Palace.

Clearly more splendid than the gate of the underworld where I live.

Pillars covered in gold, engraved with dragon and lightning patterns, and handles made of strangely glowing metal.

A faint stream of starlight, the Milky Way, flowed from a short distance from the gate.

“Ah, that decoration was devised by Apollo and Hephaestus after much deliberation…”

I stared at it for a moment, thinking it was made by a god with excellent aesthetic sense, and Iris began to explain.

But since I was about to go in soon, I listened casually and opened the door.

Sreuk-

The floor of the Olympus Divine Palace is made of clouds.

Therefore, the door opened smoothly without any unpleasant creaking sounds.

The banquet of Olympus, where countless gods and servants come and go.

Several splendid tables and chairs were placed, and ambrosia, the food of the gods, was served on plates for easy consumption.

“Black hair, black eyes, and this chilling aura…”

“The master of the underworld has really come to Olympus…”

“I heard that Zeus invited him…”

Ignoring the whispering lower gods and servants, I looked around.

Ddiriring~ Ddiring~

“Wow…”

“Shh..! I can’t hear the music well.”

The figure of Apollo, the god of music, putting down a golden glass of nectar next to him and playing the lyre, caught my eye first.

And the goddesses and female servants around him were admiring the music with completely captivated faces.

“Here, pour some nectar.”

“Yes! I understand!”

When the gods held out their glasses, those wearing easy-to-move chitons [a type of tunic] ran busily over the clouds, pouring bottles of nectar.

They are the servants of Hebe, the goddess of youth who manages nectar and ambrosia.

The daughter of Zeus and Hera is busy directing her servants at every banquet of the gods.

“Hebe.”

“Ah! Lord Hades, you’ve arrived!”

She bows with a refreshing smile.

After exchanging pleasantries with my niece, whom I haven’t seen in a long time, I also picked up a golden glass nearby.

No, I was about to pick it up. If the sea god with blue hair hadn’t reached out first.

“Yo, Hades. I actually thought you wouldn’t come to Olympus.”

“Poseidon.”

The sea god who rules the sea smiled and poured the nectar into his mouth in one gulp.

In his other hand, he held the Triaina [Trident] he was so proud of.

“Um… What do you think of the Olympus banquet?”

“It’s just a typical banquet, is there any problem?”

Poseidon picked up the ambrosia on the plate and said to me.

[Could you come to the banquet held in my palace next time? There’s a story that’s hard to tell here…]

The second-in-command of Olympus looked around, then quietly sent a message with a slightly hardened expression,

I nodded slightly.

[I’ll send my subordinates to the entrance of the underworld later.]

[I don’t mind.]

Yes, the reason I bothered to come to the banquet was because of this kind of thing.

If you stay in a place where the gods gather for a while, you’re bound to hear all sorts of news, secrets I don’t know, and shady stories.

As the king of the underworld, I can’t just close my eyes and ears.

After making an appointment with Poseidon, we had a casual conversation and naturally moved in different directions.

I felt the surrounding gaze briefly gather and scatter as the two main gods who rule the sea and the underworld gathered.

Zeus, who hosted this banquet, seemed to be planning to appear a little later.

When he thinks enough gods have gathered, he will appear in the middle, raise his glass, and set the mood.

* * *

“Hades. I didn’t think you would come.”

“What’s wrong with me coming to Olympus?”

Hair that resembles the color of well-ripened grain, a mixture of light brown and yellow.

A splendid appearance and an expressionless face that doesn’t match it, Demeter, one of the twelve gods of Olympus and the goddess of the earth.

She was drinking nectar and looking down at the earth visible through the clouds.

“You’re always busy ruling the underworld, so I naturally thought you wouldn’t come.”

“It’s not like I’m always immersed in work.”

Even if she looks at me with a face that doesn’t believe it, it’s true.

In fact, it’s safe to say that I’m neglecting my work and resting right now.

She turns her head again and looks at the lower world.

The lower world seen from the Divine Palace on Mount Olympus is the same scenery as usual… No, it wasn’t.

“Are those working on Mount Olympus, which has half disappeared over there, your subordinates?”

“I just gave the lower gods and nymphs a small job.”

Well, making Mount Olympus, which Typhon smashed, back to its original state doesn’t seem like a small job.

In fact, aren’t those nymphs there with complaining faces…

I listened for a moment to what those working in the lower world were saying.

“Heo… How long do we have to do this…”

“It’s what Demeter ordered, if we do it carelessly, our main bodies will dry up!”

“I… I’m also a Dryad, so I can’t make Demeter angry!”

Dryads are fairies (nymphs) who live in trees.

Their lifespan is long, but they are not immortal like gods, and they cannot move far from their tree.

So they have no choice but to do this heavy labor because of Demeter’s words.

If you don’t want to dry up and die overnight, you have no choice…

“Geh… Don’t make them do it too much.”

“The earth is my child and they are the ones who depend on me to live. What’s wrong with this much work?”

Demeter makes an expression that she can’t understand, but I still hope she shows some mercy.

If you work in the underworld once, you’ll be able to understand the hardships of the lower people who are being ground down…

“The king of the gods, Zeus, the main god of Olympus, is entering!”

A lower god who knows how to control the wind shouts loudly.

At the same time, the muscular male god with golden hair that I know, Zeus, appears.

“Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.”

* * *

The sweet melody that resonated softly from Apollo’s lyre stopped.

The gods who were eating nectar and ambrosia stopped eating for a moment and bowed their heads in respect.

As everyone looked at the king of the gods, he opened his mouth again.

“As Zeus, the host of the Olympus banquet, I would like to say a few words briefly.”

Zeus clears his throat and speaks in a magnificent voice filled with divine power.

“We recently faced a powerful enemy, Typhon, but all the gods in this place joined forces and succeeded in defeating that monster!”

Everyone knew that this was a victory banquet to commemorate the defeat of Typhon.

“I would like to take this opportunity to briefly commend the gods who made great contributions in the battle against Typhon. First… Hermes!”

Hermes, a cheerful young man holding a caduceus [a staff carried by Hermes], walked out in front of Zeus and bowed his head.

Zeus patted him on the shoulder and said something, then raised his voice again.

“Here, Hermes suffered serious injuries from Typhon, but succeeded in going to the underworld to request support. If it weren’t for Hermes, Olympus might have been defeated! As a reward, Hephaestus made greaves (shin guards) and…”

“Ohh…”

“As expected of the messenger god…”

“…Hermes did well.”

“If Hades hadn’t recaptured Scythe, it would have been dangerous…”

I quietly watched Zeus praising his son Hermes’ achievements.

Hermes was wearing an awkward smile as if it was too much for him.

“Next, the goddess of wisdom and my daughter, Athena, come forward!”

As expected, Athena, fully armed, walked forward confidently and knelt on one knee in front of Zeus.

Athena’s strategy was effective during the fight against Typhon.

“The strategy of nicely deceiving Typhon came from your head, the name goddess of wisdom is not wasted…”

Zeus said earlier that he would have a commendation ceremony.

Commendation means that a superior praises a subordinate.

So the names of Poseidon and I, who dealt a great blow to Typhon, are not called by Zeus.

Although Zeus is the strongest, so I acknowledge him as the king of the gods, we are almost equal as the three main gods.

“….Ares! You are brave like the god of war…”

And well… There’s no reason to pour cold water on him praising his sons and daughters for doing well.

I took a sip of nectar while watching Zeus go around and commend the gods.

Um… Is Olympus nectar different? Why does it taste sweeter than when I eat it underground?

“….The commendation for the brave men who bravely fought against Typhon ends here! I, Zeus, will be leaving now, so I hope everyone enjoys the banquet!”

Kurururung!

Zeus disappeared from the banquet hall with a thunderous sound.

It seems that he was considerate because the lower gods would feel uncomfortable if he, the ruler of Olympus, was there.

But he didn’t have to just walk out, did he have to move with thunder?

It’s just noisy to me.

“Lord Hermes! I want to hear the story of escaping from Typhon’s grasp in detail…”

“I wasn’t in Olympus at that time, so I didn’t know, but was that monster that strong?”

“As expected of the goddess of wisdom, Athena!”

“Ares, drive a chariot with me later…”

Many gods gathered around today’s protagonists, those who were active in the battle against Typhon.

There are plenty of people who want to hear heroic stories or take this opportunity to build friendships with the twelve main gods.

“Lord Poseidon! Zeus didn’t mention it, but…”

“Yes, which god’s son was it?”

For reference, no one came to me, who was sipping nectar with Demeter in one corner.

Even that violent Poseidon has gods talking to him… Why…

Demeter, who was looking at me, smiled and said.

“Of course. If they displease you, they fall to Tartarus [the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering], and if you like them, they get dragged into the underworld, so who would approach you carelessly?”

“Did I say my thoughts out loud?”

“…It all shows on your face. Hades.”

Of course, it’s not something I can’t understand.

Except for the twelve gods who can sit on the golden throne of Olympus, there are countless people who revere and fear me.

The underworld, the underworld is a deep, dark, gloomy, fearful, and depressing place… but..

Still, it’s a banquet, so there are only a limited number of gods to talk to, so it’s a bit boring, and there’s nothing interesting..

At least I got to know some of the newly born gods.

To be exact, they were trembling and greeting me, so I just sent them away appropriately.

“Relax your expression, you look even more gloomy. A face that looks like you’re going to take someone to Tartarus…”

“It’s not.”

Demeter points out my appearance with a sullen face.

Isn’t this underworld phobia?