King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 113

The King of the Underworld is Tired 113

Justice and the Underworld

I managed to mediate the dispute between Ares, Aphrodite, and Eos without too much trouble.

Still, calming Aphrodite’s anger was quite a challenge.

[Aphrodite, please calm down and listen.]

[Hades?!]

[If Eos stole Ares from you, what’s stopping you from winning him back? I doubt the goddess of love and beauty is any less charming than the goddess of dawn.]

[…But.]

I reminded her of the Goddess of Dawn’s past actions and gently suggested that free love was what Aphrodite, who wanted to divorce the blacksmith god Hephaestus, truly desired…

“Goddess Eos, it wasn’t right to target Ares, who is already involved with someone.”

“Is that a judgment from the god of fairness?”

“…Anyone would say the same. He may not be formally married, but to covet Ares, who already has children with Aphrodite…”

I scolded Goddess Eos and then gave Ares, who was watching nervously, a piece of my mind…

However, I didn’t rely solely on the authority of fairness in my decision.

There’s an unpleasant feeling that arises when something is amiss, even without Dike’s [the Greek goddess of justice] divine artifact, the Scales of Justice.

This must be the inherent authority and responsibility that comes with fairness.

But I won’t be blindly swayed by it. I’ll make the right judgment using my reason.

This judgment was possible because I wasn’t the god of fairness from the start, but a divinity that came with being the master of the underworld.

‘The standard of fairness isn’t always clear-cut. In cases of blasphemy, the death penalty is the standard punishment, and…’

It’s a useful reference, but not a perfect one.

Can a judgment of fairness made within the limits of my knowledge truly be fair?

Finishing my thoughts, I walked towards Zeus.

* * *

Zeus, whom I saw again, was enjoying his leisure, gazing down at the humans from above the clouds.

Sitting on his throne, with his hand on his chin, a blue light flickered in one of his eyes.

Seeing me enter the audience chamber of the Olympus Divine Palace, Zeus waved his hand to dismiss the other gods and attendants.

“Were you observing the earth?”

“Yes. It seems humans are committing fewer sins these days, thanks to you, brother.”

“This divinity of fairness, or whatever it is, is just tiring.”

Zeus looked at me and smiled slyly.

“I can guess why you’ve been given so many divinities, brother. Humans worship you so much…”

“So, what’s the reason you called me? It must be something important?”

“Ah… about that.”

The King of the Gods cleared his throat and stroked his beard.

What on earth is he trying to say, taking so long?

“Hmm. Hmm. That… the goddess of justice, Dike.”

“Dike, who recently came to the underworld? She couldn’t have caused any trouble…”

“I understand why you accepted the divinity of fairness, brother, but couldn’t you consider my position a little?”

Ah. I immediately understood what Zeus was saying.

I had heard that Dike, who works in the underworld, goes around lecturing the gods whenever she has the chance.

But there’s no way the gods, who have been reckless until now, would have taken it quietly, and it seems they complained to Zeus.

Since I, the god of fairness, was unyielding even when they spoke to Dike, they went to Zeus instead?

“Of course, I rejected them outright, but they still seem quite dissatisfied. They’ve been living that way for a long time…”

“There are many who haven’t come to their senses. Tsk.”

“Hmm. It would be nice if everything flowed justly, but that’s not always the best thing.”

Chasing after perfect justice is bound to clash with reality.

Like the conflict between reason and emotion, there must be a proper balance between injustice and justice.

Even if I support Dike, a dramatic change would be difficult.

But if that’s the case, there would be no point in me accepting Dike. Would it be possible to change things gradually?

Zeus must have guessed this, which is why he wanted to meet and talk in person.

He may have judged that sending a letter could lead to misunderstandings on my part…

“Still, I’ve heard that you’ve been restraining yourself lately. Are you watching Hera’s [Zeus’s wife] eyes?”

“Heracles [son of Zeus and Alcmene] is growing up well, too, hmm.”

“There’s some truth in what you say. I’ll talk to Dike appropriately.”

“Oh. Are you listening? Thank you.”

“But you also need to manage the gods so they don’t fall into indiscriminate debauchery. If Dike is bothersome, shouldn’t you just avoid creating situations where she has to intervene?”

Zeus nodded sullenly.

Well, it would be difficult to manage and control all the numerous gods one by one…

“If the high-ranking divinities set an example from above, the character of the gods might change little by little.”

“You’re being praised by humans as the god of mercy and fairness, and indeed, you have such aspects.”

“From my perspective, it’s like a useless burden… I also accepted it thinking about the time when I’ll fight the Gigas [race of giants].”

“Indeed, you must be stronger than Poseidon now, brother.”

Zeus is right. Now that I am praised with all sorts of flowery words from humans, I am stronger than Poseidon.

Of course, I would lose if we fought in his domain, the sea, but if the conditions were equal, I would have a slight advantage.

Even so, it’s not a significant difference.

It’s just that various things are added to the divinity of the underworld.

“Anyway, I’ll talk to Dike in the underworld appropriately.”

“Dike’s sisters were upset. They’re my daughters, but they have good sibling affection.”

Shall I return to the underworld now?

* * *

When Hades went to Olympus, in the underworld.

The goddess of justice seemed to be waiting for someone.

Because today is… the day Persephone properly teaches Dike about the underworld’s duties.

“Dike, Sister!”

“…The daughter of the goddess Demeter, who is favored by Hades?”

“Speak comfortably! You can just call me Persephone!”

“Yes. Persephone.”

“Since you now belong to the underworld, shouldn’t you be introduced here?”

In other words, it was the day she had promised Persephone, the goddess of spring and seeds, a few days ago.

Soon, a cheerful goddess ran over from that side, waving her hand.

It was quite late than the time she had promised her…

“I’m sorry. Did you wait long?”

“It wasn’t that long…”

“No, that is, I stopped by the earth to give blessings so that the seeds would grow well for a while…”

Dike knew. That many gods, including Persephone, were busy working.

Although Hades had not assigned her many tasks, considering her desire to establish justice…

She herself had worked quite a bit here, hadn’t she?

She also knew that the enormous amount of work she received on her first day in the underworld was only a part of it.

“It’s okay, so tell me what to teach me today.”

“Yes, Sister! Please follow me. Our office is this way…”

Following Persephone, Dike soon discovered a mountain of documents.

In an office as large as the personal palaces of the Twelve Olympians, countless people were busily moving and carrying parchment.

Many messengers and lower-ranking divinities rushed to the office to report and relay the orders of the person in charge.

On one side, high-ranking divinities surrounded by mountains of parchment were moving their hands with their heads buried in their desks.

“Something terrible has happened! There’s another riot in the Pyriphlegethon River [river of fire in the Underworld]!”

“It seems the souls are refusing to cross the river of fire again. The authority of the goddess who originally controlled that place is…”

“Hey! The amount of nectar in the 112th food warehouse doesn’t match! What’s going on?”

“I will tell the guards there to properly check the inventory again.”

“Do I have to worry about things like this? Investigate properly and send it back up!”

“It seems a soul was mistakenly placed in the wrong reincarnation. The one who should have been born into a male body was reincarnated into a female body…”

“What kind of idiot can’t even do that right…!”

“What?! Put the wrong soul in?”

“Which god is in charge! Is it that guy with the red horns on his head?”

“Did you receive the blessing of the goddess Lethe [goddess of oblivion]? That guy’s role is to torture sinners!”

Incredibly noisy. No, a chaotic scene in the underworld.

A divinity spoke to Dike, who was overwhelmed by the reality of the underworld that all mortals feared.

No, she was talking to Persephone next to Dike.

“Goddess Persephone?! What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you come this way quickly?”

“Ah, I’m in charge of guiding Dike, Sister, today!”

“…I’m envious.”

The goddess Persephone smiled brightly.

She soon pointed to a goddess with her finger. That goddess also saw Persephone and Dike and slightly lowered her head.

The shadows cast under her eyes evoked sympathy and pity.

“First, I’ll introduce you one by one. You need to know their faces.”

“Hmm.”

“First, this is Medusa. You know? Perseus before…”

“I offer my greetings to the goddess of justice.”

“…You can call me Dike.”

“Then I have a lot of work to do.”

The goddess of spring, watching Medusa turn her head back to her desk after finishing her greetings, spoke to Dike.

She was a mortal who had suffered too much damage from the gods during her lifetime and was made a god by Hades.

Hades had reduced her workload and provided her with various conveniences, considering her, but it was briefly explained that she was a kind goddess who often voluntarily helped with work on busy days like today.

“…Oh. And over there is the goddess of mint, Mente.”

“Ah.. Hello…! Goddess of Justice!”

“Yes. I’ve heard a lot about the story of the nymph who created Hades’ symbol becoming a goddess.”

The goddess of mint, with a refreshing scent, was moving in a hurry with a tearful face.

Until Persephone and Medusa came to the underworld, she was the youngest.

Next, the goddess of spring pointed to two goddesses felt within the mountain of parchment.

The sound of their conversation, which felt like a higher divinity than Persephone, could be heard here.

“Styx [goddess of the River Styx]… I think you wrote this wrong?”

“Ah! I’m sorry. Lethe [goddess of oblivion]! I keep making these mistakes because I’m so busy today….”

“Haa…”

Dike approached them and greeted them slightly.

Judging from their conversation, they are the goddess of the Styx River and the goddess of oblivion.

Because they were high-ranking divinities that had existed since the age of the Titans.

“I am Dike, the goddess of justice who recently started working in the underworld.”

“I have also received reports. You are the daughter of the goddess Themis [Titan goddess of divine law and order]? But if you are the goddess of justice.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to assign her to the courtroom… The divine artifact, the Scales, is famous…”

“That would be fine, but if she is in charge of justice, she will have to pay attention to the affairs of the earth…”

Dike thought.

Does justice not exist in the underworld?

This was the current state of the underground world, the workplace that all gods avoided.