King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 144

King of the Underworld is Tired – Episode 144 (144/179)

The Last Proposal

After proposing to Styx, Lethe, and Persephone… I went straight to Charon, the ferryman of the River Acheron.

He was carrying souls as usual.

“…Lord Charon.”

“Ahem! Hades, it’s not like I let that human through on purpose. No, it’s just that the guy was shedding tears and begging so earnestly, and his lyre playing really touched my heart…”

“Lord Charon.”

“As soon as I heard that music, all the painful memories of my hard work here came flooding back, you know? If you understand my feelings…”

He seemed well aware of his mistake in letting a living human cross the River Acheron without my permission.

Before I could even question him, he rattled off a string of excuses, which I listened to for a moment.

After a while, Charon, seeing my unchanging expression, fell silent.

“…Since you allowed a living human to cross the River Acheron, there will be no god assigned to the Acheron River for the next year.”

“Understood…”

Let’s see how you do working alone for a year.

Just like before Olympus provided support, you’ll have to beat down rampaging human souls one by one while steering the boat.

I’d like to chain him up for a year if I could… but then there would be no god to steer the boat.

Charon, glancing at me for a moment, opened his mouth to speak.

“Ahem. So, what happened to that human? Knowing your personality, I thought you would have killed him.”

“I didn’t kill him. I’m not such a heartless god…”

“…? What’s the occasion?”

“I can’t show a merciless side when I’m trying to propose to Persephone, or Kore [Persephone’s maiden name]. I don’t want to be disliked by my mistress, you see.”

The ferryman’s eyes widened at my words. Why is he so surprised?

“What! Are you finally getting married?”

“Yes. I’ve proposed. Not only to Kore but to other goddesses as well.”

“Proposing first? What whim has come over the god who’s the most impenetrable fortress in the divine realm? I’d sooner believe that Thanatos [the personification of death] is free…”

“…Shall I make it two years?”

Charon closed his mouth again and turned his head.

Sigh… he does this sometimes.

* * *

After finishing my conversation with Charon, I headed to Menthe last.

Although Menthe herself always said, as if it were a habit, to take her as a concubine because she was from a mortal nymph and a lower god.

I didn’t want to do that.

Favoring one over another and causing strife is something I should never do.

Besides, it’s not like I’ll only have one goddess to spend my life with…

Menthe said she was going to the mortal realm to meet her friends, right?

Then she must be near Mount Etna, where Typhon’s body is sealed.

Thump.

“Lord Hades! It’s a disaster! Typhon’s body is rampaging again on Mount Etna…!”

“Menthe?!”

I was about to head towards Mount Etna, where Menthe was supposed to be, when she rushed in.

Her hair was disheveled, and she was panting, as if she had run in a great hurry.

“I was resting after meeting my friends for the first time in a while when a pillar of fire rose from the summit of Mount Etna, and there was an earthquake…!”

Typhon is rampaging. The guy who had been quiet for a while is struggling.

Was there a whisper from Gaia [the primordial goddess of the Earth] who knew through prophecy that his defeat was near? Or is it just a periodic fit?

The lava is erupting from the crater.

“…I’ll go right away.”

“C-can I come with you? I haven’t even had a chance to see if my friends are safe…”

* * *

Just in case, I took Cyane with me and headed to Mount Etna, where I could see that Typhon’s body was indeed rampaging, just as Menthe had said.

Flames were gushing from the crater at the summit of the mountain, and thick black smoke covered the area.

Rumble…

The animals nearby, sensing the disaster, fled in all directions, and the nymphs living in the plants and springs cowered in fear.

Typhon’s body was causing quite a stir, and the tremors were ominous…

“Hades?”

A goddess who had her hand on the ground and was wearing a serious expression turned to look at me.

The goddess of the earth, Demeter, was here too.

“Demeter. You came too.”

“The nymphs were begging me. I happened to be nearby, so I rushed over.”

“So, what did you find out? Did someone deliberately provoke Typhon…”

“I don’t know. In the first place, I have no way of knowing if the Earth Mother whispered something. The Gigantes [giants born of Gaia] can’t come out of the plains, and the Titans are all being punished or are in your domain, below the underworld…”

Kugugugu…

So, she didn’t find out anything. Still, it’s a relief that Demeter found out quickly.

The earth is being forcibly suppressed by her power, pressing down on Typhon.

“Menthe. Shouldn’t you go see your nymph friends?”

“Ah! Yes. I’ll be back quickly!”

Menthe got off the chariot and hurried away, and Demeter, who had her hand on the ground, opened her mouth.

In a strangely cold voice.

“What is that lower god? Surely you’re not going to lay your hands on such a goddess before my daughter, are you?”

“I’ve already proposed to Kore.”

“…Is that so? Of course, you should. Listen carefully, that child likes to make wreaths of yellow flowers every spring and run around in the fields…”

In the vicinity of Mount Etna, which had become a scene of chaos due to Typhon’s rampage…

For a while, I listened to Demeter’s gossip about Persephone’s tastes and likes.

Kugugung!

It’s a story that doesn’t fit the scenery, which looks like Hephaestus [the god of fire and blacksmiths] is angry.

A mother-in-law… no, a sister telling me about her niece, no, my wife’s tastes.

“Hades? Are you listening properly? If Kore is ever sad because of you…”

“…I understand, so stop.”

She really has a lot of worries.

Well, it’s her daughter’s marriage, so it can’t be helped.

* * *

The rampage of Typhon, which had lasted for a while, subsided, and I headed somewhere again with Menthe, who had returned to the chariot.

Menthe is chattering beside me. She seems happy to see her friends from when she was a nymph after a long time.

“…So. I heard you prayed to Lord Zeus at that time.”

“Menthe. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you so happy.”

“Ah… hehe. The underworld is busier than I thought. And I saw my nymph friends after a long time…”

Well, that’s true. Still, nymphs are beings who dwell in nature.

Unless the nature they dwell in is destroyed, they have a lifespan that is far longer than that of humans.

“Everyone looked the same as I remembered. Although some friends have disappeared…”

“Hmm.”

“My dryad [tree nymph] friends died because the trees were damaged. But since I’m a god belonging to the underworld, I can often go see them when I want…”

If I hadn’t met Menthe by chance, she might have died of old age and come to the underworld.

And I would never have remembered Mint. It’s a fleeting memory from my past life, but Mint… the scent of peppermint was a little more special.

“Menthe. Do you know that?”

“Yes?”

“The plant you created, mint. In some human countries, they use substances extracted from that plant every day to maintain cleanliness in their mouths.”

“Really, Lord Hades? Humans only used fragrant twigs or feathers to chew on, or strange powders.”

“Hahaha! It’s a story from so far away that you wouldn’t know even if I told you.”

Menthe, her turquoise hair fluttering in the speed of the chariot, makes a puzzled expression.

Of course, she can’t know. It’s a very distant place. So much so that even I, a god of the underworld, can’t go there…

“Still, if there’s such a place, my faith will increase a lot! There might be more believers in me than in Lord Hades in that place. Hehe!”

“Of course. You might have had more believers than Zeus in that place.”

“Hoo… heehee. Really? Then I’m more than Lord Hades in that place… Hee…”

All the people, no, all the people in the world used toothpaste containing mint every day.

If the current Menthe had manifested in my previous life, she might have been greatly praised.

I gently pinched Menthe’s cheek, who was opening her mouth, believing my words like iron.

“Ouch!”

“Bugs will get in your mouth.”

“Ugh… you weren’t like this before, you’ve become more playful.”

Menthe looks at me with a pouty expression, stroking her cheek.

I wonder. Is that so? More playful. I don’t think I’ve heard these words from other goddesses.

It’s very comfortable with Menthe.

Is it because of the mint scent that revives memories of my past life, or is it because she was a nymph who didn’t fear me too much and saw me as I was when she was a nymph?

Even after becoming a goddess and coming to the underworld, she helps me with the same appearance…

Comfortable and kind. It’s like a familiar younger sister.

Maybe that’s what I found attractive.

Clatter.

“We’re here. Get off.”

“Huh? Lord Hades. Weren’t we supposed to go back to the underworld now?”

“We’ve come to the right place.”

Whoosh-

The place where I stopped the chariot and got off with Menthe was a plain where a gentle breeze was constantly blowing.

It was a secluded place, so there were no humans or nymphs.

Only me… a mint field that I had others cultivate secretly from the goddess of mint.

The incredibly refreshing scent surrounds us on the wind.

Menthe, who got off the chariot, looks around and throws back her long hair with an exclamation.

“Wow… this place is all mint?”

“That’s why I chose this place.”

“Yes?”

“I thought this would be the best place to propose to you.”

…!

I quietly took out a bracelet from my chest and carefully put it on Menthe.

The bracelet made of living mint climbed up the goddess’s wrist and gently wrapped around it.

“You are the goddess of mint, but it is also a plant that symbolizes me. The flowers that grow here will always face the direction I am in.”

“Lord Hades…”

“I love you. Menthe. Please marry me.”

“Yes… sniffle.”

The scent coming from Menthe, who is so close that our lips are about to touch,

This time, it wasn’t the refreshing feeling of mint… but a very sweet body odor.