King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 52

King of the Underworld is Tired – Episode 52 (52/82)

The Story of Hephaestus – (3)

“You told the Olympian gods you were going down to Lemnos Island for a few days and participating in the festival?”

Something smells fishy…

First, I examined Hephaestus on the platform.

“If you all would follow me for a moment, you can appreciate my artwork!”

“Artwork? Made by the blacksmith god…”

“Hephaestus is good at making weapons, but art?”

“Is it a somewhat large piece?”

As the gods murmured with curious expressions, Zeus, who was eating ambrosia [the food of the gods], said to him.

“Hephaestus, you seem so confident. Can we expect something special?”

“Of course, Father. Even Apollo over there won’t be able to surpass my work!”

Just what did you make, nephew?

Surely you didn’t make a weapon like my Bident [a two-pronged spear]…

A confident, almost arrogant statement saying he made a work that can beat the god of art.

The murmuring grew louder from all directions, but Apollo seemed more curious, only wearing an inquisitive smile.

“Really? If you say so, shall we go see it? Lead the way.”

“Yes, Father. Everyone who wants to see it, please follow me!”

Zeus stood up, and Poseidon also walked out, intrigued.

I wanted Hephaestus to gain fame as a blacksmith,

But he didn’t particularly try to do anything in the field of art…

As I pondered for a moment, the goddess Styx approached and whispered to me.

“Hades, Hephaestus is saying that, let’s go see it quickly.”

“Something’s strange… Yes, let’s do that.”

The gods who followed Hephaestus arrived at his residence in Olympus.

Could there be a work of art in his residence?

Soon, Hephaestus, standing in front of his bedroom, turned around to face us.

He cleared his throat for a moment, grabbed the doorknob, and opened his mouth.

“This is modern art, no, Greek-style art. The title of the work is [Love and War]!”

At the same time, the door swung open…

The artwork was revealed.

* * *

Inside Hephaestus’s bedroom, with the door open, what was visible was…

Surprisingly, two men and women entangled in bed, as if they had just finished their affair.

It was Aphrodite and Ares.

“Ah… Anit!”

“Hephaestus…?! You were supposed to be down on Lemnos Island…”

The naked man and woman who were committing adultery tried to escape as soon as they saw Hephaestus, but failed.

Because a thin bronze net was spread around their bodies.

“Eek! Why isn’t this breaking…”

“Ugh….”

“What do you think of my artwork? Isn’t it enough to surpass Apollo?”

Everyone was speechless, just blankly watching this scene.

The bronze net that even the mighty power of Ares, the god of war, couldn’t easily break was one thing…

But Aphrodite’s figure underneath was so enchanting.

The beautiful body of the goddess of beauty, entangled naked with Ares.

Smooth skin without any flaws and the struggle to escape from the net.

A face subtly flushed with shame and a sense of guilt for showing an adulterous scene in front of many gods.

Hands trying to cover her chest and lower body without making eye contact with anyone.

All of this represented her absolute beauty.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Following the sudden sound of applause, Apollo was blankly clapping his hands.

From his nose, the blood of the gods, golden ichor [the ethereal fluid that is the gods’ equivalent of blood], was flowing down.

Our gods, unlike humans, don’t bleed when they get excited…

So it seemed that his artistic views were shattered, causing a great shock to his divinity.

“I admit it, Hephaestus. I can’t possibly catch up to your art.”

“Well. You can do it if you try hard enough.”

Watching Apollo, who was no longer the god of art, wiping under his nose, unable to take his blank eyes off Aphrodite’s figure, acknowledging Hephaestus, gave me a headache.

“Haa… This crazy…”

Other gods seemed to come to their senses then, adding a word each.

“Didn’t Hera say last time… to stop the affair now?”

“Even after giving birth to Harmonia…”

“A great sight befitting the festival of art.”

“Zeus, what do you think?”

“Geez… you should do it moderately. Tsk tsk.”

Apollo, who was blankly clapping, spoke to Hermes, who seemed frozen.

However, both gods couldn’t take their eyes off Aphrodite.

“Hermes, are you envious of Hephaestus? Or are you envious of Ares?”

“Brother Apollo, what are you talking about.”

“I’m asking if you’re envious of Hephaestus, who is jealous… or Ares, who is embarrassed.”

“Of course, I’m envious of both. I wish the net was much tougher so I could be trapped forever…”

Listening to their conversation made my head hurt even more.

Do the humans who worship us in the lower world know about these aspects of the gods?

“Ugh… This outrageous…!”

The face of the goddess Styx next to me looked like it was about to explode, and she quickly ran away.

Judging from the receding sound, she seemed to have gone to the underworld in a hurry.

“Ares, Aphrodite. If you’ve even given birth to Harmonia, shouldn’t you be moderate now?”

Zeus sighed, rubbing his forehead.

Poseidon, who caught them in the act of adultery with a very reluctant face, spoke to the blacksmith god.

He also didn’t seem to like this incident very much.

“Hephaestus, I’ll take responsibility and get proper apologies and compensation from those two, so please release them now…”

But even Poseidon couldn’t take his eyes off Aphrodite’s body.

“Yes… Well, if you say so, I’ll stop here…”

Hephaestus approached the bed and manipulated a few devices, and the net was naturally released.

Perhaps he predicted that Aphrodite would call Ares if he was away for a long time, so he spread false rumors.

No wonder the Olympian gods were flustered, asking if Hephaestus had gone down to Lemnos Island…

* * *

As soon as the bronze net was released, Ares fled to Thrace, where his temple is located.

The goddess of beauty and love, Aphrodite, left for the island of Cyprus.

On the island of Cyprus, there is a virgin spring that can regenerate a woman’s virginity just by soaking in it.

She must be thinking of soaking in it and restoring her virginity.

But if she has relations with a man again, her virginity will be broken anyway, so does it have any meaning?

I followed Hephaestus to the smithy, as promised, to have my weapon checked.

As I watched him turn his back to me, focusing on examining my Bident, I threw a word.

“Hephaestus, but if you do something like today, won’t Aphrodite hate you even more?”

The blacksmith god’s back trembled.

“I’ve actually… given up halfway. Keuheuk…”

“Then why don’t you look for another goddess? Go see Zeus and talk to him…”

At this point, it’s no different from a broken home.

Even if it was a wedding presided over by Zeus himself,

Wouldn’t Zeus, who saw today’s events, have a change of heart?

If I add a word from the side and both spouses want a divorce, wouldn’t it be possible?

If the problem is that the gods who have their eyes on Aphrodite are fighting, I’ll actively intervene…

“But half of me… can’t get Aphrodite’s beautiful figure out of my mind…!”

Ah…

“I want to receive Aphrodite’s love somehow, but I see a future where that seems impossible! Aphrodite has already gone over to that Ares and even gave birth to Harmonia! Is it all just me, being abandoned by my wife for the sole reason that I’m ugly, and only seeking such revenge…!”

No, what should I really do about this.

Should we have a three-way meeting?

“Keuheueuk! I’ll burn Ares’s face with fire someday!”

It seems like a mess will really happen because of a woman problem.

I can’t just stand by and watch anymore.

“Let’s go meet Aphrodite together.”

“Yes?”

“Why don’t you listen to what she doesn’t like about you so much that she keeps meeting Ares?”

The only way is to make them have a sincere conversation.

* * *

As soon as the weapon inspection was over, I headed straight to the island of Cyprus with Hephaestus.

After telling Aphrodite’s handmaid, a female nymph [a mythological spirit of nature imagined as a beautiful maiden inhabiting rivers, woods, or other locations], to tell her that we were waiting,

After waiting for a while, the goddess of beauty, who had finished bathing, walked over.

After giving Hephaestus a look, he stammered.

“What is it that you’re so dissatisfied with that you keep calling Ares?”

“Hmph… What am I dissatisfied with?”

Aphrodite’s face crumpled.

“Of course, it’s this marriage itself. From the beginning, I wanted to marry someone I loved!”

“You married me according to Father’s will, and you even made a child with Ares. Isn’t it too much to still be like this?”

“Hephaestus is always so engrossed in his smithy work that he doesn’t even come home often! How can I develop affection for you, logically?”

Aphrodite didn’t do well, but…

Still, shouldn’t he pay some attention to his wife?

“I’m a blacksmith god, so I can’t help it. But I’ve been trying in my own way since I married you.”

“Hmph…”

Aphrodite turns her head slightly as if she has a guilty conscience.

The blacksmith god is busy day and night making things requested by the Olympian gods,

But since marrying the goddess of beauty, he has often tried to spend time at home.

Of course, it seems that it didn’t satisfy Aphrodite…

“But how can you avoid me even in official settings like Olympian meetings? Even last time, I asked you, but you didn’t even pretend to listen! Everyone already knows that you and Ares love each other, so are you doing it on purpose?”

It seems that a lot of dissatisfaction has accumulated with each other, and the words are getting rougher even with me next to them.

But it’s definitely an issue that needs to be addressed once.

“You only look for me in such settings to save face. Isn’t your attitude proof that you only married me for my looks?”

“What?! Have you said everything? You’re the one who only asks me to make things for you when you need them…!”

The emotions of the two are escalating, and their powers are clashing.

The island of Cyprus is shaking, and divine power that captivates all life around it is emitted in all directions.

Flames rise from under Hephaestus’s feet, heating the space.

If this continues, the life on the island will die, so I have to intervene.

“Stop, that’s enough.”

I stepped between Hephaestus and Aphrodite to change the atmosphere.

In the midst of the smell of burning and captivating fragrance, the cold energy of the underworld disrupts everything.

“Hephaestus, even if the blacksmith work is busy, it would be good to pay more attention to your wife. If other gods complain to you, tell them to come to the underworld.”

“Yes… I understand.”

Hephaestus calmed down and stepped back a little.

Next is the goddess of beauty’s turn, who is making a venomous expression.

Sighing, I put my hand on Aphrodite’s shoulder and made eye contact.

“Aphrodite, aren’t you the goddess of love? But can’t you even grant a simple request from a man who craves your love? Even though you brought another man into your bedroom and even had a child, Hephaestus, who is here, is the god who loves you?”

“That’s… I…”

Aphrodite tries to step back slightly,

But if I speak clearly this time, the conflict between the two will be reduced even a little.

“I can’t force love on the goddess of love, but at least if you’re married, try to act like a couple in official settings.”

“Ugh… Yes… I understand…”

For some reason, Aphrodite, with tears welling up in her eyes and a reddened face, hurriedly leaves this place.

I thought things would get better now that I had talked properly, so I turned my head again…

“Keuheup…”

Hephaestus was crying with a more sorrowful face than ever before.

“Indeed… the world is all about looks… Father Zeus…”