King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 69

Persephone’s Story – (4)

“Huh?”

Only then did Persephone seem to notice the golden arrow lodged in her chest, and she pulled it out.

As the goddess’s hand touched it, the golden arrow, its purpose fulfilled, melted into the air and disappeared.

“This is… Eros’s golden arrow?”

The god of love, Eros, is depicted as a child holding a bow and arrow.

He possessed the golden arrow of love and the lead arrow of hatred.

The golden arrow causes the one struck to fall madly in love with the first person they see,

while the lead arrow causes the one struck to hate the first person they see.

Perhaps it was due to the nature of love, but the arrow was swift and stealthy,

and Persephone, exhausted and worn out from the continuous battle, couldn’t avoid it…

“A golden arrow… hit me?”

“Haa…”

Since Persephone, who was just hit by the golden arrow, looked at me,

I am now to be loved by my niece.

…What am I going to do?

As I stared blankly in the direction from which Eros’s arrow had flown, Persephone spoke.

“But I feel fine? Maybe he missed? Hehe.”

“…Even Zeus would fall in love if hit by that arrow.”

The goddess, who is now looking at me and laughing, must have overflowing emotions in her heart, even if she pretends otherwise.

I can’t pretend not to know since I clearly saw her get hit by Eros’s arrow. How am I supposed to handle this?

Her father is Zeus, the king of the gods, and her mother is Demeter, the goddess of the earth…

A mistake could really start a war.

“But… I really feel fine. By the way, are you planning to return to the Underworld now?”

“I’m thinking of cleaning up around here for a bit before going back.”

The aftermath of the battle with the Gigantes [Giants] had completely devastated the area.

As if Zeus’s lightning or Poseidon’s trident had struck,

the land was overturned everywhere you looked, and there were countless cracks.

The peak of Mount Etna, where Typhon [a monstrous giant] was sealed, was swept away by the aftermath of my attack,

and the beautiful forests, fields, and streams of the plains were scattered in a horribly shattered state.

Most of the numerous nymphs were either dead or had fled, nowhere to be seen…

As I surveyed the traces of natural destruction that would horrify the nature god Pan, my niece reached out her hand.

Along with it, I felt a warm and gentle divine power.

“Uncle Hades! Let me help. I’m the goddess of spring and seeds, so I can do things like this.”

Swoosh-

A wave of green spread from Persephone’s hand, gently caressing the earth.

Grass grew beside the fallen trees, and the desolate plains regained their color.

Well, it would be better for the goddess of spring to clean up than for me, who rules the Underworld.

It would have been much easier if Pan or Demeter were here, but…

“How is it? Did I do well? I usually only used this when playing with the nymphs, but as expected, this kind of…”

“…Yes. You did well.”

My niece, chattering as if wanting praise while looking at me, was truly adorable.

Even among all the beautiful goddesses of Olympus, she had a striking beauty that stood out.

Golden eyes and hair resembling her father, Zeus. A figure with curves in all the right places.

Any lecherous god would welcome the fact that such a goddess had fallen for them with open arms.

“What are you standing there thinking about? Tell me!”

But she’s my niece…

* * *

“Phew… All done. I’ve cleaned everything up.”

While I thoroughly searched the area for traces of the Gigantes and tracked them,

Persephone had restored the damaged land to some extent.

“Good work.”

“Hehe… Are you really going back to the Underworld now? I want to go too!”

I froze at the words that came from Persephone’s mouth, who was smiling like a blooming flower.

Yes, this is exactly the problem…

The target of Eros’s golden arrow falls into absolute love.

The power of emotion that even Zeus, me, or Poseidon cannot resist.

Among the dead in the Underworld, there were many who had been struck by Eros’s arrow in their lifetime, so I knew its power well.

If they confirm their love for each other and one accepts, it ends in a happy ending,

but if one refuses to the end or they cannot be together due to differences in status…

Some would take up arms and cut down those who interfered with their love, some would weep sadly and commit suicide,

and some would clutch their bursting hearts, resent the gods, and go mad.

It is truly fitting to use the expression ‘blinded by love’.

If I were to reject my niece outright, I can only imagine what would happen…

“You may think you like me because of Eros’s arrow, but that’s a false emotion. There’s no way I can take you to the Underworld…”

“Y-yes…? Sob… Hicc… Waaaaah!!!”

“Even if you cry like that, I can’t take you to the Underworld…”

“If I… if I die, I can go to the Underworld! Even in death…”

Yes, there would immediately be a suicide attempt by the goddess.

And if the goddess of spring and seeds, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, were to commit suicide at the entrance to the Underworld…

“Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! Until yesterday, it was snowing, but today the sun is scorching…”

“Has the season of spring disappeared?! The gods must be angry!”

“A strange phenomenon is occurring where seeds won’t grow… Has something happened to the Olympian gods?”

First of all, the whole world would be in chaos because of the goddess of spring and seeds neglecting her work.

Then, of course, her mother, Demeter…

“What?! My daughter is trying to commit suicide because she wants to go to the Underworld… What? She was hit by a golden arrow and fell for Hades, but was rejected?”

“The land has completely dried up!”

“After receiving an oracle from Delphi [a prophetic source], it seems that Lady Demeter is greatly angered…”

“No more grain will grow from the earth, Zeus…”

Demeter would definitely do something too.

She is not a benevolent god like Hestia, but rather similar to Artemis.

If her emotions fluctuate, the earth will completely dry up, and only the number of humans coming to the Underworld will increase.

It doesn’t end here.

Her father is Zeus, the king of the gods.

“Hades rejected Persephone… and because of that, she’s trying to commit suicide to go to the Underworld…”

“Yes, Father. As a result of me asking Demeter-nim…”

“Demeter neglecting her work is all because of that too?”

“Yes…”

“…Even if it’s Hades, that’s a bit too much. I should probably have a little chat with him.”

All sorts of complaints would flood the Underworld, starving souls would pour in,

and both mortals and immortals would denounce the Underworld.

All of these disasters that just happened in my head…

Could occur if I don’t take the beautiful niece who is now smiling foolishly in front of me to the Underworld.

“Uncle Hades? So, can I go too? Hehe… I’ve always been curious about what the Underworld looks like.”

Although she is now looking at my face and smiling happily…

If I stimulate her too much by mistake, chaos will come to the world.

“I-if you stare at me like that, I get a little shy. Hehe…”

Zeus help me.

I’d rather fight my father Cronus [Titan ruler of the cosmos] one more time.

* * *

There’s no other way.

I’ll take her to the Underworld for now and then coax her somehow.

“…Alright. I can show you around. Follow me.”

“Yay! Thank you, Uncle!”

Persephone opened her arms and hugged me.

Should I accept this? If I don’t, she might cry, asking if I don’t like her…

Poof.

The volume felt against my chest and the fresh scent of spring tickled my nose, but…

“Ehehe…”

I think I’m really going crazy.

Is this even right? Taking my niece, who was hit by Eros’s arrow, to the Underworld.

“Stop clinging and get in the chariot…”

“Heeey… Your chest is very broad… Can’t we go like this?”

“…Then it’ll be uncomfortable, so sit next to me.”

“Yes!”

I put the brightly smiling Persephone in the chariot and headed towards the entrance of the Underworld.

“Wow! These horses are cute!”

Poo..Puururuk?!

Don’t stroke the manes of the ghostly horses that are running so hard…

They’re flustered when a goddess with an aura completely opposite to theirs suddenly strokes them from behind…

Somehow, I arrived in the Underworld with her.

Persephone, not at all frightened by the dark scenery of the Underworld, looked around as if it were amazing.

“Wow, there’s a cute puppy here too?”

“That’s Cerberus [the multi-headed dog], Typhon’s child. I brought him and made him the guardian beast of the Underworld.”

Grr… Grrr?! Grrr?

The three-headed dog, flustered by the sudden attention from a goddess he was seeing for the first time, was thoroughly petted by Persephone.

Cerberus, unable to come to his senses from the sudden affection, eventually showed his belly and lay down.

Huff huff! Heek!

“Uncle Hades! Look at this. He’s really soft. Hehe!”

No, even though he looks like that, he’s a pretty powerful monster.

I think he could bite off one or two Gigantes?

“I’m busy with work, so stay in this room for a while, and if you need anything, tell the servants.”

“Yeees! …Ooh. You can even do this?”

Keereureung?! Heek!

I need to discuss the Gigantes with the other gods, so I’ll leave her with the servants for a while and come back.

I also need to look at the pending trials and the recent situation in the Underworld when I was in the mortal realm…

“Lord Hades! You’ve come at the right time. There’s an issue that needs your direct approval…”

“Morpheus [god of dreams]. Is it another problem with the dead?”

“Ah, if you look this way…”

“This issue needs to be discussed with the other gods…”

I talked with Morpheus for a while about work and approved the documents after he found me.

He hurriedly left, saying it was time for him to deliver dreams to humans.

Now, I moved to pick up Persephone, who was in the room.

Crunch. Munch.

And I found my cute niece eating pomegranates placed in a small bowl.

Who put pomegranates in this room? Was this originally a resting space for other gods?

Wait… According to the laws of the Underworld, anyone who eats food from the Underworld…

“Ehehe… Uncle Hades! You should try this too! The fruit is fresh even though it’s the Underworld?”

I stared at my niece with red pomegranate juice flowing from her mouth and rubbed my forehead.

…Damn it.