King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 70

The King of the Underworld is Tired 70

Persephone’s Story – (5)

“…Persephone, do you know what it means to eat food from the Underworld?”

“Ah?! Am I not supposed to eat it? I’m sorry…”

Persephone’s expression quickly turns gloomy.

The Underworld is a completely different world from the mortal realm, so separate rules exist.

The details of these rules are carefully preserved on parchment imbued with divine power, which states:

Laws of the Underworld.

Article 1, Section 1: Once a soul has died, it cannot be revived.

Article 1, Section 2: All the deceased must undergo a trial to settle their karmic debts from the mortal realm.

.

.

.

Article 5, Section 2: …..

Article 5, Section 3: Anyone who has eaten food from the Underworld, even once, must live here.

The case that applies to Persephone… is this Article 5, Section 3.

It doesn’t mean she can’t go to the mortal realm at all, but it does mean she has to move her residence to the Underworld.

Even gods are subject to these laws, which is why the gods temporarily dispatched to the Underworld never touch any food here.

Athena, Ares, and Aphrodite never ate any food in the Underworld.

“Haa… Anyone who eats food from the Underworld must live here.”

“Oh? Is that so? Does that mean I get to live with Uncle now?”

Having been struck by Eros’s golden arrow [an arrow that causes the person struck to fall in love with the first person they see], Persephone doesn’t seem to mind.

But what will Demeter or Zeus think?

No, wait a minute, even if she is a young goddess who hasn’t lived for even 300 years,
how could she not know the laws of the Underworld? Did she eat it on purpose?

The position of mistress of the Underworld is a high-ranking position that naturally comes with power and authority, especially for Persephone, who has been struck by the golden arrow…

“…Follow me for now. Don’t leave my sight.”

“Yes!”

It’s better if I just keep her with me.

* * *

I spent some time taking her around while handling my duties.

“To you, who faced death after being chased away from Artemis’s followers for losing your purity…”

“…Glory to the god of mercy… Thank you, Lord Pluto.”

While I listened to the stories of wronged souls and racked my brain to make fair judgments,
Persephone wore a face full of questions.

After finishing all the pending trials, she approached me.

“Uncle Hades, why are you so lenient with humans?”

“Lenient?”

“Yes. It seems like you show mercy even to humans who insult the gods or act presumptuously.”

Her eyes were full of pure curiosity, not sarcasm or dissatisfaction.

That’s exactly the kind of thought a young god born under a high-ranking deity and raised without want would have.

Divine power and authority, the pride of being responsible for maintaining the balance of the world, and the sense of superiority that they are different from weak humans.

This isn’t just Persephone’s problem.

Almost all gods think this way, but…

“…It would be better to discard such thoughts.”

“Yes..? Yes?!”

“The Underworld is the place that marks the end and the final destination of mortals. What would happen if I were harsh to them?”

“But aren’t we gods beings who are served by them? If I didn’t use my authority over spring, humans would…”

Young gods possess great power compared to their naivety,
so they could sometimes be seen as cruel and capricious beings to humans.

It would be even more so for Persephone, who was revered from birth and has the ability and lineage to be so.

Demeter and Zeus often show harsh sides to humans… She seems to have inherited her parents’ personalities quite a bit.

“…You’re just like a goddess who governs one of the four seasons.”

“But I’m the goddess of spring and seeds…?”

“That’s not what I meant. I just meant… your trivial actions could be seen as natural disasters to humans.”

I looked into Persephone’s questioning eyes and continued.

I hope what I’ve seen and felt in the Underworld will be of some help to you.

“We gods are not absolutely perfect beings. Even Zeus or Athena can make mistakes.”

“Father and the goddess of wisdom too?”

“There is no perfect god. So, refrain from using your authority with momentary whims and short thoughts.”

“Have you… ever regretted anything, Uncle Hades, one of the three chief gods?”

“…I’ve regretted countless things.”

How could I have shown only a perfect image while living for so long?

No matter how much I’m called the god of mercy or the fair ruler of the Underworld…

“I’ve made wrong judgments by mistake and regretted it, and I’ve been swayed by momentary emotions.”

“Ah…”

“When you’re angry, you might not feel anything about the mortals who die as a result…”

“……”

“Remember that it is an irresistible disaster for them. And those who die unfairly come to the Underworld.”

As Persephone pondered my words, her free-spirited divine power fluctuated greatly.

Could it be that she has realized her role and the responsibility for the domain she is in charge of?

“We gods should always strive to make the fairest judgments possible, though we may not always be able to.”

“…I’ve never heard these words from my mother…”

Persephone muttered quietly, looking at the ground.

I felt that she had grown slightly just now.

The lively and energetic power of Persephone was calming down.

Spring, one of the four seasons, will be more stable, and the seeds scattered on the earth will grow well.

“I’ll assign you temporary residence for now. And I need to tell your mother about this…”

“Hades, we’re in big trouble! Right now in the Underworld…”

The goddess Styx rushes in, opening the door and looking for me.

Has another Gigas [giant offspring of Gaia (Earth) and Tartarus (the Abyss)] attack occurred?

“In the Underworld… the soul of the dead Chiron has arrived!”

* * *

Chiron.

A wise man of the centaur tribe [a creature with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse], with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a horse.

He was skilled in all sorts of techniques and had a lot of knowledge, but his greatest strength was in education.

He was the one who raised countless heroes in the mortal realm.

If Chiron died, it would be difficult to raise the hero of prophecy who could defeat the Gigas.

“I will go to meet him right away. But he is an immortal being…”

“That is… he was tortured by the suddenly invading Gigas and gave up his immortality himself!”

“Oh dear…”

The Gigas who came to target Typhon on Mount Etna were only a few hundred.

I didn’t expect them to use the tactic of dispersing their forces to kill Chiron…

Just like when they corrupted Oedipus last time, is Gaia [the primordial goddess of the Earth] targeting the heroes?

Could it be that Gaia has realized the prophecy that we gods knew?

No, if she had grasped it for sure, she would have launched a full-scale war immediately.

She must be guessing that the hero is related to the Gigas,
but only half believing it?

It’s fortunate that she doesn’t have the ability to see all of the future.

Well. Prometheus doesn’t have that ability either…

First, I quickly moved to meet Chiron with Persephone and the goddess Styx.

Yes, niece, you should rather stay where I can see you.

Soon, Chiron appeared in the form of a semi-transparent soul.

To think he really died and came to the Underworld…

“Chiron.”

“Lord Hades. It’s been a while. It’s a pity that we meet like this.”

The centaur bowed his head with a bitter face as I spoke to him.

“I heard that the Gigas tortured you. Rest in peace here.”

“…I feel guilty for not being able to do a good job of nurturing heroes and running away into death.”

“Who could withstand being tortured by monsters comparable to gods who are determined to do so.”

“Thank you. Lord of the Underworld. Those… my students that I taught…”

Thanks to Chiron’s fame, which was widely known throughout the world,
the place where he was always crowded with people who wanted to become heroes.

But suddenly, countless people were massacred by the invading Gigas.

Chiron and his disciples resisted, but they could not defeat the monsters, each of whom was comparable to a lower-level deity.

According to him, many disciples were massacred or fled.

“I only found out after coming to the Underworld, but fortunately, the gods Dionysus and Ares descended and drove them away.”

“Hmm… When you were in the mortal realm, Corinth and Athens were also attacked.”

“They seem to have appeared in all sorts of places besides that.”

“The Olympian gods descended and killed the Gigas, but the damage was not insignificant…”

“Rather than killing ordinary humans, they tried to destroy temples and sever the connection between mortals and gods. They rushed at any heroes or demigods they saw.”

After Chiron finished speaking, gods including Thanatos added further explanations.

They attacked human cities including Corinth and Athens…

“Many heroes have died this time.”

“Athena hurriedly went down to the lower realm, but her temple was half destroyed.”

“What does Olympus think about this matter…”

I stopped the gods from sharing their opinions with a gesture.

“The goddess of the rainbow will come down and call me to the Olympian palace. Until then, I will maintain the usual level of vigilance.”

“Shouldn’t we prepare a little bit anyway?”

“We have Demeter, don’t we?”

“Ah… The goddess of the earth had the Omphalos stone [a sacred stone in Delphi, considered the navel of the world], so she must have identified the Gigas’ base by now!”

The Gigas’ last attack achieved the feat of killing Chiron,
but conversely, it revealed their base to us.

Demeter must have informed Zeus,
and many gods must be keeping a close eye on the Gigas’ base even now.

Now the Gigas can never attack while evading the eyes of the gods.

All that remains for them is a full-scale war or Gaia’s scheme.

* * *

Persephone hadn’t intervened at all since earlier and was only sparkling her eyes.

At least she doesn’t interfere when I’m working. Did my words earlier affect her state of mind?

The goddess Lethe tilted her head and looked at Persephone, saying.

“Hades, who is that goddess who has been here since earlier? She doesn’t seem to be a lower-level deity…”

“Ah, I’m Persephone!”

I don’t want to be falsely accused of deceiving a goddess and bringing her to the Underworld, so I should say it in advance.

If I keep my mouth shut and stay still, I’m bound to be misunderstood.

“She is the daughter of Demeter and Zeus, whom I met near Mount Etna. For reference, she was struck by Eros’s golden arrow and saw me, and she also ate food from the Underworld.”

“Yes?!”

“Eros’s golden arrow… No, then…”

“Does Demeter know about this?”

The expressions of the numerous gods gathered here changed.

I couldn’t help but see her even if you look at me like that. I had to quickly receive reports on whether the Gigas had attacked anywhere other than Mount Etna, so I brought her here temporarily…

“I was fine even after being hit by the golden arrow!”

“Yes. Yes.”

“Ugh.. It’s true! You saved me before I was hit by the golden arrow, so take responsibility!”

“…What?”

“No… Hades.. Why do you keep increasing the number of goddesses every time you go out.”

“Before it increases any further…”

The audience hurriedly turned their heads to look at the goddess Styx and the goddess Lethe.

Mente, who belatedly appeared, opening the office door, also froze.

As everyone froze, Persephone suddenly teared up and said.

“Lord Hades, you touched me gently back then! I don’t know! Take responsibility!”

“Wh.. What?”

“Wait, am I getting old and my ears are acting up? Should I stop by Apollo…”

“Who touched what?”

“Hades…! What did you do!”

No, why are you all doing this to me.

This is a misunderstanding…

Persephone, even if you have made progress as a goddess, your cheerful spring-like personality remains the same…!

“Niece… You’re making strange noises about hugging your side and putting you down on the chariot in a situation where you were being strangled by the Gigas…”

“Th.. That’s the same thing! I want to marry Lord Hades!”

“Hades. Really, didn’t you touch her except for putting her down on the chariot?”

“Isn’t the Gigas the problem right now! Tell us everything quickly…”

“H.. Lord Hades… I’m okay with being a concubine, but if there are too many…”

The Underworld has always had all sorts of things happening,
but it seems especially so these days. Did Gaia cast some kind of curse?

“Lord Hades. The rainbow goddess Iris has arrived. She was probably dispatched from Olympus regarding the Gigas….”

“…! Tell her to come in right away.”

She must have come to invite me to the meeting that will be held in the Olympian palace.

We need to discuss the Gigas, and what should I say to Demeter?

Amidst the noisy Underworld, the rainbow goddess Iris arrived.

“Greetings to the lord of the Underworld…”

Iris, who was coming in, stopped speaking, looked around at the situation, and widened her eyes.

Seeing such Iris, Moros, the god of inevitable death, said as if it were nothing.

“Ah. Iris, don’t be flustered. It’s the same scenery as always in the Underworld.”

“Lord Moros, what is going on…”

“It’s really nothing. It’s just a scene where the daughter of Demeter and Zeus was struck by Eros’s golden arrow and saw Hades, and also ate food from the Underworld, and is now fighting with the three goddesses who like Hades.”

“Yes? Wh.. Whose daughter?”

The rainbow goddess’s complexion turned pale,
and the seven-colored halo behind her that she always emitted faded away.