King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 72

Persephone’s Story – (7)

Demeter’s face flushed red as she pointed a finger at me.

“Hades! Did you conspire with Eros to shoot my daughter with an arrow!”

“I swear, I really didn’t! I dodged a golden arrow that flew behind me, and it just so happened to hit Persephone…”

“Then why did you take her to the Underworld and feed her food? You’re no different from Zeus or Poseidon after all!”

“What? Are you comparing me to those guys?”

Even if her daughter went down to the Underworld and she lost her mind, how could she compare me to those guys?

Hoo… No. Let’s calm down a bit.

“…Think calmly, do I look like a god who would try to seduce your daughter whom I didn’t even know existed? This is all a coincidence.”

“Ugh…! Th-Then it’s all because of Eros? Even so, Eros wouldn’t dare to shoot an arrow at you…”

Gods do not interfere in each other’s domains.

Even if a god commits a mistake and causes a problem, or if they lack the qualities of a god, a god is still a god.

If Poseidon falls into despair and gives up on everything, the sea creatures will slowly die.

If Ares doesn’t start wars, the number of mortals will increase excessively.

If Aphrodite’s love is suppressed for being too free-spirited, no new mortals will be born.

Not interfering with other gods’ domains is an unwritten rule of the divine realm.

Because of that, if a god’s personality is too free-spirited, it often causes harm to other gods.

However, the higher the divine status, the weaker that unwritten rule becomes.

Not many dare to stand up to the three main gods who rule a world.

The reason why Dike, the goddess of justice, cannot point out the crimes of high-ranking gods is the same.

That’s probably what Demeter meant.

“It seems he made a mistake while practicing archery.”

“A mistake?”

“Right after your daughter was hit by the arrow, I looked all around, but Eros wasn’t there.”

“What… No, there’s no way such a coincidence could happen… Could it be?”

Demeter, who had been standing still and catching her breath, turned red again and gathered clouds to fly somewhere.

Could it be… is she going to argue with Eros now? Or is she going to complain to Zeus?

I hurriedly followed after her.

* * *

“Aphrodite! Did you make your son Eros shoot an arrow?”

“No, why are you doing this to me? What’s going on in the first place!”

Rushing over on a cloud, I saw Demeter arguing with Aphrodite at her residence.

The words I said to Aphrodite last time worked.

Hephaestus, not Ares, was next to her.

Yes, even if they don’t like each other, they’re still a couple… At least in official settings, it’s right for them to be together.

A little further away, Hephaestus looked at me with eyes asking what was going on.

“Uncle… What’s with Eros’s arrow again?”

“It’s nothing. Eros shot a golden arrow at me, and I dodged it, but it hit Demeter’s daughter.”

“What?!”

“Ah… No, I didn’t even know that happened…”

“You didn’t order it? So it was really Eros acting on his own…”

“If I had really planned it, I would have told him to shoot when he was passing by Hades!”

It seems that Aphrodite and Demeter’s misunderstanding was resolved after hearing the explanation to Hephaestus.

But who was supposed to shoot when passing by whom?

I glanced at Aphrodite, and she slyly avoided my gaze.

“No… Ugh… I’m just saying…”

“Enough, bring your son here. We need to know for sure whether it was really a coincidence or Eros’s prank…”

“A-Alright! I’ll just ask Eros!”

At Demeter’s urging, the goddess of beauty and love grumbled and went to call her son.

As I was looking at Demeter, who was waiting with her arms crossed, Hephaestus called out to me from the side.

“Uncle, so does that mean Persephone fell in love with you?”

“It seems so… But you know her too. She seemed like a young goddess.”

My nephew really looked young. It hasn’t been long since Eros was born, but…

Persephone is at most 200? 300 years old?

“I live in the Olympus Palace, so… I’ve heard rumors, even though I haven’t seen the goddess of spring and seeds at banquets.”

“What rumors?”

“Rumors that she is incredibly beautiful, resembling her father and mother perfectly.”

“I see…”

“Is she really that beautiful? They say her golden hair and eyes are as beautiful as the grain blessed by Demeter.”

Are you just a sucker for beautiful goddesses?

No, it’s because he hasn’t been able to truly share love with Aphrodite…

“Keuk… I’m so jealous. Uncle. I’m sure you’ve been blessed by Aphrodite!”

“…It’s not a situation to be happy about that my niece has fallen for me.”

“Huh? Why is that? Persephone’s parents are siblings, and most of the Olympian gods were born from unions between relatives…”

He doesn’t seem to understand me at all.

Looking at the eyes of the blacksmith god, filled only with questions, I’m really confused.

“Actually, I sometimes think Athena looks beautiful. Don’t you think so too, Uncle?”

“Hephaestus.”

“Her outstanding figure can’t be hidden even by the armor and helmet she always wears… Huh?”

“Let’s stop with the nonsense.”

“…? Okay…”

Of course, Goddess Lethe and Goddess Styx are distant relatives, but…

Even if gods don’t consider incest a sin, this is a bit much.

* * *

Eros’s golden arrow really was a mistake.

One of the arrows he shot while wandering outside the Olympus Palace unfortunately flew this way.

“It was a real mistake. The arrow flew towards Mount Etna, but I didn’t think anyone would get hit…”

Aphrodite, who had grasped the whole situation, scolded her son with her hands on her hips. Eros’s forehead was already red, as if he had been pinched a few times.

“I’ve told you so many times! Practice archery on a designated target!”

“…I’m sorry…”

“Hmph! Even if you’re a young god, is saying sorry enough after hitting my daughter?”

Eros, holding a cute-looking bow and looking dejected.

On the outside, he looks like a human around 5-6 years old, but he has pure white wings on his back.

“I told you to always be careful with arrows and only use them when necessary, but you keep doing this?!”

“Ah… I know. But Mother too…”

“You still! Me too what?!”

“…You told me to shoot a golden arrow when passing by Hades! Why are you only picking on me!”

“What?”

Demeter, who hadn’t been able to calm down, also looked at Aphrodite with a dumbfounded expression.

“Ha… Now that I see it, like mother, like son.”

“Th-Th-This is a misunderstanding!”

“Phew. What misunderstanding? Not long ago, you told me to shoot Hades well… Ugh!”

“Oh my! Why is he being like this…!”

The goddess of beauty hurriedly covered her son’s mouth and gave an awkward smile.

Is she not only wearing the Cestus Himas [a magical belt that makes the wearer irresistible], but now she’s even using Eros?

“…If Eros’s arrow flies again, I’ll assume you ordered it without question.”

“E-Eek… It’s all because of you, Hades! How can the goddess of beauty be so desperate and you not do it even once!”

Looking at Aphrodite, who started blaming me with a flushed face, I felt a headache coming on.

No, is this okay for a woman who is married and has a lover?

“Anyway, it’s all because of Hades!”

Leaving those words behind, Aphrodite’s back disappeared as she hurriedly flew away with tears in her eyes.

It’s a good thing Hephaestus isn’t here right now.

If he had seen it, wouldn’t the Ares & Aphrodite created at the last art festival be recreated differently?

The blacksmith god might have sided with Gaia, shedding tears of blood…

The goddess of the earth stared at Aphrodite’s back as she gradually moved away.

She suddenly nodded, as if she had understood something, and muttered.

“Indeed, it wasn’t Hades who seduced my daughter. I never thought there would be a man who could reject the goddess of beauty’s advances…”

…I think it was better when I was suffering from countless tasks in the Underworld.

“Anyway, I apologize for misunderstanding.”

“…Okay. It’s good that you know now.”

Next, I turned my head to Eros, who had drooping wings and a sullen expression.

Even if it was a mistake, I need to teach him a lesson that he shouldn’t shoot the golden arrow of love carelessly…

“Uh… Can I go now? Hades…?”

“Eros. If you need a place to practice archery, the Underworld can provide it.”

“Really…?!”

“If you come to the Underworld later, I’ll let you do as much archery as you want.”

“Wow! Really? I’ll go right away!”

Eros flew away, gleefully unaware of his future.

Since Aphrodite also has the divine power of love, the balance of the world won’t be greatly affected even if Eros stays in the Underworld for a long time.

Finally, I can reduce the work of the dead who are in charge of torturing serious criminals day and night.

I’ll educate you so that you never shoot arrows carelessly again.

You will have to keep shooting arrows even if your fingers fall off…!

* * *

“Even if she fell in love with you because of Eros’s arrow, I’ll have to persuade Kore [Persephone’s original name].”

“Suit yourself. I’m going back to the Underworld now, so get on the chariot.”

“The fact that my daughter ate Underworld food…”

As I was about to go down to the Underworld with Demeter, someone approached, stepping on clouds.

A powerful god comparable to me, a blue-haired male god.

My brother and the master of the sea, Poseidon, looks at us with regretful eyes.

I have a bad feeling about this…

Demeter spoke to him.

“Poseidon? What’s wrong with you again?”

“Hmm. Hmm. Demeter, I heard the news that your daughter is missing, so I came to comfort you, but…”

“Where did you hear that news again? And what do you mean by comfort?”

“Ahem! It seems I’m a little late. Tsk. Anyway, I’ll be going.”

Poseidon glanced at Demeter with regretful eyes and disappeared.

Demeter’s daughter, who was playing near Mount Etna, headed to the Underworld on my chariot.

Poseidon must have heard that fact from the nearby nymphs [minor nature deities].

Anyway, comfort… ‘Comfort’… Hmm.

There’s no way that violent Poseidon would have comforted her with a normal conversation…

Could it be that Poseidon thought Demeter was in sorrow from losing her daughter and tried to have a relationship with her?

A moment of silence passed between us.

Demeter, who seemed to have come to the same conclusion as me, clenched her fist and gritted her teeth.

“Zeus or Poseidon! Ugh…! All male gods are the same!”

“…That’s an insult.”

This was the current state of Olympus, where all mortals live in awe and fear.