King of Underworld

Chapter 72: Persephone’s Story – (7)

Demeter’s face turned red as she pointed her finger at me.

“Hades! Didn’t you and Eros conspire to shoot an arrow at my daughter?!”

“I swear I didn’t! A golden arrow flew at me from behind, and I dodged it, but it just happened to hit Persephone…”

“Then why did you feed her after taking her to the Underworld? In the end, you’re no different from Zeus or Poseidon!”

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

No matter how much she lost her mind over her daughter descending to the Underworld, how could she compare me to those jerks?

Hoo… No. Calm down a little.

“…Think about it calmly. Do I seem like the kind of god who would pull tricks on a daughter I didn’t even know existed? This was all a coincidence.”

“Ugh…! So, you’re saying this is all because of Eros? Even so, would Eros really have the guts to shoot an arrow at you…?”

Gods don’t interfere with each other’s domains.

Even if a god made a mistake or lacked the qualities of a god, a god is still a god.

If Poseidon were to give up in despair, the sea creatures would slowly die.

If Ares stopped initiating wars, the number of mortals would grow too high.

If Aphrodite’s love were too unchecked, no new mortals would be born.

It is an unwritten rule in the divine world not to interfere with another god’s domain.

This is why when a god’s nature is too free-spirited, it often causes trouble for other gods.

But the higher one’s divinity, the more lenient that unwritten rule becomes.

There aren’t many who can defy the three supreme gods who govern the world.

That’s why Dike, the goddess of justice, cannot accuse gods of higher divinity of their crimes.

That must be what Demeter was referring to.

“He must’ve been practicing his archery and made a mistake.”

“A mistake?”

“After your daughter was hit by the arrow, I looked all around but couldn’t find Eros.”

“What…? But still, can such a coincidence really happen…? Could it be?”

Demeter, who had been quietly catching her breath, turned red again and flew off somewhere, gathering clouds.

No way… Is she going to confront Eros now? Or is she going to Zeus to complain?

I hurriedly followed after her.

* * *

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

“Huh? Why are you yelling at me? What is this even about?!”

When I flew over on the clouds, I saw Demeter arguing with Aphrodite at her abode.

It seems what I said to Aphrodite before had worked.

Next to her was Hephaestus, not Ares.

Well, even if she doesn’t like him, they are still technically married… At least, they should be together at official gatherings.

From a short distance, Hephaestus looked at me, clearly wondering what was going on.

“Uncle… What’s this about Eros and arrows?”

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

“What?!”

“I… I didn’t know anything about that. This is the first I’m hearing of it…”

“So it wasn’t you who ordered it? Was it really just Eros acting on his own…?”

“If I were truly behind it, I would’ve told him to shoot while I was walking past Hades!”

As Hephaestus listened to my explanation, the misunderstanding between Aphrodite and Demeter seemed to clear up.

But… what was that about telling him to shoot while someone was walking past?

I glanced at Aphrodite, and she quickly averted her eyes.

“No… It’s just… a manner of speaking…”

“Enough. Call your son here. I want to find out for sure if this was an accident or if Eros was playing around…”

“Fine! I’ll go ask him!”

Grumbling, the goddess of love and beauty went off to summon her son at Demeter’s insistence.

As I watched the still-fuming Demeter, Hephaestus called out to me.

“Uncle, does this mean Persephone has fallen for you?”

“It seems that way… But you know her? She looks like a very young goddess.”

My nephew truly looked young. Even though Eros wasn’t born that long ago…

Persephone, even being generous, was only about 200? 300 years old?

“I live in the Olympian palace, so I’ve heard rumors, though I’ve never seen the goddess of spring and seeds at any feasts.”

“What rumors?”

“Rumors that she’s incredibly beautiful, resembling her father and mother in appearance.”

“I see…”

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

Do you like any goddess as long as she’s beautiful?

No, wait, it makes sense. You’ve never truly experienced love with Aphrodite…

“Ugh… I’m really envious of you, Uncle. I’m sure Aphrodite’s blessing is upon you!”

“…Having my niece fall for me is not something to be happy about.”

“Huh? Why not? After all, Persephone’s parents are siblings, and most of the Olympian gods were born from unions among kin…”

He truly didn’t seem to understand.

Looking at the blacksmith god’s confused eyes, full of nothing but questions, I could see he was genuinely perplexed.

“In fact, sometimes even Athena seems beautiful to me. Don’t you think so, Uncle?”

“Hephaestus.”

“Her incredible figure that even armor and a helmet can’t hide… Huh?”

“Let’s stop this nonsense here.”

“…? Alright…”

Of course, Lady Lethe and Lady Styx are also distant relatives, but still…

Persephone is just too close of a blood relative.

Even if the gods don’t consider kinship a sin, this feels wrong.

* * *

The golden arrow from Eros really was a mistake.

While wandering outside the Olympian palace, one of the arrows he shot accidentally flew in this direction.

“It was really an accident. Even though the arrow flew toward Mount Etna, I never thought it would actually hit someone…”

Having figured out the situation, Aphrodite placed her hands on her hips and scolded her son. His forehead was already red, as if he’d been smacked a few times.

“How many times have I told you?! You should always practice archery on a designated target!”

“…I’m sorry…”

“Hmph! No matter how young you are, saying sorry after hitting my daughter is enough?!”

Eros, holding his cute little bow, was looking utterly dejected.

He looked like a human child of about five or six years old, but with small white wings on his back.

“I’ve told you time and again that arrows are dangerous, so you need to be cautious and only use them when absolutely necessary! But you keep doing this!”

“Y-Yes, but, Mother…”

“Still?! What now?!”

“…You told me to shoot a golden arrow when you were passing by Lord Hades! So why are you only mad at me?!”

“What?”

Even Demeter, who hadn’t yet calmed down, looked at Aphrodite in disbelief.

“Hah… Like mother, like son.”

“T-That’s a misunderstanding!”

“Misunderstanding, my foot. Not long ago, you even told me to ‘aim well at Lord Hades’… Ugh!”

“O-oh dear! W-why is he saying such things…!”

Panicking, the goddess of beauty quickly covered her son’s mouth and forced a nervous smile.

It wasn’t enough to wear the Kestos Himas, now she’s using Eros, too?

“…The next time one of Eros’ arrows flies my way, I’ll just assume you ordered it.”

“T-this is all your fault, Hades! How could you turn down the advances of a goddess of beauty like me?!”

As I watched Aphrodite’s face turn red as she tried to blame me, I felt a headache coming on.

No, is this normal for a married woman with a lover?

“Anyway, this is all Hades’ fault!”

Leaving behind that one last statement, Aphrodite flew off in tears.

Good thing Hephaestus wasn’t here.

If he had seen that, the spectacle of Ares & Aphrodite from the last arts festival might have played out differently.

The blacksmith god might’ve joined Gaia’s side in tears of rage…

As I stared at Aphrodite’s retreating figure, Demeter, who had been watching her, suddenly nodded in understanding and muttered to herself.

“Now I’m sure you didn’t lay a hand on my daughter. I never imagined there’d be a man who could reject the advances of the goddess of beauty…”

…I think I’d rather go back to dealing with the mountain of work in the Underworld.

“Anyway, I apologize for misunderstanding.”

“…It’s fine. Now that you understand, it’s settled.”

I turned to Eros, who stood there with drooping wings and a dejected expression.

Even if it was a mistake, I should make sure he learns not to shoot love arrows recklessly…

“Um… Can I go now, Lord Hades?”

“Eros. If you need a place to practice your archery, I can provide one in the Underworld.”

“Really…?!”

“Come to the Underworld later, and you’ll be able to shoot arrows to your heart’s content.”

“Wow! Really?! I’ll be right there!”

Completely unaware of his fate, Eros flew off happily.

Since Aphrodite also holds the power of love, there shouldn’t be much of a problem with Eros staying in the Underworld for a long time.

Finally, I’ll be able to lighten the workload of the souls who are constantly torturing serious sinners.

I’ll make sure you never shoot an arrow recklessly again.

Even if your fingers fall off, you’ll keep practicing archery…!

* * *

“Even if she’s fallen for you because of Eros’ arrow, I will still try to convince Kore.”

“Do as you wish. I’m heading back to the Underworld, so get on the chariot.”

“My daughter eating the food of the Underworld…”

Just as we were about to head back to the Underworld together, someone approached on a cloud.

It was a god with divine power comparable to mine, a male god with blue hair.

It was my brother, the lord of the seas, Poseidon, who was looking at us with regretful eyes.

Something about this feels off…

Demeter spoke to him.

“Poseidon? What brings you here?”

“Ahem. Ahem. Demeter, I heard your daughter went missing, so I came to comfort you…”

“Where did you hear that from? And what kind of ‘comfort’ are you talking about?”

“Ahem! It seems I arrived a bit too late. Well. I’ll be off then.”

Poseidon disappeared after glancing regretfully at Demeter.

The fact that Demeter’s daughter rode my chariot and headed to the Underworld must’ve reached Poseidon through the nearby nymphs.

But ‘comfort’… ‘comfort’… Hmm.

It’s hard to imagine the rough Poseidon offering comfort through mere words…

Did he really think Demeter’s grief over her lost daughter would make her vulnerable to… advances?

For a moment, silence hung between us.

Then, realizing the same thing I had, Demeter clenched her fists and ground her teeth.

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

“…That’s an insult.”

This was the state of Olympus, where the gods, revered and feared by mortals, reside.