She’s not the king of the underworld, she’s the queen.

Episode 5. 
The Underworld is Short on Staff

“By the way, that’s surprising. Even though we’re both gods, I thought you would just send me back for mentioning discomfort. I expected you to insist on following the regulations.”

“Yeah, um… what?
Me?
Why?
Did I have such a strict image of you?”

“Not really, but in mythology, you always come off as strict and stern.”

When looking at Hades in Greek mythology, he appears like a chief judge, solemn. Especially regarding the laws of the underworld, even Zeus seems to sweat profusely, unable to touch them.

Among the Greek gods, who are strict with others but lenient with themselves, Hades is known for strictly enforcing the laws of the underworld, except for one instance.

“That’s not because I’m strict; it’s because the others are too soft. The laws of the underworld are meant to be upheld because breaking them would lead to chaos on Earth. The youngest also refrains from touching the laws of the underworld because he wants stability on Earth.”

“But you did give Orpheus a chance once, right?”

“That guy who crawled into the underworld to find his lover? When I heard the music and went out, I was shocked to find a living person deep in the underworld.”

“So that story exists. It seems the music must have been really good for you to consider breaking the laws of the underworld.”

“He was indeed a legendary musician. But what sound? Did I give him a chance?”

Hades shook his head, insisting he had never done such a thing. Well, it’s natural for ancient myths to be quite distorted over time. This case is no different; it’s just another historical distortion.

No, is it more accurate to call it a myth distortion? The original story of Orpheus goes like this: Orpheus, a demigod with the ability to make even inanimate objects feel emotion through his incredible lyre playing, had a lover named Eurydice. However, Eurydice accidentally stepped on a snake and was bitten, dying instantly.

Grieving for his lost love, Orpheus entered the underworld to find her. When he played his lyre in sorrow, Charon ferried him for free, Cerberus opened the entrance, and Persephone was moved by his music.

Hades, at Persephone’s request, released Eurydice from the underworld, but with one condition: he must not look back until they had completely exited.

Orpheus led Eurydice and hurriedly left the underworld, but just as they were about to see sunlight, he looked back. Unfortunately, Eurydice had not fully escaped the underworld yet.

As a result, she was pulled back into the underworld, and Orpheus desperately begged Charon for another ride, but Charon refused him.

Ultimately, Orpheus returned to Earth without his lover, rejecting all suitors and living a lonely life, eventually being killed by women who were intoxicated and lost their reason.

“That’s an incredibly depressing story. Anyway, we Greeks love tragedy.”

The reality Hades described was like this: while it was true that Orpheus reached the underworld to find his lover, he could not bring the dead back to life, no matter how much his beloved wife pleaded.

“If I were to bring someone back just because their music was good, all sorts of talented people would come asking to revive someone. Once a precedent is set, it becomes endless.”

However, Orpheus did not give up and squatted in a corner of the underworld, playing his guitar. guitar. His music caused all activities in the underworld, even the punishments in the deepest part of Tartarus, to stop. Unable to bear it any longer, Hades told Orpheus to take his lover and leave.

Orpheus and Eurydice joyfully exited, but Hades had only sent Eurydice away, not brought her back to life. Just like in the underworld, Eurydice remained in a ghostly state and could neither touch nor feel anything on Earth,Earth, nor could she be seen by mortals like Orpheus.

As days passed when they could not even touch each other, Eurydice fell into despair and returned to the underworld.

Orpheus chased after her again, but Charon, having been scolded by Hades, refused to ferry him again. Ultimately, Orpheus returned to Earth without recovering his lover, lived a lonely life rejecting all suitors, and was killed by intoxicated women, which is truly a tragic story.. Wait a minute.

“Isn’t this also sufficiently tragic? And why is the part about being torn apart by intoxicated women the same? Why is this part particularly gruesome in detail?”

“When I first heard the story, I did feel a bit sorry for him..”

“Either way, it seems there’s no dream or hope. Wait, if Orpheus died, wouldn’t he meet her again in the underworld?”

“Of course. Besides, that’s an old story; they both got bored and reincarnated a long time ago.”

Really?
Even love that went all the way to the underworld cannot withstand the passage of time. Well, unless one reincarnates, they could meet in the underworld, so for him, most tragedies related to death probably don’t seem very tragic. This might be the reason why Hades appears to be heartless in myths.

“Even if they die, if they hadn’t committed some sins, they could all meet later. Everyone seems too wary of death. After all, most people ask to be reincarnated within a hundred years after reuniting in the underworld.”

“The divorce rate is also rising, so it’s not that surprising.”

“Right. When you think about it, it’s more surprising that there are people who can endure being together for a hundred years after death.”

Even long before dying, many couples face boredom, so it wouldn’t change after death. True love might last for a thousand or ten thousand years, but maybe that’s a word I’ll never encounter.

“After all, being immortal isn’t as blissful as people think, right?
I might sound childish saying this since I was born a god, but looking at my siblings who have lived so long that their pleasure centers have dulled and burned out, it seems better to die and be reincarnated.”

“I’ve thought this for a while, but isn’t it too harsh to say that about the top god?
You won’t suddenly get struck by lightning while standing next to me, right?”

“It’s fine. If lightning were to strike me, it wouldn’t end at just lightning.”

“That’s not reassuring at all. Do I have to risk my life just to listen to your brother’s gossip?”

I belatedly opened the beer Hades tossed to me and took a sip. Ah, it’s already lukewarm.

“You don’t care, do you? Since you’re drinking that now.”

“Why? If I get fried while feeling tipsy, at least I’ll go without pain, right?”

“No, no, that thing you’re drinking is nectar.”

Nectar?
What?
Oh, nectar?

For those who don’t know what nectar is, it’s the drink of the Olympian gods, said to give humans temporary immortality. They would often gift it to humans they favored, but if humans couldn’t regularly consume nectar and ambrosia, they would return to being ordinary humans.

Anyway, why was I explaining this all of a sudden? Right, Hades was talking about nectar, something that seems more like a game item than reality. And her finger was pointing at the can I was holding.

Ah, this was nectar?

“Pfft!”

“Whoa! What?!
Does it taste that weird?
It’s not that bad, but the ones who usually drink it are pretty awful!”

“Taste or not, how can I feel anything when you’re casually handing me the drink of immortality like it’s an energy drink?”

“Isn’t it like an energy drink? It works better than Monster.”

“I don’t care!”

As I wiped my mouth, I looked at the can’s surface, which had a white background with no label, just gold patterns, giving it a luxurious appearance. I probably had never seen a design like this in my life, yet I didn’t even think it was strange.

Suddenly, I realized how insensitive I was.

“Wait, so everything you’ve handed me until now was this?”

“Well, not everything… just a little?”

“Objective terms, not subjective.”

“Other than the beer…”

“….”

What is the reason people can live like people? It might seem like a philosophical question that doesn’t make sense, but I would say it’s because I live among people, carrying values as a person.

Thinking that drinking the drink of immortality is a good thing makes sense, but knowing this friend, whose values are somewhat different from ordinary people’s, makes me a bit scared that I’m drifting away from being an ordinary human.

“Should I not bring that anymore?”

“Well, I think it’s okay to bring it occasionally.”

“Well, that’s that. It tastes pretty good.”