The King of the Underworld is Tired

Another dark day in the Underworld.

I, Hades, paused my work, lost in thought.

These days, whenever I sit on my throne and listen to the mortal world, I can sense that something has changed.

"Merciful Lord Pluto... We give thanks for your grace today as well."

"Please bless me with wealth, O most bountiful one..."

"My father, who has passed to the Underworld..."

For some reason, prayers addressed to me have increased recently.

Not just a small increase, but as if the entire city of Thebes is praying.

All I did recently was descend near Thebes and fight on a mountain...

Is the growing fear of death making them pray to me?

Elsewhere, a wealthy nobleman had built an altar of wood and knelt reverently before it.

On the altar were twenty dead cattle, and the nobleman, holding a torch, lit the altar and shouted,

"All-powerful Lord Pluto! I offer you ten bulls and ten cows!"

All-powerful? Not even Zeus can do that. And judging by the looks of your servants behind you, they must have been overworked preparing this offering to me.

And the animals offered as sacrifices... They're either sick or old.

It seems that with the increase in believers, strange ones are also being drawn in.

That man will not receive a favorable judgment from the three judges of the Underworld, the Minos brothers.

As I tried to look elsewhere, a messenger ran up to me with news.

By now, I was quite familiar with this messenger's face. He was likely a guard from near Minos' tribunal...

"Lord Hades! Someone has appeared at the River Lethe who hasn’t lost their memory again!"

"Again...?"

"Yes, and they're causing a commotion near the judges, claiming injustice..."

More and more souls seem to be arriving with deep grudges.

But meeting with every one of them is endless work, so I should call for the goddess Lethe...

"But this one appears to be the grandson of Cadmus, the founder of Thebes."

"Cadmus' grandson? Bring him to me; I'll see him."

Thebes is a place where my faith has spread widely.

And it's the birthplace of the great hero Cadmus, who essentially saved the world from Typhon.

Cadmus lived a life so glorious that he was allowed to enter Elysium.

I'm curious about what happened to his grandson for him to retain his memories.

After waiting for a moment, the doors to the audience hall opened, and the soul of a tall, handsome young man entered.

But as soon as he saw me, he immediately prostrated himself and said something rather unexpected.

"So, you are the grandson of Cadmus..."

"Merciful god Pluto! I am but a human named Actaeon! Please, free me from this injustice!"

Many souls have been brought here, invoking the name of the god of wealth, Pluto...

But why am I being called the god of mercy?

"I am not a god of mercy. But what grudge do you hold to bring you here?"

"I was killed for seeing the naked body of the goddess Artemis!"

What? What nonsense is this?

As I was struck speechless, Actaeon cried out in anguish.

"I had no malicious intent! I never dared to approach with the desire to glimpse the divine body of a beautiful goddess!"

"...Calm yourself for now."

* * *

After some time, Actaeon regained his composure.

With a melancholic tone, he slowly began to recount what had happened to him.

"From a young age, I was mentored by the centaur sage, Cheiron..."

A centaur, with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a horse.

Though they are generally a wild and barbaric race, Cheiron was different.

Born from the union of the transformed Cronos and his niece, Cheiron was wise, gentle, and skilled in many arts, from martial combat to music and literature.

As his reputation grew, it became customary for those aspiring to be heroes to study under him.

Thus, Cheiron gained the title of 'Teacher of Heroes,' and it seems Actaeon was one of his students.

"Thanks to Cheiron's teachings, I was able to gain a bit of renown as an adventurer."

"I see, so you were a student of Cheiron."

"Yes. On the day of my death... I had returned from a difficult adventure and headed to the woods of Cithaeron for a hunt. But there..."

"Artemis was there?"

"Yes... The goddess Artemis and her nymphs were bathing..."

Artemis, upon meeting his gaze, became enraged and cast a curse upon him.

Actaeon's body transformed into that of a stag, and he was eventually hunted down by his own hounds.

"I feel so wronged. I knew well that Artemis was a goddess sworn to chastity..."

Artemis was so angered because she felt humiliated that a mere human had seen the body of a goddess,

And also... because it was a situation that threatened her vow of chastity.

Having sworn by the River Styx, Artemis' chastity was in jeopardy just by Actaeon seeing her naked form.

She must have killed him to prevent any rumors from spreading about what he saw...

"I understand your grievance. I'll speak to Minos and ask him to consider your unfortunate circumstances during judgment."

"Thank you... Thank you so much. Glory be to merciful Lord Pluto..."

He truly seems to have been unlucky.

Could this be the curse that Ares placed upon Cadmus' descendants?

Actaeon, bowing his head and sobbing...

His situation is so pitiable that I’ll at least make his time in the Underworld a little more comfortable...

* * *

"...That’s what happened."

"Artemis really shows no mercy, huh?"

"...How pitiful."

The goddess Styx, who was reclining next to me on the throne, shook her head in disbelief. The goddess Lethe, sitting on the floor and looking up at me, had her eyes slightly downcast.

"But, why are the goddesses here?"

"We need breaks too, you know. We've been working so hard."

"I'm not Thanatos, you know..."

The image of a certain god who always seems on the verge of tears comes to mind, but I decided to let it go for now.

Though, being this close... it's hard to ignore the soft sensation...

Both of them are looking at me with expectant eyes, so I forced myself to look away and change the subject.

"By the way, Actaeon called me the god of mercy. Do you think humans have misunderstood my divine nature?"

"Well, there's a rumor going around Thebes right now."

Now that I think about it, Lethe often absentmindedly watches over the humans of the living world.

She sometimes blesses them with forgetfulness and enjoys watching their reactions, so she's sensitive to the rumors spreading among humans.

"They're saying that the merciful lord of the underworld manifested himself to save his followers in danger."

"But don't other gods often help their followers too?"

It's quite common for gods to aid their followers or even turn them into constellations. Humans often call upon the name of the god they believe in during times of peril.

"Well, death is frightening and terrifying. And inevitable too."

"Humans don't even like to mention the underworld..."

Could it be because my actions contradict the image of the underworld god humans usually have?

I suppose there still aren't many worshipers who call me Pluto instead of Hades...

"But the title of the god of mercy suits Prometheus or Hestia more, don't you think?"

Prometheus, who pitied humans and delivered them fire, and Hestia, who protects hearth and home with warmth and gentleness. It seems more fitting for them to be considered gods of mercy...

Lost in thought, I noticed the goddess Styx smiling gently as she leaned against me. And, no, goddess Lethe, you too...

"Hehe... Hades, your arms are really strong."

"Then, maybe here too..."

How many souls arrived in the underworld today? Should I start counting the goddesses Zeus and Poseidon assaulted, one, two, three...

I was frozen in place, unable to move, while a seductive whisper reached my ears. The soft touch of Styx's hair brushed against my shoulder.

"Hades, how about we take a break and go to the mortal world? You've been working so hard lately."

"I'd like that too. The Gigantes aren't likely to invade anytime soon, so why not relax a bit?"

"But I should stay in the underworld..."

As I tried to avoid the hopeful gazes of the two goddesses and searched for an excuse, my eyes caught the sight of the silver-haired goddess looking up at me, mumbling quietly.

"I’ve been having a hard time too... can't we? Please?"

"Gulp!"

Her clear blue eyes, her cheeks and ears turning red as if embarrassed... A god's heart may not stop, but at this moment, I was no god—I was just a man.

"Y-Yes... Then, let’s go out for a while."

...!

I had things to do in the mortal world anyway, so going together wouldn’t be a problem.

The underworld was well-maintained enough that the goddesses could take a break, and most importantly, this would get me out of this awkward situation.

"It's about time I patrolled near Mount Etna, where Typhon’s body is pinned down. Would you like to come with me?"

Hearing this, the faces of the goddesses lit up with joy.

"Really? The goddess of oaths heard you, so you can't go back on your word!"

"Hehe... We did it, Styx!"

Oh no... I've been tricked by the goddesses.

As expected of the cunning gods of the underworld—they used their words and, uh, bodies to persuade me.

Well, still...

"Hehe... I'll go change my clothes. Wait for me just a moment, Hades!"

"Ah! Lethe, I'm coming with you!"

This peaceful moment... it’s not so bad.