The King of the Underworld is Tired

I immediately returned to the Underworld and handed back the necklace I had borrowed from Pandora.

I then summoned all the gods residing in the Underworld.

Upon hearing that Prometheus had given a prophecy, many gods stopped what they were doing and hurried over.

Even Thanatos, the busy god of death, seemed to have rushed here.

Once everyone had gathered in the office, I began to speak about Prometheus’s prophecy.

“…No matter how well we prepare, we will be struck down by Gaia’s attack.”

“It’s a fixed future, so there’s no way to change it…”

“What worries me is just how devastating that blow will be to us.”

“Perhaps we should place guards at key positions in advance?”

“Styx, that’s impossible. Trying to avoid the prophecy would only…”

As soon as I said a word, the office became noisy and chaotic.

If this were Olympus, where the strong authority of Zeus reigns, this wouldn’t happen.

But this is the Underworld, and it’s different here.

Aside from the fact that I hold the main decision-making power and that we respect the elderly gods who’ve lived long lives, all the gods are more or less equal, freely expressing their opinions.

In fact, the Underworld wasn’t always like this in the early days of its creation, but thanks to my efforts—since I found the rigid and formal atmosphere uncomfortable—this egalitarian atmosphere was established...

“Hades?! Why are you just standing there?”

“What else did Prometheus say?”

“Ah! Come on, Hades! I’m far more tired than you are!”

“Thanatos, sir… have another glass of nectar…”

“Oh, my apologies, everyone. I got lost in thought for a moment.”

…Good grief.

At some point, everyone had stopped talking and was just staring at me, waiting for my words.

I quickly composed myself and shared another part of Prometheus’s prophecy.

“And Prometheus also said that [after the worlds of the living and the dead are connected, the gods will prevail].”

“How on earth do we connect the living world with the Underworld?”

“It’s too vague—how, where, and in what way do we connect them?”

“I can’t make sense of it either…”

“Is he saying we need to turn the world into complete chaos in order to win?”

Let’s say we can’t change the fact that we’ll suffer great losses, but how do we connect the living and the dead to ensure victory…? This is giving me a headache.

While all the gods were racking their brains to interpret the prophecy, a voice came from the goddess of forgetfulness, who had been gazing into the void.

“Hades, perhaps we can ponder that issue later?”

“Lady Lethe?”

“We are given a grace period until Gaia’s blow lands before we have to connect the living and the dead, aren’t we?”

Indeed, that’s what Prometheus said.

We will suffer great losses from Gaia’s attack, and only after that do we connect the worlds…

“Surely, he isn’t suggesting I mobilize the entire army of the Underworld to march forth…”

“That’s certainly not the kind of prophecy… or could it be?”

“Shall we go ahead and check how much military force we have available in the Underworld?”

“…Were there any other prophecies, Hades?”

As I was mulling over the prophecy and trying to stop Morpheus from suggesting we check the military forces, Hypnos, who had been quietly folding his arms, asked me a question.

“Oh… Now that you mention it, Prometheus did say something else…”

Hades, you’d better keep your pants loose! Hehehe!

…What on earth did he mean by that?

That sounds more like something one would say to Zeus… no, wait… “keep your pants loose” means…

“Blast that charlatan Foreseer…”

“What was that, Hades?”

“What did Prometheus say again?”

Styx and Lethe both looked at me with curious expressions.

I glanced at the two innocent goddesses, then replied nonchalantly.

“…It’s nothing. He was just playing a joke on me.”

“Well, Prometheus has always had that kind of personality.”

“Yes, that sly one, always smirking and grinning.”

…Why do I feel like I’ve done something wrong?

* * *

Amid the odd atmosphere,

A minor god entered the office.

“Lord Hades, the messenger sent to Olympus has returned.”

“What did Olympus say?”

Since Olympus also needed to know about Prometheus’s prophecy, I had sent a messenger to receive their response.

“Yes, sir. They said no matter what preparations are made, they can’t avoid the attack mentioned in the prophecy, so they’ll maintain the status quo.”

“That’s reasonable. You can’t avoid prophecy no matter how much you try.”

If we gather our forces to guard one area, they’ll attack elsewhere.

That would be true even if it were Olympus itself.

“The goddess Athena speculated that the losses from Gaia’s attack might create the necessity for the two worlds to be connected.”

“Necessity for the living and the dead to be connected?”

“Does she think the humans will be wiped out or something?”

“Maybe we should ask Hermes to keep sending us information periodically…”

“Right now, it’s hard to make any guesses.”

“Could it be that Demeter loses the Omphalos Stone she’s using?”

If that’s the case, it’s not something we need to worry about at this moment.

In an attempt to avoid the prophecy, making preparations might instead lead to fulfilling it.

“For now, let’s pause the meeting here. However, it would be wise to maintain close communication with Olympus, as we have been.”

That should suffice for now.

So, we must connect the Underworld with the living world to win…

As I stopped the conversation with the gods and was about to leave, Goddess Mnemosyne called out to me.

“Hades, a new god has been assigned to the Underworld.”

“To the Underworld? No one forced them, right?”

“That part I’m not too sure about… The message came from Olympus.”

There are several ways a new god can be born.

First, a mortal who has achieved great deeds and earned the recognition of the gods can ascend to Olympus and become a god.

Second, if both parents are gods, their offspring will quickly grow into gods after birth.

Third, a mortal who becomes venerated as a deity by humans after death can also become a god.

Fourth, someone like Dionysus, a demigod who gains enough faith from humans, can ascend as well.

In any case, there are many other ways to become a god, but…

Among all the gods born so far, not a single one has been assigned to the Underworld.

There are various reasons for this.

First, none of the gods here in the Underworld have time to create new gods.

Second, the Underworld is generally considered an undesirable place to work.

Aside from the dark, subterranean atmosphere devoid of the life force of the living world…

“Oh ho, after thousands… no, tens of thousands of years, a new face is coming?”

“Finally, our workload might decrease a bit.”

“A new god… What should we have them do first? Maybe keep them locked inside the fortress so they can’t escape…”

“I’d love it if they could help me reap souls.”

There was so much work in the Underworld.

Its notoriety even spread to Olympus, so who would want to come here willingly?

And yet, there was a new god assigned to the Underworld?

It’s obvious someone must have pressured them, or perhaps it’s a god who isn’t well-informed.

“Well then, I will officially conclude the meeting. I’m off to meet this new god assigned to the Underworld, so carry on with your work.”

“You don’t need to tell me. I’m already working,” grumbled Thanatos.

“Er, sorry, Thanatos.”

Thanatos, who seemed to be seeing something that wasn’t there, responded while his eyes darted everywhere.

Well, with all the Avatars of himself he has controlling things in the living world, it makes sense.

* * *

I sat on the throne in the audience chamber within the fortress, waiting for the new god assigned to the Underworld.

What kind of god, with such peculiar tastes, would willingly want to work here?

Creak.

The massive doors to the chamber slowly opened, and what I saw was…

A man carrying a staff entwined with two snakes and wearing winged sandals,

Hermes, the Messenger of the Gods…?

He offered me a playful smile and exaggeratedly bowed his head.

That mischievous grin of his only appeared when something amusing had happened.

“Greetings, uncle! Everyone’s favorite messenger, Hermes, at your service. I’ve brought the new god with me today!”

You’re the one working here now?

And you’ve personally brought the new god?

The entrance to the Underworld is hard enough for a newly born god to find, but I suppose having a god like Hermes, who can freely traverse the boundaries of the world, would be helpful.

Tap, tap.

Hermes gave a playful smile and knocked on the closed doors of the audience chamber a few times.

As if that were a signal, the divine aura outside the door stirred.

Who could it be that warrants such behavior?

Despite Hermes’s mischievous nature, he never committed acts of disrespect…

Creak.

The do

ors opened once again, and a beautiful goddess slowly entered.

With bright, pale turquoise hair, an aura of freshness, and a familiar fragrance, that face…

“Menthe? Why have you come to the Underworld?”

“Uh… Hehe… Hello, Lord Hades.”

Menthe, one of the Naiads, the water nymphs, and a priestess at my temple in Thebes, now stood before me.

She had lived in my previous life and was now the namesake for my symbol, the mint plant.

Wait, hold on—Menthe has become a god?