King of Underworld

Chapter 116 Day of Rest in the Underworld – (1)

After receiving confirmation from Lady Nyx, I sat on the throne of the citadel and let out a sigh.

I had anticipated that persuading those who had distanced themselves from the world wouldn’t be easy, but to be asked to bring a token from Uranus…

The feather in my hand suddenly felt much heavier.

There may be gods who question whether it’s truly necessary to persuade Lady Nyx…

But we had imprisoned all the Titans in Tartarus.

We had also separated Typhon’s head from his body and imprisoned him.

We had killed countless Gigantes, Gaia’s monstrous offspring.

And just recently, Hephaestus of all people tried to impregnate Gaia.

Hmm. Gaia’s wrath must be sky-high.

Indeed, persuading Lady Nyx is crucial.

“Hades, Lord Hermes and the Horae goddesses have arrived from Olympus.”

“Have they come to see Dike, who moved to the underworld? Bring them in.”

The Horae goddesses are three sisters, daughters of Zeus and Lady Themis.

Aside from Dike, there were Eunomia, the goddess of order, and Eirene, the goddess of peace.

Their personalities were similar, as expected of Dike’s sisters.

Eunomia lamented over the disorder in the mortal realm… and Eirene didn’t particularly care for Ares.

“Hades, Uncle. Greetings. This time, I’ve brought all the Horae sisters!”

“Hello, Lord Hades…”

“It’s been a while, Lord of the Underworld.”

After casually receiving their greetings, they got straight to the point.

“May we ask where Dike is? We’re worried about what kind of hardships she might be facing…”

“We tried to stop her, but she insisted on bringing justice to the underworld…”

“Attendant, guide them to where Dike is.”

“Thank you, Lord Hades!”

“I wonder if Dike is doing better than we expected.”

I had one of the attendants guide them to meet Dike.

Their eagerness to see her showed the strong bond between the sisters.

Now, I turned my attention to the messenger god who had been standing quietly.

“Hermes, deliver a message to Olympus. Let them know that in order to gain Lady Nyx’s assistance against Gaia, we must retrieve a token from Lord Uranus.”

“What?! Lady Nyx, the goddess of night? And Lord Uranus too…?!”

Hermes’ eyes widened in shock, and as I explained the situation, his expression grew more and more astonished.

“Well, it ended up that way. I managed to persuade Lady Nyx after continued efforts, and in the end, she agreed—on the condition that we retrieve Lord Uranus’s token.”

“Understood! I will deliver this news to my father immediately.”

After sending Hermes on his way and with the Horae sisters visiting Dike, I thought I might as well check on how she’s adjusting to the underworld.

Given Dike’s dedication to justice in the mortal realm, I assumed she’d be managing well on her own…

* * *

“Hades, Lord… This much work is not fair.”

“…Well, that’s what I expected.”

“I implore you as the god of justice, please allow the underworld to have a fair day of rest, like Olympus.”

In the underworld’s office, I found Dike, who had already become haggard.

She had wanted so desperately to come to the underworld… Though I understood now, seeing her like this, she clearly hadn’t known what she was getting into.

“Sniff… Sob… Dike, your face has gotten so thin…”

“Why did you insist on coming to the underworld…”

Beside Dike, her sisters, Eunomia and Eirene, were crying as well.

Occasionally, they would glance at me with eyes full of resentment.

“Hades… No, Uncle. Please, save our Dike.”

“Hic… She looks like she’s been to Tartarus and back…”

A little further away, other deities residing in the underworld stood with puzzled expressions, as if unsure what the fuss was about.

The goddess Styx, Medusa, Persephone… and especially Thanatos had particularly unimpressed looks on their faces.

“Hmph. We’ve always worked like this. I wonder how much lounging they did on Olympus.”

“…I don’t know, I’ve never been to Olympus, but how comfortable is it over there?”

“This is not Olympus…”

“If they think this is bad, imagine doing the soul-harvesting work for a month. They’d probably pass out. Tsk. These youngsters today…”

It was a typical reaction for gods from other places who came to work in the underworld.

I thought Dike might be different, having come here for the sake of justice, but apparently, she wasn’t much different after all.

“Eunomia, Eirene. If you’re that worried about Dike, why don’t you come to the underworld too? Order and peace seem like they would fit in well here.”

“Ah. Ah. No, thank you! This place is not peaceful… I mean, that’s not it!”

“There’s no order to be found in the office… I mean, that’s not it either!”

What? The underworld isn’t peaceful, and there’s no order to be found?

It must have shown in my eyes because they flinched and began to look nervous.

Sigh. The underworld is indeed difficult for gods accustomed to Olympus.

Dike’s haggard appearance, which looked like Thanatos’s power had affected her, was evidence enough. And the persistent complaints about the workload were also nothing new.

“…I suppose we need to establish a day of rest.”

“A day of rest? Hades, if we stop working even for a day, the consequences could be severe…”

“Rest is important, but the soul management would fall into chaos even for just one day.”

As soon as I muttered to myself, the gods immediately voiced their concerns.

The gods of the underworld, even though they constantly grumbled about the work, never put it down because of this very issue.

A day of rest, when the work of managing souls, death, reincarnation, and judgment stops?

The cycle of the world would be thrown into chaos, Olympus would start complaining,

newborns would be without souls, and the dead would be stuck waiting at the Acheron River.

That’s why…

“Thanatos, if the number of dying humans decreases, wouldn’t that make things a little easier?”

“Well, yes, but…”

“Let’s discuss it with Olympus and declare a global day of rest. The war gods will pause their battles, and we’ll issue an oracle declaring that anyone who commits murder that day will face consequences in the underworld.”

“Hm… Do you think Olympus will agree to that?”

“Eirene, as the goddess of peace, you’ll need to help out with this.”

We wouldn’t be able to stop entirely, but at least having one day a month with lighter duties might give everyone a breather.

Old man Charon, the ferryman at the Acheron River, would surely be thrilled.

“I’ll reach out to Olympus. We’ll inform Poseidon as well so that fewer people are caught in turbulent waves that day…”

Letters proposing a day of rest were quickly sent out, and soon, the responses began to return.

Since this involved the entire world, Zeus responded, requesting that we meet in Olympus to discuss the matter.

And so, the day came for me to head to Olympus, with many voices cheering me on.

“We’re counting on you, Hades. Make sure you secure a day of rest from Zeus!”

“O god of mercy and justice…!”

“If they don’t agree, we’ll be prepared for the worst.”

“…The fate of the underworld rests on Hades.”

I could feel their heartfelt sincerity, so strong that it made my chest swell with emotion and almost brought tears to my eyes.

“…I’ll make sure to persuade them, even if I have to resort to threats.”

If necessary, I’ll threaten to open Tartarus itself.

* * *

Later, in the Olympus palace.

The gods of Olympus, summoned by the letter I sent, gathered to discuss the proposal for creating a day of rest to reduce the number of deaths.

As soon as they arrived, they could feel the suffocating tension in the air.

Cough…

“Oh…”

They could tell just by looking at the atmosphere that I, the lord of the underworld and sender of this letter, was absolutely determined to secure a day of rest.

I sat at the long table in the spacious meeting room, my hands clasped together and my face resting on them, my eyes gleaming ominously.

Even without using any divine power, the grimness I radiated was enough to make everyone uneasy.

Zeus, nudged by Hera’s sharp gaze, finally began the meeting.

“Ahem! Let’s begin the discussion on the proposal for a day of rest in the underworld.”

“The sea doesn’t mind. Zeus, as long as I don’t stir up large waves, it should be fine, right?”

“I understand how difficult the work of the underworld is. I’m in favor. The blacksmiths should also get a break that day…”

Poseidon and Hephaestus were quick to agree.

However, the god of war looked a little conflicted…

“Uh, Uncle Hades. But stopping a battle in the middle is a bit…”

“Then, will you come help with the work in the underworld? I’m sure Thanatos would be delighted.”

“Gasp…! No, thank you.”

…He was promptly silenced.

“Does this mean I’ll have to stop my festivals too?”

“Every time you hold one of your regular madness festivals, people die and flood the underworld. Old man Charon is grinding his teeth over it…”

“…I’ll issue an oracle to postpone the festivals to avoid the day of rest.”

Dionysus, the god of madness, meekly offered his input before looking down at the floor again.

Zeus, after conferring with Hera beside him, surveyed the room and spoke.

“Then, how often do you think these rest days should occur? Once or twice a year?”

“Once or twice a year is out of the question. You know how overworked the gods in the underworld are, Zeus. At the very least, we need one day of rest each month.”

“Hades, Uncle, is right. When I visited the underworld recently, I could see that regular rest is necessary.”

“Athena, when do you think the day of rest should be?”

“But the gods guarding the Gigantes will still need to remain vigilant. We can rotate shifts…”

“Does this mean I’ll get to rest on that day too?”

“Hermes, stick to your duties as a messenger.”

The gods gathered in Olympus debated for quite some time, trying to narrow down their opinions.

Would a ray of hope finally shine on the gods of the underworld? Only time would tell.