King of Underworld

Chapter 18: The Story After the Typhonomachy – (2)

Crossing Iris’s rainbow, my body was transferred to Olympus.

It had been a long time since I felt the sensation of stepping onto soft yet heavy clouds.

In a world filled with white clouds, I could see the distant Olympian Pantheon.

It appeared to be made of white marble, but in reality, it was constructed of metal forged by Hephaestus and the Cyclopes.

The grand temple, no, the pantheon, was enormous enough to reach the Milky Way in the sky…

“Why does it look so intact?”

It should have been half-destroyed and in a miserable state after the battle with Typhon.

At my muttering, Iris sighed and replied.

“Lord Zeus commanded Lord Hephaestus to spearhead the rapid reconstruction of the Pantheon.”

I could almost see Hephaestus, the valiant warrior who summoned the flames to fight Typhon and the greatest blacksmith of Olympus, being exhausted from the reconstruction.

Iris’s complexion didn’t look good either… Ah, you must have had a hard time as well.

Casting a sympathetic glance at the goddess of the rainbow, I walked towards the gates of the Olympian Pantheon.

Clearly more splendid than the gates of the Underworld where I lived.

Covered in gold, the pillars adorned with dragon and lightning motifs, and the handles made of a peculiar, shining metal.

From a distance from the door, there was a softly flowing river of starlight, the Milky Way.

“Ah, that decoration was designed after much deliberation by the gods Apollo and Hephaestus…”

As I stared at the aesthetically pleasing creation made by the god with an excellent sense of beauty, Iris began to explain.

However, as I was about to enter, I only half-listened and then opened the door.

Swoosh-

The floor of the Olympian Pantheon was made of clouds.

Thus, the door opened smoothly without any unpleasant creaking sounds.

The banquet of Olympus, where numerous gods and attendants wandered about.

There were many ornate tables and chairs, and ambrosia, the food of the gods, was served on plates, ready to be eaten.

“Black hair, black eyes, and this cold aura…”

“To think the lord of the Underworld would actually come to Olympus…”

“I heard Lord Zeus invited him…”

Ignoring the whispering lower gods and attendants, I looked around.

Tring~ Tring~

“Wow…”

“Shh..! I can’t hear the music.”

The first thing I noticed was Apollo, the god of music, setting down a golden goblet filled with nectar and sitting down to play the lyre.

The surrounding goddesses and female attendants were lost in the music, gazing at him with infatuated expressions.

“Hey, pour me some nectar.”

“Yes! Understood!”

As the gods held out their goblets, those wearing convenient chitons (Chiton) ran around on the clouds, pouring nectar from bottles.

They were the attendants of Hebe, the goddess of youth who managed the nectar and ambrosia.

As the daughter of Zeus and Hera, she was busy directing the attendants during the gods’ banquet.

“Hebe.”

“Oh! Lord Hades, you’ve arrived!”

She bowed her head with a fresh smile.

After exchanging a brief greeting with my niece, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, I also reached for a nearby golden goblet.

Well, I was about to. If the sea god with blue hair hadn’t reached for it first.

“Hey, Hades. Honestly, I didn’t think you’d come to Olympus.”

“Poseidon.”

The sea god, Poseidon, smiled widely and downed the nectar in one gulp.

In his other hand, he held his prized trident.

“So… what do you think of the Olympian banquet?”

“It’s just a typical banquet. Is there a problem?”

Poseidon, picking up ambrosia from a plate, spoke to me.

[Could you attend a banquet at my palace next time? There’s something I need to discuss that I can’t say here…]

The second-in-command of Olympus looked around, his expression stiffening slightly as he quietly communicated his message.

I nodded slightly.

[I will send my servant to the entrance of the Underworld later.]

[That’s fine.]

Yes, this was one reason I had intended to come to the banquet.

Just being in a place where gods gathered meant hearing all kinds of news, secrets unknown to me, and shady stories.

As the king of the Underworld, I couldn’t afford to shut my eyes and ears to such matters.

After setting up an appointment with Poseidon, we chatted for a while before naturally moving in different directions.

When the two rulers of the sea and the Underworld gathered, I felt the surrounding attention momentarily focus on us before dispersing.

It seemed Zeus, who had hosted this banquet, would appear soon.

Once enough gods had gathered, he would likely make an appearance, raise his goblet, and set the mood.

* * *

“Hades. I didn’t expect you to come.”

“Why, what’s wrong with me coming to Olympus?”

Hair reminiscent of well-ripened grain, a mix of reddish-brown and yellow.

Her splendid appearance was matched by her expressionless face, Demeter, the goddess of the earth and one of the Twelve Olympians.

She was sipping nectar while gazing down at the earth visible through the clouds.

“Since you are always busy ruling the Underworld, I assumed you wouldn’t come.”

“I don’t spend every day buried in work.”

Even if she looked like she didn’t believe it, it was true.

In fact, it could be said I was currently neglecting my duties to take a break.

She turned her head back to look at the earth.

The landscape visible from the pantheon atop Mount Olympus was the same as usual… or not.

“Are those workers down there your subordinates?”

“I just assigned some minor tasks to the lower gods and nymphs.”

Well, restoring Mount Olympus, which Typhon had destroyed, didn’t seem like a minor task.

In fact, weren’t those nymphs looking quite disgruntled?

I listened in on what the workers on the earth were saying.

“Huff… How long do we have to keep doing this…”

“This is a task assigned by Lady Demeter, if we mess it up, our bodies will wither away!”

“I-I’m a Dryad too, so I can’t afford to anger Lady Demeter!”

Dryads are nymphs who live in trees.

They have long lifespans but are not immortal like the gods and cannot stray far from their trees.

Thus, they couldn’t refuse Demeter’s orders and had to endure the hard labor.

They had no choice if they didn’t want to wither away overnight…

“Go easy on them.”

“Hmm? The earth is my child, and those beings depend on me for survival. What’s wrong with this amount of work?”

Demeter looked puzzled, but I still hoped for some mercy.

If she worked in the Underworld, she would understand the hardships of subordinates who are ground down by labor.

“The king of the gods, Lord Zeus of Olympus, is entering!”

A lower god who could control the winds shouted loudly.

At the same time, a muscular male god with golden hair that I knew appeared.

“Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.”

* * *

The sweet melody that had been softly emanating from Apollo’s lyre stopped.

The gods, who had been eating nectar and ambrosia, paused their meals and bowed their heads in respect.

When everyone turned their attention to the king of the gods, he began to speak again.

“I, Zeus, the one hosting this Olympian banquet, will say a few words briefly.”

Clearing his throat, Zeus spoke in a grand voice imbued with divine power.

“We recently faced the formidable foe Typhon, but with the combined might of all the gods here, we succeeded in repelling that monster!”

Everyone knew this banquet was a victory celebration commemorating the defeat of Typhon.

“On this occasion, I would like to take a moment to commend the gods who made significant contributions in the battle against Typhon. First… Hermes!”

Hermes, the youthful god with the Caduceus, stepped forward and bowed before Zeus.

Zeus patted his shoulder, said something to him, and then raised his voice again.

“Despite sustaining serious injuries from Typhon, Hermes succeeded in reaching the Underworld to request aid. Without Hermes, Olympus might have been defeated! As a reward, Hephaestus has made greaves (脚絆) for him…”

“Ooh…”

“Indeed, the messenger god…”

“Hermes did well.”

“If Lord Hades hadn’t reclaimed the Scythe, it would have been dangerous…”

I watched quietly as Zeus praised his son, Hermes.

Hermes, with an awkward smile, seemed to find the praise a bit excessive.

“Next, my daughter, the goddess of wisdom, Athena, come forward!”

As expected, the fully armed Athena walked forward confidently and knelt on one knee before Zeus.

During the battle with Typhon, Athena’s strategy had indeed been effective.

“The plan that successfully deceived Typhon came from your mind. Truly, the title of goddess of wisdom is well-deserved…”

Zeus had mentioned earlier that this was a commendation ceremony.

Commendation means the praise of subordinates by their superiors.

Thus, neither Poseidon, who dealt significant damage to Typhon, nor my name was called by Zeus.

Even though Zeus was acknowledged as the strongest and the king of the gods, we three main gods were almost equals.

“…Ares! You, as the god of war, were indeed brave…”

And well… since he was praising the deeds of his children, there was no reason to rain on his parade.

Watching Zeus commend the gods one by one, I took a sip of nectar.

Hmm… Is the nectar of Olympus different? Why does it taste sweeter than when I drink it in the Underworld?

“…The commendation for the heroes who bravely faced Typhon ends here! I, Zeus, will now take my leave, so everyone, please continue to enjoy the banquet!”

Rumble!

With the sound of thunder, Zeus disappeared from the banquet hall.

It seemed he was considerate of the lower gods who might feel uncomfortable with his presence.

But did he have to leave with a thunderous noise?

To me, it was just noisy.

“Lord Hermes! I would like to hear the story of how you escaped Typhon’s grasp in detail…”

“I wasn’t in Olympus at that time, but was that monster really that strong?”

“Indeed, the goddess of wisdom, Athena!”

“Ares, join me later in my chariot…”

Many gods gathered around today’s heroes, those who had excelled in the battle against Typhon.

There were plenty trying to listen to their tales of valor or to use this opportunity to build connections with the Twelve Olympians.

“Lord Poseidon! Though Lord Zeus didn’t mention it…”

“So, which god’s son are you?”

Incidentally, no one approached me, who was sipping nectar in a corner with Demeter.

Even that fierce Poseidon had gods talking to him… Why was that…

Seeing me, Demeter chuckled and spoke.

“That’s obvious. If they offend you, they’ll end up in Tartarus, and if they please you, they’ll be dragged to the Underworld. Who would dare approach you lightly?”

“Did I say that out loud?”

“…It’s written all over your face, Hades.”

Of course, it wasn’t something I couldn’t understand.

Apart from the Twelve Olympians who could sit on the golden thrones of Olympus, there were plenty who revered and feared me.

The Underworld, the realm of the dead, is a deep, dark, terrifying, eerie, and somber place… but…

Still, it was a banquet, and having limited gods to converse with made it somewhat dull, with nothing interesting happening…

I got acquainted with a few newly born gods.

To be precise, they greeted me trembling, and I sent them off appropriately.

“Loosen your expression. You look even gloomier. As if you’re about to drag someone to Tartarus…”

“It’s not true.”

Demeter pointed out my appearance with a somewhat discontented face.

Isn’t this dislike of the Underworld?