The Story of Persephone - (5)
"... Persephone, do you know what it means to eat the food of the underworld?"
"Ah?! Is it not allowed? I'm sorry..."
Persephone's expression quickly turned gloomy.
The underworld is a world completely different from the living realm, and thus has its own set of rules.
These rules are well preserved on parchment infused with divine power...
The laws of the underworld.
Article 1, Clause 1: Once a person has died, they cannot come back to life.
Article 1, Clause 2: All souls must undergo a trial to settle their karma from the living realm.
...
...
...
Article 5, Clause 2, .....
Article 5, Clause 3: Anyone who has eaten the food of the underworld must live here.
The case that applies to Persephone... is precisely that Article 5, Clause 3.
It does not mean she cannot go to the living realm at all, but at the very least, it means she must relocate her residence to the underworld.
Even gods are bound by these laws, which is why the gods temporarily dispatched to the underworld have not touched any food.
Neither Athena, nor Ares, nor Aphrodite have eaten any food in the underworld.
"Huh... Anyone who eats the food of the underworld must live here."
"Uh? Is that so? Then does that mean I will live with Uncle now?"
Since Persephone had been struck by Eros's golden arrow, her reaction was not bad.
But what would Demeter or Zeus think about it?
No.. wait a minute, even if she is a young goddess who has lived for less than 300 years,
How could she not know the laws of the underworld? Did she eat it on purpose?
The position of the mistress of the underworld naturally comes with power and authority, and if it is Persephone who has been struck by the golden arrow...
"... For now, follow me. Do not step out of my sight."
"Yes!"
It would be better to just keep her with me.
So I took her with me for a while as I handled my duties.
"As a price for losing your purity, you have faced death after being cast out among the followers of Artemis..."
"... May the god of mercy be glorified... Thank you, Pluto."
While I listened to the grievances of the wronged souls and tried to make a fair judgment, Persephone had a face full of questions.
Once the backlog of trials was finished, she approached me.
"Uncle Hades. But why are you so lenient with humans?"
"Lenient?"
"Yes. It seems you show mercy even to humans who insult or act arrogantly towards gods."
Her eyes were filled with pure curiosity, not sarcasm or dissatisfaction.
It was a thought that a young goddess, born under a high divine rank and raised without want, might have.
With the immense power of divinity and authority, the pride of maintaining the balance of the world, and a sense of superiority over weak humans.
This is not just Persephone's issue.
Most gods would likely think this way...
"... It would be better to discard such thoughts."
"Yes..? What?!"
"The underworld is the place where mortals meet their end and is a final destination. What would happen if I were harsh with them?"
"But aren't we gods supposed to be served by them? If I don't use my powers of spring right now, humans..."
Young gods, despite their innocence, possess great power,
And sometimes they can appear as harsh and capricious beings to humans.
Especially for Persephone, who is revered from birth and has the ability and lineage to do so.
Even Demeter and Zeus sometimes show harshness towards humans...
She seems to have inherited her parents' temperament quite well.
"... You truly are a goddess who governs one of the four seasons."
"I am the goddess of spring and seeds..."
"That is not the meaning. I simply meant... your trivial actions may be perceived as natural disasters by humans."
As I continued speaking while looking into Persephone's questioning eyes,
I hoped that what I had seen and felt in the underworld would help her even a little.
"Our gods are not absolutely perfect beings. Even Zeus and Athena can make mistakes."
"Even my father and the goddess of wisdom?"
"There is no perfect god. So, refrain from using your powers based on momentary whims and short thoughts."
"Uncle Hades, have you ever regretted anything?"
"... Countless times."
After living for so long, how could one only show a perfect image?
No matter how much of a god of mercy or the just ruler of the underworld one may be...
"I have regretted making wrong judgments and being swept away by momentary emotions."
"Ah..."
"When you are angry, the mortals who die as a result may seem insignificant to you..."
"......"
"Remember that for them, it is an inescapable disaster. Those wronged souls come to the underworld."
As I spoke, Persephone's free-spirited divine power trembled greatly.
Had she awakened to the realization of her role and the responsibility of her domain?
"It may not always be possible, but we gods must strive to make the most just judgments."
"... I've never heard such words from my mother..."
Persephone murmured quietly while looking at the ground.
At that moment, I felt that she had grown slightly.
The lively and vibrant power of Persephone was calming down.
As one of the four seasons, spring would stabilize a bit more, and the seeds sown in the earth would grow well.
"For now, I will assign you a temporary residence. And I will inform your mother of this..."
"Hades, something terrible has happened! Right now in the underworld..."
The goddess of Styx rushed in through the door.
Could it be another attack from the Gigantes?
"In the underworld... the soul of Chiron has arrived!"
Chiron.
A centaur whose upper body is human and lower body is a horse, known for his wisdom.
Skilled in all arts and rich in knowledge, but his greatest strength was in education.
He was responsible for raising many heroes in the living realm.
If Chiron is dead, it will be difficult to raise a prophetic hero capable of defeating the Gigantes.
"I will go meet him right away. But he is an immortal being..."
"That... he was tortured by the suddenly invading Gigantes and gave up his immortality!"
"This is..."
The Gigantes that came to attack Mount Etna were only a few hundred.
But to think they would spread their forces to kill Chiron...
Was Gaia targeting heroes again, just like when she corrupted Oedipus?
Could it be that Gaia has figured out the prophecy that our gods knew?
No, if she had grasped it fully, she would have launched an all-out attack immediately.
She must have at least suspected that the hero was related to the Gigantes.
It is fortunate that she does not possess the ability to see all futures.
Well, such abilities are not even possessed by Prometheus...
For now, I hurriedly moved with Persephone and the goddess of Styx to meet Chiron.
Yes, my niece, it would be better for you to stay in my sight.
Soon, I saw Chiron appearing as a translucent soul.
To think he truly died and came to the underworld...
"Chiron."
"Hades. It has been a long time. It is unfortunate to meet like this."
As I spoke, the centaur lowered his head with a bitter expression.
"I heard that the Gigantes tortured you. You may rest comfortably here."
"... I feel guilty for fleeing to death without fulfilling my duty of raising heroes."
"Who could withstand being tortured by monsters comparable to gods?"
"Thank you, lord of the underworld. They... my students..."
Thanks to Chiron's well-known reputation throughout the world,
Wherever he was, there were always those who wished to become heroes.
But suddenly, many were slaughtered by the invading Gigantes.
Chiron and his students resisted, but they could not defeat monsters that matched lower gods.
According to him, many of his students were either slaughtered or fled.
"I learned upon arriving in the underworld that fortunately, the gods Dionysus and Ares descended and drove them away."
"Hmm... when you were in the living realm, Corinth and Athens were also attacked."
"It seems they appeared in various places."
"Although the Olympian gods descended and killed the Gigantes, the damage was not insignificant..."
"They aimed to destroy temples and sever the connection between mortals and gods rather than just killing ordinary humans. They would rush at any heroes or demigods they saw."
After Chiron finished speaking, the gods, including Thanatos, added further explanations.
They attacked the cities of humans, including Corinth and Athens...
"Many heroes died this time."
"Athena hurried down to the underworld, but I heard her temple was partially destroyed."
"I wonder what the Olympians think about this incident..."
I gestured to stop the gods who were exchanging opinions.
"The goddess of the rainbow will come down and call for me at the Olympian palace. Until then, we will maintain our usual vigilance."
"Still, shouldn't we prepare a little?"
"Demeter is here, isn't she?"
"Ah... the goddess of the earth must have the stone of Omphalos, so she must have figured out the location of the Gigantes!"
The last attack by the Gigantes achieved the result of killing Chiron,
But on the contrary, it revealed their base to us.
Demeter must have informed Zeus,
And even now, many gods must be keeping a close watch on the Gigantes' base.
Now, the Gigantes can no longer attack without the eyes of the gods upon them.
What remains for them is an all-out war or Gaia's schemes.
Since earlier, Persephone had been quietly watching with sparkling eyes, not interrupting at all.
Still, she does not disturb when work is being done.
Did my earlier words affect her mood?
The goddess of Lethe tilted her head and looked at Persephone.
"Hades, who is that goddess who has been here since earlier? She doesn't seem to be a lower god..."
"Oh, I am Persephone!"
I should clarify that I do not want to be accused of bringing a goddess to the underworld without reason.
If I keep my mouth shut and remain still, misunderstandings are bound to arise.
"I am the daughter of Demeter and Zeus, whom I met near Mount Etna. By the way, I was struck by Eros's golden arrow and saw him, and I also ate the food of the underworld."
"Yes?!"
"You were struck by Eros's golden arrow... then that means..."
"Does Demeter know about this?"
"I plan to go up to Olympus soon and explain it directly."
The expressions of the many gods gathered here changed.
There was nothing they could do about it.
I had to report urgently whether the Gigantes had attacked anywhere besides Mount Etna...
"I was perfectly fine even after being struck by the golden arrow!"
"Yes, yes."
"I really am! You saved me before I was struck by the golden arrow, so take responsibility!"
"... What?"
"No... Hades... why do you keep increasing the number of goddesses every time you go out?"
"Before it increases any further..."
The crowd hurriedly turned their heads to look at the goddess of Styx and the goddess of Lethe.
And I could see Mente, who had just entered through the office door, frozen.
As everyone froze, Persephone suddenly began to whimper.
"Hades, you touched me gently back then! I don't know! Please take responsibility!"
"Wha... what?"
"Wait, have I grown older and my hearing has gotten worse? Should I stop by Apollo's place..."
"Who touched what?"
"Hades...! What did you do?!"
No, why is everyone looking at me like that?
This is a misunderstanding...
Persephone, even as a goddess, still retains her lively spring-like personality...!
"My niece... in a situation where you were being choked by the Gigantes, I just hugged you to put you down from the chariot, and now you're saying strange things..."
"Th-that's the same thing! I want to marry Hades!"
"Hades. Did you really not touch her except for putting her down from the chariot?"
"This is not the time to worry about the Gigantes! Hurry up and tell everything..."
"H-Hades... I'm okay with being a concubine, but if it gets too many..."
The underworld has always been a place where all sorts of things happen,
But it seems to be especially so these days.
Did Gaia cast a curse or something?
"Hades, the goddess of the rainbow, Iris, has come to visit. She must have been dispatched from Olympus regarding the Gigantes..."
"...! Tell her to come in immediately."
She must have come to invite me to the meeting at the Olympian palace.
We need to discuss the Gigantes, and what should I explain to Demeter?
Amidst the noise of the underworld, the goddess of the rainbow, Iris, arrived.
"To meet the lord of the underworld..."
As Iris entered, she stopped speaking, looked around at the situation, and widened her eyes.
Seeing Iris like that, the inevitable god of death, Moros, spoke nonchalantly.
He had been leaning against one wall of the office with his arms crossed since earlier.
"Oh, Iris, do not be alarmed. It is just the usual scenery of the underworld."
"Lord Moros, what is going on here..."
"It is really nothing much. Just that the daughter of Demeter and Zeus was struck by Eros's golden arrow, saw Hades, ate the food of the underworld, and is now quarreling with three goddesses who like Hades."
"Wh-what? Whose daughter?!"
The complexion of the goddess of the rainbow turned pale,
And the seven-colored halo that she always radiated behind her began to fade.