King of Underworld

Chapter 86 Love and Fire – (1)

Lately, Gaia has been rather quiet.

Could it be because the hero trainees who had gathered in Thebes have completed their training and returned to the mortal world, capturing monsters along the way?

To prevent these heroes from falling into Gaia’s madness…

We provided them with objects imbued with Dionysus’s power. Perhaps that’s part of the reason as well.

Chiron also seemed to focus on mental training, aware of the dangers.

“Hades, my lord, Lady Demeter and Lady Persephone have arrived at the entrance of the Underworld.”

“Is it time for Persephone to return already? Let them in.”

A messenger approached, informing me that it was time for Persephone’s return to the Underworld.

Soon after, the doors to the audience chamber opened, and two goddesses entered.

Demeter, with her cold demeanor, and a golden-haired figure running toward me…

“Uncle Hades! I missed you!”

Hug.

I hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to embrace her or not, but then I met Demeter’s sharp gaze and decided to return the hug.

Seeing me accept her daughter, Demeter’s gaze softened.

Quite the contrast from how overprotective she used to be…

“Oh? You’re more accepting now? Hehe…”

“It’s been a while, Persephone. I know you’re happy to see me, but move aside for a moment.”

After setting the beaming Persephone down beside me, I turned to look at Demeter.

The earth goddess, her arms crossed, finally opened her mouth when our eyes met.

“Hades. You’ve probably heard by now from Olympus.”

“If you’re referring to the letter about sending Hephaestus to the Underworld because he caused trouble, then yes, I’ve received it.”

Rustle.

I pulled out the document Zeus had written and sent to the Underworld.

The handwriting was so furious that anyone could tell he’d written it in anger.

“Hades, brother, you mentioned the Underworld has been quite busy, right? Hephaestus has caused some serious trouble, so could you keep him in the Underworld for a while…”

I wasn’t sure what had happened, but having an extra pair of hands in the already-busy Underworld seemed like a good thing.

So, I had quickly sent a favorable response back to Olympus.

“And so, why exactly have you, the earth goddess, come all the way to the Underworld to discuss this?”

“The problem is the trouble he caused! That fool tried to assault Athena, failed, and ended up impregnating Gaia!”

“What kind of nonsense is that, Demeter?!”

What fresh disaster was this…?

* * *

The story Demeter told went as follows:

Athena had visited Hephaestus’s forge in the Olympian palace.

The goddess of wisdom sought to ask the god of blacksmiths to craft her a high-quality weapon.

It seemed she had been enraged after her temple was recently attacked by a Chimera.

But then…

“Hephaestus, could you perhaps craft me a shield and a spear…?”

“Huff… Athenaaaa!”

Rejected by Aphrodite and left alone for too long, Hephaestus, smitten by Athena’s beauty, tried to assault her.

But Athena, being not only the goddess of wisdom but also the goddess of war…

“Take this!”

“What?! Aaargh!”

Thud!

Athena flipped Hephaestus over and threw him to the ground.

However, in the process, Hephaestus’s semen splattered onto Athena’s thigh…

And Athena wiped it off and discarded it onto the earth.

“So, Gaia, the mother of the earth, ended up giving birth to Hephaestus’s child, and Athena is temporarily raising the baby?”

“Yes, that’s right! And just like his father, that child will probably grow up to assault a virgin goddess…”

Zeus’s fury and decision to send Hephaestus to the Underworld likely had less to do with the attempted assault on Athena.

We were currently in conflict with Gaia, the Earth Mother.

We couldn’t predict what Gaia, who had suddenly become a great-grandmother, might plan.

A needless provocation, or rather, an insult… an act of assault?

Although Gaia isn’t a complete enemy, given that she’s the grandmother of both Demeter and me, we still showed her respect.

But now, with a child born between her and my nephew Hephaestus…

“Hmph! So now you understand why I’ve come here? When Hephaestus descends to the Underworld…”

“Yes, yes… I’ll make sure he doesn’t get anywhere near Persephone.”

Thankfully, Demeter’s voice interrupted my descending thoughts, bringing me back to reality.

She had come not only to see Persephone off but also to request that I prevent the god of blacksmiths from approaching her daughter.

Wait a moment… If Gaia became pregnant from Hephaestus’s spilled seed on the earth, wasn’t there another earth goddess present as well? Namely, Demeter, who was right before me?

I glanced at Demeter’s stomach, but she didn’t seem to show any signs of being pregnant.

Still, just to be sure, it was better to ask directly.

“By the way, you’re also an earth goddess, right? Are you alright…?”

“Argh! Do I have to say out loud that I don’t have full control over the earth to be safe from that?!”

“…My apologies.”

Demeter’s face turned red with frustration as she stormed out of the Underworld.

Persephone, who had overheard the situation involving her “cousin” Hephaestus, came closer to me with a mischievous smile…

And then hopped onto my lap as I sat on the throne, her expression one of playful seduction.

Hmm. She’s far less skilled at this than Aphrodite…

“Hehe! Lord Hades! If Gaia can give birth to Uncle Hephaestus’s child, surely we should be allowed to…?”

“…Demeter should have seen you like this…”

Why does she call Hephaestus ‘uncle’ when he’s her half-brother… or cousin… Ugh, my head hurts. I need to stop thinking about it.

“Hehehe… Didn’t you miss me? I’ve been thinking about you every day, Hades!”

Why did you drop the “uncle” title, dear niece?

And please… stop rubbing yourself against my arm.

* * *

After sending Persephone to her chambers,

Some time passed, and two gods arrived in the Underworld.

“Uncle Hades, it’s been a while.”

“Greetings…”

One was a muscular god, Hephaestus, with his wrists bound and his shoulders slumped in defeat.

The other was Artemis, the moon goddess, seemingly there to keep watch over him, ensuring he didn’t try to escape.

Artemis periodically shot glares filled with contempt at Hephaestus.

It appeared word of this incident had spread through Olympus.

Most of the gods were likely aware of the entire affair by now.

“I’ve already heard everything. Artemis, you may return now.”

“Oh… And also…”

“Is there a message from Zeus?”

Artemis’s sharp voice echoed through the audience chamber as she lowered her head to speak.

Athena, like Artemis, had sworn virginity to the River Styx, so she must have felt a personal connection to the situation.

“Yes, Father told me to relay that you are free to use Brother Hephaestus however you see fit.”

Hephaestus’s expression grew even more gloomy.

Still, this was a mess of his own making, wasn’t it?

“Tell Zeus I understand. You may leave now.”

“Yes, Uncle.”

Before leaving, Artemis shot Hephaestus a final piercing glare.

It was clear that, guilty as he was, he could only avoid her gaze and offer no defense.

“…Hmph!”

Clip, clop.

As Artemis returned to the mortal world, I addressed Hephaestus.

At the sound of my voice, his well-built muscles twitched, much like a hunk of rotting meat.

“Hephaestus.”

“Yes, Uncle.”

“Why did you do it? Athena is a virgin goddess who swore her chastity to the River Styx, and you tried to force yourself on her, not even through marriage.”

“That’s… I’ve been wrongly accused!”

What nonsense is he spouting now?

You tried to assault her and failed…

I gave him a look of disbelief, and Hephaestus suddenly erupted in frustration.

“Uncle Poseidon told me that the reason Athena was coming to my forge was because she liked me!”

“Ah.”

I understood immediately. Those two never got along well.

During Poseidon’s rebellion, he had tried to persuade Athena to join him, but she refused.

There was also the matter of Medusa, who had relations with Poseidon and was turned into a monster by Athena.

They had even fought over a mortal city—Poseidon had offered a horse, while Athena gifted an olive tree.

The people chose Athena, and the city became hers.

That city was Athens.

It’s home to the most devout followers of the goddess of wisdom.

“Poseidon tricked you into thinking you had a chance with her…”

“I believe so as well. But no one believes me!”

“Of course! Who would believe the words of someone who tried to assault a goddess in their own forge and failed?!”

“Th-that’s…”

Sigh. Calm down. Keep it together. Is this really how it should be handled?

No. This is an education problem. He probably picked up these habits from Zeus and his womanizing ways.

And to make matters worse, he’s never even shared a bed with his wife, Aphrodite.

The rightful son of Zeus, god of volcanoes, fire, and blacksmithing, reduced to this… what a bright future for Olympus.

“Summon Eros, the one in charge of punishing criminals.”

“Yes!”

As Hephaestus and I waited in the audience chamber, a young god entered, his fingers dripping with ichor.

The god of love immediately dropped to the floor in a bow as soon as he crossed the threshold.

“Lord Hades, I’ve really repented this time…”

“Eros. Teach Hephaestus the duties you’ve been performing, and then you may return to Olympus.”

Eros’s face lit up, his wide eyes practically sparkling.

The exhausted expression he had worn moments ago had vanished without a trace.

“Thank you! Lord Hades! I swear, even if my mother orders it, I’ll never do it again, truly!”

Hephaestus, still looking defeated, hesitated before speaking.

“Uh… Uncle.”

“What?”

“Must I really take up the task of torturing criminals? Couldn’t you give me some smithing work instead…?”

“If you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll have Zeus transfer your permanent post to the Underworld.”

…::;:

The root cause of this whole attempted assault on Athena lay in Hephaestus’s loneliness.

Even with Aphrodite as his wife, he hadn’t been able to fulfill his desires, and that was likely the trigger for this mess.

“Very well then… I’ll be going…”

“Follow me, Lord Hephaestus!”

I watched Hephaestus and Eros leave the audience chamber and rubbed my temples.

Wait… if he was shaken enough to try assaulting Athena, a sworn virgin goddess…

What would happen if a beautifully adorned Gaia appeared in front of him? Would he shift his affections toward her instead?

Especially now that they had a child together… Could this really escalate into something even worse? Hmm.

Since I can’t force Aphrodite to love him, would it be better to just help him divorce and find another goddess for him?

“…Hephaestus.”

“Yes?”

It’s time to put an end to this endless marriage problem of yours.