The One Who Targets the Queen of the Underworld – (2)
“You mad fool!”
“What are you doing, drawing your sword all of a sudden? Have you lost your mind?”
Theseus could no longer contain his rage. Was this lunatic really someone he once called a friend?
What? His plan was to deceive Pluto, abduct Persephone, and force himself on her? Was he consumed by Dionysus’s madness? How could anyone concoct such a deranged idea?
No, more importantly...
“I owe my wife’s safety to Pluto, and you think I’m going to stand by and let you spout this nonsense?”
“Hah?! That was thanks to the goddess of justice! You think the god of the underworld cares about you?”
“You fool! How could Dicē possibly drive away one of the Twelve Olympians without the backing of the god of the underworld?”
Suppressing his anger with great difficulty, Theseus sheathed his sword. No matter how foolish and blasphemous Pirithous’s words were, he couldn’t simply kill the king of Thessaly.
“In any case, I absolutely will not help you. Do whatever you want, but don’t ever contact me again!”
“Hah. I didn’t think a coward like you could ever be my true friend anyway. Hmph...”
“You’re as deranged as Dionysus himself!”
Theseus, his veins bulging in frustration, turned and returned to Athens without another word. Once there, he knelt before Pluto’s shrine and prayed, the wisdom of the hero on full display.
“Oh lord of the underworld, the king of Thessaly is planning madness!”
Naturally, that prayer reached my ears in the underworld. A prayer from the king of Athens, a hero who had slain the Minotaur and set up my shrine in the city where few others did. Dicē had already reported to me the incident with Dionysus, so I was well aware of his devotion and had even granted him a few blessings of wealth in the past.
“Oh lord of the underworld, the king of Thessaly is planning madness! I’ve heard from Pirithous himself...”
According to Theseus, his so-called friend Pirithous intended to deceive me and steal my wife, Persephone?
Honestly, it was hard to believe. How was this any different from someone trying to steal Hera, Zeus’s wife? Then again... there was that madman, Ixion, who now suffered eternal punishment in Tartarus.
Perhaps Pirithous truly was after Persephone.
But even for a king of men, such an idea was beyond reckless. Even if he brought an army of thousands, Persephone could turn them all into flower petals with a mere gesture.
If Theseus’s claims were true, he’d likely come to the underworld soon enough, so I decided to wait. I could have Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory, handle his interrogation when the time came.
Still, the fact that this was happening despite Persephone being known as my beloved... If she hadn’t come to the underworld, we’d likely have had three children by now...
“Hades! What are you doing?!”
“I was just thinking about you. Perfect timing.”
Persephone came bustling into the audience chamber, her golden hair shimmering as usual. Beside her, Menthe was also there, her eyes drowsy and heavy-lidded.
Persephone clung to me with drooping eyes, and I embraced her. But Menthe’s words were quite... odd.
“I’m so tired... Please help me, Hades...”
“...?”
“Hades... you’re getting deeper into me... more... more...”
Menthe truly had a unique personality, likely from being a nymph. But still... we weren’t even married yet...
She buried her face in my chest, inhaling deeply. The scent of mint filled my nose, and her touch sent a strange atmosphere through the room. Persephone, watching this, pouted and shot a glance at me, her lips jutting out.
“Ugh... Stop fawning over Menthe so much and pay attention to me too! You said you were thinking about me!”
“Ah, yes. I was. Just now, a human named Theseus told me...”
I explained to her the absurd story I had just heard. Her expression slowly became more and more blank as I spoke. After all, hearing about a mortal planning to abduct a goddess as his wife...
“Grr... How dare a mere mortal dream of such a thing... I’ll deal with him myself!”
“Hold on! I understand your anger, but calm down a little.”
Persephone’s eyes were blazing with fury. If I didn’t calm her down, she might just curse all of Thessaly.
“How am I supposed to calm down?! Hades, are you really okay with letting that human—!"
She stormed toward the door. I quickly rose from my seat and grabbed her, pulling her into an embrace.
“Core, do you think I don’t care for you?”
“N-no... I mean...”
Thankfully, my words had the desired effect. She relaxed and gazed at me with a flushed expression.
Seeing her clinging to my robes, I continued speaking softly.
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“You approached me first, remember? Now it’s too late to run. Even if Zeus himself declares war on me, I won’t let you go.”
“B-but... you stole my heart first...”
“If that mortal truly desires you, I’ll see that he receives divine punishment. Don’t worry.”
“Y-yes... But if that human comes, leave the punishment to me!”
With that, she turned and left quickly, blushing as she hurried out of the room. Watching her retreating figure, I smiled. Then I turned to the mint-scented nymph at my side, who was now looking up at me like a lost puppy.
“Hades... I... I want you too...”
Chuckling, I wrapped my arm around Menthe’s waist.
At this rate, I’d need more than just one body to keep up with these goddesses.
Sure enough, Theseus’s prayer proved accurate. About a week later, a messenger arrived carrying a letter from Charon, the ferryman of the underworld.
“Hades. This is Charon. Some human claiming to be a king is causing a ruckus at the River Acheron, demanding entry. He says...”
Some lunatic who calls himself the king of Thessaly was causing a disturbance, demanding an audience with me? It had to be Pirithous, just as Theseus had prayed.
He had somehow found the entrance to the underworld. Perhaps he’d been asking around, or maybe the local nymphs had helped him.
In any case, it was clear he was after Persephone.
“Bring the human causing trouble at the River Acheron to me.”
Living mortals couldn’t cross the River Acheron. But those soon to die... well, that was a different story.
I waited leisurely, sipping mint tea, until I saw the wretched human being dragged before me by the souls of the dead. He appeared to be in his late thirties or early forties by human standards, unconscious.
The souls slapped him awake.
“Ugh... Huh!”
“So, you’re the one causing a scene at the River Acheron?”
Pirithous quickly looked around, assessing the situation, before finally bowing his head to me. His eyes darted, searching for Persephone, it seemed.
“Greetings, Lord Hades! I am Pirithous, king of Thessaly!”
“...Why are you here? You’ll be coming soon enough, so were you hoping for a tour of the underworld?”
“Well, you see, a grand festival is being held in Thessaly, and I’d like to extend an invitation to the beautiful queen of the underworld...”
So Theseus was right. This man truly was insane. How should I handle this? Maybe I should just feed him to Cerberus...
But before deciding, I had already summoned the goddess of memory, Mnemosyne, who now approached the kneeling Pirithous.
“Is that so? Mnemosyne, please confirm if this man is telling the truth.”
“Yes, of course.”
“W-wait, Mnemosyne? The goddess of memory...!”
Pirithous tried to speak, but his voice was silenced. Mnemosyne gazed at him for a moment before shaking her head in disbelief.
“Hah... Your suspicions were correct, Hades. This man truly is...”
I stared down at the human, whose eyes were now wide with terror, as I pondered.
He wasn’t under the influence of Dionysus or Gaia’s madness. He was simply a ruler of a small city-state who had lost his mind. No different from Salmoneus, who tried to imitate Zeus and now suffered in Tartarus.
“Theseus has already told me everything, and the goddess of memory has confirmed his story. You have committed three crimes: first, attempting to deceive me; second, planning to force yourself on a goddess; and finally... ignoring the words of your closest friend.”
Despite Theseus’s warnings, Pirithous had chosen to walk willingly toward his death. A little common sense could have saved him, but ambition and greed had blinded him.
“Persephone, you may enter. As promised, you can decide this man’s punishment.”
If Pirithous wanted to meet Persephone so badly, I would let him.
To be slain by the goddess of spring...
The door to the chamber opened, and Persephone entered, her golden hair shining. She gazed at Pirithous for a moment, then smiled coldly.
“S-so... uh...”
“You were so enchanted by my beauty that you wanted me as your wife? I’ll let you keep dreaming that dream forever.”
Rustle—
From Pirithous’s body, pink flower petals began to bloom. He tried to brush them off, to pull them away, but it was useless. The flowers were part of him now. Or was he part of the flowers?
“Gah... Aaah!”
His legs, now fully transformed into beautiful blossoms, no longer moved. His torso, his arms... his human form crumbled in an instant.
Soon, all that was left was a beautiful pink azalea in full bloom.
“Can I plant this at the entrance to the underworld?”
“You may do with it as you wish.”
Humming a little tune, Persephone left with the flower in hand.
Death by becoming a flower that only blooms in spring—it seemed like too lenient a punishment, but I could see it. Whenever a petal was plucked, Pirithous would feel pain.
Still, what kind of audacity had driven this man to come to the underworld in the first place?
Then again, thinking back to Sisyphus, who tried to outwit death, and Tantalus, who fed his own son to Zeus... perhaps it wasn’t so unusual for humans to attempt such madness.
I sat for a moment, idly toying with the object on my desk.
“Hades. What is that ring you’re holding?”
“Hmm? Oh...”
Mnemosyne had noticed the ring I was fidgeting with.
It was the ring of youth I had received from Zeus in exchange for arbitrating the dispute between Ares and Poseidon. An artifact with powers similar to Harmonia’s necklace.
“This is the ring of youth, a gift from Zeus.”
“The reward for helping arbitrate the dispute, correct? Are you thinking of giving it to some goddess as a proposal gift?”
“...It would make an excellent engagement ring. Its beauty and powers are certainly fitting.”
“Oh? Hah...”
Mnemosyne let out a mischievous chuckle at my words.
I had a bad feeling about this...