Chapter 72: Persephone's Story - (7)

Demeter's face turns red as she points her finger at me.

"Hades! Did you conspire with Eros to shoot an arrow at my daughter?"

"I truly swear I didn't! I dodged a golden arrow that flew behind my back, but it happened to hit Persephone..."

"Then why did you feed her food in the underworld after taking her there? You're no different from Zeus or Poseidon after all!"

"What? You're comparing me to those guys?"

Even if she's gone mad because her daughter went to the underworld, how can she compare me to those guys?

Sigh... No. Let's calm down a bit.

"...Think calmly, do I look like a god who would make advances on your daughter whom I didn't even know existed? This is all coincidence."

"Ugh...! Th-Then are you saying it's all because of Eros? But no matter what, Eros wouldn't have the guts to shoot an arrow at you..."

Gods don't interfere with each other's domains.

Even if they commit wrongs and cause problems or lack divine qualities, a god is still a god.

If Poseidon falls into despair and lets everything go, sea creatures will slowly die.

If Ares doesn't cause wars, the number of mortals will increase excessively.

If Aphrodite's love is restrained for being too free-spirited, no new mortals will be born.

Not interfering carelessly in another god's domain is an unwritten rule of the divine world.

Because of this, when a god's personality is free-spirited, it often causes harm to other gods.

However, the higher the divine status, the more this unwritten rule fades.

Not many can dare to confront the Big Three who rule over entire worlds.

This is also why Dike, the goddess of justice, can't point out crimes of high-ranking deities.

Demeter must have meant exactly that.

"He probably made a mistake while practicing archery."

"A mistake?"

"Right after your daughter was hit by the arrow, I looked all around but Eros wasn't there."

"What... No, but how could such a coincidence... Maybe?"

Demeter, who had been standing still catching her breath, turned red again and flew off somewhere gathering clouds.

Don't tell me... Is she going to confront Eros now? Or complain to Zeus?

I hurriedly followed after her.

***

"Aphrodite! Did you order your son Eros to shoot that arrow?"

"No, why are you accusing me? What's this all about anyway!"

As I quickly flew on a cloud, I saw Demeter arguing with Aphrodite at her dwelling.

It seems my words to Aphrodite last time worked.

Next to her was Hephaestus, not Ares.

Right, even if she doesn't like it, they're still officially married... At least in public occasions, it's right for them to be together.

A little distance away, Hephaestus looked at me with eyes asking what was going on.

"Great Uncle... What's this about Eros's arrow again?"

"It's nothing much. Eros shot a golden arrow at me, I dodged it, and it hit Demeter's daughter."

"What?!"

"Ah... No, was there such an incident? This is the first I'm hearing of it..."

"So you're saying you didn't order it? Was it really Eros acting on his own..."

"If I had really planned this, I would have told him to shoot when I was passing in front of Hades!"

It seems the misunderstanding between Aphrodite and Demeter has been cleared up after hearing my explanation to Hephaestus.

But who was supposed to shoot whom when passing in front of whom?

I glared slightly at Aphrodite, and she subtly avoided my gaze.

"No... Th-That's just a figure of speech..."

"Enough of this, just call your son. We need to know for sure if it was really a coincidence or Eros's prank..."

"Oh, alright! We just need to ask Eros once, right?"

At Demeter's urging, the goddess of beauty and love grumbled as she went to call her son.

As I watched Demeter waiting with her arms crossed, Hephaestus called out to me from the side.

"Great Uncle, does this mean that Persephone has fallen for you?"

"It seems so... But you know her too? She looked like a young goddess."

My niece really looked young. Even though Eros was born not long ago...

Persephone is at most 200? 300 years old?

"I live in the Olympian palace, so. I haven't seen the goddess of spring and seeds at banquets, but I've heard rumors."

"What kind of rumors?"

"That she's incredibly beautiful, taking after both her father and mother's looks."

"I see..."

"Is she really that beautiful? I heard her golden hair and eyes are as lovely as the color of grain blessed by Demeter."

Do you like all beautiful goddesses?

No, it's because you haven't properly shared love with Aphrodite...

"Ugh.. I'm really envious, Great Uncle. I can guarantee that you must have received Aphrodite's blessing!"

"...It's not a situation to be happy about my niece falling for me."

"Huh? What's wrong with that? Right now, Persephone's parents are siblings, and most Olympian gods were born from unions between relatives..."

As if he truly doesn't understand my words,

looking at the blacksmith god's eyes full of only questions, he really seems confused.

"Actually, sometimes even Athena looks beautiful to me. Don't you think so too, Great Uncle?"

"Hephaestus."

"Her excellent figure that can't be hidden even by the armor and helmet she always wears.. Huh?"

"Let's stop this nonsense here."

"...? Understood..."

Of course, Goddess Lethe and Goddess Styx are distant relatives too, but...

No matter what, isn't Persephone too close of a blood relative?

Even if incest isn't a sin for gods, this is a bit much, isn't it?

***

Eros's golden arrow really was a mistake.

One of the arrows he shot while wandering outside the Olympian palace unfortunately flew in this direction.

"It really was a mistake. Even though the arrow flew towards Mount Etna, I didn't think it would hit anyone..."

Having understood the whole situation, Aphrodite scolded her son with her hands on her hips. It seemed she had already given him a few smacks, as Eros's forehead was red.

"How many times have I told you! Practice archery only on designated targets!"

"...I'm sorry..."

"Hmph! Even if you're a young god, is saying sorry enough after hitting my daughter?"

Eros looked completely dejected, holding his cute-looking bow.

He looked like a 5-6 year old human on the outside, but he had snow-white wings on his back.

"I told you to always be careful with arrows and only use them when absolutely necessary, but you keep doing this?!"

"I... I got it. But Mother also..."

"This child is still! What about me?!"

"...You told me to shoot a golden arrow when passing in front of Lord Hades! Why are you only scolding me!"

"What?"

Even Demeter, who hadn't calmed down, looked at Aphrodite with a dumbfounded expression.

"Ha... Now I see, like mother like son."

"Th-Th-This is a misunderstanding!"

"Pfft. What misunderstanding, even recently you told me to try shooting Lord Hades well... Mmph!"

"Oh my! Why is this child saying such things...!"

The goddess of beauty hurriedly covered her child's mouth and smiled awkwardly.

Not content with wearing the Kestos Himas, now you're even using Eros?

"...Next time an arrow from Eros flies, I'll assume you ordered it."

"Eek.. Th-This is all because of you, Hades! How can you not do it even once when the goddess of beauty wants it so much!"

Seeing Aphrodite's face turn completely red and start blaming me, I feel a headache coming on.

No, is this right for a married woman who even has an affair partner?

"Anyway, it's all Hades's fault!"

With those words, Aphrodite flew away hurriedly with tears in her eyes.

It's fortunate Hephaestus isn't here right now.

If he had seen this, wouldn't the Ares & Aphrodite scene from the last arts festival have been reenacted differently?

The god of blacksmiths might have joined Gaia's side, shedding tears of blood...

The earth goddess watched Aphrodite's retreating figure.

Suddenly, as if she had realized something, she nodded and muttered:

"You certainly didn't make advances on my daughter, Hades. I never thought a man who could reject the goddess of beauty's courtship existed..."

...I think I was better off struggling with countless tasks in the underworld.

"Anyway, I apologize for misunderstanding."

"...It's fine. At least you understand now."

Next, I turned to Eros, who had drooping wings and a gloomy expression.

Even if it was a mistake, there's a need to teach him the lesson that love's golden arrows shouldn't be shot carelessly...

"Um.. Can I go now? Lord Hades...?"

"Eros. I can provide a place for archery practice in the underworld."

"Really...?!"

"If you come to the underworld shortly, I'll let you do all the archery you like."

"Wow! Really? I'll be there soon!"

Eros flew away happily, unaware of his future.

Since Aphrodite also has the divine status of love, the world's balance won't be greatly affected even if Eros stays in the underworld for a long time.

Finally, I can lighten the work of the dead souls assigned to torture serious criminals day and night.

I'll educate you so that you never shoot arrows carelessly again.

You'll have to keep shooting arrows even if your fingers fall off...!

***

"Even if she fell for you after being hit by Eros's arrow, I'll try to persuade Kore."

"Do as you wish. I'm thinking of returning to the underworld now, so get on the chariot."

"About my daughter eating food from the underworld..."

As I was about to descend to the underworld with Demeter, someone approached walking on clouds.

A male god with blue hair and overwhelming divine power comparable to mine.

My brother and master of the sea, Poseidon, looks at us with eyes full of regret.

I have a bad feeling about this...

Demeter spoke to him.

"Poseidon? What business do you have?"

"Ahem. Ahem. Demeter, I came to comfort you after hearing the news that your daughter had gone missing..."

"Where did you hear that news? And what do you mean by comfort?"

"Hrm! It seems I came a bit late. Tsk. Anyway, I'll be going now."

Poseidon disappeared after glancing at Demeter with eyes full of regret.

The fact that Demeter's daughter, who was playing near Mount Etna, rode my chariot and headed to the underworld.

Poseidon must have heard this from nearby nymphs.

By the way, comfort... 'Comfort'... Hmm.

That violent Poseidon surely wouldn't have comforted her with just normal conversation...

Could it be that he thought Demeter would be in deep sorrow from losing her daughter and tried to have a relationship with her?

Silence fell between us for a moment.

Soon, as if reaching the same conclusion as me, Demeter clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.

"Zeus and Poseidon! Grr...! All male gods are the same!"

"...That's an insult."

This was the current state of Olympus, the place where gods live, revered and feared by all mortals.