The King of the Underworld is Tired Chapter 6 (6/82)
The Story of Life - (1)
The gods, having foreseen the future in the war against the Titans, ordered Prometheus, a Titan who had surrendered, to create the human race.
And his brother, Epimetheus, created various creatures such as pigs, horses, and birds.
At this crucial turning point in the world, what was I, Hades, the King of the Underworld, doing?
"The souls passing over the River Styx have increased recently."
"Hades, in the end, isn't it all about humans? The workload is too heavy, even for me to handle other creatures..."
"Ask Hypnos, the god of sleep, for a little help, and once the Underworld stabilizes, start bringing only humans."
I was busy managing the Underworld due to the numerous deaths of the newly created creatures.
The Underworld is not a place solely for humans.
As countless souls reached the end of their lives and flooded into the Underworld, my duties as the manager of the Underworld increased significantly.
If I had been living a leisurely life until now, it meant that from this point on, I had to seriously manage the realm of the dead.
The newly born creatures died so easily.
The creatures thrown into nature by the gods began a fierce struggle for survival, and Thanatos, the god of death, complained of fatigue as he brought the souls of the deceased to the Underworld.
Suddenly becoming the busiest worker in the Underworld, he sent countless shadows, or rather, duplicates of himself to bring the dead souls, causing the Underworld to be crowded with souls.
At one point, there were even souls waiting to be reborn in the Underworld.
Fortunately, this was a problem that time could solve.
After a certain amount of time, the newly born creatures would learn wisdom from their surviving ancestors and live longer.
"Hades, I'm starting to wonder if it wasn't a better choice to side with Cronus."
......I'm tired too, so please bear with it.
Still, the suffering of some gods has just begun.
Personified death, Thanatos, became so exhausted from controlling his numerous duplicates that his eyes were sunken and his appearance was haggard.
His lustrous wings became dry, and his steel-black feathers gave the illusion of falling one by one.
Could it be that an immortal god, a son of Nyx, is collapsing from overwork?
"Hearing such words from the King of the Underworld is quite terrifying. Please, don't even joke about it."
Thanatos, with a bitter expression, sighed.
Oops, I let my thoughts slip out again.
The Underworld is so lonely that I've developed the habit of talking to myself.
* * *
After much time passed and the cycle of life and death normalized, bringing peace to the Underworld, we celebrated.
For the immortal gods, it wasn't an incredibly long time, but...
Finally, animals adapted to their environment, and humans began living in groups, reducing the number of easy deaths.
For a short while, the hellish workload seemed to be coming to an end.
If only Zeus hadn't created Pandora and sent all kinds of diseases and harmful substances to the earth, things would have been easier.
Or, if he had made Prometheus work like a slave in the Underworld as punishment for giving fire to humans.
Honestly, I think it was too harsh to have his liver eaten by an eagle just for sharing fire. Thanks to that, humans occasionally offer sacrifices...
The Underworld was saturated for a while due to Pandora's box that Zeus left on earth.
At the very least, shouldn't Athena, the goddess of wisdom, be dispatched occasionally?
Anyway, with some free time, a small party was held in the Underworld.
All the gods, including the hardworking Thanatos and Hypnos, and the goddess Styx who helped with the Underworld's duties, gathered inside the Underworld's fortress to enjoy nectar and ambrosia.
A few souls were playing the lyre, which humans had created, and the servants were busy serving drinks and food.
I sat at the head of the table, sipping nectar and inwardly cursing Zeus.
Ding. Ding-ding~
"Swallow, swallow. Phew... Now we can rest a bit."
"Fortunately, the task of bringing souls has become easier as our stories have spread among humans."
"Indeed, these days, most humans who die seem to resign themselves when they see my wings."
Did you know? Nectar, the drink of the gods, has more than one flavor.
Once it enters your mouth, it is refreshing, smooth, and simultaneously gives a cool and sweet taste, a wondrous feeling.
"Phew...! The nectar tastes even better today."
The reason the usually nagging goddess Styx is drinking like a madwoman is probably because of this...
Ambrosia, the food of the gods, is even more unique.
It tastes like whatever the person most wants to eat at the moment. In my case, it tasted like the pork belly I used to eat in my past life.
Hmm, now that I'm tired of pork belly, it tastes like sweet chocolate chip cookies.
"Hades, do humans often offer sacrifices to you?"
The goddess Styx, who was drinking nectar next to me, brought up the topic of humans.
I heard that human nations have been established on earth.
The stories of the Olympian gods have spread widely, and some humans call my name when offering sacrifices.
Shall I listen to what humans are saying now?
I lent my 'ear' for a moment.
Hmm. The earth is indeed a mess.
I remembered the face of a devout believer who offered me dozens of cattle he had raised and then closed my ears.
Another name for me is Pluto, the generous one, the god of wealth.
There are humans who worship me as the god of abundance, perhaps because the underworld is perceived as a place of wealth.
After all, the underworld is rich in precious gems and minerals that are valuable to humans.
And I have the Horn of Plenty (Cornucopia), which also contributes to my status as the god of wealth.
If you put your hand into this large horn, you can take out as much food and treasure as you desire, infinitely.
It's a magnificent item that perfectly suits the god of abundance, but what's the point... since I'm not human, it doesn't have much significance.
"Hades..."
Stop clinging to me. Goddess Styx, you've had too much nectar.
"O King of the Underworld... to report..."
A soul, holding a spear and on guard duty, quietly approached me and whispered.
It was the soul of a man who lived for about 30 years before dying. If a soul refuses to be reborn and chooses to stay here, they are assigned roles like this.
I thought very few souls would choose the Underworld, but surprisingly, many chose to stay after crossing the River Lethe and forgetting their memories of the living world.
Of course, the balance of rebirth must be maintained, so we can't grant everyone's wishes.
Pushing aside the goddess Styx, who was showing the great power of nectar that can even intoxicate gods, I listened to the soul.
"The Rainbow Goddess Iris has visited the Underworld. She says she has a message from a high-ranking deity..."
As the ghost soldier relayed the message, the small celebration paused.
Goddess Styx, who seemed to have sobered up, and Thanatos and Hypnos, who put down their ambrosia, all looked at me with sharp expressions.
"Surely... we just started to rest..."
"Can't be... Oh, Zeus."
The door to the banquet hall opened, and a beautiful goddess with silver feet and white wings entered.
She emitted a soft, rainbow-colored aura.
Under normal circumstances, the sight of such a beautiful goddess might have made even Zeus lose his mind, but here, only tension filled the air.
"This is Iris, long time no see, Lord of the Underworld."
Iris, the Rainbow Goddess, is the messenger of Zeus and Hera.
However, since she mostly delivers Hera's messages, there is still hope.
"Lord Zeus has decided to punish the corrupt humans by causing a great flood."
Suddenly...?
Corrupt humans > Great flood > Most humans die > Underworld population surge > Overwork
The gods sitting here quickly processed this chain of events in their minds.
Their brilliant minds concluded that they were about to be overwhelmed with work.
"Hypnos, can you put me to sleep?"
"Swear by the River Styx that you won't get any sleep until the flood ends."
"This time, I don't think I can help, Hades. I'll be on my way..."