King of Underworld

Chapter 163

The Tale of the Golden Apple - (1)

At last, the wedding was over... and the peaceful passage of time resumed in the Underworld.

I even constructed a statue for the goddess Nyx in my shrine in Thebes.

“Lord Hades has issued a divine oracle: to create a statue of the goddess Nyx, the Lady of Night...”

“Nyx? Are we to build a statue of a primordial goddess and spread her renown?”

“Was such a being present in the Underworld?”

Occasionally, I assigned Dike, the goddess of justice, to regulate gods or humans who stepped out of line.

Lately, humans had grown more audacious, mocking the gods or engaging in acts of malice with increasing frequency.

Of course, I also paid a visit to Alecto, one of the Furies, who—oddly enough—had not attended the wedding.

“Alecto?”

“Sniff... sniff. Hades, why can you accept other goddesses but not me?”

“Well, it’s just that...”

“Is it because of my unsightly hair? Or the blood that flows from my eyes?”

It took considerable effort to calm her down.

To think that one of the goddesses of vengeance harbored feelings for me. However, recklessly adding to my number of consorts was unthinkable...

“Haaah...”

As I pondered these troublesome thoughts, the door opened, and Styx entered.

Dressed beautifully as always, she looked radiant. Hmm. Could it be...? No, not this early in the day.

“Hades, have you heard that Thetis is getting married?”

“Ah, I received the message Zeus sent, but I didn’t think it necessary for me to attend.”

“Was it Peleus? Apparently, she’s genuinely in love with that mortal hero...”

The union of gods and mortals bore fruit once again.

Cadmus, Heracles, and now even the goddess Thetis were marrying mortals. Could it be that heroes were drawing closer to the realm of the gods?

“Hades! Something terrible has happened!”

“...Lethe?”

While I was conversing with Styx, Lethe burst in, visibly panicked.

Now what could it be this time?

“My mother is missing!”

“The goddess Eris? Perhaps she’s simply attending to something—”

“No, that’s not it! She was furious about not being invited to Thetis’ wedding and stormed off in a rage!”

What? The goddess Eris wasn’t invited to the wedding? And now she’s stormed off in anger?

This could only mean trouble.

“They sent invitations even to the goddess of famine and Lady Gaia, but not to my mother!”

While fate doesn’t always bring happiness, justice, or joy,

I had hoped the wedding would remain a moment of peace...

“I must go immediately. Where is the wedding being held?”

“At the temple of the Olympian gods.”

Without delay, I left the Underworld and headed for Olympus.

Discord is ever-present, an inseparable part of destiny.

But to have it arise at a wedding—one prophesied to bear a son who would surpass his father—was ominous.

What happens to the prophecy if the wedding is disrupted?

And Zeus? How will the king of gods react?

Preventing chaos before it begins is the best way to avoid greater trouble later.

But when I arrived at Thetis’ wedding, I realized I was already too late.

The sound of raised voices echoed across the gods’ gathering above the clouds.

“Enough. Be quiet for a moment and listen to me.”

At my words, the three goddesses, still bristling, fell silent for a moment.

“Why are you all fighting over that golden apple? Wouldn’t it be better to simply give it to Thetis, the bride and the main figure of this wedding?”

“No!”

“Absolutely not!”

“That’s unacceptable!”

What do you even want me to do, then? Are you planning to keep fighting here?

A battle of pride should at least take place in an appropriate time and place, not at a wedding!

Should I just assert my authority to shut this down? But that wouldn’t work with Hera. No matter how irritating, the queen of the gods must be respected.

Still, if this had been my wedding, I wouldn’t have tolerated it. Not even from Hera.

No matter who they were, I would have thrown them all out of the Underworld.

“What are you all doing at a wedding!!!”

Yes. Just like that.

Thetis wasn’t a goddess who was disliked, and her groom, the mortal hero Peleus, was a grandson of Zeus.

So, it was only natural for Zeus to be this angry.

“Instead of bestowing blessings on this wedding, you disgrace yourselves with such petty squabbles. Truly a delightful sight,” Zeus said sharply as he approached and picked up the golden apple.

“The rightful owner of this apple will be decided later! For now, we must prioritize celebrating the union of the newlyweds!”

“Yes, yes...”

“Understood, dear.”

“If Lord Zeus says so, well...”

Thankfully, it seemed everyone decided to let it go for now.

Yes, save the fighting for later. What kind of behavior is this at someone else’s wedding?

I made my way to Thetis and her mortal husband.

Since I was here, it was only proper to offer my congratulations.

“Ahem. Despite the earlier commotion, congratulations on your marriage, Lady Thetis.”

“Thank you...”

“And you must be Peleus, her mortal husband.”

“Thank you, Lord of the Underworld!”

After offering a few kind words and presenting an appropriate wedding gift, I turned to Zeus.

He was staring at the troublesome golden apple, deep in thought.

“Zeus.”

“It’s giving me a headache trying to decide who should have this.”

“To be honest, it might be best to just interpret it literally and give it to Aphrodite...”

“That would only lead to more fighting.”

If the golden apple were split into three pieces and distributed, they’d accuse us of mocking them.

If it were given to one goddess, the other two would hold a grudge.

If we used authority to declare it a gift for Thetis, the bride, all three goddesses would be resentful.

In that case, shouldn’t we entrust the judgment to someone everyone can agree on?

It seemed Zeus was thinking the same thing as he looked at me and spoke.

Yes, that’s right. As the king of the gods, you should make a fair decision and give it to one of the goddesses...

“Hades, brother, could you make the decision? With your reputation as the Lord of the Underworld and a god known for fairness, they might grumble a bit but ultimately accept it.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me...”

Don’t push this onto me.