The King of the Underworld is Tired

Chapter 108: The God of Fairness, Hades – (1)

Upon returning to the Underworld with Persephone, I saw several gods rubbing their tired eyes while reviewing scrolls.

Their expressions clearly conveyed their frustration at me for having the luxury of resting outside.

“Hades… you’ve been wandering outside the Underworld quite a bit lately…”

“You’ve got a backlog of documents to deal with.”

The goddess Styx handed me a large stack of documents.

Yes, yes, I know there’s work to be done.

“If you’d returned any later, Thanatos might’ve escaped again.”

“Again?”

“I admit, even I felt tempted to let things go for a while.”

The god Hypnos avoided my gaze, shaking his head.

For now, I sat down, efficiently flipping through the scrolls, moving the quill to sign off on each document.

I appreciate the hard work everyone does due to the wandering head god.

Then, my eyes fell upon a document bearing the official seal of Olympus.

At Eros’ wedding, I was only there as a guest, so no business matters came up.

While I was pondering the scroll, the goddess Lethe explained what it was about.

“…That document. It’s an official request from Dike, the goddess of justice from Olympus, asking to relocate to the Underworld.”

“She wasn’t at Eros’ wedding earlier…”

“Why would the goddess of justice want to leave Olympus and come down here?”

“It’s not just a temporary assignment either. She wants to settle here permanently?”

“Hmm… Could it be…”

The gods exchanged glances and murmured, looking at me.

“Could she be the fifth (wife)?”

“No.”

Dike.

The goddess of justice, born of Zeus and Themis.

She’s one of the Horae, the goddesses of the seasons, and a sister to Eunomia, who governs order, and Eirene, who governs peace.

Just as my other name is Pluto, her other names are Astraea or Justitia.

“She must’ve had some business to attend to and couldn’t come to the wedding.”

“What should we do about it? Having another god in the Underworld would be helpful, but…”

“Yes. It’s rather unclear why she wants to relocate here. Maybe she had a dispute with another god…”

Dike, the goddess of justice, is a very busy deity.

Justice is a foundational concept that permeates almost everything. It’s one of the pillars that uphold civilization and order.

Even now, she’s likely roaming the earth, judging the wicked and upholding justice.

“Summon her to the Underworld. I’ll have to speak with her to decide.”

“Yes, I’ll send a letter to Olympus.”

Why would Dike willingly choose such a difficult place? The Underworld is the most avoided and dreaded posting, after all.

Could it be that she believes watching us struggle here is unjust?

…Surely not.

* * *

And so, I found myself in the audience chamber, looking at Dike, who knelt before me.

Golden hair, signifying she is Zeus’ daughter, and the immense divine power inherited from her mother, my aunt Themis.

Her beauty was matched by her strong, commanding tone.

This high-ranking deity, standing just below the twelve Olympian gods…

“…You can set down your sword and scales for now, or just float them in the air.”

“I cannot, Uncle! If I were to part with these items, even for a moment, justice would cease to prevail…”

Even while kneeling, she was holding her scales and sword.

“You look uncomfortable. And why are your eyes covered?”

“I will explain that to you now. It’s closely related to the reason I wish to stay in the Underworld.”

As the goddess of justice, Dike had the power to see through injustice.

She roamed the world, tracking down wrongdoers and ensuring that justice was served. But… why did she cover her eyes?

Dike began her explanation.

“As the goddess of justice, I’ve traveled the world, judging wrongdoers. Mortals have committed countless sins. There were those who tried to cheat death, like Sisyphus, and others, like Tantalus, whose very existence enraged me. There were even mortals who rampaged across the land, claiming to be Zeus, my father and the king of the gods.”

“Ah, yes, there was indeed such a man. I believe his name was Salmoneus, Sisyphus’ brother.”

Salmoneus.

Sisyphus’ brother, Salmoneus, built his own kingdom in the region of Elis and became its king.

He was a man of great skill, gathering people with his bare hands and rising to power as king. However…

“Hahaha! I am Zeus himself!”

“Your Majesty…? What are you saying…”

Once he became king, he was drunk with power and began claiming that he was Zeus, engaging in all sorts of outrageous behavior.

Let’s review some of his misdeeds.

“Everything Zeus can do, I can do too! Watch this! Hahaha!”

“Your… Your Majesty!”

“Look at this! This is the sound of Zeus’ thunder!”

He built a bridge of iron and drove a brass chariot over it, mimicking the sound of thunder.

At the same time…

“This is Zeus’ lightning! Hahaha!”

Whoosh—!

“Aaagh!”

“The king has gone mad!”

“How dare you call Zeus mad! Execute all those who spoke against me!”

He threw torches at his people, claiming they were Zeus’ lightning.

Of course, word of this deranged mortal’s atrocities reached Olympus,

And Zeus, to show him what real lightning was, casually dropped the weakest, lightest bolt of lightning on him.

Thus, Salmoneus’ entire kingdom was vaporized, and many mortals came to the Underworld.

“Salmoneus is now serving eternal punishment, driving a chariot in Tartarus.”

“I heard of his punishment as well. However…”

The goddess of justice bit her lip and spoke to me.

“The other mortals, except for Salmoneus, did not commit a crime worthy of being struck by lightning. No matter that it was my father, I still believe the punishment was too harsh! It was severe enough to tip my scales heavily to one side. While there should be a punishment for blasphemy, killing the humans who merely served him as their king was too extreme… And that’s not all! Like when Apollo killed Orion…”

Considering the circumstances, I made sure to be lenient to the other mortals, except for Salmoneus.

I couldn’t bring myself to harshly judge those who were only caught up in his wrongdoing.

She began listing out the many misdeeds and sins of various gods, her divine energy faintly emitting as she grew more indignant.

Of course, as the goddess of justice, it must be frustrating for her to stay silent in the face of injustice.

Hmm. I think I understand why you came here.

“…There have been dozens of such incidents, and…”

“I get the gist of it, Dike.”

“I still have more to say…”

“You want to stay in the Underworld to seek my protection.”

* * *

The goddess of justice, Dike, is not one of the twelve Olympian gods.

Justice does not hold much power in this world.

Though she possesses great power, being the daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Themis, that’s all there is to it.

Whenever she tried to punish gods who acted against justice, she had to consider their standing.

“Lord Poseidon?!”

“Dike, so what if my son played a little prank on the humans…”

“What’s the harm if a god punishes mortals a bit? You’re a god too, yet you sound just like Uncle Hades…”

“Lady Artemis…”

“Wait, that’s a creature I cherish. So what if it ate a few mortals…”

“Lord Dionysus…”

Dike’s eyes have the power to see through injustice, but…

She covered her eyes with a blindfold herself.

What’s the point of having eyes that see injustice if you can’t do anything about it?

Dike’s sword holds the power to judge all injustice, but…

Before wielding it, she always had to hesitate.

If hesitation accompanies a sword wielded for justice, what’s the point of having that sword?

Dike is surely a goddess of justice, but those more powerful than her stand above justice, one of the pillars of order.

Dike’s voice, once full of passion, suddenly fell silent.

She raised her head to look at me. The emotions reflected in her gaze were a mixture of pleading, admiration, and desperation.

“Yes. Your guess is correct. Uncle… Lord Hades, you are known as the god of mercy.”

“…”

“Among all the gods of Olympus, not many are weighted toward goodness as you are. Not to this extent…”

I glanced at the scales in Dike’s hand. They were sharply tilted to one side.

On one side was the weight of good, and on the other, the weight of evil.

That scale measured the weight of right and wrong.

Even Zeus must face this goddess’s divine judgment for his actions.

“For some time now, I’ve felt that my place is not on Olympus, but here in the Underworld. I could no longer bear to look upon Olympus with open eyes…”

“…”

“Just as the goddess of victory, Nike, stands behind Athena, gods who govern higher concepts often have gods of lower concepts under their care.”

“I know that. So, you’re saying…”

“Though humans call you the god of mercy, to me, Lord Hades, you are the most fair and just of all.”

Just as the god of war, Ares, commands Deimos, the god of terror, and Phobos, the god of fear…

Just as the goddess of war, Athena, commands the goddess of victory, Nike…

“I, Dike, the goddess of justice, humbly request to follow the lord of the Underworld, the god of Fairness.”

Her divine words, filled with power, echoed through the audience chamber.

Though not as binding as an oath on the River Styx, it was a vow made on her divine nature—a declaration of intent.

What Dike was saying now…

She was recognizing me as the god of Fairness and asking me to accept her as a subordinate in the hierarchy of justice.

As if managing the Underworld, wealth, and mercy wasn’t enough, now she wanted me to take on the mantle of the god of Fairness as well?