Persephone gently caressed the pouch of gold coins as if petting a puppy.

Originally, Persephone had planned to make up an excuse about “wanting to explore the greatness of life’s creation”, but…

‘Pretending to be innocent and improvising worked out even better.’

Since she had never even heard of the god who was supposedly her father, she thought it might be good to probe that topic.

“This worked out too well.”

Persephone poured the gold coins onto the table with a clatter.

The hard coins clinked as they hit each other. After counting them one by one, she marveled at the considerable sum.

‘I guess it’s true that he’s wealthy.’

Persephone had only known in her mind that the King of the Underworld was rich, but hadn’t given much thought to the extent of his wealth.

Even considering Charon’s ferry fees and the burial goods that the dead bring with them…

“Honestly, I thought it would be somewhat exaggerated.”

Persephone shook her head and clicked her tongue.

He might even have more money than Demeter.

She held a coin up to the light and licked her lips.

Originally, she had felt a bit unsure about accepting such a gift, but she couldn’t refuse when the pouch was dangling right in front of her.

It wouldn’t be polite to keep rejecting his kindness.

Persephone hugged the pouch of coins to her chest as if it were a lover.

“Well then. You should go now. Thank you for keeping me company.”

Just then, her eyelids fluttered rapidly.

She remembered the look of sympathy in Hades’ eyes as he handed over the gold coin lover.

‘Could it be that he saw me as a pitiful girl who knows nothing?’

But she was not ignorant of what erotic literature referred to, and receiving sympathy was really enough from Demeter’s concerns.

Although it was regrettable to say this about Hades whom she had deceived, she had no particular regrets about the father who was supposedly the god of fields and sowing, or about her own birth.

This was because she had absolutely no memories to feel regret about. It was strangely so.

She was a bit curious about what kind of god her father might have been, but…

‘If I’ve never seen him in my entire life so far, there must be a reason for that, right?’

As Hades said, there must have been circumstances between her mother and father that were their own.

Even Demeter had never mentioned her father, so there was no reason for her to dig into it.

For the same reason, there was no need to doubt the love Demeter poured onto her.

If she didn’t love her, there would have been no reason to worry about her to the point of revealing the prophecy.

Which means – all that nonsense about worrying if she herself might have been a child born under coercion was completely unfounded!

…Though it must have sounded like wailing to Hades, who had listened to her words unexpectedly well!

At that moment, Persephone furrowed her brow.

She felt a chill on her skin.

Rubbing her arms, Persephone looked around. A black brazier came into view at the edge of her vision.

‘That’s right, I left without lighting the fire.’

Persephone pulled on the handle and picked up the poker hanging on the brazier.

After poking at the firewood to revive the flames for about ten minutes…

Whoosh…

A small spark rose up inside the brazier.

“Wow-”

Persephone stretched her hands towards the brazier and languidly relaxed her shoulders, but only for a moment.

Suddenly, she thought that tomorrow the room would be cold just like today.

Sitting on the floor with her knees pulled up, Persephone crossed her arms. Resting her chin on them, her voice trailed off faintly at the end.

“The air was always warm when we went into the villa…”

Pouting her lips, Persephone recalled the villa where she had stayed with Demeter.

The room that wasn’t cold because sunlight came in well, the fertile soil mixed with volcanic ash, and the days spent mingling with the nymphs without a chance to be lonely flashed through her mind.

Flopping down on her back, Persephone rolled her eyes around.

‘What should I do tomorrow?’

For the past few days, she hadn’t been bored because she was thinking of excuses to give Hades.

But now she was truly alone.

On the surface, Demeter had always been with her, but now the mother who had watched over her was gone.

The Goddess of Seeds now had to stand on her own.

‘Standing on my own…’

Actually, living alone wasn’t as frightening as she had thought.

She had been planning to become independent from Demeter someday anyway, and now that she knew about the prophecy, she wanted to reassure her even more.

More precisely, she hoped Demeter wouldn’t be bound by the prophecy.

Persephone thought about what kind of accidents and incidents she might have caused during the time when she didn’t know about the prophecy.

She had stolen seeds and run away only to trip over a plow and fall, burned her hand when cooking oil splashed on it, and even climbed over city walls after being hit by a chariot.

“…Hmm.”

Gradually, a strange lump resembling guilt gathered around her heart.

This wouldn’t do after all.

Rubbing her solar plexus, Persephone clenched and unclenched her fist repeatedly.

“I must return safely no matter what.”

Determination gleamed in her eyes.

“…And accomplish some achievements in the Underworld too.”

Prophecies are very powerful.

That unlucky oracle saying that someone Demeter loves will die will probably take effect someday. The more one tries to escape, the more fate will tighten its grip on its target.

‘But… I might not be the only person Mother loves.’

Of course, the person Demeter loves most in the world should naturally be herself, but the concept of “love” was very broad to begin with.

By that logic, who could avoid death?

In the end, Persephone had no reason not to make a resolution in the name of attempt.

A resolution to live as well as possible in the Underworld.

‘If she sees that I’m doing well in the Underworld, maybe Mother’s anxiety will lessen a bit.’

If she succeeds in returning to the surface on top of that, “Underworld exploration” would be added to her achievements, so she could become independent as a proper goddess in her own right.

Returning from the Underworld was usually a narrative reserved for heroes like Heracles.

Surely Demeter would be proud of her returning safely.

Humming a tune, Persephone looked around at the boxes piled nearby.

‘But how can I adapt to the Underworld with all this?’

She had wandered around the palace for the past few days, but hardly anyone spoke to her.

‘The Underworld… It seems there aren’t many passing spirits because it’s too desolate…’

However, she couldn’t give up here.

She, an extroverted glass cannon, now needed people who would recognize her existence and name.

People who could converse with Persephone herself and spread the word that she was living properly even in the Underworld!

Sitting at the head of the bed, Persephone slowly stroked her chin.

‘Six months, six months.’

Usually, six months would pass in the blink of an eye for gods, but for Persephone, who had lived less than a few decades, it wasn’t so.

The time it takes to harvest wheat on the surface and sow the next seeds.

That was long enough for her.

Persephone recalled the golden grains of wheat piling up neatly in Demeter’s storehouse.

And the current unstable state of her divine power.

“I guess I should do what I’m best at…”

Her gaze wandering through the air settled on a shovel in one corner, which she had brought when trying to escape the Underworld.

My name is Persephone, Goddess of Seeds. Harvester of crops. The ‘only’ goddess of life who has descended to the desolate Underworld.

…Then the task was set.

For the first step towards conquering the Underworld, Persephone closed her eyes.

A few days later, morning in the Underworld.

“There were some souls who died last night. I brought them along while I was out and about.”

Hermes, the guide of souls, handed over the records to Hades.

Hades received the documents as he always did.

Naturally thinking that Hermes would leave right away, his gaze fixed on the names of the souls sent for judgment.

“…?”

But when he looked up again, wasn’t Hermes staring intently at his face?

Before Hades could say anything, the fellow grinned and covered his mouth.

“Why do you look so gloomy?”

Tilting his head, Hermes rolled his eyes.

“Did Miss Persephone cause trouble again?”

“…”

“Hehe, if she caused trouble, I could help clean it up. What do you think? Since Hades seems busy right now, isn’t it a good offer?”

Hades, glaring at Hermes, sighed.

‘Let’s try not to react.’

That guy was the God of Mischief who loved to tease.

Perhaps those words just now weren’t out of concern for Hades, but from a desire for Persephone to make an even bigger impact in the Underworld than her previous achievements.

Of course, Hades was confident he could handle whatever Persephone did, but he was being cautious because of the possibility that Hermes might try to lure her away.

But seeing this, Hermes, whatever he thought, raised the corners of his mouth even more.

“Aw, why so serious? You should smile to be happy.”

Hermes pulled up the corners of his mouth with his fingers. His pronunciation became oddly distorted.

“Come on, smile like me.”

“I’ve always been like this. And don’t show your teeth. It’s a bit overwhelming because of the fangs.”

“Are you discriminating based on appearance?”

“…I was just telling you to shut your mouth.”

Hades threw a question at the chuckling Hermes.

“Seeing as you’re not leaving, I suppose you have some business?”

“No business, just a moment of fun.”

Hermes shrugged exaggeratedly.

“And how do you know I won’t magically reduce your work or ease your worries?”

“…”

Hades’ brow furrowed as he rubbed his forehead.

‘Worries, huh.’

It wasn’t anything serious, but if it was something minor, there was one.

Eventually, he called out to Hermes in a slightly hoarse voice.

“Hermes. Then let me ask you one thing.”

“Yes?”

“Do I look that old?”

Hermes’ eyes widened.

“Why so suddenly?”

“No reason. It just felt like something I should address.”

“Hmm…”

Hermes’ eyes turned suspiciously towards Hades.

While responding impassively to that probing gaze characteristic of one who likes to dig into things, regret was already blooming in Hades’ heart.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have asked.’

This issue was because of how Persephone had addressed him before.

Poseidon and Zeus were younger than him, so it made sense for him as the older brother to look after them, but he only remembered being treated as the younger sibling by Hestia and Hera.

As for Demeter, well… She wasn’t affectionate, but it’s true that she took care of Hades differently from the other disciples.

“Ah, if uncle or great-uncle doesn’t work, would it be alright if I called you elder?”

So he really didn’t expect to be called by titles like ‘uncle’ or ‘great-uncle’ – or even ‘elder’…

Anyone who heard would probably hit him on the head saying ‘You shameless bastard!’

No, well… It felt a bit unfair…

As Hades was chewing the inside of his lip like that…

“I guess Miss Persephone called you something strange?”

The sharp-witted Hermes hit the nail on the head.

“What, like great-uncle? Or maybe elder?”

“…”

“If not that, then old man?”

“…”

“Ah, it was grandfather! Right?”