【It seems to be a different case from that one…】

Thanatos hid his bewildered expression and put his hands behind his back.

“How so?”

【At that time, she may have been thinking of escaping the Underworld, but now Persephone is looking for things to do within the Underworld… She’s very proactive in establishing her own domain as a god.】

“…”

【I don’t think there’s any reason why she wouldn’t subdue a prisoner now.】

Thanatos finished his explanation with an impassive expression.

Hades, who had been flipping through documents, rubbed between his eyebrows.

“Honestly, it’s hard to believe… but if it’s true, for now, tell them to continue using the King of Corinth as a laborer.”

【Are you allowing it?】

“I already told her to do as she wishes if she has something she wants. Promises must be kept.”

Hades turned his eyes downward after flipping through the documents. He leaned forward slightly and gently rested his chin on his hand.

“…And honestly, I thought the biggest trouble that child could cause was the incident at the city walls.”

【…】

“Using that prisoner as a laborer itself shouldn’t be considered trouble.”

Since it wasn’t wrong, Thanatos tactfully kept his mouth shut.

Even Thanatos himself felt chills down his spine when he thought about what happened at the city walls.

Treating an innocent god as a bride, and misunderstanding his superior as someone who caused ‘trouble’…

After maintaining silence for a moment, he spoke up again at an appropriate time.

【Understood. Then I will convey exactly what you’ve told Persephone.】

“…Alright.”

Hades gave a cool response.

The shadow behind Thanatos, who had received his superior’s affirmation, grew larger and then melted away like ice, retreating from the office.

Hades, who had been staring at the dark gap under the office’s swinging door, rubbed his chin.

“Persephone is going to tame Sisyphus…?”

Doubt that he had been hiding appeared in his eyes.

The last time Hades saw Persephone, she had been crying sorrowfully over family issues.

Although Hades himself acknowledged that she was bold, he was skeptical of Thanatos’s claim that she could tame Sisyphus.

No matter what anyone said, it seemed undeniable that the child’s heart was delicate.

‘So Persephone becomes Sisyphus’s overseer, huh.’

Hades raised his fingertips to his eyelids and pressed firmly on his eye sockets.

Honestly, he couldn’t object since he had already made a promise.

But for Sisyphus, who was sentenced to eternally roll a boulder as punishment for blasphemy, to be doing other work?

‘…The reason I sent the King of Corinth back up was because, although the intention was obvious, principles had to be upheld.’

Those who couldn’t hold even a simple funeral couldn’t become residents of the Underworld.

Those who couldn’t bring money for the ferryman of the Underworld couldn’t go to receive judgment.

That was once a rule that had to be strictly followed, with no exceptions.

Especially decades ago when the war with the Gaia faction broke out, it was even more severe.

However, Sisyphus cunningly exploited a loophole in the rules that Hades guarded like his life. By not holding a funeral at all.

When the order he thought was perfect crumbled, Hades easily fell into self-contradiction. He ended up stepping on his own foot with the harsh regulations he had created.

As a result, Sisyphus is someone with enough cunning to trouble even himself, a man of principles.

To have such a prisoner by Persephone’s side.

‘…Can Persephone really handle it?’

Hades clenched his fist, furrowing his brow.

‘Well, if that’s how she feels…’

Let’s go see for ourselves.

The next day, morning.

“This time I tried using different ingredients!”

Persephone shouted to the slave sitting far away and the God of Death.

The slave – Sisyphus – had been captured again by Persephone without fail after leaving Tartarus.

More precisely, he was closer to having been dragged along without resistance, not knowing that Thanatos had held the stake when he first met Persephone.

So today too, he tilled Persephone’s garden like a chained beast.

The God of Death – Thanatos – had brought the dead to the Underworld all night, and came to the garden to relay Hades’ message while taking a break.

“…Your eyes have been strangely gleaming since earlier, Thanatos?”

However, his gaze was fixed only on the tray Persephone was holding.

Thanatos, who had been leaning forward with his arms crossed, quickly unfolded them. He wiggled his index finger as if to say don’t say such strange things.

【That can’t be. My eyes are supposedly like ‘fish eyes’, so how could they be gleaming?】

“Oh…”

Persephone pursed her lips as if in disbelief. Her index finger pointed at the large wooden bowl on the tray.

“You know what, Thanatos?”

【What.】

“This salata has both fish roe and meat in it.”

When Thanatos’s face stiffened slightly, Persephone smiled brightly.

“I guess cannibalism is too much, so I’ll have to eat your portion, right?”

【…Now, now, don’t tease your elders.】

Thanatos swallowed dryly and gestured to Persephone.

Persephone laughed loudly, holding the tray.

Then she sat down precisely in the middle between Sisyphus and Thanatos.

“…”

【…】

They both thought Persephone would sit next to one of them. But their eyes widened at her unexpected action.

“Aren’t you coming?”

Persephone asked in a puzzled tone to the frozen pair.

“If you don’t come, I’ll eat it all.”

Persephone picked up a flat, thin baked bread next to the wooden bowl. She spooned three scoops of thick salata onto the round, golden brown bread.

She folded the bread like a fan in her hand and took a bite, chewing and swallowing the food in one mouthful.

The salata wrap with olive oil, almonds, garlic, and cheese was simple but clung to her tongue.

Especially, the round fish roe popping as she chewed and the slight juice added a savory taste.

As Persephone began to happily devour her meal, the hostile gazes of Sisyphus and Thanatos finally crossed.

‘Temporary truce.’

‘Agreed.’

After exchanging glances, they quietly moved to Persephone’s side.

Sisyphus was low on energy after working anyway, and Thanatos knew the young goddess was good at cooking at least.

They ate silently for a few minutes.

Soon, Thanatos, who had been flipping the round bread this way and that, asked a question.

【How did you bake this?】

“Huh? What?”

【I’m asking how you baked the bread. Do you have a separate oven in your room?】

Persephone blinked at Thanatos’s question. She scratched her cheek, making a nasal sound.

“Well… I have flour that my mother gave me, but the only place I could bake bread was on the hearth…”

Originally, she needed a fireplace and a shelf above it to put pots and such on, but unfortunately, her room didn’t have such convenient facilities.

“For lack of a better option, I brought a wide, clean stone. I spread the dough I had kneaded on it and baked it without letting it rise.”

【…I see.】

Thanatos nodded as if he understood.

Persephone recalled the fire and heat she hadn’t been able to use much this time either.

‘I have some kitchen utensils, but…’

It seemed that eating food in the Underworld wasn’t as common as she thought, as she couldn’t find a kitchen no matter how much she wandered around the palace.

The dinner she had shared with Hades felt almost like an illusion at this point.

This time, Persephone asked Thanatos.

“Come to think of it, there wasn’t anything like a kitchen in the palace, was there?”

【When did you wander around the palace again?】

“Hah, my stealth skills worked well, I see.”

【…】

“I was wandering around all last night, and you didn’t notice at all, did you?”

Thanatos glared at Persephone, who was proudly puffing out her chest, as if he couldn’t believe it.

【Well, as for a place that could be called a kitchen in the palace…】

He chewed on the bread, lost in thought. Soon after, he exhaled and raised his index finger.

【…There was only one place, but it’s been blocked off for decades.】

“Why?”

【Hades himself blocked it.】

“…Then does Hades not eat?”

【That’s right.】

Persephone’s gaze trembled slightly. She muttered quietly.

“That’s strange, it can’t be.”

【Why?】

“I, I had a meal with Hades not too long ago.”

【…What?】

Surprised, Thanatos frowned deeply. He pressed on his solar plexus and asked in a low voice.

【How much did he eat?】

“I don’t know. But I remember he wasn’t a big eater.”

【Do you remember what he liked to eat?】

“How could I remember such details?”

【…】

At Persephone’s curt answer, Thanatos turned his head with a vague expression.

Staring blankly at the horizon, he added an explanation.

【The meal you ate was probably… most likely cooked by spirit chefs gathered in a separate palace and brought to the main palace.】

“Is that so?”

【Otherwise, there’s no way a meal could come from the main palace where the kitchen is blocked.】

Persephone tilted her head as if finding it strange.

Just as she was about to ask Thanatos why the kitchen had been closed, a darkness blacker than shadows fell across her field of vision. Rising from the ground like smoke, it soon revealed a tall man.

Persephone’s face stiffened when she saw the pale skin befitting an Underworld resident.

It was Hades.

He looked around widely, then slightly furrowed his brow upon discovering the three huddled together. And he walked steadily towards where Persephone was.

Persephone’s expression turned flustered at suddenly encountering the king.

Covering her mouth, she quickly whispered to Thanatos.

“Why, why did Hades come? Did I do something wrong?”

Before Thanatos could explain, she clung to him tightly.

“You said you’d tell him that I’m using that person as a slave… no, a laborer…! I even bribed you with food, are you going to do this?”

【No, how is that a bribe…!】

Thanatos raised his voice slightly as if feeling wronged.

But he was still swallowing food, so he had nothing else to say.

Realizing his position, Thanatos swallowed a groan. He rubbed his brow as if with a headache.

【He definitely said it was fine when I told him yesterday. I don’t know why he came here either.】

Persephone backed away from him with a shocked expression. Her arms unconsciously tensed.

Oh well, never mind.

“Hades, hello!”

I should greet him first, at least.

Persephone approached Hades with quick steps. He lowered his head slightly and responded.

“Yes, Persephone. Good morning.”

“It’s been a while! What brings you here?”

“I don’t have any particular business.”

Hades’ fingers, half covered in leather, pointed straight at Sisyphus.

“I was just curious how you came up with the idea of using that prisoner as a laborer.”

“Uh…”

Persephone’s eyes spun round and round, not expecting him to be so direct.

‘What should I answer?’

Hades had clearly told Persephone to act as she wished. So of course she thought it would be okay to handle prisoners too…!

‘Was it too much after all?’

She didn’t feel the need to apologize otherwise, but it was true that she felt a little self-conscious.

Especially since even Thanatos, his closest aide, said he didn’t know what this was about.

Click. Her thought process, which had been spinning intensely, stopped at one point.

The sacrificial lamb, Sisyphus, who was eating a snack, was reflected in her irises.

“…Actually, I didn’t originally intend to use him as a laborer.”

Persephone, standing stiffly at attention, gently parted her lips.

Then, she shouted loudly like a soldier reporting a spy:

“That prisoner tried to deceive me, so I’ve tied him up securely so you can take him away later!”