“Why are you doing this?”

Hermes tilted his head slightly.

Then the ashen shadow that was crammed into the corner rose up like smoke and completely enveloped Hermes.

The person who emerged from the darkness was the gloomy king of the underworld.

“…I have done wrong to Demeter’s daughter.”

Hermes’ gaze, which had been wandering over the fluttering leaves, turned to Hades’ face.

His expression, which usually only conveyed coldness, now seemed somehow troubled.

“That wrong, could it possibly be…”

“Yes. On the cliff of Sicily, I hit Kore with my chariot. But the child ran away bleeding profusely.”

Hermes’ eyes widened like a rabbit’s.

“Oh… You really did cause an accident.”

He approached Hades, who couldn’t hide his gloomy demeanor.

“But can’t we just let this slide?”

“What did you say?”

The moment Hermes spoke, Hades jerked his head up.

“How can we let this slide? Are you trying to joke with me now? Are you saying I should just stand by and watch Demeter’s child suffer again?”

“No, wait—”

“How can the god who rules the underworld deliberately harm a living being when he should only be gathering the dead? I must take proper responsibility for this. That’s the ‘rule’.”

“Ah, I understand, so please calm down.”

“How can I calm down now?”

Finally, sparks of yellow light flashed in Hades’ eyes.

“Demeter will think of me as a hit-and-run criminal!”

Hermes, who had been backing away, frowned at the strange word he suddenly heard.

Hit-and-run?

‘Isn’t it hit-and-flee?’

He looked at Hades as if seeing something bizarre, but Hades stared back at him as if wondering what the problem was.

When the usually talkative Hermes didn’t speak, Hades, belatedly sensing something odd, tilted his head.

“…What was it if not hit-and-run?”

“Hit-and-run is military slang used in Sparta. It’s hit-and-flee accident, hit-and-flee.”

He wasn’t usually such a careless god, but he seemed quite flustered this time.

Well, the king of the underworld was known for being a merciless stickler for rules.

So how shocked must he have been to nearly make a human or god his subject by his own hand?

Moreover, the one he hit with his chariot was Demeter’s child, so it was understandable for him to be uncharacteristically flustered.

Hades nodded.

“Right. In any case, causing that hit-and-flee accident could be called a big problem.”

‘I said hit-and-flee…’

Hermes looked at Hades with pitying eyes and nodded.

Rolling his eyes for a moment, Hermes cautiously added:

“The reason I asked if we couldn’t just let it slide is because Kore is that Demeter’s daughter.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Demeter is such a powerful goddess, so for her daughter, being hit by a mere chariot would be nothing, right? Kore herself would probably consider it an insignificant wound. Being a goddess, she wouldn’t die from something like that either.”

“…”

“Just contact Hecate, Demeter’s assistant, first. Tell her to go fetch Kore who’s near the island. Say you’ll provide compensation as agreed upon.”

Hades swallowed dryly and folded his arms.

His fingers, stained with dark volcanic ash, tapped his forearm as if plucking a lyre.

“No, how severe the child’s injuries are isn’t really important.”

“Why not?”

“There’s a possibility that child will tell Demeter about this incident. Their mother-daughter relationship seemed very close.”

“…Ah.”

Hermes sighed, lowering his eyebrows.

Demeter had always loved all the children she bore dearly. This daughter named Kore would likely be no different.

If she were to find out that Hades had hit Kore with his chariot this time, the throne of the underworld might even change hands to Demeter.

A shadow fell across Hades’ brow.

“I must find her and provide appropriate compensation before she tells Demeter. Otherwise, I’ll face not the child’s sorrow, but Demeter’s wrath head-on.”

“That’s true. Now that I hear it, you definitely need to find her in advance.”

Hermes slowly nodded. Furrowing his brows, he blinked a few times.

“Well… Since you knew the girl you hit with your chariot was Kore, now you can just go around asking the nearby fairies or spirits about her whereabouts.”

“…”

“Good luck!”

Hermes grinned broadly and clenched his fist.

But there was something strange about Hades’ gaze. It had a peculiar look, as if he were looking at something pitiful.

Not understanding why, Hermes scratched his cheek.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…I’m truly sorry, but.”

“Pardon?”

“You’ll likely be included among those facing Demeter’s wrath, Hermes.”

Hermes, who had been blinking, was startled.

“No, why should I bear joint responsibility?”

“…Because I just asked for your help and explained the whole situation to you.”

“…”

“We must remember that the sun is above our heads right now.”

Hermes’ gaze shifted slightly towards the sky.

There hung the sun, said to be watching over all things in this world.

What was he saying? Was he implying that the sun god had witnessed the entire course of events?

“Surely you’re not saying that I have to search for Kore together with you, Lord Hades?”

Hermes looked at Hades, gritting his molars tightly.

“…”

The king of the underworld gave no answer.

After a moment of silence, Hermes finally burst into a forced laugh.

“I understand. You’re saying you’re determined to drag me down to hell with you! Ha, hahaha!”

“Hermes.”

At that moment, Hades sighed as if he had no choice.

“You are fundamentally the messenger god, but you’re also the god of thieves.”

“…”

“I know you stole a golden cup from my palace. If you cooperate in finding Kore, I’ll overlook the theft charge.”

Hermes was struck speechless, cold sweat trickling down the nape of his neck.

Glancing around, he bit his lip.

Hades pointed at him as if there was nothing more to say.

“You, the world above.”

Then he pointed at himself.

“Me, the world below.”

“…”

“Understand?”

Swallowing dryly, Hermes nodded with a solemn face. He gripped his staff tightly.

“I understand.”

At that time, in what state would Persephone, whom the king of the underworld and the messenger god were searching for, be?

“I’m lost~ Where should I go~♪”

…She had become a lost child somewhere in the underworld.

Persephone looked around at her increasingly dark surroundings.

‘I thought if I hid in the cliff shadows and walked, I’d naturally come to a part where I could go up to the surface…’

She had originally planned to walk along the cliff and somehow grab onto protruding rocks to climb up when a suitable spot appeared.

However, the further inward she went, there were no such spots to grab onto. Instead, as the sky began to close off with a stone ceiling, a ravine appeared.

It was the upper stream of the underworld river.

Persephone touched the nearby river water with her toes, then shuddered from the cold that rushed up to her scalp.

Even though it was almost summer, the temperature that chilled to the bone was fitting for the source of an underworld river.

She couldn’t tell which of the many underworld rivers she had come to.

‘Should I just go back the way I came?’

Persephone whirled around and glared at the darkness-shrouded path behind her.

Even after standing still for a long while, no sign of movement came from the gap she had just passed through, but her heart fluttered finely with anxiety.

“…Are you serious?”

Recalling the flash of light that had swept through those dark eyes, Persephone shuddered.

“Ugh…”

A groan escaped her lips.

‘What if I go back and meet that guy again?’

She had never seen such sharp eyes before in her life.

Even Demeter, when young Persephone was at her most mischievous and causing trouble, had never spoken with such an ominous voice.

Persephone scanned her surroundings like a guard dog wary of intruders.

This was Hades’ domain after all. If she lingered even a little, that crazy man might come chasing after her.

If she couldn’t go back the way she came, she planned to follow the river downstream to find another path.

‘To think I’d end up using the method humans use when lost in the mountains.’

Demeter had said that if you get lost in the mountains, you should follow flowing water like a stream downhill.

That way, no matter how long it takes, you should be able to get out of the mountains as long as you don’t encounter any wild beasts.

Persephone began to descend downstream along the river.

Following the winding path of the valley, a smile of triumph appeared at the corners of her mouth.

‘There it is!’

Indeed, her mother’s words had not been wrong.

In Persephone’s view, far away, a river where a ferry was moving came into sight.

From the looks of it, it was the River Acheron, where the ferryman transports the dead to the other side.

‘Since it’s also the first river the dead cross, if I go there, I should be closer to the surface…!’

Persephone’s feet began to move quickly, her face brightening.

Fortunately, blue light was flickering in the air like sparks, so it wasn’t difficult to see ahead.

In the middle of walking, sheer rock cliffs appeared—she almost fell when she only looked forward—but it seemed she could manage to descend if she endured the pain.

That’s when it happened.

“Oh…!”

An exclamation of surprise escaped Persephone’s lips.

A god with jet-black hair entered her field of vision.

‘Why is that guy there?’

Hades, the king of the underworld, was at the River Acheron.