“……No!”

Hermes, shocked by the revelation, pointed his finger at Hades.

“No wonder you haven’t fallen into a coma yet!”

“What?”

“Did you make that vow knowing everything?”

Hermes stretched his neck like a giraffe, looking suspicious.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been in love from the start and have been denying it until now?”

It was a bolt from the blue for Hades, who was suddenly acknowledged as having ‘done something embarrassing in front of Persephone’.

“What nonsense…! Enough.”

He waved his hand at Hermes as if to tell him to say no more.

‘To think he would remember the Styx oath at that moment.’

He was clever, after all. To recall the oath Hades himself had made with just one mention of the River Styx.

Hades sighed deeply as he alternated his gaze between the daffodil and the wooden board with the recipe.

“Hermes.”

“Yes?”

“……Are you going to spread rumors?”

Hermes shook his head as he supported the back of his head with his hand.

“Of course not! Do I want my hair pulled out?”

“Hair?”

“Ah, yes. Once, when Demeter misunderstood you, she pulled out my hair. It hurt so much.”

“……”

Hermes raised his eyebrow nonchalantly.

As Hades stared at him suspiciously for a long time in silence, he pointed at the river in front of him as if feeling wronged.

“If you really don’t believe me, I’ll swear on the River Styx. That I won’t whisper about this to anyone.”

“……”

“Is that good enough?”

Only then did Hades let out a deep sigh.

“……This time, my hair will be pulled out too.”

Hermes blinked his eyes rapidly.

Overall, his expression was tinged with bitterness, but there was also a hint of a relieved smile.

‘He finally admitted it!’

Hermes felt like he could do dozens of somersaults on the spot right now.

He was not only happy to have something to tease about for a few hundred years, but his promise not to spread rumors was also a lie.

Oh, how could he spread rumors after swearing on the River Styx, you ask?

‘Well, I said I wouldn’t ‘spread’ rumors, not that I’d prevent them from spreading, right?’

Hermes planned not to openly spread gossip, but he wouldn’t stop rumors that ‘inevitably’ spread.

Demeter? No matter how much the Earth Goddess might run around, he, the messenger god, flies above her head. Only Hades would have his hair grabbed.

Just as a sly smile was about to creep across his face.

“Of course, I won’t die alone.”

Hades’ eyes sharpened.

Seeing that look, Hermes furrowed his brow.

“What do you mean by that?”

“If rumors do spread, I will take you to sister Demeter myself.”

“……”

“Personally, escorting you.”

A wry smile played at the corners of Hermes’ mouth. He waved his hand vigorously.

“No, what are you… I told you I won’t spread rumors, right? You can trust me since I even swore on the Styx.”

“Even you can’t prevent the invisible from spreading, Hermes.”

“……”

“If rumors do spread, I’ll put on my helmet and conduct an undercover investigation to find the loose-tongued traitor. Be prepared.”

Hades thought. He was grateful that Hermes had created an opportunity for them to be alone, but he couldn’t keep being teased by the messenger god.

‘And even if Hermes doesn’t say it directly, rumors could spread at any time.’

He’s a god who just learned the weakness of oaths. There’s no way he wouldn’t exploit that weakness.

“No, Hades? Hey?”

Hades was determined not to act as the messenger god wanted.

He heard Hermes’ cry behind him, but simply ignored it.

* * *

And so, after someone’s realization, when Hemera rose again to take charge of the day in the underworld.

“……My goodness.”

Asclepius, who had come to Persephone’s field, was astounded by the leaves that filled his view.

Asclepius asked the bean field.

“What is all this?”

“Ah, you’re here?”

Then the bean stalks trembled and spat out a pink woman.

It was Persephone wearing a straw hat.

“It’s chickpeas! Right now, I’m harvesting the pods and cutting down the stalks.”

“Chickpeas, you say?”

Once this place was bare ground without any greenery, but now the square space was filled with bean leaves.

“Amazing, isn’t it? It’s my first time growing so much!”

Persephone pointed around with a proud face.

The leaves clinging tightly to the stalks swayed in the gentle breeze.

Asclepius’ gaze also turned to various parts of the field. His hand gently picked up a pod about the size of one or two finger joints.

‘It’s plump.’

The leaves were longer than a middle finger. The stalk was strangely firm, not looking like an ordinary chickpea at all.

Soon after, he looked at the side of the bean field—his herb garden.

Although it was planted later than the beans and only the stalks had grown up, clearly growing slower…

‘It’s not bad.’

Even this was impressive from Asclepius’ perspective.

He thought that by now there would be a few sprouts, and that he should be satisfied with just that much.

After all, most of the seeds were not ones that could be expected to grow well from the start.

Some of what he planted were very difficult to germinate and were also tricky to manage.

“Ah, over there in the herb garden, I made everything sprout except for the rotten seeds.”

But this goddess of life had broken through that difficulty and made them all germinate. Asclepius swallowed his amazement and observed the herb garden.

‘They say she’s not as good as the Earth Goddess, but wasn’t that just modesty?’

Asclepius, who had been staring at the pale green sprouts peeking through the gaps, turned his gaze to the bean field.

“They’ve all grown quite fast, is it because of divine power?”

“Ah, yes! That’s right!”

Persephone sat down with an “oof” and stroked the chickpea pods.

This one also looked like it could be cut, seeing how the upper part had turned slightly yellow.

She cut down the entire bean stalk with a sickle.

“I only planted beans because the land was newly tilled, but fortunately they grew well. The pods formed nicely too.”

“If you used divine power to grow them, you could have planted other things besides beans.”

“Hmm, that’s not the case.”

Persephone shook her head firmly.

“I’m not as good at farming as my mother… and since the underworld has never been tilled before, I thought I should at least plant this much.”

Beans were not only easy for Persephone to grow, but they also help restore soil fertility.

When planted, they help keep beneficial substances from leaving the soil.

If beans grew this well, it seemed fortunate that she could plant the next vegetables.

“No divine power depletion?”

“Not yet. I gave it in short, frequent bursts, like watering.”

If she gave too much at once, there might be problems, but fortunately, no issues like giant bean stalks growing had occurred yet.

“Then what will you plant next?”

Asclepius, who was not only a doctor but also a researcher, asked unable to contain his curiosity.

“Onions, chard, beets, carrots, garlic, cabbage, and leeks.”

“……Isn’t that too much?”

“I’ve already planted a few seedlings.”

Until now, she had filled the vegetables with what she gathered from Elysium, but from now on, she planned to grow them directly in the field.

“I’m sure they’ll all taste delicious when grown. Especially some that are sweet when eaten raw.”

“Your slaves… no, workers will be happy.”

“That’s right.”

At that moment, an undisguisable greed appeared on Persephone’s face.

“Would you like to help with the field work too, Asclepius?”

“No, are you going to use me as a slave for harvesting too?”

“Um, no. I was wondering if you could help with sowing the seeds.”

“……Huh!”

“I’ve already pulled out all the roots where I harvested the beans.”

Asclepius snorted as if in disbelief. He patted his waist as if to show off.

“I’m an old man. It’s impossible.”

“But… carrots and beets just need to be sown in a line and covered, so it’s not difficult…”

The carrots she was talking about were not the common orange carrots.

They were called sugar carrots, which have a slightly sweet taste and a white color, and they grew in a fluffy shape, more crowded together than other leafy vegetables.

Beets had a similar leaf shape, so they would probably look quite cute when grown.

Persephone didn’t give up and grabbed Asclepius’ sleeve.

“I’ll make you carrot soup later, Asclepius.”

“……No, that’s fine.”

“If you boil meat broth and add onions, beans, and basil, then season with salt, that’s really delicious too.”

Ah, or maybe making bean paste and frying it in almond oil would be nice too.

“It would be savory and delicious……”

“……Show some respect for the elderly.”

“But still……”

As Persephone’s whining continued, and Asclepius endured her sparkling gaze for a while.

“Alright! I’ll do it, so stop looking at me like that!”

Finally, Asclepius gave up and brought the seeds.

Persephone smiled brightly.

Onions, chard, beets, sugar carrots, leeks, garlic, and cabbage.

It seemed like they would surely be able to have delicious meals!

* * *

However, the problem occurred the next day.

“Ah, what is this−!”

The field was ruined.