What nonsense is this again.

The focus disappeared from Hades’ eyes.

Sense slapped his cheek and left the house.

“Eek, what should I do!”

But seeing his expression, Hydra had some thought and grabbed her cheeks, hopping up and down.

“It’s true, isn’t it!”

No, what’s true?

Could snakes fantasize so well?

Though she didn’t twist her body like a snake watching her boss, it was just perplexing to Hades.

It seemed like just yesterday her head was cut off and she was only making metallic growling sounds, but now she had the face of a child in first love, making it difficult to follow the flow of conversation.

Is this what raising a child feels like? Hades put his index finger to the corner of his mouth.

“Please shut your mouth. There’s no need to make such a fuss.”

“Alright, I’ll shut up. I absolutely won’t tell Thanatos. Or Nyx!”

Hydra grinned with her mouth corners stretched wide. She put her hand to her ear.

“But please tell just me. Who is your partner?”

“……”

“Oh, if you’re worried I might mishear, please write Her Majesty the Queen’s name on this paper! I will serve her with all my heart and soul!”

This is really crazy.

‘I trust her even less than Hermes.’

At a glance, it seemed like the moment Hydra left here, her misunderstanding would spread like wildfire.

Hades, rubbing his brow, grabbed the tip of Hydra’s reed pen.

“No, there’s no newlywed home or marriage… It’s all not true, so calm down. What you’re thinking won’t happen.”

“What? Why not?”

“Why? Because I’m not getting married, so there’s no newlywed home.”

“Why aren’t you getting married?”

“……”

Ah, did I need to explain from there?

Hades glanced at Hydra’s face full of disappointment, then let out a deep sigh.

“That guest who’s coming soon is neither my lover, nor someone I’m marrying. They’re just a guest, nothing more. Don’t ask for details.”

“Hmm……”

Though Hydra’s eyes were full of doubt, Hades waved his hand as if to say that was enough.

She scratched her head with the end of the reed stem.

“Then… do we need to remodel the palace for unspecified future guests to the underworld? And that person you know will be the first guest.”

“That’s right.”

“Okay, I understand.”

As if she had never been disappointed, Hydra lowered her eyes compliantly.

“I can ask others about the remodeling. What about decorations?”

“The underworld is rather dark, so it would be better to decorate it brightly.”

“Then we’ll pay special attention to lamps and braziers… It would be good to cover the stone walls with cloth too. We can also drape some of the silk recently given by the Eastern Continent. I’ll try using bright and warm colors.”

“Good. White, yellow, and red should be fine.”

Hades, picturing the guest room in his mind, added:

“Put in some flowers too. Like wreaths.”

“Yes, yes.”

“What about furniture like tables?”

“I’ll use birch for those. I’ll cut them to show the grain well. Trust me.”

As Hydra winked, Hades’ eyes turned to the paper.

‘Colors mainly white, yellow, red. Plus braziers, lamps, silk, vases, wreaths, tapestries, carpets, chairs, tables, and……’

Scanning the list Hydra had written, Hades pointed to the very bottom, an empty space.

“One more thing is needed.”

“Huh? What’s that?”

“Bedding.”

Hydra’s reed pen paused.

Hades tilted his head slightly. He asked her in a questioning tone:

“What’s wrong?”

Hydra froze for a moment as if flustered, then soon lifted the corners of her mouth.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I understand.”

Then she muttered as if whispering:

“Right… Guests need that too.”

Hydra, who had sharpened the pen tip by rubbing it on the stone wall, nodded her head vigorously.

“I’ve heard humans, especially stubborn ones, have something similar. Like calling bards or jesters? I’m not sure if that’s the same as what you mentioned, Lord Hades.”

“…What?”

“Well then, I’ll be going! I’ll be back in a jiffy!”

Before Hades could even reply, Hydra’s legs headed for the office exit.

Unlike a snake slowly crawling on the ground, it was quite a fast pace.

Almost like an escape. It was the struggle of an overworked employee desperate to breathe some fresh outside air.

Hades’ hand hovered in the air, having lost his assistant.

Bed and pillow.

And bards and jesters.

‘What connection do these have with each other?’

An ominous feeling brushed Hades’ spine.

Hydra fiddled with the end of the papyrus. Her eyes wandered up as she examined the list, then narrowed slightly as they reached the end.

At the very bottom of the list was…

“Why would a guest room need a friend…?”

Instead of ‘bedding’, the word ‘friend’ was written.

Snakes do not have good hearing.

Unfortunately, Hydra, being a water snake, also did not have good ears…

Hydra kept groaning and racking her brain, but no matter how much she thought, she couldn’t figure out why her lord had mentioned the word ‘friend’ of all things.

As she was passing through the Asphodel Meadows where the dead reside and reaching the banks of Phlegethon where hot lava flows, it happened.

【Hydra.】

A familiar voice calling her name was heard close to her ear.

“Yikes, you startled me!”

Hydra jumped in place as if stabbed by a spear. Reflexively, she bent her knee to kick the other’s shin.

But the other’s body suddenly moved above Hydra’s head.

Her gaze flew to the one who had called her name.

The god of death – Thanatos was looking down at her.

Hydra swung her arm with clenched fist. She shouted:

“Why are you calling so close! I thought my head was going to fall off again!”

【If I call from far away, you either can’t hear or pretend not to hear, so what choice do I have.】

“Who would want to hear their name coming from the mouth of a grim reaper like you?”

【For someone who hears ’empathy’ as ‘abalone’, this distance is just right.】

Hydra’s tongue stiffened at Thanatos’ retort.

Everything Thanatos mentioned was true. Since she was indeed the owner of such hopeless hearing, she couldn’t offer any rebuttal.

As Hydra closed her lips, Thanatos’ eyes moved smoothly like those of a doll. His gaze landed on the paper Hydra was holding.

【What’s that now.】

He scanned the list with his arms crossed.

【Decorations and furniture… Are you going to prepare new ones?】

“Yeah. I need to go to the surface for that.”

【Why are you preparing them?】

“Lord Hades told me to make a guest room. So I’m trying to find where I can get suitable materials.”

Hydra scratched her cheek.

“But he called for some strange materials too. Want to check it out?”

Hydra’s index finger pointed to the bottom, to the word ‘friend’.

“He said we need a friend for making the guest room. What could this mean?”

【A friend?】

“Yeah. A friend. Could he want a spirit for guests who might be uncomfortable in the underworld?”

Hydra bit her lip as if puzzled.

At that moment, a critical suspicion flashed through Thanatos’ mind, who had been thinking nothing of it.

Usually, the underworld is known as a disgusting place that smells of mold.

Guests to the underworld would want to finish their business quickly and leave this ominous place as soon as possible. So providing a companion to the guest would be a useless act.

‘But he wanted a spirit to act as a ‘friend’ for the guest? Lord Hades did?’

No matter how he thought about it, it was strange.

Sensing something amiss, Thanatos’ eyes fixed on the list.

‘Come to think of it, the colors are concerning.’

White, yellow, red. And wreaths…

‘Aren’t these used in weddings?’

In weddings, the bride wears a yellow or red veil to ward off evil spirits and completes her attire with a wreath.

‘…What Hydra was entrusted with might not actually be a guest room.’

Thanatos, having made a somewhat reasonable deduction, snapped his fingers.

【That thing you heard as ‘friend’.】

“What.”

【Could it actually have been ‘bride’?】

“……”

【I think you must have misheard again.】

Hydra’s face turned strange. Before a roar could burst from her mouth, Thanatos hurriedly put up a dam with his hand.

【Think about it, Hydra. You’re the one who once heard ’empathy’ as ‘abalone’. It’s not strange that you might have misheard ‘bride’ as ‘friend’.】

“Hey, no! There’s no way such a word could have come up in that situation.”

However, Hydra had long since been told by her lord that he wouldn’t be getting married.

“And how could a bride be included in materials for a guest room, you crazy bastard! Are you saying they’re going to bring someone else’s new bride to the underworld to decorate a room for renovating the palace?”

Just before Hydra was about to grab Thanatos by the collar.

He opened his mouth as if for the last time.

【…What if Lord Hades lied to you?】

Hydra’s hand trembled for a moment.

Calming down, she touched around her neck and retorted gruffly.

“Why would he lie to me?”

【Don’t take it badly, just think about it carefully.】

Thanatos continued slowly.

【Unlike you who likes to make a fuss, Lord Hades is a person who is thorough in preparation. He would have wanted everything to be ready for the bride who will come soon.】

“Other things besides the guest room, or rather, the newlywed room?”

【Yes. For example, the queen’s throne or crown, or scepter.】

Hydra’s eyes widened.

【If you were to spread rumors and make the whole underworld create a fuss, there would be little time to decorate this desolate place. So I think Lord Hades, keeping your nature in mind, swallowed his tears and lied to you.】

Thanatos spoke with uncharacteristic passion. He explained as if stamping a seal:

【Hydra, be honest. Didn’t it feel like it wasn’t a place for unspecified multiple guests, but a room for ‘someone’? And to hide that intention, didn’t Lord Hades act especially negative towards your fuss?】

“……”

【Moreover, if the colors are mainly white, red and yellow… Aren’t those exactly the colors used in weddings? You said you were a bit suspicious too.】

“Uh……”

Hydra’s judgment began to blur gradually.

How much time had passed?

Hydra, who was as gullible as her hearing was poor, nodded her head.

“Now that I think about it, it really might be so.”