Side Story - Aphrodite, Goddess of Beauty and Love (2)
Descending to the Underworld with Aphrodite, who looked around curiously at the unfamiliar and somber scenery, we drew many gazes.
The souls crossing the five rivers of the Underworld, as well as gods like Charon, all turned to stare.
“Hades... Who is that beautiful goddess standing beside you?”
“This is Aphrodite, the Goddess of Beauty. She will be helping with the Underworld’s affairs for a while.”
“Is that so? Ahem. I am Hypnos. Perhaps we could have a conversation...”
“Oh my, I’m sorry, but I like Lord Hades.”
“H-Hades? Who is this goddess now?”
“Goddess Styx. This is the Goddess of Beauty. I brought her here temporarily to stop a conflict on Olympus...”
Crack. “...You’re sure there’s nothing between you?”
“...Of course.”
With her radiance, fitting of a goddess of beauty and love, Aphrodite cast a glow upon the Underworld, which led to so misunderstandings.
Bearing envious, jealous, and bewildered gazes, we finally reached the throne room.
“Hehe. There are quite a lot of interesting people here in the Underworld.”
As Aphrodite flipped her golden hair and smiled, I felt countless troubleso thoughts rush into my mind.
She truly was beautiful. If I had left her on Olympus, war would have broken out eventually.
Bringing her to the Underworld, where there were fewer gods and where old gods like Thanatos had little interest in won, seed a safer choice... But would she manage her work properly?
Well, if I left it to her for a few centuries, she would grow accustod to it.
“The work you’ll handle in the Underworld is paperwork. It will feel unfamiliar at first, but you’ll get used to it over ti, so don’t worry. Also, as soone ntioned earlier, do not eat any food from the Underworld.”
“Why shouldn’t I eat the food here?”
“Those who consu the food of the Underworld beco bound to it. That is the rule. If the Goddess of Beauty and Love were to belong to the Underworld, it could cause strange misunderstandings for mortals.”
“What do you an by misunderstandings? Why shouldn’t I be here?”
“It could make death itself seem beautiful.”
The gods who belong to the Underworld all have domains befitting its nature — death, sleep, dreams, oblivion, rage, hunger, and so on. From a mortal perspective, none of these are particularly pleasant.
But I understood this truth.
Death must not beco familiar or attractive. Mortals march toward death as it is, but if they neglect the present and fixate only on the afterlife, the mortal world would fall into chaos.
This was precisely why I pushed away the Goddess of Beauty and Love.
“Hmph. Still, you could at least tell what type of goddess you prefer, couldn’t you?”
“One who works diligently and devotes herself to only one god. Now that I’ve answered, take these papers and get to work...”
I could not let my personal feelings sway into accepting her.
But how did things end up like this?
“Hades! There’s trouble. Another war has broken out in the mortal world!”
“What? Aphrodite, head to the Acheron River and bring order to the souls. Charon...”
Aphrodite adapted to the Underworld surprisingly well.
Though she occasionally grumbled and visited Olympus, and gods would frequently co to the Underworld to court her, she sohow managed to settle in with her natural charisma.
Did the Goddess of Beauty’s allure also affect other goddesses?
Whenever I saw her chatting cheerfully with Eris, the goddess who once looked at her with jealousy, I couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of discord.
“I heard the Goddess of Beauty and Love now belongs to the Underworld.”
“Does this an death is beauty and love as well...?”
“Hey! Didn’t you hear Pluto’s oracle? The reason the Goddess of Beauty resides in the Underworld is to symbolize the love sent by the families of the dead in the mortal world.”
“So say it’s Pluto’s rcy, bestowed upon souls passing through Charon’s ferry...”
“Hmm? I heard it symbolizes parental love sent by the rciful god to mortals?”
Of course, strange rumors spread in the mortal world as Aphrodite spent more ti in the Underworld...
But I managed to suppress them with oracles. Fortunately, Pluto’s image in the mortal world wasn’t entirely negative.
Perhaps these rumors even served to soften the fear of death.
One day, after finishing paperwork and resting on my throne, Aphrodite approached, her chest slightly exposed.
Had I grown used to her presence? My gaze instinctively lingered on her seductive movents.
“Hehe. Do you still not find appealing, Hades?”
“...Ahem.”
The Goddess of Beauty leaned close, brushing my face with the fingertips she had touched her lips with.
I couldn’t find the words to reply. Perhaps it was the soft, full curves of her body pressing against , or the bond that had naturally ford from working together all this ti.
In truth, I might have been captivated by the fact that, while rejecting countless gods, she showed this side of herself only to .
If the most beautiful goddess in the world were to gaze at alone, who could possibly refuse her?
“Hm~ Hades? Why so quiet all of a sudden? Have you finally started to appreciate my charm?”
“...Get back to work.”
“Hmmph...”
I gently pushed her shoulders back, and she pouted her lips with a faint whine.
Staring at her complicatedly, I spoke.
“When Ares proposed to you, why did you reject him? Ares would make a decent husband.”
“Well... The God of War is handso and strong, but he’s just not as good as you, Hades.”
“There were many gods who wanted only a single night with you. Frankly, I found it surprising.”
When word spread that I hadn’t married Aphrodite and rely made her assist with the Underworld’s affairs, countless gods visited.
They offered gold, treasures, divine beasts, and even artifacts of divine power to spend just one night with her...
“Why?”
“I simply didn’t expect the Goddess of Love to refuse being loved.”
Yet Aphrodite had consistently turned down all of their advances.
She adamantly declared that she only had feelings for and rejected them all.
She even avoided eating the food of the Underworld as I had advised, instead regularly bringing nectar and ambrosia from Olympus.
Over the centuries, so began to call her a foolish goddess clinging to an impossible love, but she never wavered.
“...What value do I have for you to go this far? You could choose any god.”
“But the god I want to love won’t accept .”
She crossed her arms, her posture emphasizing certain curves that made it hard to know where to look.
“And there’s one more reason. It’s actually the most important one.”
“What?”
“You once said you preferred a diligent goddess who devotes herself to only one god.”
“What... Did you rember that?”
“Of course! I am Aphrodite, the Goddess of Beauty and Love. When I choose love, I will always see it through to the end!”
Watching her puff out her chest proudly and smile, I was left speechless.
From the very mont we first t, all the way until now... Had her thousands of years of work in the Underworld been part of this effort?
Had she avoided eating the Underworld’s food all this ti just to stay faithful to her love for ?
“A Goddess of Love who gives up on love does not exist. Ever.”
Smiling softly, Aphrodite reached for a bunch of grapes nearby.
With a light plop, she picked one grape and placed it between her lips, slowly walking toward .
Wait. That grape wasn’t from Olympus — it was food from the Underworld.
One step. Then another.
The playful goddess drew closer, her face nearing mine, until her breath brushed against my skin.
And then, she kissed .
Between our softly touching lips, the grape rolled, back and forth, making its presence known.
“...Hmph.”
Would I swallow the grape, or let her eat it?
In this mont, I could feel the depth of Aphrodite’s love, her earnestness accumulated over the years.
Indeed, she truly was the Goddess of Love.
Was the sweetness I tasted because of the grape?
Or the heated air in the throne room, charged with a new atmosphere?
Or perhaps... the love carried by Aphrodite’s kiss?
Either way, I didn’t mind.
As the kiss, short yet infinitely long, ended, Aphrodite swallowed the grape.
Her face, flushed red, clearly showed she was waiting for sothing.
Gulp.
“Oh dear. It seems I’ve eaten the food of the Underworld.”
Seeing her hopeful gaze, I couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly.
So this is how it would be. Ares had once co to for advice on how to win her over. My apologies, Ares.
“Now I have no choice but to live here forever... Is there any lonely god who will take responsibility for this poor goddess?”
“Well... There just so happens to be a lonely god of the Underworld here. If soone like is good enough, then so be it.”
Before I could finish, Aphrodite leapt into my arms.
Fwoosh.
“I love you, Hades!”
“I love you too, Aphrodite.”
It seems I’ll need to set a date for our wedding.
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