C78: A Devoted Deity

“Hades, the god of the underworld, Poseidon, the god of the sea, and Zeus, the god of the heavens, are said to have created the land, sea, and sky. They are also more commonly referred to as the Three Realm Deities,” explains Sensei, who came rushing after hearing the urgent matter at hand.
“According to legend, unlike the other two Realm Deities, who have had multiple episodes of love affairs, Hades has never been known to be unfaithful. It is said that he continues to love only Demetersephone, the mother earth goddess, as his wife.”

Wow. So he’s a loyal god.

“In fact, Hades never considers himself the god of the underworld, rather as Mother Earth’s Goddess’ Husband.”

The earth, the seas, and the sky.

“They each have their own way to assert control over their respective realms. But for Hades, his relationship with his beloved wife, Demetersephone, who is also Mother Earth, is important. This may be the reason why cheating on her is out of the question.”

I guess gods have their own problems to deal with.
No wonder he insists those who receive his blessing to follow in his steps and love only one wife.

“That actually sounds pretty understandable to me.”

I mean, isn’t it normal not to cheat on your wife?
I was only thinking out loud since it seemed like common sense, but the majority didn’t think so.

“Dear, what’s considered common for many may still be different for the chosen ones!!!”

Platy was the first to voice out her opinion.

“The Demon King is the ruler of the demon race, which is exactly why he must unite small groups, each with their own way of thinking, and lead them as one large group. Sometimes, he just has to marry multiple women who have special connections to accomplish this!”

“On the contrary, that’s actually the case for many,” says Sensei.
“I might have been too short-sighted…”

Here comes the Demon King in his self-deprecation mode again.

“I thought I was fully aware of my responsibilities as king, but it seems I let my emotions for Astres get the better of me and made a careless decision. Not to mention, I was completely oblivious of Glasya’s adoration for me…”
“Lord Zedan!!!”

The muscular Heavenly One was deeply moved to tears.

“I am not worthy of such words! I, Glasya, will not regret having her head cut off for it!!!”
“You will not die! I shall take your hand in marriage, just like I took Astres’! You’re fine with this, right, Astres?”
“As you wish, Lord Zedan.”

Mrs. Astres is so obedient…
Is she really fine with it? Especially after she was finally able to have him all to herself…

---

“There’s only one thing that needs to be done.”

As soon as Sensei said that, he summoned Hades.
This undead king sure is having fun casually summoning gods.

“Anyway!”
“Hmm?”

The more Hades learned about the situation, the more his brows furrowed.

“The more I listen, the more blasphemous it sounds. It hasn’t even been over a year since you received your blessing from me, the god of the demon race, but you’re already violating my terms.”
“I have no words to reply.”

Hades is unsurprisingly angry.
The Demon King, on the other hand, is doing his best to remain calm and let Hades’ wrath pass by.

“Please wait!” intervenes Glasya. “This whole situation was caused by my own selfishness! Lord Zedan did all he could to reject my feelings!”
“Hm!”
“If it is divine punishment I must receive, let it be upon me! If I can’t marry Lord Zedan, then please take me with you to the underworld!!!”
“Well, you see, that’s…”

A maiden in love’s resolve is amazing.
She’s not one bit overwhelmed even by a god’s presence.

“Why not, love?” intervenes a woman’s voice. “Is it not because of your inflexible blessing that the situation has turned for the worse? It’s only natural that the blessing you give only applies to great men unparalleled in history.”
“True, nevertheless…”
“And it is only natural to treat such great men well. Imposing such restrictions on them will only cause the maidens to shed more tears.”

Is this woman who is admonishing Hades as much as she wants another god?

She is solemn-looking and resembles that of an empress hina doll beside its emperor as she stands next to Hades. She looks ever-so youthful and voluptuous, and her beautiful face adorned with a smile somehow has a maternal aura to it.

She must be Demetersephone, Mother Earth Goddess, and the wife of Hades.
It seems that she was also summoned alongside her husband.

“Whoopee! My summoning skill has improved!!”

This undead king…don’t use the Demon King as your guinea pig for your experiments.

“You know, I am grateful that my husband loves me, but his earnestness and inflexibility are exactly his flaws,” says Mother Goddess in a light-hearted manner, like a homemaker. “It is already in many god’s nature to have an affair. As long as you don’t disrespect me, I think it is all right for you to have a bit of fun yourself. You’re only pushing yourself by continuing to compete against those fools Zeus and Poseidon!”
“Do not lump me together with those lot! I will love you and you alone until the end of the world.”
“Oh? You say that, but did you not have a fling with that land spirit Minthe thousands of years ago?
“Hey, hey, hey!!!”

It seems Sensei’s explanation to us earlier had a bit of a mistake.

“I am fine with it. As the Mother Earth Goddess, I encourage you to marry, conceive, and reproduce a lot.”
“Then…is it okay?!”
“I apologize. As I am also his wife, I cannot ignore his wishes. If I did that, I would be setting a bad example to the rest of you, would I not?”

No one was able to say anything in response to Mother Earth Goddess’ irrefutable statement.

“A god’s blessing is a kind of promise between man and god. If this was easily broken, any contract’s value thereafter will be rendered worthless. In order to break a contract whilst preserving its value requires a special measure…”

Mother Earth Goddess’ shifts her gaze back and forth as if looking for something but then stops at one point.

“Oh my, what do we have here?” she says as she looks at me.
“What about me?”

“Thou do not look like thee art one of Zeus’ children, art thee? Thou art from outside our world, and it seems thee received something really good from Hephaestus.”

Huh?

She’s not talking about the Hand of Supremacy, is she?

“How intriguing. If things work out, I might be able to grant thee an exception.”