The God of Fairness, Hades – (1)

Upon returning to the Underworld with Persephone, I was greeted by several gods, all rubbing their tired eyes while poring over stacks of parchment.
The looks they gave me were undoubtedly filled with resentment—no doubt because I had taken a break while they were stuck working.

“Hades... Lately, you’ve been wandering outside of the Underworld more often...”
“There are piles of paperwork that need to be addressed.”

The goddess Styx handed me a large stack of documents.
Yes, yes. I know I have work to do.

“If you had been any later, Thanatos might have escaped again.”
“Again, really?”
“Honestly, I was tempted to abandon my duties as well.”

The god Hypnos averted his gaze, shaking his head.

I sat down for a while, skillfully flipping through the parchment and working my quill to approve the necessary documents.
The main deity of the Underworld is always wandering off, leaving everyone else to suffer. Poor them.

As I continued, a document stamped with the official seal of Olympus caught my eye.
During Eros’s wedding, I hadn’t discussed work, as I had attended as a guest.

As I stared at it for a moment, Lady Lethe explained the contents of the document.

“That’s a formal request. The goddess of justice, Dike, wishes to relocate from Olympus to the Underworld.”

“She wasn’t at Eros’s wedding earlier...”

“Why would the goddess of justice want to leave Olympus and come down to the Underworld?”
“It’s not just a temporary assignment—she wants to stay here permanently?”

“Hmm... Could it be?”

The gods exchanged glances, whispering as they looked at me.

“Could it be... your fifth wife?”
“No, it is not.”

Dike.
The goddess of justice, born to Zeus and Themis.
She is one of the Horae, goddesses of the seasons, alongside her sisters Eunomia, who governs law, and Eirene, who governs peace.
Just as I am known as Pluto, Dike also goes by Astraea or Iustitia.

“It seems she was too busy to attend Eros’s wedding earlier.”
“What should we do? Normally, we’d welcome any god willing to work in the Underworld, but...”

“Yes, but it’s rather odd that she wants to relocate here. Perhaps she had a falling out with other gods...”

Dike is a busy goddess.
Justice is a foundational concept that encompasses almost all matters—one of the pillars of civilization and order.
Even now, she’s likely wandering the mortal world, judging evildoers and upholding justice.

“Summon her to the Underworld. I’ll speak with her and decide from there.”
“Yes, I’ll send a letter to Olympus.”

Why would Dike volunteer for such a difficult position? After all, the Underworld is considered the worst post.
Could it be that she thinks it’s unjust to see us suffering here?

...Surely not.

Soon, I found myself in the audience chamber, gazing at Dike, who was kneeling before me.
Her golden hair, inherited from Zeus, shone brightly, and her powerful divine aura, inherited from her mother Themis, was undeniable.
Her appearance was as beautiful as it was commanding, with a voice to match.

She was a high-ranking deity, likely just beneath the 12 Olympian gods.

“...You can put down the scales and sword for now. Or at least float them beside you.”

“I cannot, Uncle! If I were to part with these items, even for a moment, justice itself would falter...”

Even while kneeling, she was holding both the scales and the sword.

“You look uncomfortable. And why are your eyes covered?”

“The reason is connected to why I wish to reside in the Underworld. Please allow me to explain.”

The eyes of the goddess of justice possess the ability to see through all forms of injustice.
They allow her to track down evil and enforce justice. But why was she covering them now?

Dike began her story.

“As the goddess of justice, I have traveled the world, passing judgment on the wicked.
Mortals commit countless misdeeds. There was Sisyphus, who tried to defy death itself, and Tantalus, whose crimes were beyond loathsome.
There was even a man who went around claiming to be my father, Zeus.”

“Yes, I recall such a man. He was Sisyphus’s brother, Salmoneus.”

Salmoneus, the brother of Sisyphus who attempted to cheat death, built his own kingdom in the region of Elis and declared himself king.
He was quite resourceful, uniting people under his banner and establishing his kingdom. But...

“Haha! I am the god Zeus!”

“Your Majesty...? What are you talking about...?”

Once crowned, he became drunk with power and proclaimed himself Zeus, engaging in all sorts of madness.
Let’s review his misdeeds one by one.

“Anything Zeus can do, I can do too! Watch this! Hahaha!”

“Your Majesty!”

“Behold! This is the sound of Zeus’s thunder!”

He built a bridge of iron and drove a brass chariot across it, mimicking the sound of thunder.
At the same time...

“This is Zeus’s lightning! Hahaha!”

Whoosh—

“Ahhh!”
“The king has lost his mind!”

“How dare you call Zeus mad! Have them all executed!”

He threw torches at his subjects, claiming they were Zeus’s lightning bolts.

Naturally, news of this lunatic’s actions reached Olympus,
so Zeus decided to show him what real lightning looked like, casually tossing the weakest bolt at him.
Salmoneus’s entire kingdom evaporated, and countless souls flooded into the Underworld.

“Salmoneus is now doomed to drive his chariot in Tartarus for all eternity.”

“I’ve heard of his punishment. But...”

Dike clenched her lips, her expression firm as she spoke to me.

“While Salmoneus deserved his punishment, the other mortals did not.
Even though he is my father, I believe the punishment was excessive. My scales tilted too far on one side.
Yes, blasphemy against the gods should be punished, but killing the mortals who simply served him as their king... It was too much.
And it’s not just that! There was also Apollo’s killing of Orion...”

I had taken that into account, and for the mortals who were merely caught up in Salmoneus’s madness, I offered them some reprieve in the Underworld.
They had been punished enough simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Dike continued to list countless other misdeeds and injustices caused by the gods, her voice trembling with anger, her divine power faintly radiating from her.
As a goddess of justice, she must have found it agonizing to witness so much injustice without being able to act.

I see. So that’s why you’ve come here.

“...There have been dozens of such cases, and on top of that...”

“I understand your point, Dike.”
“But I still have more to say...”

“You wish to reside in the Underworld because you seek my protection.”

The goddess of justice, Dike, was not one of the 12 Olympian gods.
In this world, justice was not always the most powerful force.

Though she was the daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Themis, and thus held considerable power, that was all.
Whenever she tried to punish other gods for their transgressions, she had to tread carefully because of their influence.

“Lord Poseidon?!”

“Dike. My son may have played around with mortals, but...”

“What’s the problem with a god punishing mortals?
You sound like Uncle Hades, acting as if we’re equals...”

“Lady Artemis...”

“Hold on, that’s a creature I treasure.
Yes, it ate a few mortals, but...”

“Lord Dionysus...”

Dike’s eyes could see through all injustices,
but she had chosen to blindfold herself.

What use was the ability to see injustice if she couldn’t do anything about it?

Her sword could strike down any evil,
but she hesitated every time before she swung it.

What use was a sword, when hesitation tainted every strike for justice?

Dike was undoubtedly a goddess of justice,
but those more powerful than her stood above justice, controlling its place in the cosmic order.

Her impassioned voice suddenly fell silent.
She looked up at me, her expression filled with desperation, longing, and hope.

“Yes, you’ve guessed correctly.
Uncle... you are known as the god of mercy.”

“......”

“Among the many gods of Olympus, few have ever tipped my scales towards goodness. But you have...”

I looked at the scales in Dike’s hand. They were heavily tipped to one side.
One side bore the weight of good, the other the weight of evil.

These scales weighed the balance between right and wrong.
Even Zeus himself would have to confront his sins before these scales.

“Somewhere along the way, I realized that I no longer belonged on Olympus.
I could no longer bear to see what was happening there...”

“......”

“Just as the goddess of victory, Nike, stands beside Athena,
gods who govern higher concepts often have other gods beneath them.”

“I am aware of that. So what are you asking?”

“Though mortals call you the god of mercy,
in my eyes, you are the fairest and most impartial god.”

Thus, just as Ares, the god of war, is followed by Deimos (terror) and Phobos (fear),
and as Athena, the goddess of war, is followed by Nike, the goddess of victory...

“I, Dike, the goddess of justice, humbly ask to follow the god of fairness and balance, Hades.”

The divine words, filled with power, echoed through the audience chamber.
Though they were not quite an oath sworn by the River Styx, they still carried weight—a solemn vow, backed by divine power.

What Dike was asking for now...
was essentially to acknowledge me as the god of fairness and to accept her as a subordinate, expanding the scope of my influence to encompass justice as well.

On top of ruling the Underworld, wealth, and mercy, she was asking me to take on the mantle of fairness too?