Ch. 017: Hecate

Ch. 017: Hecate

I was a bit surprised to see that what I was being chased by were three cute dogs who just wanted to meet their master. But where was the huge monster from the myths, why was Hades beginning even more different than I imagined.

Somehow the dogs had went up in a puff of smoke and be kme three separate dogs. Undoing like a tightly done knot.

The dog in middle was a black hound with smooth fur. And huge red eyes, around it's neck was a collar and a name: Cerius.

The dog on the left was a Chihuahua with fluffy brown fur on top and white under. It had small black eyes and the name: Berry.

The dog on the right was a poodle with white coat of fur and glowing fur, peach coloured skin and green eyes. The name on it was Russell.

What the fuck...!

Cerius, Berry, Russle?

Ce-Be-Rus!

Wow, my life has all been a lie.

But these dogs did not seem all that scary. They were more cuddly, I guess they missed their master. Having dog spit on my face was yuck!

"Alright, alright." I shunned the dogs. "Quit it you mutts I'm not a popsicle."

DING DONG!

"Damnit!" I grabbed the wore a dark shirt and trousers with pockets big enough to slip the black book into. I looked at myself in the mirror one last time. I had to admit, I looked really good as a god but this long hair would take some getting used to.

The dogs just wouldn't shut up as they followed me to the door. "Huff!" I drew in a long breath as I made my way to the door unsure of who it would be. The only thing I could do was see whoever it was at least, if it came to worst-- I tried not to think down that part.

I reached the door and pulled open the door, to my surprise I saw a a tall dark woman with short black hair, she wore a dark suit and trousers with white shirt underneath. Her eyes were light purple in contrast to mine and her lips painted black. You could say she was a very good imitation of me. The surrounding outside was so dark I could not see a damn thing beyond her.

Her sight took my breath away for a moment.

She looked awfully casual like some high profile officer worker. On seeing me she frowned, her eyes bearing a mix of emotions but then she calmed herself and said. "I see you have woken up my liege. Would you like to get back to business?" Her tone was definitely not so friendly and she had a deep glare that gave me a feeling that she hated me.

And what's this about getting back to business? And who was she. Without known anything about who she was, any form of interaction did not feel advisable to me.

I could feel my eyes buzzing and soon strange text appeared over her head saying.

ALL CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN MET, YOU HAVE UNLOCKED THE SKILL "EYE OF REVELATION".

THE DEAD SEE ALL, KNOW ALL. AND YOU ARE THEIR MASTER.

I froze there and said nothing, clearly doubting my own eyes. Was this magic or the power of the book? Or perhaps some sort of effect left behind by the my reincarnation?

I didn't know how but I could see who she was right above her head. The black strange text flashing a blue light.

It read:

HECATE: GODDESS OF SORCERY AND GHOSTS

LIKABILITY TO HADES- 350

ROLE TO HADES- ASSISTANT, MANAGER TO THE UNDERWORLD ESTATE

CONFLICT- THE "EX" RUMOR (UNSETTLED)

"Hecate?" I muttered under my breath after finally remembering who Hecate was.

The Greek goddess Hecate was the goddess of sorcery and ghosts. She was also depicted as the goddess of magic, dogs, and night. She was never depicted as a wholly evil or good character in Greek mythology, but her actions were always led by loyalty and compassion. So is she the ex Hermes was yapping about?

Shit! She's looking at me all weird, say something damnit. This is a lot to process.

"What are you doing here?" I asked coldly trying to hide any suspicion she could have about me.

Hecate's face dissolved into a look of regret and worry. "It seems you are still deeply offended by the rumor of a few hundred years ago when I asked you out for coffee to relive you from the stress of running your kingdom, you said yes and people took photos and then mistook us for lo--. Well I apologize."

She bowed her head slightly and from the sound of it, I felt she did this apology thing quite an awful lot for her to be this good at it.

So it was merely a misunderstanding huh? All she wanted to do get the original Hades to lay off a bit and a little rumor came from it, now he's still offended by that.

It reminded me of something similar. I was always too cooped up in my work, I had this secretary who always tried to get me to take a break, I shunned her a lot. I thought she was a bother to me. One day, she quit and after that the office felt empty.

I won't make the same mistakes twice, I will clear any resolve and regret I had in my old world.

"Please, come in Hecate." I said in a low voice and pulled the door wide open to let her in. "Let's have a chat."

Hecate raised her eyebrows a little too high I thought she was possessed. "Odd."

I held my breath for a moment and asked. "Is anything the matter?"

She looked at me then inside as if she was seeing a trap laid in front of her. "I can feel something off here."

Curse my luck. I huffed out and said. "Fine, we'll talk here."

Hecate stopped her hesitation and walked past me and into the house all of a sudden. "Yeah, yeah. You're sloppy today boss."

Wait? Did she just insult me?

Then those wierd words appeared again.

YOU HAVE SETTLED A DISPUTE WITH A MAIN CHARACTER, HECATES LIKEABILITY OF YOU HAS INCREASED BY 50

"Likeability?" I mumbled.

But what dispute did I settle?

I had a feeling that this should take some getting used to.

THE HIGHER THE LIKEABILITY YOU HAVE WITH A MAIN CHARACTER THE MORE LIKELY THEY ARE TO EXPOSE CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION RELATED TO THE STORY!

As I slowly shut the door I could not help but think I had just stepped out of my comfort zone.