Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1488: Chapter 215: Stories That Must Be Told About the Successor and His Wives

In the vast palace, Queen Persephone of the Underworld stood in front of the mirror, gazing at her own reflection… Not far away, the Master of the Underworld held a dark red goblet, looking out at the sky.

Hades suddenly said, “The winter in the Underworld is almost over.”

The Queen of the Underworld heard this, turned around, and looked at Hades lightly, saying indifferently, “A year should have four seasons.”

Hades merely laughed casually, still gazing outside the Palace of the Underworld… The mountains, greenish-black, lifeless, and the purgatorial land flowing with sulfur and lava.

As a king of the underworld, governing the Underworld, he could no longer tell whether this scenery was ugly or beautiful… At first, he felt they were barren and unappealing—unlike the beautiful scenery on Mount Olympus.

“You shouldn’t have taken in a human child who accidentally wandered here as an adopted son,” Queen of the Underworld suddenly said coolly: “Humans cannot adapt to the environment of the Underworld… You just want an amusing toy to relieve boredom, Hades. You shouldn’t make such a move just for a toy; the creatures of the Underworld can hardly accept a human as their young master.”

Hades, with a smile, turned around, “Persephone, you might need to meet this child. He is so lovable, his fair skin like yours, his gaze resembling yours too. This will comfort my longing for you in your absence… Besides, he can entirely adapt to the Underworld’s environment; he is not an ordinary human.”

Queen of the Underworld slightly furrowed her brows at Hades’ flattering words, “You mean, this child is not human… Born of human and divine, like Heracles, a demigod?”

Hades said indifferently, “My Queen, please do not bring up things that remind me of your father in my domain.”

The Queen of the Underworld silently glanced at Hades, then turned away without saying anything… She was the empress of the Underworld: the empress, abducted. She even couldn’t use her powers in the Underworld; she needed to ascend above, where she truly was a goddess of abundance.

Hades genuinely cherished the magical boy, even directly dispatching Queen Persephone’s own maid to him… But this seemed to have little relevance; winter was about to end—she would soon leave this underground abyss and return to the surface.

Perhaps when next winter arrives, when she returns to the Underworld, the child will already be gone—after all, the Master of the Underworld is so unpredictable… Who knows what the future holds?

…

“Big sister, why did you call me the young master?” Joe, after all, was only a five-year-old child, his mind not allowing him to ponder too many things—only busy with this sudden situation of whom to address… Besides, this big sister is truly pretty, just like that bad big sister.

Is she really not that bad big sister transformed? Where did the bad big sister go?

The maid… the woman claiming to be Ji Si looked indifferent and said, “You have now been honored as the adopted son of the Master of the Underworld, naturally the young master of the creatures here. From today onward, your identity will be noble… At least, currently, that seems to be the case.”

Joe blinked his eyes, lowered his head, and said, “Big sister, I want to go home. I’ve been out for a long time, if I don’t go, my dad and grandma will worry.”

Maid Ji Si said indifferently, “This is your home now, young master… Your current identity is the Underworld’s young master, your only father being Hades, your future remains like this… At least, currently, that seems to be the case.”

“I don’t want this!” Joe shouted.

The combat power of naughty children manifested at this moment, he rolled directly onto the ground, whimpering and crying—indeed, like those mischievous children brought over when relatives came visiting—those wanting to smack at once.

But evidently, this dispatched maid was not someone with gentle patience—facing Joe’s antics, maid Ji Si directly grabbed Joe’s little leg, hanging him upside down, and walked towards the terrace, “Young master, please stop your tantrums, the palace should maintain quiet… You probably wouldn’t like experiencing the heat from the lava below.”

A gust of mixed and pungent sulfur smell now emerged from below… Joe fearfully looked at the orange-red river below, even noticing the continuously forming and bursting bubbles on it.

Indeed, he quickly stopped crying… This sister worse than the bad big sister made Joe recall the aunt next door, who was truly fierce when hitting people!

This wicked sister!

“Very good, have you quieted down, young master.” Maid Ji Si now nodded, still in that eternally unflappable appearance of disdain for others, “Please forgive my impertinence… However, Hades instructed me to care for your living needs and teach you the rules of the Underworld.”

“I don’t…” Joe shivered instantly, yet looking at maid Ji Si’s gaze, the final word “want” got stuck in his throat… He flinched.

At this moment, a hearty laugh came through… Joe looked up to see a figure bathed in golden light appearing in the palace terrace air.

Maid Ji Si now furrowed her brow slightly, swiftly setting down the newly appointed young master of the Underworld, and said with dignity, “Greetings, envoy Hermes.”

The figure emerged from the golden light, a handsome young man with blond hair wearing winged shoes and holding a staff entwined with serpents. He casually said, “The time is up; I’m here to escort the goddess of abundance back to the surface.”

“Still three days, envoy Hermes.” Maid Ji Si maintained her composure.

The youth… Hermes now stated calmly, “Father God said, this year’s winter must end early, spring should arrive sooner because it’s too cold on the surface, with many innocents freezing to death in the harsh winter. For this, the Empress often laments and cries. You know, Ji Si, Father God loves the Empress so much, just as Hades cherishes Persephone.”

—Does Father God and the Empress really have such loving affection… Nah.

Maid Ji Si now nodded silently, “Okay, envoy Hermes, I will convey your intention, but you need to meet Hades in person.”

“Of course.” Hermes smiled lightly, “Why wouldn’t I enjoy meeting Uncle Hades… But before that, can you tell me what’s with this human child? Why is there a living being in the Underworld, which doesn’t seem to accord with the rules?”

She probably knew Hermes would ask this sooner or later, so when questioned, her expression remained calm, “Envoy Hermes, this was the will of the Master of the Underworld… If you want to know, perhaps you should ask him directly when you meet him.”

Hermes shrugged, an unconcerned attitude, then glanced around, and suddenly asked, “By the way, where is Minta? Why haven’t I seen her?”

Maid Ji Si indifferently glanced at Hermes, then extended her hand to point—she was pointing to a wasteland outside the palace walls, but in this lifeless Underworld, it seemed as if that plot of wasteland strangely grew a patch of lush green.

Hermes now noticed the existence of lush green, curiously looking over, “This seems to be… mint grass?”

“Minta has perished.” Maid Ji Si said quietly: “This mint grass grew from her ashes.”

“How did she die?” Hermes couldn’t help but frown.

The maid Kris did not speak at this moment, instead she turned around and then slowly kneeled down… Seeing this, Hermes shifted his gaze and then directly flew into the room, standing quietly, lowered his head, and respectfully said: “Greetings, Hades.”

Joe had been listening to this wicked elder sister and the flying elder brother talking, not daring to speak himself. At this point, upon seeing their actions, he hurriedly looked over, and with one glance, he was startled – he noticed a tall figure standing inside the room without knowing when it had appeared.

He only saw the other’s gaze, and couldn’t help but shiver, his body seemed to be frozen, his brain blank, unable to utter a word!

“Hermes, is it?” The arrival of Hades brought a slight change to the atmosphere of the room, “I am already aware of your purpose, but the winter on the ground will not come to stay early. Go back and tell your father, the Underworld is spacious, no need to worry about my capacity… come back in three days.”

Hermes looked up and said: “Hades, going back and forth really takes too much time, since it’s just three days, let me stay in the Underworld and wait.”

“Suit yourself.” Hades said indifferently, then waved his hand: “Kris, prepare a place for Hermes to rest.”

Afterward, the maid Kris led the envoy from Mount Olympus out of the room… As he left, Hermes couldn’t help but glance back at the only child in the room: Joe.

He secretly winked at Joe, seemingly as some sort of hint… Yet his finger quietly pointed outside the palace – it seemed to be a place outside where greenery had sprouted.

Soon, only Hades and Joe were left in the room.

…

“Lift your head and tell me your name.”

The tall figure suddenly spoke, and Joe instinctively trembled as he raised his head… His voice trembling as well, he said his name: “Joe… My name is Joe.”

Hades nodded and then said indifferently: “From today on, you must forget your past name. You will become my son, and your name shall be… hmm, Prin!”

“Hmm…” Joe nodded subconsciously.

He even seemed to have forgotten how to say “no” – he dared not defy the other’s will at all.

“In the coming days, Kris will take care of and teach you.” Hades continued, “Three days from now, I will return this year, hoping that by then you have adapted here, my child.”

Joe… could only subconsciously nod.

Hades, not long after, transformed into a black mist and gradually dispersed, leaving Joe sitting on the ground, struggling to hold back the tears welling up in his eyes, hugging his knees and sobbing, “I want to go home, dear sister, where are you…”

But this time, the bad elder sister did not suddenly appear to tease him.

The winter in the Underworld is very cold… actually, it seems the Underworld only has winter?

…

Outside the palace window, a figure slowly approached, arriving at the only green place full of mint grass – he stood here, gazing at the huge palace ahead, subconsciously furrowing his brows.

This is… Old Ha, who came to the Underworld with Nero because of a remote control, claiming to be [Hades]!

“Father…”

He lightly called towards the grand palace behind the tall walls, clenching his fist.

…

…

The remote control with red and blue buttons just lay on the table.

Nero occasionally glanced at the remote control but made no move; she simply moved her lips rapidly, servicing the shop owner in front of her, telling stories about her boss.

[Club Owner] listened carefully, his expression unchanged; it seemed nothing could stir him about what the future held.

As for Eleanor, who currently served as the maid, she occasionally showed a frown… Clearly a natural reaction, considering she was listening to an envoy from the next [Club Owner] talk about future events.

According to Nero’s storytelling, the next one was genuinely a man atrocious beyond words… How could such a man possibly replace the current one and become the next?

“…My boss’s twelfth wife’s name is Su Zijun!”

Nero’s eyes twinkled, “Let’s talk about this Su Zijun; she’s amazing, she was the last Princess of the Shenzhou Xuanyuan Royal Family. Not only is she powerful, but she’s also super wealthy! Her favorite little toy that she enjoys with me and the boss is called the Rich Lady’s Joy Ball… Ever seen a Rich Lady’s Joy Ball? Let me tell you, this Rich Lady’s Joy Ball is actually…”

“Ridiculous!” Finally, Eleanor, who served as the maid, seemed to have reached her limit, furrowed her eyebrows and sternly regarded Nero, saying deeply: “Nonsense! Do you dare to tease [Club Owner] in such a manner?”

Nero stuck out her tongue, then looked pitifully towards the current [Club Owner], “But everything I said is true… Don’t believe me, have the current boss check the future and see the truth… It’s doable, right? After all, you’re also the [Club Owner]!”

“You!” Eleanor’s pupils slightly contracted, her stern expression growing deeper… Nero then dropped her head and withdrew – this former maid, after all, was much easier to deal with compared to her family’s maid, at least occasionally showing her emotions!

“Then… then I won’t talk about Eleanor becoming my boss’s thirteenth wife in the future!” Nero feigned fear as she smiled, “Former [Club Owner], I’m afraid your maid would kill me!”

“In the past, I would have wanted to kill you too.”

Finally, the current [Club Owner] spoke indifferently – this was the first sentence he uttered after listening for so long about the next one and his wives’ stories.