I'd become <Underworld's> official successor; even though I was the one who said it, it didn't feel all that real to me.
我成了黑社会的正式继承人;尽管是我说的，但我感觉这一切都不那么真实。
However, it seemed that I wasn't the only one who suspected the sincerity of my declaration. The King of Tartarus and the ruler of the night, Hades, was glaring at me.
然而，似乎不止我一个人怀疑我的声明是否真诚。塔尔塔罗斯的国王和夜晚的统治者，哈迪斯，怒视着我。
[You have spoken a lie in <Underworld>.]
[你在冥界说了一个谎言。]
Accompanied by the icy sensation, cold enough to freeze my toes, 'death' was now staring straight at me.
伴随着冰冷的感觉，冷得我的脚趾都冻僵了，“死亡”现在直直地盯着我。
[Right after becoming our child, I see you're already learning to deceive us.]
[成为我们的孩子之后，我发现你已经学会了欺骗我们。]
Hades rebuked me in a cold voice and stood up from his throne to walk closer to my position. I wanted to stand up from my spot right then, but my body didn't want to move.
哈迪斯冷冷地斥责我，站起来离开他的宝座，走近我的位置。我当时想从我的位置站起来，但是我的身体不想动。
The Status of a Myth-grade Constellation had currently suppressed my entire body, that was why.
神话级星座的状态现在压制了我的整个身体，这就是为什么。
Thankfully, nothing untoward happened. Hades did get to where I was, but then, unhurriedly brushed past me and walked straight out of the royal palace.
谢天谢地，没有什么不幸的事情发生。哈迪斯的确来到了我所在的地方，但随后，他从容不迫地从我身边擦身而过，径直走出了皇宫。
I breathed a sigh of relief and turned my head around to find Persephone rubbing her chin with a meaningful smile on her face.
我如释重负地叹了口气，转过头来，发现珀尔塞福涅的脸上挂着意味深长的微笑，摩擦着她的下巴。
[H-mm…. Is this the conflict between father and son that I've only ever heard about….?]
这就是我只听说过的父子间的冲突吗
For a tone of voice coming from a troubled-looking face, she sure sounded rather entertained.
从她那张愁眉苦脸的口气来看，她的话听起来确实很有趣。
[An eternal battle between a father and a son, with the mother in between…..] ….That sounded like a narrative deeply stained by the ways of Olympus.
[父子之间永恒的战争，母亲夹在中间......]...这听起来像是一个被奥林匹斯的道路深深玷污的故事。
As if to say I shouldn't worry, Persephone lightly patted me on the shoulder. Only then did I sense the muscles of my body frozen by Hades's Status loosen up.
珀尔塞福涅轻轻地拍了拍我的肩膀，好像在说我不用担心似的。直到那时，我才感觉到被冥王地位冻结的身体肌肉放松了。
[Do not be too concerned, for your father's personality has always been like that.]
不要太在意，你父亲的性格一向如此
"…."
"...."
[However, your guilt in this matter is just as grave after daring to spout a lie first. You've never harboured thoughts of staying in <Underworld> from the beginning, have you?]
然而，你在这件事上的负罪感，在你敢于先撒谎之后，还是一样的严重。你从一开始就没有想过要留在冥界，是吗
She perfectly hit the mark and I had nothing to say. I never wanted to take over for Hades and become this realm's king. What I wanted was <Underworld's> powers, not to inherit its throne.
她一针见血，我无话可说。我从没想过要接管地狱，成为这个王国的国王。我想要的是黑社会的力量，而不是继承它的王位。
Hades probably had cottoned onto my motives a while ago.
哈迪斯可能早就知道我的动机了。
[It will take some time before that fellow's anger has sufficiently cooled down.]
[那家伙的怒气要完全平息下来还需要一段时间。]
"I'm sorry."
“对不起。”
[No need to apologise - it's true that both Hades and I already knew you never planned to remain in this realm anyway.]
[不用道歉——我和哈迪斯都知道你从来没有打算留在这个领域。]
Persephone's eyes arched to a pair of gentle crescents.
珀尔塞福涅的眼睛圆拱成一对柔和的新月形。
[If it's alright with you, accompany your mother to a meal.]
如果可以的话，陪你妈妈去吃饭吧
*
Persephone's dining table I hadn't seen in a while remained pretty much the same; slabs of well-cooked and delicious-looking steaks, as well as salad, laid out in several layers on top of a large plate. On the outside, they resembled foods commonly found everywhere, but I already knew very well that those were no ordinary meal.
珀尔塞福涅的餐桌我已经很久没有见过了，几乎没有什么变化;一大盘子上分几层摆放着熟透了的、看起来美味可口的牛排和沙拉。表面上看，它们和随处可见的食物很相似，但我已经很清楚那些不是普通的食物。
[Bravery of an Empress of Swords who Conquered the World] [Wisdom of a 3rd Circle Magician who Spent his Entire Life in a Library] [Will of a Swordmaster who Couldn't use Either Sword Strengthening or Sword Manifestation]
[征服世界的刀剑皇后的勇气][第三圈魔法师的智慧，他的一生都在图书馆里度过][剑术大师的遗嘱，他既不能使用剑法，也不能使用剑法]
I wondered if I saw something wrong here and read the menu one more time.
我不知道我是否看到这里有什么不对劲，然后又看了一遍菜单。
[Hurry and have your fill. Do you not find the menu to your liking?]
[赶快吃吧。你觉得菜单不合你的胃口吗?]
"….No, it's not that, but…."
“不，不是那样，但是......”
[Now that you've become a Constellation, you must consume proper Fables to survive. You won't be able to absorb enough nutrients through the foods of regular humans. I hope that, as you're an adult now, you've managed to fix your picky eating habit.]
现在你已经变成了一个星座，你必须消费适当的寓言才能生存。你不能通过正常人的食物吸收足够的营养。我希望，作为一个成年人，你已经设法改正了你挑食的习惯。]
She sounded like my real mother by saying that.
她这么说听起来像我的亲生母亲。
[Your mother worries a lot about you - whether you're eating properly and on time or not, if you're getting enough sleep….]
[你妈妈很担心你——你是否按时吃饭，是否有足够的睡眠......]
My hand moving towards the fork came to a stop at her words. "Have you spoken to my mother?"
听到她的话，我的手停住了，“你和我妈妈谈过了吗?”
[Fufu. We've talked to each other a few times.]
[福福，我们聊过几次。]
If it was Persephone, then she was fully capable of doing that. The foie gras placed before me had this name, even:
如果是珀尔塞福涅，那她完全有能力做到这一点。放在我面前的鹅肝酱甚至有这样一个名字:
[Heart of a Mother Sending her Child Away]
[母亲送走孩子的心]
….This couldn't have been my mother's actual heart, now was it?
这不可能是我母亲真正的心脏吧？
I put the fork down and spoke. "I see that the type of foods has changed since the last time. There were Swordmasters and Archmages here in the past, if I recall correctly."
我放下叉子，说道。“我看到食物的种类自上次以来发生了变化。如果我没记错的话，过去这里有剑师和大法师。”
[The 'Isle of Reincarnators' have opened now, so we should enjoy special dishes for a change, wouldn't you agree? I may look this way, but I'm still a member of the Gourmet Association, so I shouldn't be eating the same food every day.]
转世岛现在已经开放了，所以我们应该改变一下享受特别的菜肴，你同意吗？我可能看起来这样，但我仍然是美食家协会的成员，所以我不应该每天吃同样的食物
Her fork and knife moved; accompanied by rich gravy, aromatic paragraphs leaked out from thinly-sliced Fables. Persephone's graceful hand movements brought that food into her mouth. What she ate just now was [Will of a Swordmaster who Couldn't use Either Sword Strengthening or Sword Manifestation.] [And, some Fables will disappear if you don't make an effort to consume them.]
她的刀叉移动了，伴随着丰富的肉汁，芳香段落泄漏出薄片寓言。珀尔塞福涅优雅的手部动作把食物送进了嘴里。她刚才吃的是[一个不会使用剑法或剑法的剑师的意志](而且，如果你不努力消费一些寓言故事，它们就会消失。)
Dying Fables were disintegrating at the end of the fork.
垂死的寓言在叉子的末端分崩离析。
Fables that no one searched for were pouring out entrancing sentences on the tip of Persephone's tongue right up until she consumed them.
没有人搜索的寓言故事在珀尔塞福涅的舌尖上滔滔不绝地讲出令人入迷的句子，直到她把它们读完。
I felt complicated while watching that sight; Persephone looked back and smiled. [I'm aware that you are dissatisfied by the eating habits of the Constellations. You probably don't like the way we easily consume the joys, angers, sorrows, and pleasures of Incarnations.]
观看这一景象时，我感到很复杂;珀尔塞福涅回头一看，笑了。我知道你对星座的饮食习惯不满意。你可能不喜欢我们轻易地消费化身的欢乐、愤怒、悲伤和快乐的方式。]
"…."
"...."
[However, every incident taking place in the universe is destined to be left behind as a Fable. You, me, other Incarnations, and Constellations. We'll be consumed by something else eventually.]
然而，宇宙中发生的每一件事都注定要成为一则寓言。你，我，其他的化身，还有星座。我们最终会被别的东西消耗掉
The lives of all living beings would become the stories of the <Star Stream>.
所有生物的生命都将成为星流的故事。
[If we're bound by such a fate, then the best any Constellations could do is to act towards preserving the most varied spectrum of Fables…. That is my belief.]
[如果我们受到这种命运的束缚，那么任何星座所能做的最好的事情就是保存寓言中最多变的光谱.....。这是我的信念
Leaving behind varied Fables, and preserve varied types of stories.
留下各种寓言故事，并保存各种类型的故事。
Maybe, what Persephone said might not be wrong. In her own way, she was pursuing what she believed to be right in the <Star Stream>. This was probably the reason why she was a member of the 'Gourmet Association', too.
也许，珀尔塞福涅说的也许不是错的。以她自己的方式，她在追求她认为正确的明星流。这可能也是她成为美食家协会会员的原因。
But, I was sure that she didn't invite me here to speak of her philosophy towards Fables.
但是，我确信她邀请我来这里不是为了谈论她对寓言的哲学。
"May I ask what is it that you really wish to tell me about?"
“我能问问你到底想告诉我什么吗?”
[In truth, Hades does not want you to remain in this place.] "…..Does that mean he doesn't want me to be his successor?"
(事实上，哈迪斯不希望你留在这个地方。)这是否意味着他不希望我成为他的继任者?”
[It's different from that. If I were to put it into words….] Persephone spoke, as she began cutting the delicacy placed on the plate in the middle of the table. [Hades, and I…. We do not wish for you to stop as just the 'King of the Underworld'.]
这不一样。如果我把它用文字表达出来......]帕尔塞福涅说着，开始切放在桌子中央的盘子上的美味。[哈迪斯和我......我们不希望你作为‘冥界之王’而停止。]
"That means…."
“这意味着......”
[Olympus has fallen. The Underworld, too, has lost its former glory. Being satisfied with the position of the 'King of the Underworld', now that is no different than placing your name on the coattail of a disappearing Fable.]
奥林匹斯的陷落。地下世界也失去了它以前的荣耀。满足于“冥界之王”的地位，这和把你的名字放在一个消失的寓言的衣服尾巴上没什么两样。]
"Underworld is a good Fable."
“《地下世界》是一个很好的寓言。”
[And it's a declining Fable, too.]
(这也是一个衰落的寓言。)
Indeed, the power enveloping <Underworld> currently was not like this in the past. An ancient and withered Fable; a story that got progressively spoken of less and less in the <Star Stream> would lose its power little by little.
事实上，现在笼罩黑社会的力量在过去并不是这样的。一个古老而枯萎的寓言;一个在星河中被越来越少地提及的故事将会一点一点地失去它的力量。
Persephone's unreadable eyes staring at the delicacies contained deep-seated melancholy. Maybe, she had been constantly thinking about this, even as she dined on and enjoyed many different Fables.
珀尔塞福涅凝视着美食的那双难以辨认的眼睛里包含着深深的忧郁。也许，她一直在思考这个问题，即使她吃饭的时候，喜欢许多不同的寓言故事。
The fear that eventually, his and her <Underworld> would be buried under the forgotten alleys of passing time and become another stuffed piece in the 'Isle of Reincarnators'.
害怕最终，他和她的地下世界会被埋葬在被遗忘的胡同下，成为另一个在转世岛上的标本。
[That is the undeniable way of time itself as long as we exist within the <Star Stream>.]
[只要我们存在于恒星流中，那就是时间本身不可否认的方式。]
The moment I heard her words, I was overcome by this unfathomably deep, intense sorrow. It was the kind of sadness that I'd never experienced before.
我听到她的话的那一刻，我被这深不可测的深深的、强烈的悲伤所征服。这是一种我从未经历过的悲伤。
Both Persephone and Hades would disappear. From the memories of people, from my own memories - and the story they had compiled would disappear forever.
珀尔塞福涅和哈迪斯都会消失。从人们的记忆，从我自己的记忆——以及他们编写的故事将永远消失。
I didn't like Constellations. I disliked their actions, and I disliked the way they peeped on the world itself, too. But why….
我不喜欢星座。我不喜欢他们的行为，也不喜欢他们窥视世界的方式。但是为什么..。
….Did I not want to see Persephone and Hades disappear?
难道我不想看到珀耳塞福涅和哈迪斯消失吗？
Maybe I didn't want to acknowledge this truth, because I unknowingly spoke in a curt voice. "Why are you being so nice to me?" I bit down on my lips before opening them again. "I merely came here to use you."
也许我不想承认这个事实，因为我不知不觉地用一种简单的语气说话。“你为什么对我这么好?”我咬下嘴唇，然后再次张开。“我只是来利用你的。”
If I failed to acquire the power of <Underworld>, then <Kim Dok-Ja Company> would end up in grave danger on the 'Isle of Reincarnators'. Even then, I came out and said those words. Perhaps I wanted to confirm something, as a human called 'Kim Dok-Ja', and not as <Kim Dok-Ja Company>.
如果我没有获得地下世界的力量，那么金道佳公司将在“转世岛”上面临极大的危险。即使在那时，我还是站出来说了那些话。也许我想确认一些事情，作为一个叫“金道子”的人，而不是作为金道子公司。
['The 4th Wall' is faintly shaking!]
“第四道长城”正在微弱地摇晃
['Fruit of Good and Evil' is worsening your guilty conscience.] ….Even if that confirmation turned out to be a useless waste of time.
[“善恶之果”正在加重你的罪恶感。]...即使那个确认最终被证明是浪费时间。
Persephone quietly studied me for a little while, lightly wiped her lips with a napkin, and extended her hand in my direction. Her eyes were gentle and friendly, with not a hint of animosity in them. Flustered, I tried to get up, but her Status had already reached my shoulder.
珀尔塞福涅静静地端详了我一会儿，用餐巾轻擦了擦嘴唇，向我伸出手来。她的眼睛温柔而友好，没有一丝敌意。我慌乱地试图站起来，但她的状态已经到了我的肩膀。
[A very long time ago, we have received a certain revelation from the 'three sisters of fate'.]
很久以前，我们从“命运三姐妹”那里得到了某种启示
"….A revelation?"
”...一个启示?”
[It said, 'A successor to the darkest night who will end the most ancient Myth, will appear.']
[上面说，‘黑暗之夜的继承者将终结最古老的神话，他将出现。’]
Abruptly, I recalled the story Dionysus told me before.
突然，我想起了酒神狄俄尼索斯以前告诉我的故事。
- Several Constellations, including myself, believe that you will be the one to reach the ■■.
——包括我在内的几个星座都相信，你将是达到■的那个人。
The 'several Constellations' back then must've been Persephone and Hades.
那时候的“几个星座”一定是英仙座和冥府。
Meanwhile, she continued on. [I was initially furious after hearing that oracle.]
与此同时，她继续说道。(听到这个预言后，我一开始非常愤怒。)
…..Furious?
...愤怒？
[Because, I possess the 'Fable that can't have children'.]
因为，我有一个“不能生孩子的寓言”
I had no idea that Persephone had such a backstory. Could it be that the reason why she had no children until now was because of that?
我不知道珀尔塞福涅有这样一个背景故事。难道她到现在还没有孩子是因为这个原因吗？
Persephone lightly brushed my hair back.
珀尔塞福涅轻拂我的头发。
[At first, I waited, wondering if it was possible. Maybe, I'd be blessed with a miracle. Maybe, we'd be blessed with a beautiful child who'd remember our stories. Even if only the darkness, hellish landscape, and prisons existed here, we were confident of raising our child better than any of the 12 gods of <Olympus> as long as given a chance. To teach our child the ways of understanding the darkness of other beings, to tell him the kind of Hell that others could never sympathise with, and to show him the merciless prison punishing the evil that tramples on the righteousness of the universe.]
起初，我等待着，想知道这是否可能。也许，我会有一个奇迹。也许，我们会有一个美丽的孩子来记住我们的故事。即使这里只有黑暗、地狱般的风景和监狱，只要有机会，我们也有信心把我们的孩子抚养得比奥林匹斯山上的12位神中的任何一位都要好。教我们的孩子如何理解他人的黑暗，告诉他别人永远不会同情的那种地狱，向他展示无情的监狱，惩罚践踏宇宙正义的邪恶
"…"
"..."
[For many hundreds of years, I lived on in that delusion.]
[几百年来，我一直生活在这种错觉中。]
The ends of her fingers were trembling ever so slightly.
她的手指尖微微地颤抖着。
I couldn't dare to understand the meaning behind that tremor. I simply couldn't even begin to unpack the pain and the hatred towards <Olympus> contained in each word she spoke.
