Haven’t read volume 1 yet? Take a look at my review recap here!
Let’s take a look at what happens in volume 2 of Colette Decides to Die!
Looking for more information?
Please check out my introduction to this manga series here!
Already read volume 2? Check out my volume 3 recap here!
Setting
Volume two takes place in both our main character, Colette’s domain, the human world, and our male love interest, Hades’ domain, the underworld.
This story takes place in a world where the Greek gods, and the Greek heroes, are in existence!
What happens in volume 2?
Volume 2 starts with Colette traveling back and forth from the human world and the underworld to perform her duties as a doctor. Upon seeing Hades working through a fever, Colette asks him if he can’t take a break even just for a few days – the souls will still be there waiting for him when he comes back. He retorts: would you be fine if you were transported to a strange new place and then forgotten about?
Colette decides to stop trying to force him to rest, and does her best to instead try and help him get through this illness. One of Hades’ workers lets Colette know that he has been having troubles sleeping lately, and runs back to her house to make some lavender potpourri for him.
Both Hades and Colette then go to sleep, both thinking of the same person, for very different reasons.
Colette’s teacher
When Colette was very young, all of those residing in her village, including her family, passed away due to a pandemic. A traveling doctor came in time to save Colette, but unfortunately only Colette. This doctor taught Colette everything she knows, and has been traveling the world ever since Colette became old enough to work as a doctor on her own.
The teacher passed away at the beginning of this volume, and admits to Hades that he lied to all of those around him about the true nature of his wife’s passing – he killed her, and he wishes to be sent to the underworlds prison.
When news of her teachers passing finally makes it to Colette, she rushes straight down to see Hades, where she asks if it’s true.
Hades confirms that it’s true, and that he sentenced him to paradise, and that is where his story ends. Colette argues back that being sent to paradise is meaningless if he’s unhappy, and that she needs to see him. Hades tells Colette that her relationship with her teacher ended with his death, and that she cannot see him, but Colette sneaks away on a boat to visit him.
Colette finds her teacher’s soul, and they have a conversation. He explains that when he was younger, his wife became very sick. By the time he realized the illness was an easily curable one, it was too late, and she passed away. He feels as though he was unable to cute a simple disease, it was the same as killing her. He spent years believing that he was a terrible doctor, and that was part of the reason he spent so long traveling. Colette tries to comfort him, telling him that as a doctor, he has changes so many peoples lives for the better. She then tries once more to convince him to move on to paradise.
The souls in paradise
Colette soon returns to find Hades, and asks him to help her find her teachers wife. Thinking that maybe the wife can help convince her teacher to move on, and Hades accepts.
Once they get to paradise, Colette begins shouting the wife’s name out into the crowd of souls, but they all act confused. Hades explains to Colette that as time goes by in paradise, the souls that reside there grow smaller. Any bitter memories mellow out, and all of their emotions grow much more juvenile and pure. This also means that as time passes, they lose all sense of their former selves – to the point of forgetting their own names.
Just as she and Hades were about to return to his castle after admitting defeat, the teacher appears in paradise. He thanks Colette for all she has done for him, and lets her know he has accepted his judgement.
Just as she’s about to leave, she has one more thought: she asks her teacher to sing the song he wrote for his wife. He does, and a soul that recognizes the song appears! She doesn’t remember who she is, or who he is, but she does remember the song he wrote for her. She couldn’t accept his apology for not saving her life – as she doesn’t remember – but they decide to go off and sing together.
Hades’ fashion designer
In the underworld, Hades has many different skeleton creatures working for him. They all seem to love Hades greatly, and they all have their own specific jobs. One of such jobs, is designing Hades’ different outfits.
Horiko is the name of this designer, and while they are absolutely terrified of most social interaction, they really love Hades. They take their job as designer very seriously, and is constantly working at designing clothes that will suit Hades best.
When Hades is invited to the heavens for a festival by the god Demetrios, Horiko becomes thrilled at the prospect of being able to create an outfit for him to attend in…only for Hades to declare that he is far too busy with work to be able to attend a festival.
For Horiko, it’s been 150 years since they last had been given a task to do, and they spend their time designing various outfits in the hopes that Hades will one day choose to wear one.
He explains all of this to Colette, and she convinces him to at least show this sketchbook to Hades. If Horiko shows this sketchbook filled with 150 years worth of their thoughts and feelings put into it, surely Hades would find himself wanting to wear one of the designs.
Horiko, with the support of Colette, presents his sketchbook to Hades. Hades is very surprised, claiming that this may have been the first time their eyes have ever met. He says this kindly though, clearly acknowledging the amount of effort Horiko has put into this, and takes the sketchbook.
Hades agrees to go to the festival, and Colette and Horiko cheer together, a new friendship formed!
The festival – the heavens
Hades soon makes off for the heavens, and is met by Demetrios. She presses Hades on his sudden change of attitude – he had been too busy to come for 150 years, why now? – and he tells her that someone around him was meddling in his life. This was enough for Demetrios to make the conclusion that he is favouring a human, and promises to not tell anyone.
Demetrios also reminds Hades that there is a long list of goddesses who have feelings for him, but are too afraid of the underworld to approach him. To that, he thinks back to Colette playing around with Horiko and laughs to himself.
The festival – on earth
Back on earth, everyone in Colette’s village is celebrating the festival – everyone except for Colette. As there will be quite a few people suffering from hangovers the next day, Colette decides to stay in and prepare. After she finishes preparing, she takes out her recently-passed teachers book, and begins to read. While she enjoys reliving the memories written in the book, they begin making her feel retrospective.
When she was living with her teacher as a child, she wasn’t the only child in the house. She had many adopted siblings, all taken in by the teacher, and so the house was always lively. When she compares the past where she was always surrounded by her loved ones, and now where she lives alone, she begins feeling a bit lonely.
Just as she’s about to start crying, Hades appears in her bedroom. He tells her that rather than staying at the party in the heavens, he wanted to see Colette, and so he came to see her.
Colette agrees that she also wants to see Hades, and so he whisks her back to the underworld, and they have their own little party with their friends.
Hades brother, Zeus
While working one day, Colette comes across a man passed out in the field. It turns out he had eaten some poisonous mushrooms, and while he wasn’t going to die, his stomach was going to be severely messed up for the next few days.
He is set to stay with Colette until he fully recovers, but is rather touchy-feely with the women working at her little hospital. He kisses her hand, and tries to cling onto Colette, but she always rejects his advances. She seems to be the only one who rejects his advances though, as seemingly every woman who comes into contact with him, falls in love with him.
Zeus stays flirty with Colette, and proclaims that having a girl not want him, makes him want to make her want him all the more. Colette says that they can be friends, and they start to kind of have a ~moment~, when Hades arrives. This is when it’s revealed to Colette that Zeus is Zeus (he was using a pseudonym until now), and she freaks out for just a second.
Hades makes it clear that he has a strong disdain for his brother, and warns Colette to stay away from him. Colette sees Zeus struggle with the fact that his brother dislikes him, and so she sends Hades away, telling him she’ll visit him soon.
What Zeus did
Zeus confides in Colette, and tells her exactly why Hades dislikes him so much.
Many years ago, the three strongest gods had to decide where each would rule. There was the sea, the heavens, and the underworld. Zeus, being deathly afraid of having to live in the underworld, rigged the raffle they decided to use, and set Hades up to rule the underworld.
As Hades has a very calm demeanor, Zeus thought that he wouldn’t mind living in the underworld all that much. When Hades didn’t say anything after the draw, Zeus thought his secret may be safe, but now it’s revealed that Hades knew all along that he rigged the raffle.
Zeus in the underworld
Colette, after hearing Zeus’ problem, promptly pushed him down the well, and they both went to the underworld. Zeus, terrified, transforms into a kitten, and is brought to paradise, where Hades is.
Hades is in the middle of a game of tag with the souls (which was unexpectedly really cute), and he has Colette be “it” alongside him. He advises her to try and target the souls with flowers in their hands. She does, and the very first one she taps promptly disappears.
Hades explains to Colette that after spending a certain amount of time in paradise, souls will lose all sense of their former selves, and be reincarnated. Suddenly going through such a change is scary though, so Hades set up a game so that the souls wouldn’t have time to think about what was happening: they would be having fun, and then their new lives would start.
Zeus, after seeing just how good of a ruler of the underworld his brother has become, apologizes for all that he has put him through. He no longer sees the underworld as a scary place, he tells Hades, but he has also come to see it as a place of new beginnings.
…and that’s where the volume ends!
didn’t I say a lot happens!!
Maddie’s Ratings
Fluffiness
There was a little bit more angst than fluffiness in this volume, but there still was some!
Romance
There wasn’t all that much romance in this volume, but it’s made very clear that Colette already means a lot to Hades. He also straight up tells her that he would rather see her than be at a party in the heavens.
Story-telling
This volume had me hooked even more so than the first volume. There were sad parts, there were happy parts, there were parts I didn’t even know how to feel.
Maddies Manga 
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