Chapter 26
In the end, we reached a compromise.
"The one you see next to me is Goddess Lethe, who oversees the River of Forgetfulness, and the one who rules the River Styx..."
"So, is Pluto married to both of them?"
"To think it's that Goddess Styx who we swear by the River Styx..."
The statues of Goddess Lethe and Goddess Styx placed next to my statue in the temple.
And the two goddesses looking at them with satisfaction.
"Hmm. This is right indeed. We even have a child together, how could you leave me out? Next time, make sure to include me too..."
"Styx... the sword isn't a child. If we're going by that logic, then Hades and Hephaestus's child would be the Bident..."
"Shh! Don't mention that weapon that tormented Kynee!"
How did it come to this?
Is it Lethe's fault for boasting everywhere that her statue was placed next to mine?
Or is it Styx's fault for pleading that she couldn't be left out after hearing about it?
And Kynee is mine...
It didn't even end there.
"Is this Lord Morpheus...?"
"Gasp! Why is there a statue of God Thanatos?"
"So all these gods live in the underworld?"
Yes, in the end, other gods also asked for their statues to be erected.
Like Thanatos, who approached suspiciously clearing his throat...
Or Hypnos, who hinted that humans sometimes fail to recognize him...
"No, this is too much no matter how you look at it..."
"Th-that... could it be the g-goddesses of... vengeance!"
Yes, I even made statues of the goddesses of vengeance.
Judging by the intense reactions, humans seem to be delighted too.
Although it's clearly Hades' temple, humans who were distracted by the numerous statues all around finally came to their senses...
Only then did they hurriedly kneel and start offering prayers.
"Uh... l-let's just pray for now."
"I wonder if praying to the goddess of forgetfulness will make painful memories disappear?"
By the way, I didn't expect so many followers to gather like this.
I should have used this method earlier to exert influence in the world of the living.
After such a busy day with followers coming and going to the temple all day...
"Lord Hades, there was no mention of the Gigantes monsters today either."
My temple's high priestess, Pharona, offers a prayer after finishing her daily routine.
I felt a bit sorry seeing her with dark circles under her eyes due to the rapidly increased workload recently.
Examining those who want to become Pluto's priests,
commanding the workforce sent by the royal family due to my oracle, offering sacrifices, and so on.
She had a lot of work given to her.
Since my temple originally had only one priestess, it's understandable that Pharona would be under a lot of pressure.
Pharona finishes her prayer and collapses onto the bed.
"Phew... Today was tough too..."
Still, for a priestess who shows direct faith in me, I should be able to intervene in the world of the living through their bodies.
I quietly infused power to alleviate her fatigue.
Vitality is transmitted along the invisible string of faith connecting Pharona and me.
"Ah... the fatigue... Lord Hades, thank you."
Work hard tomorrow too and bring information about the Gigantes.
***
The next day, God Hermes visited the underworld.
"Hermes, the messenger of all, has arrived, Uncle!"
Will he tell me what measures Olympus is taking regarding the Gigantes?
With an energetic face, he reached into his bosom and pulled out a parchment scroll.
"Most of the Olympian gods gathered for a meeting. Father had a serious face throughout."
He says the gods were summoned at the news that Gigantes, who could be a great threat to us, were discovered.
The possibility of another war was predicted, and methods of issuing oracles to humans to find the Gigantes were also discussed.
Poseidon, who rules the sea, ordered his subordinates to check coastlines and riversides,
and hundreds of eagles under Zeus's command thoroughly searched the world.
In addition, Pan, the god of nature, and various other gods searched the earth, but...
"No traces of those Gigantes monsters were found at all. Even I went around until my shoes got tired..."
No, I didn't know shoes could get tired. Hephaestus's inventions are really unpredictable.
I briefly looked at the winged sandals Hermes was still wearing.
And Hermes said that according to the analysis of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, the Gigas killed by Cadmus was likely acting alone...
but there's also a possibility that Gaia sent it out to gauge the gods' vigilance and reactions.
"If Lord Poseidon and Lady Demeter overturn the earth, those creatures would come out, but... the lives of humans..."
The reason we're at a disadvantage in the fight against the Gigantes.
"That seems to be the problem. We have something to protect now."
"That's right. The situation is different from the Titanomachy that happened before you were born."
The war with the Titans was an all-out war where opposing divine races fought with all their might.
But now, we have humans, living beings to protect.
One might think that if humans die caught up in the fight, we could just create them again...
but the gods who have already grown attached to this world can't make such decisions carelessly.
Many gods share love with humans, like in the case of Cadmus and Harmonia.
Just look at how many children Zeus has had with human women...
Even apart from that, it's not easy to ignore those who always pray to you and offer faith.
It might be okay to punish a village or a single country, but not to sweep away the entire earth.
"For now, we've given orders to the nymphs and lesser gods. To contact us immediately if Gigantes are found."
And Apollo also issued an oracle at the Delphi temple to inform humans about the existence of dangerous monsters.
It seems other gods have also taken measures as much as they can.
"Then I'll be going now! I need to stop by Lady Demeter's place too!"
"Let's see each other again next time."
***
"Lord Hades, please bestow your grace upon the new priests."
After sending Hermes off, I heard Pharona calling for me from the world of the living.
Several people kneeling before her in black clothes inside the temple.
It seems the high priestess Pharona has selected followers to help her.
As they all bowed their heads and clasped their hands together, I felt sincere faith being transmitted.
Good, it seems they've all been chosen properly.
If they were just pretending to pray or feigning belief in me, I would have noticed immediately.
"Thank you..."
"Oh... this is...!"
"Are you acknowledging us as priests?"
Black divine power envelops their bodies, sharing fragments of power.
A power that slightly reduces minor illnesses and allows Pharona or me to know if a priest has died.
I've also bestowed some blessings of wealth, so they shouldn't be too far behind the priests of other gods.
Especially compared to Dionysus's followers spreading around Thebes.
Trying to gather followers in Thebes where Dionysus has already established himself feels like intruding on my nephew's playground...
Semele, daughter of Thebes' great hero Cadmus and Harmonia,
and Dionysus, the demigod born between her and Zeus, eventually ascended to become one of the Twelve Olympians.
At that time, all twelve thrones of Olympus already had owners, but...
Hestia, the most benevolent goddess of Olympus, gave up her golden throne to Dionysus.
It was problematic that he retaliated several times over if humans treated him even slightly disrespectfully in the process of becoming a god,
but we can't force the god of wine and madness to act gently, so there's nothing we can do.
I remember when Pentheus, the king of Thebes who met his death for offending my nephew, came to the underworld.
"It's truly unfair! Lord Hades! I just had no choice but to... for the people of Thebes..."
"...Alright. Let's talk after you drink a bit more water from the River Lethe..."
"Aaaah! Mother!! Lord Dionysus!!!"
Pentheus, who was killed by his own mother who had fallen into madness, maintained his memories even after crossing the River Lethe,
because his grudge was so great.
It was very pitiful to see him shouting as if Dionysus's madness had infected him.
Even Thanatos, who was bringing him to the underworld, had a bitter expression...
"Take it easy... Take it easy. Your madness is hard for ordinary humans to endure."
"...Since Uncle Hades says so, I'll be careful."
Since I said this, he might restrain himself a bit, but...
Can the god of madness really suppress madness?
Even as I said this to him, I honestly thought it would be difficult.
***
"Hades...!"
"What's the matter?"
While I was continuously observing the world of the living, this time Lethe called for me.
The emotions felt from her beautiful face were bewilderment and worry.
"I bestowed blessings on the followers... but I think I made a mistake...!"
As her statue, Styx's statue, and my statue were erected together, many humans mistakenly thought we were married gods.
So when they prayed to me, many also prayed to their statues placed next to mine...
"Sometimes there are followers who ask me to erase bad memories... I erased a little, but..."
I briefly looked at the world of the living.
"Who are you again?"
"Oh my! Father... Don't you remember me? It's me!"
"Get out of my way! Don't grab strangers!"
"You said you were going to pray this morning, but why..."
A white-haired old man who seemed like he would soon receive a visit from Thanatos was arguing with a middle-aged man.
But they looked like father and son, could it be that the old man couldn't remember?
"He prayed to me to erase bad memories... I just erased a little..."
"How much of that old man's memories did you erase?"
"I made a small mistake... starting from recent memories, about 30 years..."
Goodness... Goddess, how could you erase about 30 years?
It seems she made a big mistake in the process of granting power to the followers.
"We need to quickly ask Goddess Mnemosyne to restore his memories."
"Ugh... He begged so earnestly, so I just touched it a little..."
I'm sure this was called... amnesia? Dementia in my past life?
Perhaps due to guilt for accidentally harming humans, I grabbed and stretched the cheeks of Lethe, who looked like she was about to cry.
The soft skin of the goddess stretches, following my touch.
"Ow ow! What are you doing...?!"
"Always be careful when bestowing blessings on mortals. Especially since humans can only live about 100 years at most, you need to be even more careful. For gods like us, 30 years is a short time, but 30 years of oblivion is truly a great disaster for humans..."
Am I becoming like Styx? I find myself nagging without realizing it.
"I understand..."
I didn't pinch her ears, so why are they so red?