Chapter 37
Crack- Snap!
The sound of Charon's ferry breaking in half, unable to withstand the weight.
No, the sound of it shattering.
We gods, unlike humans, are transcendent beings with quick reflexes.
We moved nimbly at an unimaginable speed.
Charon urgently pushes away the souls of Otos and Ephialtes and throws himself towards the riverbank.
The Acheron River is under the Underworld's domain, so I control the water to pull up the sinking wreck.
Thud. Thud.
"Huff... This is insane!"
"The ferry that hadn't broken even once in thousands of years..."
"...?!"
This is why the souls of Otos and Ephialtes didn't fall into the river.
Old man Charon opens his mouth with a dumbfounded expression.
Aphrodite also seems surprised to see Charon's ferry, which she had only heard about, breaking.
"Wasn't that a divine object...?"
"No, I never thought it would be completely shattered like this..."
"Do you have any idea why? Did you make some mistake recently...?"
No matter how heavy those two souls are, Charon's ferry is a divine object.
Charon's power reduces the boat's weight and assists with movement in the river, among other functions.
Normally, there should be no reason for it to break no matter how many souls board it...
"It had been creaking slightly since the last Great Flood, and now it's come to this."
"Since the Great Flood? If you had told me earlier, I could have taken measures..."
"...? How could I go all the way to the fortress to tell you when I'm so busy?"
Well, it is amazing that the ferry remained intact for so long after moving for such a long time.
Maybe we overworked it too much, despite it being empowered by divine abilities.
"Well, countless souls have boarded the ferry since the creation of the Underworld. It's understandable that it broke..."
"Tch... It's because mortals keep dying over trivial matters."
Charon speaks while looking at the remains of the completely shattered ferry and his oar.
His face was filled with a sense of emptiness.
"Damn it! What's going on here! Hades!"
"As you can see, Charon's ferry has ended up like this, Thanatos."
Thanatos, who was controlling numerous avatars dispatched to the world of the living, appeared.
He seemed to have come to complain about the situation where countless souls were stuck at the Acheron River.
The souls, unable to cross the Acheron River and gradually increasing in number, also collectively expressed their confusion.
The murmuring of the dead intensifies as they notice us.
"What on earth is happening...?"
"Gasp.. P-Pluto?"
"Could it be.. Exactly like the statue in the temple.. Lady Aphrodite?"
"Why is Lord Charon's ferry...?"
They died and were guided to the Underworld by Thanatos, only to find...
The ferry they were supposed to board is broken, ferryman Charon is standing dazed with his oar,
And faced with Thanatos, me, and even Aphrodite, the souls begin to look stunned.
"Oh Zeus in heaven..."
***
We need to resolve this quickly.
If this continues, the world's cycle will break again like last time.
"Aphrodite, charm all the incoming dead and line them up in an orderly manner."
"Huh..? Oh, yes.."
"Thanatos! There should be a small boat near the River Styx for rescuing fallen souls, please bring that."
"Damn it all! Alright!"
"Once Thanatos brings the boat, you can ferry the dead across the Acheron River, right Charon?"
"I can, but the speed and durability are far inferior to my ferry..."
"Let's do that for now. I'll have a new boat made and sent here quickly!"
Damn, something goes wrong in this Underworld almost every day.
"Hades! The dead suddenly stopped coming, what on earth..."
"Lady Styx! Charon's ferry has broken!"
Goddess Styx comes running, confused by the sudden halt of incoming souls.
When I hurriedly explain the situation to her, she makes a similar expression to Thanatos.
"That can't be! That ferry hadn't even gotten a scratch in all these years..."
"It's understandable that it broke after such a long time!"
"...?!"
Soon, I see Styx's subordinates busily moving with Thanatos's avatars to transport the boat,
I quickly return to the Underworld office to handle the situation.
"Lord Hades! Perhaps like last time, Lord Thanatos..."
"It's not that, this time it's because Charon's ferry broke, so hurry and get back to work."
"What...?! O-Okay, understood!"
"And contact Olympus to tell them I urgently need Hephaestus!"
We should take this opportunity to remodel Charon's ferry.
We need to make it bigger and stronger to prevent this from happening again.
If it's made directly by Hephaestus, the world's best blacksmith who far surpasses the Cyclopes, this won't happen again.
But if there are others who can assist the god of blacksmiths...
If we're going to make it, we should do it properly, right?
"Call Daedalus and Pygmalion too. Stop by Goddess Mnemosyne to restore their memories."
"Understood!"
Even those who lived eventful lives in the world of the living eventually come to the Underworld.
Daedalus was the greatest architect and inventor who lived in the same era as King Minos, the judge of the Underworld.
And Pygmalion was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he made.
Surprisingly, he even married the statue he fell in love with...
It's because Aphrodite turned the statue Pygmalion made into a real person.
"So, Aphrodite turned the statue you made into a person?"
"Yes, when I offered sacrifices and prayed, she answered!"
"No wonder there was a statue in the Underworld's register..."
I was quite surprised when the statue that became human came to the Underworld as one of its people.
***
And so, Greece's best architect, sculptor, and blacksmith all gathered at the Underworld fortress.
The reason was to make a new boat for Charon.
"Huff... It's truly an honor to be able to work with God Hephaestus!"
"Daedalus, you say? I've heard your name many times."
"I'm a sculptor.. Are you perhaps planning to make a figurehead?"
Pygmalion is right.
Now that the ferry is broken, we're going to make a proper boat for Charon.
Of course, there should be a figurehead in Charon's image at the bow.
"Great Uncle Hades, what do you think about making the boat out of metal?"
"Metal? Is that possible?"
"Yes, since it can move with divine power anyway, to ensure durability..."
"The internal design..."
Unless it was my past life that had ventured into the sky and space,
Even for the god of blacksmiths, there are limits to technology, so I don't think a metal boat would move well...
But because it's the age of myths, we can fill in the gaps with supernatural power.
And since metal is abundant in the Underworld where trees don't grow, it might work?
"Let's give it a try. I'll provide as much material as you need."
"Then, Great Uncle! Trust in Hephaestus, the world's greatest blacksmith!"
The god of blacksmiths laughs heartily and pounds his muscular chest.
Daedalus beside him also seems to be thinking about something with an expression that says it's worth trying.
And so, an untimely boat construction began in the Underworld.
Clang! Clang!
"Is this the metal that's said to be found only in the deep underground?"
"So this will be moving around in the Acheron River from now on?"
"Turn that part a little to the side."
"A boat made of metal, I never thought such a thing would exist in the Underworld..."
Numerous Underworld technicians, blacksmiths, and workers rushed about, moving materials according to instructions.
On one side, those doing labor for their sins were moving heavy metals,
While Hephaestus and Daedalus were busy moving around giving instructions.
"Hmm. How can I express Charon's baldness majestically.. If I just make it lush..."
I could see Pygmalion, Greece's best sculptor, making a figurehead in Charon's image.
The plan was for Pygmalion to sculpt Charon's image, then infuse it with divine power to place at the bow.
The work of making Charon's boat finished quickly.
It was because of the god of blacksmiths' direction, Daedalus's design, and the combined efforts of tireless soul workers.
"This should satisfy Charon, right?"
"As you said, we've installed various devices at the bottom of the boat to push against the current..."
I looked at the massive boat that seemed like it would be fine even if dozens of souls boarded it.
It was made of all kinds of metals, and as I requested from Hephaestus, it was equipped with devices to naturally push against the current,
Plus divine power and a figurehead in Charon's image.
"Poseidon might covet this."
It's incomparable to Charon's shabby ferry.
***
Near the entrance of the Underworld, at the Acheron River.
Charon, who had been hurriedly ferrying souls,
And Aphrodite, who had been controlling the rioting souls, greet us.
"No way... You're saying I should ferry souls with this from now on?!"
"Hades, how long do I have to keep doing this job?"
I'm not sure about Aphrodite.. but I can see old man Charon looking at the majestic boat.
He boards the boat and touches this and that, exclaiming in admiration.
"Oh! It even has the power to part the water, with this I no longer need to row..."
"Ah, because of the laws of the Acheron River.. you still need to 'perform the act of rowing'."
Charon's face, which had brightened for a moment, darkened again.