Chapter 38
"Old man Charon, you'll still have to row less than before..."
"Sob. What do you know! Even before, I didn't have to row much because of the divine power, the important thing is that I have to continue ferrying those mortal bastards across this Acheron River! Even with devices that can make the boat move on its own, why do I have to keep rowing..."
It seems the job of ferrying souls has been quite tough for him.
That's how all the bottom-rung jobs in this Underworld are.
"But it's still better than Lord Thanatos, isn't it? Cheer up."
"That's not comforting at all..."
Charon, the ferryman, or rather the captain of the Acheron River, began rowing on his newly acquired boat.
His oar also lengthened to match the size of the massive boat.
"I'll try to increase my influence in the living world to put more coins in the mouths of the dead."
"...I don't need money, just let me rest."
Still, I should at least say something through the priests of my temple.
No matter how poor the deceased's family is, if the mourners at the funeral contribute even a little, Charon's pockets will be full.
I wonder if this will later become known as condolence money... funeral contributions.
"Get on board, you lot! I'll take you across the Acheron River!"
The boat loaded with souls moves away again with Charon's rowing.
Although we installed an automatic motor at the bottom of the boat, due to the laws of the Underworld, Charon is destined to keep rowing.
"Hades. Can't you hear me..? I want to spend some hot time together now..."
Aphrodite, who was controlling the souls on one side, approaches and puts her hand on my chest.
The goddess of love smiles softly, trying to seduce me.
Hmm, remove that.
"By the way, there's a soul who came to meet you after hearing you arrived in the Underworld."
"What? A soul that wants to meet me?"
As Aphrodite looks puzzled, we wait for a moment,
A man comes out of Charon's boat that had just returned from dropping off souls on the other side of the Acheron River.
As soon as he sees Aphrodite, he rushes over and prostrates himself.
"Ah... you're certainly a human I remember."
"Goddess Aphrodite... I, Pygmalion, who received your grace, blessing, and mercy, offer my thanks."
The man's name is Pygmalion.
The world's greatest sculptor who was able to marry the statue he made thanks to Aphrodite's grace.
Pygmalion paid his respects before the goddess Aphrodite with an even more serious face than when he was making the statue.
The goddess of beauty and love also straightened her posture at the mortal's sincerity.
The goddess Aphrodite places her hand on the devotee's shoulder.
Pygmalion, seemingly moved, lowered his body even more.
"You're the sculptor from Cyprus Island who made the statue and prayed to me."
"Yes! Thanks to your blessing, I lived a life without regrets with my beloved wife!"
"I saw well that pure, sincere love you had until death with that woman... to whom I gave life."
The sculptor trembles at her tone, referring to it not as a mere statue, but as a woman.
"I really wanted to express my gratitude for all of this, for your grace in helping me realize my love."
"Think of it as receiving a reward for how desperately you yearned for love."
I remained quiet, not interfering in their conversation.
Because right now, Aphrodite was wearing a benevolent smile befitting the goddess of love, not the goddess of beauty.
***
Pygmalion, who had been expressing his gratitude with tears, left.
Come to think of it, there was something I was curious about...
"Back then, what were you thinking when you breathed life into that statue?"
"Ah~ That time?"
Aphrodite fell into thought for a moment.
The figure of the beautiful goddess lost in thought was reflected in the Acheron River.
Soon, the goddess opened her mouth with a playful smile.
"Isn't it godlike to fulfill mortals' impossible wishes and respond to their desperate prayers?"
Impossible wishes and desperate prayers, huh.
We gods live eternally, but we don't become numb to emotions or just mechanically repeat our assigned tasks.
Should I say we maintain our formed personalities? Or perhaps it's more accurate to say we're personified gods with human qualities.
That's why incidents like Zeus's rapes, the tragedy of Phaethon and Helios,
the rebellion of the gods, or Thanatos's strike happen, but...
"Well, to be honest, it was just a whim. I never thought a human could move my heart..."
I guess that's how these touching stories occasionally come about.
As I nod to myself in understanding, Aphrodite glares at me with sharp eyes.
"By the way, I've been asking you for a while now. Isn't it about time we..."
"Ah, if you like hot times, I could assign you to the Phlegethon River."
"No! Why should I work in the Underworld?!"
"...? Didn't you want to come to the Underworld?"
The goddess of beauty's expression crumples and she loses her temper.
"That's not what I meant! I wanted to spend enjoyable time with you...!"
"Didn't you enjoy meeting Pygmalion and working here..."
"Aaaargh! I, I just want to go back!"
What. Go back? Not a chance.
I've already gotten permission from Zeus to take any god I want.
You need to work here a bit longer.
"By the way, Zeus also approved of me bringing you here."
"What...?!"
"I complained about the Thanatos incident and got permission to dispatch a few Olympian gods."
Aphrodite's expression goes blank as she hears the news that Zeus has sold her out.
She looks like she can't accept the reality of what's happening to her and is in denial.
"So that's how it is, please take good care of the souls at the Acheron River."
"Ha... Hades!"
Aphrodite working hard at the Acheron River.
I can feel that many changes have occurred in the Underworld thanks to her.
As Charon quickly receives souls, Thanatos's work efficiency has improved,
More souls are quickly reaching the River of Lamentation, Cocytus, resulting in more free time for all the gods of the Underworld.
Even the number of those who cause trouble, unable to accept the reality of their death, has decreased...
"Hadeees! This isn't what I expected at all!"
***
Anyway, after encouraging Aphrodite who's working hard at the Acheron River,
I returned to the Underworld fortress and leaned back on the throne, tilting my head back.
Too many incidents have been happening lately...
But with goddess Aphrodite helping in the Underworld, for a while, time will...
Hug.
The presence I felt behind the throne quietly approaches and embraces me.
Soft silver hair, gentle hands.
"Lady Lethe, how's the control of the souls at the Lethe River going..."
"I left it to my subordinates."
"Then the selection of the newly recruited attendants..."
"Don't think about such things."
As the tiny goddess's hands gently cover my eyes, I just closed them.
The feeling of something soft touching my tilted head... hmm.
I tried to sit up and escape from goddess Lethe embracing me from behind the throne, but failed.
Um... your hands are getting tighter...
"Zeus and Poseidon don't have as much work as Hades, do they?"
"...It can't be helped due to the nature of the Underworld."
Zeus, who rules the sky and the whole world, might be the busiest,
But because of that, he's delegated work to numerous gods.
Sun and wind, nature and earth, art and madness...
Except for big events like the threat of the Gigantes or wars, most things are handled by other Olympian gods.
Poseidon, who rules the vast seas and waters,
Also entrusts most of his work to numerous sea nymphs, Nereids, and divine beasts.
In fact, unless something happens that affects the entire marine ecosystem, there's no need to worry.
Whether there's an earthquake on the seabed... or a shark eats a fish in the sea,
All of this is natural death and part of the ecosystem's cycle.
But the Underworld where I am is a bit different.
It's the position that adjusts to ensure that cycle occurs normally.
If there's a problem with the souls coming to the Underworld, it becomes difficult to assign souls to newly born lives.
If the Underworld's space becomes insufficient or saturated, it becomes hard to receive dead souls.
If proper judgment for sins isn't carried out in the Underworld, the world's laws won't stand straight.
And the most important problem is...
"All the gods are too busy. Just look at Charon or Thanatos..."
"I suppose that's true..."
Unlike Olympus, the effect of work distribution isn't great...!
There are hardly any idle gods, so how can we divide the work?
And we can't ask for help from the goddesses of vengeance that everyone avoids.
"Shall I clear your head with my power?"
"...Please do."
Goddess Lethe whispers in a worried voice.
With her power of oblivion, it should be possible to make me forget fatigue for a moment.
Should I say it temporarily relieves unnecessary memories in my head...
Smooch.
...?!
The soft touch on my forehead is brief,
From there, my head clears and mental fatigue melts away.
No, more than that, did she just kiss my forehead...
"Shh. Don't say anything, just rest."
When I open my eyes, I see the goddess's face, red in contrast to her silver hair.
After briefly looking at her face, flushed as if it might burst if touched, I closed my eyes again.
"...I suppose I will."
My face probably wasn't much different from goddess Lethe's.