Chapter 54
Even if we stop Prometheus's punishment,
He, who has accumulated considerable resentment towards Zeus, will never help us.
He'll probably just laugh scornfully without uttering a single word about Gaia's intentions or his prophecies.
We can't be sure if his love for humans is greater than his anger towards Zeus.
After returning to the underworld, I quickly moved out of the fortress.
Leaving the pitch-black fortress and heading towards the outskirts of the underworld, a deserted path soon appears.
A little further from here... if I go to the northern end of my fortress, where most souls don't visit...
After walking for a while on a narrow path that only one or two people could pass through, a soul came out of a small house.
A beautiful female soul with beauty comparable to most goddesses.
"Pandora. Can you listen to me for a moment?"
"...Why have you come all the way here?"
She is the first woman created by the gods.
The pretext created for Zeus to punish humans with a great flood.
The one who spread the source of all evils - disease, calamity, anger, and more - to the human world out of momentary curiosity.
It was Pandora, who married Epimetheus, Prometheus's brother.
***
I was guided into Pandora's house and took a seat.
"What business does the Lord of the Underworld have with a lowly human?"
"The first human woman blessed by numerous gods calling herself lowly, don't say such things."
Her husband, Epimetheus, is living in seclusion in the mortal world because he's an immortal Titan...
But Pandora met her death during the great flood caused by Zeus.
And when Pandora came to the underworld, she despaired upon realizing she had been used.
Although her resentment may have diminished after such a long time, back then she retained her memories even after crossing the River of Forgetfulness.
I felt sorry for her situation and offered to erase her memories,
But she chose to live on the outskirts of the underworld without being reborn, keeping her memories.
The way to persuade this Pandora is...
"I'm trying to end Prometheus's long punishment."
"...I see."
"But there needs to be a reason that Zeus can somewhat accept. So I want you to help me persuade Prometheus."
I told Pandora everything about Gaia, the enemy of us Olympian gods,
And that I plan to release and persuade Prometheus to borrow his power of prophecy.
After hearing my story, Pandora sighed briefly and then answered calmly.
"Although you've treated me well, Lord Hades, I still don't want to do anything that helps Olympus even a little."
I've shown goodwill to Pandora by occasionally bringing news of her living husband, Epimetheus, in the mortal world, and vice versa.
Although the two couldn't meet... I remember they were always happy when receiving news about each other.
It wasn't easy to find Epimetheus's location as he wanders around the world in seclusion,
But the messenger said he was always happy to hear news of Pandora...
"Wasn't the original reason the gods created me to punish humans who received fire?"
"I won't deny it. The reason for your creation was probably because they were displeased that Prometheus gave fire to humans."
The reason numerous gods bestowed all sorts of blessings and created Pandora was ultimately a move to destroy humanity.
Simply put, it was a trap.
"Why should I help Olympus, which used me and once destroyed humanity?"
Pandora speaks calmly without any change in expression.
As the first woman, she cherishes and loves humans, who are her descendants.
Even more so because Pyrrha, the daughter she bore with Epimetheus, married Deucalion and became the origin of new humans.
If we consider it, her hatred is likely a mix of resentment towards the gods who destroyed humanity and guilt for being used.
"Mightn't it be more beneficial for humans if Lady Gaia and those Gigantes held dominion over the world?"
"The Gigantes eat humans. They even kidnapped people from the city where my temple was built and used them as sacrifices."
"...Is that so."
Although she's engaging in the conversation with an attitude of at least listening to me, who has granted her many conveniences so far,
Being persuaded by me is a separate matter.
"There will never be another great flood like that time. Even if Zeus tries to destroy humans again, I will try to stop him."
"...You against Lord Zeus?"
"If it's not a justified destruction, but for such a reason as offending Zeus and receiving fire."
At that time, it was the early days of Olympus when we needed to establish some authority for the King of Gods,
And it was only when Pandora's box was opened and evil spread to the human world that we discovered she had been artificially created and sent from Olympus...
Out of respect for Zeus, I only expressed concern without showing much dissatisfaction.
And Zeus, respecting me in turn, didn't prevent Pandora and Epimetheus from communicating.
He also didn't mind me providing conveniences for Pandora in the underworld.
"Let me show you how your daughter Pyrrha and her husband Deucalion's descendants are living."
***
The scenery of the mortal world that I occasionally observe.
I briefly shared with Pandora the view of mortals living in Thebes.
Thebes is prospering despite the past turmoil of King Oedipus.
Thanks to the blessing of wealth I bestowed, there weren't many starving people, and humans spoke of the gods' grace.
"Today, I'm planning to pray at the statue of Morpheus in Pluto's temple."
"Did you have a good dream yesterday, my friend?"
"I hope it's a prophetic dream of a business success..."
"Thanks to the mint given by Pluto, the God of Mercy, even the air in the cemetery is fragrant."
"Ah... you're exaggerating too much."
"You'd understand if you worked as a gravedigger. Before, the stench was so..."
"I'm from Athens, but how does Thebes worship Had... ahem! Pluto?"
"Haven't you heard about the mint? Not only that, but if a believer is threatened by a monster, he personally descends..."
"The Lord of the Underworld... a God of Mercy?"
Ahem... Actually, I think humans are talking about me too much...
But in Thebes, my name is almost on par with Zeus, so it can't be helped.
"So many people are really chanting your name, Lord Hades. God of Mercy..."
"...Somehow, I ended up being called that."
Pandora looks at the humans on the surface with wide eyes.
What is she thinking as she watches these people who could be called her descendants?
"The reason I descended on Thebes was because of the Gigantes following Mother Earth Gaia."
"......"
"I was barely able to save my believer who was kidnapped by a Gigas and on the verge of death."
"Gaia's subordinate..."
"Yes, that's why I'm trying to persuade Prometheus to get advice to prepare against Gaia's prophetic abilities."
Pandora closes her eyes, appearing to be deep in thought.
I can only hope that her love for humans is as great as her hatred for the gods.
After enough time passed to empty a cup of Dionysus's wine,
Pandora opens her eyes as if she's made a decision.
She brought a parchment scroll and a quill pen from inside the room and wrote something diligently.
Then she took off the golden necklace she was wearing and handed it to me along with the parchment.
"If you take this to Lord Prometheus, it might be of some help."
"...Thank you very much."
Pandora's golden necklace is a treasure that exists only one in the world.
When she was born... it's Pandora's symbol, a gift from the Charites (Graces), the three goddesses of beauty who assist Aphrodite, and Peitho, the goddess of persuasion.
It will serve as proof that the letter I'm delivering to Prometheus is indeed from Pandora, as well as represent her decision.
With this, Prometheus shouldn't doubt it.
Pandora's hand, about to hand over the necklace and letter, pauses for a moment,
Then she suddenly continues speaking quickly.
"But this absolutely doesn't mean that my resentment towards the Olympian gods has dissolved or that I'm taking their side."
"Then..."
"I just think it's better for humans if the current gods rule rather than those Gigantes monsters dominating the world. And..."
Pandora stops speaking for a moment, her lips quivering.
"...Your promise to stop the gods if they try to destroy humans again."
I think it was good that I built a rapport with Pandora by accommodating her over time.
Unintentionally, I seem to have changed her heart over the long years.
"I'll trust the kindness Lord Hades has shown me so far."
Actually, I wanted to ask for help from her husband Epimetheus, who is Prometheus's brother,
But he's always wandering and living in seclusion, so it's difficult to find him in a short time.
"You say you're changing your mind trusting me personally, not the Olympian gods. Is that alright?"
"Surely the Lord of the Underworld wouldn't deceive a lowly human?"
"...Thank you very much. If Prometheus is persuaded, it will be all thanks to you."
The first woman smiling faintly before me... Is it not love for humans,
But guilt for destroying humans with her own hands that led her to make this decision?
"Please don't expect too much. I only wrote what I saw, heard, and felt in the city of Thebes you showed me."
"That's more than enough."
Having turned the heart of someone who resented the gods after realizing the truth of being used to destroy humans,
It should be able to bring a big change to Prometheus's state of mind as well.
Now all that's left is for me to personally visit Prometheus with Pandora's letter and necklace.
I will persuade him no matter what.