Chapter 56
I immediately returned to the underworld, returned the necklace I had borrowed from Pandora,
and summoned all the gods residing in the underworld.
Numerous gods rushed over, stopping their work upon hearing the news that we had received a prophecy from Prometheus.
Even the busy god of death, Thanatos, is seen hurrying over.
When everyone gathered in the office, I brought up Prometheus's prophecy.
"...He said that no matter how well we prepare, we'll be hit by Gaia's strike."
"Since it's a confirmed future, we can't change it..."
"I'm worried about how painful this strike will be for us."
"Wouldn't it be a good idea to set up precautions in advance at really important positions?"
"Styx. That's impossible. Trying to avoid the prophecy might rather..."
The office becomes noisy as soon as I utter a word.
If this were Olympus, controlled by the strong authority of Zeus, the king of gods, it wouldn't be like this.
But here, the underworld is different.
Except for the fact that I have the main decision-making power and respect the old gods who have lived for a long time,
All gods are somewhat equal and can freely express their opinions.
Actually, it wasn't like this in the early days when the underworld was created,
But thanks to my efforts, uncomfortable with the stiff and rigid atmosphere, this horizontal atmosphere was formed...
"Hades?! Why are you just standing there?"
"What else did Prometheus say?"
"Hey! Get your mind together, Hades! I'm much more tired!"
"Lord Thanatos... have another glass of nectar..."
"Ah. I'm sorry everyone.. I was lost in thought for a moment."
...Goodness.
Everyone had stopped talking and was just staring at my mouth.
I gathered my thoughts and spoke about the other prophecy Prometheus had told me.
"And Prometheus said, 'After that, if the mortal world and the underworld are connected, the gods will win.'"
"How can we connect the mortal world and the underworld?"
"It's too vague about how much, how, and where we need to connect."
"I don't understand it at all either..."
"Is he saying we can only win by turning the world into complete chaos?"
Even if we can't change the fact that we'll suffer a great loss,
How are we supposed to connect the mortal world and the underworld to win... It's giving me a headache.
While all the gods were racking their brains trying to interpret the prophecy,
The voice of the goddess of forgetfulness, who was staring blankly into space, was heard.
"Hades, then can't we take our time thinking about that problem?"
"Goddess Lethe?"
"Aren't we given time to connect the mortal world and the underworld until we're hit by Gaia's strike?"
Certainly, that's what Prometheus said.
After we suffer a great loss from Gaia's attack, if we then connect the mortal world and the underworld...
"Surely he's not saying I should mobilize the entire army of the underworld and advance..."
"Of course, it wouldn't be such a prophecy... No, could it be?"
"Shall we check how many troops we can mobilize in the underworld right now?"
"...Were there no other prophecies, Hades?"
As I was stopping Morpheus, who suggested checking the underworld's forces, and pondering about the prophecy,
Hypnos, who had been standing with his arms crossed, asked me a question.
"Ah... Come to think of it, Prometheus also said..."
"Hades, you'd better keep your lower body loose! Heh heh heh!"
...No, what on earth did he mean by that?
What kind of prophecy is this, something he'd say to Zeus, no... He said to keep it loose...
"What a quack prophet..."
"What did you say, Hades?"
"What else did Prometheus say?"
Goddesses Styx and Lethe ask with faces full of curiosity.
After briefly looking at the innocent goddesses' eyes, I gave a vague answer.
"...It's nothing. He was just joking with me."
"Well, Prometheus was that kind of character."
"That guy who always giggled with a lewd smile, that's just like him."
...Why do I feel like I've done something wrong?
***
In the somewhat strange atmosphere,
A lesser god entered the office.
"Lord Hades, the messenger who went to Olympus has returned."
"What did they say at Olympus?"
Of course, Olympus should also know about Prometheus's prophecy,
So I had sent a messenger in advance to get a response from the Olympian divine palace.
"Yes. They said that no matter what preparations we make, we can't avoid being hit by Gaia's attack mentioned in the prophecy, so they'll maintain the status quo."
"That's reasonable. Even if we try to avoid the prophecy, there's no way to avoid it."
If we gather our forces to defend one place, they'll attack somewhere else.
Even if that place is the Olympian divine palace, it's the same.
"Goddess Athena said it's presumed that the need to connect the two worlds will arise due to the losses from Gaia's attack."
"A need to connect the underworld and the mortal world will arise?"
"Could all humans die?"
"Maybe we should ask Hermes to regularly receive information..."
"I can't guess at this point."
"Could it be that the Omphalos Stone being used by Demeter is stolen?"
If so, it's not something we need to worry about now.
Trying to prepare this and that to avoid the prophecy might actually cause the prophecy to be fulfilled.
"Let's stop the meeting here for now. However, it would be good to maintain close communication with Olympus like this."
We should stop here.
To win, we need to connect the underworld and the mortal world...
As I was about to leave after stopping the conversation with the gods, Goddess Mnemosyne called me.
"Hades, I hear a newly born god has been assigned to the underworld."
"To the underworld? Was it forced by someone?"
"I'm not sure about that... It's news passed on from Olympus..."
There are several ways new gods are born.
First, if a mortal who has achieved great deeds and accomplishments in the mortal world is recognized by the gods, they ascend to Olympus and become a god.
Second, if both parents are gods, their child grows quickly right after birth and becomes a god.
Third, there are cases where a mortal who has accumulated great deeds is worshipped as a god by humans after death.
Fourth, like in Dionysus's case, a demigod can be promoted if they gain faith from humans.
Anyway, there are many other ways to become a god...
But among all the gods born so far, not a single one has been assigned to the underworld.
There are many reasons for this,
First, the gods of the underworld don't have time to make children, so new gods aren't born.
Second, the underworld is a workplace that most gods avoid.
Even setting aside the fact that it's a dark underground space where no vitality of the mortal world can be felt...
"Oh, is a new face coming in after thousands... no, tens of thousands of years?"
"Finally, our workload will decrease a bit."
"A new god... What should we make them do first? First, to prevent them from escaping, inside the fortress..."
"I hope they'll help me harvest souls."
There was too much work in the underworld.
Who would want to come to the underworld, which has such a notorious reputation even known to Olympus?
But there's a god newly assigned to the underworld?
It's obvious that someone forced the new god, or a god who doesn't know the situation volunteered.
"Then I'll really end the meeting now. I'll go meet the god who's said to have come to the underworld, so everyone get back to work."
"Even without you saying that, I'm working right now..."
"Ahem. I'm sorry, Thanatos."
Thanatos, whose eyes were rolling in all directions as if seeing some illusion, spoke.
Well, Thanatos has so many avatars to control in the mortal world.
***
I sat on the throne in the audience chamber inside the fortress, waiting for the god said to have been assigned to the underworld.
What kind of peculiar, mad god would hope to work in the underworld?
Creak.
As the huge doors of the audience chamber slowly open, what I see is...
A man holding a staff with two snakes entwined and wearing winged sandals,
Hermes, the messenger god...?
He bows to me with a mischievous smile, as if exaggerating.
Such a smile from the messenger god is usually seen only when something amusing has happened...
"Hello, Uncle! I am Hermes, everyone's messenger. Today, I've brought a new god!"
I thought you were working here.
So you personally brought the new god?
The entrance to the underworld is difficult for a newly born god to find,
And it would be helpful if the messenger god, who can freely come and go across the boundaries of the world, assists...
Knock knock. Knock.
Hermes knocks on the closed doors of the audience chamber a few times with a playful face.
As if that was a signal, the presence of divine power felt from outside the door moved.
Who on earth is coming that he's doing this?
No matter how playful Hermes is, he's never done anything disrespectful...
Creak.
As the door opens once again, a beautiful goddess slowly enters.
Bright, pale turquoise hair, a cool aura, and a familiar scent, that face is?
"Menthe? Why have you come to the underworld?"
"Uh... hehe... H-hello, Lord Hades."
One of the Naiades (water nymphs) who was a priestess at my temple in Thebes.
The creator of mint, the plant that existed in my previous life and has now become my symbol, Menthe.
Wait a minute, Menthe became a god?