Chapter 57
The goddess slowly walking into the audience chamber with a blushing face was indeed Menthe.
Now clearly a goddess and no longer a nymph, she exuded a cool divine power from her entire body.
"Uncle, then please talk with the newly born god. This humble messenger will return to Olympus now. Haha!"
"Ah.. Hermes. Yes, let's see each other later."
My nephew waved goodbye, seemingly enjoying my surprised expression at her unexpected appearance.
He must have volunteered to bring Menthe personally, anticipating my reaction.
After Hermes left, I looked at Menthe, who still couldn't meet my eyes properly.
There's a lot of explanation needed, but where should I start...
"So, Menth-"
"Ah! Yes! Lord Hades...um..."
As soon as I started speaking, Menthe stammered in surprise.
It's not like we're meeting for the first time, and she even served as a priestess, so why is she acting like this?
"Menthe. I don't know why you're so frozen, but stop being so shy and slowly explain the circumstances."
"...B-but..."
"...?"
Menthe's face turned even redder as she quickly blurted out:
"Volunteering directly for the underworld ruled by Lord Hades means I'm prepared to accept if you want to take my body at any time...!"
"No..."
"Are the goddesses I saw before the mistresses of the underworld? B-but I'm fine with being a concubine too...!"
"Stop. Stop it..."
As the conversation kept going in a strange direction, I waved my hand to stop her.
Menthe, who had been speaking excitedly, took a deep breath and calmed down.
She's still young... tsk tsk. It seems she's suffering from a disease of runaway delusions.
I should have Apollo treat her sometime.
"So, how did you, who was a nymph, become a god, and why did you come to the underworld?"
"Well... it's a bit of a long story..."
Menthe's shy explanation in front of me was as follows:
First, mint spread from Thebes and was exported throughout Greece...
The status of mint, considered my symbol in the mortal world, became very high.
"Hmm. The grace of God Pluto. I don't believe in him, but it's something to be thankful for..."
"Even if Hade... the other name is scary, didn't he give something for the humans?"
"According to a merchant from Thebes, Pluto is a benevolent god who is merciful to the living."
Naturally, the status of Menthe, whom I had declared as the creator of mint, also rose.
Especially since she herself was not human but a nymph, and was active as my priestess.
"I heard there's a nymph who's the creator of mint at Pluto's temple..."
"How can an ordinary nymph create such a thing? Maybe she's a god who came up to the mortal world on Pluto's orders."
"I don't know. Anyway, I prayed to her too."
Gradually, she began to be worshipped as the goddess of mint among humans, and faith started to gather.
Eventually, God Hermes came down to Menthe, who was praying at the temple, and took her to Olympus...
"Are you the nymph called Menthe who's receiving faith among humans? You look quite beautiful..."
"Father, I've heard that this nymph is favored by Uncle Hades."
"Ahem! Well, you should have said that quickly... Anyway, since she created a symbol of the underworld, it's enough to promote her to a goddess."
So Zeus, the king of gods, recognized her as a god,
And Menthe, promoted to the goddess of mint, hoped to work in the underworld.
"Lord Hermes, is there no way?"
"The underworld? They are short on manpower... I mean, divine power..."
This was how the newly born goddess of mint came to the underworld.
***
Menthe, who finished her explanation, looked at me with sparkling eyes.
She seems to be expecting something quite a bit.
"Lord Hades! So what should I do now?"
"...I don't know if you're aware, but the underworld is quite busy, so you might be given tasks beyond your authority."
"Hehe! You know, even when I was a priestess, I adapted well to the difficult temple work!"
Menthe puts her hands on her waist, emphasizing her chest.
But she says working as a priestess in the Thebes temple was difficult? I wonder if she can adapt well in the underworld...
I should give some advice to Menthe, who's smiling brightly.
"Menthe, why do you think we gods live eternally and are strong?"
"Huh?"
She makes a puzzled expression.
After tilting her head for a moment, trying to guess my intention, her answer was as expected.
"Um... Isn't it because we inherited the great lineage and power of Chaos, the primordial god?"
"...Wrong."
To mortals, gods might seem great, strong, and sometimes perfect.
Prophecies that foresee the future or powers that change terrain were valid reasons for mortals to worship us.
However...
"We were given overflowing power and minds that don't erode with the passage of time because we have to maintain the world."
"Ah..."
"Just look at you, you were an ordinary nymph and became a god. This means..."
It means becoming a slave to keep the world running well... would that be too much to say?
That seems to be right based on what I've felt working in the underworld, but..
"...Just think of it as being tasked with maintaining the balance of the world."
"I see! So the great gods are strong because they have to perform such noble duties!"
Now you're one of those great gods too.
And about those noble duties... well. That's somewhat correct, I guess?
"Maintaining the balance of the world... That's exactly the responsibility and task of a divine status I was thinking of!"
"There's a saying that gods aren't strong because they rule the world, but they're strong because they have to rule the world..."
"Aha! So with great power comes great responsibility!"
It's true that the immortal stamina of gods comes with numerous tasks...
Menthe, who seemed to understand something, nodded and spoke again, twisting her body.
"You're so concerned about me... I'll fulfill my responsibility befitting the goddess who created mint, Lord Hades' symbol!"
"...? Uh.. Yes. Do that."
No, it feels like we're communicating but also missing each other somehow.
Anyway, since she's so confident, should I assign her to a suitable position?
As I was flipping through a parchment, considering which position would be appropriate, a messenger came running.
A young male soul soldier wearing a toga, a familiar face I know.
"Lord Hades! Again at the court..."
"It must be something difficult for the three Minos brothers to judge alone, was there a prophecy by gods or a victim?"
"Gasp! How did you know? This time it's even..."
It's common for Apocretes, the swift messenger working near the court, to come running.
It's probably another victim of the gods. Is it a case involving several Olympian gods that's difficult to judge?
Of course, I trust the judgment of the three Minos brothers,
But there were cases where higher divine ranks looked unfavorably upon Minos for giving lenient sentences to those they had punished.
The Minos brothers, mere dead humans... seeming to go against the judgment of gods like themselves.
Of course, they couldn't express such complaints in front of me...
It was a rumor passed on by Hermes, Olympus's informant and everyone's messenger.
So to ease the burden on the Minos brothers and make more fair judgments,
I often stepped in for judgments of humans punished by gods or those who died caught between various divine ranks.
Of course, I was also involved in judging serious criminals that were difficult for them to judge alone...
"Has another mortal been entangled in the love affairs of the 12 Olympian gods? It's probably another victim of rape or adultery. Tell Minos I'm coming now."
"Yes, understood! Then I'll take my leave..."
As the messenger left again, I looked at Menthe.
"If you go to Goddess Lethe, she'll help you with the work you'll be in charge of. Now, I have urgent business..."
"Ah.. Yes!"
***
"Thank... thank you, King of the Underworld..."
"Yes, in life you suffered an unfortunate incident due to your outstanding beauty, but now such things won't happen anymore."
"Sob.. sob.."
The beautiful female soul in front of me wails sadly.
This soul was a woman who rejected the courtship of a minor god in life, but was eventually raped by him.
The problem was that she was a devotee of the virgin goddess Artemis, and as soon as she lost her virginity, she was cursed by the goddess and committed suicide...
That quiet Artemis is always strict with her devotees,
I mean, it wasn't even her will to lose her purity, shouldn't the goddess know to be a bit more lenient?
"Who's the next soul, Minos?"
"Yes, this time it's a woman... human woman named Arachne."
"Arachne? Let her in. Which god is involved?"
"... The document states that Goddess Athena herself punished her."
This time it's the goddess of wisdom?
Athena swore chastity on the River Styx, so it's not about the gods' love affairs.
A female soul that seems to be filled with resentment slowly enters.
Looking at the documents on the desk... a soul that maintained its memories even after the River of Forgetfulness, harboring a poisonous mind.
She must be holding a grudge against Athena who killed her.
The soldier who brought her makes Arachne prostrate.
The female soul falls to the ground, bowing her head towards me.
"Your name is Arachne? Tell me truthfully what happened before you died."