Chapter 74
Trudge, trudge.
As I carried Persephone back to the fortress, I felt movement in my arms.
Has she recovered enough to regain consciousness?
"Mmm... Where is... Ah!"
"You're awake. I'll move you soon, so wait a moment."
It's not easy to overlay another god's domain with one's own power.
That's why it's difficult for Gaia to meddle in Thebes, where my followers are abundant.
Even for me, one of the Big Three, it's not easy to cover Athens or Delphi with my power.
It's not impossible, but it's quite draining, to say the least.
So, for a deity who doesn't even reach the level of the 12 Olympian gods to tamper with my domain, one of the Big Three?
Even if it was just adjusting a part of the underworld, it's absolutely not an easy task.
It's only possible because Persephone is of Zeus and Demeter's bloodline.
If my niece wasn't in the underworld, the 12 Olympian gods would have to neutralize the underworld's energy themselves.
"Uncle Hades... Holding me so tenderly... Have you finally decided to marry me?"
"Just be quiet and recover your strength before I put you down."
The goddess in my arms smiles weakly and jokes, but her face is pale.
She's probably too weak to even move a finger right now.
When I checked the underworld's energy and power that she neutralized...
"This isn't a one-time thing. It needs to be maintained by infusing power about once every six months."
"So I can be held by Uncle Hades once every six months?"
"...As much as you want, considering what you've done for us."
The spring energy Persephone infused doesn't maintain itself continuously.
After some time, it will be eroded by the underworld's energy again, and eventually return to its original state.
"He... Hehe..."
"What are you grinning about? You'll probably have difficulty using divine power for a while."
"I'm just happy right now..."
"Sigh..."
Did the corners of my mouth turn up without me realizing it as I looked at Persephone smiling brightly up at me?
My niece in my arms looks up with a slightly surprised expression.
"Huh?! Did you just smile?"
"...You must have seen wrong."
***
I put Persephone down in a suitable room and returned to my throne, closing my eyes.
From now on, I need to prepare to issue oracles to the mortal world and raise heroes.
Zeus took Morpheus with him a few days ago, saying he would personally issue oracles to the king of Thebes...
I should also inform the priests of my temple in advance.
Various training tools and items should be brought to the ravine...
And since the food for the heroes must come from the mortal world, not the underworld, that also needs to be addressed...
The priests in the mortal world will have a hard time for a while.
"Are you the current high priest? I called because I have something to tell you."
"Th-This is! O Lord of the Underworld..! Command me!"
The current high priest was an old man.
Seeing the faces and positions of mortals I knew change makes the passage of time feel empty, but...
"I will connect the underworld and the mortal world, centered on my temple."
"Y-Yes... What?!"
Now is not the time to be lost in such sentiments.
The high priest is flustered by the sudden main point, but I ignored him and continued my explanation.
About the snake monster, the Gigas... the training and management of heroes, the oath of silence sworn on the River Styx, and...
"...That's all. Discuss and decide the details with the king of Thebes, who will receive Zeus's oracle in a few days."
"I will obey as you command, O merciful god, Pluto!"
"Oh, and... Erect a statue of Persephone, the goddess of spring and seeds, daughter of Demeter and Zeus."
"The goddess of spring... Are you saying she will reside in the underworld...?!"
"It happened to turn out that way. She is now a goddess belonging to the underworld."
I conveyed appropriately limited information to him in Thebes and cut off the communication.
Even if he's the high priest of my temple, there's no need to tell him all the details of the gods' circumstances.
By the way, this high priest seems to have very strong faith.
It's extremely easy to connect with the mortal world and convey my will.
Somehow, it seems like the devotion of the followers is gradually increasing as time passes...
"Lord Hades! Here's a letter from Goddess Demeter to Goddess Persephone!"
"...There's no need to bring it to me, deliver it directly to Persephone."
As I sit quietly on the throne, tasks that need to be handled pour in.
"Next, those who came to the underworld with memories due to strong grudges are using disrespectful language and actions towards the gods..."
"Inform Lethe, the goddess of forgetfulness, about this."
"Eros, the god assigned to punish serious criminals in the underworld, is pleading to stop drawing his bow..."
"Is he begging to be let out?"
"Um... He didn't go that far."
"He still hasn't come to his senses. Don't relay Eros's words for a while."
"Also, Triton, the legitimate son of Poseidon, the ruler of the sea, has arrived to convey his greetings..."
"Guide him to the audience chamber and bring nectar."
As I handled each task brought by the messenger, I thought to myself.
Now it feels like the usual underworld.
***
Oracles from the Olympian gods descended upon the mortal world.
To Apollo's temple in Delphi, to Athena's temple in Argos...
The content that all Olympian gods unanimously conveyed to the mortal realm was just one thing:
Those who wish to become heroes, head to Thebes.
It was a short oracle of just one sentence, but it greatly stirred the hearts of all young people dreaming of becoming heroes.
They thought becoming a hero would be difficult after the death of Chiron, the widely known teacher of heroes...
Perhaps because of the recent rampage of giant monsters with snake lower bodies that swept across Greece,
there was an overflow of those who wanted to become heroes.
"Are they saying we can gain strength and become heroes there?"
"Apollo said the name of those snake monsters that killed Chiron was Gigas."
"I heard Goddess Athena descended in Athens and killed the Gigas?"
"A monster that only heroes can face... Great! That's exactly what I need to be!"
Moreover, if all the gods spoke through oracles, the conclusion was clear.
"If we go to Thebes, we can catch the eye of the gods!"
"Those chosen there will receive blessings and divine weapons and become heroes!"
"I want to be like King Perseus of Argos...!"
Dozens of aspiring heroes gathered in Thebes every day.
As people with various genders, ages, and specialties flocked to the city, Thebes experienced an unexpected boom.
"Your Majesty, even today, the number of people passing through the city gates..."
"The city's population is increasing rapidly."
"There's a need to expand the commercial district a bit as too many people are crowding in..."
It seems like there might be a shortage of essentials and facilities due to the sudden population increase,
but this is a city blessed by Pluto, who is also the god of wealth.
The royal granaries of Thebes were always full, and no one was seen starving.
Mint, the local specialty and famous product, spread worldwide through merchants passing through this place.
"So, this is mint. It's the grace of God Pluto... you say?"
"It's perfect as a tea leaf, and if you place it at a funeral for the dead, it can prevent the smell of decay."
"It's also useful for headaches or stuffy noses... There's no other way to explain it but as mercy bestowed upon mortals by Pluto."
Naturally, followers also flocked to Pluto's temple in Thebes.
The followers were amazed by the grandeur of the temple, then again by the statues of various gods belonging to the underworld, and finally...
"Wait, why is there a statue of the goddess of spring in Pluto's temple?"
"Ah, you mean this?"
"Isn't Persephone the daughter of Demeter, the earth goddess, and Zeus?"
"Heh heh. Well, you see... It's because Pluto was struck by Eros's arrow and brought her to the underworld!"
"What?! Eros's arrow?"
"How else would the aloof ruler of the underworld suddenly fall for the goddess of spring?"
The misunderstanding that Pluto had abducted Persephone was also spreading.
Suspicions about the mistress of the underworld, who didn't exist when the underworld temple was first built, gradually grew.
"Well, for that merciful god to bring the goddess of spring to the underworld, it must have been Eros's arrow."
"Since Pluto is the Zeus of the underworld, perhaps Demeter's efforts were in vain..."
"Isn't Eros's golden arrow capable of arousing emotions even between the same sex?"
Followers who worshipped the goddess who newly came to the underworld, rather than originally belonging to it, also emerged.
They were those who believed in the theory that Pluto brought Persephone to the underworld because he loved her so much.
"O Hera of the underworld, favored by Pluto, please grant us a good harvest this year..."
"Seeing that the four seasons are normal, she must come up to the mortal world occasionally, right?"
"She must indeed be loved by God Pluto."
However, those who thought of Persephone as the mistress of the underworld soon faced strong opposition.
This was because many followers questioned what all the numerous goddess statues that originally existed in the temple were for.
"No, I'm telling you, Goddess Persephone is just a whim of God Pluto!"
"Just look at the goddess statues here, there's Lethe, the goddess of forgetfulness, Styx who rules the River Styx..."
"Then what about Goddess Menthe, who created mint, became Pluto's priestess, and eventually became a goddess of the underworld?"
"Just as Zeus's official wife is Hera, and Poseidon's official wife is Amphitrite, the mistress of the underworld is..."
"Actually, isn't there no such thing as an official wife? Isn't it just our assumption..."
"Bah! That's nonsense! How can there be no one by the side of a ruler of an entire world!"
"That's true, but Pluto is known to be extremely busy..."
This was a display of the ancient Greeks' characteristic of loving to debate pointless things.
In the end, the wide open space in front of Hades' temple… was transforming into a place where followers of the underworld gathered daily to debate about Pluto's official wife.