Chapter 82
While the hero's task was in progress, Gaia intervened with the Chimera, destroying Athena's temple and killing Bellerophon...
Although she couldn't change the fate of the Chimera dying by Bellerophon's hand,
she used the method of choosing the path to fate, just as I had advised Perseus.
"Did you just see that, Goddess Lethe?"
"Yes... Gaia has prophetic powers rivaling those of Prometheus."
"Even if we birth heroes and win the war against the Gigantes, it could be a pyrrhic victory."
We might win the war against the Gigantes, but the Titan gods could be released, or we could be defeated by Gaia.
Or Gaia might give birth to other monsters to succeed the Gigantes.
I need to prepare more...
Gaia is one of the primordial gods, the Protogenoi.
Only other Protogenoi can be compared to these ancient gods.
Under the omnipotent Chaos that existed first, there aren't many Protogenoi including Gaia.
Lord Erebos, the god of darkness, Lady Nyx, the goddess of night, or Tartarus, the god of the abyss.
Lord Tartarus, who is hell itself, doesn't involve himself in anything...
As for Lord Erebos and Lady Nyx... hmm. They've all withdrawn their hands from worldly affairs.
As I was lost in deep contemplation, Goddess Lethe beside me spoke.
"Hades."
"What is it?"
"Bellerophon will soon arrive in the underworld... Will you give him any reward for his task?"
It's been some time since Thanatos' avatar went for him...
It should be about time for Bellerophon, who died along with the Chimera, to arrive in the underworld.
Although his flaw of killing his brother makes him fall short of being sent to Elysium...
One who has completed a task should rightfully receive a reward.
I briefly called a messenger and instructed:
"When the hero who killed the Chimera comes to the underworld, bring him before me."
"Yes, Lord Hades."
***
After waiting for a while in the audience chamber with Goddess Lethe, the hero soon arrived.
Bellerophon, who had regained his memories of the living world through Goddess Mnemosyne's power, still had a furrowed brow as if feeling phantom pain.
Kneeling and looking at me, he seemed to regret something,
and also showed a bitter expression as if realizing the fact that he had died.
"Um... For what reason has the Lord of the Underworld summoned me?"
"You achieved the great feat of killing Typhon's child with a human body, but you didn't receive proper compensation in the living world."
"...?!"
"Is there anything you wish for? I promise to give you treatment and reward befitting your achievement."
If no reward is given to a hero who sacrificed his life to kill a monster, who would want to become a hero?
If no appropriate reward is needed, at least his fame should be spread widely...
But the words that came out of his mouth exceeded my expectations.
"If... if that's the case, I want to become a god like Lord Pluto!"
"Hmm?"
"I want to ascend to Olympus above the clouds, become a god there and enjoy immortality..."
Bellerophon raised his head and spoke passionately with sparkling eyes.
No, becoming a god seems a bit too much...
Especially, he wants to ascend to Olympus, not even become a lesser god of the underworld?
That's not something I can do, and it would require the consent of other gods, including Zeus.
Hmm. Still, he's a hero who sacrificed his life to kill the Chimera, so this much impudence might be forgivable.
Let's try to persuade him slowly.
I waved my hand to interrupt his words and explained calmly.
"...You have an excessive fantasy about gods."
"Pardon?"
"What kind of beings do you think gods are? Why do you want to become a god?"
After pondering for a moment, his answer was...
"Aren't they truly immortal, truly perfect beings? I've always aspired to become a god!"
"Perfect...?"
"Since I killed that powerful monster, please give me a chance to become a god too!"
It's not that there are no cases of mortals becoming gods.
In Medusa's case, she became a god because she suffered too greatly at the hands of a god...
Dionysus spread wine in the mortal world, gathered faith, and eventually won a place among the gods.
But if even Cadmus and Perseus, who achieved great feats, couldn't become gods, it's a bit much to make Bellerophon a god...
Moreover, he didn't gather faith in the mortal world, and he desired a place among the Olympian gods, not the underworld.
There was also the flaw of having killed his own brother, even if by mistake.
Still, considering his feat of sacrificing his life to kill the Chimera...
"First, you need to understand what a god is and what they do."
"What do you mean...?"
"Experience the duties of a lesser god in the underworld for 100 days. If your mind hasn't changed after that, I'll speak to Olympus."
"...! Thank you! Lord Pluto!"
Bellerophon bowed deeply to the floor, repeatedly expressing his gratitude.
But isn't it too early to thank me?
"Thank you so much!"
"Well..."
Our daily life as gods is likely very different from what you imagine...
***
A moment later, after Bellerophon left gleefully, I looked at Goddess Lethe beside me.
As if sharing the same thought, Goddess Lethe looked at me with sparkling eyes.
"Hades...! Can't we assign that human to the River of Forgetfulness? Recently, dead souls have been reluctant to lose their memories..."
"I'm planning to first assign him to Eros, who's in charge of torturing sinners. After that..."
"Ah..."
Lethe's eyes drooped slightly upon hearing that he wouldn't be assigned to her area.
I looked at the dejected goddess for a moment and then...
Swoosh
I stroked her soft hair.
The seemingly perfect strands of beautiful silver hair slipped through my fingers.
"...Eep! Ha-Ha-Hades?!"
"I know well how much you've helped me all this time."
She's really surprised. Where's the usual her who approaches me so freely...
Is this the first time I've reached out to her first?
Seeing Lethe so flustered that she tried to pull away in shock, I gently grabbed her wrist.
"Please bear with it a little longer. Someday, surely..."
"Y-yes... I understand. So... your hand..."
"Ah."
As I let go of her hand, the silver goddess dashed out of the audience chamber.
The redness of her nape was particularly visible as she ran away, covering her face.
Thud.
"Ouch! Ugh..."
She was in such a hurry that she hit her head on the door.
Of course, the audience chamber door that collided with the goddess's forehead was scratched... Ah, I need to repair the part where Goddess Styx bumped her foot last time too.
***
Goddess Lethe, who quickly left the audience chamber, moved urgently towards somewhere.
The place she was heading to was an office in the underworld.
"Styx! Styx! Styx!"
"Wh-what is it?! Lethe!"
"Goddess Lethe...?"
There were Goddess Styx and Menthe, who were working with piles of parchment.
They were startled to see Goddess Lethe running towards them with a flushed face.
But the Goddess of Forgetfulness didn't care and confronted Goddess Styx.
"You've been acting strange whenever you see Hades for the past few days, what did you two do back then?"
"But why... so suddenly today...?"
"Today was the first time Hades stroked my hair with such a gentle touch! Tell me honestly! If he did this much to me, what on earth did you..."
That's right. Just recently, while riding Pegasus...
It was impossible for other gods not to notice the changed behavior of Goddess Styx, who had kissed Hades.
But the Lord of the Underworld that Lethe had known until now was,
a male god who didn't greatly avoid goddesses approaching him, but would take a step back if they got too close.
As if... there was an insurmountable wall in his heart, he showed such behavior,
so she thought that this time too, Styx had clung to him alone and was embarrassed about it... but.
"Don't tell me... how far did you go alone last time?"
"Wh-what do you mean, how far?!"
If Hades shows a changed appearance like today, it's a different story.
Could he have formed a deep relationship with Goddess Styx?
Although Goddess Styx shook her head... as if remembering what happened a few days ago,
she couldn't stop the tips of her ears from gradually turning red.
"Come to think of it, Lord Hades has seemed strange since a few days ago. His gaze, how should I put it... it seems gentler?"
"Well... it did feel like the wall in his heart had crumbled a bit."
Menthe, who also felt something odd, added a word.
If Persephone had been here, it would have been a change significant enough for her to rush to Hades immediately...
But she had long since ascended to the mortal world.
"Could it be that Eros shot an arrow..."
"Isn't God Eros still working in the underworld?"
***
Meanwhile, Bellerophon, who wanted to become a god, arrived somewhere guided by a servant.
This place, where heat even more intense than the Chimera's flames he fought in the mortal world seemed to rush in...?
"Aaargh!!! Stop..."
"Gack! Cough!"
"Save me! No, please forgive me!"
There, numerous serious offenders who fell short of going to Tartarus but couldn't atone for their sins with moderate punishment were suffering.
Dead souls writhing in pain, unable to escape from the floor that was entirely a sea of fire.
"You need to take arrows to Lord Eros over there."
"Ah..."
Whoosh- Thud!
"Argh!"
Moreover, a god who looked like a winged child kept shooting arrows from above.
So that god over there is Eros, but...
"Hey, human over there! If you've come, hurry up and bring more arrows!"
"Ah.. y-yes!"
Why is the god who governs love working in the underworld?
And moving so busily without even resting a bit...?!