Chapter 93
"The lord of the underworld, who should be fairer than anyone, is in fact such an imperfect god who often wavers. Has your illusion about me been shattered a bit, Menthe?"
"No, not at all... That's not true. The Lord Hades I know is..."
Menthe stammered as she tried to deny Hades' words.
The Hades she had seen was... truly a god among gods.
Unlike other Olympian gods, he was a caring god who looked after mortals and made fair judgments.
He was like a father to all souls when every mortal reached death.
But now, knowing Hades' inner thoughts that he revealed to her, something naturally flowed from her eyes.
So even the lord of the underworld, who seemed as strong as iron, has such worries.
How much he must have struggled to hide these inner thoughts from everyone until now.
Just imagining it made Menthe's heart feel like it was being torn apart.
He gently caressed Menthe's face, wiping away the tears that were forming.
Hades, smiling softly, reached out his hand and placed it on the nape of her neck.
'Ah... wait... this is... could it be a kiss?'
Menthe was a virgin goddess with no experience with men.
As a nymph, she had no interest in men, and after becoming Hades' priestess, no one dared touch her,
and after becoming a lesser god of the underworld... she was treated as Hades' concubine implicitly.
As her heart began to race at the thought of experiencing something she had only known through knowledge,
the lord of the underworld, whom she revered, opened his mouth.
"You are the one who sometimes holds me back."
"Me...?"
"Yes, every time I remember you and recall the scent of mint... it makes me reflect on my actions."
Ah. How kind he is.
Such sweet words, even Apollo's whispers couldn't sound more melodious than this.
"And I'm always grateful to you for creating mint, and feel indebted to you."
"And... and...? Anything else..."
"...I think I feel the same way as you do."
Thump.
The same feelings. This means...
Hades' hand on the nape of her neck gradually applied pressure.
Like being enchanted by a Siren's song, Menthe's body drew closer to him.
His handsome face, like a sculpture made by Pygmalion, slowly approached...
Finally, their lips met.
"Mmph..."
A brief kiss, like a dream.
***
After the short kiss ended, I looked at Menthe's face, still dazed and unable to come to her senses.
The Goddess of Mint stood still with a dreamy expression as if in a trance.
"He... hehe..."
"Menthe? Are you alright...?"
"Just once... just once more, Lord Hades!"
Smooch.
"Mmph. Wait a moment..."
"J-just a little more...!"
I gently pushed away the excited goddess who had thrown herself at me and touched my lips.
An old man leaning on a cane passed by, clicking his tongue as he watched us.
"Tsk... such impure love displayed shamelessly on the street... Move aside, you two."
The perception inhibition must have been lifted because I just kissed Menthe...
Judging by his talk of impure love, that old man must be a philosopher.
Wait a minute, does that mean same-sex love, which is "pure love," is okay to do on the street?
Sigh... I really should bring divine punishment upon Thebes...
"...Why has such a culture spread?"
Ahem... no.
Even now, the scent of my past life emanating from Menthe, who is still clinging to my side, is calming me down.
When I return to the underworld, I should send an oracle to make them stop this...
After that, Menthe and I spent time wandering around various places.
We did things like feeding each other newly made skewers from street vendors, or putting mint leaves in each other's hair...
It was truly an enjoyable time. Every time I saw Menthe's smile, I felt the fatigue from underworld affairs melting away.
After roaming every corner of Thebes until evening and returning to the underworld, the first thing I did was...
"...Are you now the high priest of my temple?"
"Gasp... Lord Hades! What brings you to seek me out!"
It was to change the strange culture that had spread in Thebes.
Next, I contacted Morpheus and told him to convey my will to the king ruling Thebes,
and asked other gods for help to send oracles to the mortal world.
"So, they're engaging in same-sex relationships? Won't that reduce the number of new humans being born..."
"It might be because of that human boy Zeus brought... Ganymede, was it? Anyway, it's probably because of him."
"...If Lord Hades says so, I'll tell my followers as well."
Thus, I fell asleep with a peaceful mind.
Although sleep isn't essential for immortal gods, it was a good hobby for calming the mind.
However, while the lord of the underworld slept, chaos erupted in mortal Thebes.
This was because Pluto, the patron god of Thebes, along with various underworld gods, had sent oracles.
"Lord Hades has... expressed deep concern about 'true love between men'...!"
"...Why?"
"Wasn't Zeus also encouraging true love?"
"Seeing that the lord of the underworld thinks differently, it seems the gods have different opinions..."
"We must have misunderstood something...!"
To begin with, most Thebans were followers of Pluto.
The words of the high priest of Pluto's temple spread throughout Thebes in an instant.
"What disadvantages will we face after death if we don't follow the oracle?"
"No... but still, he's the god of mercy, how could he..."
"Have you forgotten Pluto's other name? The king of the underworld, Hade... ahem."
"Surely not all those who engaged in same-sex relationships will be sent to Tartarus?"
Thebes' pride, the Sacred Band, was immediately disbanded that day.
This was because the king, who had received an oracle from Morpheus in his dream last night, was raging and foaming at the mouth.
Whatever oracle he experienced in his dream, the king summoned his subjects and...
"Disband the Sacred Band immediately! Also, in the name of the royal family, a law prohibiting same-sex relationships..."
"Y-Your Majesty! That is... the philosophers..."
"Throw all those philosophers in prison! The charge is angering Pluto by spreading nonsense in Thebes!"
Fortunately, no philosophers were arrested due to the intervention of the courtiers, but their influence greatly diminished.
No mortal wanted to incur the wrath of one of the Big Three and the patron god of Thebes, the king of the underworld.
This was even more so because not only Hades but also various gods who received his request sent oracles.
"Goddess Lethe, Goddess Styx, God Hypnos, and various other gods have sent oracles to their followers..."
"Could it be that the Sphinx appeared in Thebes long ago because we incurred the gods' wrath?"
"Does this mean... another monster like the Sphinx will appear in Thebes because of the Sacred Band?"
"A monster would be fortunate! Do you know what punishment you'll receive after you die!"
"It was wrong to try to interpret the gods' will according to human desires. The story of Zeus and Ganymede was just one example..."
"I never liked that Sacred Band in the first place."
"Sigh... I need to keep my household in strict order. We can't go against Pluto's wishes."
Thebes underwent a major change overnight.
***
After finishing my date with Menthe and relieving accumulated fatigue through sleep, I observed the situation in the mortal world.
As I focused my mind to see if humans had interpreted the oracle I sent to Thebes yesterday correctly...
"You damn philosopher bastards! Will you take responsibility if we can't rest in peace even after death because of you?"
"What? True love between men? You're talking nonsense..."
"Those who put strange ideas into His Majesty's head and created the Sacred Band are walking around with their heads held high..."
Thwack! Crash!
"Is the reason Pluto said this isn't true love because he rules the underworld?"
"It seems he's worried that humans won't have descendants, perhaps because of his merciful divine nature..."
"Maybe it's because he fell in love with Persephone after being struck by Eros's arrow?"
"What?! You... were you part of the faction supporting Persephone as the mistress of the underworld?! How dare you set aside Styx, the goddess of oaths!"
"Ha! Do you know how much the goddess of forgetfulness has done for us Thebans..."
There were groups cursing the philosophers who supported same-sex relationships, people sitting in the square speculating about my intentions as the underworld god...
and I even saw a group assault on a philosopher who had most fervently supported true love between men.
The fact that this philosopher was actually gay was something I didn't really want to know...
Moreover, the soldiers from the royal palace were just watching the assault without taking any action.
They didn't intervene at all.
Listening to the soldiers' conversation...
"We're not interfering. We might incur divine punishment if we help someone who has angered Pluto."
"But Captain, I believe the god of mercy wouldn't do that. He who cares for mortals more than anyone..."
"You fool! This is the first time Pluto has sent an oracle about our Theban culture!"
"But still..."
"He who didn't interfere in human affairs has become angry, so those guys won't be at peace even after death."
Hmm, more talk about the god of the underworld.
Although my merciful divine nature is widely known, it seems it was because of this oracle directly interfering with their culture.
This oracle could be considered a small mistake.
Knowing that many humans distort the interpretation of divine will, making such a mistake,
it seems I've imposed my personal preferences too strongly.
I should properly convey my intentions again through the high priest...
Shortly after, a new oracle was delivered to Thebes.
Thebans quickly responded to the news from Pluto's temple.
"A new oracle from Pluto! Pluto has stated that while he personally doesn't view love between men favorably, it is clearly a sin to assault or exile them solely for that reason!"
"Well, I tried to stop them..."
"See, what did I tell you? I said to be careful in our actions because Pluto is also the god of mercy..."
"Still, let's be cautious since he doesn't like that form of love."
"Of course, isn't Pluto the god of Thebes after all?"
People who heard the oracle were relieved at first.
It seemed that Pluto, known as the god of mercy, wasn't greatly angered.
Afterwards, a custom of slightly avoiding homosexuals developed in Thebes,
along with a culture of viewing those who fell into such forms of love as pitiful victims of Eros's mischief.