King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 93

Mint Goddess and Thebes – (3)

“The master of the underworld, who should be fairer than anyone, is actually just an insecure god who often wavers like this. Has your fantasy about me been shattered a little, Menthe?”

“No, no… Not at all. The Hades I know is…”

Menthe stammered, trying to deny Hades’ words.

The Hades she had seen was truly a god among gods.

Unlike the other Olympian gods, he was a compassionate god who cared for mortals and delivered fair judgments.

He was like a father to all the souls who arrived at death.

But now, knowing the inner thoughts that Hades was revealing to her, something naturally flowed from her eyes.

Even the lord of the underworld, who seemed as strong as iron, had such worries.

How hard he must have tried not to let anyone see these inner thoughts until now.

The mere thought of it made Menthe’s heart ache.

As he caressed Menthe’s tearful face, he wiped away her flowing sadness.

Hades, who had been smiling gently, reached out and placed his hand on the back of her neck.

‘Ah… wait… This… Could it be a kiss?’

Menthe was a virgin goddess with no experience with men.

When she was a nymph, she had no interest in men, and after becoming Hades’ priestess, no one touched her.

After becoming a lower god of the underworld… she was treated like Hades’ concubine.

As the knowledge she had only known intellectually was happening to her, her heart rate gradually increased.

The master of the underworld, whom she revered, opened his mouth.

“You are the one who holds me back from time to time.”

“Me… ?”

“Yes, every time I remember the scent of mint while thinking of you… I reflect on my actions.”

Ah. How kind he is.

Such sweet words; even the whispers of Apollo could not sound sweeter than this.

“And I am always grateful to you for creating mint, and I feel indebted to you.”

“Th-Then… and…? Also…”

“…I think I feel the same way as you.”

Doo-geun [sound of a heart beating].

The same feeling. This is…

Hades’ hand on the back of her neck gradually tightened.

Like being captivated by the song of a siren, Menthe’s body moved closer to him.

A handsome face, like a sculpture made by Pygmalion [a sculptor in Greek mythology who fell in love with a statue he carved], slowly approached…

Finally, their lips met.

“Haa…”

A brief kiss, like a dream.

* * *

After the short kiss, I stared at Menthe’s face, who was dazed and unable to come to her senses.

The goddess of mint stood still, looking dreamy as if she were dreaming.

“Heh… hehe…”

“Menthe? Are you okay…”

“One more time… Just one more time, Hades!”

Kiss.

“Ugh. No, wait…”

“J-Just a little more…!”

I pushed her away for a moment as she rushed at me in excitement and touched my lips.

An old man with a cane passed by, clicking his tongue as he looked at us.

“Tsk tsk… indecent displays of affection in the streets… Tsk. Get out of the way.”

I just kissed Menthe, so the perception obstruction is lifted…

Judging by the talk about impure love, is that old man a philosopher?

Wait a minute, then is pure homosexual love okay to do in the streets?

Haa… If I ever inflict divine punishment on Thebes…

“…Why did this culture spread?”

Ahem… No.

The scent of my past life emanating from Menthe, who is still next to me, is calming me down.

When I return to the underworld, I must issue an oracle to stop it…

After that, I spent time with Menthe, wandering around here and there.

Feeding her newly made skewers from street vendors, or putting mint leaves in each other’s hair, etc…

It was really a pleasant time. Every time I saw Menthe’s smile, I felt the fatigue from the underworld melt away.

The first thing I did after wandering around every corner of Thebes until evening and returning to the underworld was…

“…Are you the high priest of my temple now?”

“H-Huh… Lord Hades! Why have you come to find me!”

It was to change the strange culture that had spread in Thebes.

Next, I contacted Orpheus [a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion] and told him to convey my will to the king who ruled Thebes.

Then, I asked other gods for help to send oracles to the mortal realm.

“So, they’re engaging in homosexuality? Then won’t the number of newly born humans decrease…”

“It might be because Zeus brought that human boy… Ganymede [Zeus’s cupbearer in Greek mythology]? Anyway, because of that guy.”

“…If Lord Hades says so, I will tell my followers as well.”

With that, I fell asleep for a while with a relaxed mind.

Sleep is not essential for an immortal god, but it was a good hobby for stabilizing the mind.

However, while the main god of the underworld was asleep, Thebes in the mortal realm was in chaos.

Because Pluto, the main god of Thebes, and all sorts of underworld gods had sent oracles.

“Lord Hades… has expressed deep concern about ‘true love between men’…!”

“…Why?”

“Surely Zeus was also encouraging true love?”

“Seeing that the lord of the underworld has a different opinion, it seems that the gods also have different opinions…”

“We must have misunderstood something…!”

In the first place, most of the people of Thebes are followers of Pluto.

The story told by the high priest of the Pluto Temple spread throughout Thebes in an instant.

“What kind of disadvantage will we suffer after death if we do not follow the oracle?”

“No… but still, he is a god of mercy, so how could he…”

“Have you forgotten what Pluto’s other name is? Hades, the king of the underworld… Ahem.”

“Surely not all homosexuals will go to Tartarus [the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked] ?”

The Theban Sacred Band [an elite troop of soldiers consisting of same-sex lovers] was immediately disbanded that day.

This was because the king, who had received an oracle from the god Morpheus [the god of dreams] in his dream last night, was foaming at the mouth and rampaging.

I don’t know what kind of oracle he experienced in his dream, but the king, who had summoned his vassals…

“Immediately disband the Sacred Band! The law prohibiting love between men is also in the name of the royal family…”

“Y-Your Majesty! That is… the philosophers…”

“Imprison all those philosophers! The charge is spreading nonsense in Thebes and angering the god Pluto!”

Fortunately, no philosophers were arrested due to the vassals’ dissuasion, but their position was greatly reduced.

Because no mortal wanted to incur the wrath of the three main gods, the main god of Thebes, and the king of the underworld.

Moreover, not only Hades but also all the gods who had been asked for help sent oracles, making it even more so.

“The goddess Lethe [the goddess of oblivion], the goddess Styx [a deity and a river that forms the boundary between Earth and the Underworld], and all the gods including Hypnos [the personification of sleep] are sending oracles to their followers…”

“Wasn’t the reason the Sphinx [a mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion] appeared in Thebes a long time ago because it incurred the wrath of the gods?”

“Then, because of the Sacred Band… will another monster like the Sphinx appear in Thebes again?”

“A monster would be a blessing! Do you know what kind of punishment you will receive after you die!”

“It was wrong to try to interpret the will of the gods according to human will. The story of Zeus and Ganymede is just one example…”

“From the beginning, I didn’t like that Sacred Band very much.”

“Hoo… I need to firmly control my family. I can’t afford to offend Pluto.”

Thebes underwent a major change overnight.

* * *

After finishing my date with Menthe and relieving the accumulated fatigue through sleep, I examined the situation in the mortal realm.

I focused my mind to see if the humans had interpreted the oracle I had given to Thebes yesterday well…

“Those damn philosopher bastards! Are you going to take responsibility if I can’t rest in peace even after I die because of you?”

“What? Love between men is true love? What nonsense…”

“Those who instilled strange ideas in His Majesty and created the Sacred Band are holding their heads high…”

Thud. Clatter!

“Is the reason Pluto said that this is not true love because he rules the underworld?”

“I think he’s worried that humans won’t have descendants, but because of his merciful nature…”

“Maybe it’s because he fell in love with the goddess Persephone [the queen of the underworld] after being hit by Eros’ [the god of love] arrow?”

“What?! You… were you in the faction that supports the goddess Persephone as the mistress of the underworld?! How dare you leave out Styx, the goddess of oaths!”

“Ha! How much has the goddess of oblivion done for our Theban people…”

There were groups cursing the philosophers who supported homosexuality, and there were those sitting in the square, guessing my intentions as a god of the underworld…

There was also a group assault on a philosopher who most enthusiastically supported true love between men.

The fact that the philosopher was actually homosexual was something I didn’t really want to know…

Even the soldiers from the royal family were just watching the assault.

They took no action.

Listening to the soldiers’ stories…

“We don’t interfere. We might receive divine punishment if we help someone who has incurred Pluto’s hatred.”

“But Captain, I believe that the god of mercy would not do that. He cares for mortals more than anyone else…”

“You idiot! This is the first time Pluto has given an oracle about our Theban culture!”

“Still…”

“Since he, who never interfered in human affairs, is angry, those guys will not be comfortable even after they die.”

Umm, another story about the gods of the underworld.

His merciful nature was also widely known, but it was still because of the oracle that directly interfered with culture.

This oracle could be said to be a small mistake.

Knowing that there are many humans who distort and interpret the will of the gods, how could I make such a mistake?

It seems that I have imposed my personal preferences too strongly.

I need to properly convey my will again through the high priest…

Soon after, a new oracle was given to Thebes.

The people of Thebes reacted quickly to the news from the Pluto Temple.

“This is a new oracle from Pluto! Pluto personally does not look favorably on love between men, but he said that it is definitely a sin to assault or exile them for that reason alone!”

“That’s right. I tried to stop it….”

“What did I say? Pluto is also a god of mercy, so be careful in your actions…”

“Still, let’s be careful since he doesn’t like that form of love.”

“Of course, Pluto is the god of Thebes.”

The people who heard the oracle were relieved for the time being.

It seemed that Pluto, who was called the god of mercy, was not greatly angered.

After that, a custom of slightly disliking homosexuals arose in Thebes,

And a culture of seeing those who fell in love with that form of love as… poor people who were tricked by the god Eros was created.