King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 57

Mint Goddess, Menthe – (1)

The goddess who walked shyly into the audience chamber, her face flushed, was definitely Menthe.

Now, she was certainly a goddess, not a nymph, with a refreshing divine power emanating from her entire being.

“Uncle, then talk to the newly born god. This humble messenger will now return to Olympus. Haha!”

“Haa… Hermes. Yes, let’s see each other later.”

My nephew waved his hand, seemingly enjoying my bewildered expression at her unexpected appearance.

He must have anticipated my reaction and volunteered to bring Menthe here himself.

After Hermes left, I looked at Menthe, who still couldn’t quite meet my eyes.

There are so many things to explain; where should I start?

“So, Ment…”

“Ah! Yes! Hades-niim… uh…”

Menthe stammered, flustered as soon as I started speaking.

It’s not like we’re meeting for the first time, and she was even my priestess, so why is she acting like this?

“Menthe, I don’t know why you’re so frozen, but stop being shy and tell me the story slowly.”

“…But…”

“…?”

Menthe’s face turned even redder, and she blurted out quickly.

“Volunteering to come to the Underworld ruled by Hades-nim means I’m ready to accept you taking my body at any time…!”

“No…”

“Were the goddesses I met last time also mistresses of the Underworld? Haa… but I’m okay with being a concubine too…!”

“Stop. Stop it…”

The story was going in a strange direction, so I waved my hand to stop her.

Menthe, who had been talking excitedly, took a breath and calmed down.

She’s still young… *tsk tsk*. She seems to be suffering from runaway delusions.

I should have Apollo treat her sometime.

“So, how did you, a nymph, become a god, and why did you come to the Underworld?”

“That’s… it’s a bit of a long story…”

Menthe spoke shyly in front of me, and this is what she said:

First, mint gradually spread from Thebes and was exported throughout Greece…

The status of mint, which is considered my symbol in the mortal realm, has become very high.

“Hmm. The grace of Pluto. I don’t trust him, but it’s a welcome thing…”

“Even though Hades… they’re afraid to say his other name, hasn’t he given something to humans?”

“A merchant from Thebes said that Pluto is a benevolent god who is merciful to the living.”

Naturally, the status of Menthe, the creator of mint that I proclaimed, also rose.

Moreover, she herself is a nymph, not a human, and is working as my priestess, so even more so.

“There’s a nymph in Pluto’s temple who is said to be the creator of mint…”

“Can an ordinary nymph create something like that? Maybe she’s a god who came to the mortal realm under Pluto’s command.”

“I don’t know. Anyway, I went and prayed to her too.”

Gradually, among humans, she was worshiped as the goddess of mint, and faith began to gather.

Eventually, the god Hermes came down in front of Menthe, who was praying in the temple, and took her to Olympus…

“Are you the nymph named Menthe who is receiving faith among humans? You seem quite beautif…”

“Father, I heard that this nymph is favored by Hades, great-uncle.”

“Ahem! Well, you should have said so sooner… Anyway, she created a symbol of the Underworld, so it’s enough to promote her to goddess.”

Thus, Zeus, the king of the gods, recognized her as a god,

And Menthe, who was promoted to the goddess of mint, hoped to work in the Underworld.

“Hermes-nim, is there any way?”

“The Underworld? They’re short on manpower… no, divine power…”

This was the story of how the newly born goddess of mint came to the Underworld.

* * *

Menthe, who had finished explaining, looks at me with sparkling eyes.

She seems to be expecting something quite a bit.

“Hades-nim! So, what should I do now?”

“…I don’t know if you know, but the Underworld is quite busy, so you may be assigned tasks that exceed your authority.”

“Hehe! Even though I’m like this, when I was a priestess, I adapted well to the difficult temple work!”

Menthe puts her hands on her hips and sticks out her chest as if to emphasize it.

But working as a priestess in the temple of Thebes was difficult? I wonder if she can adapt well to the Underworld…

I should give some advice to Menthe, who is smiling brightly.

“Menthe, why do you think gods live forever and are strong?”

“Yes?”

She looks puzzled.

She tilts her head for a moment, as if trying to guess my intention, and the words that come out are as expected.

“Um… isn’t it because they inherited the great lineage and power of the primordial god, Chaos-nim [Chaos, the first being from which all else originated]?”

“…Wrong.”

To mortals, gods may seem great, strong, and sometimes perfect.

Foresight or the power to change terrain has become a valid reason for mortals to worship us.

However…

“We are given overflowing power and a spirit that is not weathered by the passage of time because we have to maintain the world.”

“Ah…”

“Just look at you; you were an ordinary nymph and then became a god. What does this mean…”

It means becoming a slave to keep the world running smoothly… would that be too much to say?

That’s what I feel like working in the Underworld, but…

“…Just think of it as being in charge of maintaining the balance of the world.”

“Indeed! The great gods are strong because they have to carry out noble responsibilities!”

Now you are also that great god.

And noble responsibilities… well. That’s somewhat right?

“Maintaining the balance of the world… exactly the responsibility and task of divinity that I was thinking of!”

“There is also a saying that gods do not rule the world because they are strong, but they are strong because they have to rule the world…”

“Aha! With great power comes great responsibility!”

It is true that the immortal stamina of a god is accompanied by a lot of work…

Menthe, nodding and understanding something, twists her body again and says.

“To worry about me so much… I will fulfill the responsibility befitting the goddess who created mint, the symbol of Hades-nim!”

“…? Uh… yes. Do that.”

No, I feel like we’re communicating but also missing each other.

Since she’s so confident, should I assign her to a suitable place for now?

I was flipping through the parchment, wondering which position would be suitable, when a messenger ran in.

A young male soul soldier wearing a toga [a loose flowing outer garment worn by citizens of ancient Rome], a familiar face I know.

“Hades-nim! Again at the courtroom…”

“It must be something that the three Minos brothers find difficult to judge alone, and was there a prophecy or a victim by the gods?”

“Gasp! How did you know? This time, even…”

It is common for Apocretes, a fast-footed messenger working near the courtroom, to run in.

It must be another victim by the gods. Is it a difficult case involving several Olympian gods?

I trust the judgment of the three Minos brothers, of course,

But high-ranking gods sometimes disliked Minos for giving lenient sentences to those they had punished.

It was as if the Minos, who were mere dead humans… were defying their divine judgment.

Of course, they couldn’t voice such complaints in front of me…

It was a rumor that Hermes, the Olympian informant and messenger of all, had told me.

So, to ease the burden on the Minos brothers and to make a fairer judgment,

I often intervened in the judgment of humans who had received divine punishment or who had died in the midst of various divine beings.

Of course, I was also involved in the judgment of heinous criminals who were difficult to judge by themselves…

“Did another mortal get caught up in the Olympian gods’ love affair? Perhaps another victim of rape or adultery has occurred. Tell Minos I’m coming now.”

“Yes, I understand! Then I’ll step back…”

The messenger left again, and I looked at Menthe.

“If you go to the goddess Lethe [the goddess of oblivion], she will help you with the work you will be in charge of. Well, I have something urgent to do…”

“Ah… yes!”

* * *

“Thank… thank you. King of the Underworld…”

“Yes, you were subjected to disgraceful acts by a god due to your outstanding appearance in life, but such things will not happen now.”

“Sob… sob…”

The beautiful female soul in front of me weeps sadly.

This soul was a woman who had rejected the advances of a lower god in life but was eventually raped by him.

But the problem was that she was a follower of the virgin goddess Artemis, so as soon as she lost her virginity, she was cursed by the goddess and committed suicide…

The usually gentle Artemis is always strict with her followers,

No, she should be a little more lenient since she didn’t give up her virginity of her own will, right?

“Who is the next soul, Minos?”

“Yes, this time it’s a animal… human woman named Arachne.”

“Arachne? Let her in. Which god is involved?”

“…The documents state that the goddess of wisdom, Athena-nim, punished her directly.”

Is it the goddess of wisdom this time?

Athena is a goddess who swore chastity on the Styx River [a river in the Underworld across which Charon carried the souls of the dead], so it wouldn’t be a love affair of the gods.

A female soul who seems to feel resentment slowly enters.

Looking at the documents on the desk… a soul with a deep grudge that retained her memory even in the River of Oblivion [a river in the Underworld that caused forgetfulness].

She must be harboring resentment towards Athena, who killed her.

The soldier who brought her makes Arachne kneel down.

The female soul collapses to the floor and bows her head towards me.

“Is your name Arachne? Tell me truthfully what happened before you died.”