King Of Underworld [EN]: Chapter 58

The King of the Underworld is Tired – (2)

The three judges of the Underworld: the Minos brothers.

Among them, Minos, a former king of Crete, watched Hades, the monarch of the Underworld, as he judged souls.

“I was making a living weaving in Athens…”

The sinner kneeling before them was Arachne.

She was the most skilled weaver in Athens, but she made one critical mistake.

She boasted that even Athena, the goddess of wisdom, couldn’t surpass her weaving skills.

The goddess of wisdom, also the guardian deity of the city-state of Athens, was understandably furious.

The goddess, disguised as an old woman, visited Arachne and suggested she apologize to Athena’s temple.

But Arachne retorted, “I’m not afraid of Athena’s divine punishment, and I’m ready to challenge her directly to a weaving contest.”

“…Then Athena revealed her true form after dropping her disguise.”

“They must have had a weaving contest. Is that correct?”

Ignoring Arachne’s words, the goddess Mnemosyne [goddess of memory] examined Arachne’s memories and conveyed them to the monarch of the Underworld.

Minos, as a judge, also received the shared memories.

Arachne and the goddess Athena held a weaving contest in front of the Athenian people.

Arachne wove images that criticized Zeus’s affairs with goddesses like Leto and Europa, and depicted various misdeeds and flaws of the twelve Olympian gods.

Surprisingly, Arachne’s skill was slightly superior to Athena’s.

But because she openly criticized the Olympian gods’ misdeeds… she naturally incurred the goddess’s wrath.

Athena transformed Arachne into a spider, condemning her to spin thread and weave until her death.

This is why Arachne’s soul arrived in the Underworld.

Being in the Underworld and standing before Hades, one of the three main gods, she remained quiet…

Regardless of the fairness of the punishment, Arachne seemed to harbor intense hatred for Athena, who had turned her into a spider.

Hades, the gloomy but handsome monarch who had grasped all of her past, spoke.

“Goddess Mnemosyne, please show me the tapestry Arachne created in detail.”

“Understood, Hades.”

The goddess of memory accessed Arachne’s memories and projected a phantom image in the air.

Indeed, as expected from the most skilled weaver in the city who had even surpassed Athena, the tapestry’s patterns were splendid and beautiful, but—

“There are scenes of our gods being defeated by Typhon [a monstrous giant], Zeus’s flaws, and… Dionysus killing the King of Thebes…”

Hades’s forehead furrowed slightly as he meticulously examined the tapestry’s patterns, which criticized the gods’ flaws in detail.

Arachne, kneeling before him, seemed prepared for severe punishment and remained motionless.

“But why did you criticize Hestia [goddess of the hearth]? She has never harmed humans in any way.”

“…That is…”

“The goddess of the hearth was the most virtuous god, concerned about the harm to humans even when fighting Typhon. Do you have anything to say?”

“No…”

Hades contemplated for a moment, then tapped the armrest of his chair and reached a conclusion.

“Being arrogant due to your skill is not a sin. You might not have recognized Athena disguised as an old woman. But openly criticizing all the gods in a weaving contest with Athena after she revealed her true form is wrong.”

Arachne, who had braced herself for the Underworld’s master’s wrath, looked utterly surprised.

Minos thought to himself.

‘Lord Hades is inherently this kind of god. I was quite taken aback at first too.’

The monarch of the Underworld, continuing to deliver his judgment, remained calm even before a heinous sinner who had insulted the gods.

If another Olympian god ruled the Underworld, Arachne would have been sentenced to severe punishment without a proper trial.

“Of course, you may believe that being turned into a spider is excessive, but everything you eat and drink was created by us. The olive tree, a specialty of Athens where you lived, was a gift given to the city by the goddess of wisdom, and you were able to weave every night by the warmth of the hearth thanks to the grace of the goddess of the hearth… tsk.”

As Minos himself understood, Hades, the god of mercy and the Underworld, values fairness above all else.

Unlike other gods who consider blasphemy a greater crime than killing humans.

“I will reduce the punishment you received from Athena from the karma for your sin. I will also consider the fact that you have already met your death. Therefore, the judgment for you is…”

Hades was attempting to make a careful judgment, excluding emotions as much as possible, even though his blood relatives were being insulted.

The punishment for Arachne was neither excessive nor insufficient.

“Who is the next sinner, Minos?”

“Yes… next is someone who committed suicide in Corinth…”

The most fair master of the Underworld,

was a virtuous god whom Minos, who had been the king of a country, could sincerely devote his faith to.

* * *

Finally, today’s trial is over.

“Lord Hades, thank you for your hard work.”

“Minos, you’ve worked hard as well. Is it Radamanthys’s turn to judge tomorrow?”

Minos, the judge of the Underworld in the form of a middle-aged man, hesitated.

It seems like you have something you want to say to me…

“I heard that the newly appointed goddess wished to come to the Underworld herself?”

“Are you talking about Menthe [a nymph associated with the Underworld]? You must have met her.”

“I heard that she came to the Underworld because she admired Lord Hades. If you have any feelings for her…”

What feelings are you talking about?

Hades looked at Minos, who was suddenly trying to play matchmaker, and shook his head.

“Ah! Lord Hades, do you perhaps have any other goddess in mind? Like Lady Styx [goddess of the River Styx] or Lady Lethe [goddess of oblivion]?”

“Are you suggesting I should take a consort first?”

“Ahem. Everyone knows that the two of them are vying for the position of mistress of the Underworld…”

“I’m not so foolish that I don’t recognize their feelings, and it’s absurd to think that I, one of the three main gods, am unpopular with women in the first place.”

Poseidon, with a personality like a fiercely raging wave,

and Zeus, who rapes women he desires,

As the main gods who rule a world, there was no way they would be unattractive to the opposite sex.

“The problem isn’t them; it’s me.”

“Yes?”

“Seeing those who have been raped by gods and sacrificed in love triangles arriving in the Underworld every day makes me reluctant to marry.”

If numerous male gods competed to rape mortals, the victims often chose death.

They would even kill their fiancés or husbands and seize their wives.

But are goddesses any different?

Out of jealousy, they would kill human men, turn them into animals, or cast them into eternal sleep—all sorts of things happen.

And all the humans harmed by such affairs, love triangles, and rapes of the gods come to the Underworld to complain to me.

Most of the victims held deep grudges and often retained their memories even after crossing the River of Oblivion [Lethe].

“Today alone, there were four female souls who came to the Underworld after being raped by gods.”

“Ah…”

“And the human men who died because they were engaged to women coveted by gods…”

I have firmly instructed the gods of the Underworld, where I am the main god,

and they themselves are too busy with work, so they never touch mortals.

However, the gods belonging to the Olympian Palace in the sky,

or the gods belonging to the palace in the sea ruled by Poseidon, did not adhere to such restrictions.

“And aren’t all the goddesses related to me by blood? Somehow…”

“From a human perspective, that’s true, but I thought the gods didn’t care about such things at all.”

Of course, other gods wouldn’t care.

Zeus alone had relationships with his own mother, female siblings, his descendants’ daughters, and cousins.

However, I am a bit reluctant to have relationships with blood relatives.

Aren’t Lady Styx and Lady Lethe distant relatives if you think about it?

“Hmm. So you won’t be getting married for the time being?”

“I guess so. But I can’t keep avoiding it…”

As he shook his head and put down the documents, Minos asked with a curious expression.

“Come to think of it, wouldn’t that newly born goddess, Menthe, have a hard time adjusting to the work of the Underworld?”

“Well, she’s confident, so you don’t have to worry too much. She’ll adapt as she goes.”

Originally, people, nymphs—no, gods—are creatures of adaptation.

And she used to work as a priest in the mortal realm…

She’ll do well on her own, right?

* * *

But at that time, the goddess of Mint was…

“Lady Lethe… do I have to do all of this?”

“Yes…”

She was despairing at the numerous tasks placed before her.

She clearly thought that she would rise to the glorious position of a god,

and take on the job of assisting the handsome Lord Hades by his side…

“But… do I have to handle all these documents alone?”

“That’s just for one day…”

“….#@#$#!!!!!”

She became the goddess of Mint, so she would manage mint,

or she would subtly help spread mint to the world using her powers.

That’s all she thought about…

“The Underworld is busy. You obviously knew that when you applied… ?”

“T-to this extent?”

When she slightly lifted the scroll of parchment,

the contents written there were tasks that she could never finish in one day.

Management of the soul soldiers residing in the Underworld and allocation of living spaces for the souls that pour in every day.

Sequential reincarnation procedures for the dead waiting for reincarnation in the fortress after receiving judgment.

Final decision-making power regarding the repair and construction of various roads and buildings existing in the vast Underworld.

Mediation plans for disputes between the dead and preparations for the Gigas [giants born of Gaia and Uranus], etc…

Moreover, no matter how you look at it, it’s not something the goddess of Mint should be doing!

Menthe, who let out a silent scream, grabbed her trembling hands and said to the goddess Lethe.

“W-well… I’m the goddess of Mint…”

“…? Yes, I am the goddess of oblivion.”

The goddess of oblivion tilted her head and answered in the same way.

Menthe froze at her expression, as if asking what the problem was.

A silver-haired goddess passed by Menthe, who had realized the reality of the Underworld, the number one workplace that all gods avoid.

A faint voice drifted from her mouth.

“If you can’t even do this much, Hades won’t even glance at you, let alone take you as a concubine…”

“Hah! O-of course I can finish it quickly!”

“Oh… really? Then please take this too…”

Thud. Thud.

The goddess Lethe was definitely not retaliating because she liked Lord Hades… probably not.

Receiving the scrolls flying in the air by the power of oblivion…

The goddess of Mint thought to herself.