King of Underworld

Chapter 57: The Goddess of Mint, Mente – (1)

The goddess who shyly blushed and slowly walked into the audience chamber was undoubtedly Mente.

It was clear that she was no longer a nymph but had indeed become a goddess, with a refreshing divine aura emanating from her entire body.

“Uncle, why don’t you have a chat with the newly born goddess? This humble messenger will now return to Olympus. Haha!”

“Hah… Hermes. Fine, let’s meet again later.”

My nephew waved his hand at me, as if enjoying the sight of my bewildered expression upon seeing her unexpected appearance.

It was obvious that he had deliberately offered to bring Mente himself, anticipating my reaction.

After Hermes left, I turned my gaze to Mente, who still couldn’t meet my eyes.

There was a lot that needed to be explained, but where should I even begin…?

“So, Men—”

“Hah! Y-Yes! Lord Hades… um…”

Mente stuttered and stumbled over her words the moment I started to speak, clearly flustered.

This wasn’t even our first meeting, and she had even served as my priestess before—so why was she acting like this?

“Mente. I don’t know why you’re so frozen, but stop being shy and slowly explain the situation.”

“…Ah. But…”

“…?”

Mente’s face reddened even more as she quickly started speaking.

“Offering myself to serve under Lord Hades, who rules the Underworld, means that I’m prepared to accept whatever you desire of me, even my body…!”

“No…”

“The goddesses I met last time—are they really the mistresses of the Underworld? Ah… but I’m okay even as a concubine…!”

“Stop. Stop it right now…”

As the conversation kept veering off in a strange direction, I waved my hand to cut her off.

Mente, who had been speaking with unusual excitement, caught her breath and calmed down.

She’s still young… Tsk tsk. It seems like she’s afflicted with some kind of delusional disorder.

I should have Apollo treat her sometime.

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

“Well… it’s a bit of a long story…”

What Mente shyly explained to me was as follows:

First, mint had started to spread from Thebes and was exported throughout Greece…

The stature of mint, which was considered my symbol in the mortal world, had risen significantly.

“Mm. Thanks to the grace of the god Pluto. Although I don’t worship him, I’m grateful for this…”

“Even though Hades… his other name might be feared, hasn’t he done something for the mortals?”

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

As a result, Mente, who was the creator of mint, naturally gained more prominence.

Especially since she was not only a nymph but also served as my priestess, her status elevated even further.

“They say there’s a nymph in Pluto’s temple who created mint…”

“Can an ordinary nymph create something like that? Perhaps she’s a goddess sent to the mortal world on Lord Pluto’s orders.”

“I don’t know. But in any case, I offered prayers to her as well.”

As humans gradually began to worship her as the goddess of mint, faith started to gather around her.

Eventually, the god Hermes descended before Mente, who was praying in the temple, and took her to Olympus…

“Are you the nymph named Mente who receives worship among humans? Hmm, you’re quite beautiful…”

“Father, I’ve heard that this nymph is favored by Uncle Hades.”

“Ahem! Well, you should have mentioned that sooner… In any case, since she created a symbol of the Underworld, it’s fitting to elevate her to goddess status.”

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

And Mente, who was promoted to the goddess of mint, expressed her wish to work in the Underworld.

“Hermes, is there any way to make that happen?”

“The Underworld? They’re short on personnel… I mean divine power over there, so…”

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

* * *

Having finished her explanation, Mente looked at me with sparkling eyes.

She seemed to be eagerly expecting something.

“Lord Hades! So, what shall I do now?”

“…You might not know this, but the Underworld is quite busy, so there will be times when you’ll have to handle tasks beyond your authority.”

“Hehe! You might not know this about me, but when I was a priestess, I adapted well to the arduous duties of the temple!”

Mente placed her hands on her waist and pushed her chest out as if to emphasize it.

But if she found working as a priestess in Thebes to be difficult, I wonder if she can truly adapt to the Underworld…

I should give her some advice.

“Mente, why do you think we gods live forever and are so powerful?”

“Yes?”

She looked at me with a puzzled expression.

As if trying to guess my intention, she tilted her head slightly before answering in a way I expected.

“Um… isn’t it because we inherited the great lineage and power of the primordial god, Chaos?”

“…You’re wrong.”

To mortals, gods might seem great, powerful, and sometimes flawless.

Prophecies that foresee the future or powers that can reshape the land—these are enough reasons for mortals to worship us.

However…

“It’s because we are tasked with maintaining the world that we are given overwhelming power and an unyielding spirit that doesn’t wither over time.”

“Ah…”

“Look at yourself—you were just an ordinary nymph who became a goddess. Do you know what that means…”

To say that we’re slaves ensuring the world runs smoothly… that might be a bit much, right?

Though, based on my experiences working in the Underworld, it does seem to be true…

“…Just think of it as being tasked with maintaining the balance of the world.”

“As expected! The great gods are powerful because they must carry out noble duties!”

Now, you too are one of those great gods.

And the noble duty… well, that’s partly true.

“Maintaining the balance of the world… That perfectly aligns with what I envisioned as the responsibilities and tasks of divinity!”

“There’s a saying that gods are not strong because they rule the world, but they rule the world because they must be strong…”

“Oh! So, it’s like the idea that great power comes with great responsibility!”

It’s true that with the immortal stamina of a god comes a multitude of tasks…

Mente, nodding as if she’d understood something, twisted her body again as she spoke.

“To think that you care for me this much… I will fulfill the responsibilities befitting the goddess who created the mint, your symbol, Lord Hades!”

“…? Uh… right. Go ahead.”

Something about this conversation felt both in sync and off-track at the same time.

Well, since she’s so confident, I might as well assign her to a suitable place.

As I subtly sifted through the parchment, pondering where would be appropriate, a messenger came running in.

A young male soul dressed in a toga, someone I recognized well.

“Lord Hades! This time, in the courtroom…”

“It must be a case that the three Minos brothers find difficult to judge on their own. Was there a prophecy involved, or was there a divine victim?”

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

It wasn’t uncommon for Apocrites, a swift messenger stationed near the courtroom, to come running.

It’s probably another case of a victim of divine interference. Is this a matter involving several of the Olympian gods, making it difficult to judge?

Although I trust the judgment of the three Minos brothers,

There were times when higher deities, displeased with lenient sentences given by Minos to those they had punished, would complain.

Of course, they wouldn’t dare voice such complaints in my presence…

This was gossip relayed to me by Hermes, the informant of Olympus and messenger to all.

So, to ease the burden on the Minos brothers and to ensure a more impartial judgment,

I often stepped in to judge humans who had been punished by the gods or who had died caught between various divine powers.

Naturally, I was also involved in the judgment of severe criminals whose cases were too difficult for them to handle alone…

“Has another mortal become entangled in the love affairs of the Twelve Olympians? Perhaps there’s another victim of rape or adultery. Go tell Minos that I’m on my way.”

“Yes, understood! Then I shall take my leave…”

After the messenger departed, I looked back at Mente.

“Go find the goddess Lethe. She will help you with the tasks you’ll be assigned. I, on the other hand, have pressing matters to attend to…”

“Ah… Yes!”

* * *

“Thank… thank you. My lord of the Underworld…”

“Yes, during your life, you suffered disgraceful acts at the hands of a god because of your exceptional beauty, but such things won’t happen anymore.”

“Ugh… sob…”

The beautiful female soul in front of me wept bitterly.

This soul had refused the advances of a minor god during her life but was eventually raped by him.

The problem was that she had been a follower of the virgin goddess Artemis, and upon losing her purity, she was cursed by the goddess and took her own life…

That strict Artemis… she’s always so harsh on her followers.

I mean, it wasn’t even by her own will that she lost her purity—couldn’t the goddess have shown a bit of leniency?

“Who’s the next soul, Minos?”

“Yes, the next one is a human woman… or rather, an animal named Arachne.”

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

“…The document states that the goddess of wisdom, Athena, personally punished her.”

The goddess of wisdom, this time?

Since Athena is a goddess who swore her chastity by the River Styx, this shouldn’t be another love affair among the gods.

A female soul, brimming with resentment, slowly entered.

Judging by the documents on the desk… this is a soul that retained its memories even after crossing the River of Forgetfulness, harboring a grudge.

No doubt she harbored resentment against Athena, who caused her death.

The soldier who brought her in forced Arachne to bow down.

The female soul dropped to the floor and bowed her head deeply toward me.

“Your name is Arachne, correct? Confess truthfully what happened before you died.”