Menthe, the Goddess of Mint - (2)
The three judges of the Underworld, the Minos brothers, preside over the souls of the dead. Among them, Minos, who was once the king of Crete, gazed at Hades, the lord of the Underworld.
"I was a weaver in Athens, earning my living through my craft..."
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The kneeling soul before them was named Arachne.
Arachne had been the most skilled weaver in Athens, but she had made a grave mistake. She boasted that even the goddess of wisdom, Athena, was no better at weaving than she was. The goddess, who was also the protector of Athens, was naturally enraged.
Disguised as an old woman, Athena visited Arachne and advised her to apologize at the temple of Athena, but Arachne was defiant, claiming, "I'm not afraid of the goddess's wrath. I would even challenge her to a weaving contest."
"...And then, the goddess revealed her true form."
"Then you must have had a weaving contest with her. Am I right?"
Though Arachne spoke, the goddess Mnemosyne had already read her memories and conveyed them to Hades, the lord of the Underworld. Minos also shared these memories as a judge.
In front of a crowd, Arachne and Athena competed in weaving. Arachne's tapestry depicted the affairs of Zeus with various goddesses, including Leto and Europa, and even highlighted the many misdeeds and shameful acts of the Olympian gods.
Surprisingly, Arachne's skill surpassed that of the goddess, but her boldness in mocking the gods' transgressions angered Athena. The goddess, in her fury, transformed Arachne into a spider, condemning her to spin webs for eternity. This is how Arachne's soul came to the Underworld.
In the silence of the Underworld, with the presence of one of the three great gods, Hades, Arachne seemed to harbor a deep hatred for Athena, regardless of right or wrong.
The grim and handsome god Hades, having understood Arachne's past, finally spoke.
"Goddess Mnemosyne, show us Arachne's tapestry in detail."
"Alright, Hades."
The goddess of memory read Arachne's recollections and projected an image of the tapestry into the air. As expected from the city's finest weaver, it was a beautiful and intricate work of art.
"The scene of our gods being defeated by Typhon... the shame of Zeus... Dionysus killing the king of Thebes..."
As Hades examined the tapestry, which meticulously exposed the gods' faults, his brow furrowed slightly. The terrified Arachne, who had been anticipating severe punishment, remained frozen in place.
"Why did you criticize Hestia? She did no harm to humans."
"...It was..."
"The goddess of the hearth was the one most concerned with the welfare of humans during the battle with Typhon. Do you have any excuse?"
"No..."
Hades pondered for a moment, drumming his fingers on the armrest of his chair before rendering his verdict.
"To be proud of one's skill is not a crime. It's understandable that you might not have recognized Athena in her disguise. But to mock all the gods during a weaving contest with the goddess herself was a grave error."
Arachne, who had braced herself for Hades's wrath, looked visibly surprised. Minos thought to himself.
'This is just like Lord Hades. I was taken aback myself at first.'
Continuing with his judgment, the lord of the Underworld remained calm even when dealing with a criminal who had committed such a serious offense as insulting the gods. If another Olympian god had ruled the Underworld, Arachne would have faced severe punishment without a fair trial.
"Though you may feel that becoming a spider was too harsh a punishment, everything you used—every resource—was created by us. The olive trees, the pride of Athens, were a gift from the goddess of wisdom, and the hearth that kept you warm at night while you wove was a blessing from the goddess of the hearth... Tsk."
Minos had come to realize that Hades, the god of mercy and the Underworld, valued fairness above all else. Unlike other gods who weighed the crime of killing a human less heavily than blaspheming the gods, Hades sought to judge each case impartially.
"Considering the punishment you received from Athena and the fact that you have already faced death, I will mitigate your sentence. Therefore, my judgment for you is..."
Hades, who tried to remain impartial even when his kin were insulted, passed a sentence that was neither too harsh nor too lenient for Arachne.
"Who is the next soul, Minos?"
"Yes, the next one is a suicide from Corinth..."
The lord of the Underworld, who was more just than any other, was a god to whom Minos, a former king, could genuinely offer his devotion.
Finally, the day's trials were over.
"Hades, sir, you've worked hard."
"Minos. You've done a great job as well. Is it Rhadamanthys's turn to preside over the trials tomorrow?"
Minos, the middle-aged judge of the Underworld, approached me. He seemed to have something on his mind...
"I heard that the new goddess specifically requested to come to the Underworld?"
"You mean Menthe? It seems you've met her."
"Yes, I heard she came here out of affection for you, Lord Hades. If you have any feelings for her..."
Feelings? What feelings?
I looked at Minos, who seemed to be playing matchmaker, and shook my head.
"Oh! Hades, sir, do you perhaps have another goddess in mind? Lady Styx or Lady Lethe, perhaps..."
"Are you suggesting I take a consort first?"
"Ahem. It's well-known that both have their eyes on the position of the lady of the Underworld..."
"I'm not so foolish as to be unaware of their intentions. And it would be rather odd if one of the three great gods wasn't popular among the opposite sex."
Even Poseidon, with his stormy temperament, and Zeus, who takes what he desires by force, are immensely popular with women, given that they rule over entire realms.
"The problem lies not with them but with me."
"Excuse me?"
"After seeing so many victims of divine rape and love affairs come to the Underworld, marriage doesn't seem very appealing."
Numerous mortal women chose death after being raped by gods. Some gods even killed their husbands or fiancés to claim the women for themselves.
And the goddesses weren't any different. Jealous goddesses killed mortal men or transformed them into animals, or put them into eternal sleep out of spite.
These mortals, victims of divine lust and jealousy, all came to the Underworld to pour out their grievances to me. Many of them held such deep grudges that they didn't lose their memories even after crossing the River of Forgetfulness.
"Just today, four female souls arrived after being raped by gods."
"Oh..."
"And the number of men killed just because a god desired their fiancées..."
The gods of the Underworld, who serve under me, have been strictly warned not to touch mortals. They're also too busy to even think about it.
But the gods of Olympus or the deities of Poseidon's underwater palace? Not so much.
"And aren't all the goddesses related to me by blood? It feels a bit..."
"From a human perspective, yes, but I thought the gods didn't care about such things."
Of course, the other gods wouldn't care. Even Zeus has had relations with his mother, his sisters, his granddaughters, and even his cousins.
But I find the idea of relations with my relatives a bit unsettling. Styx and Lethe are distant relatives, aren't they?
"So, you're not planning to marry anytime soon?"
"Probably not. Though avoiding it entirely might also be a bad idea..."
As I shook my head and put down my papers, Minos, looking curious, asked me another question.
"By the way, do you think the new goddess, Menthe, will find it difficult to adjust to life in the Underworld?"
"Well, she's quite confident in herself, so I don't think we need to worry too much. She'll adapt in time."
People, nymphs, or rather gods, are inherently adaptable. And since she has already served as a priestess in the mortal realm...
She should manage just fine, right?
But at that moment, the new goddess of mint...
"Lady Lethe... Do I really have to do all this?"
"Yes..."
...was in despair over the mountain of work before her.
She had thought that becoming a goddess was a glorious honor, that she would assist the handsome Lord Hades and stand by his side...
"But... do I really have to handle all this paperwork by myself?"
"That's just today's work..."
"...#@#$#!!!!!"
She had imagined herself managing the mint, spreading it across the world with her divine powers.
But this... this was something else entirely.
"I'm the goddess of mint..."
"...? Yes, and I'm the goddess of forgetfulness."
Lethe tilted her head, seemingly puzzled, as if she couldn't understand why Menthe was so overwhelmed. Menthe froze in place, realizing the reality of working in the most dreaded domain among the gods.
As the silver-haired goddess Lethe passed by, Menthe barely caught the faint words she muttered.
"If you can't handle this much, Hades won't even glance at you, let alone make you his consort..."
"Hah! I'll finish this in no time!"
"Oh... really? Then take these as well..."
Thunk. Thunk.
Receiving more scrolls that seemed to materialize out of thin air, Menthe took them with trembling hands while Lethe, the goddess of forgetfulness, continued speaking.
"...? Yes, and I'm the goddess of forgetfulness."
Lethe tilted her head, seemingly puzzled, as if she couldn't understand why Menthe was so overwhelmed. Menthe froze in place, realizing the reality of working in the most dreaded domain among the gods.
As the silver-haired goddess Lethe passed by, Menthe barely caught the faint words she muttered.
"If you can't handle this much, Hades won't even glance at you, let alone make you his consort..."
"Hah! I'll finish this in no time!"
"Oh... really? Then take these as well..."
Thunk. Thunk.
Receiving even more scrolls that floated in from thin air by Lethe's power, Menthe could barely manage to keep from screaming.
"No, there's no way that Lady Lethe is punishing me just because I have feelings for Lord Hades..."
The goddess of mint tried to convince herself as she received the additional scrolls, but the sheer volume of work laid before her made her feel like she was being crushed under the weight of her new responsibilities.