The Goddess of Mint and Thebes - (3)
"The ruler of the Underworld, who must be the most just of all, is, in reality, a god who sometimes falters like this. Has your illusion of me shattered a little, Mente?" "No, no... not at all. The Hades I know is..."
Mente stammered, trying to deny Hades' words. The Hades she had seen was... indeed 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 souls who reached death.
But now, knowing the true feelings of Hades as he revealed them to her, something naturally welled up in her eyes. Even the resolute lord of the Underworld, as strong as iron, had such worries.
How hard must he have worked to hide these feelings from everyone until now? Just imagining it made Mente's heart feel like it was about to break.
As her tears welled up, he gently touched her face, wiping away her falling sadness. Hades, smiling softly, extended his hand and brought it to the back of her neck.
"Ah... wait... Is this... could it be a kiss?"
Mente, an inexperienced goddess, had no experience with men. As a nymph, she had no interest in men, and after becoming Hades' priestess, no one dared approach her. Then, after becoming a lesser goddess of the Underworld... she was subtly treated as Hades' consort.
As her heartbeat grew louder, realizing that what she had only known through knowledge was happening to her, the lord of the Underworld she revered spoke.
"You are the one who holds me back sometimes." "Me...?" "Yes, every time I recall your scent of mint... I reflect on my actions."
Ah, what a gentle person he is. Such sweet words. Even the whispers of the god Apollo couldn’t sound sweeter than this.
"And I am always grateful to you for creating mint. I feel indebted to you." "And... what else...? Please, tell me more..." "...I think I feel the same way as you."
Thump.
The same way. This means...
Hades' hand, which rested on the back of Mente's neck, gradually tightened. As if mesmerized by a siren’s song, Mente's body drew closer to him.
Like a sculpture made by Pygmalion, his handsome face drew nearer... and finally, their lips met.
"Haah..."
It was a brief kiss, like a fleeting dream.
As the short kiss ended, Hades looked at Mente, who stood dazed, unable to regain her senses. The Goddess of Mint had a dreamy expression, as if she were still in a reverie.
"Hehe..." "Mente? Are you alright...?" "Just one more... one more time, Lord Hades!"
Smooch.
"Uh, wait... just a moment..." "Just... a little longer...!"
As she threw herself at him in excitement, Hades gently pushed her away, wiping his lips. Watching them from the side, an old man with a cane clicked his tongue as he passed by.
"Hmph... Indecent love in the middle of the street... Disgusting. Move aside."
So, kissing Mente must have broken the illusion. From the way he mentioned ‘indecent love,’ that old man must be a philosopher.
Wait a second, so pure love—homosexual love—is acceptable on the streets? Sigh... should I punish Thebes for this...?
"...Why has such a culture spread?"
No, never mind. Even now, Mente, who clings to me, is calming me down with her familiar scent from a past life.
I’ll send an oracle when I return to the Underworld and put an end to this.
Afterward, Hades and Mente spent more time wandering around Thebes. They enjoyed grilled skewers from street vendors, placed mint leaves in each other’s hair... It was truly a joyful time. Each time he saw Mente’s smile, the fatigue from his duties in the Underworld seemed to melt away.
As evening came and they returned to the Underworld, the first thing Hades did was...
"...Are you currently the High Priest of my temple?" "Gasp... Lord Hades! What brings you to me?!"
He set out to change the strange culture that had spread in Thebes.
Then, he contacted Orpheus to relay his will to the king of Thebes and asked other gods for help in sending oracles to the mortal world.
"So, they’re engaging in homosexual love? Won’t that reduce the number of new humans being born?" "It might be because Zeus took that human boy... what was his name? Ganymede, perhaps?" "...If Lord Hades says so, I’ll inform my followers as well."
With a more relaxed heart, Hades drifted off to sleep. Though sleep wasn’t necessary for an immortal god, it was a good hobby for clearing the mind.
Meanwhile, in Thebes, chaos erupted as the gods of the Underworld, led by Pluto, began sending oracles.
"Lord Hades has expressed deep concern about ‘true love between men’...!" "...Why?" "Didn’t Lord Zeus also promote true love?" "It seems the ruler of the Underworld disagrees, and the gods themselves may not be in agreement..." "We must have misunderstood something...!"
Most of the people of Thebes were followers of Pluto. The High Priest of Pluto’s temple quickly spread the word throughout the city.
"If we don’t follow the oracle, will we face punishment after death?" "But... isn’t he a merciful god?" "Have you forgotten what Pluto’s other name is? The lord of the Underworld, Hades... Ahem." "Not all who engage in homosexuality will be sent to Tartarus, right?"
That very day, Thebes’ pride, the Sacred Band, was disbanded. The king, who had received a terrifying oracle from the god Morpheus in a dream the night before, raged.
Summoning his advisors, the king announced his decision...
"Disband the Sacred Band immediately! Also, as part of royal decree, homosexuality is hereby banned..." "Y-Your Majesty! But the philosophers..." "Imprison all those philosophers! Their crime is spreading nonsense in Thebes and angering the god Pluto!"
Fortunately, thanks to the advisors' intervention, none of the philosophers were imprisoned, but their influence was severely diminished. No mortal wanted to anger the god of the Underworld, the god of Thebes, one of the Three Great Gods.
It didn’t help that many gods Hades had requested sent their oracles as well.
"Goddess Lethe, Goddess Styx, Hypnos, and many others have sent oracles to their followers..." "A long time ago, didn’t the Sphinx come to Thebes because the gods were angered?" "So now, because of the Sacred Band, will another monster like the Sphinx appear?" "A monster would be a mercy! Do you know what kind of punishment awaits you after death?"
"The mistake was trying to interpret the gods' will according to human desires. The story of Zeus and Ganymede is just one example..." "I never liked that Sacred Band anyway." "Hmph... I better keep a close eye on my household. We can’t afford to offend the god Pluto."
In just one day, Thebes underwent a major transformation.
After finishing his date with Mente and sleeping off his accumulated fatigue, Hades turned his attention to the mortal world.
Focusing his thoughts, he tried to assess how well the mortals had interpreted the oracle he delivered to Thebes the day before...
"You wretched philosophers! Will you take responsibility if I can’t rest in peace after death because of you?!" "What? True love between men? You’re spouting nonsense..." "Those who planted strange ideas into the king’s head and created the Sacred Band are walking around with their heads held high..."
Thud! Crash!
"Did Lord Pluto declare this isn’t true love because he rules the Underworld?" "It seems he’s worried humans won’t have descendants, but due to his divine mercy..." "Maybe he was struck by one of Eros' arrows and fell in love with Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld?" "What?! Are you... a supporter of Persephone, Queen of the Underworld?! How dare you! What about the Goddess of Oaths, Styx?!" "Ha! How much has the Goddess of Forgetfulness, Lethe, done for our people in Thebes?"
There was a crowd cursing the philosopher who supported homosexuality, trying to figure out my intentions as the god of the Underworld. I even witnessed the group beating up the philosopher who had been the most passionate supporter of ‘true love between men.’
Honestly, I wasn’t particularly interested in whether that philosopher was actually a homosexual...
Even the soldiers from the royal family stood by, simply watching the beating without intervening. They took no action.
Listening to their conversation...
"We don’t interfere. Helping someone who angered Pluto might bring divine punishment upon us." "But, Captain, I believe that the merciful god wouldn’t do such a thing. He cares for mortals more than anyone..." "You fool! This is the first time Pluto has ever delivered an oracle about our culture! He’s angry!" "But still..." "If the god who never interfered in human affairs is now angry, they won’t find peace even in death."
Hmm, so it’s about the gods of the Underworld again. His divine mercy is well-known, but this oracle’s direct interference in culture is what caused all the trouble.
I might have made a small misstep with this oracle. Despite knowing how many mortals distort the gods' will, I made a mistake in pushing my personal preferences too strongly.
I’ll need to clarify my intentions through the High Priest...
Shortly after, a new oracle descended upon Thebes. The people quickly reacted to the news from Pluto’s temple.
"It is the new oracle from Lord Pluto! He does not view love between men favorably, but he has declared that it is a sin to harm or exile them solely for that reason!"
"See? I tried to stop it..." "What did I tell you? Lord Pluto is a merciful god, and he urged restraint." "But still, we should be cautious. He doesn’t favor such love, after all." "Of course. Isn't Pluto the god of Thebes?"
Upon hearing the oracle, the people finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the merciful god, Pluto, hadn’t been deeply enraged.
After that, a new culture developed in Thebes where homosexuals were somewhat looked down upon, and those who fell in love with the same sex were seen as poor souls who had fallen victim to the tricks of the god Eros.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freёwebnovel.com.