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 sotis falters like this. Has your illusion of shattered a little, nte?" "No, no... not at all. The Hades I know is..."
nte stamred, 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 judgnts. 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, sothing 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 nte'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?"
nte, an inexperienced goddess, had no experience with n. As a nymph, she had no interest in n, 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 back sotis." "...?" "Yes, every ti 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 more..." "...I think I feel the sa way as you."
Thump.
The sa way. This ans...
Hades' hand, which rested on the back of nte's neck, gradually tightened. As if srized by a siren’s song, nte's body drew closer to him.
Like a sculpture made by Pygmalion, his handso face drew nearer... and finally, their lips t.
"Haah..."
It was a brief kiss, like a fleeting dream.
As the short kiss ended, Hades looked at nte, 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..." "nte? Are you alright...?" "Just one more... one more ti, Lord Hades!"
Smooch.
"Uh, wait... just a mont..." "Just... a little longer...!"
As she threw herself at him in excitent, 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 nte must have broken the illusion. From the way he ntioned ‘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, nte, who clings to , is calming 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 nte spent more ti wandering around Thebes. They enjoyed grilled skewers from street vendors, placed mint leaves in each other’s hair... It was truly a joyful ti. Each ti he saw nte’s smile, the fatigue from his duties in the Underworld seed to lt away.
As evening ca 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 ?!"
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 na? Ganyde, 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.
anwhile, 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 n’...!" "...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 agreent..." "We must have misunderstood sothing...!"
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 punishnt after death?" "But... isn’t he a rciful god?" "Have you forgotten what Pluto’s other na 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 imdiately! Also, as part of royal decree, homosexuality is hereby banned..." "Y-Your Majesty! But the philosophers..." "Imprison all those philosophers! Their cri 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 ti ago, didn’t the Sphinx co 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 rcy! Do you know what kind of punishnt awaits you after death?"
"The mistake was trying to interpret the gods' will according to human desires. The story of Zeus and Ganyde 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 nte 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 n? 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 rcy..." "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 n.’
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 soone who angered Pluto might bring divine punishnt upon us." "But, Captain, I believe that the rciful god wouldn’t do such a thing. He cares for mortals more than anyone..." "You fool! This is the first ti 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 rcy 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 n 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 rciful 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 seed that the rciful god, Pluto, hadn’t been deeply enraged.
After that, a new culture developed in Thebes where homosexuals were sowhat looked down upon, and those who fell in love with the sa sex were seen as poor souls who had fallen victim to the tricks of the god Eros.
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