And the trial posed by this unnad Judge was to have the heroes tell a joke that could make him laugh.
This trial was truly unprecedented and beyond the heroes’ imaginations. When these great souls were still in the Mortal World, they were most praised for their bravery, wisdom, and courage, not their ability to tell jokes.
The other Netherworld Judges could not help but marvel at such a tricky question; they had never thought of such a conundrum.
On the other side, upon learning about this, the Queen of the Netherworld, Esroa, felt a sense of loss.
"How could there be such a thorny question?"
Esroa complained to her husband,
"Those heroes have no way to deal with it; they’re not good at these things."
As a Divine passionate about studying souls, Esroa naturally hoped that Baird and his companions would successfully complete the trial and be banished from the Netherworld so that the Great Angel’s objective might be achieved, and she could share in the knowledge about souls.
However, this unknown Judge had posed such a tricky question that it hit right at the heroes’ weak spots. Those great souls, for all their ponderings, could never have imagined such a trial.
"This is... deviously beyond mortal wit!"
Esroa was sowhat frustrated.
Even if She wanted to extend a helping hand to the heroes, facing this trial, She, as the Goddess of Sleep, was equally at a loss.
"You’re right."
Upon hearing the Queen’s words, the Death God Nakbet suddenly spoke.
"What?"
Esroa looked surprised.
"That’s not the wisdom of mortals, but the wisdom of the Divine."
Nakbet paused, black miasma swirling beneath the throne like fog,
"The Judge who proposed that trial is not a mortal, but Slaier, the master of lies and deception."
Esroa’s mouth fell open,
"What, what did you say?"
Death God Nakbet began to explain slowly:
"You know, Esroa, those mortals are full of lies and are prone to deceit. Though the Judges never bend the Law for personal gain, due to various reasons, they are sotis hoodwinked in judgnts by mortals.
And Slaier, you know His character, He’s flamboyant, and isn’t afraid to stir trouble. He approached , hoping I would provide Him a position as a Judge, while He, in turn, would grant the Judges the Divine Power to detect lies and deception in mortals’ words."
Esroa was stunned, remained silent for a long ti. As the Queen, She was not fond of ddling in the affairs of the Netherworld and was unaware of such an identity for Slaier, but upon reflection, it made sense.
"This is... unexpected yet reasonable."
Esroa murmured softly.
Nakbet said with a wry smile:
"My wife, I am after all not our Father, before whom lies cannot hide, yet in my realm, lies still have a place.
But I had already warned Baird, ’So will not just sit back and watch you leave.’"
Hearing her husband’s words, Esroa’s brows knitted with worry, for now standing before the heroes was the cunning Slaier, and it was this very God of lies and deception who had caused the death of the once-renowned hero Baird in the Mortal World.
...............
Watching the figure standing still as a statue, the heroes were troubled by this trial.
Having passed through five challenges in high spirits, the heroes felt as if they had regained their forr glory, returning to those days celebrated in poetry.
But this ti, these great souls were truly stumped.
To make this unnad Judge laugh?
The heroes would rather face off against seventy-seven hydrae with seven heads each than accept this trial.
For in this trial, the heroes, once seen as omnipotent in the eyes of those mortals, beca helpless and truly felt incapable.
The heroes’ pride in their courage, valor, wisdom - with the exception of the last, they had almost no opportunity to use their skills.
They gathered together to brainstorm, but no matter what they said or did, the unnad Judge remained unmoved, and so heroes began to lose heart.
It was Baird who stepped forward to rekindle their spirits. He promptly halted the spread of negativity, and under the influence of his leadership, the heroes once again rallied, searching for an answer.
"Priego, you are the wisest among us, what exactly makes people laugh?"
Baird sought out Priego and asked this question, the latter had shone brilliantly in the fifth trial of judging souls’ sins.
"I’m at my wit’s end too, Baird. I’ve told all the jokes I know, and that judge hasn’t budged an inch, just like a stone."
Priego said with an annoyed expression,
"We can only think of new jokes now."
Yet Baird’s mind sprang to life, and at that mont, an idea struck him, and he continued:
"So... what is the thod of inciting laughter?"
"The thod of inciting laughter?"
"Like, what elents make up a joke? If we can grasp the factors of creating jokes, we can concoct enough jokes and keep telling them until we wear down that judge and make him laugh."
Baird’s flash of insight provided a great inspiration to Priego, who slapped his forehead and said:
"Yes, exactly,
like targeting soone that everybody hates, or the great contrast between two things, or the absurdity and unrestrained nature of situations... We can churn out jokes chanically.
Then, even if all of our jokes have been told, we can still generate new ones, and eventually, one will strike directly to the heart."
Baird nodded; this was the sliver of inspiration he’d derived from days of observation.
He now turned his head to look at the judge, who seed sculpted from stone.
Conveniently, the latter’s gaze just happened to fall upon him.
Baird’s eyes narrowed; he felt sothing odd, this judge gave him a sense of familiarity.
They should have never t before.
The trickiness of this trial wasn’t its difficulty, but that it made the heroes feel at a loss how to begin.
After all, who would want to undertake a task without a goal?
However, as Baird proposed his idea, the heroes were no longer at a loss but began to revive, regaining the morale they had during the five previous trials.
They ca up with many jokes, trying their utmost to make the naless judge laugh. Even though no one succeeded, the heroes, having found their target, didn’t get discouraged. In a matter of fifteen days, they had told over a thousand jokes, and the naless judge’s reactions were slightly more pronounced than before.
On the sixteenth day, the heroes noticed the naless judge tremble slightly under their barrage of jokes, on the nineteenth day, he couldn’t help but turn away, and on the twenty-sixth day, they saw the judge bend forward as if he could no longer hold back.
Over these days, the heroes told tens of thousands of jokes, and under the relentless assault, the naless judge’s reactions grew bigger, an indication that they were close to passing the trial.
Thus, on the thirtieth day, Baird and the heroes ca before the naless judge.
A dwarfish hero stepped forward; he was the shortest in the crowd, and his appearance akin to an underage child, was comically endearing to look at.
Baird took a deep breath and asked the dwarf:
"Who is your father?"
The childlike dwarf proclaid loudly:
"The Netherworld."
The naless judge lent an ear.
"Then, who is your mother?"
"The Goddess of Lies and Trickery, Slaier."
The dwarf continued.
Among mortals, Slaier, who governs lies and trickery, is often despised.
The naless judge stared intently at Baird and the dwarf before him.
"So... what do you want to be when you grow up?"
Baird asked in a gentle tone.
The dwarf lifted his head, proudly declaring:
"An orphan!"
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