The goddess, shyly blushing, slowly walked into the audience chamber. It was undoubtedly nte.
It seed certain that she was now a goddess, not just a nymph, as divine power radiated refreshingly from her entire body.
"Uncle, then please have a conversation with the newly born goddess. This humble ssenger will now return to Olympus. Haha!"
"Ha… Hers. Yes, see you later."
Hers waved his hand, watching my bewildered expression, clearly enjoying my reaction to her unexpected appearance. It was obvious he had volunteered to bring nte personally, expecting this.
As Hers left, I looked at nte, who still couldn’t et my eyes. There was a lot to explain, but where should I even begin…
“So, n…”
“H-Hah! Y-Yes! Lord Hades… ugh…”
nte stamred nervously as soon as I started to speak.
This wasn’t our first ti eting, and she had even served as a priestess for , so why was she acting like this?
"nte. I don't know why you're frozen like that, but stop being so embarrassed and calmly explain the situation."
“…Ha. But…”
“…?”
nte’s face flushed even more, and she began to speak quickly.
"Volunteering to co to the underworld ruled by Lord Hades ans I've accepted that you may take my body at any ti…!"
“No…”
“Were the other goddesses I saw last ti the mistresses of the underworld? Hah… But I’m fine being a concubine too…!”
"Enough. That's enough…"
As the conversation started heading in a strange direction, I waved my hand to stop her.
nte, who had been speaking with a strange excitent, took a deep breath and cald down.
She’s still young… Tsk tsk. It seems she’s suffering from an overactive imagination. I’ll have to send her to Apollo for treatnt at so point.
“So, how did you, a forr nymph, beco a goddess, and why have you co to the underworld?”
“Well… it’s a bit of a long story…”
The explanation nte shyly gave was as follows:
First, mint began to spread throughout Greece, especially around Thebes, and was eventually exported across the region…
The prominence of mint, which is considered my symbol, rose significantly in the mortal world.
“Hm. The grace of the god Pluto. I don’t believe in him, but it’s sothing to be thankful for…”
“Though the na Hades may be feared, hasn’t he bestowed sothing upon humanity?”
“A rchant from Thebes said Pluto is a rciful god to the living.”
As a result, nte, who was believed to have created mint, began to gain prominence as a goddess.
Since she was not human but a nymph and had served as my priestess, her status rose even more.
“There’s a nymph at Pluto’s temple who is said to have created mint…”
“Could an ordinary nymph create sothing like that? Perhaps she’s a goddess sent from Pluto.”
“I don’t know. Either way, I prayed to him.”
Gradually, humans began to worship her as the goddess of mint, and faith started to gather around her.
Eventually, the god Hers descended before nte, who had been praying at the temple, and took her to Olympus…
"Are you the nymph called nte who receives faith among mortals? You’re quite beautiful…"
“Father, I heard that nymph is greatly favored by Uncle Hades.”
“Ahem! Well, you should have ntioned that earlier… Anyway, since she created a symbol of the underworld, it’s fitting to elevate her to the status of a goddess.”
Thus, Zeus, the king of the gods, recognized her as a goddess.
nte, now the goddess of mint, expressed her wish to work in the underworld.
“Hers, isn’t there so way to make that happen?”
“The underworld? They are short on… divine power down there…”
And that’s how the newly born goddess of mint ca to the underworld.
* * *
Having finished her explanation, nte gazed at with sparkling eyes.
She seed to be expecting sothing.
“Lord Hades! So what work will I be doing now?”
“…I don’t know if you were aware, but the underworld is quite busy. You may be assigned tasks beyond your authority.”
“Hehe! I may not look it, but I adapted well to the hard work at the temple when I was a priestess!”
nte placed her hands on her hips, emphasizing her chest.
But was working as a priestess in the temple of Thebes really that difficult? I wonder if she’ll adapt well to the underworld…
I should offer so advice to the cheerful nte.
“nte, do you know why we gods live for eternity and are strong?”
“Huh?”
She looked at with a confused expression.
She tilted her head slightly, trying to guess my intent, and her response was just as I expected.
“Um… because we inherited the great power and bloodline of the primordial god Chaos?”
“…Wrong.”
To mortals, gods may appear great, powerful, and sotis even flawless.
Our ability to see the future or alter the land provides enough reason for mortals to worship us.
However…
“Because we must maintain the world, we are given overflowing strength and minds that do not erode with the passage of ti.”
“Ah...”
"Even you were just an ordinary nymph and beca a goddess. Do you know what that ans...?"
Saying it ans becoming a slave to keep the world running smoothly would be a bit much, wouldn’t it?
That’s how I feel, working here in the underworld, but...
"Just think of it as taking on the task of maintaining the balance of the world."
"Indeed! It's because the great gods perform such noble duties that they are so strong!"
You’re now one of those great gods as well.
And the noble duty... well, that's sowhat accurate.
"Maintaining the balance of the world... it's just like the responsibility and tasks I imagined gods would have!"
"There’s a saying that gods are not strong because they rule the world, but because they must rule the world."
"Ah! So, with great power cos great responsibility!"
It’s true that with the gods' immortality and vitality co countless tasks...
nthe, seeming to have grasped sothing, nodded and then once again shyly twisted her body as she spoke.
“For you to care about like this... I will fulfill my responsibilities as the goddess who created mint, your symbol, Hades!”
"...? Oh... yeah. Do that."
I feel like the conversation is both making sense and not making sense at the sa ti.
Well, since she’s so confident, I might as well assign her to a suitable position.
As I was flipping through so scrolls, considering where to place her, a ssenger rushed in.
It was a familiar face—one of the soul warriors, a young man wearing a toga.
"Hades, my lord! There's trouble in the court once again..."
"It must be sothing that the three judges of Minos cannot resolve on their own—likely involving prophecies or divine interference, no?"
"Gasp! How did you know? This ti, it's even..."
It's not uncommon for Apocretes, the swift ssenger from the court, to co running.
No doubt it’s another case involving divine ddling. Likely an issue so complex that even the judgnt of the Minos brothers is uncertain.
Though I trust their judgnt, there are tis when high-ranking gods express displeasure with Minos for being too lenient in punishing mortals whom they themselves had condemned.
Of course, they wouldn’t voice such complaints in front of ...
Hers, the ssenger and informant of Olympus, had passed on such rumors to .
To lessen the burden on the Minos brothers and ensure fair judgnt, I often stepped in when there were disputes involving humans who had been punished by the gods or those who had fallen victim to the ddling of multiple gods.
Naturally, I also intervened in the sentencing of grave sinners who were too much for the brothers alone.
"Is it another mortal tangled in the romantic affairs of the Twelve Olympians? Likely a victim of rape or adultery, right? Tell Minos I’ll be there shortly."
"Understood! I shall deliver the ssage at once!"
The ssenger departed, and I turned to nthe.
"Go see the goddess Lethe. She’ll assist you with the duties you’ll be assigned. I’ve got urgent matters to attend to, so..."
"Ah, yes!"
* * *
"Thank... thank you. O great lord of the underworld..."
"Indeed, in life, you suffered disgrace at the hands of a god because of your exceptional beauty, but such things will no longer happen to you here."
"Sob... sob..."
The beautiful soul in front of wept bitterly.
This was the soul of a woman who had been raped by a minor god after rejecting his advances in life.
The issue was that she had been a devotee of Artemis, the virgin goddess. After losing her purity, she was cursed by Artemis and driven to suicide.
That strict Artemis... she's always overly severe with her own followers.
It wasn’t even by her own will that she lost her purity. Couldn’t Artemis have shown a bit more compassion?
"Who’s next, Minos?"
"Yes, the next is a human woman nad Arachne."
"Arachne? Let her in. Which god was involved in this case?"
"... The docunt states that the goddess of wisdom, Athena, personally punished her."
So, this ti it’s Athena, the goddess of wisdom?
As Athena is a goddess who swore her virginity by the River Styx, this won’t be another romantic scandal.
A bitter-looking female soul slowly entered.
According
to the docunt on my desk, this was a soul that retained its mories even after crossing the River Lethe—one that harbored a deep grudge.
No doubt she resented the goddess Athena for causing her death.
A guard brought her forward and made her bow before .
The female soul collapsed onto the ground, prostrating herself in my direction.
"Your na is Arachne, correct? Speak the truth about what happened before your death, without lies."
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