During the hero's ongoing task, Gaia intervened with Chira, destroying Athena's temple and killing Bellerophon...
Although she couldn't change the fate that Bellerophon would defeat Chira, she found a way to influence the path to that fate, just like I had advised Perseus.
“Did you just see that, Lady Lethe?”
“Yes... Gaia possesses prophetic power comparable to that of Protheus.”
“Even if we give birth to a hero and win the war against the Gigantes, it may only result in a Pyrrhic victory.”
Victory in the war against the Gigantes could an that the Titans are released, or Gaia exacts her revenge.
Or Gaia could create other monsters to replace the Gigantes.
We must prepare more...
Gaia is one of the primordial gods, Protogenoi.
Of the ancient gods, only the Protogenoi can rival her.
Under the first, all-powerful Chaos, there are only a few Protogenoi like Gaia.
Lord Erebus, god of darkness, or Nyx, goddess of the night, or Tartarus, god of the abyss.
Lord Tartarus, the abyss itself, never involves himself in matters...
And Lord Erebus and Lady Nyx... hmm. They have also withdrawn from worldly affairs.
As I was deep in thought, Lady Lethe spoke to .
“Hades.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Bellerophon will soon arrive in the Underworld... Will you give him a reward for his task?”
It had been so ti since Thanatos' envoy was sent to him...
Soon, Bellerophon, who died along with Chira, would arrive in the Underworld.
Although the flaw of killing his brother prevents him from going to Elysium...
One who fulfills a task should receive a proper reward.
I summoned a herald and gave an order.
“When the hero who killed Chira arrives in the Underworld, bring him before .”
“Yes, Lord Hades.”
* * *
After waiting in the audience chamber with Lady Lethe for a mont, the hero soon arrived.
Having regained his mories of the living world through the power of Lady Mnemosyne, Bellerophon had a pained expression, as if still feeling phantom pain.
Kneeling before , he looked both regretful and resigned to the fact that he had died.
“Um... Why has the lord of the Underworld summoned ?”
“You have achieved the feat of slaying Typhon's offspring as a re mortal, but you received no suitable reward in the living world.”
“…?!”
“Is there anything you desire? I promise to give you what is fitting for your achievent.”
To not give any reward to a hero who sacrificed their life to kill a monster—who then would ever strive to beco a hero?
If nothing else, I could at least make his na known widely...
But what he said next was beyond my expectations.
“In... in that case, I wish to beco a god like Lord Pluto!”
“Hm?”
“To ascend to Olympus above the clouds and dwell among the gods, to live forever…”
Lifting his head, his eyes sparkling, he spoke passionately.
Well, becoming a god seems a bit excessive...
Especially since he's asking not just for the position of a minor god under my domain, but to ascend to Olympus?
That is not sothing I can grant, and it would require the consent of Zeus and the other gods.
Hmm. Still, for a hero who sacrificed his life to kill Chira, I could overlook this much audacity.
Perhaps I should try to persuade him slowly.
I raised a hand to stop his words and explained calmly.
“You seem to have an overly romanticized idea of what it ans to be a god.”
“Pardon?”
“What do you believe a god to be? Why do you want to beco one?”
He pondered briefly before answering.
“Isn't it the case that gods are eternal, perfect beings? I've always aspired to be a god!”
“Perfect…?”
“Since I have slain that formidable monster, please give the chance to beco a god!”
There are cases where mortals have beco gods, albeit rarely.
dusa, for example, was made a god because she suffered greatly at the hands of a deity...
Dionysus spread the cult of wine throughout the living world and ultimately claid his place as a god.
But even Cadmus or Perseus, who achieved great deeds, did not beco gods—so making Bellerophon a god seems a bit...
He hadn't gathered followers in the living world, nor was he asking for a position in the Underworld but rather in Olympus.
And there was also the stain on his record for accidentally killing his brother.
However, considering his achievent in killing Chira at the cost of his life…
“First, you need to understand what being a god truly ans and what duties it involves.”
“What do you an by that…?”
“Spend 100 days here in the Underworld performing the duties of a minor god. If, after that, you still have not changed your mind, I will speak on your behalf to Olympus.”
“…! Thank you! Lord Pluto!”
He prostrated himself on the ground, repeatedly thanking .
But perhaps it's a bit premature to be thanking .
“Thank you so much!”
“We shall see…”
The daily lives of us gods are likely quite different from what you imagine…
After Bellerophon left, his face beaming with excitent, I turned to look at Lady Lethe beside .
Lady Lethe, too, seed to have similar thoughts, as she looked at with twinkling eyes.
“Hades…! Could we perhaps assign that mortal to the River of Forgetfulness? Lately, the dead have been resistant to losing their mories…”
“My initial plan is to have him assist with the duties of Eros, who tortures the guilty. After that…”
"Ah..."
Hearing that he wouldn’t be assigned to her area, Lady Lethe’s eyes drooped slightly.
I glanced at the dejected goddess for a mont...
Swoosh
I gently ran my hand through her soft hair.
Her seemingly flawless strands of silver slipped through my fingers.
“…Hyat! Ha... Ha... Hades?!”
“I’m well aware of how much you’ve helped all this ti.”
She was truly startled. And yet, she’s always approached so casually before…
Is this the first ti I’ve reached out to her?
As the overly flustered Lady Lethe tried to pull away in surprise, I lightly grabbed her wrist.
“Please continue to help a little longer. One day, for sure…”
“Nehe… Yes… I get it. Just… let go of my hand…”
“Oh.”
As I released her, the silver-haired goddess hurriedly dashed out of the audience chamber.
Her red neck was especially noticeable as she ran with her face in her hands.
Thud.
“Ow! Ugh…”
She left in such a hurry that she bumped her head into the door.
Of course, the audience chamber door was dented where her divine forehead struck... Ah, I still need to repair the spot where Lady Styx stubbed her foot last ti.
* * *
Lady Lethe, quickly leaving the audience chamber, moved urgently toward a certain place.
Her destination was an office in the Underworld.
“Styx! Styx! Styx!”
“Wha... What is it?! Lethe!”
“Lady Lethe…?”
Inside, Styx and nte were sorting through piles of parchnt, busy with their work.
They were shocked to see the flustered Lady Lethe running towards them with her face flushed.
But Lethe, the goddess of forgetfulness, paid them no mind and started questioning Lady Styx.
“For the past few days, Hades has been acting strange whenever he sees you. What exactly did the two of you do?”
“What? Why now all of a sudden...?”
“For the first ti ever today, Hades gently stroked my hair with such a tender touch! Just tell honestly! If this is how he treats , what on earth happened with you recently?”
The truth was, not long ago…
Hades had kissed Lady Styx while riding Pegasus, and it hadn’t gone unnoticed by the other gods.
But up until now, the Lord of the Underworld, as Lethe knew him, was—
A god who didn’t shy away from approaching the goddesses who ca close to him, but would always take a step back when they got too close.
As if there was an insurmountable wall around his heart.
So Lethe assud it was just Lady Styx, clinging to him and feeling embarrassed afterward...
“Did you go all the way with him last ti?”
“What… What do you an, go all the way?!”
But seeing Hades act differently, like today, changed things.
Could he have developed a deep relationship with Lady Styx?
Lady Styx shook her head, but as the mory of the recent incident ca to mind...
She couldn’t stop the tips of her ears from turning red.
“Now that you ntion it, Hades has been acting strange since a few days ago. His gaze seems... warr, sohow?”
“Well… it does feel like the wall around his heart has started to crumble a little.”
Even nte, sensing sothing strange, added her own thoughts.
If Persephone were here, she’d have imdiately rushed over to Hades to confront him about these changes, but…
She had long since returned to the mortal world.
“Could it be that Eros shot one of his arrows at him?”
“Eros is still working in the Underworld, though?”
* * *
anwhile, Bellerophon, who wished to beco a god, was led by a servant to an unfamiliar place.
The air here felt even hotter than the flas of Chira that he had faced in the living world…
“Argh!!! Stop...”
“Kraah! Gah!”
“Spare ! No, please forgive !”
The place was full of great sinners, who, though unworthy of Tartarus, couldn’t atone for their sins through lighter punishnts.
The dead writhed in agony, unable to escape the fiery ground beneath them.
“Here, all you need to do is deliver arrows to Lord Eros over there.”
“Ah…”
Whoosh! Thud!
“Aaagh!”
Even a god, who appeared as a winged child, was up above, constantly shooting arrows.
So that god is Lord Eros, but...
“Hey, human! If you’re here, hurry up and bring more arrows!”
“Oh, yes, yes!”
Why was the god of love working in the Underworld?
And how was he managing to keep up this constant pace without a break?!
Reviews
All reviews (0)