The King of the Underworld is Tired

"The master of the underworld, who should be the most impartial, is in fact, a god who wavers from time to time. Has your illusion of me been shattered a bit, Mente?"

"No, no... not at all. The Hades I know is..." 

Mente stammered, trying to deny Hades’ words.

The Hades she had always known was... truly a god among gods.

Unlike other Olympians, he cared for mortals and passed fair judgments with compassion.

He was like a father to all souls who reached death.

But now, after seeing Hades reveal his true feelings, tears naturally welled up in her eyes.

Even the iron-willed ruler of the underworld has such concerns.

How hard must he have tried not to reveal these inner thoughts to anyone all this time?

Just imagining it made Mente's heart feel like it was about to break.

As he gently touched her tear-streaked face and wiped away her sadness,

Hades smiled softly and reached out to the back of her neck.

'Oh… wait… is this… a kiss?’

Mente was a virgin goddess with no experience with men.

When she was a nymph, she had no interest in men, and after becoming Hades' priestess, no one dared touch her.

After she became a minor goddess of the underworld... she was subtly treated as Hades’ concubine and respected for it.

As the knowledge she had only read about began to happen to her, her heartbeat grew louder.

The lord of the underworld, whom she adored, spoke again.

"It is you who holds me back at times."

"Me...?"

"Yes, every time I think of you and remember the scent of mint... I reflect on my actions."

Ah. What a kindhearted god.

Such sweet words. Even the whispers of Apollo could not be more enchanting than this.

"And I am always grateful to you for making mint for me, and I feel indebted to you."

"And… and… what else...?"

"...I think I might feel the same way as you."

Thump.

The same way. That means...

Hades' hand on the back of her neck began to apply gentle pressure.

Like someone entranced by the song of a siren, Mente's body drew closer to his.

His handsome face, like a statue sculpted by Pygmalion, gradually approached...

And finally, their lips met.

"Haah..."

It was a brief kiss, like a dream.

* * *

After the short kiss, Hades looked at Mente, who was standing there dazed, unable to regain her senses.

Standing there with a dreamy expression, as if she were still in a dream, was the goddess of mint.

“He… hehe…”

“Mente? Are you alright…?”

“Just one more… one more time, Lord Hades!”

Peck.

“Ugh. Wait a minute…”

“Just… just a little more…!”

He gently pushed her back as she excitedly rushed at him and rubbed his lips.

Watching us from the side, an old man with a cane clicked his tongue as he passed by.

“Hmm... indecent love in the street, how disgraceful… tsk. Move aside.”

Oh, I must have snapped out of it because I kissed Mente just now…

Seeing him muttering about impure love, I wondered, was he a philosopher?

Wait a minute, does that mean pure love, like homosexuality, is allowed in the street?

Hah… seriously, maybe I should rain divine punishment on Thebes...

“…Why has this kind of culture spread?”

Ahem… no, never mind.

Even now, the scent of Mente beside me is calming me down from my past life.

When I return to the underworld, I’ll issue an oracle to put a stop to it…

After that, I spent more time wandering around with Mente, enjoying the day.

I fed her skewers from street vendors, and we placed mint leaves in each other’s hair...

It was such a pleasant time. Every time I saw Mente’s smile, the fatigue from my duties in the underworld melted away.

After exploring every corner of Thebes until evening, the first thing I did upon returning to the underworld was…

"…Are you the high priest of my temple?"

“Gasp… Lord Hades! To what do I owe the honor of your summons?!”

…to put an end to the strange culture spreading in Thebes.

I then contacted Orpheus and had him relay my will to the king who ruled Thebes,

and I asked other gods for help in sending oracles to the mortal world.

“So, they engage in homosexuality? But wouldn’t that reduce the number of newly born humans...?”

"Perhaps it’s because Zeus brought that mortal boy… Ganymede, was it? That could be the reason."

“If Lord Hades says so, I will also pass the word on to my followers.”

With that, I was able to sleep with a peaceful mind.

Though sleep is not necessary for an immortal god, it was a nice hobby to calm the mind.

However, during the time the lord of the underworld slept, Thebes fell into chaos.

This was because not only Pluto, the god of Thebes, but also various underworld gods had sent oracles.

“Lord Hades has expressed deep concern about ‘true love between men’!”

“…Why?”

“Didn’t Lord Zeus also encourage true love?”

“It seems the lord of the underworld has a different opinion, suggesting that even the gods have differing views…”

"We must have definitely misunderstood something...!"

Most of the people of Thebes were originally followers of Pluto.

The words of the high priest of Pluto’s temple quickly spread throughout the city.

“What punishment will we face in the afterlife if we don’t follow the oracle?”

“No… but he is still a god of mercy, how could he…”

“Have you forgotten Pluto’s other name? The king of the underworld, Hade… ahem.”

“Surely, not all those who engage in homosexuality will be sent to Tartarus, right?”

The pride of Thebes, the Sacred Band, was immediately disbanded that day.

This was because the king, who had received an oracle from Morpheus in a dream the previous night, had a fit of rage.

Whatever the oracle had been, the king, now gathered with his vassals, declared:

"Disband the Sacred Band at once! I hereby ban same-sex love by royal decree..."

"Sire, Your Majesty! But the philosophers..."

“Throw those philosophers in prison! Their crime is spreading nonsense in Thebes and angering the god Pluto!”

Thanks to the vassals’ pleas, no philosophers were actually arrested, but their influence significantly dwindled.

No mortal wanted to incur the wrath of the god of the underworld, who was also one of the Three Great Gods and the patron of Thebes.

Moreover, this wasn’t just Hades; many other gods sent oracles on his behalf, making it even more serious.

“Goddesses Lethe, Styx, and Hypnos, along with countless other gods, sent oracles to their followers…”

“Could it be that the appearance of the Sphinx in Thebes long ago was also due to divine wrath?”

“Does this mean another monster, like the Sphinx, will appear in Thebes because of the Sacred Band?”

“If it’s just a monster, that would be lucky! Do you know what punishment awaits after death?”

“Our mistake was interpreting the will of the gods with human understanding. The story of Zeus and Ganymede was just one example…”

“I never liked that Sacred Band nonsense anyway.”

“Hmph… I’d better keep my household in check. We mustn’t upset the god Pluto.”

In a single day, Thebes underwent a great change.

* * *

After my date with Mente, I rested, shaking off the fatigue that had accumulated, and then checked on the state of the mortal world.

I focused to see how the humans had interpreted the oracle I sent to Thebes yesterday...

“You cursed philosophers! If I can’t find peace even in death because of you, will you take responsibility?”

“What? True love between men? That’s utter nonsense...”

“Those who filled the king’s head with strange ideas and created the Sacred Band walk around with their heads held high…”

Whack. Crash!

“Did Pluto say that wasn’t true love because he rules the underworld?”

“Perhaps he’s worried humans won’t have descendants, given his nature as a merciful deity…”

“Or maybe it’s because he fell in love with Persephone due to one of Eros’ arrows?”

“What?! Are you… part of the faction supporting Persephone as queen of the underworld?! How dare you overlook the goddess Styx, who oversees oaths!”

“Hah! How much has the goddess of forgetfulness, Lethe, done for us in Thebes…”

While a crowd cursed the philosopher who supported homosexuality, others gathered in an open space, speculating about the intentions of me, the god of the underworld.

There was even a mob assaulting one of the philosophers who had most fervently supported male love.

I wasn’t particularly keen on learning that this philosopher was actually homosexual…

Even soldiers from the royal palace watched the assault without intervening.

They did nothing.

When I listened to the soldiers’ conversations, I heard:

“We don’t interfere. If we help someone who has angered Pluto, we might be punished by the gods.”

“But, captain, I believe that the god of mercy would not do such a thing. He cherishes mortals more than anyone else…”

“You fool! This is the first time Pluto has issued an oracle about Thebes’ culture!”

“Even so…”

“If he, who usually does not interfere in human matters, is angry, those men will not rest in peace, even after death.”

Hmm, more talk of the gods of the underworld.

My role as a god of mercy had spread widely, but it was because of the direct interference through the oracle that this happened.

I suppose this oracle was a bit of a misstep.

I should’ve known there are many humans who twist the will of the gods, and yet I made such a mistake, forcing my personal preferences too strongly.

I’ll have to issue a proper clarification of my intent through the high priest…

Soon after, a new oracle descended upon Thebes.

When word spread from Pluto’s temple, the people of Thebes quickly responded.

“A new oracle from Pluto! While he does not personally favor same-sex love, he has clearly stated that assaulting or exiling people solely for that reason is a sin!”

“Well, I tried to stop them…”

“What did I say? Pluto is also a god of me

rcy. He warned us to restrain our actions…”

“Still, he doesn’t particularly like that form of love, so we should be careful.”

“Of course, the god of Thebes is Pluto, after all.”

Upon hearing the oracle, the people of Thebes felt a sense of relief.

Pluto, the god known for his mercy, didn’t seem to be greatly enraged.

Afterward, a custom emerged in Thebes to be somewhat wary of homosexuals,

and those who fell in love in such a way were regarded as unfortunate souls tricked by the god Eros’ mischief.