The Gods' Outing (3): The Scent of Mint
Some time had passed since Styx and Lethe, the two goddesses, had stepped down from the chariot.
The ghost horse’s legs moved with urgent energy as it galloped across the earth. The sound of wheels and hooves rang out across the vast meadows on the outskirts of Mt. Etna. Of course the sight and sound were both concealed, so no mortals would ever know.
“Kyahaha!”
“Throw it over here!”
Even though this was the dangerous mountain where Typhon’s body lay sealed, the beautiful scenery meant that a slight turn of the head revealed countless nymphs. A forest stretched nearby, and a clear stream bubbled gently. It was the perfect natural landscape for fairies to inhabit. My expression naturally softened and my heart grew peaceful.
It was certainly a better change of pace than staring at parchment scrolls in the office every day.
I made the chariot and ghost horse vanish, suppressed my power even further, and drew closer to the mountain. If my presence flooded the area, the stimulated body beneath might rampage and trigger an earthquake.
Saaaaak—
My black divine power slowly swept across the mountain, probing the condition of the entity buried below.
Hmm. Typhon’s body remains exactly as it should. Quiet.
I was about to return to the spot where I had parted from the two goddesses when someone called to me from between the trees. It was the female nymph who had been stealing glances at me earlier.
“Hey, handsome! If you’re bored, why don’t you play with me?”
A nymph with striking bright turquoise hair approached, waving her hand. A refreshing, crystal-clear aura. She must be one of the water nymphs—a Naiad.
But it seemed someone had already tried to speak with her…
“Mente! What’s so great about a guy like him? Talk to me instead!”
“No, I said I don’t want to! Go away!”
A male centaur came running from behind her and roughly seized her hand. I had noticed him hovering nearby and assumed they knew each other, but it was clearly one-sided pursuit.
“Shut up! Just come with me!”
“Kyaaak! Let go!”
The centaur, furious, dragged the nymph violently into his arms. In another moment, one of the all-too-common crimes of Greece would unfold. In the mortal realm this was everyday life, so it hardly surprised me.
“Hey! What are you staring at? This woman is m—urk!”
“Kyaa!… Haa…”
I could no longer tolerate the disgusting spectacle and crushed him with overwhelming pressure. The ferocious centaur who had tried to drag the nymph away clutched his chest as his heart stopped, foaming at the mouth before collapsing.
“Hiiik…!”
The nymph met my eyes and burst into terrified tears. Watching her frantically fix her half-torn clothes, I let out a sigh.
“…I have no interest in you, so don’t worry.”
“Are you… perhaps a god from somewhere?”
“Yes. And stay close to the other nymphs. Creatures like him are not rare.”
Centaurs—with human upper bodies and beastly lower halves—were even more slaves to instinct than humans. Far more violent, beasts faithful to primal desire. Of course there were exceptions like the wise Chiron, but…
Anyway, my business was finished. As I turned to leave, a scent drifted from her that I had smelled somewhere before. A very… long-forgotten refreshing coolness. Around the time Athena was born? When we overthrew Father Cronus and seized dominion over the world? No. It was even earlier—from my previous life… a truly nostalgic fragrance.
The nymph, having straightened her disheveled clothes, bowed to me in gratitude.
“Thank you so much. If you meet any nymphs around here, please tell them you are the benefactor of this Mente…”
Men… No, this had to be it too…
“What is your name?”
“I am called Mente.”
Mente. Minthe… Mint? The same mint from mint chocolate?
“You are a water nymph, a Naiad, yet… are you cultivating a plant that gives off such a refreshing scent?”
“Eh? How did you know?”
New Species
A plant infused with the power of the nymph Mente. Emits a crisp, refreshing fragrance that awakens long-forgotten memories.
“This way, my lord.”
When I showed interest in the plant, Mente beckoned me to follow. I trailed her into the forest until we reached plants growing beside a stream.
“This is it. I simply poured my power into an ordinary plant and it changed into this…”
Small leaves. A new species I had never encountered in the mortal world. This plant was indeed…
“Mint. Peppermint.”
“Huh?”
Ignoring the puzzled Mente, I placed a leaf in my mouth and chewed. A crisp, refreshing coolness spread across my tongue. A nostalgic scent from the distant past I had not felt in ages.
“You said your name was Mente. I am Hades, god of the underworld.”
“Eh…? Lord Hades…?!”
“Yes. As repayment for awakening a memory I had forgotten, I will grant you one wish.”
I did not make the foolish mistake of swearing on the River Styx. I would grant a reasonable wish within the scope of my ability. Of course, my definition of “reasonable” was rather broad.
Mente’s eyes widened in shock. She waved her hands in panic, her face flushing bright red and then paling again in rapid succession.
“Th-then… um… no… I mean, someone like me has no right to…”
“Take your time thinking. There is no rush.”
“Then…! Please spend a little time with me!”
…Was that truly her wish? With her face burning crimson, the modest, tiny desire she barely managed to voice.
“Was it too rude a request?! U-um… I’m sorry…”
“It’s simple enough. And I would like to give you more than that…”
As a nature spirit and fairy, she would have no need for a blessing of wealth, nor did she seem to harbor any great desires… Ah! A good idea came to me. I could bestow upon her the honor anyone would covet.
“In addition, I shall adopt the plant you created—mint—as my symbol.”
“Wh-what?! Th-that?! It’s far too much…”
Too much? It was the price for awakening memories from my previous life. The reward did not end there.
“From now on, mint will always grow within my temples, and I will spread word among mortals that you are its creator. Foods made with mint will spread across the world, and…”
“Uuuu…”
Mente could no longer speak; her mouth simply opened and closed. Her face, hidden behind both hands, burned as red as Hephaestus’s flames.
I was about to grant her requested reward—a brief walk together—when I sensed the approach of two goddesses. Goddess Lethe and… Goddess Styx?
“Ah, Hades! You were here—huh?”
“We’ve been looking for you… But who is this…?”
The goddesses who approached looked back and forth between my face and Mente’s bright red cheeks. Their expressions gradually stiffened. Ominous divine power rolled from them.
Mente, sensing that power, glanced between me and the goddesses, then…
“Th-this power… G-goddesses? Then that means! I-I’m sorryyyyy!!!”
As if realizing something, she fled on the spot. Hey, if you run away like that, what am I supposed to do?
Should I have caught her and asked her to stay and explain?
The glares from the two goddesses as they slowly walked closer made my chest ache.
“So Hades really is a male god after all…”
“We came out to have fun together, yet he’s already with another woman… and the number keeps growing…”
“…What you two are imagining is absolutely not the case.”
The symbol of Hades shall henceforth be mint.
The nymph Mente who created it shall be known as its mother. Let mint grow in every temple. Let foods made from it spread throughout the mortal world.
A few days after that incident, inside the greatly prospering temple of Hades in Thebes.
The high priest, who had been praying with closed eyes, jumped up in alarm. He struck the bell beside him, and a clear ring echoed through the temple.
“Lord Hades has delivered an oracle! All priests, gather at once!”
“An oracle?! What could the message be this time…”
“Our lord Hades has bestowed his sacred symbol!”
Black divine power swirled at the center of the temple as Hades’ gift arrived. It was the mountain of mint Hades had sent after finally clearing up the misunderstanding with the two goddesses.
The priests stared at the piles of mint leaves and seeds with puzzled eyes.
“This is… a plant we have never seen before… yet the fragrance is incredibly strong.”
“There must be a reason Lord Hades sent it to us…”
“He named it mint after the nymph called Mente who created the plant…”
“Perhaps that nymph performed some great service.”
After pondering for a while, one of the priests spoke. It was Penedea, the next high priestess upon whom Hades had once descended in person.
“Could Lord Hades be showing consideration for the dead and their grieving families?”
“Consideration for the deceased…?”
“If we use this strongly scented mint during funerals to mask the stench of corpses, wouldn’t both the departed and their families feel a little more at peace?”
“Ah! Like the coins we give to the ferryman Charon?!”
Realization dawned on their faces.
“Indeed! No one wants their own family to emit a foul odor after death…”
“Even on their final journey, at least a little comfort…”
“No wonder he sent a plant with such a refreshing scent. O god of mercy…”
The priests offered prayers to the god of mercy who cared for mortals more than anyone else. In that moment, the faith within them deepened further.
Afterward, a custom arose in Thebes: during funerals, people would place mint—the symbol of the merciful god Pluto—between the clothes of the deceased.
And somewhere in the underworld, a certain god felt a strange sensation as his power steadily grew stronger…
‘Did another temple of mine appear in the mortal world besides the one in Thebes?’