The Goddess of Mint and Thebes - (3)
"The Lord of the Underworld, who should be the fairest of all, is in truth a clumsy god who wavers like this from time to time. Has your illusion of me been shattered a little, Mente?"
"No, no... not at all. The Hades-nim I know is..."
Mente stammered, desperately trying to deny Hades' words. The Hades she had seen was truly a god among gods. Unlike the other Olympians, he was a compassionate deity who looked after mortals and delivered fair judgments. He was like a father to all the souls who reached death. But now that she knew the inner thoughts he had revealed to her, something welled up in her eyes. Even the iron-blooded Lord of the Underworld had such worries. How hard must he have worked to hide these feelings from everyone until now? The mere thought made Mente's heart feel as though it would tear apart.
The one who gently wiped away the sorrow flowing from her eyes while caressing her tear-streaked face. Hades, who had been smiling softly, reached out and placed his hand on the back of her neck.
'Ah... wait a moment... this is... surely not a kiss?'
Mente was a virgin goddess with no experience with men. As a nymph, she had no interest in males, and after becoming Hades' priestess, no one had dared to touch her. Once she became a minor goddess of the Underworld... she had been treated, implicitly, as his concubine. As the thing she had only known through knowledge now happened to her, her heartbeat grew louder and louder. Then the Lord of the Underworld, whom she revered, spoke.
"You are the one who holds me back from time to time."
"M-me...?"
"Yes. Whenever I think of you and remember the scent of mint... I find myself reflecting on my actions."
Ah. How kind he was. Such sweet words— even Apollo's whispers could not sound more honeyed.
"And I am always grateful to you for creating mint, and I feel indebted to you."
"A-and...? Is there more...?"
"...It seems I feel the same way about you."
Thump. The same feeling. This meant... Hades' hand on the back of her neck slowly tightened. As if enchanted by a siren's song, Mente's body drew closer to him. His handsome face, like a sculpture carved by Pygmalion, slowly approached... and finally, their lips met.
"Hah..."
A fleeting kiss, like a dream.
* * *
After the brief kiss ended, Hades looked at Mente's face as she stood dazed, unable to come to her senses. The Goddess of Mint wore a dreamy expression, as though she were still lost in a dream while standing still.
"Heh... heheh..."
"Mente? Are you all right..."
"One more time... just one more time, Hades-nim!"
Peck.
"Mmph. Wait, hold on..."
"J-just a little more...!"
After pushing away the excited woman who had thrown herself at him, Hades touched his lips. An old man leaning on a staff clicked his tongue as he passed by, watching them.
"Hah... indecent love displayed so shamelessly in the street... Tsk. Move aside, the both of you."
So the perception-hiding effect had worn off because he kissed Mente... Judging by the "indecent love" comment, the old man must be a philosopher. But wait—did that mean same-sex love, which was considered "pure," was acceptable in the streets? Ha... If he really had to punish Thebes...
"...Why did this culture spread?"
Ahem... No. Even now, the scent of mint coming from Mente, who was clinging to his side, was calming him with the fragrance of his previous life. Once he returned to the Underworld, he would issue an oracle to put an end to this... After that, he spent time wandering around Thebes with Mente. He fed her skewers from street stalls, tucked mint leaves into each other's hair... It was truly a joyful time. Every time he saw Mente's smile, the fatigue from his duties in the Underworld seemed to melt away. After wandering through every corner of Thebes until evening and returning to the Underworld, the first thing Hades did was...
"...So you're the high priest of my temple now?"
"Hurk... Lord Hades! For what reason have you sought me out!"
It was to change the strange culture that had spread through Thebes. Next, he contacted Morpheus and had him convey his will to the king ruling Thebes, then asked other gods for help in sending oracles to the mortal realm.
"So, they practice homosexuality? Then the number of humans being born anew will decrease, won't it..."
"Thanks to Lord Zeus bringing that human boy... Ganymede, was it? Perhaps that's why."
"...If Lord Hades says so, I will inform my followers as well."
With a lighter heart, Hades drifted off to sleep for a while. Though sleep was not essential for immortal gods, it was a good hobby for calming the mind. However, while the Lord of the Underworld slept, chaos erupted in Thebes above. Because oracles had arrived from Pluto, the chief god of Thebes, and all manner of Underworld deities.
"Lord Hades has... expressed deep concern regarding 'true love between men'!"
"...Why?"
"Surely Lord Zeus also encourages true love, does he not?"
"Seeing that the Lord of the Underworld thinks differently, it must be that the gods hold differing opinions..."
"We must have been mistaken about something...!"
Most of Thebes' people were originally followers of Pluto to begin with. The words of the high priest of Pluto's temple spread throughout Thebes in an instant.
"If we don't follow the oracle, will we suffer some disadvantage after death?"
"No... but still, he is the god of mercy..."
"Have you forgotten Pluto's other name? Hades, King of the Underworld... ahem."
"It's not as if everyone who engages in homosexuality will be sent to Tartarus, right?"
The pride of Thebes, the Sacred Band, was immediately disbanded that very day. The king, who had received an oracle from Morpheus in his dreams the previous night, had foamed at the mouth in a frenzy. Whatever oracle he had experienced in his dream, when the king summoned his ministers, he declared...
"Disband the Sacred Band at once! A law forbidding love between men shall also be issued in the name of the royal family..."
"Y-Your Majesty! That is... the philosophers..."
"Throw all those damned philosophers into prison! Their crime is spreading nonsense throughout Thebes and angering Lord Pluto!"
Fortunately, thanks to the ministers' dissuasion, no philosophers were actually arrested, but their influence greatly diminished. After all, no mortal wished to incur the wrath of one of the three chief gods and the patron deity of Thebes. Especially since not only Hades but all the other gods he had asked for help had also sent oracles.
"The Goddess Lethe, the Goddess Styx, the God Hypnos, and all manner of other deities have sent oracles to their followers..."
"Was the Sphinx's appearance in Thebes long ago also because they incurred divine wrath?"
"Then because of the Sacred Band... does that mean another monster like the Sphinx will appear in Thebes again?"
"A monster would be fortunate! Do you know what punishment you'll receive after death?"
"It was wrong to interpret the gods' will as we pleased. The tale of Lord Zeus and Ganymede was merely one example..."
"Honestly, I never liked that Sacred Band to begin with."
"Haa... I suppose I'll have to keep a tighter rein on my household. We can't afford to offend Lord Pluto."
Thebes underwent a great change overnight.
* * *
After finishing his date with Mente and easing his accumulated fatigue through sleep, Hades checked on the situation in the mortal realm. As he focused his mind to see whether the people of Thebes had properly interpreted the oracle he had sent the previous day...
"Those damned philosopher bastards! If I can't rest in peace even after death because of you lot, will you take responsibility?"
"What? Male love is true love? What nonsense..."
"The ones who put strange ideas into His Majesty's head and created the Sacred Band are strutting around..."
Thud. Crash!
"Is the reason Lord Pluto said this isn't true love because he rules the Underworld?"
"It seems he's worried humans won't have descendants. Because of his merciful divine aspect..."
"Perhaps it's because he fell in love with Lady Persephone after being struck by Eros' arrow?"
"What?! You... were you part of the faction supporting Lady Persephone as the Lady of the Underworld?! How dare you ignore the Goddess of Oaths, Lady Styx!"
"Ha! How much has the Goddess of Forgetfulness done for us Thebans..."
There were groups cursing the philosophers who had supported homosexuality, others sitting in the square speculating about the intentions of Hades, the god of the Underworld... and even a collective assault on one philosopher who had most ardently championed love between men. The fact that the philosopher in question was apparently homosexual himself was something Hades would rather not have known... Even the soldiers dispatched from the royal palace merely stood by and watched the violence without taking any action. When he listened to the soldiers' conversations...
"We won't interfere. We might incur divine punishment if we help someone who's earned Lord Pluto's displeasure."
"But Captain, I believe the merciful god wouldn't do such a thing. He cares for mortals more than anyone..."
"You fool! This is the first time Lord Pluto has ever issued an oracle directly concerning Thebes' culture!"
"Still..."
"Since the god who never interfered in human affairs has become angry, those fellows won't have it easy even after death."
Hmm, more talk about the gods of the Underworld. While his aspect as the god of mercy was widely known, it was clearly because of the oracle that directly interfered with their culture. This oracle could be considered a minor mistake. Even while knowing there were many humans who would distort the gods' will, he had made such an error— it seemed he had imposed his personal likes and dislikes too strongly. He would have to properly convey his true intentions through the high priest once more...
A short while later, a new oracle descended upon Thebes. Upon hearing the news from Pluto's temple, the people of Thebes reacted swiftly.
"This is Lord Pluto's new oracle! While Lord Pluto does not personally look favorably upon love between men, he has clearly stated that assaulting or exiling them solely for that reason is a sin!"
"That's right. I tried to stop them, but..."
"See? I told you. Since Lord Pluto is also the god of mercy, we should exercise restraint in our actions..."
"Still, since he doesn't approve of that form of love, let's be careful."
"Of course. After all, Thebes' god is Pluto, isn't he?"
Those who heard the oracle first felt relief. It seemed the god called the Merciful One had not been greatly enraged after all. Thereafter, a custom of slight wariness toward homosexuals took root in Thebes, along with a culture that viewed those who fell into such love as pitiful victims of Eros' mischief.