The Goddess of Mint, Mente - (2)
The three judges of the underworld, the Minos brothers.
Among them, Minos, who was the king of Crete in his lifetime, looked upon Hades, the lord of the underworld who judges souls.
"I was weaving cloth in Athens to make a living..."
The name of the kneeling sinner was Arachne.
She was the finest weaver in Athens, but she made one grave mistake.
That was to boast that even the goddess of wisdom, Athena, could not weave better than she could.
The goddess of wisdom, the protector of the city-state of Athens, was naturally enraged.
Disguised as an old woman, the goddess of wisdom suggested that Arachne should go to Athena's temple and apologize, but Arachne replied, "I fear no punishment from the goddess Athena, and I can challenge her to a weaving contest directly."
"... Then the goddess Athena revealed her true form."
"They must have had a weaving contest, right?"
Regardless of Arachne's words, the goddess Mnemosyne examined her memories and conveyed them to the lord of the underworld.
Minos also received the shared memories as a judge.
Before the eyes of the people, Arachne and the goddess Athena held a weaving contest.
Arachne depicted Zeus's affairs with various goddesses like Leto and Europa, as well as the misdeeds and scandals of the twelve Olympian gods.
Surprisingly, Arachne's skill was slightly superior to that of the goddess Athena, but because she openly criticized the misdeeds of the Olympian gods... it was only natural that she incurred the goddess's wrath.
Athena transformed Arachne into a spider, forcing her to weave cloth until the end of her days.
This was how Arachne's soul came to the underworld.
Here in the underworld, with the three judges, Hades, right before her, it was quiet, but...
Regardless of right or wrong, Arachne seemed to harbor hatred for Athena, who had turned her into a spider.
The gloomy handsome man, Hades, who had grasped her past, spoke.
"Goddess Mnemosyne, please show us the cloth that Arachne made."
"Understood, Hades."
The goddess of memory read Arachne's memories and created an illusion in the air.
Indeed, as the top weaver who had defeated Athena, the patterns on the cloth were splendid and beautiful, but...
"There are scenes of our gods suffering at the hands of Typhon, and Zeus's scandals... and Dionysus killing the king of Thebes..."
Hades's forehead slightly furrowed as he slowly examined the cloth that laid bare the gods' scandals.
Arachne, who was prostrated before him, seemed frozen, perhaps bracing herself for a severe punishment.
"But why did Hestia criticize her? She did no harm to humans."
"... That is."
"The goddess of the hearth was the foremost deity concerned about the harm to humans during the fight against Typhon. Do you have any excuses?"
"I do not..."
After a moment of contemplation, Hades tapped the armrest of his chair and reached a conclusion.
"Being arrogant because of your skill is not a crime. It is possible not to recognize Athena disguised as an old woman. However, to openly criticize all the gods in a weaving contest against the revealed Athena is wrong."
Arachne, who had braced herself for the lord of the underworld's wrath, looked greatly surprised.
Minos thought to himself.
'Hades is originally this kind of god.
I was also quite taken aback at first.'
The lord of the underworld continued his judgment with a calm demeanor, even in front of the great sinner who had insulted the gods.
If another Olympian god had ruled the underworld, Arachne would have faced severe punishment without a proper trial.
"Of course, one might think that becoming a spider is excessive, but everything you eat and drink was created by us. The olive tree, a specialty of the city of Athens, was a gift bestowed by the goddess of wisdom, and the fact that you could weave cloth every night by the hearth was a grace given by the goddess of the hearth... tsk."
What Minos realized was that the merciful and just god Hades valued fairness above all.
Unlike other gods who weighed the crime of insulting divinity more heavily than the crime of killing a human, he was different.
"I will reduce the punishment you received from Athena in light of your sins. Considering that you have already faced death, your judgment will be..."
Hades, who was careful to exclude emotions even when his kin were insulted, rendered a punishment that was neither excessive nor insufficient.
"Who is the next sinner, Minos?"
"Yes... next is the one who committed suicide in Corinth..."
The lord of the underworld, who was the fairest of all, was indeed a benevolent god worthy of the sincere faith of Minos, who had once been a king.
Finally, today's trial has come to an end.
"Thank you, Hades."
"Minos. You have worked hard as well. Is it Radamanthus's turn to judge tomorrow?"
The middle-aged man, Minos, the judge of the underworld, spoke.
It seemed he had something he wanted to say...
"I heard that the newly appointed goddess wished to come to the underworld herself?"
"Are you talking about Mente? It seems you have met her."
"I heard that she came to the underworld out of admiration for you, Hades. If you have any feelings for her..."
What feelings?
I shook my head at Minos, who suddenly seemed to want to play matchmaker.
"Oh! Hades, do you perhaps have a goddess in mind? Like Goddess Styx or Goddess Lethe...?"
"Are you asking if I intend to take a consort first?"
"Ahem. Everyone knows that both of them are vying for the position of the mistress of the underworld..."
"I am not foolish enough to be unaware of their feelings. It is also ridiculous that I, as one of the three judges, lack popularity with the opposite sex."
Even Poseidon, with his tempestuous nature, and Zeus, who rapes women he fancies, could not be lacking in popularity with the opposite sex, as they were the rulers of a world.
"The problem lies not with them, but with me."
"Yes?"
"I have seen too many mortals who have been raped by gods and sacrificed in love affairs, and it makes me reluctant to marry."
When numerous male gods compete to rape mortals, it often leads to the victims choosing death.
Some even kill their fiancés or husbands to take their wives.
But would goddesses be any different?
Out of jealousy, they might kill human men, turn them into animals, or plunge them into eternal slumber, causing all sorts of chaos.
And those who suffered from the infidelity, love affairs, and rapes of such gods all come to the underworld to lament to me.
The victims often carry deep grudges and, even in the river of forgetfulness, do not lose their memories.
"Just today, four female souls came to the underworld after being raped by gods."
"Ah..."
"And the human men who died simply for being engaged to women coveted by gods..."
I had firmly instructed the gods of the underworld not to touch mortals, and they themselves were too busy to ever do so.
However, the gods belonging to the celestial Olympus or those in the palace of Poseidon under the sea did not follow this rule.
"And all the goddesses are related to me by blood, right? Somehow..."
"From a human perspective, yes, but I thought the gods would not care about such things."
Of course, other gods would not care.
Even Zeus had relations with his mother, sisters, daughters, and cousins.
However, I was somewhat reluctant to engage in blood relations.
Aren't Goddess Styx and Goddess Lethe distant relatives in a way?
"Well then, it seems you will not be marrying for the time being?"
"I suppose so. It’s not something I can avoid..."
Shaking my head and putting down the documents, Minos looked at me with curiosity.
"By the way, the newly born goddess Mente, won't she have a hard time adapting to the affairs of the underworld?"
"Well, she seems confident, so I don't need to worry too much. She will adapt as she goes along."
Originally, humans, nymphs, or gods are creatures that adapt.
And since she had worked as a priestess in the mortal realm...
She should manage just fine.
However, at that moment, the goddess of mint was...
"Goddess Lethe... do I really have to do all of this?"
"Yes..."
She was despairing over the numerous tasks laid out before her.
She had clearly thought she would rise to the glorious position of a goddess and serve beside the handsome Hades...
"But do I really have to handle all this paperwork by myself?"
"That's just for one day..."
"....#@#$#!!!!!"
Having become the goddess of mint, she thought she would manage mint or perhaps use her powers to help spread mint throughout the world.
But...
"The underworld is busy. Didn't you know that when you applied...?"
"Is... is it really this much?"
As she cautiously lifted a scroll of parchment, the contents written there were far too much to finish in a single day.
Managing the souls residing in the underworld and allocating living spaces for the souls that arrive daily.
The sequential reincarnation process for the deceased waiting for judgment in the fortress.
Final decision-making authority regarding the maintenance and construction of various roads and buildings in the vast underworld.
Mediating disputes among the deceased and preparing for the Gigantes...
Even at a glance, these were not tasks suitable for the goddess of mint!
Mente, who was silently screaming inside, grasped her trembling hands and spoke to Goddess Lethe.
"Um... I am the goddess of mint..."
"...? Yes, I am the goddess of forgetfulness."
The goddess of forgetfulness replied with a tilted head, as if asking what the problem was, and Mente froze in place.
Passing by Mente, who realized the harsh reality of the underworld, the silver-haired goddess murmured just loud enough to hear.
"If you can't handle this much, Hades won't even glance at you, let alone take you as a consort..."
"Ha! Of course, I can finish it quickly!"
"Oh... really? Then please take care of this too..."
Thud.
Thud.
It was certainly not because she liked Hades that Goddess Lethe was taking revenge on her... was it?
Receiving the scrolls flying through the air due to the power of forgetfulness...
The goddess of mint thought so.