The Hero Had a Plan (Bonus Chapter)

"Child, Hades didn't give you any trouble, did he? If he bullied you, you must tell Mother!

"If he bullies you, he's bullying my little Clotho! I'll teach him a lesson." Nyx held Thaumas in her arms and spoke with heartache.

"Goddess Nyx, don't worry. Lord Hades is actually a kind god! He may look fierce, but after I knelt and admitted my mistake, he was willing to forgive me!" Thaumas quietly slipped in a bit of self-serving embellishment.

"What? He actually made you kneel? How outrageous! Why are the younger gods all so thoughtless? Not one of them is as adorable as my little Clotho!"

Nyx was currently dissatisfied with the King of the Underworld.

"It's all right. I've already been forgiven, but I still need to do something to earn the King of the Underworld's forgiveness!"

That was what Thaumas said. Having finished filing his complaint, he had also forgiven the King of the Underworld's cold treatment. Now, he only needed to offer a sacrifice to obtain the god's forgiveness.

Moreover, he already had a fairly complete plan.

"Then, child, have you figured out what to do? Do you need Mother's help?" Nyx lovingly stroked Thaumas's head. The young man nestled in the night's embrace like a kitten.

"No need, Goddess Nyx. I'm grateful for your help, but I already have an idea. If necessary, I won't be stingy with the power of night," Thaumas said softly.

By the way, Goddess Nyx's embrace was really warm! She truly felt like a mother, caring for her child in every possible way.

It had been so long since he had felt such warmth. Hera's embrace seemed to feel like this too?

It was the scent of a mother!

It was so reassuring.

"Oh, right, child. Didn't Hades only give you seven days? Am I disturbing you right now? Do you need me to say a few words and get you an extension?" Nyx suddenly grew worried.

"It's fine. Today, I want to rest properly! One day isn't that long."

That arrow had drained far too much of his mind, yet Thaumas had endured until now.

"Mm. Sleep. Get some proper rest! When you wake tomorrow morning, you'll begin the next leg of your journey." Nyx gently rocked Thaumas as if soothing a baby, lulling him to sleep.

Work hard again tomorrow, our great hero!

"Hey, Griffin! Long time no see. Sorry for making you stay nearby for so many days!"

Griffin affectionately rubbed against Thaumas like an old friend reunited after a long separation, its two wings flapping excitedly.

Then it ran off and returned with a horse in its beak, tossing it at Thaumas's feet as it cried out eagerly.

"Griffin, how many times have I told you? Don't do this! I don't like horsemeat! And it's raw. How am I supposed to eat this?" Thaumas looked at Griffin resentfully. He truly wanted to crack open that big head and see how its brain had grown.

But Griffin immediately shook its head, excitedly gesturing with its wings and claws.

"What? So you wanted me to roast the meat for you! I thought you were giving it to me."

After hearing that, Griffin thought for a moment, then lightly patted Thaumas's shoulder with its wing, looking very generous as though saying, "I'll share some with you once it's cooked."

"All right, all right, but you have to come help me with something first!" Thaumas nodded, agreeing to Griffin's request, then added,

"If we succeed, how about you catch the food, I roast it, and we eat together? Consider it a little compensation for making you stay here these past few days."

"Wuh—! Wuh-chi!" Griffin cried out confidently.

"Then I'll leave it to you! Let's go find Goddess Athena first!" Thaumas said with a smile.

"No need to look. I've been here all along!" Purple hair and golden eyes—it was this goddess!

"Huh? When did Goddess Athena get here?" Thaumas was a little surprised.

"Wuh?" Griffin blinked its large eyes, equally confused.

"I am the Goddess of Wisdom to heroes! As long as you need me, Thaumas, I will answer your call. Well? Aren't I far better than Hera? Do you want to turn instead to wisdom's embrace?" Athena suddenly said excitedly.

"I'm sorry, Goddess Athena. I've already said that I will never abandon my faith!" Thaumas replied.

"Tch! How boring! Then why did you call for me?" Athena was currently unhappy.

Then why did you answer him? You're just as contradictory. You two really are quite a match.

"Of course, it's because I want to ask the Goddess of Wisdom for help!"

"Mm!" Athena's eyes lit up. "Asking a god for help comes at a price. You do know that, don't you?"

"Of course. I'll agree to one reasonable request from the goddess." Thaumas nodded.

"But you still owe me an offering!" Athena retorted, though nothing could hide the excitement in her eyes.

The offering Athena spoke of was the price of wisdom guiding a hero forward, though Athena did not yet wish to receive that gift so soon.

"But, Goddess of Wisdom, you'll still accept this unredeemed gift voucher, won't you? After all, wisdom has already told me the answer." Thaumas spoke confidently.

"After all, this is another offering for you. Would you really refuse it?" Thaumas had Athena's personality completely figured out.

"Then I'll accept it. However, after this, you're not allowed to do anything else. You must help me with something first!" Athena agreed to Thaumas's proposal.

"Of course!" Thaumas replied.

"Then what do you need me to help you with, child? Speak boldly! I will help you!" Athena said happily.

"I would like to ask you, Goddess, to introduce me to Goddess Demeter!" Thaumas made his request.

"Mm, then you intend to...?" Athena's wisdom had already allowed her to guess.

"That's right. I'm going to bring life to the Underworld!"

At this point in time, something had apparently gone wrong somewhere, causing Hades not to seize Persephone by force.

Persephone should have been the goddess representing grain seeds, but before marrying Hades, she had existed only as a subordinate goddess of Demeter.

According to the Commentary on the Heroic Poems, Persephone's brothers—Hermes, Ares, Apollo, and Hephaestus—had all lain with her. Demeter then hid her deep in the mountains, cutting off her contact with the other gods.

Perhaps that was why some things had changed.

Legend had it that—

As the Queen of the Underworld, Persephone displayed mercy only once.

She was deeply moved by Orpheus's song and agreed to let Orpheus bring his wife Eurydice back to the world of the living.

But Persephone imposed a harsh condition: Eurydice had to walk behind Orpheus, and before the two reached the surface, Orpheus was not permitted to turn around and look at Eurydice even once.

Orpheus agreed, but just as they were about to return to the world of the living, he could not resist turning back to see whether his wife was following behind him. As a result, he lost his wife forever.

But now it seemed that the story of taking pity on Orpheus belonged to Hades's version, because Hades and Persephone had not yet met.

Perhaps they had already met, but Hades had not plotted to abduct Persephone as he had originally.

In other words—

The current Underworld had no garden of Persephone!

This was the opportunity!