#654 The Twelve Penances-Egypt and Naraka’s Section

Lord Enma and Anubis?!

They’re otherworldly gods summoned by Sensei to help construct the graduation exam.

“...Twelve substitutes for the twelve trials. The quota is four trials per deity, divided among the three of us.”

“The first, second, and fourth trials were Odin’s responsibility. He has fulfilled three out of four of them, leaving the ninth trial—Retrieving the Elf Queen’s Girdle—his last one. Hel, the queen of the underworld, is disguised as the Elf Queen in that trial!”

“Which means we’re on the center stage for the remaining nine trials!”

Really, why are they so motivated?

At first, I thought they were just summoned to our world to do some strange things for the exam, but maybe they’re the type to enjoy themselves like they’re at a festival?!

“I’ve been waiting for this moment! The fifth trial is under my jurisdiction!”

Enthusiastically, Lord Enma declares it’s his turn.

“The fifth trial is ‘Cleaning the Stables.’ Hercules himself finished this in one day!”

“Huh.”

Isn’t the difficulty level suddenly dropping, especially considering how the initial trials went?

The first, second, and fourth trials involved engaging in a bloody feud with ferocious beasts.

This time, it has a homey feel to it...!

“Has Hera perhaps run out of ideas?”

“You might think so...but I hear the stables had not been cleaned for thirty years.”

“Thirty years?!”

“Plus, I think there were three thousand oxen there. Naturally, it’s covered in dung. It’s not an environment people can step in. Even the hero of yore found it challenging to clean it up, brilliance or splendor of the trial aside.”

Unbelievable!

I clean up my horse stable and chicken coop on my farm every day!

Otherwise, Sakamoto (the horse) and Yoshamo (the chicken) who live there would get angry.

Above all, there’s absolutely no benefit in keeping one’s dwelling unclean, as it becomes a breeding ground for disease.

This is the most fundamental principle in animal husbandry, yet some people seem to lack the proper mindset to raise and care for their livestock!

“Oh, the Saint is offended...!”

“Of course, Lord Saint cannot condone neglect towards agricultural and livestock products.”

Absolutely!

We must have compassion towards the things we raise and look after!

“W-Well, in this case, we’re just replicating the difficulty as a test, so the livestock’s condition is irrelevant.”

Thank goodness.

That means there won’t be any mistreated animals in an unsanitary dwelling!

“In the world I oversee, there was one similar environment, so I transferred the entire area inside the pyramid. It’s called Kunapa.”

“Pardon?”

“In the corner of the shallowest layer of hell is an endless pit filled with boiling excrement. Oh, and melted copper.”

“Hell?!” 

It’s hell, apparently.

“Sinners who have committed crimes are submerged and punished. I have decided to assign the task of cleaning this area to Sensei’s esteemed students. It is akin to Hercules’ task of cleaning the stables.”

“The difficulty of the trial skyrocketed again!”

At the very least, I don’t think the dung in the stable Hercules cleaned was boiling and melting with copper mixed in!

“Oh, and be careful with the excrement and urine, as there are insects with diamond-hard beaks. They peck at and eat away the flesh of the dead and inflict further agony. It’s a tool for causing even more suffering.”

“Forget about the difficulty; this trial has become a matter of life and death!”

“It’s the first level of hell, so the level of suffering is relatively low.”

“No way!”

It’s as shocking as being told that it’s the Four Heavenly Kings’ ‘weakest’ member.

I don’t want to end up in hell and endure such agony! I gotta be careful with how I behave!

But...

How are the students responding to this hellish scene as seen from the screen?

“O, water spirit, bring moisture and purity to this corner!” chants a student, using water magic to wash away the hell of excrement.

As expected! They’re applying Sensei’s lessons!

“Whoa! There are some weird insects here! They’re creepy!!!”

“Don’t worry! We learned about this in class. We can use the mentsuyu trap to catch them all at once!”

“Even if they’re insects, they can’t resist this trap!”

“Hey, what about the dead souls being carried away by the current?”

“Let them get washed away. If they’re in hell, they must be bad people anyway.”

With such efficient and quick actions, the hellish scene is cleaned up in no time!

After about an hour, the venue, which looked like a garbage dump, became squeaky clean.

Well done, everyone! 

Your experience cleaning livestock sheds on our farm paid off!

“Mm! They pass!” praises Lord Enma, satisfied with the students’ performance.

* * *

“The next trial is under my jurisdiction!” boasts Anubis.

He’s already a criminal for building the pyramid, so I don’t think he’s in a position to be making merry right now...

“The sixth trial entails defeating a vicious bird with bronze wings, beaks, and claws. Hercules boasted of shooting them all down with his bow and arrows. Since animals are gods in our world, everyone has some sort of animal symbol!” 

Isn’t his turn kind of late for that? 

“I’ve called upon the King of the Gods, Horus, as our representative for the bird trial!” 

Um...

I’m too shocked to even scream at this point.

“Please don’t just casually summon your gods’ king like that.”

But I’ll at least declare my protest.

“Horus is the legitimate successor of Osiris, ruler of the gods! He’s also a god of war who fought the evil god Seth for eighty years!” 

“Like I said, you shouldn’t be calling such a great god for a mere exam...”

“He’s the god who symbolizes falcons! So I thought he fits the role of the monster bird.”

I beg you, apologize to the king of your gods!

That aside, the falcon that carries the sun on its back is fast and dazzling, making it quite a challenge for the students. 

In the pyramid, which had turned into a dungeon with warped space, there was enough room for the god falcon to fly around freely.

Using their numerical advantage, the students defeated Horus with a myriad of arrows and ranged magic.

Despite that, Horus got back up as if nothing had happened.

The students, full of confidence after clearing the sixth trial, march on.

They’re halfway through the exam already. 

They’re surprisingly making good progress.

...Hm? Why do I feel like we’re forgetting something?

“Good job out there... The mortals in this world are full of life, huh?” 

“We greatly appreciate your cooperation. You’ve done your part, so you can return home now.”

Huh? That bluntly?

But Fenrir and Midgardsormr, who have completed their role in their respective trials, are just slacking off at the corner.

“What? If possible, I’d like to see the rest of the trials through since I’m already here and all.”

Even Horus, the god, seems perplexed at the sudden request to leave.

“But as a chief god, the world could fall into chaos if you’re absent for too long.”

“But Odin’s another chief god, yet he’s just frolicking around!” 

Oh yeah, where is Odin, and what is he doing?

Ah, there he is. 

He’s wallowing in the joy of playing with Pochi and the other animals.

“F-Fine...! You want me to go home, right? You lot, I swear...” 

Horus, pushed from behind, unreluctantly returns to his realm.

“...Is he gone?”

“Yes... With this, we can begin the third trial!”

Hm?

Oh, I remember what that nagging feeling was earlier.

Of the twelve trials, the third one was postponed.

Why is that?

“The third of Hercules’ twelve labors was to capture the divine deer of Ceryneia. He engaged in a desperate pursuit to catch it to harness it to the chariot of the moon goddess Artemis.”

“Do we have a substitute for it?”

“It posed quite the challenge for us. There weren’t many deer in other worlds with powers comparable to a god. So, I had no choice but...”

“But...?”

“But to invite my world’s worst god of war, Seth.”

And there appears a god who truly emanates a calamitous aura.

Invited from the world of Anubis and his comrades, this god’s appearance is...uh...?

He’s indeed an animal, but it’s hard to discern his form.

It’s both beastly and bird-like.

“Lord Seth is a god whose symbolic animal is uncertain, and there are various opinions on it. One of them is the donkey, so I thought he could play the role of the deer.”

“But donkeys and deer are different.”

“They’re both ungulates, right?”

“Donkeys are odd-toed ungulates.”

Somehow, an evil god was summoned for a vague reason.

“More importantly, the problem with Lord Seth is that he is Horus’ archenemy. When two gods meet face to face, it always leads to a disastrous mythical war, so I had him hide until Horus returned.”

“Well, I did a lot of things too. I shredded his father and scattered his parts across the country. Even courted his mother.”

“You truly are a horrible being, Lord Seth.”

“Just so you know, Anubis, you’re the child conceived after that bastard’s father had an affair with my wife.”  

Their love-hate relationship sure is messy...!

Since the two gods fought over the throne, they didn’t want them to meet, huh? So that’s why they postponed the trial and promptly sent Horus back after his task was done...

“I found you, Sethhhhhhhhhh!!!”

Horus is back?!

“I thought I sensed your presence, and you really are hereeeee! I will crush you this timeeee!!!”

“Ahhhhhhhh! Do you have a radar on you or something to be able to sense my presence even from far awayyyyyyyyy?!”

In the end, Seth was found by Horus, and a violent mythical war broke out, canceling the third trial for good.