Since there was no tributary of the river near Persephone’s field, the only answer seemed to be to make a well.

No, to be precise, she ‘thought’ making a well was the only answer.

But…

‘A fountain would be a different story.’

The Healing Spring.

The fountain said to be an experimental creation of Asclepius, the god of medicine.

The existence of that fountain meant that the god of medicine was capable of artificially diverting water courses.

‘And diverting water courses means creating separate waterways.’

With irrigation channels, it would be easy to control the water going into the fields.

For crops that need a lot of water, one could make holes in the sides of the channels to let water pool in the furrows, and for those that don’t, one could carefully block the channels.

Especially since most crops cry out for more water when they’re flowering or bearing fruit, it would be perfect to frequently draw water from nearby channels and infuse it with divine power.

In any case, creating waterways was a more profitable venture than digging a well in many ways.

‘Besides, the fountain I saw then wasn’t dirty at all.’

This meant that the Healing Spring was well-maintained, indicating that Asclepius visited the place regularly.

So if she went to the Healing Spring, she could meet Asclepius, its creator, and learn from him how to build efficient waterways.

Persephone walked into the forest where she had seen the Healing Spring without hesitation.

She made a simple cloak using nearby grass and branches, then put it over her head.

It was to protect herself from wild animals she might encounter while roaming the forest.

Thus perfectly disguised, she hid near the Healing Spring.

How much time had passed?

Soon, an old man walked out near the Healing Spring.

The old man had a staff in his hand.

Unlike Hermes’ caduceus with two snakes coiled around it, this staff was adorned with only one snake.

It was Asclepius.

“Hmm…”

He stroked his white beard as he walked towards the fountain. Then he bent over, seemingly checking its condition by pouring water over it.

Persephone’s face instantly lit up with joy, thinking she could get advice on irrigation systems.

“Hello!”

She sprang forward like a roe deer.

Asclepius’s head snapped up. His gaze immediately fixed on Persephone.

“I’m Persephone, daughter of Demeter. Are you perhaps Asclepius?”

“…”

“Asclepius?”

“…”

“Hello-?”

Asclepius just stared at her without even blinking, frozen in place.

Persephone tilted her head.

It was then that she let out a foolish “Oh.”

She was still wearing her grass clothes.

Splash!

“Ugh!”

Asclepius, hit by cold water, opened his eyes wide.

He looked around cautiously like a grumpy old man, and then.

“Gasp!”

He was startled once more upon seeing Persephone staring at him, having thrown off her grass clothes.

Asclepius pointed at Persephone.

“Did you perhaps see a monster around here? You know, a strange life form wrapped in grass.”

“I was that strange life form.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake!”

Asclepius shouted again.

He got up in a hurry and started running at full speed, like someone who had discovered a hornet in a beehive.

“Ah, of course, I’ve just shed that strange life form’s shell, but… Hey, where are you going! You should listen to people till the end!”

Persephone got up awkwardly, waving her hands.

While carefully steal- no, picking up the staff he had left behind in the grass.

Being the god of medicine, he seemed to value his life dearly. Well, it’s good that he has a proper respect for life.

“Come on, you’re making such a fuss over a little prank!”

The young-bodied Persephone laughed as she ran towards the creaking old man.

“You probably didn’t hear because you fainted! I’m also the daughter of Demeter, the earth goddess!”

As Persephone shouted her identity with all her might, Asclepius, who had been making an impromptu trap, stopped abruptly.

He turned around with a dubious face.

“Gaia’s, no, Demeter’s daughter, you say?”

“Yes.”

Persephone answered simply.

“Here, I have my nameplate too.”

As she pulled out a gold-plated nameplate from her bosom, Asclepius, recognizing it, softened his stance a bit.

“…Really?”

“I’ll swear by the River Styx.”

Only then did the old man’s bushy eyebrows slowly return to a straight line.

“It must be true. But I hadn’t heard that the earth goddess had given birth to a daughter.”

“I’m a goddess born after the war.”

“I see…”

Asclepius nodded as if he roughly understood.

Persephone handed him the staff she had been holding, just in case.

“You had my staff?”

“Ah, yes. I picked it up for you?”

Persephone tried to take credit as she handed him the staff.

Asclepius frowned deeply.

“…You weren’t trying to steal it?”

“Come on, I’m not Hermes. I was holding onto it in case you lost it. I had no intention of stealing it.”

“Or were you planning to hold the staff hostage?”

How did he know?

As expected of an intellectual, he’s quick-witted. Persephone shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.

“I just wanted to talk with Asclepius.”

Asclepius, who was about to get angry, cleared his throat, seemingly embarrassed about having shown such a strange sight.

He threw a question at Persephone.

“So, why is Demeter’s daughter here?”

“Are you asking why I’m in this forest?”

“No, I’m asking why you’re in the Underworld. Do you have some business with me? If so, leave quickly.”

Are there still gods who don’t know I’m in the Underworld? No, more importantly, shouldn’t I leave if I don’t have business?

As Persephone thought this, Asclepius turned his head abruptly.

“Leave even if you don’t have business!”

…What a difficult old man.

‘How do I break through this wall?’

It seems I need to find a way to win over this talented individual somehow.

Persephone pondered for a moment.

Asclepius seemed to be a very cautious god. Judging by his living in the forest, he probably dislikes meeting other people too…

‘Come to think of it, he seemed to value his own life quite highly earlier.’

If so, would he value others’ lives as well?

Persephone decided to take a gamble. Pointing to where they had run from, she said:

“Actually, I got trapped in the Underworld because of that fountain over there.”

“…What?”

“I heard that Asclepius made it, so I wanted to meet you.”

Asclepius’s eyes wavered at the cheerful response.

Persephone began to explain, appropriately ‘summarizing’ the process of how she entered the Underworld and got trapped here.

“Ah, of course, I don’t resent Asclepius for being trapped in the Underworld!”

She smiled genuinely as if she had no intention of making him feel uncomfortable.

“It’s just that I was chased by a dark monster on the surface. I got some injuries because of that monster, but fortunately, that Healing Spring was there to protect me.”

“How did it protect you?”

“Well…”

Persephone pretended to ponder, rolling her eyes, then raised her index finger vertically.

“The fact that I wasn’t crushed and burst by the monster, but came to the Underworld with an intact body like this?”

“…”

“Honestly, I got off cheap! I think I was lucky to have immersed myself in the Healing Spring. My internal organs didn’t even burst. It’s better than not being able to die and suffering, right?”

Asclepius’s eyes shook violently and even started spinning.

“So… you’re saying you’re irrevocably imprisoned in the Underworld?”

Persephone blinked.

After silently observing Asclepius’s expression, she smiled as innocently as possible.

“Yes, if we’re being precise, it’s because of you, Asclepius! But I really am fine!”

Persephone’s guilt-tripping technique!

“…Oh, for heaven’s sake…”

The effect was tremendous!

Asclepius’s face rapidly darkened. His thin voice flowed out from between the hands covering his face.

“…Is life here bearable?”

“I lose my appetite a bit, faint, and feel nauseous, but it’s okay. It’s manageable.”

Now Asclepius was trembling like a cicada.

“…I see.”

He nodded, sighing deeply.

“Then, have you come to me seeking compensation?”

“Hmm, not quite compensation. Just a favor.”

“What is it?”

Persephone, now certain that her plan had worked, smiled even more broadly.

“Will you become my technician?”

Highest respect for life. Hooray for Hippocrates!

Persephone, carrying Asclepius who had nodded at her request to become her technician, ran to the field in one breath.

“No…”

Sisyphus, seeing this sight, pointed at the half-enlightened Asclepius.

“Don’t tell me you’ve brought the god of medicine?”

“Oh, that’s right.”

“My goodness…”

Sisyphus was astonished.

Asclepius, regardless of what Sisyphus was saying, was in a dazed state—he seemed shocked that he, the god of medicine, had turned a living god into an underworld being—and let their conversation go in one ear and out the other.

Persephone got straight to the point with Asclepius.

“Asclepius, this is my field!”

Asclepius, finally coming to his senses, pressed his eyelids firmly.

“…I see, it’s a field. So?”

“When you made the Healing Spring, you used waterways, right?”

“That’s right. I used clay pipes to draw water to the fountain and maintain it.”

Asclepius carefully examined Persephone’s domain. After observing the surroundings from top to bottom, he abruptly asked.

“Do you perhaps need waterways?”

“Huh, how did you know?”

“I thought it strange that there’s light and wind, but no water.”

“Then this will be quick. Can you install waterways in the field?”

“Hmm, how specifically?”

“Like the fountain, can you make water spray up from the middle of the field?”

What Persephone had in mind was a water pipe bursting through the middle of the field.

Yes, it was what humans in the distant future would call a ‘sprinkler’.