I Became a Slave to a Mythical Shepherd

Episode 64. dolon (2)

“Dolon!”

A voice that cannot be heard is heard. Quickly, Dolon realizes that the scene in front of him is a dream.

he is a child A six or seven-year-old child who doesn’t run out of breath easily even when he runs fast, and is full of energy even though he laughs all day long.

Dolon plucks the flowers of the field and arranges them on the stones. Weave them round to make a corolla.

I put it on my head and think that it fits my mother’s head only if it’s around my ears.

Soon, Dolon, who made a wreath of marigolds shining golden, proudly runs to her mother.

I’m going to talk about how many times I twisted and untwisted the stems of the flowers, and how hard I struggled to adjust the length to fit my mother’s hair.

However, her mother is not where she usually sits.

The stump, covered with green moss to fit the hem of her mother’s blue skirt, was empty.

Anxiety creeps into the child’s mind at the thought of losing his mother. Even if you look around, there is only a field of marigolds in full bloom and an empty stump.

“Little boy.”

Suddenly, a low, thick, somewhat mocking voice came from behind.

A shadow falls on the side from which the voice is heard. The owner of the voice stood blocking the sun.

Dolon feels a moment of unknown fear.

never look back

“Are you looking for your mother? Do you want to see Uncle?”

don’t even answer

“I am Hercules, son of Alcmene. What do you have in your hand? Did you get it for your mother? peculiar guy. Look back.”

Dolon’s shrunken body trembles with near-instinct fear. A strange voice from behind finally spoke.

“Turn around. Don’t all the kids of Ilios listen like this?”

he turned around

Hercules’ face is not visible. Of course. I’ve never met him in real life, so I don’t see him in my dreams.

But the face on the head he is holding is so familiar… that even each hair on his eyebrows is clearly discernible.

“Quaaa!!!”

waking up from a nightmare

With trembling hands, he fumbled for a spot. Awakened by his screams, his wife hugged him and brought him a water bowl.

“Poor man… Here I am…”

The voice of his wife calms Dolon’s breath.

He gulps down his mouthful and pretends to wipe his mouth with a nearby towel, even wiping his tear-stained eyes.

“…”

But his throat was still choked and he couldn’t speak.

After calming down, the bird sings. The nightmare of the previous day and the burning desire for revenge against the Achaeans are washed away little by little.

It’s morning.

With a knocking sound outside the door, the servant delivers the news without opening the door.

“Dolon, this is urgent news.”

“……Kuh, keuhum, what?”

“Prince Hector and Prince Paris have returned home.”

***

Very strong cheers, requests for countless handshakes pouring down on me and Hector.

We barely entered the palace after passing through praises such as ‘the fear of mermaids’ and ‘monster slayers’.

After a forced march for several days, I wanted to rest right away when I arrived, but unfortunately, there was someone calling.

Hector and I enter the throne room.

And Priam and Anchises, clearly tired, sat down to greet us.

···what? It’s me and Hector who came back from work, but why do you look more tired over there?

“Hey guys, did your journey to glory and pleasure go well? It must have been really fun… really.”

“Anchises-sama, did you say ‘It must have been fun’? Do you know how many times we’ve been through fights to the death?”

“Oh, you risked your life?”

“yes. You should have received it in advance.”

“That’s right, but hearing it like this is new. I really risked my life for this.”

“of course.”

Anchises’ eyes widen.

“Then… it must have been ‘really’ fun. You’re still young and don’t know what the joy of life is. Fighting at the risk of one’s life is the most fun.”

Saying that, Anchises tapped a small wooden box next to him and poured the contents of it onto the table.

Clay balls, wooden planks, and innumerable letters written on scraps of cloth.

Judging by the size and the form of the code used to write the contents, they are absolutely not public. Perhaps it is the content of intelligence.

“…If I’m going to wrestle with this stuff day and night, I want to fight to the death with the mermaids.”

“Anchises, these are the children who have just returned from suffering. And aren’t they a lot younger than you?”

“Sorry, King. I was heartbroken for a moment.”

Anchises sighs and continues.

“You all did a good job too. Paris, it would have been a little better if we had stuck you in Troia from the beginning.”

“…”

“…”

From this point on, neither Priam nor Hector had anything to say.

No matter how much Anchises is a person who enjoys ‘literary exaggeration’, he was not a great man who made up words that were not there.

He told them exactly what he had seen at Antandros, and insisted that I stay in Troy accordingly.

But Hector and Priam didn’t do that.

“Anyway, the plan went awry a lot.”

Thanks to that, as Priam is talking about now, the plan went awry a lot.

The original plan began by establishing me as Lord of Antandros, completely isolating me from the Hittite loyalists.

While the Hittite loyalists, who were thinking of taking me and somehow politically cooking, are confused and divided by this situation, Priam executes only those who crossed the line appropriately and recruits the rest appropriately.

However, since the first button was off, it was only natural that Priam and Anchises looked so tired.

“Paris, I believe you already know why I had to bring you back.”

Priam says, not bothering to hide his tired expression.

If the situation in Antandros is enough to ‘stimulate’ the Hittites and stir up the Hittite loyalists, it’s better to leave me out of the capital.

It’s enough to appease the Hittites and eliminate the loyalists in the meantime.

However, the current Antandros… the Hittites ‘must’ obtain or destroy.

If war is certain, all royal power must be gathered in Troy.

“Is it true that the mermaids were targeting you?”

I nodded quietly.

“It certainly is.”

I remember fighting the chief mermaid.

“They said they would keep me alive even if they killed everyone.”

“You are bold.”

Anchises says.

“Or, it was that urgent.

Rumor has it that an envoy is coming soon, so maybe he wanted to communicate with you before then. Before you go all the way to Antandros.”

“But… even by threatening Troy and the heir of Dardanus?”

“Paris, you don’t know your worth yet.”

Anchises shook his head resolutely.

“The values of you and your city.”

“…”

I already had to listen to Hector to the point of getting tired of it… but is that really enough to take this risk?

Priam continued as if he had read something in my expression.

“Even if Troia is destroyed and Hector and I all die, only you and Antandros need to be alive.”

“yes?”

“Hattusha was a much worse city than Antandros. It has no access to the sea, the land is barren, the mountains are close, and the savage tribes nearby are looking for the city.”

Priam looks straight into my eyes.

“Nevertheless, Hattusha has achieved an empire. Maybe it’s because of the iron.

tell me Is your city, Antandros, inferior to Hattusha?”

“no.”

“Then tell me why Antandros won’t build an empire. Why can’t you become a ‘great king’ like the Hittite Supiluliuma?”

I was silent.

I had no choice but to be silent.

“Of course…they probably didn’t want to take that level of risk either. If I could have contacted you in some other way, I would have used it.

But, in their view, if you get to Antandros, won’t you be completely in our hands? It’s about wreaking havoc through the mermaids and getting you out…

It must be a ‘small’ sacrifice to get a city that can form an empire.”

little sacrifice.

A ‘small sacrifice’ that could possibly kill the heir to the royal family of Troy and even Aeneas, the enemy of the Dardanos family.

I turned around and felt a chill run down my spine. Hector just nodded at me.

As the atmosphere becomes overly tense, Priam claps his hands lightly and smiles.

“…Still, well done.

I’m worried that I might end up hated by the gods, but didn’t you stop the army sent by ‘Aruna’ and break the sacred object?”

“We are not broken.”

“Yes, Hermes said he sent an envoy.”

Priam asked Hector in a lighter tone.

“Didn’t you see?”

“Yes, I heard later testimony that everyone but Paris fell asleep at that time. Perhaps the death god did that…”

The gazes of Hector and Priam are simultaneously directed at me. Looking back, Anchises is also staring at me with a face that seems to be interested in the world.

“Isn’t it that the messenger of Hermes put everyone else to sleep and only woke you up?”

“Ah…well, that’s right.”

“To really receive such attention and love from the gods, are you, by any chance, the son of the god Zeus?”

“It can’t be.”

“really?”

“…”

“Paris, you are a very strange person too.”

…I heard such a thing from Anchises.

“Anyway, have you guys been to the Temple of Poseidon?”

“Yes, Anchises. I’ve been there with a gold plate.”

“No, no. don’t know what Aren’t you guys doing a feat? Poseidon is indebted to you.”

Hector tilts his head at Anchises’ answer. Anchises shakes his head and says.

“Go to the Temple of Poseidon right now. If you have any broken pieces of gold, take them. Go and brag about it.”

***

Surprisingly, it was quite a helpful story for Anchises’ advice. If it’s not at this time or when else will there be a chance to show respect to God?

Shortly after leaving the palace, we turned north towards the coast. After leaving the wall, the escorts naturally followed and protected us.

And we arrived in front of a stone building that had faded from the sea breeze for a long time and had a grand, but somehow dignified feel of an old man.

“Does the Temple of Poseidon… count?”

“okay.”

It is noticeably more crowded than other temples. The face of the worshipers also seems to be diverse.

If the temple of Apollo, the patron deity of the city, is a solemn space visited sparsely by well-dressed aristocrats, this place feels a bit like a neighborhood office.

Considering that Troia is a trading city close to the coast, it is natural. From fishermen to merchants to pirates. How many people would flock to get permission to float a boat?

Still, when we arrived, the crowd decreased a little as the priests somewhat restricted the passage and entry of worshipers.

We handed coins to the merchant who was selling sacrifices right in front of us and climbed the stairs of the temple. After crossing the gate, dozens of people were still throwing coins, burning sacrifices, and offering prayers.

We also joined the ranks.

With perfumed oil on our heads and purifying ourselves, we knelt down.

The pig we just bought is thrown into the fire by the sturdy priests.

and···

For a moment, everything is quiet.

When I tried to turn my head in panic, I couldn’t move my body due to the overwhelming feeling.

All you hear in that state is the sound of waves.

It seems that only me and the waves exist in the world.

And each wave of the waves licks my ears like a tongue, spitting out and combining phonemes as they pass by.

[Chi … Ha … Han … Da ….]

A slow, slow voice, as if holding a stone in his mouth.

Gradually, the wave learns to make delicate sounds again, as if it were moving a muscle that had not been moved for a long time.

[I appreciate your… merits…]

And the finished voice overlaps with the voice of an old man I’ve heard before.

The old man who sat on the throne of Olympus many years ago.

[From now on, many of my former family members will escape my grip… Mine and not mine will fight… City to city will recede… many travelers will die under their webs….

Be prepared.]

‘Prepare.’

After that last word, the voice disappeared.

The loud noise around me returns to my side in an instant.

When I turned my head, Hector was also looking at me.

“Did you hear the same words as me?”

“If it’s about Poseidon-sama’s subordinates getting out of control…”

“you’re right.”

As expected, mermaids become ferocious.

I have known many who are dangerous when wild peoples become ferocious.

Coincidentally, they were my most precious people.

“···Paris?”

“I am worried. I’m worried about the shepherds roaming the hills, and I’m worried about the fairies playing in the fields.”

“The shepherds will be safe. Still, since they live together to some extent and the herds of sheep and goats will act as bait, it can be safe enough.”

“That is fortunate.”

“However, fairies… can be dangerous as you said. I will have to send a warning to the fairies around the capital.”

“…”

As I frown, Hector smiles lightly and pats my shoulder.

“Don’t worry too much. Antandros already has roads everywhere and troops to protect him. It may not be perfect, but it will help.”

“Thank you for comforting me.”

“But apart from being a shepherd, a fairy… It’s not often that humans worry about fairies.”

“…”

I rubbed my ears, feeling that Poseidon’s voice was still tickling my ears.

“Hmm. Anyway, isn’t that what an oracle is like in the first place?”

“What is it? What were you expecting?”

“Hephaestus-sama appeared in person and spoke to me.”

“It’s because he cares and loves his followers especially. How tired must you be to appear before mortals so often? Even here, there are so many people looking for Poseidon.”

“That’s it… I see.”

“Anyway, let’s go tell my father what we heard. If you buy the favor of the gods, you will definitely get it back later, but I think you are lucky.”

Hector’s expression brightened when he said that.

But as I left the temple… I had no choice but to look back over and over again.

The god who threatened Troy by driving Achaia’s forces to the point of disobeying Zeus’ orders.

The god who completed Odysseus’ plan by killing Laocoön, who insisted that the wooden horse should not be brought into the castle, with a sea serpent.

In other words, Poseidon is the god who destroyed Troy and will destroy it again in the future.

To change that history…

“Paris, let’s go.”

“I understand, brother.”

no.

Now is not the time to worry. Let’s lighten our hair.

Not yet.