Chapter 146: The Birth of the Mycenaean Empire (4)
“Now the influence of Olympus will expand even further on the mortal world.”
The council of the Twelve Olympians.
In the grand hall where eleven gods had gathered—leaving only one seat empty—the Olympians nodded in agreement at Zeus’s words.
“That’s true. Above all, it’s different in nature from Lady Themis. It will likely exert an even greater influence on humans and the other races.”
Artemis thought of Dike, the goddess of justice who was now only one step away from fully ascending to that role.
Though it seemed Dike herself had little desire for it, and so the sprout had yet to fully bloom.
“Wow, that’s true too. But honestly, I never really thought that kid would actually pull it off. Most of those burdened with the fate of a hero as foretold by the Fates either died or faded into obscurity.
Normally, the destinies woven by the Fates were immutable. Events almost always unfolded exactly as predetermined.
However, after a few truly horrific experiences, the Fates had come to understand something: if someone with enough power appeared and began unraveling the threads with great force, everything could fall into utter chaos.
From that point on, they began weaving only the broadest foundations—leaving it to the person who received the fate to decide what colors to fill in, what threads to add, and how to complete the tapestry.
“So when you think about it that way… this time, from the advisor at his side to the tools he used, it was practically the gods themselves intervening directly. And above all, the fact that the boy is a priest of Lord Poseidon probably played a huge role.”
At Athena’s addition, the gods who recalled the fates of past heroes nodded.
Indeed, in several ways, Perseus had clear advantages over previous hero candidates.
“Hmm, when you think about it… maybe it was possible precisely because he’s Poseidon’s priest, and thanks to that eccentric, secretive mage who doesn’t seem quite right in the head. Anyway, everyone connected to Poseidon is completely unhinged in their own way.”
At that moment—
“Indeed, it is difficult to prophesy about Poseidon’s priests and their bloodlines. But! It’s not just that—someone intervened heavily, didn’t they?”
Crunch.
Along with Hera’s icy voice came the sound of the golden apple in her grip being crushed to pulp.
“So in a way… isn’t this the result of one overly obsessive father making a huge fuss and meddling?”
“……”
The gods watched the juice drip from the mangled apple in Hera’s hand, feeling as though they were witnessing someone’s skull being crushed.
All eyes turned toward Zeus.
“…Rather than dwelling on what’s already happened, shall we talk about something a little more constructive?”
Zeus glanced briefly at the piercing stares directed his way, at Hera in her blood-red suit, and at the ruined apple, then hurriedly changed the subject.
He had almost forgotten—Hera had never once approved of Perseus.
The only reason she hadn’t interfered was because he was Poseidon’s priest. If he hadn’t been… things would have gone wrong long ago.
(‘Not to mention… she might find out that I borrowed her pocket to give something to Perseus…’)
“Ahem! For now, the important thing is the city of Athens, where the temples are currently closed. Let’s all focus on that.”
“Changing the subject so smoothly… If he weren’t Poseidon’s priest, something would have happened long ago…”
“Come on!!! Athena, hurry up and explain it to us!!!”
Athena looked at Hera and Zeus seated at the head and gave a wry smile.
Zeus was probably going to get into serious trouble someday.
(‘He doesn’t even seem to realize what it means that he came here wearing clothes made by Father Poseidon—whom Lady Hera dislikes so much…’)
Well… she had no desire to get involved in whatever was going on between those two. So she decided to pretend she hadn’t noticed.
“Then, I will show you the conversation I had with the sea gods.”
***
The kingdom of Aethiopia that Poseidon and Perseus arrived at was so vast it could hardly be called a mere “kingdom”—it was practically a continent.
In truth, Phaethon, son of Helios, who had been punished by Zeus, had been tirelessly carving mountains, leveling land, and clearing fields here for ages.
Because this land was being personally tamed by a son of a god, it was home not only to humans but also to spirits, beastkin, elves, dwarves, and many other races in abundance.
While most nations were usually dominated by a single dominant race, this place was truly a melting pot of species living together.
Naturally, it was enormously wide—and disputes broke out constantly.
“Sigh… Isn’t this just way too big? There’s no end in sight.”
Thud!
Perseus spoke while casually dispatching a thorny tiger that lunged at him.
He had set out for the kingdom of Aethiopia because the Dawn Mercenary Band had requested help, but Perseus was already exhausted.
[TL Note: Changing Mimyeong Mercenary to Dawn Mercenary]
The realization that every inch of ground they had walked on for days belonged to the kingdom of Aethiopia had worn him down.
“Well, can’t be helped. In reality, this is the land where a son of a god is being punished—and where surviving Titans are involved.”
Perseus had heard the explanation from Njord several times, but he still couldn’t get used to it.
Even so… running for three full days without reaching their destination was excessive.
Especially considering that both he and Njord were far from ordinary people.
“…Well, nothing we can do about it.”
***
A vast expanse of land.
After encountering bandits of various races and naturally spawned monsters called Therases along the way, Poseidon and Perseus ran for nearly three more full days before finally arriving at the city the Dawn Mercenary Band had told them about.
The name of the city they reached was Aksum. It sat immediately to the right of the city directly ruled by the king of Aethiopia himself.
This city was built along a massive canal, making it a historic port city that had thrived on trade for generations.
As such, it was a dazzling, noisy city of pleasures—and the most prosperous place in all of Aethiopia.
“Wow! It’s amazing in a completely different way from Athens!”
Perseus couldn’t help but be captivated by the splendor of the city of Aksum.
From exotic fabrics and spices he had never seen in Athens, to the strange artifacts engraved with unfamiliar patterns that people wore on their bodies.
If Athens was a land of priests and nobles, then Aksum felt like a nation of merchants and mercenaries.
“Hmm. Indeed. The women here all walk around half-naked, after all.”
Poseidon, interpreting the difference in a very different sense from Perseus…
In any case, both of them were undeniably enchanted by the city of Aksum.
Enough to wash away the fatigue of their long journey in an instant.
“Wow!”
“Hmm…”
“Waaah! That creature is huge!”
“Sigh… It really is enormous.”
“Waaah!!! I’ve never seen such intricate patterns before. Is this some kind of special magic circle of theirs?!”
“Indeed… starting from the chest with such elaborate designs…”
Njord and Perseus wandered all over Aksum, soaking in the city’s entirely different culture.
“Lord Njord, this is incredible. Designing artifacts with body-painted patterns… I want to learn how the priests here handle the powers of the gods!”
“I feel the same. Drawing such patterns directly on the body… Could this place be Aphrodite’s personal testing ground? I’ve seen some truly spectacular sights.”
Of course, one of them seemed to have seen something rather different…
***
After wandering around Aksum all day, Perseus and Njord finally entered the building invited by the Dawn Mercenary Band—just as Helios’s chariot disappeared from the sky.
Creak!
The moment they opened the door, they were greeted by mercenaries in simple light armor, calmly sharpening and maintaining their weapons.
At the sound of the door, heads turned toward them.
The atmosphere inside the building was so intense that a faint-hearted person might have started trembling the instant they stepped in.
“Hey! Lykos, so you finally decided to join the Dawn Mercenary Band?”
“Sigh… Even after so long, your beauty still shines, Lord Perseus!”
“Haha, Lykos-nim, you’re as much of a flatterer as ever. Still… thank you.”
“Of course! This Lykos would gladly play the fool for you, Lord Perseus. Though everyone from the heavens, the earth, and the sea knows that your handsomeness rivals that of Lord Apollo himself.”
“Hey, then what about me?”
“Oh! Lord Njord needs no mention at all. That face is comparable to Apollo’s, and your magical prowess is on par with the goddess of magic, Hecate, and the witch Circe, isn’t it?”
“Exactly! Exactly! Well… I suppose I am a bit like that. Honestly, it’s not just the face—when it comes to magic, Hecate? Circe? They’re nothing special!”
“Yes, yes, of course, absolutely!”
If the gods had heard this conversation—Lykos and Njord casually saying things that would have earned them divine punishment for sheer audacity—the surrounding mercenaries would have been shocked out of their wits.
But the few who were used to it simply shook their heads at Lykos—who was practically wagging his tail in front of Njord—and quickly led them up to the floor where Alexis was waiting.
……
The first floor fell into dead silence.
The mercenaries there kept rubbing their eyes, as if unable to believe what they had just witnessed.
‘What the hell did we just see?!’
***
The third floor was a large meeting room reserved exclusively for the mercenary band’s executives.
Inside, the core members of the Dawn Mercenary Band—led by Alexis and Philomela—were in the middle of a serious discussion.
“Captain! Look who’s here!!”
Lykos burst onto the third floor with Perseus and Njord in tow, shouting so loudly that the entire soundproofed space vibrated.
“Tsk tsk tsk… Just like back then, it seems his only talent is volume.”
“Hahaha…”
Along with Njord’s jab, Alexis covered his ears and turned toward the source of the noise.
“No! Don’t shout like that in a place with soundproofing magic— Wait, it’s Priest Poseidon and the Mage!!”
Alexis rubbed his ears as if they hurt, frowning at Lykos before his eyes widened in shock.
Because standing right behind him were the very people he had desperately hoped would come.
“Hahahaha! I didn’t expect you to arrive this quickly.”
And it wasn’t just Alexis—the same joyful smiles spread across the faces of everyone else in the room.
The request they had currently accepted was an insanely difficult one with nowhere to even complain about.
Excluding Lykos, who had been managing the lower ranks, the executives had been locked up here for over a week, racking their brains.
—We’re saved! We’re saved!!
—Finally, let’s get some sleep. Please!
—Just Perseus alone would’ve been enough, but now the Mage is here too? This request is more than half done already.
—Phew, now we can finally have some fun. There’s this huge pleasure district I’ve never seen before right here in the city.
—Yeah, let’s go together.
—Tsk tsk tsk, all you guys think about is sex. We should be focusing on completing the request first. Planning to play already?
That was just how much Perseus and Njord represented as major assets to them.
Alexis watched his subordinates cheering wildly and gave a wry smile.
He knew they had been just as stressed as he was, but the moment Perseus and Njord arrived, they completely let loose like this.
It was almost embarrassing to lift his head.
“Ugh… Sorry about this. We’ve been cooped up here for a whole week thinking only about completing the request, so…”
“Hahaha, it’s fine. It must be an incredibly tough request for you all to be like this. Besides, we’re comrades who made it through the Garden of the Gorgons together, aren’t we?”
“I’m truly… grateful to you.”
Perseus brushed off Alexis’s apology—laden with genuine remorse—as if it were nothing.
Though they had met in the Garden of the Gorgons for their own respective purposes, the fact that these mercenaries had stubbornly held on and hunted the basilisk to the very end showed they were people of utmost loyalty as mercenaries—and trustworthy comrades.
While Alexis and Perseus were exchanging warm, friendly words…
“Hmph! This is exactly why you can’t trust lowlife mercenaries. No basics! Absolutely no basics!!”
From somewhere in the room, someone was scolding the mercenaries in a clearly irritated voice.
“Back in my day, everyone had restraint and sharp discipline! This kind of behavior is something only vagabonds would do, ugh!!”
The funny thing was that despite the scolding, none of the mercenaries looked annoyed—they just seemed completely at ease.
—Oh boy, looks like that Mage is in a bad mood again.
—Idiot. Obviously it’s because Lykos was the one who guided them here. He may not say it, but that guy loves women.
—Yeah, then hurry up and tell Zora to go over there.
—Zora…? Wait, where’d Zora go?
—You moron, she’s already over there.
“Oh my, Lord Njord! It’s been a while. How have you been?”
“Hm? Zora, is that you? Did you try what I taught you last time?”
“Yeeesss~ But I think I’m still a little lacking, because I’m not quite good at it yet… What should I dooo~?”
“……”
“Ughhh…”
“Ugh, that’s disgusting…”
“Someone gouge my eyes out. I just saw something messed up!”
Alexis looked at the meeting room, which had devolved into complete chaos in the blink of an eye while he was distracted, and could only give another wry smile.
Above all, even Philomela had somehow already glued herself to Njord’s side—he had no choice but to press a palm to his forehead.
“You people… seriously…!”
“Hahaha…”
Alexis looked like he had a splitting headache, while Perseus forced an awkward smile.
It was a total mess.