I Can't Believe It!
"I can't believe it!"
The queen sprang to her feet and shrieked.
"Whether Your Highness believes it or not doesn't matter."
"What did you say?"
"What matters is that it really happened that day. If you want, ask Thyestes yourself. I'm quite curious to see how he'll react."
"This is a low-class conspiracy. You won't drive a wedge between me and him like that."
From beyond the curtain, the queen's voice trembled as she struggled to suppress it. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't hide her agitation.
"You can verify the facts yourself. That's all I can tell you on Your Highness's behalf."
She'd handle the rest on her own. The queen could order her subordinates to investigate directly, or seek wisdom from the god she served. She had plenty of influence and offerings overflowing for the temple.
"I don't want to hear any more. Leave now. If you keep spouting this nonsense, I won't stay silent."
"I deeply apologize for this rude nighttime visit. But please understand one thing. This is your chance to right all wrongs and exact revenge."
"……."
"And forgive him."
"Forgive?"
"Even if you can't forgive your husband, forgive Prince Agamemnon."
Agamemnon was pitiful in his own way. He'd grown up lonely, starved of his mother's love, with three children from King Atreus's first wife above him. It wasn't hard to imagine how gray his childhood must have been.
"He was just an innocent child."
At my words, Queen Aerope collapsed into her seat and fell silent for a long time.
"Do you really think the queen will side with us?"
At Atalante's question, I shrugged while downing my wine.
"Who knows. There's a saying from my old world: You can know the depths of ten fathoms of water, but not the shallows of a person's heart."
"Then why are you so relaxed! You slept until noon, and the moment you got up, it's wine! Haven't you been drinking late every night lately?"
She was nagging me too much about sleeping in. Watching Atalante pace the room anxiously, I grabbed her hand and pulled her over.
"Sit down first. You're making me nervous. Drink some cold water."
"The execution is right around the corner."
She wasn't wrong. Waiting for the queen's reply had made time fly, and the autumn festival for Dionysus was just days away.
"If it doesn't work out, we'll bust him out head-on."
"You really have no plan. There'll be countless guards. How do you propose we do that?"
"Why not? This city has a secret weapon."
"Hm?"
Atalante tilted her head in confusion until I pointed at the floor. Then her expression soured as she caught on. Bad memories, no doubt.
"You're going to use that?"
"Bingo. Don't you think it's a good idea?"
"It would work, sure. But it'd make a huge racket, and the gods would notice. When gods get involved, things always turn unpredictable. No one knows how it'll end."
"Says the follower of Artemis—pretty irreverent talk."
"Your voice sounds like a flock of sparrows chirping. Truly."
The method I had in mind was Mycenae's royal treasure, Zeus's Sword. The royal family couldn't wield it properly, but I could. If I unleashed lightning blasts everywhere with it, escaping with Agamemnon would be easy enough. Mycenae would be a mess, but Plan B is rarely clean—it's the next best thing.
Zeus's Sword isn't a bad choice. Far better than your Divine Manifestation of the Burning Nameless One.
Divine Manifestation or Zeus's Sword—both were over-the-top powers that would draw the gods' eyes. But Divine Manifestation came from the Burning Nameless One, and if word got out I was using it, that'd be trouble. Zeus's Sword, on the other hand, was a cheat item, but one permitted by the king of the gods.
Zeus's Sword is monstrous. In the future, Agamemnon wields it to become one of the world's strongest warriors. Pure gear carry—he crushes most heroes with it. He's strong, but his skill is questionable; the weapon's just too broken. That's why, before my regression, he was powerful but not truly respected.
"Sparrows? Insulting. But you admit it's possible?"
"Mm… yeah. But where do we run to with him?"
"Sparta. Even if the queen helps, that's where we'd go anyway."
King Atreus was down, and power was firmly in the hands of his brother, Regent Thyestes. It wasn't a one- or two-day plot; his tentacles were already everywhere. Raiding the execution grounds and exposing one scandal wouldn't topple his regime. I just wanted to cast Agamemnon as the virtuous prince chased by his evil uncle—so he could return one day as Mycenae's true king.
"Sparta?"
Atalante floated a question mark over her head, wondering why Sparta. My decision came from knowing history. The timeline had shifted, but before regression, Thyestes had seized the throne too. Princes Agamemnon and Menelaus—the fourth and fifth—fled to Sparta. The Spartan king welcomed them and helped them rise, making it the perfect shelter from the storm.
"Yeah, Sparta. The king there will welcome Mycenae's princes."
"Why?"
"He'll want influence over Mycenae someday."
It was a vague brush-off, but it sounded plausible. The Spartan king probably wasn't purely altruistic in sheltering the lost princes.
"I see."
As Atalante nodded in understanding, I concluded.
"Rescuing the prince doesn't change. If the queen helps, we hit the enemy harder, but even without her, we're good."
"…You had a plan after all."
"What do you take me for? And we have more allies. It's not just us two."
Atalante's eyes widened in surprise.
"Really? When did you recruit them?"
"Why do you think I've been sleeping in so late?"
Truth was, I'd been out every dawn for days, scurrying through the night city like a rat to gather helpers. Mentioning it made Atalante's mouth drop open slightly.
"You… weren't just drinking and wandering, sleeping in from that?"
She slept in another room, but Atalante would've noticed me sneaking out nightly. Still, coming back wasted at dawn, she probably thought I was just pitifully boozing around. Which was partly true—I needed it for cover.
"Right. I was scouting actors for our play. That's why I slept late, but someone who lives nearby scolded me without knowing. All she did was pace in place, fretting."
"Ugh!"
Atalante's face flushed red as a persimmon. Her shoulders trembled faintly—she was embarrassed.
Still so green. When would she grow into a true hero?
"S-sorry… I didn't know."
"What? Can't hear you."
I cupped my ear, and she apologized again, face crimson.
"I scolded you without knowing you were working in secret. Sorry. Compared to you, I'm useless…."
Her recent string of failures had left the girl depressed.
"How can I get as capable as you? I used to think raw strength solved everything. But experience is changing my mind."
"That's the world. Sometimes one tongue does what ten thousand swords can't."
"You're amazing."
For some reason, Atalante's gaze softened. Not seeing me as a good guy, but a competent one.
"Thanks for the high praise, but I can't do this alone. So lend me your strength on the day. I've even got a surprise guest."
"But can we secure Zeus's Sword? I heard the storage location changed after that day. No one knows where it is."
"Don't worry. Our surprise guest handles that."
"Who did you recruit?"
A big shot. A massive one.
The day of Prince Agamemnon's execution arrived. It was also the start of the autumn festival for Dionysus. Time to stir things up with a fresh resolve.
As I steeled myself, the Secret Book suddenly called to me.
Peleus! A god has reacted.
-What? It's been a while.
I hurriedly checked the open book in shock.
The God of Wine, Dionysus, expects today to be thrilling. He's already begun watching you.
White text floated on the Secret Book's black pages. Dionysus must've caught wind of my infiltration into the city—rumors spread fast to him. The other gods had forgotten me. I'd shone a year ago, but then vanished. To them, I was just another human, not worth the attention.
Dionysus remembers you as the slayer of the Calydonian Boar. He wants to share a drink with you someday.
Surprisingly, the God of Wine remembered me precisely. The human who'd intrigued him a year ago had resurfaced, so he started observing, wondering what I'd do. Plus, today was his festival's first day and Agamemnon's execution. He was buzzing with anticipation for something big.
Dionysus is summoning his close friend, the Messenger God Hermes.
Oh no! This was bad. That damn drunk summoned Olympus's snitch. As I checked my gear for the showdown, I nearly yelled.
"What's wrong?"
Atalante, counting arrows beside me, eyed my sudden fluster curiously. The Secret Book was invisible to her, so of course it looked weird. But getting real-time god updates had me sweating bullets. One wrong rumor from Olympus's gossip could ruin everything.
Peleus, big trouble. If Hermes tells Artemis, we're screwed.
-No kidding! Artemis hates my guts. She's quiet now because she doesn't know, but if she catches wind of the rescue, she'll interfere. That damn goddess should just hunt bears in the boonies.
Biting my lip in anxiety, new text appeared.
The Messenger God Hermes contacts the Virgin Goddess Hestia. They've decided to watch as a trio without calling more.
Oh, relief.
"Phew…."
A sigh of relief escaped me. Olympus's snitch had mercifully stopped at summoning Lady Hestia. The three must be close.
"You've been spacing out, then sighing in relief. What's going on?"
Atalante was starting to see me as odd, but explaining was tricky. Instead, my thoughts drifted to Hestia. Ah, Lady Hestia… The one I'd join a fan club for. Compassionate beyond words, truly loving humans, and Olympus's top beauty. Zeus had proposed multiple times and been rejected— the pinnacle of pure elegance. And from a forbidden book: her figure hidden under flowing robes was cheat-level. Wait, why was that in a forbidden book?
The Virgin Goddess Hestia is relieved to see you safe.
She remembers me! Lady Hestia has her eyes on me! Overwhelmed, my fists clenched.
Atalante gave up with a resigned look and left the room.
"Come out when you're ready. I'll wait."
"…Lady Hestia."
"What?"
"Nothing. Go on."
I shooed Atalante out and focused on the Secret Book's text. New messages kept appearing.
Goddess Hestia begins bestowing a blessing upon you, whom she hasn't seen in so long!