The Road to Corinth (3)
Whoosh! The ship cut through the waves, emitting a pleasant, rhythmic sound. "Brother, land is in sight!"
The voyage had been smooth. Without encountering any major tsunamis or sea monsters, they had arrived at the Peloponnese Peninsula in just two months.
"Look at the flag fluttering on the cape. Olympia is right before us. We’ve found our way properly."
"Huk, huk, huk."
There was one thing that hadn't changed over the last two months: the sound of Sisyphus’s training, which echoed incessantly through the ship. As land approached, Cassandra began to feel restless. She still hadn't received a definitive answer from Sisyphus.
"Sisyphus."
As she approached him, Cassandra discovered something on the floor. It was a stone fragment. Thinking it was a piece of petrification, she picked it up—Thump! Sisyphus appeared right before her eyes.
"Don't touch that. I just took it out while I was working out."
"Was that yours? I didn't know. I thought it was a petrification crystal." Cassandra returned the stone to him. "What is it, anyway?"
"Wilson."
"Wil...? What kind of name is that?"
"Huk, huk."
Sisyphus returned to his training. Cassandra shrugged and got to the point. "Sisyphus. About when we arrive in Olympia..."
"Muscle loss."
"Oh, honestly. You've been training the whole time, what muscle loss are you talking about?"
He stood up abruptly and said with grave seriousness, "The weight is insufficient."
"Good grief, stop bluffing. If the weight is so insufficient, why don't you try lifting me?"
"Barely?"
When Sisyphus scoffed, Cassandra drew a magic circle as if to show she wouldn't be outdone. "You'll get a big nosebleed if you ignore my magic. I have a spell for Weight Enhancement, too."
"I could understand Weight Reduction, but what on earth would you use that for?"
"It's more useful than you think."
Cassandra grabbed a nearby wooden barrel and hurled it at Perseus. She cast the spell on the flying barrel. "Whoops!" Perseus, who had tried to catch the barrel without much thought, tumbled backward under the sheer, shot-put-like heaviness of it.
"If you had something like that, you should have brought it out sooner."
Flash! Without warning, Sisyphus hoisted Cassandra up and put her on his shoulders. Cassandra was momentarily flustered, but sensing an opportunity to seize the initiative, she wore a wicked smile.
Whoosh! Cassandra cast the spell, applying Weight Enhancement to herself. Huk, huk. Sisyphus began his dead-squats.
"How is it? Heavy, isn't it?"
"More."
"How about this?"
"More."
"Ugh. How about this!"
"Insufficient."
No matter how many times she cast the weight enhancement, Sisyphus’s hip movement showed no signs of slowing down.
"Ughhh."
Cassandra was finding it hard to breathe due to her own increasingly heavy body, but with her temper flared to the top of her head, she didn't give up and continued to cast the magic. "How about this!"
"Mage! The ship is tilting!"
"What."
Splash! The hull swayed precariously. Cassandra hastily canceled the spell. The recoil sent her flying, and she rolled across the floor. "Ouch..."
Cassandra rubbed her backside and glared at Sisyphus. He was continuing his squats as if nothing had happened. Seeing his nonchalant demeanor made her even angrier. He glanced at her briefly and scoffed. "Seriously, how annoying."
How could he treat her like this even after she revealed she was an Empress? Putting her status aside, whenever men saw her face, they were usually desperate just to talk to her. That was why she had snuck out of Troy, keeping her body and face hidden under a robe. Revealing her identity was one problem, and she didn't want the hassle of people clinging to her.
"That was a draw, Sisyphus."
"Were we competing?"
"Oh, really."
Cassandra stomped her feet. It was the first time in her life a man had made her this frustrated.
"Anyway, we're traveling together from now on, right? You saw my magic skills, and you know my prophecies are accurate. If it weren't for me, we would have met a typhoon on the way back and been even later."
"Actually, we almost were late because I couldn't trust your prophecy. It's a good thing we weren't the ones holding the rudder."
In reality, the ship had almost met a storm just as Cassandra’s prophecy predicted. However, due to the curse of not being able to believe her prophecies, neither Sisyphus nor Perseus could touch the rudder. In their perception, they believed there was absolutely no such thing as a storm. Thus, Sisyphus had to restrain Perseus so he couldn't grab the wheel. In the meantime, Cassandra had steered the ship around to avoid the storm.
"That's why you can just say the opposite of what I tell you from now on. We're traveling together, right?"
Sisyphus thought for a moment, shrugged his shoulders, and replied, "I'll think about it."
"Oh, seriously."
In truth, Cassandra was a talent not bad enough to be a companion for Sisyphus. "Any progress on the last prophecy?"
"My prophecy isn't a magic that conveniently reads the future you want. It's an incredibly delicate and complex magic. But, as I said then."
Cassandra approached Sisyphus and said with a bright smile, "In the near future, you will absolutely never meet Hermes."
Sisyphus smiled faintly upon hearing her prophecy. That was the very prophecy Cassandra had managed to make. Moreover, for some reason, Sisyphus could never bring himself to trust that one statement of hers. He felt an inexplicable certainty that he would definitely meet Hermes. It was safe to consider that prophecy accurate.
"I can't believe it. Useless."
"Ugh! Who told you to lie!"
Cassandra stomped her feet in a fit of rage. He said that, but being able to predict the movements of Olympus was a significant merit. There was the risk of being annoyed by having a companion, and the question of how much he could trust Cassandra. But above all else...
'I don't want to get involved with the Trojan Empire.'
The fact that Cassandra was hiding her identity and acting as a hero on the Greek continent meant there was definitely a reason. It was clearly a runaway case caused by her inability to suppress the impulsiveness of adolescence. It was an era where information only spread through rumors. Greece didn't know how powerful an empire the East had become. Sisyphus didn't want to get involved in the family affairs of such a powerful nation.
'Still, until I take care of a few of those Olympians...'
It was worth the trade. Just knowing where Hermes would appear tomorrow was benefit enough.
While they were bickering, the ship reached the port. Olympia was a large city located in the mid-west of the peninsula. Since Sisyphus had never left Corinth except when he went to the Underworld, it was a quite fresh sight. Of course, having not seen a city in 10,000 years, any scenery was fresh.
"Perseus? Is that the hero Perseus?"
"Look here! The Medusa expedition has returned!"
Upon arriving at the port, fishermen who recognized Perseus greeted them. The rumors spread quickly, and by the time they disembarked, residents had already swarmed them in an instant.
"Twenty people left, but only three returned..."
"By any chance, how did the subjugation go?"
The residents all expected failure. Looking at the numbers, it seemed like a result where they had barely managed to save their lives.
"The expedition has subjugated the sea monster Medusa!"
But as Perseus shouted confidently, the atmosphere reversed, with eyes widening in shock. "Oh, is that true?"
"You finally took down that disaster-class monster!"
"Thank goodness!"
"Perseus, you must have been the one to take it down!"
As the residents applauded, Perseus shook his head. "I was of no help. Medusa was a powerful and threatening enemy. The one who subjugated the Gorgon and Medusa is the great hero standing right here!"
Perseus pointed to one side. There stood a man who was haggling for meat with a merchant.
"That person?"
"Who is that person?"
"Haha, that man is the hero of heroes, a great hero. The credit for the Medusa subjugation belongs entirely to the great hero."
"Oh, what kind of technique does he use?"
"Don't be surprised."
Perseus flicked his finger. "From that man's fist... a 'Bang' sound comes out."
"Bang?"
The residents tilted their heads. Just by hearing Perseus's explanation, they couldn't grasp what kind of technique or magic the hero used. Usually, heroes who handle mana use mysteries that ordinary humans cannot. Even Perseus handled weapons of light.
"Then how did you beat Medusa?"
"That's right. Didn't they say Medusa turns everything she looks at into stone?"
The residents whispered among themselves. They were starting to doubt whether the subjugation of Medusa was even true. A great hero who doesn't handle mysteries or grand magic, but just a fist?
Just as Perseus was about to share more of his experience, Sisyphus approached. "Hey, Perseus. Do you have any money?"
"Ah, I do. What's the matter?"
"I'm trying to buy meat, but I don't have any. We can't depart without loading meat on the ship."
"Haha, so that's what you meant."
Perseus nodded. Sisyphus’s destination was Corinth. Olympia was just a brief stop for supplies. Once supplies were finished, they planned to continue their voyage around the north of the peninsula.
Cassandra, who had been watching Sisyphus, added a word from behind. "Really, how much do you like meat? Supplies aren't just about meat. We need to change ships."
"Change ships?"
"The north of the peninsula has shallow waters, so this sailboat can't pass through. We need a small vessel."
"Indeed, that's true."
Sisyphus agreed. It was a fact he had known well, but he had forgotten it for a moment after 10,000 years had passed.
"As the mage said. I told you we should stop by the guild to buy a new ship. If it's the reward for the Medusa subjugation, we can buy several ships like that and still have plenty left over."
"Good, let's go right away."
Seeing Sisyphus’s attitude, the whispering among the residents grew louder.
'Hey, he's black-haired.'
'He's not even wearing a shirt.'
'He's even extorting Perseus...'
'Look at that bushy beard.'
'That man, is he perhaps one of them?'
Black hair was not a common hair color in Greece. Most Greeks had blonde or brown hair. There was only one polis made up entirely of a black-haired people.
'It's a Spartan...!'
Sparta. The notorious warriors of the south. They were treated as a nation for the sake of the word, but they were essentially no different from barbarians. Lacking the technology to make clothes, they walked around wearing only a pair of underwear with animal skins stripped and draped as cloaks. They could communicate at a basic level, but if they were even slightly displeased, they were famous for immediately starting a war and enslaving all the residents. They were a vicious warrior race. Already five poleis had been absorbed by Sparta. The notoriety of Sparta had spread widely even to Olympia, which was not that far away.
'There's no way a Spartan subjugated Medusa!'
'I don't even know if he's a hero!'
'Shh, watch your mouth. You'll get dragged away if they hear you.'
'What was Perseus thinking, taking a Spartan as a companion?'
Just as a chilling atmosphere was spreading among the residents:
"A monster has appeared! Evacuate!"
Ding, ding, ding! The bell rang three times repeatedly. It meant the polis had been attacked by a high-grade monster.
"Whoops! What's going on!"
"Look over there!"
Splash! Near the coast, a whale monster was pushing its massive body onto land, crushing the ships docked at the pier.
"My god, another monster attack!"
"Why have the attacks become so frequent!"
"My ship! Help me!"
The fishermen clutched their heads. The scene that had been celebrating the return of the Medusa expedition turned into chaos in an instant. News would have been received by the guild immediately, but there was no telling when heroes would be dispatched.
"Ritual! Let's go offer a ritual!"
"Did you get a hole in your head? How long has it been since rituals became useless!"
"Damn gods. They were happy to take offerings every year, and now they just ignore us?"
"What are you going to do if they hear you!"
"Ah, if they heard, they would have done something by now! Tell them to at least drop a lightning bolt quickly!"
The fisherman pointed his thumb and index finger in a circle toward the sky. In Greece, that meant the same thing as raising a middle finger.
—Kuuung! The whale spread its fins and climbed onto land. It was the moment when the residents' precious livelihood was turning into dust.
—Kwaaaaang!! Suddenly. An explosion louder than thunder occurred, and—
—Splash!! The whale, which had raised its head to the sky, rolled its eyes back and collapsed toward the sea.
"...What was that?"
"...A fist?"
The residents slowly blinked their eyes. The black-haired man who had just swung his arm toward the whale had landed and was walking back toward them, stepping calmly.
He said to Perseus, "We got plenty of meat."
Perseus shook his head. "Whale monsters are too fishy to eat."
"What a waste."
After a moment of silence.
"Waaaaah!!"
"It was a bang sound!"
"It definitely made a bang sound!"
"Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!"
"Hero! Hero! Hero!"
The cheers of the residents echoed through the pier.