Chapter 198
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 198
Chapter Title: King Maker (2)
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Anyway, since my movements were temporarily restricted and night was falling anyway, we decided to spend the night in the camp that was now completely ours.
Thanks to Peleus and his caravan and mercenaries' hard work, the camp was cleaned up in an instant and could be used right away with just a little fixing. The freed people either returned to their villages or pitched tents near the camp.
And in the room that the so-called general of this camp had used—lavishly decorated far beyond his station—we three sat around a table placed in the center.
"Let's see... So, we're heading straight into Tegea tomorrow?"
A map of Arcadia spread out clearly on the table.
Heracles pointed to the large city in the center, surrounded by high walls.
Tegea.
The heart of Arcadia, hailed even in this Greece as a paradise second only to Olympus, the very synonym for utopia.
In the end, he too—as a born fighter and conqueror—seemed unwilling to pass up the feat of storming directly into the capital of this vast land.
"From interrogating the officers and this camp's general earlier, King Iasos concentrated almost his entire army in the Taygetus Mountains to catch me."
"Probably, the forces left in Tegea right now are just a handful for polis defense and some emergency-conscripted peasant militia. They even pulled everyone from the eastern walls, claiming Thespiae is invading..."
"Hah, to catch just you, they yanked even the soldiers in the middle of border skirmishes? Has King Iasos lost his mind?"
"Who knows... Anyway, even pushing straight in like this, it feels like we have a solid chance of victory... What do you think, Dianes?"
Atalanta and Heracles.
As I quietly watched these two heroes who would lead the next era of Greek myth, testing their grasp of military strategy,
the pair—fervently calculating and scanning the situation—slyly turned to me with their question.
"For starters, you're both right. We definitely have a good shot like this."
As I voiced my agreement and predicted success, Heracles flashed a fierce grin and shot to his feet.
"Then what's there to hesitate about! If we dawdle, Iasos's madness will only worsen, and the people under him will suffer even more."
"Let's charge in right now, smash the gates, and drag Iasos out!"
"Dianes sent the familiar, so by the time we wrap things up, Jason and Eireneia will arrive leading the army!"
A declaration utterly befitting a royal wild boar—bold and unrestrained.
His growing addiction to the destructive power of his strength and his superhuman divinity was plain to see; he clearly wanted to rampage just a bit more.
But as I quietly smiled, quite pleased by that simplicity, Atalanta glanced slyly at me, so I turned to her and asked,
"Atalanta, what do you think?"
"Hmm, I..."
Even to my question, Atalanta couldn't arrive at an answer easily.
Honestly, Heracles was just brimming with such confidence; normally, it was like Atalanta—hesitating and agonizing.
Of course—even if it was small(?), this was still an attempt to usurp a kingdom's throne.
And if the one who would sit on that throne was herself, then agonizing like that was actually the exemplary attitude.
'Blindly charging ahead at the throne, eyes glazed over without thinking of consequences—that's a failing grade too.'
Heracles's aggressive stance was bold enough to appeal to any man,
but when playing the game for a throne, such heroic bravado could backfire strategically.
Unless it was some massive war or grand battle, that is.
This was an occupation.
"Think it over carefully—how I've been thinking and moving to get us this far."
"Heracles has a point, and I have a solid plan for the current situation too. But since it's the land you'll rule from now on, it'd be good if you took the lead and thought it through yourself?"
"...Hmm."
As if grasping some hint from my words, Atalanta sank into contemplation, her eyes deepening.
Seeing that, Heracles too quietly lowered his hand and waited for her answer, while I silently anticipated what new sprout this budding seed of a kingly sovereign would reveal.
Dianes was a truly sweet temptation as a lover.
He always affirmed and guided her desires, endorsed every path she took, and handed her everything needed to forge ahead.
When he embraced her, it felt like the whole world was in his arms, filling her heart to abundance. When they joined bodies, he stormed her like a tempest bent on conquest, leaving her drowning in ecstasy.
A quagmire impossible to escape.
She was a slave to love, bound to Dianes—and he was the cruel master who held her leash.
However, as a teacher, Dianes was a truly ruthless mentor.
Whenever he saw signs of growth, no matter how grievous the injury, he drove her mercilessly onward until she reached the limits he set, with training that knew no mercy.
And the way he seemed to use her love as bait— even Atalanta would get chills from it.
Heracles agreed: Dianes was profoundly alien, as if from another world entirely.
But now, she couldn't complain; through that gauntlet of trials, she had risen to become one of the greatest aura warriors in Greek history. All she felt now was gratitude.
Yet Dianes's guidance as her teacher had shifted phases.
Gazing at his relaxed smile as he awaited her answer, Atalanta sank deep into thought.
The Taygetus Mountains, which would normally take a full three days to cross.
But they had set out that morning, and now they stood before the heart of Arcadia: Tegea.
Tegea, reachable in a mere three or four hours.
The place where her shameless father—who had abandoned her to agony—awaited.
The walls where the reckless King Iasos, who had forsaken his people and duties, cowered pathetically.
With most of the defending troops already fallen to their hands, save the bare minimum,
scaling those walls to fulfill her long-held wish and claim Arcadia's throne was only a matter of time.
Her swift legs could carry her to the walls in an instant, a red comet leaping over them.
Displacing the sluggish Iasos and seizing the throne would be easier than snapping a child's wrist.
'But is that the answer Dianes wants?'
Atalanta could firmly say no.
Unless he was staying completely silent or using metaphors to enlighten someone, he never beat around the bush.
If all-out assault were the right answer, when Heracles pushed for attack, he wouldn't have asked her opinion—he'd have asked for her battle plan.
'The purpose of this journey: heading to Corinth. The current goal: Arcadia's throne...'
'So far... what has Dianes done?'
The border checkpoint discovered midway through the Taygetus Mountains.
When they saw the long line of travelers and soldiers roughing them up without hesitation,
Atalanta and Heracles had been ready to charge in without a backward glance.
But Dianes held them back, made them wait—until a mother holding her infant got into a scuffle with a soldier, drawing all eyes. Only then did he send the two forward.
After that, every checkpoint they encountered was smashed the same way: choosing moments of maximum attention, putting her at the forefront while Heracles and Dianes slipped around to the back and vanished.
'...Ah!'
Reviewing that entire process, and tuning her ears to the voices outside praising Atalanta still,
those voices revealed the answer.
Legitimacy.
He had conserved force for the most effective moments to build that legitimacy—ensuring her appearance drew cheers from the greatest number, making her presence welcomed.
If she had just waited quietly as one more traveler before acting, would so many have cheered her feats?
If she had charged in haphazardly before Peleus was oppressed, would that shrewd merchant and his mercenaries have followed her orders?
Extending all those assumptions beyond this camp to Tegea, then Arcadia, then the rest of Greece and Olympus...
If they smashed the walls mercilessly as Heracles suggested, would Tegea's people welcome her like these folk did?
Considering how, after Dianes and Heracles's duel last time, even they started getting sidelong glances in the woods—could common folk, who weren't even heroes, welcome a queen who shattered their walls?
Of course not.
Her thoughts extending that far, Atalanta felt her mind light up like a dawn.
"No, we're not entering Tegea."
"Huh? Hey, you bear. You serious?"
Heracles furrowed his brows at her firm declaration, but seeing a glint enter those black eyes steadily watching her, Atalanta felt confidence swell.
"First off, our goal isn't occupying Tegea. Getting to Corinth quickly comes first, right?"
"W-Well, but..."
"I don't think that's the only reason."
Heracles scratched his head, recalling the journey's original purpose and grimacing, but Dianes stared straight at her unwaveringly and asked.
'...Hoo!'
Taking a small deep breath, Atalanta met those black eyes and voiced her thoughts.
"Tegea's sealed off right now—our news hasn't gotten in. If in that situation, the three of us topple soldiers and storm the palace, staining it red with blood... what would the people think?"
"Ah...! That's a good point!"
Heracles nodded vigorously, as if he hadn't considered it.
Dianes said nothing, but his eyes softened slightly—a sign of passing grade.
"So, what do we do? Just bypass Tegea?"
"No, just going around would let Iasos strut even more, and disappoint Peleus and the others who believed in and cheered for me."
"Then what?"
"That is..."
'What to do? Ask Peleus to spread rumors? Or...'
No matter how hard she wracked her brains, nothing more came to mind, and tears welled in Atalanta's eyes.
For her, this was her first real effort at something she'd never considered before.
Her mind, spinning at full speed like an overtaxed engine, now faltered.
"Hmm..."
"..."
Dianes, who had been sitting quietly awaiting her answer, suddenly chuckled softly.
-Clap! Clap! Clap!
And without warning, he raised his hands and applauded her.
"Good. For your first time, reaching that far in your thinking—my eye for people really is something else."
Praise she'd never heard even during martial arts training.
Atalanta's eyes went wide in shock; Heracles was stunned too, having never seen Dianes so satisfied.
Dianes continued,
"Maximizing legitimacy, timing force for dramatic impact, grasping the flow of public opinion. Essential virtues for a king who will lead a nation. A sound judgment that properly considers them."
"Not just 'bypass it' or 'break through,' but finding valid reasons too—this is pure talent."
But failing to envision the next step was simply because she was still unfamiliar with such military and public-opinion maneuvers, he reassured her.
"Alright, then shall I put the finishing touch here?"
The spot his finger tapped was Tegea's grandest main gate on the map.
The southern great gate, thronged with the most people and most heavily guarded.
"Since ancient times, they've said scaling or smashing walls isn't always the best way."
"Wh-What? If you don't climb or smash the walls, how do you take the city?"
Atalanta nodded in agreement to Heracles's question, but Dianes just alternated glances between them with a mischievous grin.
"We sprinkle poison."
"A deadly toxin with no antidote and horrific contagion—even the god of medicine couldn't stop it."
"Spread it across all of Tegea."