[Setting Sail]
While I had been lucky enough to benefit from the Karkinos that Neri had dragged along during our last trip to Erytheia, in the land of Greece, a ship was practically a necessity for any real travel. Even if the mountains here were considered modest compared to the vast ranges of the Central Plains, they were packed as densely as the Shandong region, with peaks rising up everywhere you looked.
Much like the old tales of Joseon where every mountain was said to harbor a tiger, one had to assume that every single peak in Greece was home to at least a demigod acting as a bandit chief, a magical beast that had conquered the surrounding area, or at the very least, a ferocious predator.
‘And considering how even a swordsman at the peak of his craft had been struggling to clear them out, these mountains were still teeming with forces carving out their own domains.’
Therefore, to enjoy a comfortable tour of Greece, a sturdy ship capable of sailing the Aegean Sea was half-essential. And currently, I was standing at the prow of one of the finest galleys in all of Greece, savoring the exhilaration of our departure.
-Whoosh!
-May Poseidon’s blessing be with you!
-May Hermes guide your path!
-May Boreas bring you a favorable wind!
The warm sunlight! The white, splashing waves! The shouts of farewell echoing from behind!
It truly felt like the quintessential VOYAGE!
“They say Athens has no equal when it comes to warships, and Crete and Delos are famous for their speedboats, right?”
“But for long-distance travel—a galley capable of reaching the very ends of the world—only Corinth can build them.”
“And even in Corinth, a masterpiece like this is something not even the wealthy souls in the Underworld could easily acquire.”
One main mast, two auxiliary masts. With sixty rowers mobilized and the crew included, nearly a hundred people had been brought on for this journey. It was a massive galley, about 70 meters long, a trieres with three decks: lower, middle, and upper.
The ship’s name was Kyma Poseidonia (Κύμα Ποσειδώνα). Named "Poseidon’s Wave," it was a secret trump card of which only three existed in all of Corinth, originally built for the royal family to make a final stand should the city ever face a crisis. Well, it was a bit funny to call a sailboat barely a hundred meters long a "trump card," but in this era, a ship of this scale was a national asset comparable to a 21st-century aircraft carrier.
“And you actually managed to talk them out of it with just your silver tongue?”
Heracles, who had been cheering for our rare excursion while enjoying the sea breeze, looked at me leaning against the railing with an expression of disbelief.
“Honestly, don’t you feel a bit sorry for Oedipus?”
“Strictly speaking, considering the power of Arcadia and our own, Dianes was being incredibly generous.”
“Exactly. If things had gone south, we could have wiped Corinth clean and built a new port from scratch.”
In a world where countries were razed and entire families extinguished for insults far lesser than this, he had been on the verge of being arrested without even knowing why, yet he let it slide after receiving only a decent sailboat and a few concessions? If the judges of the Underworld saw this, they would surely marvel at such a merciful Buddha and grant him a direct pass to Elysium.
“Hey, Dianes. By the way, who is that woman accompanying us this time?”
“She clearly isn’t just a servant, so don’t think you can just brush it off. We’ve learned a thing or two from you, and we’ve seen enough.”
“...Ah, about that.”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t properly introduced Eris—or Erina, as she was called now—to these guys. Since entering Corinth, Eris had been sulking as if she were displeased with something, and she had locked herself in her cabin even before we set sail. Maybe it would be safer to give them a heads-up?
“Weell, you see...”
“E-excuse me, Lord Dianes!”
“...It’s a bit unpleasant to be interrupted during an important conversation.”
“Eek?! I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to disturb such renowned heroes, but...”
“It’s fine, Captain. My friends seem a bit excited.”
Our attention naturally turned to the dull voice that had rushed over. It was Barbekos, the captain responsible for this voyage and a man famous for being a seasoned sailor in Corinth. I heard he had traveled from the Aegean Sea all the way to the distant, treacherous waters. However, the people he was facing were heroes, each one of whom possessed power comparable to the military strength of a single nation in Greece. Even a battle-hardened sailor couldn’t help but feel a chill when receiving the undivided attention of such men.
“So, what is the matter?”
“Well, you see, we will soon be passing the island of Salamis. From there on...”
“It’s Athenian waters.”
To be precise, as we continued south, we would be in the waters of Epidaurus, a port city of Argos located east of Arcadia, but the city directly opposite happened to be Athens. In particular, the Athenian navy was said to be unbeatable in Greece, and their fleet was formidable. Argos, which like Corinth could only watch the situation between Arcadia and Athens, had no choice but to surrender its waters to Athens.
“The Athenian waters are quite restless these days due to Prince Theseus’s Amazon subjugation order. Especially for ships coming from the Peloponnese into the Aegean, they are being harsh...”
-BUUUUUUU!
No sooner had the captain spoken than a trumpet blast that shook the eardrums echoed across the entire sea. When I sharpened my vision and looked toward the sea where the trumpet had sounded, I saw three warships racing toward us like arrows. And the glaring owl painted on their sails caught my eye.
“Huh? That is...?”
“What are you surprised about? Athenian warships always carry Athena’s owl.”
Heracles looked at me with confusion as my eyes widened at the owl emblem on the mast. But I had a reason to be surprised. It was identical to the owl on the bracelet wrapped around my wrist, which marked me as an Archon of Athena.
‘Oh, snap... come to think of it, I’m tied to Athena too, aren’t I?’
I’d been so busy I’d completely forgotten. Even though it had been on my wrist the whole time!
“W-what should we do? The Athenian army is full of venom these days, and if they find out you are from Arcadia...”
“Hey, Theseus isn’t that narrow-minded! It’s fine, Captain. Stop the ship and greet them.”
“Just in case there’s a bloodbath, please calm the crew down.”
“Y-yes, sir...”
At the words of Heracles and Iason, the captain went down to the lower cabins with an anxious face. Since we hadn’t brought any other combatants from the start, there were only the three of us on deck.
“That Theseus fellow. He gets exiled from the forest and starts pulling strange strings behind the scenes.”
“Honestly, that secret weapon discovered in Thespiae... it would have been impossible for anyone but Theseus.”
Heracles and Iason already knew that Theseus was nursing a grudge against Arcadia—that is, against me and Atalanta—and was pulling strings behind our backs. Naturally, hearing that the Athenian army was charging at us, it was only logical to prepare for a bloodbath, even if it hadn’t reached the level of open hostility yet.
“Well... it should be fine.”
“Dianes, aren’t you being a bit too optimistic?”
“Brute force on land is one thing, but fighting at sea is a different story.”
However, in my view, there was nothing for them to worry about.
-Twinkle!
In the bright Mediterranean sunlight, the mark of Athena on my wrist shone brighter than ever today.
* * *
Eris was in a somewhat complicated mood.
For starters, the Hydra was a divine beast so dangerous that even Zeus was wary of it, and so wise and intelligent that even Hera admired it. To think that such a divine beast had fallen into ruin and devolved into a magical beast, and that Dianes, no matter how strong he was, was going to hunt such a creature alone.
Even as the Goddess of Discord, she couldn’t help but feel worried. It was a relief that the Great Hero of Zeus and the swordsman Iason, whom she also had her eye on, had joined him, as they would be a great help to Dianes’s safety.
“Hmph! But still!”
Eris’s grand plan—for a goddess who had descended to earth in human form to pair up with a great hero, rely on each other, overcome trials, and finally reap the fruits of love—was crumbling from the very first chapter.
“Cheee...”
What made Eris even more furious was that Dianes’s attitude toward these two newcomers was no different from when Eris had joined him. Did this mean these dark, hulking heroes were on the same level as her, a beautiful goddess and his closest companion?!
“And, and... ever since we got to Corinth, he’s been strangely neglectful of me...”
If Dianes had heard that, he would have said, “We haven’t even been in Corinth for half a day yet?!”
“Tsk! Here! More wine and grilled skewers! And plenty of pickled olives!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
She knew Dianes was up at the prow chatting with his "hero" friends, but she felt too proud to interrupt and drag him away, so Eris was just eating through the ship’s rations.
For the self-centered Goddess of Discord, the lack of warm attention and care from her beautiful partner (to-be) was already causing withdrawal symptoms, and she was solving it through binge-eating.
“Humph! It’s humph-ing!”
Still, there was one thing that made her feel good. It was that the heroes Heracles and Iason had quite a good eye.
“That’s right. That’s exactly it. To a hero who brings such turmoil, who could be a better partner than this Eris?”
Gulp! Eris swallowed the vegetables along with the wine, her lips curling into a goofy smile.
“That’s right, that’s right. From the perspective of others, it’s only natural that such things would be said.”
Hehehe...
No matter how much she had lowered the depth of her spiritual body to the human level and suppressed her divinity, the body of a god that maintained perfect colorlessness didn’t even show signs of this much binge-eating. Just as Eris, who had risen lightly as if she’d only enjoyed a light breakfast after consuming enough meat and wine to satisfy fifteen grown men, was about to leave her room to see Dianes...
-BUUUUUUU!
“Eh?”
A trumpet blast so loud it shook the hull beneath her fragile human feet. Startled by the vibration that made her heart drop for the first time in her life, Eris came out to the deck and saw ships with Athena’s owl painted on them racing toward them from afar.
“Hmm~? Look at this?”
As the Goddess of Discord, Eris already understood all the discord and conflict surrounding Dianes. In particular, the rivalry between Theseus and Dianes over Atalanta during the Heroic War was already famous. It was a well-known fact that Theseus had returned as the Prince of Athens. Surely, if those Athenian ships attacked, she would be able to see a fun massacre, a different flavor from the one in the mountains.
“Hmm~ This is going to be fun!”
Quietly hiding her presence and floating her body lightly, Eris found a spot where the shipboard battle would be best viewed and planted her bottom.
“Hehehe! This is why I endure this inconvenience!”
Ares’s maxim—that the most powerful hero is at his most beautiful only when he is covered in the blood of his enemies—was something Eris had realized for sure when they crossed the mountain range last time.
“It was ecstatic when you were swinging your spear and sword in the mountains... but you’ll surely look cool standing on a ship drenched in blood under this bright sunlight!”
Eris waited in ecstasy, her lower belly heating up just thinking about it, but...
“What?! Why aren’t you fighting?!”