The Bull of Minoa (1)
The king blamed the queen. The queen blamed the king. They cursed each other's blood, accused each other of infidelity, and stabbed thorns called words into one another. Amid all that, the boy with ox horns standing between them simply felt it was all his fault. He shouldn't have been born. He wondered why he had been born at all, why he had been born with these horns, and he asked the Dragon Goddess again and again. But the Dragon Goddess merely told the young boy that every life had a reason for being born.
So the boy lived on as if dead, waiting until the day he would understand the meaning of his own birth. Until the king, who saw the boy as a thorn in his eye, finally threw him into the labyrinth beneath the palace.
Following rumors of a beastkin ox called a monster, I arrived at a city-state on an island a short distance from the mainland. Minoa's city-state had been a cluster of decent-sized villages 300 years ago, but now it had amassed great wealth from the fertile plains in the island's south and abundant marine resources, developing into a proper city-state. Being on an island made it relatively safe from invasions elsewhere, allowing its national power to build up steadily. Especially in architecture—they'd made impressive advances there.
By cutting rocks into suitable stone blocks and stacking them into buildings, their structures were enormous compared to those elsewhere. Was it because their foundations were so solid that they could build big? Other places used wooden pillars, but here they used stone ones. And so...
"What an incredible palace."
Right in the city center stood a palace that wouldn't pale in comparison to the temples in the Pantheon. A square one, with each side easily over 160 meters long. To think humans could build something like this. Humans were developing faster than I'd imagined.
Humans are amazing!!
Well, setting aside that amazement, there was one annoying thing about this city.
"Oh my. A guest from outside? With those ox horns, you must be a beastkin ox. Welcome to Minoa."
A friendly-looking woman smiled at me, and I awkwardly averted my gaze. And for good reason—the people in this city...
Their clothes were way too immodest! Was it the warm climate? The outfits were thin and skimpy... skimpy... Should I call it skimpy? Or just nonexistent fabric?! Men wandered around in shorts barely qualifying as pants, and women with most of their chests exposed! So immodest! I shook my head slightly at the sight and headed elsewhere.
First things first—find that rumored monster. I couldn't stay long in a place this indecent! Maybe start at the Life Temple. Surely even this city had one.
"Excuse me. Where's the Life Temple in this city?"
"Life Temple?"
The woman in the immodest outfit thought for a moment.
"Ah! You mean the temple to the Dragon Goddess! Just follow the central avenue to the plaza, and you'll spot it right away."
Dragon Goddess? What the heck?
And so I arrived at the Life Temple. Or rather, the Dragon Goddess Temple. Fortunately, the people here wore normal, non-immodest clothes. Phew. What a relief. Really. If even here they'd been dressed like that, I'd have been in serious trouble.
"What brings you here, little guest?"
"Ah, excuse me. Is this the Life Temple?"
"Hmm? Ah, you're from out of town. Yes, it is. We worship the one called the Goddess of Life elsewhere."
"Someone told me it's called the Dragon Goddess Temple."
The priest-like figure smiled wryly, as if helpless.
"It's a local variation, like a native religion twist. Don't mind it—it's a pretty unique change."
"I can't deny that, but why Dragon Goddess of all things?"
It felt like my true nature had been exposed. If word spread like that, rumors might fly that the Goddess of Life was actually a dragon!
"This island originally had primitive faiths worshiping a serpent goddess and venerating bulls as sacred. Then the teachings of the Life Temple seeped in, mixing with the dragon god faith from Lizardmen tribes we trade with... and it became the Dragon Goddess faith. Serpent scales and bull horns, blended with other beliefs."
Hmm. Interesting. A mix of local religions, external faith, and the Lizardmen's Creator Dragon God.
"Bulls, though?"
"Yes. Records say many of the island's settlers were ox beastkin. That admiration led to a native faith treating oxen as sacred."
Hmm... Oxen. Come to think of it, the rumored monster kid was an ox beastkin too. Maybe a descendant of theirs.
"Thanks for the info. Mind if I ask one more thing?"
"Of course. For a fellow ox beastkin like you, little guest, I'd answer anything."
Hmm... She mistook me for one because of my horns? Well, that works in my favor.
"I heard a rumor about an ox beastkin called a monster in this city. Know where they might be?"
The priest's face darkened instantly at my words.
"I don't know where you heard that, but you shouldn't believe such rumors. Just let them pass in one ear and out the other."
Hmm? Rumor? What was with this reaction? Like it was something you weren't supposed to talk about. But if it was really hidden, how did word leak outside?
"Just a bit of curiosity. If it satisfies that, I won't dig further. Just a tiny hint?"
The priest looked troubled, glanced around, then spoke softly.
"It's... really not something to say, but if you promise to keep it secret..."
"Sure. I didn't hear a thing."
"Not entirely trustworthy, but... fine. You must keep the secret."
After a few more assurances, the priest continued.
"The child born between the king and queen—that's the ox beastkin called a monster."
"Hmm? The prince of this city-state?"
"No... The king and queen are both human. A baby with ox horns suddenly born between them... He wasn't acknowledged as prince."
Hmm? Human and human produce an ox beastkin? Adultery?! An affair?! Love and war?! Now the story's getting juicy!!
"The queen's infidelity?"
"No, probably not. Before the child was born, they were the city's most lovey-dovey couple. And no ox beastkin around the queen suspicious of philandering..."
Hmm. Sudden ox beastkin from two humans. Not impossible. If one of their ancestors was an ox beastkin... atavism could activate dormant genes. Latent genes can suddenly express.
"Any ox beastkin in the king or queen's parents or grandparents?"
"I'm... not sure. There might be records, but..."
Fair enough. Humans might not grasp atavism. Anyway, I get why they hush up the "monster."
"Thanks for telling me. I'll be off then."
"Yes. Please keep what I said secret."
"Don't worry. I heard nothing."
Above all, that so-called monster ox beastkin—I'll clear the false stigma of being an affair's bastard child.
With light steps, I headed for the massive palace. Alright. Now, where's this city's king?
After cloaking myself and searching the palace nooks and crannies, I found the king. It took time rummaging through hundreds of rooms one by one, but it was fun sightseeing, so I was satisfied.
"Ugh..."
The discovered king sat alone in an empty small room, sadly drinking wine. The picture of a pitiful widower. His disheveled state—who'd guess he ruled a city? I'd passed him twice without realizing. Only servants' chatter clued me in that this sorry bachelor was the king.
"Queen... What was lacking that you cheated? What did I lack..."
The king's pathetic, boozy figure was utterly wretched. So...
"What a pathetic sight."
Here, I'd lend a little help.
