I Became a Slave to a Mythical Shepherd

Chapter 114. Gaiden – Second Star Simon

The meal is over.

The guests who came to the banquet now left one by one. Of course, the festive atmosphere of the city is not so easily extinguished, and people still cheered and did not stop enjoying themselves.

Many of the Trojan royals also stayed behind to face the citizens of Antandros. Priam seemed to use this opportunity to stamp his face on the citizens and secure the loyalty of Antandros.

Besides that, there were complicated political calculations going on among the departing guests, and the queues to send secret letters or glances to Priam and Hector did not diminish.

However, for about a day, Ino and I had free time.

“board! board! board! board!”

“spin! Spin around!”

It’s time to meet the family.

It’s not a big deal to say that it’s a shepherd’s marriage.

In front of a town hall or something like that, there was a long table and heaps of grilled meat, cheese, and bread, and all they did was eat their fill or dance.

Some act like clowns, while others wear the masks of the new version of the shepherds and run around.

It’s a messy, filthy feast. Food is tough, people are tougher.

But this was enough for everything.

As Ino and I hugged each other and spun around, the villagers laughed as they watched their next-door boy marry his childhood friend.

“You can’t do this here! When the bride and groom spend their energy, it is decided separately!”

“If the king rolls on the dirt floor like this, will it be used? All expensive clothes will be ruined!”

When we thought we had turned around about 20 times, we fell over, and familiar uncles and aunts came and picked us up.

While my eyes were still spinning dizzy, someone tapped me on the back, brushed off the dirt from my cloak, and put back the crown that had fallen to the floor.

“Since we have already been to the temple, there is no need for a grandiose ceremony here. However, if you pass by and see the statue of Pan, anoint him with oil.”

“Yes, Father.”

“He is the one who has protected and taken care of you since you were a child. Isn’t it all thanks to him that you have become such a full-fledged adult?”

Actually it is. It would not be an exaggeration to say that I owe my childhood to Pan, as all shepherds are under his protection.

…Except when I was young, I asked Pan why he was holding a ancestral rite and got stabbed in the side by a goat.

“Okay, I’ll be sure to thank you, Mr. Pan.”

“Yeah, well thought out. Now you too go back to the city. before the sun goes down.”

“Ino? You also worked hard. Thank you for being with my son…”

Ino held her mother’s hand and looked at me as if she was embarrassed and unable to say anything. Mother immediately let go of Ino’s hand, hugged me, and escorted me to the stream under the hill.

And, soon we entered the forest road.

There was no escort. This is near the foot of Mt. Ida, and Mt. Ida belongs to Ino. According to the fairies, very few mermaids have been seen around here these days.

There was a dirt road made by people’s footsteps between the thick bushes. As I walked along the road, a fork came out, and a statue of Hermes and a statue of Pan appeared.

Me and Ino first flipped a coin on the statue of Hermes and then prayed.

Then he turned his head toward the statue of Pan.

A person with goat horns on his head and the lower body of a goat.

I put a coin on the altar, opened the cap of the bottle I was wearing around my waist, and poured olive oil over the statue’s head. Here and there, the charred marble was covered in slippery olive oil.

“Guardian of the wild and of life and of all shepherds, here comes one who was once your servant and pays his respects.

Thank you for abundance, safety, and fat, healthy sheep for me and my family. I praise you and wish you nothing but glory.”

As I got down on one knee and prayed, I felt a little warm energy rise from my stomach. Ino also looked back at me and smiled, probably feeling the same energy.

Soon we dusted off our knees, stood up, and left in front of the statue.

Looking back, Pan’s face glistened in the sunlight filtering through the leaves.

And once a wind blew and the coins on the altar shook.

It flew away as if it was sucked into the bushes behind the statue.

***

[…it’s shiny.]

[Yes, of course. Aren’t all metals like that?]

[It’s been too long since I’ve touched anything like this. How rich would the shepherds be?]

The half-man, half-beast god, who was lying on the rock, got up. Her hairy legs moved slowly, cutting through the brush and entering a fork in the road that was now empty.

To the crossroads where the statue of himself and Hermes is located.

The great Pan felt a strange feeling as he stroked the sacred olive oil-covered idol.

[father.]

[Why?]

The one who answered Pan’s question was a man who looked much younger than Pan, who had the appearance of a middle-aged man. A guardian deity of travelers who wears winged shoes and carries a staff entwined with snakes.

Hermes.

Pan turned his gaze toward his father, Hermes.

[What kind of guy is that guy?]

[Why are you asking me that? Of all the gods, you must have been watching that child the longest.]

[However, he is still a child who cannot catch the bell. Do you know what makes me leave the comfortable shepherding life and get burned and touch the iron? Do you know why I left the kingdom to meet my real parents?]

Pan plucks a nearby flower, examines it carefully, puts it in his mouth and bites it off.

[I don’t know. When I was young, I was puzzled even when I saved the life of a person who almost died several times. Why does that child not worship the gods, why does he go so far away from being a shepherd…

A boy who makes the gods wonder. He’s the boy the gods fear. Aren’t you curious about your father?]

[Nothing.]

For a moment, Hermes looked at his god statue with gold leaf on the staff. Expensive materials were used lavishly wherever Hermes’ sanctuary was located near Antandros.

[It’s just wonderful.]

[…Come to think of it, what do the gods think about that child’s marriage? Don’t the three goddesses hate and love that child?]

[Ah, that pride fight.]

Hermes smiles bitterly and scans the path Paris has just passed.

[What can I do? It’s something no one can stop. Even the goddesses themselves.]

The fight of the gods was originally like that.

***

There were three cities that Goddess Hera loved the most, and that Hera worshiped the most: Argos, Mycenae, and Sparta.

And among them, it was Mycenae that built the most beautiful and magnificent temple for the queen of the gods.

The noblest daughter of Kronos and Rhea, the most majestic of the goddesses of Olympus, and the guardian of the sanctity of marriage and family.

She sat on the golden throne prepared for her by the Mycenaeans and bit her nails. The sculptures of peacocks are engraved on the marble columns lined up side by side.

No mortal dared to watch the goddess. The priests all at once withdrew from the room and blocked all doors and windows. This was to ensure that no one could peek at the holy form of the goddess without permission.

In this place where neither the sun nor the moon can reach, Hera was immersed in agony, relying on the flickering of torches.

Paris is married. Therefore, his love came under his protection.

However, this marriage must be broken, and the power of Aphrodite and her son is fearful and terrible.

With what kind of confidence do mortals dare to challenge God’s ‘gift’? In the end, it will end in a crushing defeat.

[That’s stupid. How do you try to overcome something that even the gods can’t overcome?]

Hera sighs and says so, knowing that no one will hear.

I feel complicated.

Although he feels sorry for the reckless boy, he is filled with anger at what is about to happen.

If it were Aphrodite, she would try to achieve her will even by using the golden arrows of her son Eros. Paris, the second son of Priam, would not be unaware of this fact.

However, what could be a greater sin than this to recklessly swear in front of God?

If, shortly afterwards, Aphrodite fulfills her promise and gives Paris ‘the most beautiful woman’, then Hera will condemn Paris.

For breaking his promise to God, for abandoning his poor wife and coveting another woman.

As I made that resolution, I looked at my nails that had shortened before I knew it.

[My queen.]

A familiar voice is heard from somewhere.

Looking back, the goddess of war was standing there.

[…Why did Metis’s daughter come into my realm?]

[Well, don’t we have enemies to repay?]

As Athena leans her shield against a nearby marble pillar, the swaying golden arts droop, while a woman with serpentine hair squirms in the middle.

After a brief look at the famous shield, Hera turns her head to Athena.

[Enemy? Pallas Athena, I don’t know what that means.]

[Nothing else. Whether mortals are pitiful or hateful, our work must be done rigorously.

Whether it was his intention or not, we were insulted, and if the insults inflicted on God are not repaid, God’s name will surely be disgraced.]

Athena stroked the rim of a nearby brazier and held the fire in her bare hand.

The hand of the goddess was on fire, and then it was restored again. The Goddess of War did not budge and crumbled the burning coals in her hand.

[We must show the god’s solemn anger and firm will. It is, after all, respect and fear that invites mortal obedience.]

[…]

Hera felt goosebumps rise up involuntarily at Athena’s voice, which spoke coldly but accurately.

However, that too must have been the intention of that arrogant Metis daughter. She says with a stiff bow of her head, not showing any signs of agitation.

[So, what are you going to do? Are you trying to turn Troia into a sea of fire? The city that Zeus cherishes the most, without any justification?]

[The justification is to wait. I will come to you someday The tricks of this country’s clever king will help us.]

[but.]

Hera made a deliberate crackling sound and moved closer to Athena. flapping the veil to overwhelm her with majesty.

[Not yet.]

yes, not yet

[Punishment must be given to those who deserve it.]

The boy was still at a loss, being swept away by the huge mass of emotions that filled his young heart.

That alone is not a reason for punishment.

[For now, don’t wait. Daughter of Metis, do not be impatient. Your queen is talking, so listen carefully.]

[…if the Supreme One thinks so.]

Athena, laughing and sarcastic, reached for the shield she had just put down. Then the shield flies through the air and returns to Athena’s left hand.

And when she tapped the floor lightly three times with the spear,

The new model of the goddess had disappeared.

Hera stared blankly at the spot where the goddess had disappeared for a moment, then raised her hand and snapped it.

All lights in the room are turned off.

Priests enter the empty room and open the window to ventilate it. For the noble queen of the gods who will one day return.

***

[Son… you are drowsy.]

The body of the goddess floated along the waves. The foam of the sea gleamed with pearly white light and crashed into her body, breaking again and again.

[My head is dizzy…]

Aphrodite raised her two white arms, rubbed her temples, and turned her head to face the island of Cythera.

The first land she touched after being born in the foam of the sea. A place where those who serve them go on a pilgrimage and kiss the feet of their gods.

When my mind was complicated, I would come here and soak myself in the seawater or some small spring without thinking like now…

It seemed useless now.

As the goddess walked out onto the deserted shore, Peyto, the goddess of persuasion, approached and anointed Aphrodite with perfume. Next to her came the winged boy, and draped a tunic, cloak, and veil over her.

Aphrodite turned to the boy, to Eros, the god of love.

[Son. Mortals are so, so hard to understand. Even though it seems very clever, how can we know all about it when it turns out to be so stupid.]

[Humans are like that. You just have to do what your mother wants.]

As I will.

Yes, it is a victory that has been won for a long time, so it cannot be lost.

[You are right. You remember the insults that Kronos’ sons and daughters gave me. They sold me like a slave to the son they abandoned… and forced me to marry…]

A frown spreads across his ivory face like a crack. Anger burns in her eyes.

[I can’t forgive you.]

She is the daughter of Uranus, a goddess who appeared from the foam of the sea.

Those who now raise their noses as the king and queen of the gods have already stepped on this land with maturity before they were born.

[You have to show them your dignity, Mother.]

Yes, majesty and power.

I will show them the supremacy of beauty that no authority or wisdom can overcome.

···but.

-“The second son of Priam will keep his love.”

The words of a lover come to mind. Anchises said so, confidently.

It is a love that can overcome even the orders of God. Isn’t it too beautiful to break?

As a goddess of beauty and love, if her heart is not moved by that beauty, her heart must have disappeared.

[… son.]

[Why is that?]

Aphrodite dried her hair in the sun and kissed her son’s forehead.

[Can I avenge this mother without hurting that pitiful and lovely boy?]

Is there any other way?

Besides the path full of pain and tears, isn’t there another way, albeit somewhat annoying?

Eros shook his head slowly, and then Aphrodite stroked her son’s wings and said.

[Still, let’s try to find one. huh? It won’t be too much trouble.]

[···All right.]

Soon, the god of love spread his wings with a sullen face and soared high into the sky.

I can’t do it even if I don’t feel like it. He was the son and servant of the goddess.

There was so much to do.