Chapter 37: Eating Athena's Tribute
In the ancient and magnificent stone temple, Lorne held Medusa's little hand, followed the crowd of worshippers, and walked into the main hall.
The light of the morning sun shone through the ceiling of the dome onto the marble throne in front of them. A luxurious statue made of fragrant wood and gold, with ivory carvings as the exposed skin, came into their eyes.
This female ruler wears a bronze helmet and her long, textured hair falls behind her head like a waterfall. A wooden sculpture of an owl rests on her shoulder. Her upper body is covered with snake-patterned armor. She holds the Spear of Victory in her right hand and wears a sheepskin shield [Aegis] with golden tassels on her left hand. Her tall and slender figure exudes a chilling majesty and an inviolable sacredness.
The Minoans worshipped goddesses. Although some male gods were mentioned, the Minoan religion greatly outnumbered the goddesses, such as a mother goddess of fertility, a female ruler of animals, a female protector of cities, family, harvests, the underworld, etc. Some people believe that these are different manifestations of the same goddess, who usually have corresponding animal images such as snakes and birds.
All these traces reflect Athena, who is known as the Snake Goddess and Owl Goddess on Olympus.
As the crowd bowed their heads and prayed, the blasphemer among them raised his head slightly, passed his eyes over the group of humble believers who were willing to offer their wealth and property, and looked quietly at the female ruler on the throne, sizing up the deity's appearance with some contempt.
There was silence all around, and the statue still stood tall, offering no response to prayers, no comfort to pain, no punishment for contempt, and no sanction for filth.
Loen tightened Medusa's trembling little hand in his palm, turned his head and blinked at the Gorgon who was cowering beside him and dared not raise her head.
See, I told you it's okay, right?
As if infected by the ease of the people around her, Medusa mustered up her courage, slowly raised her little head, and her pair of purple-red pupils stole a glance at the face under the helmet.
Because this sculpture is infused with faith and blessed by divinity, it appears blurry from a distance, as if covered by a layer of mist, making it impossible for mortals to glimpse the holy face of God.
But a statue is a statue after all, standing high on the throne motionless, and is not even as threatening as a stray dog baring its teeth on the side of the road.
Suddenly, the fear that had been weighing on little Medusa's heart disappeared, and the gloom that had been accumulating on her face for a long time was diluted a lot, revealing her former nature.
"It's so boring here. When will it end? I'm hungry."
The Gorgon rubbed her belly and tugged at Lorne's hand, muttering quietly.
"immediately……"
Loen rolled his eyes at the real "hungry man" beside him. After hearing the reminder tone in his head indicating the end of the task, he pulled Medusa to follow the donation process and walked out of the back door of the temple.
And at the moment of crossing the threshold, Loen paused slightly, glanced back at the groups of believers behind him who looked poor, their clothes were washed white, but they still offered everything to the gods and yearned for a better life, as well as the sculpture in the hall that was so gorgeous and expensive that it could almost support dozens of families for several years. He shook his head slightly and murmured silently.
Do you really like humans that much, Athena?
The sculpture does not respond.
But in the memories in Ron's mind, there is a future related to the Minoans.
The eruption of the Thera volcano, the tsunami of Oceanus, the continuous acid rain, the lingering dust clouds, all these natural disasters representing the "wrath of God" will sound the death knell of their civilization.
The Mycenaeans from mainland Greece would eventually invade and rule the entire island of Crete, burying the goddess worship and the future of the Minoans...
It seems that you don't necessarily deserve this admiration.
——My dear...sister?
Outside the door, Loen sneered and shook his head, quietly put his outstretched hand back into his pocket, pulled up the hungry man beside him who was almost unable to contain himself, and walked towards the bustling city at the foot of the mountain.
Under the shade of a tree by the roadside, Medusa looked shocked.
"What? No money for dinner?"
"Of course, worshipping God does cost money. I have already dedicated all the lunch to the great Mistress."
Luo En spread his hands, feeling helpless, with a hidden smirk hidden behind his innocent eyes.
“…”
Upon hearing such bad news, Medusa's face, which was originally full of expectation, couldn't help but fall.
Then, she gritted her teeth and turned her head away angrily.
"Where are you going?"
"I'll get it back!"
“…”
Seeing that the fledgling Medusa had gone too far and become so ferocious after overcoming her fear of the gods, Loen's breathing stagnated and sweat broke out. He quickly grabbed the Gorgon who wanted to go up the mountain to rob money.
"No need, no need. Just use this as a buffer and use the reserve fund to advance lunch. I'll go buy it right away!"
Then, he took out a few fragrant and exquisite snacks from his pocket and handed them to Medusa.
"Try it, it tastes very good."
Medusa sniffed and took a small bite tentatively. Soon the sweet and refreshing taste blossomed on her taste buds, and a satisfying feeling surged into her heart. The young Gorgon's eyes sparkled and she praised the delicious food endlessly.
"tasty!"
"Of course."
Lorne nodded without surprise, picked up a piece and put it in his mouth to taste it, the corners of his lips raised with pleasure, and he spoke leisurely.
"This is a top-quality product for worshipping the gods, so it must taste amazing."
Medusa, who was wolfing down her food, was startled. She lowered her head in amazement and looked at the iconic snake and olive leaf patterns on the snack in her hand. Her small body trembled suddenly.
"You stole the goddess's tribute?"
"What do you mean by stealing? I paid for it. It's a fair deal, no cheating."
Luo En corrected him righteously and stuffed another piece of dessert into his mouth.
Medusa subconsciously hugged the remaining snacks to her arms, and then asked in a daze.
"But isn't our money supposed to be offered to the gods?"
"That's right. We offered sacrifices to the gods and she accepted them, so this means that she is willing to solve our problems and provide us with shelter."
Lorne nodded, his smile growing wider.
"So the question is, what was our trouble then?"
"Hungry?"
Medusa thought about it, then murmured while touching her belly.
Lorne clapped his hands and explained with a smile.
"So, you see, we offer what we have to the gods, show our piety, and find solutions to problems, and the gods give back what they have, show mercy, and help us. It's a fair trade, no one is cheated, isn't that right?"
“…”
Faced with this seemingly logical reasoning, Medusa was a little confused. It took her a while to come to her senses and she snorted coldly.
"Have you asked the goddess?"
"certainly!"
"And what did she say?"
"She acquiesced."
Loen looked solemn and spoke leisurely, muttering to himself.
Today, I not only completed a weekly book, but also brushed the [Daily Book]. My money was not wasted, and I got to taste the palace's craftsmanship. It was a huge profit!
At this moment, a smile that was brewing with joy quietly appeared on that face, invisibly exposing someone's true nature.
Although on the surface he was kidnapped by the dice, all the choices were made by him personally.
Loen, a soul from the future, clearly lacks true reverence for the so-called gods and destiny.
As his true nature was gradually exposed, he gradually began to enjoy the pleasure of fooling the gods. He put the blame on the dice while taking the initiative to make trouble and dragged Medusa into the pirate ship.
After all, this future Gorgon would be killed by the demigod hero, and even her head would become an ornament on the shield in the hands of the goddess Athena.
This time, just take her to collect interest from Athena in advance.
But obviously unlike Loen who had transformed into a fun-loving person, Medusa still felt a little uneasy due to her deep-rooted fear of the gods, and she couldn't help but hum a soft reminder.
"That goddess better really thinks so."
"Don't worry, the Great Lady is a merciful and tolerant god. How could she watch her devout followers starve?"
Loen complimented the wood carvings in the temple against his will, looking very righteous.
"It is not pious for a believer to make irresponsible remarks about the gods. If one has an insincere heart, what qualifications do one have to ask for the care of the gods?"
Just as the two were whispering, a faint whisper came from a stall on the side. A girl with long silver hair and wearing a white silk exquisitely embroidered skirt put down the items she had picked up, turned around and looked at Lorne and Medusa under the shade of the tree. Her pair of purple eyes were as deep as the night and as bright as stars.
Behind her, a little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes and a wreath on her head was pulling the skirt of the girl in the embroidered dress, sticking her head out with a smile, and looking at the opposite side with a gloating look.
(End of this chapter)
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