Chapter 98 I'm Still Too Upright (4k)
The next day, the sky was still light and the morning was dim.
Dozens of chariots pulled by hunting dogs and golden-horned deer drove through the broad main road and approached the gate of Knossos. They were loaded with various prey, piled high, and looked like raised hills from a distance.
"It's the Secretary! Quick, open the city gate!"
The city defense commander in charge of patrolling saw the familiar figure on the carriage and immediately ordered the soldiers to turn the capstan to open the entrance to the city.
Loen looked up and glanced, and found that the officer patrolling on the city wall today was actually an acquaintance.
——When the waves raised by Poseidon swept across the island of Crete, the city of Knossos was in chaos. It was he and the three priestesses of the temple who authenticated Anna's identity as the envoy of God in person, and later allocated personnel to assist in defending the coastline.
Luo En waved to the figure on the top of the city wall and said with a smile: "Thank you."
The officer was flattered and immediately pounded his chest with his right fist, nodding respectfully in response: "You're welcome, Mr. Secretary."
Then, holding the bronze helmet he had taken off in one hand, he came to the city gate, looked at this strange convoy, and asked attentively.
"Mr. Secretary, how can I help you?"
Loen glanced at the figure standing upright, his eyes lingering on the golden double-sided axe badge on his chest for a few seconds.
If I remember correctly, the badge he wore on his chest before should be a silver one.
Realizing where the enthusiasm came from, Loen smiled slightly, did not refuse, and raised his hand to point to the side.
"Miss Cynthia went into the mountains yesterday and hunted some prey. She couldn't finish it all, so she wanted to share it with the residents of Knossos for free."
Listening to a guide's introduction to her, Artemis, who was driving, smiled and nodded, revealing a hint of hidden satisfaction.
Although she is a goddess, she does not like the noisy feeling of being the center of attention. Hiding her identity will undoubtedly make her journey more lasting and relaxing.
At this moment, the officer in front of the door finished listening to Loen's statement and immediately showed a knowing smile.
"Okay, sir. I will have people clean up the public area of the sacrificial site and maintain order. I will also send a message to the temple and ask them to send people to gather the people and distribute the prey."
Lorne and Artemis looked at each other and nodded slightly.
The sacrificial site is not only used to present sacrifices to the gods, it is also a bridge connecting gods and humans, and the upper and lower classes.
Usually after the sacrifice, the remaining part of the offering would be distributed to the people as a gift from the gods.
As descendants and spokespersons of the gods, royal families with divine blood flowing in their veins would often send their hunted prey to the sacrificial site, have the priests divide and process it before distributing it to the people in order to demonstrate their benevolence towards the people and rally their hearts.
Although strictly speaking, it seemed a bit of an oversight to hand over the sacred sacrificial site to this clerk for use.
But the man in front of him was already the uncrowned king of Knossos and had truly saved the island of Crete. Who would care about these little details?
Moreover, past experience also told him that doing so might not be a bad thing.
The officer touched the golden double-sided axe badge on his chest that represented the legion commander, and looked at the two men with even more enthusiasm and attentiveness.
"Sir, leave the rough work of loading and unloading to my boys. The sacrificial ground has recently brewed a new batch of wine and is ready to use it to worship the gods, but I don't know how good it is. Since you are here, I would like to ask you, an expert, to taste it."
Looking at the officer whose face was full of the expression "I really want to make progress", Loen, who was invited so cordially, felt a little amused and helpless.
Sure enough, no matter where we go or what era we are in, human beings’ “ambition” remains so simple and unpretentious.
"This year's new wine?"
At this time, Artemis on the side couldn't help licking her lips when she thought of the wonderful experience yesterday.
Seeing this, Loen knew what the goddess of hunting was thinking at the moment, so he waved his hand.
"Okay, take me to see it."
"Okay!"
The officer immediately agreed with a smile on his face. After handing the scene over to his deputy, he took the initiative to lead the way, not caring at all about his identity as the legion commander.
Soon, under the guidance of this native Minoan, the two men entered the storage room of the sacrificial site through the main gate and had a smooth journey.
By the way, the gatekeeper was also an acquaintance—one of the three priestesses who had verified Anna’s identity.
At present, they are directly dispatched by the high priestess Ariadne.
Looking at several white-robed priestesses placing jars of newly brewed wine on the table for him and Artemis to taste, Loen was even more amused and helpless.
By the way, does this count as abusing public power for personal gain and abusing power?
But after thinking it over, he didn't dwell on this issue too much.
Not to mention drinking a few bottles of wine offered to the gods, old King Minos now wished he could pack up the entire island of Crete, including his beloved daughter, and give them to him so that he could take over and withstand the pressure from the Sea of Oceanus.
Compared with the more than 30,000 kilograms of prey he brought into the city, enough for the entire city to eat for half a month (more than 10,000 kilograms for Athena and more than 20,000 kilograms for Artemis), he just ate a little and took some tribute casually. His integrity and wisdom were so outrageous.
So, am I still too upright?
well……
While shaking his head and sighing at his own high moral standards, Lorne pulled several boxes of special pastries from the storage shelf into the opened magic circle.
As for the newly brewed wine at the sacrificial site, he didn't touch it at all.
There is no other reason. Even if you learn quickly, it will be very difficult to catch up with or surpass him in the craft of winemaking.
Sure enough, Artemis just picked up the cup and took a few sips, and couldn't help but spit out the wine.
“So sour!”
"There's nothing we can do. The storage equipment isn't very well sealed. To prevent it from going bad, we need to use some grapes that aren't fully ripe to make new wine."
As the future god of wine, Loen could analyze the reason with his innate divinity even with just a glance.
Then, in order to save face in front of the gods for the priestesses who were busy around them, he chuckled and comforted Artemis who was in charge of tasting.
"However, after it has been exposed to air for a while and oxidized, it will get better. It may even have a nutty aroma and a sweet taste similar to honey."
"real?"
The hunting goddess was skeptical, but after seeing Loen nod in assurance, she tasted another one out of curiosity.
However, after just one mouthful, Artemis couldn't help but spit it out again.
"Why does it smell like herbs?"
Hearing Artemis' complaints, Loen was also speechless, but there was nothing he could do.
Historically, wine in ancient Greece was not fermented or aged in oak barrels.
To enhance the flavor of wine, winemakers use certain herbs or plant juices to increase the complexity of the wine.
Therefore, the ancient Greeks believed that the wine brewed in this way was a healthy drink, and often made it into medicine with medicinal herbs, tree sap, olive oil or plant roots to treat diseases such as dysmenorrhea or depression.
But apparently, the goddess of hunting, who was free from illness and disaster, could not get used to this strange taste that was artificially added.
Forget it, inventions and creations always involve many detours.
After all, wine is just a new product now. Even if you contribute your knowledge of the brewing process for free, it cannot stop ordinary people from being curious and trying it boldly.
As the future god of wine, Loen comforted himself while making excuses for the priestesses who had made no contributions but had worked hard.
Faced with the eager gazes of the people around her, the hunting goddess forced herself to cheer up. After tasting several kinds of new brews, she finally couldn't bear it anymore. She threw down the wine glass, dragged Loen and ran away.
"The new products they made are simply inedible!"
Outside the door, Artemis, standing in the corner, criticized bluntly, then rinsed her mouth with honey water and looked at the guide beside her with emotion.
"Forget it, I'll just drink the wine you brew from now on."
Luo En looked at the slender hand that rested on his shoulder just out of approval, and his eyes flashed faintly.
Are you sure? Aren't you afraid of waking up with a sore butt?
Just as the man and the god were hiding in the shade and thinking, groups of figures approached from outside the sacrificial site.
Artemis, who had some psychological trauma from wine tasting, felt a sudden shock in his heart and subconsciously wanted to grab the guide beside him and run away.
However, before the hunting goddess could set off, a series of voices, some old, some young, some deep, and some clear, called out to the two of them.
"Mr. Secretary? And... Miss Cynthia, right? Goddess, thank you for sending so many prey. Finally, we don't have to worry about winter."
"My family was given a pig's leg, weighing about 100 kilograms. Now I can use it to nourish the children."
"In there, I saw the giant python that was entrenched in the southern foothills of Mount Crete and was causing chaos. The city organized people to fight against it several times, but failed. Even my brother died there, and I lost an arm because of it. Now I can actually see the day when it is eradicated, and even eat its meat. It's really satisfying!"
“…”
Amid the chatter, faces filled with joy, gratitude, curiosity, or enthusiasm crowded around the two people and expressed their gratitude sincerely.
Although it is the Age of Gods with abundant animals and resources, meat is still a relatively scarce good thing for most ordinary people.
A total of more than 30,000 kilograms was transported to the city of Knossos and distributed to them free of charge. For these ordinary people, it was like being hit on the head by a happy pie.
The secretary, who had become a familiar face in the city, raised his hand slightly, stopped the excited and restless crowd, and pointed out the real hero with a smile.
"It has nothing to do with me. This is all thanks to Cynthia. If you want to thank someone, thank her."
Suddenly, the crowd who received the gifts rushed towards the beautiful girl in hunting clothes.
"Thank you Miss Cynthia, you are such a kind person!"
"I have meat to eat, thank you Sister Cynthia!"
"You're such a great girl for catching so many prey!"
Some of them praised generously, their eyes full of sincere gratitude; others took out red dates, dried fruits, garlands, copper coins and other things they had and placed them at the feet of the huntress as a tiny reward.
Faced with such a noisy and chaotic situation, Artemis, who was surrounded in the middle, was a little at a loss for a moment.
For this hunting god, hunting is just a hobby to vent his energy.
Distributing the prey was simply a matter of convenience because it was difficult to handle so much of the harvest.
However, it was unexpected that such a simple move could gain such enthusiasm and gratitude from these humans far beyond the formal sacrifices and miracles bestowed by the gods.
Artemis didn't quite understand the reason behind this.
Fortunately, the noise didn't seem to bother her that much.
Just as the hunting god was about to be drowned in the enthusiastic crowd, a lazy but clear voice echoed in everyone's ears.
"Everyone, I heard that after the prey is roughly divided up, you can still get some leftovers such as internal organs and fur, but the quantity is limited. If you go too late, they will be gone..."
"besides?"
"The fur is just perfect for keeping out the cold during the winter!"
“Hurry, hurry, hurry!”
In an instant, everyone who heard the news turned around and rushed to the sacrificial site as if they were injected with chicken blood.
The area around Artemis suddenly cleared out and the place became quiet again.
After successfully sending away this group of enthusiastic uncles and aunts and neighbors, Loen walked forward and asked with concern.
"Are you okay, goddess? How are you feeling?"
Artemis looked up at the rising fiery red sun in the sky, and at the smiling faces at the sacrificial site, and the corners of her lips couldn't help but curl up.
"not bad……"
Loen saw the subtle changes in the hunting goddess's expression and a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Okay, we've almost finished distributing the things, and we should leave. Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll have to rescue you again."
Hearing this, Artemis remembered the enthusiastic residents who had overwhelmed her just now, and her face changed involuntarily. She quickly followed the guide and subconsciously asked, "Where are we going?"
Lorne replied as a matter of course: "Going home, of course."
Then, he looked back at the goddess of hunting behind him and smiled warmly: "You've been busy all day, you haven't eaten yet, right? It just so happens that I asked the city defense army to save some good ingredients and send them to Lady Hestia's home..."
After a brief pause, Lorne stretched and his smile widened.
"Wait a minute, I will cook a sumptuous meal myself using these rare ingredients to reward you for your hard work in this hunting trip."
"good!"
Artemis was delighted to hear this thoughtful and comfortable post-match arrangement. She nodded happily immediately, then licked her lips and asked subconsciously.
"Any wine?"
"Yes! There should be a few bottles of wine brewed earlier in the lower level of the cellar. I guarantee you will enjoy drinking it to your heart's content!"
Now, the hunting goddess was even happier, and her steps became lighter.
However, after walking a few steps, Artemis vaguely remembered something, and the happy expression on her face froze slightly.
In the storage room of the sacrificial site, the clerk who was invited to taste the wine first, except for persuading her to drink more, seemed to have not touched a drop of alcohol from beginning to end?
...This guy!
Looking at the figure that had already walked away in front of him, Artemis realized it belatedly and his face turned dark.
But in the end, she gritted her teeth and chose to catch up quickly.
——Now that things have come to this, let’s eat first.
(End of this chapter)
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