I Became a Slave to a Mythical Shepherd

Episode 45. homecoming

‘Pria… Mr. Paris, the son of Moss.’

That’s what the original status system fantasy is.

There is bound to be a prejudice that a person of that lineage will produce a superior, noble, and beautiful person, and that a person of that lineage will produce a vulgar villain.

Moreover, this era is an era in which civilization has been formed for several generations.

It is an era in which, if you explore remote areas for some time, you can easily find tribes on the level of the Neolithic Age.

An era in which you can call it barbarism, yet realize that your ancestors lived like that a while ago.

The cult of personal charisma was strong, as it was an era where lineage and traditional authority had not been accumulated for a long time.

“Somehow, he must have been a prince.”

“Even though you’re bizarrely intelligent.”

And fantasies about those who inherited him genetically.

The nobility and upper classes of Antandros exclaimed.

Everyone was praising the nobleness, clarity, and toughness that Paris had shown, and were surprisingly quickly coming to terms with the slave boy’s ‘true status’.

Yes. It would be very rare, if possible, for such noble qualities to come from common shepherd blood.

So, the governor’s statement that that boy, Paris, was born with royal blood must clearly point to the truth. The sense of incongruity they felt so far proves him.

In this way, they quickly adapt themselves to the new reality.

“… that’s nonsense.”

Except for two people.

Paris, seen by others, was superficial.

Beautiful slave boys, but that brings them wealth.

It was nothing more or less than that.

But not with Anoitus.

The child was also sarcastic about people’s ugliness.

He also knew how to make fun of people he didn’t like (such as himself when he fell into heroic disease).

He made frequent mistakes here and there, and although his physical abilities were excellent, he was not a warrior or engineer bestowed by God.

Paris was a ‘person’ to him, a friendly neighbor.

Anoitus, dumbfounded, turned his head away, but Skleos didn’t say anything either.

I wanted to ask if you knew, but with that look on my face, I didn’t even have to ask.

Skleos’ expression hardened to the point where he could make a bronze statue by taking the model and pouring molten copper.

And, I couldn’t say anything.

“Yes, wasn’t it Mr. Paris who came up with the core technology of the forge?”

“I guess that’s why there was always a man like a guard escort nearby.”

“It must be because of him that envoys came from the center. It’s shocking that Antandros is mass-producing steel, but if there was an enslaved prince at the center of it!”

In contrast, others are now beginning to put together a huge picture by sharing the fragments of the truth they knew.

and.

“The child…”

Skeleos finally opens his mouth.

Everyone already calls Paris “him,” “Paris,” or “Prince,” but I speak of the prince in a low-key way, as if I’m still living in the world until yesterday, “that child.”

But Skleos’ face was too serious for anyone to point out the rudeness.

“…you’ve hidden your identity from us.”

Skleos straightened his hair for a while, then spoke again.

“Hephaestus has commanded you to take care of the child, Paris.”

“…”

“…”

A Trojan prince chosen by God.

At this point, everyone was speechless and could only gulp their saliva.

In the frozen atmosphere, only Skleos continued.

“The child was once summoned to Olympus, and was even given an extension by the gods. Like a hero in a legend.”

The first blacksmith of Antandros looked around with a slightly dazed look on his face.

“And, now that he’s a prince, no surprise.”

“Then why were you summoned to Troia?”

“Perhaps to be recognized as a prince.”

Skleos thought for a moment about the dinner Paris had left at the inn.

It was a complicated feeling.

***

“Kuhm.”

The night was already deep.

Other servants went to sleep to overcome the fatigue of tomorrow.

Ino also climbs a nearby tree and lies down to sleep.

Like a parent watching over a cradle, nearby trees stretched out their branches to support Ino’s body like a net.

Not many were awake now.

Me, Aeneas, Anchises, and Theo older brothers.

Anchises and Theo were talking happily among themselves at a distance, probably having a conversation of ‘adults’.

Glancing over there, I saw that Theo had his spears lined up and his arrowheads pulled out, so he seemed to be showing off his iron weapons to Anchises.

So, the remaining conversation partners…

“Uh, are you okay talking?”

“···yes.”

Aeneas was the only one.

Even after I ‘officially’ revealed my true identity, Anchises was only formal and did not raise his words.

Because he is also the ruler of a city and a cousin of the king. never rank lower than me.

But what about that son, Aeneas?

“Far, did Paris-nim live in Antandros from the beginning?”

you should speak to me

Aeneas seemed a little confused when suddenly he had to entertain a slave he had treated comfortably for days. You will get used to it over time.

“huh. I came out of Troia when I was a baby, and I’ve lived almost my whole life in a shepherd’s village near here.”

“Then what about Oinone-sama…?”

Looking back at Aeneas, the anxious look in his eyes seemed to have wanted to ask this question from the beginning.

I’ve seen many cases similar to this. Children who lived abroad when they were young and suddenly came to Korea and became timid and unable to adapt.

There are many pedagogical studies on children whose living environment has changed dramatically in the middle.

···Perhaps, as I reminisced about my childhood, Oinone, whom I was close with, seems to have been embellished like ‘first love’ posthumously.

“Even with Oinone, we’ve been hanging out together since the memory, maybe?”

“okay···.’

Aeneas is staring at the empty space beside him with a dull expression like ‘I liked you first…’.

I feel like I’m choking on the smell of betanam.

I look up at Ino sleeping on top of the tree. He sleeps soundly with no sign of waking up.

Looking back, Theo and Anchises are still at a distance, chatting among themselves.

I tried to get out of this atmosphere somehow, but there was no one to save me in the late night forest.

After all, that means I’ll have to keep arguing with Aeneas about this horrible conversation.

“Anyway… so…”

“Oh, yes, I did…”

As I dragged the time for an hour or two, dawn dawned before I knew it.

One by one, the workers get up, walk the tent, and prepare to leave. I hadn’t stayed up all night, so my body was full of fatigue.

Ino is still sleeping on top of the tree. When I woke up with a gentle shake, Ino rubbed her eyes and looked down at me from the top of the tree.

“Uh… are you going?”

“uh. To meet my biological father.”

“That king?”

you are the king Suddenly, I felt like I was the main character in a traditional fairy tale, and I laughed.

“uh. that king. I am a prince.”

“Bye. I’ll sleep better.”

Oinone waved her hand for a while, then turned back and closed her eyes to avoid the sunlight.

Before I knew it, the ready-made workers were waiting for me. Theo’s brother was also in the carriage.

I got on the seat next to Theo.

“How does it feel to leave home? Ah, it must be close to returning home.”

“How are you feeling?”

Looking back, the road I had paved cut through the middle of the forest.

It goes round and round between the rocks and connects to the north.

If you leave that road, it’s a place I’ve never been.

“It’s not strange.”

***

Classical Greece, that is, the era in which familiar figures such as Plato, Pythagoras, and Herodotus were born a few hundred years from now.

What was the main means of transportation in an era that was much more advanced than now, accumulated history and traditions, and moved from the primitive Bronze Age to the Iron Age?

than on foot

There were many mountains around the Aegean Sea, and horses of this era did not have stirrups or horseshoes, so horses could not walk for long, and riding skills were difficult to master.

So, since mules and donkeys are small in size, they are not suitable for people to ride, and roads are not developed, so what can be done?

To go from Athens to Sparta in a week, I had to walk for ten days and sweat. In the meantime, I had to avoid bandits hiding here and there.

So what is the main means of transportation in a much less advanced civilization level that has not even entered the Iron Age?

also on foot

Even in downtown Antandros or its vicinity, the roads were paved and the streets were not far, so it was nice to walk around.

But the savagery and savagery out there did not allow us the luxury of roads.

“Today we are staying here!”

“Isn’t there a private house nearby?”

“What if I sleep in a private house and get strangled while sleeping? Paris, do you know anyone around here?”

“Uh… no.”

“Then stay here.”

homeless.

“There is no road from here?”

“Everyone take out your knives and axes. It goes while pruning this branch.”

Suspicious road construction.

“hehehehe, give me all the money you have…”

-puck! puck! puck!

“In this way, isn’t it the duty of a nobleman who has learned to fight thieves?”

“···okay.”

“Present yourself like a prince, Paris!”

Even unwanted policing work.

The European world 3,000 years ago was truly barbaric. I should have reincarnated in Egypt.

When I think about it, it’s strange.

Still, there should be cities every day or two?

And if you were a party with Anchises, the lord of Dardanos, you would be able to eat, sleep, and be treated very well in those cities?

Why did we continue our forced march here while being bathed in the cold dew and eating porridge with rabbit meat?

“First of all, isn’t there romance for the first reason? Adventure, that’s what makes a hero’s heart tremble!

Besides, I have an obligation to defeat more bandits and monsters and give the glory to my lover, Aphrodite!”

“Haven’t you just caught a mermaid? Damn, why is there a mermaid in the middle of the valley?”

“Ah, that must be the left over from Poseidon’s conquest of Troy. . . . And then, let go of that expression, prince. If you hear the second reason, your desire to beat me to death will cool down.”

“What is the second reason why you are so confident?”

Hearing my words, Anchises straightens his shoulders proudly and begins to speak.

“You really don’t know?”

“yes.”

“Can you tell me who is in our party?”

“uh···”

I looked around.

If all done, it would be about forty people, many if many, and few if few.

Fifteen guards, ten servants brought by Anchises and Aeneas, brother Theo, Anchises, Aeneas, and…

“you.”

Anchises points a finger at me.

what am i…

ah.

“I don’t want to drag around the rumor that Troy is taking the second prince with him. It’s a mission that must be kept secret.”

“… I guess so.”

Somehow, the back of my head stung as Anchises’ attendants stared at me as if they were going to kill me.

How can I not hold resentment when I was able to receive good treatment everywhere and now that I am sleeping richly because of me?

At the same time,

“…”

I realize again where I am going.

I’m going to Troy.

A place where my biological father and mother, who had no choice but to abandon me, are there.

Maybe I won’t be able to return to my hometown of Antandros for the rest of my life.

When I’m speechless, Anchises sees me like that and pats me on the back to comfort me.

“Don’t worry. Troia will be close soon. No, I’ve been walking for five days already, so it’s time to come out soon. Aeneas!”

“Yes, Father.”

“This is the forest we used to hunt together. Are you familiar with the scenery now? Explain the geography to Paris and get to know her better.”

···what? Is it to promote friendship with the newly reinstated prince? But I’m in a position where I can be charged with treason if I’m wrong?

Thinking so, he looked back at Anchises, but Anchises soon mounted the horse he had left beside him and went hunting for quail sitting on that tree.

Yes, the people I’ve seen so far called Anchises aren’t very calculating and bright. Rather, it is an impression that is closer to the mood group.

Anyway, after we set off, we had such a conversation, and walking next to each other for the first time in a long time made it awkward and felt like I was suffocating.

“…That’s a hill often used by nobles as a hunting ground.”

“Ah, um, yes, thank you.”

Aeneas kept saying that he was trying hard, but his speaking skills and social skills weren’t that good, and he just kept repeating just like Anchises said, ‘Where is that place’, ‘Where is this place’, so the conversation bounced here and there.

Looking at Theo, as if it was hard work, he was happily walking around with the servants of Anchises, whom he had become close with, as if asking him to do better. Like a nasty human being.

and,

By the time the tension of going to Troia disappears in my heart,

“excuse me! Arrival!!”

I got to witness the largest structure I have ever seen in my life.

“My God, Apollo, this suffering is finally over.”

“It was terrible to be homecoming like this. As soon as I return, I will give a thanks offering to Hermes-sama for coming back alive.”

Everyone is busy chattering about their impressions of facing a familiar landscape.

Anchises, Theo, and even the clumsy Aeneas all stretched out and relaxed, as if this scene was as familiar as long-worn clothes.

Therefore, I was the only one who twitched my neck nervously while looking at that huge city.

Troia.

The place where ‘I’ was born, Paris.

Where all fates will be decided.