Hilde originally thought that Alcibiades would not like cleaning toilets, and thought that after a while, he would do something else instead of doing this kind of thing. However, after a closer look, Alcibiades was seen cleaning toilets in many scenes, and it was obvious that he loved this job. Hilde shook his head helplessly. It seemed that there were some deviations in history. This legendary general in history has now become a ruthless toilet cleaning machine.
If he likes it so much...
Then let him do it for a while longer.
Hilde gave up the idea of discussing today's results with Alcibiades. After all, Hilde was not very willing to get close to a man who was scrubbing the toilet so enthusiastically.
So Hilde changed her mind and went to another room in the palace. After reaching the door, Hilde knocked on it and said to the person inside: "I am Hilde. Is it convenient to disturb you now? Herodotus."
"No problem at all."
Soon, Herodotus came over and opened the door.
When she saw Herodotus, Hilde smiled and said to him, "I'm sorry to bother you at this time, but since you came back, I haven't had time to come and see you and talk to you about what you have seen and heard in Thrace during this period."
"Your Majesty, you are too polite. I haven't had time to see you in person since I came back. I saw too many things when I went to Thrace, and I wrote a lot of manuscripts. So I am now sorting out my manuscripts and writing them all on parchment. Thanks to this trip to Thrace, I have a deeper understanding of the Thracian people, and many of my previous doubts have now been resolved."
Hilde glanced into the house.
Indeed, there were a lot of papyrus on Herodotus's table. Papyrus is indeed convenient to carry, but it is difficult to preserve for a long time, so Herodotus had to simply summarize and organize the contents before putting them on parchment. Herodotus was a scholar directly under Hilde's kingdom. It was for this reason that no matter where Herodotus went to take the exam, the funds needed to buy parchment and papyrus were provided by the Byzantine Kingdom.
It is precisely because of this.
Only then could Herodotus carry out his research smoothly.
"Is it convenient for us to talk about this in detail now?"
"Of course, please come in."
Herodotus took her measurements and invited Hilde to his room. Hilde was not polite and sat down immediately. At this time, Herodotus took out a papyrus in front of him, turned around, smiled and said to Hilde: "This time in Thrace, I found some interesting things. In addition to my understanding of the local people and folk customs, there is one thing that I think your Majesty will be very interested in."
"what?"
"It's about... the remains of the Titans."
Herodotus handed the papyrus in his hand to Hilde.
"I have found strange-looking temple ruins or stone tablets in the northern and western regions of Thrace. Based on the text on the stone tablets, we can roughly judge that these texts are from the Mycenaean period. There are also many strange-looking texts mixed in, which may be older than the Mycenaean period."
"Why are there so many Mycenaean ruins in Thrace? Isn't this very strange? The Mycenaeans are basically in Attica or the Peloponnese. I have never heard of the Mycenaeans going north to Thrace, so..."
Facing Hilde's doubts.
Herodotus shook his head.
"Actually, this is not the point. What really concerns people is why the Mycenaeans believed in the Titans. According to my investigation of the Mycenaeans' remains in the Greek world, during the most prosperous period of the Mycenaeans, they had begun to believe in the Olympian gods. There is really no evidence of believing in the Titans except for some ethnic groups in remote areas. However, we have discovered a large number of Titans' ruins and temples in Thrace. The existence of these things proves that there was a very developed civilization system in Thrace hundreds of years ago, and these people believed in the Titans. But unfortunately, these people seem to have evaporated out of thin air. They obviously have architectural technology that is no less than that of the Greeks today, and they must have created a very developed civilization, but I can't even find their bones."
"After hundreds of years, even if we find remains, they may not be the remains of the Mycenaeans, but the remains of the Thracians." Hilde looked at the papyrus provided by Herodotus while organizing his thoughts. "So the evidence we have now can prove that the Mycenaeans, who should not have existed in Thrace, or a nation that shared the same origin and writing system as the Mycenaean civilization but we know nothing about, established a very developed and prosperous civilization in Thrace, but in the end they all disappeared, leaving behind only a pile of broken stone tablets and temples."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
“Have many of the texts been destroyed?”
"By the way...how did you know?"
"Because I have seen similar ruins in Thrace, and the most crucial texts were all destroyed."
The third tune, the eighth section, a somewhat frustrated scholar
The information provided by Hilde was very important to Herodotus. What he saw and heard in Thrace had already surprised him. He did not expect that Hilde would also encounter such a situation. This shows that in Thrace, a place that the Greeks did not know much about, there were many unsolved mysteries, especially those related to the fundamental issues of people’s beliefs.
You should know that the Titans were the gods who ruled the world before the Olympians appeared. And to some extent, the Titans were the ancestors of the Olympians, because Zeus and Hera were the children of Cronus, the main god of the Titans. Zeus overthrew Cronus and became the third generation of gods in this world, and founded the Olympians. Then, Zeus imprisoned all the other Titans in Tartarus, the hell.
People originally thought that these things were mainly myths, at least in Hilder's world, everyone thought so, and no one would take this as true. But in this world, you can't think in this way, because the Olympians really exist, so the Titans must have existed in this world.
Just the relics.
In fact, it can explain the problem very well.
Hilde had a bold guess in his mind.
So Hilde couldn't help but ask: "Herodotus, do you think this is a possibility?"
"Your Majesty, please speak."
"Long, long time ago, unknown to us, wasn't there a war between the Titans and the Olympians? And this war inevitably affected humans. There must have been a conflict between humans who believed in the Olympians and humans who believed in the Titans. We all know that the Olympians won in the end. So the people who went to Thrace might be the ones who believed in the Titans back then. And we saw that all the ruins have been destroyed. It is very likely that they have been completely wiped out."
"It is indeed possible."
Herodotus nodded.
"If we start from your statement...many problems can be explained."
"is it?"
"Yes, for example, it is mentioned in our epic that a hundred years ago, it was an era when heroes emerged in large numbers. There were many oracles at that time, as well as demigods. Their number was far greater than ours now. But suddenly one day, there were no more oracles or heroes on earth. It was as if the gods had suddenly disappeared. It was not until a big explosion more than a decade ago that oracles began to gradually appear in this world. I wonder if this big explosion has anything to do with the Titans?"
"That's it..."
Hilde, who knew the truth, did not intend to explain it.
After all, this is Herodotus' own business.
If he was told that the explosion was caused by a conflict between Athena and Zeus, Herodotus would be the first to find it unacceptable, after all, this completely overturned people's understanding of the Olympian gods. However, Hilde was still very interested in these things, because according to the information she had already obtained, the original book of creation in her body came from the Titans, so her divine power was likely not from Athena, but from the Titans.
This forced Hilde to pay special attention to matters related to the Titans.
About the source of your own strength.
There is a curse about bloodsucking.
These problems need to be solved urgently.
However, the discovery in Thrace did not seem to help Hilde grasp these key information. It can only be said that these relics and evidence were too severely damaged, and Hilde could not get any effective information from them. But at this time, Herodotus seemed to remember something, and then raised his head and said to Hilde: "Your Majesty, I have another very important discovery in Thrace."
"What discovery?"
"That is... I have interpreted the inscriptions on those stone tablets. Although they are severely damaged, I can still get some information. What interests me most is that many stone tablets repeatedly mention something called a library, and whenever the word library appears on a stone tablet, it is always accompanied by the word key. In other words, library and key are a pair of words that go hand in hand, but what do they mean? I haven't figured it out yet."
"Well...I see."
This is the same thing that Hilde saw in the underground temple.
The library obviously refers to the original library of creation, and this key is also something that Hilde feels a little puzzled about. Hilde can only make a simple guess. She can only think that this key may be something that can open the original library of creation, or Zeus has been looking for this key. Otherwise, he would have been able to use the original library of creation long ago, and there would be no way for Athena to stop him.
So there are many doubts here.
But the evidence right now is certainly insufficient.
Hilde could only give up thinking about this matter for the time being.
"Your Majesty, I'm sorry, my ability is limited and I can't get enough information."
Herodotus seemed to notice Hilde's disappointment. He lowered his head slightly and said apologetically.
"I will continue to look for relevant information later."
"You don't have to feel guilty about this. You are already a very capable person for discovering these things. You don't have to be too anxious. You just need to do what you need to do next." Hilde herself was not anxious, and she didn't want Herodotus to feel guilty about this. "But please keep your research confidential and don't show it to others. Although Alcibiades is a diligent and studious young man, I don't want him to know about this for the time being."
"I understand. Don't worry. The manuscripts I gave Alcibiades were only my research on the folk customs and geography of Thrace. I didn't show him the research on the Titans."
"I knew you were absolutely reliable."
With Herodotus' words, Hilde felt much more at ease.
The fewer people who know about these things about the Titans, the better. After all, such things go against the beliefs of the current Greek world. There are no longer any people in this world who believe in the Titans. If others knew that Hilde, the oracle of Athena, has been pursuing knowledge about the Titans, it would probably arouse some suspicion.
The next small goal of the second tune and the ninth section
"I'm sorry to bother you today."
"Your Majesty, if you need anything, please let me know. I will sort out my manuscripts in Byzantium soon. After finishing them, I will set out again to explore other places. The Thracian region is very vast. I was there for a short time this time and did not explore many places in detail, so I plan to go to other places to take a look and find out if there are any preserved relics. If it is true that there were immigrants who believed in the Titans and moved into the Thracian region in large numbers, there must be a lot of clues left behind. It is impossible that all places were destroyed."
"Okay, then I'll wait for your good news."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
With his words, Hilde actually felt much more relieved.
Herodotus was a very rigorous scholar. He was very interested in any historical events, and because of his profound knowledge, he was able to find the parts that could be excavated from these clues. So when he saw some things related to the Titans, his attitude was very important.
When ordinary people see these relics, they may just feel strange or simply ignore them, but Herodotus can dig out very important information from them. Hilde is completely incomparable in this regard. So this is why Hilde is willing to spend money to support Herodotus, a scholar, to do research in her own country. Even if the secrets of the Titans are not discovered in the end, his research on Thracian folklore and geography alone is enough to cover Hilde's expenses.
So Hilde said goodbye to Herodotus first.
Then he left his room.
Now, the original book of creation attracted Hilde's attention even more. She realized that the original book of creation was really a very important thing. Artemis was right. The original book of creation could make Zeus so interested, which meant that it must be extremely important. Otherwise, the word "book" would not be mentioned repeatedly on the ruins.
Therefore, the divine power that Hilde now possesses comes from the original book of creation. No one knows how much potential it has. This may be good news, but it may also be a hidden danger. Therefore, Hilde must use this power carefully and not be too ostentatious.
A few days passed after that.
Alcibiades continued to repeat his daily work.
When he had nothing to do, he would go out for various inspections, and then come back in the afternoon to clean the toilet. Sometimes, seeing how diligent and serious he was, Hilde felt a little soft-hearted. But whenever she heard Alcibiades saying that he must clean the toilet for His Majesty, Hilde felt a little helpless. After all... Hilde's divine body did not need to go to the toilet. So the toilets that Alcibiades cleaned were all other people's... not Hilde's.
However, Hilde felt that he had passed some of the tests. Cleaning the toilet was a very difficult thing for a person who was born in an aristocratic family and had been a child of destiny. But Alcibiades persisted, which made Hilde think that this person still had a good character. If he could persist in doing such a small thing, then even if he was assigned some larger tasks, Hilde believed that he should be able to complete them.
It's just that there isn't any suitable job for Hilde right now.
Soon, late autumn will be here.
More than a month had passed since Hilde returned to the Byzantine Kingdom.
In the past month or so, Hilde has been preparing to attack Ionia. Since Hilde is now a member of the Delian League, it is impossible for her to attack Ionia directly. But if she cannot attack Ionia, she can do something to the Spartans. So Hilde set her sights on the peninsula area south of Byzantium.
The name of this place is Gallipoli Peninsula. It is roughly located south of the Great Byzantine Province of the Byzantine Kingdom of Hildes. It is a narrow peninsula extending from the continental shelf. There is a very narrow strait between this narrow peninsula and the Asian continent, which is the very famous Dardanelles Strait. Of course, in this era it is called the Hellespont. This can be said to be the throat of the transportation hub of the Byzantine Kingdom, so the geographical location is extremely important.
To the west of the Hellespont is the Gallipoli Peninsula, and to the east is Ionia. There are many city-states on both sides of the strait. It is a very busy place for trade, with a large number of ships coming and going.
As for Ionia in the east, that is Hilde's future goal. Hilde will not talk about it for now. Hilde is concerned about the Gallipoli Peninsula in the west, because this place has a very unique geographical location, which attracts the attention of various forces. The Persians once ruled here, and now it has become a region jointly ruled by the Spartans and Athenians.
So for Hilde.
Are the Spartans far away?
Are the Athenians far away?
Actually, it’s not far away.
As long as you walk a certain distance south from the Byzantine Province of the Byzantine Kingdom, you will naturally reach the Gallipoli Peninsula, so the distance is still very close. There are many city-states or colonies controlled by the Spartans or Athenians here.
Hilde was a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Every time she looked at her territory, she always felt that there was a piece of land that did not belong to her. So she felt like a cat scratching her heart and felt very itchy. But she could not find a chance to take this place, because to take this place completely would be equivalent to going to war with the Peloponnesian League and the Delian League. To be honest, this place has a narrow terrain and a small land area. Apart from the relatively developed agriculture, it does not have any great advantages.
So Hilde just ignored this place.
And now, the opportunity has actually arrived.
The present-day Kingdom of Byzantium was a member of the Delian League.
If the entire Gallipoli Peninsula was occupied by the Spartans, wouldn't that mean that Hilde could legitimately annex the entire Gallipoli Peninsula? So now Hilde urgently needs to find such an opportunity. Of course, such an opportunity must be very rare.
So, there is no need to rush now.
Chapter 2, Part 10: The Situation in Sparta
But what Hilde doesn't know now is.
Things were moving in the direction she hoped.
In the city-state of Sparta in the Peloponnese.
Compared with the magnificent Athens and the exquisite Byzantium, the city-state of Sparta is more poor. There are not many buildings in the city, no towering walls, and no decent temples. Although the area is not small, the scale of the buildings is not very large. Many of the roads are ordinary dirt roads. After all, the Spartans are a frugal nation. They can't use precious marble for paving tiles. It is precisely because of this that the city-state of Sparta seems to be more insignificant than its reputation.
Spartan soldiers wearing bronze armor, helmets, holding spears and round shields were everywhere in the city. Although they were at war with Athens, there was a peaceful scene in the Spartan city-state, and there was no urgent situation due to the war. However, the soldiers who stayed in the city-state of Sparta were actually quite anxious now, because they also wanted to take up arms and go to the front line to fight Athens.
But it was clear that the rulers of Sparta had their own ideas.
And in the peaceful city of Sparta.
The citizens here are all looking at the man walking on the street.
"It's Master Achidamus!"
A very strong man with a sturdy body was walking on the streets of Sparta. He looked quite old, but his overall mental state was very good. Even when walking on the street, he carried his spear with him, not because he needed to protect his own safety, but simply because as the king of Spartans, he had to have such an attitude.
He is the famous Archidamos II, one of the two kings of Sparta, and also the commander of the Spartan side in the Peloponnesian War. Now he looks a little nervous and not very happy, but when he walks on the streets of Sparta, people around him look at him with respect and admiration. Everyone knows that Archidamos II is the descendant of Leonidas, the legendary Spartan king who stopped the Persians at Thermopylae.
And this time Sparta was once again involved in the war.
To destroy Athens' hegemony.
