"But wouldn't that be too weird?"
"Indeed, do you want me to help you trim off the excess?"
"Forget it... this fabric is expensive."
Sophia took two steps back and covered her cloak.
"This is a gift that Sissi made for me. You are not allowed to cut it."
"Okay, okay, I won't lose weight."
Hilde was slightly relieved to see that Sophia seemed quite happy.
"Anyway, when you're outside, be careful not to let your hood fall off. I sewed two small straps inside the hood for you. You can hang the straps on your corners. In this way, even if there's a strong wind, the hood will definitely not fall off. Be sure to pay attention. If the hood falls off and someone sees it, it will be very difficult to deal with it."
"Okay! I understand."
Sophia nodded heavily.
Then, she remembered something and asked:
"What about Dione? Should I let her see it?"
"...It's up to you. If you don't want to, you don't have to show it to me. But we can't keep this a secret forever. This child has the right to know the truth." Hilde shook her head helplessly and walked out of the room. "Today, we are moving to the palace. So, you should be ready. You can move in directly in the morning. I will go talk to Herodotus today to see if he has any opinions."
"OK, all right!"
Sophia waved her hand.
After Hilde left, Sophia fell on the bed.
"Ah!!! The clothes that Sissi made for me!!!"
Sophia tossed and turned on the bed, then suddenly sat up, reached into her hood, and touched the long horns inside. After touching them, Sophia's heart was filled with excitement. She knew that her long horns could not be seen by others, but... now she really had an urge to show off to others. She had the same horns as Hilde! Although they looked different, they were both horns!
Moreover, he himself became an oracle.
Although I don’t know who the oracle is specifically.
But after all, he already had powers beyond that of ordinary people.
Although Sophia had an indescribable fear of this power at first, but when she thought about it carefully, this power could help Sophia. In the face of many problems, the most important thing was that Sophia had always been troubled by the fact that she could not do anything for Hilde. Now that she had this role, didn't it mean that she could help Hilde?
The fourth chapter: The desire to protect
This is actually the most important thing.
After all, Sophia has been worried. She felt that she was useless before. Although Dione was unable to help Hilde in many ways, since she knew that Dione's father was Apollo, the god of light, Sophia actually had an unsolvable knot in her heart. She felt that she was the only person with the lowest status and she had no ability to help Hilde.
His status was very low, he was born a slave.
But it was this Sophia who received the most love.
This made Sophia feel very anxious.
She felt that she was not worthy of such love, that she had no way to respond to Hilde, to help Hilde, and that she was simply wasting Hilde's experience. But now it was different. Sophia already had abilities that ordinary people did not have, and according to Hilde's feedback, it seemed that she was quite powerful, and there were still many secrets that had not been solved. This meant that she might have great potential in the future. If so, she would be able to help Hilde.
This is what makes Sophia happiest.
But she also knew it.
Hilde was actually quite worried about this matter.
Hilde didn't seem to be too surprised by her transformation, but instead expressed her worries directly, which Sophia understood. Sophia felt that she should also pay attention to the control of her strength and must not cause any trouble for Hilde. The most important thing to pay attention to now was that the two pairs of sharp horns on her head must not be seen by others.
Sophia gently stroked the purple cloak on her body. As long as she wore it, even her feet would be covered, and she would look like a walking mysterious person. Although this was a bit exaggerated, as long as she wore it, all her secrets would not be discovered, including the runes on her back. They would not be seen by others.
Sophia is becoming more and more optimistic about the future.
He hopes he can become Hilde's strongest assistant.
Can help Hilde solve all kinds of troubles.
Just like when the King of Thrace attacked Byzantium, if the Persian Queen Xerxes had not come to support at that time, Byzantium would have been in danger. If such a thing happens again, Sophia already has the power of an oracle, so she can completely replace the Persian Queen and be responsible for the defense of Byzantium. In this way, Hilde's dependence on Xerxes will decrease, and her dependence on herself will increase.
Thinking of this, a desire arose in Sophia's heart.
She even had a confidence that she could defeat Xerxes.
Of course, this idea was quickly overturned by herself.
Sophia fell into a state of helplessness again.
She felt herself swell.
And it's over-inflated.
I have actually started thinking about such things.
Sophia was a little confused, but in this situation, she could only take it one step at a time. Of course, Sophia didn't hate this change. She felt that as long as she could find a way, she would be able to help Hilde. This was the most important thing. So, Sophia encouraged herself to cheer herself up from this situation.
And Hilde's side.
She has been troubled by this matter of Sophia.
There are too many mysteries.
Hilde didn't know what the current situation was.
But at least...Sophia was able to fall asleep last night, which was different from Hilde who couldn't sleep all night.
Sleeping is a very comfortable thing. Hilde sometimes falls into a state similar to sleep, but that is basically a state of meditation, emptying the mind and thinking about nothing. But Hilde really doesn't know how to sleep. For so many years, Hilde has spent her time at night by daydreaming or simply taking a walk outside. Since Sophia did not inherit this from Hilde, she is still very happy.
Next comes the situation of bloodsucking and bloodthirstiness.
If Sophia really has none of them.
This means that Sophia should be considered a complete oracle.
However, there are many other issues that need to be addressed.
The most important thing is the problem of the rune on the back.
So early in the morning, Hilde went to Herodotus' room.
Herodotos got up early in the morning and was packing his things. After all, he was informed that he would move to the palace today. Herodotos was a little surprised by Hilde's sudden visit. He first invited Hilde to the room, and then curiously said, "I heard that there was a big noise last night. I was sleeping yesterday and heard a loud noise outside. After I went out, Lady Aspasia told me that you were careless..."
"Ah, yes."
Hilde smiled wryly and nodded.
"It was indeed me."
"This is really..."
"So I'm really sorry. I made such a big fuss yesterday. But I didn't come here today to talk to you about this."
Hilde looked at the documents on Herodotus' desk and the wooden box next to it, and asked casually:
"Are you getting ready to pack?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, these manuscripts and materials are extremely valuable. I must collect them myself."
"That's right... When you get to the palace, there will be a research room specially prepared for you. You can then carry out your research there. The space is large and you can do whatever you want with it."
Hear what Hilde said.
Herodotus said gratefully:
"Thank you very much."
"Okay, I came here today to ask you something. Have you ever heard of a goddess who represents the stars, the scales, the plumb line, and the ruler?"
"W-what do you mean?"
"That is, I saw a rune of a goddess engraved in a place, just like the totem represented by Lady Athena, which is Medusa, the goddess image of a spear and a round shield. What kind of goddess is there? Her rune is a constellation map that only appears in astronomical research. In the middle is a plumb line, but it may be something else, but it looks like a plumb line. On the left is a ruler, and on the right is a scale. If I remember correctly, the scale may represent the goddess of fate, but what god do these three appear at the same time?"
When Herodotus heard Hilde say this.
He couldn't help but be stunned.
Obviously, what Hilde said confused him.
The fourth chapter, the fifth chapter, is about the knowledge of esoteric Buddhism.
"Your Majesty, what you are talking about... I seem to have some impression of it, but I can't remember it clearly. If I remember correctly, this description should be from a certain god that I heard when I was in contact with a secret religion before. However, I don't have a good impression of the secret religion and don't think their theory is correct, so I lack research on them. Therefore, I haven't paid much attention to this content until now."
"That means you don't know either, right?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, where did you see this thing?"
"…on a stone tablet."
Hearing what Hilde said, Herodotus thought about it for a while, then turned around and said seriously: "Then I would like to suggest to you that you'd better not pay too much attention to this matter, because if my memory is correct, what you saw must be very closely related to the Esoteric Religion. And these guys in the Esoteric Religion are a group of brainless fanatics, so there is no need to pay too much attention to their theories."
This secret religion that Herodotus mentioned repeatedly was not the first time that Hilde had heard of it. Although the word "secret religion" always sounded like an oriental religion, it was actually a serious Greek sect. They had their own understanding of current Greek theology and their own pantheon, and there were many types of secret religions, so Herodotus himself had no way of determining what secret religion this thing he saw came from.
"Can you help me investigate?"
"Of course, your majesty."
"Thank you so much for troubling you. I know you don't have a good impression of the cult, but I still want you to help me do this. I'm just really curious." Hilde smiled and continued, "Let's not talk about this matter now. Now that I know it's related to the cult, I will pay some attention to the cult in the future."
"Yeah, no problem at all."
With the help of Herodotus.
Plus, we already have some very crucial clues.
Therefore, it should be much easier to find the truth next. So Hilde put this matter aside for the time being. Now that Herodotus has been found, Hilde decided to talk to him about another matter: "Herodotus, I just happen to have something else to tell you. See if you have any opinions or ideas."
"Your Majesty, please make it clear."
“I want to build an academy.”
Herodotus was a little confused when he heard Hilde say this.
"College?"
"Yeah...ah, I see."
Hilde slapped his head and finally realized what was happening.
Herodotus was now in the 400th year of the BC, when there was no academy in ancient Greece. So when Hilde said the word academy, Herodotus was confused. The earliest academy in ancient Greece was in 387 BC, when Plato returned to Athens and built a school in the northwest corner of Athens, which was called Academy. The reason for this name is that there was a garden dedicated to commemorate the Greek hero Academus at the place where the academy was built, so the academy was named after the hero Academus.
So when Hilde said this word, Herodotus would definitely have a very strange reaction, because in the context of Herodotus, Hilde was like saying that a Greek hero from the past should be built in Byzantium, how could a person be built? So Hilde thought about it and quickly said, "It's like this, I want to build a school, but this school is different from ordinary schools. It is mainly a place for young people to discuss philosophy and study history. The teachers here are scholars like you, not teaching servants. You can accept students like Socrates, but all teaching will be carried out in this school."
"I understand what you mean."
Herodotus nodded.
"Do you want us to train students in a fixed place?"
"Not only a fixed place, but also batch training. You can have a dedicated research space in the school, and your students can also assist you in your research, but you also need a specific plan to teach them so that they can learn knowledge. At the same time, the teachers in the school are not just you, Herodotus. I will also find some other scholars later, and you can also study some things together. All the funds will be paid by me."
"As long as it is your majesty's decision, there will be absolutely no problem."
Herodotus did not refute this.
Instead, he directly agreed with Hilde's idea.
In fact, Herodotus was just a historian. He didn't know much about the schools that Hilder mentioned, but he had some knowledge. When he learned about ancient Egypt and ancient Babylon, he learned about some of their school systems. When he heard Hilder's ideas, he could also feel from what Hilder said that perhaps Hilder had referred to the schools in these two places.
In ancient Egypt, 2000 years ago, that is, in 2500 BC, there was already a pharaoh's palace school in ancient Egypt, which was used to educate the pharaoh's descendants and the children of nobles and ministers. In this regard, the Persians also had a similar system. Of course, Herodotus didn't know whether Hilde wanted to copy such a system, but where would Hilde get her children? So Herodotus asked: "So, Your Majesty, what kind of students do you want?"
"You can sign up voluntarily."
Hilde shrugged.
"As long as you have the ability, you can come to school. You can choose the people yourself. I don't care."
"So that's how it is... Then I completely understand."
Herodotus was relieved.
As a Greek, Herodotus always believed that the Greek system was superior to other countries. If it weren't for the wise monarch Hilde, Herodotus would not have been willing to stay in the Byzantine Kingdom for too long, although he knew that the monarchy had great advantages. In terms of education, Hilde's policy obviously inherited the usual way of the Greek city-states and continued free education. Unlike those ancient empires in the East, the education was not limited to the royal family or other nobles.
The fourth chapter, the sixth chapter, begins preparations for moving
In this way, Herodotus could carry out the order with confidence, because he thought this was the best way.
"Then if your majesty has any specific arrangements, you can contact me at any time. I originally wanted to go to Thrace again during this period of time. If you plan to carry out this plan during this period of time, then I will not leave."
