"correct."
"Then Your Majesty must be very curious. Why were there so many legendary stories in the Greek world hundreds of years ago? Why did the gods of that time often appear in our human world? Why are there hybrids of gods and humans? Why do so many strange creatures appear? But in modern times, all the existences recorded in these legends have disappeared... until recently, has there been a change?"
"Herodotus, your question reminds me of something."
Hilde immediately said:
"On my way to Byzantium, I met the Siren."
"Gods above, how did you survive?"
Herodotus seems to have been very interested in this matter.
So Hilde roughly recounted the situation at that time. Of course, Hilde did not say that she killed the Siren, but told Herodotus that she persuaded the Siren to leave the ship, and only a few people died. After hearing this, Herodotus nodded as if he was sure of something, and said: "Sure enough, my premonition was right... Lord Hilde, you are indeed a hero chosen by the gods."
"hero?"
Hilde was stunned for a moment.
She realized that Herodotus seemed to know a lot of things she needed to know.
So, Hilde smiled and said, "I don't know what a hero is, but I can hear the call of Lady Athena. Now I can successfully rule the Byzantine Kingdom and become the queen. It is also thanks to the power of Lady Athena that I can achieve this. Mr. Herodotus, if you don't mind, can you tell me these things in detail? I really know nothing about this."
"Sure enough, sure enough, it's absolutely correct!"
Herodotus seemed excited.
"Your Majesty, this is the situation now! Now is the time for heroes to return! You may not know that fifteen years ago, a huge explosion suddenly occurred on the top of Mount Olympus. The explosion directly swept the entire mountain area. After that, the world changed completely. Those demons and creatures that originally only appeared in epics have reappeared, and... heroes have also appeared."
"Hero...what do you mean by hero?"
"It's very simple. It's someone with divine power. From what I know now, the Spartan commander Budasios is a hero. He is still very young, but he has amazing divine power and can lift huge rocks weighing hundreds of pounds. It is said that he was blessed by Hercules and became his oracle. Now, facing Budasios' army, the Athenian army has been defeated on land. Moreover, the hero closest to you is the cruel King of Thrace."
"..."
Hilde thought about it carefully.
15 years ago?
Isn't that when I was born?
Could it be that the explosion of Mount Olympus and the return of heroes in this world are closely related to Athena?
With such doubts in mind, Hilde continued to ask: "I understand what you mean. So, because I have received the blessing of Lady Athena, I am also a hero?"
The first chapter of the sixth section: Questions from the mother
Herodotus smiled and nodded.
"Of course it is."
"So what can I do as a hero?"
"You already have powers that ordinary humans cannot obtain, and you also have the ability to communicate with gods. What you can do now is far beyond human imagination. In this era, all kinds of existences have appeared. The world described by mythology has now reappeared in this world. I wonder if you understand what this means. In other words, in such an era, there must be heroic epics, and you can also create legends like Atalanta and Jason, and leave a lasting legacy."
Jason is such a scumbag, why should I imitate him?
Hilde couldn't help but complain in his heart.
"Besides, Your Majesty, I think the path you are taking now is the right one."
"Is it?"
"Right now, the most threatening existence here is the King of Thrace. I came here this time to find out who the King of Thrace is. What is his purpose, and why did he mess up the Thracians. If possible, I would like to live in Byzantium for a while. I wonder if Your Majesty will allow it."
"If you are a tourist, of course you can."
Hilde smiled and said:
"All citizens of Byzantium welcome you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Thank you for your guidance today. I learned so much."
"Your Majesty, on my way here, I saw the citizens of Byzantium, all of whom were smiling happily from the bottom of their hearts. Under your governance, Byzantium has undergone significant changes. Although I have not been here recently, the atmosphere here is obviously better than that of Athens." Herodotus sighed helplessly, "Of course, I also have a selfish desire, which is that I hope you can... defeat the King of Thracian."
-------------------------------------
On the way back to the mansion.
Hilde had been thinking about what Herodotus had said.
Defeat the Thracian King?
Of course, Hilde knew that if she wanted to stabilize Byzantium, the Thracian King was her biggest enemy, and she had to get rid of him no matter what. But the question was, why did Herodotus say this to her directly? What was his basis? Could it be that Hilde was planning to defeat the Thracian King, who controlled at least 100,000 people, with the Byzantine Kingdom of more than 10,000 people?
This is simply courting death.
However, Hilde felt that Herodotus could not have said such a thing casually.
He must have his own purpose.
No matter what the reason is.
A rigorous historian would never talk nonsense, let alone say so in front of a queen.
When Hilde returned home, Aspasia, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately came to greet her.
"Xixi, you are finally back."
"Mother, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
Hilde felt a little warm in her heart for her mother Aspasia. After all, Pericles was rather cold to her at home in Athens, and only Aspasia gave her enough love. It was easy for Hilde to restore Aspasia to her mother in the real world. It seemed that all mothers in the world looked the same, and they all made people feel warm.
"Come on, Sissi. I have so many questions for you."
Aspasia anxiously brought Hilde into the house.
At this time, Sophia and Dioni stood aside and watched the two of them enter the house.
"How did you become...the queen!?"
"Mother, this is a long story. Do you really want to hear it now? Otherwise, when it's almost dark, I'll tell you about some of my past experiences while we eat."
"No, I want to know now."
Aspasia nervously grabbed Hilde's hands.
"Do you know how surprised I was to hear that you became the queen?"
"I know……"
Who wouldn’t be surprised when a fifteen-year-old girl suddenly becomes a queen?
At this time, Sofia walked into the house with wine and some snacks. After seeing Sofia, Aspasia couldn't help but say, "Alas, it's a good thing that Sofia is here to take care of you, otherwise, I really don't know how you spent this time. Sofia, you have worked hard."
"Ma'am, you are too kind."
Sophia bowed slightly.
"You and His Majesty can talk slowly. I won't disturb you."
"Ok."
After Sofia left, Aspasia continued to turn her head.
"Tell me quickly."
"Okay, it's like this..."
So, Hilde told all about how she was exiled, the conspiracy of the soldiers, how she met the Siren, how she successfully arrived in Byzantium, how she exposed the Archon's conspiracy, how she defeated the Thracian tribe, how she finally became the queen, etc. Of course, Hilde concealed everything about the vampire and her true life experience.
Chapter 1, Section 7: A united city-state
After listening to this.
Aspasia was in deep shock.
"This... Pericles is too cruel!"
"Anyway, I don't know what happened, but luckily I survived in the end."
Faced with Hilde's helpless tone, Aspasia felt as if her heart was cut by a knife. Her own daughter was treated like this, and the person who did these things was Hilde's biological father, Pericles. Aspasia knew that Pericles had a grudge in his heart, but even if he really had the idea, he couldn't do such a thing as murdering his own daughter. Thinking of this, Aspasia burst into tears.
"Sorry……"
"Mother, this is not your fault."
"If I hadn't returned to Miletus, this wouldn't have happened!"
"But these are all decisions Pericles had already made. Even if you didn't leave at that time, I might still die at Pericles' hands if I had the chance. Besides, I'm alive and well now." Hilde gently stroked the back of Aspasia's hand and said with a smile, "It's okay. Everything is fine now. Even if Pericles wanted to kill me, he couldn't do it. I'm in the distant city of Byzantium, being my queen. Isn't it much better than being under house arrest in Athens?"
"Sissi..."
At this moment, Aspasia looked up.
"You will not return to Athens?"
"I won't go back."
Hilde nodded firmly.
"Going back would just cause trouble."
"Alright... You have grown into someone I cannot compare to, my child. You are the queen respected by everyone in the Byzantine Kingdom, and a hero protected by Lady Athena. These are the responsibilities that weigh on your shoulders. Remember, I hope you will be a kind child and a benevolent king. That's all."
Aspasia sighed helplessly.
"Whether it's Athens or Miletus, everyone is high-sounding on the surface, but they are scheming against each other behind the scenes, and they will do anything to gain power. This time when I returned to Miletus, I was facing pressure from the Persians, but Miletus was still busy fighting among itself. Even if I went back, it would be useless and I couldn't change the status quo. The Ionian Alliance is also in disarray. Facing the re-emerging Persia, they have no idea what to do."
"Persian?"
This information attracted Hilde's attention.
"Have the Persians begun their attack on Ionia?"
"Not really, but we are already feeling the pressure from Persia."
Aspasia was very worried about this.
The Ionian League refers to the alliance of city-states established in the coastal areas of Asia Minor to deal with the pressure from the Persians. These Ionians are also part of the Greeks. They speak the Ionian dialect of Greek, which is closer to the Attic dialect where Athens is located. Therefore, the Ionians and Athens have a close relationship.
At that time, the city-states in the Ionian region were annexed by the Persians, but with the victory of Greece in the Greco-Persian War, the Ionian region was liberated again. Now, Miletus, Ephesus, Izmir and other twelve major city-states are important city-states in the Ionian region. These city-states are famous for their commerce and culture. At the same time, in order to resist external dangers, they gathered together.
At the same time, although Herodotus was born in Halicarnassus in the Doria region, Doria was particularly close to Ionia, so in order to deal with the risks of the Persians, he also stood together with the Twelve Ionian City-States.
Hilde thought for a while.
"Persians, do you want to march west again?"
"I don't know about that, but the Persians are busy attacking the rebels in the east, so..."
"I understand. But the threat from Persia is still far away, so I won't focus on it for now. Mother, you know that the biggest threat here is the King of Thracian from the north... I have a plan, and I wonder what you think of it. Can you give me some advice?"
"of course can."
Aspasia also became serious.
On this point, Hilde still trusts her mother very much.
After all, Aspasia has always been a counselor of Pericles and has a high reputation in Miletus. Although she is a woman and has no citizenship, her appeal is not weak at all.
"The Ionians formed the Ionian League to deal with Persia, so I was thinking, if possible, I would like to unite the city-states along the Thracian coast and form a Thracian League to concentrate our forces to deal with the Thracian king. Nowadays, everyone is deeply troubled by the Thracians. If the forces can be concentrated together, it should be able to solve many problems."
Having said that, Hilde looked at the map on the wall.
"Do you think this is okay?"
(Note: Because the translations of various place names and ethnic groups in ancient Greece in relevant domestic works are extremely confusing, some of the terms in the novel may not be the versions you have seen before, so I would like to say here that the translation of city-states in this article is mainly based on the "History of Greece" published by the Commercial Press, and the "Ionians" that appear in this chapter is from the "History of the Peloponnesian War" published by the Commercial Press; in the "History of Greece", "Ionians" is translated as Ionia, and "Aeolians" is translated as Ionia. I personally don't like this translation very much, so I adopted the translation of "Ionians" as Ionia and "Aeolians" as Aeolia in the "History of the Peloponnesian War". I hope that all the big guys who love Greek history can forgive me. If there are any errors, please be sure to point them out. Thank you!)
Chapter 1, Section 8: Conquest of Northwestern Thrace
(By the way, according to historical records, Byzantium was a city-state founded by Megara. It was called Byzantium because its founder was a Megaran named Byzantium. It actually has nothing to do with Miletus, but considering the effect of the story and the fact that Aspasia, an important character in the story, is a Miletus, it was changed to Miletus. I would like to explain this here.)
Aspasia listened to what Hilde said.
She looked at the map and thought for a while.
Then, he said, "I think we can try, but it's too difficult."
"Really? Why?"
