I Became a Slave to a Mythical Shepherd

Episode 19. unexpected reunion

Son of Cassius, come to think of it, I heard that he came down to this colonial city with Cassius, but I haven’t heard the story properly.

Obviously, when Skleos asked about him, Cassius changed the topic with an uncomfortable expression. Even when Skleos argued that he could not form an alliance if the successor was absent, Cassius did not talk about his son until the end.

I guessed that there must be some complicated circumstances in it, so I didn’t ask further.

“Actually, Master… didn’t bring the young master to this city. After the young master ran away from the house, he said he had been found around here, so he came after me.”

“Uh, yes?”

So, I couldn’t help but be surprised when Polemon explained the situation.

A venerable family tree. However, the family gradually lost its political and economic foundation and went downhill. It’s a common story so far.

“It was Cassius-sama who raised it up. He personally sailed between royal capitals and colonial cities on ships and built enormous wealth from the bottom up. He . . . is great.”

Polemon’s face is drawn with respect as if he were treating a god.

I was surprised too.

In these days, sailing is literally risking one’s life. For a person with a high status to go out to sea and accumulate wealth is no different from playing Russian roulette every time you board a ship and raising the stakes.

The guts to put your life up for grabs on every trade, and the dexterity to eventually seize victory at such a gamble. Such things flow in Cassius’ veins.

“I’ve taken care of him since I was a boy, but they always surprised me. But his brothers were the problem

When he returned to the family he rebuilt, they argued that it was illegal for the eldest son to own everything rather than ask for their share. Master put up with their disrespect… but soon went too far.”

The poison from ‘someone’ begins to penetrate Cassius’ body.

Perhaps because of that influence, Cassius had no more children after giving birth to a son with his wife.

only son. Even though I couldn’t stay with him for a long time as a body that personally went up, I raised him by giving everything he could.

Even if you die, your son can grow up and inherit everything, and the wealth and power of the family can be maintained without being torn apart by the brothers… Such hopes.

And that hope was despair for the brothers.

“His brothers tried to poison the young master.”

“···yes?”

“They poisoned the young master and tried to take possession of the family property.”

Before you know it, you are at the gate of Cassius’ mansion. The gate is half-broken open, and beyond it stretches a hallway with bloodstains unkemptly erased.

“So the terrified boy ran away. to survive I spread my eyes and ears all over the kingdom, and I heard that the last sighting was this colonial city.”

“…”

“So the master has come. Your enemies also had no choice but to bring them because they didn’t know what schemes they would make in the capital, and that’s all.”

“Now that the young boy has appeared…”

“Perhaps because the uncles who tried to kill him are gone.”

At this point, I had no choice but to ask.

“Why are you telling me all this?”

“that···”

“Polemon!!”

A young voice shouted from the inside of the mansion.

I was used to it.

It was a voice I heard just a few years ago, between life and death, so I couldn’t forget it.

“Bocchan wanted to tell you the whole story.”

The half-open door opened wide,

The ‘Boyfriend’, wearing a red-dyed cape on his shoulder, appeared and hugged Polemon.

“I really, really missed you.”

“. . . never leave again.”

“of course. I’m glad my father forgives me for my wandering.”

That cheerfulness was the same when he memorized the biographies of heroes. It was similar when I was bragging at the town hall.

“Playing with heroes… is now over. I have to take care of the house too.”

Bocchan looks back at me. Under the splendid cloak, armor was worn unsuitably, and the courtesy ‘Hercules dagger’ was worn at the waist.

“Are you used to this outfit? will you recognize me I never thought I would hear your name from my father!”

“Oh, long time no see. Mr. Anoitus.”

Unknowingly, I bowed in an awkward position.

yes, why are you out there?

***

“That’s when we almost died, didn’t we?”

“Ah, hahahahaha, it was.”

He no longer pretends to be a hero and imitates stern dignity. The illusory bravery and goodwill were also lifted.

Then all that was left was a cheerful young man.

“At that time, was it really Drakon that we saw in the cave? Maybe it was a bear, but I was mistaken because I was too scared. ha ha ha!”

“Ah, ahahahahaha…”

Pretending to be a bit overly friendly.

My relationship with that person is not that deep. In the end, the legendary heroic otaku named Anoitos struggled here and there with an easy-going slave boy for several days.

Well, in the end, it ended with each other giving their lives, so if it’s deep enough, it must be a deep relationship.

“I realized it while going on that adventure with you.”

Anoitus said while stroking the bunch of grapes like jewels. One of the grapes he tossed in a high parabolic arc was sucked into his mouth.

Hard grapes roll around in Anoitos’ mouth before popping.

“I could be a bard who likes heroic stories, or I could be a wealthy patron and merchant who collects the heroes’ weapons.”

The grapes are crushed under the molars and soon disappear over the throat.

“But… he couldn’t be a hero himself. Like my father who said he fought all kinds of pirates while crossing the sea…”

I didn’t know

Who knew that Anoitos’ house story, which I had heard back then, would turn into a knife and an ax and fly to me like this?

I still get chills thinking about the moment when Theo first beheaded the servant of this house. Now, a day has passed and the culprits have all been arrested, but it seems that an assassin is still hiding behind that pillar.

“ha ha ha···”

“But you are different. I heard that a small child fought against grown adults on his own. You are so wonderful.”

“no. I just ran away and stayed close to Theo.”

“You can speak comfortably. I have no eyes to see, and I owe you my life many times. After all, the hardships you went through this time are also because of me.”

. . Come to think of it, is that so?

suddenly very sad

Even if this person in front of me hadn’t run away, Cassius would never have come to this colonial city, and there wouldn’t have been a mess going on. Besides, I almost died once in a cave.

What the hell did this human give me, pretending to be so friendly…

“It is a gift to you.”

···The right to do is full and overflowing. Cancer, no way.

Anoitus beckons, and a bag full of gold coins and coins is presented in front of me.

“Go, thank you.”

“Because I am not a person who does not know shame. hahahaha, at least hold a festival for the villagers who suffered because of me.”

Looking closely, I must have been through a lot in a year or two.

Come to think of it, if the uproar had subsided and he had heard the news and returned to the mansion so quickly, there is a high probability that he would have been hiding in this city after he broke up with me.

If you’ve spent the last two years living penniless in seclusion in the bottom of the city, avoiding the eyes of your father and your uncles who want to kill you… well, you’re grown up.

Anoitos laughed awkwardly, apparently understanding what I was thinking.

“Looks like I’ll be seeing you more often in the future. My father has been forced to stay here looking for me, so it’s time to go back.”

“If Cassius dies, what about Anoitus?”

“me? It’s me, well, since I need someone to moderately scale down the business here and manage and save it, I’ll probably stay here for a few years and gain practical experience, right?”

Saying that, Anoitos looked around. The mansion is a mess with broken furniture here and there, bloodstains that haven’t been erased, and swarms of flies that are starting to boil around it…

“I won’t withdraw the branch of the store that has already been established, but since there aren’t many employees anymore, there will be a lot of new things to set up.”

“okay. Then may I ask what you mean by meeting a lot?”

“It’s just my hobby.”

“A hobby?”

“this.”

Anoitus slowly pulled out the dagger he was wearing around his waist and showed it to me.

“There is not just one of these.”

I examined the dagger that Anoitus handed me.

The leather scabbard is not old. It was probably newly made by Anoitus to store this sword.

Then, when he pulled the blade out of the scabbard… a familiar handwriting appeared.

– “That of Hercules, son of Alcmene.”

“I collect things from heroes. Because they also need maintenance. You say you serve Skleos-sama?”

If this is a mythical world, where Hephaestus takes an interest in slave boys and gives them weapons, then Hercules must have existed.

At the time, I just thought he was crazy. Now that I think about it, the dagger of Hercules will feel as close to Anoitus as I do when I see Ahn Jung-geun’s Browning M1900 or Queen Elizabeth II’s crown.

Clearly, Hercules is a legendary hero in this world and in this age, as can be seen from the enthusiastic eyes of Anoitus.

If so… how close is the hero from now?

I floated my luck as if I was going to float.

“It’s really strange that Hercules is dead now. To think that such a great demigod would die from poison.”

Anoitos says, a little excited by my words.

“That’s right. It’s been decades since Hercules died, and my father faced Hercules’ army when he was young.”

···what?

“Oh, yes. You’re a shepherd, so you know the constellations well. Wouldn’t it be all right if we stay here until the night and take a look at the Hercules Seat together?”

“Ah, hahahaha. I guess I’ll have to go back now. Your parents will be worried too.”

“okay. Then see you next time.”

It’s a lot closer than you think.

Hercules, Theseus, Jason, Orpheus… The stories of these heroes are only one or two generations old.

Indeed, the dagger that Anoitus cherished belonged to Hercules.

…I rather felt more real when Hephaestus appeared in front of me.

‘What happened next?’

I wondered if I could benefit from knowing when and how characters or events appeared, or if I could use future knowledge cheats like other reincarnated main characters, but… I couldn’t find an answer.

Greek mythology, like myths and legends, is all jumbled up.

Hephaestus was a child of Zeus and Hera, and then became a child of Hera alone, and the time sequence is also messed up.

Depending on which ‘version’ of the myth, the time and place I am in can completely change.

There is no advantage that is the future.

It’s a fact that I’ve been prepared for right after reincarnation, but it’s a little futile to think that I might live peacefully for the rest of my life as a shepherd in the countryside.

“…no, that’s not it.”

There was a murder weapon that hid its identity around.

“#$$$? Are you back?”

“Oh, brother Theo.”

where does your brother live?

What does your brother do for a living?

Why do my parents care so much about my older brother?

How could you kill that many people without hesitation?

my brother sees me

If you don’t know well, you’ll be smiling as if you’re innocent and bright, just like when you’re embarrassed to answer village girls who flirt with you.

But I doubt my brother.

My brother knows my doubts.

“Is it time to go home soon?”

“Your parents are still waiting at the smithy. wait, I’ll take you there I picked a strawberry on the way here. Do you want to eat it?”

“···huh.”

pretend not to know each other

Sometimes even a single layer of lies is necessary for everyone.

***

“Polemon! Polemon!!”

“Why are you calling me, young master?”

Polemon quietly looked at the young boy who would become the new owner of the mansion.

Although he is a fresh blue kid who has not yet been married, his intelligence is trustworthy, so the master must have entrusted the job to the young master.

Now, for a while, his job will be to take good care of this immature fugitive master and teach him practical skills for the business.

Whether or not he knows Polemon’s heart, Anoitus starts talking wildly with excitement.

“Polemon, is it true that he summoned the hammer mid-air? Really, is that possible?”

“You can’t go anywhere and talk. There will be new servants and servants coming into this household in the future, but the only ones who know about it are the young master and me.”

“of course. of course.”

Saying that, Anoitus leaned against the wall and backed away in surprise at the sticky and cool sensation.

Sure enough, the traces of yesterday’s murder were sticking to the wall. It’s hard to even describe.

Anoitus, terrified, doesn’t stop talking even as he rubs his arms.

“I knew I could be a hero. The moment I found the dagger of Hercules in our backyard, I believed it! But no!”

Not too long ago he would have regarded it as a great pity, but now Anoitus’s eyes are full of brilliance.

The darkened sky, the night air descends into the middle of the mansion with a courtyard, spreading chills. Breathing in the chilly air pleasantly, Anoitos calms the heat in his heart.

And draws out the dagger.

A forgotten dagger with the hero’s name on it.

The dagger follows its old master and slowly… begins to point in one direction in the sky. Anoitus watches with rapture.

“It’s not just that I picked up a weapon from somewhere and pretended to be like this… There’s a person next to me who really uses a weapon that looks like God gave it to me…”

As the dagger stopped attracting it like a magnet, Anoitus could look up to see what was at the tip of the blade he was holding.

Ruler of the summer sky, Hercules.

“I met the boy hero. yes?”

“Nobody knows that.”

“Nothing! If we get to know each other someday, will you show me that hammer?”

Polemon nodded silently and looked at the hot-blooded young man.

from that passion. I read his father who crossed the rough waves together.

-··· Knock. Knock.

what? I don’t think we’ll have another visitor for a while because we’re taking care of this ruined mansion.

“Ah, Polemon. don’t worry. You will be my guest.”

Polemon strode casually through the gate and greeted the guests.

A shabby man wearing a black cloak and pulling a handcart.

“I hear that you have regained your rightful place, Anoitus. Congratulations.”

“The news seems really fast. you always have been come in.”

Polemon silently examines the situation.

From the chin down to the neck, a long burn-like mark wriggling grotesquely. It gives goosebumps as if the flesh that was forcibly torn off was sewn together in a mess.

“Hey, who the hell is this person?”

When Polemon naturally looked for a weapon and was wary, Anoitus laughed lightly.

“don’t worry. Suspicious, but not a bad person.”

“sure. My colleagues and I are comrades who help the boy with his hobbies. It’s just a trade.”

The voice of a strange man who opened his mouth somehow attracted people.

A smiling face wasn’t trustworthy, it wasn’t likable, and of course it wasn’t handsome, but it had a charm.

Polemon, who lost his senses for a moment, stood still, and the man who identified himself as a merchant took out junk things from the wheelbarrow he had been pulling and showed them to them.

“Are there any items that have run out of power? I will change it to something else.”

“Even so, the blood of the Pegasus you sold doesn’t glow at night anymore.”

“Is that so? Then give it to me.”

The merchant opened the lid of the small pottery that Anoitus had taken out. The thin layer of blood at the bottom of the bowl, as he said, was completely dry and did not react to the starlight.

“great.”

The merchant threw the earthenware bowl on the floor. It shatters and fragments fly in all directions. When the startled Anoitus and Polemon step back, the dried blood suddenly revives and wriggles.

Like trying to run away from here.

“Where?”

The merchant stepped on the small puddle of blood, immobilized it, and cast an incantation, and again the blood dried completely and was scattered in the wind.

Polemon’s face hardened at that sight.

“Do you… do magic…”

“I just do my job.”

The merchant smiles and closes his eyes for a moment. The eyeballs rotate and stop under the eyelids as if looking back at this and that.

The merchant who opened his eyes turned his head to Anoitus.

“Looks like something interesting happened here. I’m going to finish the assignment my master gave me, so I’m lucky.”

“Have you served anyone?”

“Sure.”

The merchant laughed softly as he remembered the broken arrow.

“Anoitos.”

“Why but?”

“I will see you here often in the future.”