I Became a Slave to a Mythical Shepherd

Episode 37. viceroy

“The deal with Skleos was guided by Demeter.”

Hearing the words of a freedman flattering Skleos, I was careful not to tremble.

Didn’t I come to this world after I was killed by Gix Ceres? Come to think of it, the name of the car was derived from the English name of Demeter.

Or, if he was hit by Doxa Avalon, would he have been reincarnated in King Arthur’s palace? If you fell off the King Sejong the Great, would you be reincarnated in the Joseon Dynasty?

Anyway, Mr. Skleos paid no attention to what the attendant was thinking, and nodded elegantly at the guest’s words.

“Indeed it is. Because of your good judgment, you have made the land richer, so won’t the gods who gave you this land be satisfied?”

“you’re right! Skleos’ wisdom will please the gods! Ha ha ha ha ha!”

It seems like we are exchanging and saying only nice things to each other, but…

Skeleos has an overwhelming advantage.

If you listen to the voices of the free people wearing the red cloak, all you hear are stories like, ‘It went well because I traded with you,’ ‘You are a genius,’ and ‘Farming is going well thanks to you.’

Uncle Skleos kept repeating ‘You’re right’, changing the words appropriately.

So, from the point of view of the other party, it is impossible not to have children.

Besides, this mansion was enough to kill the opponent’s spirit.

A statue of Iasion, the god of agriculture, cast in bronze, holds a golden scythe and pitchfork, and silver larks hang from the garden trees around it.

Skleos himself came out deliberately modestly dressed, but his snacks were supported on silver trays inlaid with gold, and his chair was probably made of ebony imported from Egyptos.

All of this is pushing the message, ‘I have nothing to lose even if I don’t do business with you’.

The opponent, who had been trembling and suffering for a long time, eventually confessed the purpose of personally visiting Skleos’ mansion.

“…I want to expand the trade of iron farming tools a little more.”

“Is that true? This is great news!”

Skleos, like a cultured and polite citizen, answers with his eyes wide open as if he hadn’t expected it at all. And with a puzzled look,

“But… it’s a pity.”

and finished speaking. The opponent, who had already lost his temper, now replies as if he had given up.

“What do you mean?”

“Not too long ago, Marcos already bought a huge amount of pitchforks and plows.”

Of course, Mr. Skleos looks as embarrassing as possible. It is noticeable that the opponent’s body is sweet and his lips are twitching.

“I am not a man of limited means. If you have to make a new one, I will pay for it.”

“You don’t have to. Honest artisans always get what they pay for, Faris?”

“I will put 1,000 silver drachmas on it.”

“Ugh, will it be 1,000 silver coins?”

“Of course, plus our friendship.”

“Ha ha ha ha ha! As expected, Master Skleos is great!”

The guests, who had been wide-eyed at the thought of paying four or five times the price, all come back to life as if water was sprinkled on a dying plant, and they are happy.

“I’m glad the deal seems to have gone through. The gods will vouch for the fairness of this transaction.”

“Yeah, yes. Ha ha ha ha ha···!”

“ha ha ha!”

In this way, one landlord was completely subsumed.

Even today, it’s the fifth.

Last year, the landlords who bought and tested iron farming tools by the amount of a rat tail, talking about ‘trial introduction’, now started trading with us on a large scale, as if they had heard the taste.

Uncle Skleos patronized them by giving them iron farming tools, building his reputation and virtue.

I have accumulated money.

All of that was an important process.

Uncle Skleos has to travel all over the place to build roads with me.

Therefore, we must give the city’s powerful people a sign that Uncle Skleos is clearly holding the initiative in the steel business. To keep from fooling around.

Besides, Uncle Skleos is a blacksmith. In principle, you cannot leave this city.

In order to break that ‘principle’, from now on, I have no choice but to give the citizens of this city a gift instead of a bribe… and change public opinion.

And above all, isn’t there an important purpose?

‘If I become a prince, I’ll need a base of support.’

Although this Antandros was not a big city… in the future, it will gradually leap forward as the center of iron and steel production in Troy.

And if you leave a wide debt to the landlords here, you will definitely be able to get it back as a political asset.

as a basis for pushing ahead with war preparations.

“Next, Mr. Brison is asking for an interview? What should I do?”

“Today… I’m tired, so let’s use some other excuse to rest.”

“Then I’ll tell the other servants and I’ll tell the blacksmiths to pretend they’re busy too.”

“Yes, I believe in you.”

I became Uncle Skleos’s business partner, pupil, assistant, and secretary, but now I’m used to the many roles.

“Hey, it’s what Skleos-nim gave you, so memorize it without omission.”

“I understand, Miss Paris.”

Among other servants and slaves, I was now treated like a senior or supervisor, and although they did not know the details, they saw that I was deeply involved in the blacksmith work, so no one bothered me.

So to sum up,

“Please tell Brison-sama, unfortunately, Skleos-sama has an urgent schedule.”

“I can’t help it. Can we reschedule an appointment in about three days?”

“In three days… that’s quite possible.”

“Okay, that’s all right. I will tell the owner that too.”

preparations are over

“Mister, wake up.”

“Mm, um… Paris, I’m sorry.”

“I have to go see the governor soon.”

***

There is a reason why Mr. Skleos took a break from the early afternoon.

“The Governor-General will come in soon.”

viceroy.

Greek states are mostly city-states.

And that’s because Greece has many mountains, many valleys, and high agricultural productivity.

A city was formed in each valley, and the system of eating and living by appropriately plundering the surrounding countryside was completed.

The situation is similar, as Troia is also a neighbor near the Aegean Sea.

However, there is a problem, that there are huge empires including the Hittites in the immediate vicinity.

It is impossible to maintain the national identity as a city-state while facing such countries.

If you were to describe the ruling system of Troy, something between a city-state with dotted territories on a map and a territorial state made of cotton.

That is to say,

“King Priam has sent me here to protect the freedom, autonomy and safety of the citizens of Antandros.”

It is a story that even these colonial cities had governors sent by the king of Troy.

“…By the way, I wonder if my permitting your ‘business’ will undermine the independence of this city. Connecting this city with other cities, wouldn’t it make it more vulnerable to defense?”

The governor was an early middle-aged man with a splendid mustache and a full beard. He was probably from the royal capital, judging from his accent, which was different from that of the locals.

Perhaps believing that his authority comes from his beard, he tried to overwhelm us by fiddling with the thick beards of people whenever he spoke.

“I understand the Governor-General’s concerns, but if that’s the case, we’ll have to call the nobles to discuss it.

I believe that the House of Lords as well as the House of Commons will accept this. The citizens of this city are wise and just.”

“Do you think it wise and just not to hinder your business?”

“of course. As a citizen of this city, would it not be my sincerity to obtain steel of a quality other than that of the Hittites, and to use it for greater wealth?”

Skleos talked more than he had practiced, and Nana, who followed as an attendant, and Theo, who followed as an escort, admired his appearance.

Indeed, blacksmiths of this era were semi-nobility.

The governor, who nodded for a while and thought about something, soon made eye contact with Skleos resolutely.

“Good. I have made my decision, and you have obtained the right to leave this city and conduct business in the surrounding cities by the king’s decree.

But whenever the citizens of Antandros rebel and resist, they have the right to go against the King’s command.”

“Is there any?”

Skleos, who heard the answer he wanted, came out with a satisfied face and turned to Theo.

Now we only had to go back and complete our plan in Troy.

“Oh, wait.”

Unless the Governor-General calls for it.

“Scleos, it looks like your attendant and escort have business for a while.”

“…”

Skleos’ fists clenched and opened.

He doesn’t turn his head, just rolls his eyes and looks at me.

What that tense expression said was simple. ‘Did he get caught?’

As the business progressed, I, the designer of the technology, inevitably intervened in too many places.

Skleos was worried that he might find out that I was learning metallurgy.

I whispered to Skleos who was so anxious.

‘You can go.’

With a very displeased face, Skleos bowed his head and left the governor’s drawing room.

Now there were only three.

“Can you hear me too? The vineyard has been very good this year. It looks like raisins boiled in honey.”

“It’s okay, Governor.”

“Huh, is this the king’s warrior? Also, there is no blur. And .

The governor looks down on me…

Kneel down.

“It is an honor to meet you, Prince.”

Now this is the main game.

***

“Are you asking to spread your power over a wider area?”

“Yes.”

I didn’t bother talking back.

i am a shepherd In this life, I was a slave who lived my whole life buried in the dirt, and I was no different in my last life. It was the first time I was treated like a ‘powerful person’.

Therefore, I had no choice but to remember and follow the manners of royalty and aristocrats that I had seen in historical dramas at home and abroad. In addition to that, the gestures and tone of speech that Skleos and the people around him kept.

“I will devote myself to Troy in the future to make this land richer. Therefore, as a servant of my father, I hope you will keep that trust in me as well.”

“I am sorry to ask you such a question, my prince.”

“what?”

“I would like to tell you that if you want the throne, it is an impossible fantasy.”

“what?”

As befits a politician indeed, the governor continued to talk to me while maintaining a soft, expressionless expression.

“Right now, in Troy, the wise King Priam is continuing his reign, and his eldest son, the mighty Hector, is preparing to succeed the throne.”

The way he speaks is so feminine and peaceful that he doesn’t seem to be spitting out any dreadful words.

“So I hope you give up. The throne will go to the rightful and legitimate heir…”

“I, I have no intention of that.”

“Is that so? Then why did you come to meet me, the governor general? Wasn’t it because you needed a foundation for treason?”

“Theo.”

“Please do not disrespect the prince any more.”

Stepping between the governor and me, Theo puts his hand on the handle of the dagger.

“…”

“Governor, answer me.”

“Yes, Prince.”

No matter how much my body has grown, I have just reached middle school.

Standing next to the governor, I had to look up for a while before I could make eye contact with him.

However, the power to overcome this hierarchy was Theo’s intimidation.

The king’s warrior escorts me and Prince Paris. The governor couldn’t help but feel the weight of it.

“Do you want me out of business? Even if you know everything, do you just want to live as a slave for the rest of your life in the mountains near Antandros?”

“If you continue to stay here as a shepherd, the king’s warriors will directly protect you. If there is any inconvenience, I and my successor governors will take care of it.”

“…the answer is wrong.”

At my words, the Governor-General’s eyes shook as if he didn’t know what I meant, and I squeezed through the gap.

“How did I know my identity, you should have pointed out that first.”

The governor’s gaze turned to Theo.

Perhaps the Governor-General was going to say that his older brother Theo had told him, that the disloyal warrior had in vain ignited the young boy’s heart.

It was clear that the Governor-General had already drawn a picture in his head of an ambitious warrior named ‘Usurper’, who would engulf the country by placing a puppet boy on the throne.

Thus, the prophecy comes true and the descendants of Tross, the royal family of Troy, fall.

But I had to let him know that it was wrong.

“Where are you looking?”

“What are you talking about?”

“viceroy.”

I raised my right hand. As if I was wondering if I would pull out a weapon, the tense governor general’s neck muscles trembled.

“Look here.”

A hammer bestowed by a god who smelts metals with volcanic flames bursts out of the air with sparks.

miracle.

The governor, who witnessed the miracle, could not close his mouth.

“The gods want me to do my own will. And there is not a single point of rebellion in my heart. Same goes for Theo.”

Toss the hammer forward and snap your fingers.

The hammer vanishes in the air before falling to the floor and gnawing at those expensive marble tiles. The governor-general blinked at the incident that happened again.

“Still, am I a traitor?”

I’m one step closer to the governor. The Governor-General naturally lowered his gaze to my chest.

“Do you still feel like stopping me?”

Probably not.