Chapter 343: Poor Tea Skills, Needs More (2.59k words)

"It is you two again!"

At this moment, Caenis on the scene also spotted the three people she had a conflict with that morning and immediately could not suppress her temper, cracking her knuckles with ill intent.

"You actually dared show up here? Looking to get beaten, are you?"

King Admetus saw the situation and hurriedly stopped Caenis who wanted to step forward and start a fight.

"Caenis, these are guests from the kingdom of Iolcos who came specifically to help Thessaly deal with the Gigantes disaster. Do not be rude!"

"They came all the way from Iolcos specifically to help us? Since when is there such a good thing?"

Caenis raised an eyebrow, then showed a cold smile.

"Since when did that greedy old Pelias become a moral model of helping others? I bet there are conditions attached?"

"Silence!"

King Admetus glared at this blunt-mouthed subordinate, then looked somewhat awkwardly at the two men and one woman beside him with a wry smile.

"It seems some misunderstanding arose between you all.

How about the three of you step to the garden first? My wife Alcestis has already set up a banquet there.

She has long resided in Thessaly and greatly misses her hometown.

Once I finish these matters at hand I will come to the banquet as soon as possible and personally apologize to you."

The handsome young man leading the group smiled and nodded, obediently descending the steps King Admetus laid out.

"As it happens, I also wanted to chat more with that niece of his. We will not disturb Your Majesty then."

Watching several maidservants lead the three toward the garden, Admetus let out a relieved breath.

However, before he could even catch his breath properly, a hand came down hard on his shoulder and nearly sent him stumbling.

"Hey. He called the queen his niece? So that makes him your uncle too? Since when did Pelias have a brother like that?

Did that old fellow not already deal with all the brothers who could challenge him when he usurped the throne?"

Hearing the voice behind him, Admetus steadied himself against the throne, looked at Caenis who had slipped up at some unknown point, and explained with resignation.

"They are Atlanteans. From the Sea God’s temple."

"Oh, so they are Poseidon’s lot. I was wondering why I could smell fish from all the way over there."

Caenis gave a thoughtful nod, looking in the direction the three left with eyes full of mockery.

In the corner, Lorne watched this unfold with great interest while quietly filling Medea in using coded speech.

The former king of Iolcos, Cretheus, married his brother’s daughter Tyro as his wife and had three children, passing the throne to his eldest son Aeson.

However, before this, Queen Tyro had an affair with the Sea God Poseidon during her marriage and secretly gave birth to two illegitimate sons.

The current king of Iolcos, Pelias, was one of those illegitimate sons.

Driven by ambition, he seized the opportunity during a domestic rebellion to scheme and usurp his brother Aeson’s throne, then exiled him.

But because he gained power through illegitimate means, Pelias became suspicious and cold-hearted, extremely guarded and harsh toward the blood relatives around him.

Back when Thessaly’s King Admetus was pursuing Pelias’s daughter Alcestis, he suffered no small amount of difficulties from this father-in-law of his.

If not for him being close friends with Apollo who was then serving his sentence in Thessaly, and receiving that God of Light’s full support, Admetus would probably have had no way to win the beauty.

However, even after becoming relatives through marriage, the relationship between this pair of father and son-in-law could not exactly be called harmonious.

Without concrete benefit, the naturally selfish Pelias would not care about his daughter and son-in-law’s survival.

If Thessaly suffered a disaster, he was more likely to take advantage of the chaos and annex Thessaly while it was weak, expanding his own territory.

So this was why Caenis immediately launched into cold mockery the moment she heard the three were sent by Pelias.

And judging by King Admetus’s reaction and that of the three people earlier, everything was obviously guessed correctly by Caenis.

"Their condition for helping is that

I build a temple for Poseidon in the royal city and personally preside over a grand sacrifice."

As he spoke, threads of disgust rose in Admetus’ eyes.

The intent was very obvious.

A ruler publicly and personally performing a grand sacrifice to another chief God in broad daylight meant abandoning the original faith and installing the new chief God as the city-state’s guardian.

The Gods were merely sleeping, not dead.

Moreover, the chief God Thessaly currently worshipped was the God king Zeus himself.

If he dared do this so brazenly, he would probably not live to see the next sunrise after the sacrifice.

Besides, Poseidon’s divine character was well known.

He only ever cared about whether his faith could spread and his own interests, and rarely had the habit of cleaning up messes for others.

Believing he would help resist pressure after things blew up was about as reliable as believing the River Styx had never been polluted.

Of course, it was also possible this was exactly the outcome Poseidon and Pelias wanted to see.

If he died, the other side could conveniently take advantage of Thessaly’s chaos, using rebuilding faith as an excuse to seize Thessaly’s population and resources.

Lorne, who had eaten his fill of this drama from the sidelines, listened quietly with a smile, making no evaluation or comment whatsoever.

Admetus was not the blunt-mouthed type like Caenis.

Saying all of this in front of everyone was mainly to express a distinction between allies and enemies, raise his favorability, and potentially intend in the future to use their strength to check the Sea God temple’s expansion.

Unfortunately, Admetus’s small trick was completely unable to scheme against the higher-ranking Lorne.

It was pure wasted effort.

"Well, with guests present, let us not speak of these scheming matters."

Admetus saw his goodwill gesture had not achieved the expected effect and stopped the topic, his face full of a warm and humble smile as he proactively descended the steps to ask.

"Caenis, introduce your friends who came from so far away."

The latter scratched her head, working hard to recall the identity information Lorne’s group mentioned, when a low and solemn voice came from outside the hall.

"They are from Arcadia, entrusted by the Goddess Artemis, and came specifically to help you resolve your troubles."

At the same time, two figures walking side by side, wearing bloodstained golden armor, each holding a ferocious Gigantes head in hand, stepped through the hall doors together.

They bowed in greeting toward Lorne, relaxed and warm smiles showing on their faces.

"Being able to fight side by side with you again. What good fortune."

And a small figure darted out from behind them, rushing excitedly to stand before Lorne, her bright eyes sparkling with excitement like a thirsty young deer that spotted a stream.

"You finally came!"

Lorne smiled and gave a nod, his gaze sweeping over the twin brothers and Helen, then he turned to look at King Admetus and proactively greeted him with a respectful bow.

"Your Majesty. A pleasure to meet you."

"A pleasure... a pleasure..."

Admetus immediately nodded, his expression inexplicably stiffening somewhat.

Watching this king’s reaction, Lorne suddenly remembered that Artemis once used the excuse of Admetus forgetting to make a sacrifice to her to throw a snake into his wedding chamber, frightening this unlucky king to death on his wedding night, then used his soul as a bargaining chip to teach her younger brother Apollo a lesson for refusing to bow his head.

Never mind that this fellow was a divine descendant.

Even a true God would probably be left with some psychological trauma after stripping off their trousers, lifting the covers, and finding a snake grinning at them.

Of course, Zeus and Poseidon were exceptions.

In that situation the one left with psychological trauma would probably be the snake.

Seeing Admetus trembling somewhat under Artemis’s lingering intimidation, Lorne hurriedly opened his mouth to reassure him.

"Eliminating disaster and protecting innocent people from suffering is also the mission entrusted to us by the Goddess Athena and the shepherd of the War God Mountain."

Hearing these words, the anxious Admetus finally let out a somewhat relieved breath.

As long as this was not the Hunting Goddess specifically sending people to find him, and with Athena the Mother of Humanity and the shepherd of the War God Mountain backing things up, he should be fine this time.

With his mind at ease, Admetus gathered everyone together, set out a banquet to entertain them, and over the dinner table explained Thessaly’s current situation.

The Gigantes clan’s raids were currently relatively covert, mostly in small groups, and their chosen targets were remote towns and villages with poor communication.

By the time news reached them, the Gigantes were long gone.

These Gigantes seemed quite cautious.

The moment they sensed something was off, they immediately dove underground.

Faced with the complex underground tunnel network, if Thessaly sent too many people in, the enemy would simply not show themselves.

If they sent too few, it easily turned into an attrition strategy that amounted to sending those underground creatures free meals.

The enemy was in the dark while they were in the light.

The current situation was fairly passive and nobody could think of any good method to completely eliminate the disaster.

So they decided to continue as before, relocating population, contracting the defensive line, having several God-blooded heroes lead elite small squads to patrol outside, trying to figure out the Gigantes clan’s patterns and hideouts, then waiting for the right moment to strike like thunder and settle everything in one decisive blow.

After briefly finishing the serious business, evening had gradually fallen.

Admetus glanced at the darkening sky outside the window and set down his wine cup, rising to his feet.

"Let us stop here for today. You all had a long journey and should rest for the night first. Once your spirits are fully restored, we can put our heads together and deal with the current troubles."

Then he pointed in the direction of the garden and showed a helpless wry smile.

"With relatives visiting, I will not invite everyone to lodge in the royal palace. The responsibility of entertaining you falls to my two good friends,

Telamon and Caenis. If anything falls short, please forgive us."

Everyone heard the king’s approachable complaints and laughed, nodding with understanding.

Telamon was responsible for entertaining the three Spartan princes and princess.

Caenis was responsible for entertaining Lorne and Medea from Arcadia.

However, at the entrance to the residence, when it came time to assign specific rooms, Helen came running over hugging her staff, sidled up before the three of them, and softly made her request.

"Can we all stay together?"

"Why? Your two brothers are right across the way."

Caenis scratched her head with some puzzlement.

"Because..." Helen opened her mouth, sneaked a glance at a certain someone, then suddenly grabbed the soft little hand beside her and spoke. "Because I missed Medea!"

"?"

Looking at Helen who affectionately pressed herself close, Medea could not help freezing, her mind full of question marks.

Were they that close?

Had they not just argued recently?

Beside them, Caenis who was providing the lodging also looked somewhat troubled.

"That might not quite work.

My house is not that big to begin with. Only three rooms. Squeezing one more person in is a bit of a stretch."

"It is fine. We can squeeze together."

Helen answered without hesitation, her gaze passing over Caenis and fixing directly on Lorne behind her.

At this moment, Medea noticed Helen’s small action and everything clicked.

She was actually scheming this?

"This little fox!’

After a silent curse, Medea’s eyes changed and a sweet smile spread across her face.

"I also have not seen Helen in a long time. Let her come along."

"But the rooms..."

"I can..."

Helen just prepared to open her mouth when Medea behind her got in first.

"Give my room to her. I will just squeeze in with my senior brother."

Then she took Helen’s hands in both of hers, her eyes full of genuine warmth and enthusiasm.

"I do not mind making do. I absolutely cannot let my good sister suffer any discomfort."

’Oh how wonderful. You and that little cat ate my golden apples and still were not satisfied. Now you want to steal my bed too!’

Knowing her scheme was exposed, Helen bit down on her silver teeth, steeled her heart, copied Medea’s expression and tone, and returned the sweet smile with full force.

"That will not do.

As a good sister, how could I bear to let you make do? Besides, I am the one who insisted on squeezing in. Let me handle the shared room situation."

"That is out of the question. I cannot let you suffer any discomfort!"

"I am not suffering at all. Really not at all!"

The two traded one line after another, their faces overflowing with smiles as they looked at each other with genuine warmth, their mutually locked arms leaving bruises on each other’s wrists from the excessive "closeness."

Lorne saw the situation and instinctively shrank further into the shadows.

’Such a thick aroma of scheming.

If I drank any of this tonight I definitely would not be able to sleep.’

And watching the two good sisters gritting their teeth at each other on the scene, Caenis could not help showing a flash of suspicion.

"Are you two really that close?"

"Of course!"

"Absolutely!"

The two saw Caenis growing suspicious and without prior arrangement simultaneously released their locked arms and embraced each other warmly.

Caenis slapped her head and produced the perfect solution.

"Perfect then. You two sleep together. This fellow and I get one room each."

"Agreed!"

Lorne immediately raised his hand in support, the anxious stone in his heart finally settling, as he turned to look at Caenis with a warmth and appreciation in his gaze.

’Who said everyone from Ares’s line was a hothead? This was great wisdom appearing foolish. Look how clever. Solved the core problem in one stroke!’

Medea and Helen heard this and froze on the spot, hurriedly releasing each other and stepping apart, giving dry coughs to explain.

"Though it is not entirely out of the question, I am not really used to sleeping with someone I do not know well."

"Same here..."

"You two are really troublesome."

Caenis complained with a dark expression, then gave a big wave of her hand and made the arrangements impatiently.

"Forget it. One room each for you two. This fellow and I squeeze together."

"?"

"?"

"?"

In an instant, three heads simultaneously filled with question marks as all three stared at the host providing the lodging in stunned astonishment.

"Why are you standing there staring? Keep arguing and dawn will break.

You may not need sleep but I do.

This is settled!"

Having said this, Caenis did not wait for the three to react and directly dragged Lorne inside, then slammed the door shut and casually activated the defensive spell.

Immediately after, the clanging sounds of armor falling, the rustling sounds of clothing sliding, and the creaking of the bed board all drifted out from the pitch-dark room.

Medea and Helen stood frozen in the doorway, momentarily bewildered.

(End of Chapter)

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