[You exchange looks with Castor and Pollux.]
[Castor helplessly presses a hand to his forehead, while Pollux's lips curl slightly upward, seemingly proud that you are about to cause such a stir.]
[You feel only that this is troublesome, but as the beneficiary of a "heroic" deed, you have no choice but to take part in it.]
[You return to your room and pick up the lion skin. Truth be told, if not for the record-band mechanics of the Type-Moon world, you would never wear this thing around all day.]
[You step out of your room and head for the main hall alone.]
[You can sense that the siblings have no interest in political affairs of this kind, so they choose the pleasant approach of out of sight, out of mind.]
[Before you leave, Pollux asks whether you want her to cheer for you, but you only smile and shake your head.]
[Then you push open the heavy doors of the audience hall, and in that instant the previously noisy chamber seems to have had its sound cut off.]
[Every gaze, from decrepit old priests to scheming nobles, freezes on you.]
Hair white as snow, eyes red as flame.
Tia enters bare-chested, that face beautiful enough to daze even gods now cold and severe beneath the fully flayed lion-head helm.
The dark crimson lion pelt trails along the ground, giving off a heavy dragging sound with each step he takes.
The wine-sweet scent that should have belonged to Dionysus now slowly spreads through the hall instead.
"Good afternoon, everyone."
[You do this on purpose.]
[You deliberately let this strange fragrance, enough to excite even mortals, spread through the chamber, because every festival of Dionysus the wine god is nearly synonymous with a grand slaughter.]
[Once, in the forests of Mount Cithaeron, he used sweet wine and feverish illusion to lure the relatives of King Pentheus of Thebes into madness.]
[In that chaos called a "festival," the arrogant king was torn apart by his own mother, who mistook him for a mountain lion, and even his skull became a trophy in the hands of frenzied worshippers.]
[You have no interest in talking with so many nobles, so the idea of driving them out occurs to you.]
[The nobles present all recognize where this strange scent comes from. They hurriedly cover their mouths and noses and flee the audience hall like beaten dogs.]
[Nobles are just a bunch of parasites living off empty stores; as a modern person, you understand that deeply.]
[As for the man seated alone on the throne, the King of Thebes—Creon—he sees you in a new light.]
[Or rather, he is profoundly shocked.]
[He had long been troubled by the giant lion in the Cithaeron range. It fed year-round on plow oxen, and it was agile enough that even deploying troops had been futile. It was practically a festering wound on the border of Thebes.]
[You should know that Thebes is currently burdened with a yearly tribute of one hundred cattle to the Kingdom of Orchomenus.]
[Now, the son of Amphitryon has solved that problem for them—one might even say he has resolved an urgent crisis.]
[And beyond his identity as king, as your uncle who watched you grow up, Creon is even more gratified.]
[When Amphitryon and Alcmene fled all the way from Mycenae, it was he who overruled all objections and took them in as trusted retainers.]
[Now the child of his old friend has become the finest hero in his eyes, enough for him to boast about for years before the other nobles.]
[He motions for you to come closer, as if he wants to look at you from nearer at hand.]
[He pats your shoulder, and the dense muscle beneath his hand lets him feel your strength directly.]
[He thinks you ought to be rewarded with something, but the Kingdom of Thebes is currently strapped for wealth.]
[You can see King Creon's predicament, so you take the initiative and state your own idea.]
[When the next envoy arrives, summon you to receive him.]
[The king seems to understand your intention. He does not want to go back to war with Orchomenus, but you simply pat your chest and tell him that you know what you are doing.]
[Amphitryon, as your foster father, spends all year guarding the borderlands of Thebes, while your mother remains deep within the palace waiting for her husband's return, and your brother is still immersed in endless study every day.]
[You know this peace was hard-won, but on this ancient land of the Age of Gods, the bigger fist is still the final truth.]
[As a demigod, son of the Father of Heaven, blessed by Athena, the Glory of Hera—you have never feared killing.]
[Though your thinking remains modern in many ways, fifteen years of immersion have still carved a streak of barbarity into your bones.]
[And this homeland of Thebes has also begun to feel a little familiar to you.]
[In the end, King Creon agrees to your proposal.]
[However, there is still quite some time before the envoy arrives, so he tells you to go back and rest for now. He will deal with the nobles himself.]
[All he needs to do is overrule the dissent, just like in the old days. At the same time, he is still thinking over how best to reward you.]
[But you shake your head and ask him instead to give you two years. Also, near Mount Cithaeron, bury two corpses and dress them in the clothing of Orchomenus.]
[Though the request is odd, King Creon agrees all the same.]
"How did it go?"
The instant Tia steps out of the audience hall, Castor waves to him from outside.
He asks about the details of the meeting. Judging by the smile on his face, he seems to be treating it as just an amusing little episode after a meal.
"What? Thebes has decided to go to war with Orchomenus again?!"
"Yes. It was my decision."
Tia stretches slightly. He had spent too long looking up at King Creon just now, and the back of his neck feels a little sore.
"How could you do that? No, this is far too reckless!"
Castor seems to have a much deeper view of war. Having experienced the siege of Athens himself, he finds Creon's decision so astonishing that it is like watching a praying mantis try to stop a chariot.
"This is war, you—"
"My mind is made up."
Seeing that, Castor says no more. After all, as warriors of Sparta, they are still outsiders here.
"Let me be clear first: we can't help you in this. A war between two kingdoms is not something outsiders can interfere in."
"I know."
"...Honestly, I really do wish for a close friend like you."
"Mm. Thank you."
[Castor is silent for a moment, then smiles bitterly and pats the back of your head. This slightly rough yet intimate gesture is the only way he knows to show approval.]
[Looking into his eyes, darkened with worry, you are already sketching out another plan in your mind.]
[Though as prince and princess of Sparta they cannot intervene in a "full-scale war" between two city-states in the name of their country, within the Age of Gods logic of the Type-Moon world, the personal might of heroes is itself the ultimate variable that changes the tide of battle.]
[So you decide to seek their help in another way.]
"By the way, do you know Chiron?"
Tia walks with Castor through the palace courtyard. The latter had originally wanted to continue swordsmanship training here afterward.
"Teacher Chiron...?"
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