I Became a Slave to a Mythical Shepherd

Episode 66. man from the east (1)

The palace was quiet. Anticipation and strange exhilaration and tension floated strangely through the air without mixing.

A fly fills the silence between them, making a chirping sound, then lands on the back of a man’s hand.

– Arrive.

Soon, it was crushed and sprayed with transparent blood.

“Water and a towel.”

When the man gives an order, the attendants behind him move busily.

Quickly, the iron bowl was filled with clean water, and as the man washed his hands in front of him, another attendant wiped the water from the man’s hands with a towel.

The man bowed gracefully with his clean hands.

“I pay homage to Priam, son of Laomedon, king of Troy and protector of Troas. I am Pitana, the chamberlain of Hattusha.

I came to Troy as an envoy of King Supiluliuma the Great, who governs Hattusha.”

***

The impression of a man named Pitana was nothing special.

A slender impression, thin eyes, a weak smile, and a slightly raised mouth to look moderately kind.

If you think about it, it was natural that there was nothing special. The Hittites just sent envoys as usual.

The Hittites conquered Troy, and the days when Troy resisted the Hittites are now in the past.

The Hittites did not have the strength to extend their power to this distant vassal country, and we did not have to be reluctant to the Hittites who gave us presents at the right time.

until now.

After a grand audience and various ceremonies, I met Hector.

“How does your brother look? I have never entertained Hittite envoys before.”

“From my point of view, it’s okay. My father said the same thing.”

Hector and Priam felt the same way as me.

“This is a regular envoy from the Hittites. The amount of wealth brought was not small, and there was no sign of anything else sinister.”

“Dolon and the other Loyalists?”

“They are also silent. It looks like there is no problem.

···until now.”

If there seems to be no problem in a situation where there should be a problem,

It means that something big is hidden.

Hector and I knew that fact, so we kept silent and ran our thoughts through our heads.

“…First of all, let’s attach as much surveillance as possible.”

“Let’s take turns filling the envoy’s schedule. That would have the effect of restricting the envoy’s behavior. If they have other ulterior motives, they will reject our invitation.”

When the next day came, Priam asked the envoy if he could go hunting with his first and second sons, and the envoy Pitana readily agreed.

In the evening they attended the banquet invitations of Cassius and the others, and the next day they joined the sacrifice to Teshub led by Hector.

Even so, the envoy did not respond.

again the next day.

“I’ve released fat beasts in the forest, so I’m confident that catching them will taste good.”

A fence surrounds the edge of the forest owned by the king.

The beasts driven by numerous attendants from other forests and hills are driven into the enclosure.

The old king held a bow and arrow for the first time in a while, and Pitana, who had a vague impression, also came out energetically as of now.

“Long time no see. Hunting, and besides, a forest full of beasts? I am very happy.”

“I hope that the results will be as good as the joy.”

“That’s it, of course. I will definitely roast the hind legs of the deer I caught to the princes.”

When Hector speaks, Pitana nods with a confident smile as well. He draws a bowstring and closes one eye.

The bushes sway in the wind.

And, things other than the wind also shake the bushes.

That’s why everyone is constantly changing the direction of their eyes and arrowheads and getting nervous at the sound of rustling and hooves kicking the soil.

…I was like that too.

Of course, hunting was not unfamiliar to me either. If you were a shepherd, how many opportunities would there have been for meeting some kind of beast while walking through the woods or hills?

But my hunting was a livelihood.

The hunting of the shepherds, including me, was largely divided into two types, and most of the hunting to obtain food was to catch mountain birds or rabbits with traps.

rest of it? If I run into a bear or a wolf on the road, I just try to shoot it with a bow and bounce.

I have never played a game where I ran through the woods for entertainment, aiming for the deer’s head or leg, like these high-ranking elders.

Still, at least I had to make a minimum effort so that I wouldn’t go back with an embarrassing report card.

– Basrak.

The sound of dry branches being stepped on and breaking.

I turned my attention to the sound, and pulled and released the string.

The arrow dug into the bush, drawing a undulating straight line.

-Kikiiik! Hey hey! Kiki profit!!

“Paris-sama caught you!”

“Deer, it’s a deer!”

done.

I didn’t waste my time, so there’s nothing embarrassing…

“Hey, Hector killed two deer with one arrow!”

…What is it, I’m afraid.

I was trembling, wondering if anyone could catch even one properly, but now Hector is piling up deer and wild boar like a mountain.

Does it have to be that level to be able to fight Achilles on equal footing?

I whistle in admiration, and Hector turns to me and smiles happily.

A person with a sense of inferiority and nothing to be felt is a good face. Truly the perfect prince.

Deiphobos, Hector’s brother, comes out from beside him and shoots an arrow again, hitting the boar in the leg. The hounds smelled the blood and chased after the pig.

“Paris! It looks like beasts are swarming over there. Would you like to turn your gaze there?”

“I see, brother!”

At Hector’s words, I draw the bowstring and turn my head toward the left Hector pointed at.

And, I saw Pitana standing in that direction.

With a very clean movement, he put an arrow through the string and aimed at a swaying tree branch in the distance.

With that skill, I’d be sure to hit whatever bird perched on that branch.

Pitana abruptly changes direction and shoots an arrow far away.

To a corner where neither man nor beast can be found.

“Ha, my arm suddenly lost strength.”

“Still, the basic posture is very stable.”

“you’re welcome. I was just lucky.”

Then Pitana reloaded her arrow and fired.

It pierced the small bird’s neck at once.

Next time, I will fire an arrow in the wrong place like before.

“…”

As if not feeling my gaze, Pitana was chatting moderately with Priam and Hector standing next to her.

I remembered the location of the arrows.

“Paris? Is it time to move soon?”

“I have a place to stop for a while. I think I caught a little bird earlier, but I couldn’t get it back.”

“okay? Then, we will move to another area by ourselves, so take care of yourself and follow me later?”

After Hector said that, he led the rest of the party and moved on.

As soon as all the eyes around me disappeared, I quickly moved to the location where the arrows were heading.

Those arrows that were intentionally misspelled by someone with such excellent archery skills. I just couldn’t let it go.

I ducked down and ran and found three or four arrows like before.

I found a piece of cloth tied to the arrows.

···I knew it.

After copying the contents, I headed back to where Hector and Priam were.

***

The night has fallen. Even in the forests around Troia, damp dew settled on every blade of grass.

Every time the wind blew, the blades of grass swayed and made a rustling sound. steadily, calmly.

– Seruk.

And it was a strange sound.

A stranger was searching the forest where the excitement of the hunt had not yet subsided. Stepping on the bloodstained ground, he carefully walked towards the designated spot.

And he found

An arrow that is deeply embedded in the trunk of a tree between the bushes.

He quietly retrieved the arrow and carefully unwrapped the letter tied to it and put it into his bosom.

Then, he crawled away from the prying eyes to see if anyone had infiltrated the royal forest, and waited until dawn.

Until dawn came and the gates of Troy were opened.

As soon as the gates open, the letters move quickly through the hands of several people. Most of them were people who didn’t even know what they were moving.

And the final destination of that complicated journey is…

“Give me.”

It was Dolon’s hand.

Dolon carefully opened the letter left by the envoy. Around him, his comrades who shared his will were shining with anticipation.

Dolon, who skimmed through the contents of the letter… the corners of his mouth went up.

Exclamation begins to erupt quietly from the left.

“everyone.”

Dolon speaks confidently.

“A positive answer came. He has agreed to our plan.”

“then···”

Calming his excited voices, Dolon speaks calmly.

“First of all, it is urgent to convince the citizens. If the whole city agrees with our cause, we will be victorious.”

Dolon was silent for a moment to keep the slightly upbeat mood going. And in the midst of people whispering to each other, someone raised their hand.

“Is that possible? Of course, we retain our loyalty to the Hittites, but the rest of the citizens won’t…”

Dolon’s face hardens slightly.

“it’s possible.”

“What do you mean? To be honest, I can’t say there aren’t people who hate the Hittites!”

“There are only a few.”

“Did you say minority? Didn’t King Priam reduce or remodel the temples built by the Hittites?”

Those without faith, those eager to get something out of Dolon’s side, ask questions.

“Even so, it is possible.”

“Why do you think so? Isn’t that a bit reckless?”

To sway him politically, or just stupidly.

“Rather, Achaia and other countries are close. Now, in fact, Hittite is not a distant country…”

“Please stop.”

…Akaia.

“We have already agreed on this plan a long time ago. But now, after sending a letter to the Hittite envoy, what is the point of talking about it now?”

Dolon’s voice grew cold. Those who noticed the fact quickly shut up.

“Loyalty to the Hittites can happen even if you don’t bother to call them out. The benefits that a huge motherland will bring can be a great temptation even for ordinary people who pursue profit rather than a cause.

And that’s not all.

Hatred of ‘Achaia’ is widespread among citizens. Maybe we can use him.”

For a moment there is silence in the room.

Dolon spat out the word ‘Achaia’ like a worm in his mouth.

Although Dolon spoke of a ‘widespread’ hatred, everyone in the room knew that hatred was actually Dolon’s own. I couldn’t help but notice his eyes and voice.

Dolon spit out the words without stopping, and as if he was out of breath, he gulped down the water he had left beside him and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“I’m sorry, everyone… I was overexcited.”

“Oh, no. I almost missed the big picture in my excitement. Let’s go ahead as planned.”

“Then, let’s do it.”

Dolon corrected his facial expression as if he had washed it and put a smile on his face.

“Let’s spread the news to the citizens.”

First of all, of course, information about the state of Antandros had to be widely disseminated. Along with the information about Paris’s wealth that has been unraveling before.

It can provide a stimulating image that will charm citizens, and it has the effect of limiting the behavior of the royal family who has to hide the truth of Antandros from Pitana.

“Look at this. It is an iron coin forged in Antandros.”

“Where did you get it?”

“Paris. A friend from the southern colonial city showed it to me. I heard they sprayed it all over the place during their last visit.”

“I heard Paris-sama is very wealthy, but this…”

“Would you like to touch it? very high purity This could be exchanged for four or five gold coins of the same weight!”

With rumors already spreading, Dolon and his comrades only needed to give him a slight push on the back.

“Looks like Paris made a lot of money in Antandros, right? You must have received quite a few ‘gifts’ as soon as you sat down as monarch. This···”

“No.”

“what?”

“You don’t know what Paris did in Antandros before becoming monarch, do you?

It is a blacksmith.”

“…”

By giving people more ‘accurate’ information about Paris’s wealth.

Other than that… there was no information to disseminate.

“By the way… Ironware is being mass-produced in Antandros?”

“Then what about the Hittites?”

It was more like atmosphere and propaganda than information.

There was no need for Dolon to hold onto and persuade the citizens one by one. There were many conclusions that any intelligent person could draw from the facts alone.

Dolon’s intervention was merely a catalyst.

“If you show me the taste of Antandros’ steel, the Hittites will go mad.”

“I heard that Hattusha is no longer usable, but what will happen if King Priam jumps into internal politics at this point?”

“Maybe the Hittite Empire will be revived.”

“We don’t know what benefit we will see in it.”

anticipation.

“Are you so optimistic?”

“Then how do you see it and say that?”

“If it were me, if I were King Supiluliuma the Great, I wouldn’t stand still.”

“That’s it…”

“I will get my hands on Antandros at any cost.”

“…”

“…”

“If the Hittites come in, can we win?”

“I don’t know.”

“You really don’t know? I think I know.”

“For now, everyone here will die.”

. . . And the fear that follows like a shadow.

Emotions that come naturally.

Between that joy and anxiety, the city shakes from the ground up.

and,

“Anchises, we need a countermeasure.”

Priam also feels the vibration coming up from his feet.