The Greece Antagonist

The following day, at night.

"Where's the wine?"

"It's gone."

"Don't try to deceive me, you clearly have two flasks of Ambrosial Honey Wine tucked away in your arms."

"The wound hasn't healed, it's probably been drunk,"

"I want to drink..."

The noblewoman spoke softly, gazing intently at Luo En before her.

In the end, Luo En was defeated and had no choice but to hand over his private stash.

Watching the noblewoman adeptly pull out the wooden stopper and frown as she guzzled down the wine, Luo En sighed helplessly.

He wasn't upset about the wine itself, but he felt that in his role as a friend to women, he seemed to have encountered a patient that was difficult to handle.

Clearly, the lady didn't truly enjoy the taste of wine; she had simply worn her mask for too long and now found it hard to take off.

Thus, she needed to numb herself with alcohol, to break through and reveal the restrained dignity of sobriety, showing the negative emotions she had suppressed for so long.

The depth of her resentment towards her deceased husband, to the point of turning a noblewoman into a fury in an instant, was imaginable.

Watching her down two flasks of wine and then stagger to her feet, Luo En rubbed his forehead in annoyance.

Great, another sleepless night.

However, the predicted storm never came, and instead, a beautiful head bumped into his chest.

Luo En intended to push her away, but as a dampness spread across his chest, he eventually placed his hand on the noblewoman's back, silently and gently patting her.

The more seemingly powerful a person or thing, the more complete their vulnerability once they collapsed.

Taking into account their prideful self-esteem, pity was, for them, full of insulting implications.

Therefore, excessive comfort and expressions were unnecessary. All they needed was a small point of support, to just stand quietly and allow them to adjust on their own.

After an unknown period of time, the noblewoman's quivering shoulders stopped; she leaned against that warm embrace and fell into a deep sleep.

At dawn, the crisp song of birds woke Luo En from his slumber. He opened his eyes and glanced at the familiar blanket on his body, shifting his gaze to the graceful figure standing by the riverbank.

"What are you doing?"

The noblewoman turned her head and replied indifferently.

"Just as you said, watching how the sun rises and how the water flows."

Luo En smiled faintly, stretched lazily, got up, and approached to ask.

"And how does it feel?"

"Not much to it."

The noblewoman shook her head, gazing wistfully at Luo En beside her.

"Does this method really work? I feel like you're deceiving me."

"I asked you to admire the view to relax your mindset and find more joy in life, not to complete a task."

Luo En explained with a wry smile, then picked up a pebble from the ground and threw it towards the lake.

Suddenly, the spinning pebble stirred up a chain of splashes as it raced to the opposite shore.

"Oh yeah, 137 skips, a new record!"

Luo En clenched his fists excitedly, cheering in delight.

The noblewoman next to him glanced at Luo En and snorted disdainfully.

"Childish!"

For a demigod to get so worked up over such a childish game was beyond her comprehension.

Unperturbed by the noblewoman's scorn, Luo En cheerfully handed her a stone.

"Don't accept it? You try then. This is a skill I've honed with much effort, it won't be easy to beat me."

"Boring..."

"You don't dare?"

"Hmph!"

The haughty noblewoman couldn't tolerate provocation and snatched the stone from Luo En's hand, then hurled it into the lake.

The result? The stone skimmed the water surface, splashing several times before flying into the woods on the other side.

"Haha, see, I win."

Defeated so easily in such a simple game, the noblewoman's face struggled to maintain composure as she turned away with a cold snort.

"Have you had enough fun? I need to set off."

"Hold on a moment!"

Accompanied by a low whisper, a figure pressed close to her, with two hands placed on her waist and behind her right arm.

"Let me show you how. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, lean your body slightly forward, hold the stone tightly with your thumb and index finger—this helps you control its trajectory and force..."

With Luo En's meticulous instruction and hands-on demonstration, the noblewoman's stiff body gradually softened, her waist twirling with the guidance of her instructor, and then their joint right arms swung forward mightily.

Splashes cascaded across the lake surface.

"108 skips, not bad at all."

The deep male voice praised her cheerfully, and in sync, the noblewoman's lips curled up, admiring her own handiwork.

"See, you smiled. It's not so hard to cheer yourself up, is it?"

Upon hearing this, the noblewoman immediately tensed her cheeks, reining in her smile and regaining her customary hauteur.

"Such a trivial trick, and you're pleased with yourself?"

Luo En neither argued nor retorted, simply releasing the noblewoman's waist and arm, and said with a beaming smile.

"Practice more, and you might have a chance to beat me someday."

Watching the man move away from her to pack up the camp, the noblewoman left alone by the lakeside felt an inexplicable sense of loss. Almost as if possessed, she bent down to pick up a pebble.

But soon after, the noblewoman shook her head.

Why would I suddenly care about such a trivial matter?

She tossed it casually, and the stone stirred up nearly a hundred ripples as it reached the other side of the lake.

Unconsciously, she had used the technique taught by that certain someone.

The noblewoman, oblivious to this fact, approached the cleared campsite and looked with surprise at Luo En, paused under a tree.

"Why haven't you left yet?"

"Wait a moment, I need to heal this little thing."

Luo En turned, picking up a trembling little bird from under the tree and softly explained.

"It seems the wind was too strong last night, blowing it out of its nest. It looks like only its left wing is broken; it's not a big problem and will be fixed in no time."

As he spoke, specks of pale green light appeared in Luo En's palm, and then merged into the body of the little bird, automatically realigning its bones.

"Chirp chirp~~"

As its injuries healed, the very human-like little creature let out excited chirps, then gazed curiously at the man and woman before it with eyes the size of mung beans.

Luo En saw this and released his hands with a playful laugh.

"It seems to like you quite a bit?"

The little bird immediately took flight, soaring into the arms of the wealthy lady as if wanting to show affection.

However, upon realizing it was a cuckoo bird, the lady's expression changed drastically, and she violently waved her hand.

"Get away!"

"Puff!"

Accompanied by a surge of golden divine power, the cuckoo bird flying mid-air burst into a cloud of blood mist, turning into a pitiful spatter of flesh and blood that rained onto the ground.

What had been a warm scene suddenly transformed into one of bloodshed, with the face of the wealthy lady who initiated it showing a rapid change of expressions.

In the end, she bit her lip and spoke in a grave voice.

"We're almost at Argos. Let's go."

Luo En nodded, not asking any further questions nor offering any commentary. He simply helped his suddenly volatile employer onto the chariot and steered the divine horses towards Argos.

Triggered over a mere cuckoo bird? What was going on?

Doubts clouded Luo En's shining eyes as he grew even more puzzled about the identity and past experiences of the lady on the chariot.

His confusion did not last long, however.

Of course, not because he found the answers, but because after several days of hard riding, they had already arrived on Argive soil.

"Ahead, into the mountain!"

"Isn't that the way to the Royal City of Argos? People on the road said this city-state is called Nafplion, right?"

"Hmm, there's a spring in the mountains around here. The place I'm looking for is there."

The lady indifferently spoke as she directed the chariot.

Soon after, the chariot passed through a misty haze and arrived at its final destination smoothly.

The clear spring water flowed babblingly, converging in a low-lying area into a pool clear as emerald, within which a holy and pure essence brewed and solidified.

"Here we are, you stay here and keep watch, I'll be back soon."

The lady jumped down from the chariot, gave a quick instruction, and then headed straight for the spring in front of her.

Watching the scene before him, an intense sense of déjà vu settled over Luo En.

A similar scenario, it seemed he had seen it somewhere before.

In a trance, he lowered his eyes to a stone tablet standing at the perimeter of the spring, on which a line of Hermes Script identified the place.

——Knossos?

Luo En subconsciously read out the characters above and then a thunderbolt flashed through his mind, his complexion drastically changing.

Knossos Sacred Spring?

Could it be...

Luo En looked ahead at the spring engulfed in mist, and at the graceful figure bathing within the waters, whose aura was climbing higher and higher, and he began to sweat slightly on his forehead.

The Knossos Sacred Spring in Nafplion City could completely wash away the bather's past irritability, fatigue, and aging, returning them to the pure and beautiful image of their youthful virgin days, similar to the effect of the Love God Aphrodite's Paphos Sacred Pool on Cyprus Island...

Only, this place belonged to another beauty of the Divine Realm — Queen Hera!

...Cera, the Argive, who has a conditioned response to seeing a cuckoo bird...

...her deceased husband loved to cheat, with numerous illegitimate children everywhere, and even seduced his own great-granddaughter...

Luo En recalled the self-introduction and complaints of the lady he had met on the road, and couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

He remembered that the main worship of Queen Hera was centered in the region of Argos, hence, she was also known as the "Goddess of Argos".

Once, she had resided on Cuckoo Mountain. Zeus transformed into a trembling cuckoo bird, took advantage of her pity, flew into her arms, and united with her.

Having just gone through a family contest, it was normal for her to have a conditioned response to seeing a cuckoo bird.

So, that philandering late husband "Bro" was clearly Zeus himself.

Otherwise, who could injure Hera so gravely?

However, the prideful Queen clearly did not wish to admit the painful experience of failing to catch her cheating spouse and being abused instead. Thus, in her narrative, it was she who killed her unfaithful husband, claiming the ultimate victory.

As a result, among those ten truths was one lie, combined with Hera's weakness, led Luo En to mistakenly believe he had encountered merely some Argive royalty involved in a scandalous family melodrama.

Unexpectedly, he had actually bumped into Hera herself.

And in the end, as clues were outlined and connected, the fragmented vague memories awakened, Luo En gradually solved the puzzle about "Cera".
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In some regions of Greece, Hera was worshipped in three aspects: maiden, mother, and widow, with three temples dedicated to each. As an unwed maiden, Hera was known as Pais; as mother and wife, she was called Teleia; as a widow who had left Zeus, Hera was called — Cera...

So, by introducing herself with this name, was she seeing herself as a widow, indicating that her philandering husband was already dead in her heart?

Well, that lie seemed to be half the truth as well.

It was always him who used these tricks on others; he never expected to be the one to fall victim to it one day.

Luo En muttered gloomily to himself, casting a guilty glance at the mist-enshrouded Sacred Pool, and began to quietly step back.

He hadn't forgotten, during the process of escorting Hera to the Holy Land, he had done many presumptuous acts.

Who knew if the Queen, upon regaining her Divine Power, would seek retribution?

Perhaps, it would be best to run away?

But by fleeing, wouldn't he be proving his guilt beyond doubt?

"Whish~~"

As Luo En was caught in his dilemma, the mists surged open, and a dignified goddess with arms as white as lilies, beautiful curly hair cascading from one side of her crown, eyes bright as stars, and an august demeanor that in no way yielded to Aphrodite's beauty, stepped in bare feet down the stone steps, looking down from on high at the young man waiting below, proudly pondering.

"My name is Hera, Queen of Olympus. You have done well to escort me to the Holy Land to complete my Baptism; I will surely remember this favor. As per the agreement, I will fulfill one request of yours. Speak, what do you desire? Foreigner?"

Hearing that the Queen didn't seem to intend on backing out of the deal, Luo En allowed himself to feel some relief, yet he found himself in a difficult predicament of choice.

Indeed, what should he ask for?