The Villain of Ancient Greece

A serpentine twelve-sided dice rolled across the stone table, spun by slender, pale fingers.

Behind the veil, a faint purple smile curved with delight.

”It seems she taught you well.”

”Thanks to your blessings, Goddess.”

Lorne closed the doors of the temple, walked to the stone table, and sat down, offering a half-hearted compliment to a certain creditor, his smile not reaching his eyes.

”Oh, by the way, should I respectfully address you as ’Goddess Persephone’?”

”We were born nameless. Names are just labels. Call me whatever you like.”

The ”Queen of the Underworld” across from him still had a smile on her face, her tone noncommittal.

Yeah, right! I don’t believe a word of it!

Lorne’s gaze drifted over the ”Queen’s” head, landing on the three-faced, six-armed goddess statue in the hall as he sneered in his heart.

Hecate, the Goddess of the magic, witchcraft, the night, ghosts, necromancy, and crossroads..

Strictly speaking, she doesn’t belong clearly to either the celestial or chthonic deities. In the world of gods classified by attributes, she represents a certain kind of playfulness, joy, and chance—the randomness of fate.

She can bestow fortune or misfortune on someone at will, and the recipient would never know why.

Because Hecate can freely grant luck or doom.

She can make the fish in the waters abundant or extinct, and the same goes for the birds in the sky and the beasts on the ground.

In the world of gods, she represents an element of chance, adding a touch of serendipity.

Zeus and Gaia pulled time into existence, and they could foresee how it would unfold. But Hecate smeared a bit of grease on the gears, leaving room for the unpredictable, making the world run more smoothly.

She intervenes in the birth of infants, the education of children, the creation of wealth, fishing, hunting, and maritime affairs—matters of the mortal world.

In later times, it was said that apart from Helios, the Sun God, she was the only one who witnessed Hades, the god of the underworld, abducting Persephone.

She helped the goddess of agriculture, Demeter search for her daughter, becoming the protector and godmother of the Queen of the Underworld in the realm of the dead...

—The protector and godmother of Persephone, Queen of the Underworld...

—Representing [a certain kind of game] [playfulness], [joy], [chance], and the [randomness of fate]...

These records from the Theogony undoubtedly correspond perfectly to the creditor sitting before Lorne.

Thus, the true identity of this ”Queen of the Underworld” had long been revealed.

Moreover, this was the temple Hecate. Who else could appear here so silently besides the goddess herself?

Obviously, it was not a coincidence that he drifted to the island of Aeaea and was picked up and raised by the witch Circe.

Everything was under the control of this goddess.

After all, what kind of creditor would let a debtor go so easily with just a few words?

As for whether Hecate’s beloved disciple, his dear foster mother and teacher, the great witch Circe, knew the inside story or was involved in all this...

When Lorne thought of the wise eyes of a certain silly bird and her nurturing level that almost killed him several times, he immediately shook his head and threw this conjecture behind his mind.

After briefly organizing his thoughts, he forced a smile and made small talk: ”Why aren’t you enjoying your time in the Underworld, instead coming to this godforsaken island?”

His words carried an obvious tone of disdain.

”Of course, I came to visit my adorable disciple and grand-disciple,” Hecate turned a deaf ear to this, holding the mysterious and beautiful profile with her bare hands, and looking up and down at the ”grand-disciple” in front of her with interest.

The familiar feeling made Lorne feel as though he had returned to the past, once again a piece of pork on the chopping board.

A chill ran down his spine.

Lorne couldn’t help but twitch his lips, quickly steeling himself to stop the goddess’s [loving gaze], forcing a dry smile onto his face.

”You came at the perfect time. I have some questions about magic and would like to seek your guidance.”

”You want to know the fastest way to ascend to demigodhood?”

Hecate smiled slightly, and bluntly revealed the purpose of this disciple.

Obviously, this goddess has been doing a lot of peeping work behind his back.

Who knows how many times had he been molested by this woman’s eyes since I was a child.

Realizing this, Lorne felt a sudden tightness in his gut, but considering the vast gap in their status and power, he could only pinch his nose to suppress the depression in his heart and nod obediently.

”I do know the answer,” the light, pleasant voice echoed in his ears, and Lorne’s face lit up with hope.

But before his smile could last more than a few seconds, Hecate glanced at him with a sly smile and abruptly changed her tone: ”But why should I tell you?”

”...”

Seeing that playing the emotional card was ineffective, Lorne’s lips twitched silently, and he could only despise this nominal master in his heart.

Hecate, however, was in no hurry.

Her slender fingers played with the serpentine dodecahedron on the table as she smiled and waited.

After a brief silence, Lorne was defeated and reluctantly gave in.

”Fine, same as before. If I win, you tell me the method.”

”Deal!”

As soon as these words were spoken, Hecate agreed happily.

Under the expectant gaze of his mentor, Lorne reluctantly pulled out a wooden board divided into squares and painted with different colors, along with two marble boxes, each containing 16 black and white pieces, from the storage compartment beneath the long table.

From the layout of the board and the number of pieces, it was clear that this was a version of chess.

However, to better fit the local culture, the pieces were carved with more Greek-inspired figures, such as kings, generals, and famous mythical creatures.

In short, it was a pirated version of chess.

The reason Lorne had created this was purely to keep the gambling-addicted goddess entertained, preventing her from wandering around Aeaea all day, constantly looking for amusement at his expense.

On the side, he could also use the game to extract some benefits from Hecate.

But to his surprise, Hecate took to this intellectual board game with great enthusiasm and learned it incredibly quickly.

After just a dozen or so games, Lorne’s carefully stored strategies and moves had been almost entirely figured out by his opponent, and the battles on the board grew more and more intense.

Seeing that he, the creator of the game, was about to lose to a student he had just accepted a few days ago, Lorne immediately decided to stop while he was ahead, and from then on, he closed the game, resolutely refusing to play chess with Hecate again..

However, for a gambling addict, winning or losing didn’t matter much.

The greatest punishment was not letting her continue to gamble.

For this reason, the restless Hecate began showing up every now and then, using all sorts of tricks to coax Lorne into reopening the game with her.

And today, she finally got her wish.

Setting up the board and placing the pieces, Lorne then pulled out another serpentine dodecahedron dice from the box.

”Same rules as before. Whoever rolls the higher number goes first.”

”Wait.”

Just as Lorne was about to release his fingers and roll the dice to determine the order, Hecate raised her eyes, her smile teasing.

”You haven’t said what happens if you lose, have you?”

”Have I not?”

Lorne chuckled awkwardly, trying to deflect.

”It’s just a game. The most important thing is to have fun.”

As he spoke, he subtly loosened his fingers, trying to roll the dice first.

But in the face of an absolute power gap, such tricks were utterly futile. Hecate simply raised her hand with a smile, and Lorne froze like a statue, losing control of his limbs, with only his head able to move.

”Having fun is important, but fairness is even more important in a game.”

Hecate wagged her slender index finger in front of Lorne, and explained the rules with a smile.

”If I lose, I give you what I possess. Correspondingly, if you lose, you must pay the same price. For every game I win, you must give up something you own.”

”But what I give up is for me to decide!”

Lorne’s eyes flashed as he added his own condition.

”Otherwise, I refuse.”

Hecate glanced at the face that clearly said, ”If you don’t agree, I’ll resist to the end,” and reluctantly nodded in agreement.

”Fine, we’ll do it your way.”

Almost at the same time, Lorne’s body relaxed, and the dice in his hand fell onto the table, rolling a few times before landing on 12.

”Looks like today is your lucky day.”

Hecate gave him a teasing look and casually tossed her own dice.

It also landed on 12.

But according to the rules, in the case of a tie, the first roller wins.

With the pre-game contest settled, the new game officially began.

(End of Chapter)