Bear School Astartes

”Great Hermes, now all I can offer you is my devotion. I am very poor; at home, I only have four starving children and no other living beings. And my only handcart is broken; how can I make a living? Or do you want me to abandon the cart and continue to seek a livelihood?”

A woman wearing a coarse linen long dress, with frayed hems, knelt before the lavish statue of Hermes, pleading in inquiry.

Hermes is the god of commerce, so this plea is quite appropriate.

Lann at this moment squeezed out from the stone crevice behind the statue.

A tall figure emerged from the statue’s shadow, causing the kneeling praying woman to let out a scream, shifting from kneeling to squatting.

”Please don’t be alarmed; I’m neither a villain nor a monster, madam.”

Lann lifted the offerings stolen by cave bandits with a smile towards the woman.

”I heard you say life is tough; these items...”

Lann glanced at the statue and then at the crevice, feeling that the offerings in his hand could now be considered ’stolen goods’, so he continued without any mental burden.

”These items can be shared with you, at least to get through the hardest times.”

The squatting woman looked at Lann with a gaze transformed from fear to amazement.

”Re-really?”

And after she blankly accepted the items, she began loudly praising Hermes.

It should be some sort of hymn from the Divine Hall, which Lann couldn’t really understand.

The Demon Hunter awkwardly scratched his cheek from the side and said, ”Madam, it was I who gave you the items.”

Therefore, this devoted believer, while worshipping Hermes, also gave Lann a grateful bow.

”Of course, thank you too, Divine Envoy of Hermes. You personally delivered hope to me under the great Hermes’ will.”

In the woman’s sincere and loud praises, Lann shook his head helplessly, avoided her worship, and glanced again at the splendid statue.

”Alright, under the gods’ will... hey.”

Upon exiting the cave, the disheartened man was still sitting on the rock, his leather sandals tapping aimlessly on the stone.

Lann stood before him, and the man finally looked up, eyes filled with an indescribable pleading.

”So, are they... inside?”

”I didn’t see any gods, only a group of thieves behind the statues who stole the followers’ offerings.”

Lann spread his hands, looking down and speaking to the man.

The man’s eyes suddenly brightened again.

”Aha! I knew it! The gods haven’t abandoned me! It’s those damned thieves! May they all face the wrath of Zeus!”

”No, Zeus need not waste his wrath on these people,” the Demon Hunter shook his head, speaking calmly. ”For my wrath has already descended upon them.”

”Then let these blasphemers feel Hades’ wrath in the Netherworld.”

The man immediately amended his curse in another manner.

”Thank you, Mercenary. You have eased my mind greatly.”

Saying this, he pulled out a leather pouch, looking deflated.

”This is my last possession. As promised, it is yours now.”

Estimating there might be fewer than twenty coins in that pouch, Lann looked at the small-framed man and shook his head.

”You’d better keep it. It looks like you haven’t eaten for a long time, but... be cautious when worshipping next time.”

”You can’t be picky when revering the gods,” the man shook his head in disagreement, ”But I still thank you, Mercenary. Not just as a killer, as rumors claim.”

Lann turned and left the small valley, waving his hand behind without looking back.

”I advise you not to think that way.”

Other mercenaries may not have my leisurely disposition.

The Aegean sunlight shone upon Lann, making him unconsciously loosen his shoulders a bit.

This journey has also been an initial experience of the Ancient Greeks’ beliefs, at least preventing any unknowing offenses to others in the future.

Moreover, the [Clairvoyance] slightly activated by observing the statue didn’t come without gain.

After walking out of the valley again, Lann wandered around the outskirts of the small town.

There aren’t as many jobs as there are at the port, so not many people are around. Lann’s arrival caused a bit of a stir but didn’t cause trouble.

Putting a pickled olive into his mouth, the salty flesh and rich oil burst inside, slightly boosting his appetite.

These were offerings taken from the cave a moment ago, some of which Lann kept for himself.

He wanted to taste the flavors of Ancient Greece.

”Kind of like pickled vegetables,”

The Demon Hunter made an evaluation based on his taste, while wandering and eating.

Thanks to the Aegean climate, the people here have no strict requirement for sturdy houses.

Setting up a canopy with sticks to avoid direct sunlight constitutes a stall for a day’s trading.

Spreading some burlap on the ground and stacking hay and flax stalks as a pillow constitutes a bed for sleeping overnight.

Lann looked around the scene with a fresh perspective.

This timeline where civilization has just been born is vibrant and free; it was his first such experience, making everything seem novel.

But soon, Lann, hailing from an otherworld, witnessed another major characteristic of the early stages of human civilization—chaos.

As Lann wandered, a sharp, penetrating screech suddenly came from the sky.

That was an eagle’s cry.

Frequent and urgent.

The people on the street, also puzzled by the eagle’s calls, stuck their heads out from under the shades, looking up into the sky.

But they quickly neglected the sky because chaos had also erupted on the street.

The crowd flowed past Lann like a stream.

Their heads mostly only reached Lann’s shoulders, hence in the Demon Hunter’s perspective, it was a sea of black hair.

”Hey! At least don’t use that piece of cloth around your waist to stuff my mouth, okay? It’s so dirty it’s glowing with oil!”

A little girl’s piercing shriek came from the opposite direction of the crowd’s flow.

Amid that, there was the sound of a ceramic amphora being shattered, the sound of thin poles supporting canopies breaking, and fierce threats.

Things like ”Shut up, or I’ll cut your tongue!” or ”We could chop off one of your hands first” and the like.

Standing amid the crowd, Lann raised an eyebrow because he found that little girl’s voice quite familiar.

Like he had heard it just a few hours ago.

”Phoebe?”

That eagle in the sky should be Icarus, who wanted to protect her.

Thinking of this, Lann began to push through the crowd, squeezing towards the source of the commotion.

”Alright, little girl, let me see what trouble you’ve stirred up this time.”