The Villain of Ancient Greece

The next morning, a burst of noisy, chaotic sounds, mixed with faint sobbing, came from the port.

Something had happened!

Hestia, who was in the kitchen, heard the commotion.

Her expression slightly darkened, and she immediately stuck her head out from behind the stove, eagerly looking toward the figure in the backyard.

Sensing the gaze practically glued to his back, Lorne sighed, put away the bronze longsword in his hand, and took the initiative to speak.

”Fine, come with me and take a look.”

”Okay!”

Hestia immediately felt relieved, quickly put down the cooking utensils, and obediently followed right behind Lorne as they headed toward the port.

Before leaving, her dear niece Athena had warned her to listen to that certain guy in everything.

There were many things she didn’t understand.

But she knew some words were worth listening to carefully.

Following the crowd through the city gates, they arrived at the distant seaside port outside Knossos.

By now, many people who had heard the news had already gathered there.

There were soldiers maintaining order, priests responsible for counting and investigating, and priestesses offering comfort and healing. On the outskirts stood circle after circle of ordinary people anxiously peering inward...

Inside the now-locked-down port, dozens of corpses, turned pale from soaking in seawater, were being dragged ashore one after another by the soldiers.

Most of the dead were dressed in rough linen clothes, their skin coarse and sun-reddened—a typical look for seafaring fishermen and low-tier traders.

As for the causes of death, they varied.

Some of them had purplish-blue faces from oxygen deprivation and suffocation; some had twisted bodies with shattered bones; some had bulging eyes full of terror; some had their limbs torn off, leaving only half a torso…

The bloody and brutal scene caused some of the more emotionally fragile Minoans to turn away and squat on the ground, retching repeatedly.

But more people were grabbing nearby soldiers or acquaintances, anxiously asking and searching; and upon hearing tragic news, they rushed forward, weeping and wailing in disbelief.

It was clear that among the dead, there could be their fathers, brothers, or loved ones.

As more and more people arrived, the scene became increasingly chaotic and noisy.

Lorne slightly furrowed his brows, pulled Hestia back to a higher vantage point on the outskirts, and looked out toward the sea.

Murky waves crashed against the shore, forming circles of white foam.

Pieces of broken wood of various sizes were washed up onto the beach.

They were fragments of ships.

And not just fishing boats, some of the debris seemed to come from merchant ships inscribed with simple protective spells...

Lorne’s gaze passed over the jagged edges of the planks and landed on a keel in the distance that looked as if it had been torn in two by some massive force and brow gradually tightened.

”Lorne?!”

Just as the two of them were scanning the scene, a small purple figure surrounded by a group of white-robed priestesses suddenly lit up with excitement and waved toward their vantage point.

Is this girl here too?

Lorne raised an eyebrow, nodded from afar, then discreetly gestured toward a relatively secluded and quiet spot before turning and disappearing into the crowd.

Moments later, the little Medusa, having understood the signal, arrived at the designated location and joined up with Lorne and Hestia, who were already waiting.

”It was the ships that set out from Crete—they’re the ones who got into trouble!”

As soon as they met, little Medusa got straight to the point, her eyes burning as she looked at Lorne.

Lorne, who had already expected this, wasn’t surprised and muttered softly, ”Faster than I thought…”

He then pinched the bridge of his nose and asked the officially recognized Minos envoy of Athena:

”Number of ships, casualties, and the affected area?”

”There were seven ships that went out from yesterday to today. So far, wreckage has been identified from three of them here at the harbor. There’s no information at all about the other four.”

Little Medusa truthfully relayed what she knew, then paused, biting her cherry lips tightly, her voice lowering.

”Nineteen people are dead. No survivors have been found yet.”

But soon, a trace of light reappeared on the girl’s previously shadowed face.

”However, I’ve already instructed the temple to light the sacred flame on the coastal divine tower as soon as possible to guide the remaining four missing ships.

And if there are mages aboard, they can also use Aether resonance to try and establish contact with the priests stationed at the tower!”

”You really think the sea wind and waves could tear ships apart like that?”

Lorne spoke in a low voice, although he was a little reluctant, but he still cruelly and resolutely crushed the glimmer of luck in little Medusa’s heart.

”I’m afraid… they encountered a sea beast…”

On that perilous Oceanus Sea, the fate of ordinary people encountering sea beasts goes without saying.

Upon hearing this, little Medusa’s gaze instantly dimmed.

Sister Beatrice’s father, and Grandpa Contaneus’s son—they were both on one of the missing ships…

However, the young girl didn’t have much time to grieve for others before a question whispered beside her ear broke her train of sorrow.

”The three ships whose wreckage we’ve found—when did they leave the port?”

”I think it was yesterday afternoon…”

Little Medusa thought carefully, then answered seriously.

Yesterday afternoon?

Lorne’s eyes flashed, and he took the initiative to speak.

”Is there any record of entry and exit times, the status of corpse investigations, and a sea chart marking trade routes and nearby fishing grounds? Get me a copy!”

”Okay!”

Without hesitation, Little Medusa nodded, then sprinted toward the priestesses in the crowd.

While the girl left to retrieve the sea charts, Lorne turned to Hestia beside him.

”Do you know any experienced old fishermen nearby? I have some things I’d like to ask.”

”Yes, I do!”

Hestia, who had been idling on the side, perked up at once upon hearing that, quickly scanned the area, and pulled over an elderly man with a slightly hunched figure.

The weathered lines on his face and the calluses on his hands were enough to prove his identity.

Looking at the somewhat sorrowful face before him, Lorne was briefly taken aback.

He remembered—this old man seemed to be named Contaneus?

”Lord Anna’s brother? If there’s anything you want to ask, just say it!”

The old man forced a smile onto his face and spoke proactively.

Lorne calmed his thoughts, nodded slightly, and quietly asked a few questions regarding the tides, day-night cycles, and ship speeds.

The old man, Contaneus, indeed lived up to being a seasoned fisherman.

Though some of his descriptions were a bit vague, with his rich experience he was still able to provide hin with relatively accurate data.

As each question and answer corroborated each other, a thoughtful glint appeared in Lorne’s eyes.

”Here we go!”

Not long after, little Medusa came running back, arms full of several sea charts, which she laid out one by one in front of Lorne.

Lorne didn’t speak.

He picked up a tree branch and, while examining the various markings around the seas near Crete, wrote down a few lines of numbers and began roughly calculating.

When the results emerged before his eyes, his expression inevitably turned serious.

Little Medusa, noticing the look on Lorne’s face, instinctively stepped forward and asked:

”What’s wrong?”

Lorne waved his hand. Once Hestia got the message and quietly saw off the elderly fisherman, he turned to the newly appointed envoy of the goddess of wisdom and spoke in a low voice:

”Trust me—warn the coastal city guards and temple priestesses not to sleep too deeply tonight. Especially during the first half of the night…”

”...!”

Hearing the low and serious voice, the little Medusa, who knew the character of the man opposite very well, frowned and nodded heavily.

(End of Chapter)