The tale of Hera

 

17 years later.

In the human world, there were various changes, big and small. King Tyndareus of Sparta was in search of suitable husbands for his two daughters who had come of marriageable age.

However, he had two grown sons, and the throne of Sparta would eventually pass to one of them.

If it wasn’t for marrying the princess of that country and inheriting the throne, it would be foolish for them to vie for a position as a son-in-law in another royal family. Thus, the paths to marriage for the two princesses of Sparta would prove to be thorny and challenging, much more than King Tyndareus had anticipated.

Meanwhile, in the powerful kingdom of Argos, the wise King Atreus, who had ruled the country for a long time, entered the latter half of his life and chose to step down from the throne. He passed the throne to his eldest son, Agamemnon.

Atreus wanted to find an unmarried woman to become the queen before his son’s coronation, hoping for a stable marriage. This was because if a king of a country became a suitor of a woman, the costs to be paid to the bride’s side upon marriage would significantly increase.

However, Agamemnon did not fulfill his father’s expectations. No, he could not.

Agamemnon was a handsome young man with captivating looks.

He had a lively personality, got along well with people, enjoyed drinking, and loved to revel day and night.

Just based on this, one might think that he would change women frequently and lead a carefree lifestyle. However, the reality was different. Agamemnon was surprisingly clean and pure when it came to matters of women, like a white cloth fresh off the loom.

What excited the young king was thrilling battles, fierce duels flowing only with blood and sweat. As most skilled fighters were easily defeated by him, Agamemnon’s opponent in the duels was fixed to be his brother, Menelaus. Everyone thought that since Menelaus was Agamemnon’s younger brother, he didn’t want to train him so harshly that he would kill his brother during training.

But their skills were by no means equal.

Just five years ago, Menelaus always lost to Agamemnon. He would suffer deep wounds from grazing swords, break his legs, and roll on the dirt floor in agony. However, at some point, Menelaus achieved a remarkable improvement in skill, to the extent that he was now easily overpowering Agamemnon, as if it were easier than breathing.

Agamemnon couldn’t adapt easily to the rapid changes that occurred in such a short time.

He couldn’t forget his past glory. He couldn’t give up his pride as an elder brother. Therefore, he faced Menelaus day after day, and day after day, he suffered humiliating defeats.

There existed a long-standing tradition among the brothers of Atreus. For the one who lost in a duel between brothers, a punishment was applied. They would be tied tightly with ropes to a sturdy beam, 15 meters in length and 1 meter in thickness, supporting the ceiling of the dedicated training area in the Mycenae palace. They would be left hanging for hours without being untied.

That spot was where Menelaus had diligently polished and cleaned as he performed his year-long punishment.

However, now it was Agamemnon who held the unenviable position. After finishing the morning meetings, the young king found himself hanging from the beam of his training area’s ceiling until late evening, after his training was done for the day. This left him with hardly any time to meet with women.

As per usual, Agamemnon, who was performing his punishment today as well, looked down at his brother Menelaus sitting on a chair with his legs stretched out beneath him and sighed.

“Menelaus. Do you know that the reason we can’t bring a proper hostess to the palace in Mycenae is all because of you? Before I make a lowly slave I caught in the war my queen, you better let me win.”

“It’s you who should put in more effort, brother. Why do you blame me for not being able to get into a relationship?”

Menelaus responded as he sharpened the edge of the sword he had used for training with a whetstone.

This handsome, golden-haired young man who was focused on maintaining his weapon was hardly recognizable from the seven-year-old boy who had met Hera during a playful war game. He had matured so much that it was nearly impossible to see any trace of that young boy, and he had now become a twenty-four-year-old man.

The brothers were very different in every way.

If Agamemnon’s hair, starting from his head and covering his entire body, resembled a fiery red blaze due to his father Atreus’ blood, Menelaus was born with soft, shimmering golden hair that bore a closer resemblance to his mother, Queen Aerope. While Agamemnon had always been somewhat unkempt, Menelaus possessed fair skin. While Agamemnon had over two meters of height and bulky muscles, making him a warrior of the Heracles class, Menelaus was a warrior of the Perseus class, who was close to 190 centimeters tall and relied on his quick feet and intelligent strategies to win battles.

In the end, the young king of Mycenae, Agamemnon, suffered defeat again today at the hands of the swift-footed Menelaus.

“Brother. I’m thirsty.”

“Pray to the god Zeus for rain, brother.”

“I’m feeling a bit hungry too.”

“Think back to what you had for lunch.”

“Everything has already been digested, and there’s nothing in my stomach. How can I think back to something I’ve already consumed? Besides, am I a cow?”

Menelaus paused in his sword maintenance and looked up at his brother with an incredulous expression.

“Isn’t it more heartless for someone who ate three calves in one meal to say they are hungry two hours later? It’s a good thing that our country is famous for its horses and is busy exporting them, so horse slaughter is prohibited. If you were a little more heartless, you might have eaten all the cows and even tried horse meat.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

Agamemnon twisted his body, attempting to move the hand tied behind his back, causing his massive arm muscles to twitch, but Menelaus had tied him too securely, rendering his struggle futile.

“Are you not my vassal! Where in the world can you find a vassal who treats their king like this?”

Agamemnon, giving up on breaking the rope, grumbled with a gloomy expression.

“Now the entire Greece will hear of this. The reason the king of Mycenae doesn’t appear is solely because he lost to his own younger brother and is hanging from the ceiling all day.”

“……”

“Menelaus, can’t you just release me once today and then we can have another go? I can’t remember at all how I lost to you. Even though I thought I had the upper hand, at some point, I found myself on the ground and your sword at my throat.”

“……”

“How did you see through it? My weakness?”

With no response from Menelaus, Agamemnon muttered, reminiscing about the past.

“I wonder if it has something to do with the change in your eye color. It was the day you suddenly shouted the name of the goddess Hera like you were possessed by something. Even when your throat was sore and blood was coming out of your mouth, you didn’t stop screaming. Father finally gave up and called the servants to set up a makeshift tent in the courtyard to put you to sleep. I remember that for a while afterward, you behaved as if your soul had left your body… Menelaus! Where are you going?”

Agamemnon noticed Menelaus, who had been polishing his sword, setting aside the chair he had been sitting on and tidying up. He shouted at him.

“I always go to the same place, don’t I? Why are you asking as if it’s something new?”

“Ah, are you going to the temple of Hera after going to your room to wash up and change clothes?”

Agamemnon said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“You really still haven’t come to your senses, have you? What’s the point of constantly going back and forth to the temple of Hera, who is not even the patron goddess of Mycenae? Do you expect to find gold or silk there?”

Menelaus looked at his brother with a disapproving frown.

“… So, are you telling me that you go to the Ares temple every time hoping for gold and silk to pour out?”

“It’s not like that. But rather than offering sacrifices to Hera, whom the women and believers revere, it’s more practical to believe in Ares, who brings actual benefits to our kingdom…”

“She is the tutelary goddess of Argos, I must say.”

“Still, for any man,”

“Again, you’re saying useless things.”

Agamemnon began as if it were obvious, and Menelaus, irritated by the conversation, covered his ears and quickly left the training ground.

“Hey! Menelaus!”

While in the midst of speaking, Agamemnon realized that his brother was gone, and he called out to his missing sibling, wriggling his bound body like a caterpillar. However, Agamemnon encountered Menelaus again the next morning during the council meeting.

 Hello, everyone~!!! Eica here~ Thank you for having the time to read my translations.Due to my ongoing classes and my upcoming departmental and final exam, I'll be taking time off until the end of this January. No worries as I'll be updating it once my exams are done.Despite my shortcomings in translating this, I hope everyone of you will have a good time reading this.For any mistakes, you can comment down below, or you can ping me at discord.You can support me on ko-fi. And please rate this on NU. Any comments of yours will be appreciated. And though I may not reply, rest assured that I'm reading and anticipating each and every comment of yours.Once again, thank you, everyone~!!! Happy reading~!!!