Legend Management Bureau Chapter 138

[ … words ]

Shiranui Asuka seemed terrified. She obediently followed Du Yu and was about to walk out.

At this moment, she finally understood why Lamula had said that wearing clothes that were too elaborate would be “inconvenient.”

Lamula’s face turned cold. She shoved the man beside her away, bared her upper body, and blocked Du Yu’s path.

“God of Huaxia, what are you doing?”

“What am I doing?!” Du Yu was absolutely furious. “I should be asking you! What exactly are you doing?!”

“Holding a banquet, of course!”

“I—” Du Yu tried to speak, but after several failed attempts to organize his words, he could only say, “We don’t have the stomach to enjoy this kind of banquet. Farewell.”

With that, he commanded coldly, “Sister Qianqiu, recall us.”

The immortals gathered in front of the screen were naturally dumbfounded by the scene. Hearing Du Yu’s words, they finally snapped back to reality.

“You cannot!” Lamula roared. “Your recall magic will harm the souls nearby, won’t it? Are you trying to attack the gods? Do you want to start a war?”

“I—” Du Yu hesitated, then countered, “Then we won’t use the recall. I will just have Zhada open a door, how about that?”

Lamula stepped forward and grabbed Du Yu with immense force.

“What are you doing?” Du Yu asked in astonishment.

“God of Huaxia, this is my first time bringing outsiders to meet Zeus. Do not embarrass me.”

A trace of resentment flickered in Lamula’s eyes. She already knew Du Yu’s intentions, but at this very moment, she could not let the others know that she had chosen a “lion” who preferred to run away.

“I promise you, I will not mate with the other gods here. Is that acceptable?” Lamula pleaded.

“Miss, that is not what I care about at all!” Du Yu honestly had no idea what to say anymore. The scene just now had utterly shocked him, and Shiranui Asuka beside him seemed severely traumatized. How could a young girl like her have ever witnessed such a spectacle?

“Just this once. We complete the legend, and then you leave,” Lamula said.

“Miss,” Du Yu said, looking at Lamula. “Do you truly believe this kind of banquet brings happiness?”

“We are gods. We possess absolute freedom and supreme power,” Lamula declared. “True power means doing whatever we please.”

“No.” Du Yu shook his head. “If you abandon yourself completely to your instincts and do whatever you want, you aren’t gods. You are beasts.”

Lamula fell silent for a moment before replying, “Perhaps you are right, but everyone has a beast within.”

“Miss, I’ve heard a saying: true freedom isn’t doing whatever you want, but having the power to refuse what you don’t want to do. Have you ever heard that?”

Lamula furrowed her brows, seemingly recalling something.

If Zeus wanted to claim her, she would have absolutely no power to refuse.

Was that true freedom?

“God of Huaxia, say no more. Just this once, do not embarrass me.”

“I…” Du Yu didn’t know what else to say. After a brief hesitation, he sighed, “Fine. Just as you said, let’s go complete the legend. I have no interest in dealing with the rest of your mess anyway.”

Seeing Du Yu change his mind, Lamula was naturally overjoyed.

“Wonderful, God of Huaxia!” Lamula smiled. “We will just go in and have some wine. You two can sit right beside me.”

The three of them returned to the grand hall, found an empty table, and sat down. Lamula poured wine for the two of them.

Du Yu couldn’t help but look up and re-evaluate Zeus. His appearance wasn’t much different from what Du Yu had imagined. The woman sitting beside him was likely the Queen of the Gods, Hera. Legend had it that Zeus had seven wives and over twenty lovers, but only Hera was revered as the Queen, a testament to her exalted status.

Not far in front of Zeus, a dignified and beautiful goddess sat at a table, drinking alone. Unlike the other gods, she was clad in golden armor and exuded an awe-inspiring aura. Her eyes were exceptionally bright. She had to be the true Goddess of War, Athena.

Sitting opposite Athena was another man who, like Zeus, stood over ten feet tall. He had a majestic build and bore a striking resemblance to Zeus. A massive trident rested beside him. Du Yu’s knowledge of Greek mythology was limited, but he remembered that the one wielding a trident should be the God of the Sea, Poseidon.

Poseidon and Athena watched each other with a hint of wariness, drinking in silence.

Zeus seemed to spot Lamula. He raised his wine goblet, gesturing to her from afar.

Lamula also raised her goblet toward Zeus. The two shared an air-toast and drained their fine wine in one gulp.

As Du Yu watched Zeus set down his empty goblet, a blonde boy beside the god immediately stepped forward with a pitcher to refill it. While the boy poured the wine, Zeus’s hands roamed freely all over his body.

After finishing the pour, the blonde boy unexpectedly lifted the goblet, gently touched it to his own lips, and then handed it to Zeus. Zeus took the goblet with eyes full of affection and drank deeply from the exact spot the boy’s lips had touched.

What was going on? Zeus might be known for his promiscuity, but wasn’t that wine-pouring attendant a male?

He even went for men?

Du Yu’s brain practically short-circuited. His usually sharp mind was completely useless in this particular legend. He could only cry out in his mind, ‘Sister Qianqiu, call Qu Xi. I have way too much lore I need catching up on.’

“She is right beside me, Du Yu,” Dong Qianqiu replied. “Ask whatever you don’t understand.”

“Tell me what’s the deal with that boy…”

Dong Qianqiu fell silent for a moment before saying, “I will just let Qu Xi tell you directly. There is too much information, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to relay it clearly.”

She called over Qu Xi and a telepath with a special ability. Anyone in physical contact with this telepath could transmit their voice directly into the legend for five minutes.

“Du Yu,” Qu Xi called out, gripping the telepath’s hand. “Can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear.”

Qu Xi nodded and said, “Many elements of Greek mythology will far exceed your imagination. Do not approach them with the perspective and logic of ordinary people, or you will hit a wall at every turn.”

“I’m already hitting walls at every turn. My mind is completely blank right now.”

“I understand. First, you must realize that the gods of Greece are fundamentally different from our gods. For starters, their gods frequently descend to the mortal realm, and many people have seen them. Secondly, the people of Greece feel more fear toward their gods than reverence.”

“Fear?”

Du Yu thought about it for a second, and she was right. If the gods here truly did whatever they pleased, they could kill people just because they were in a bad mood, and forcefully take whoever they fancied. They were basically a bunch of bandits with magical powers…

“Sigh…” He shook his head slightly and muttered, “Whatever, I think I get it now. The common people are innocent, after all. If we don’t complete this legend, it’s the civilians who will suffer.”

“Exactly. Now, I need to explain the boy pouring the wine. His name is Ganymede. He was originally a mortal. While he was playing with his attendants in the mortal realm, he caught the eye of Zeus up in the heavens. Zeus was captivated by the boy’s breathtaking beauty, so he transformed into an eagle, injured all the attendants, abducted the boy, and then forcefully claimed him on Mount Olympus.”

Du Yu remained silent, not saying a word.

“From then on, Ganymede became Zeus’s favorite male pet, as well as his handsome cupbearer. Whenever there is a banquet of the gods, Ganymede wanders naked among the tables, pouring wine for everyone. Because of his extraordinary beauty, all the gods are allowed to do as they please with him. It is also worth mentioning that Zeus’s original cupbearer was Hebe, his daughter with Queen Hera. To successfully promote Ganymede to the position, Zeus personally framed his own daughter Hebe and stripped her of her title. This has always been a source of great anger for Queen Hera.”

Du Yu rubbed his forehead. After a long while, he finally said, “Sister Qu Xi, is this all true? We are broadcasting live right now, you know. You have to take responsibility for your words…”

“Not a single word I’ve said is false. These myths have been passed down to this day, and all the records can be verified.”

It wasn’t just Du Yu; even the gods at the Legend Administration Bureau fell dead silent. It was as if they were watching an absurdly melodramatic movie, their toes curling in second-hand embarrassment as they squirmed in their seats.

“Kidnapped to be a male pet just for being handsome?” White Impermanence Xie Bian shuddered with lingering fear. “Thank goodness the Queen Mother of the West doesn’t have this kind of fetish.”

“Can you have some shame?” Black Impermanence gave Xie Bian a cold glare.

Du Yu ultimately sighed. The legends of this place were truly beyond his comprehension.

“This is also my oversight, Du Yu,” Qu Xi said with a hint of apology. “I only compiled Athena’s biography but forgot to organize her interactions with the other gods. If I were to compile everything… it would probably amount to the entire History of Greek Mythology.”

“What does this have to do with you…” Du Yu shook his head and offered a bitter smile. “Even if you had compiled this bizarre plot, I still wouldn’t be able to make sense of it…”

“However…” Qu Xi seemingly remembered something and added, “Du Yu, you only need to remember one thing. Ganymede is also a mortal. He possesses no power to defy the gods.”

Hearing Qu Xi’s words, Du Yu felt she made a valid point. He raised his head to gaze at the beautiful blonde youth from afar and noticed that despite the smile on the boy’s face, a profound sorrow was hidden deep within his eyes.

“It really is just as you said…” Du Yu frowned. “But I’m curious. The boy was just abducted by the gods like this—did his family not care?”

“Ganymede’s family is extraordinary. His father is the King of Troy, Tros.”

“The same Troy from the Trojan Horse siege?”

“Yes… Tros washed his face with tears all day long, completely unaware of his son’s whereabouts. Zeus had no choice but to descend to the mortal realm and tell Tros that his son had ascended to the ranks of the immortals and would now enjoy eternal youth and immortality. Afterward, Zeus gifted him two white divine horses. From then on, Tros forgot his sorrow and happily galloped around on his divine horses every day.”

“What a load of divine horse crap…”

It was unclear whether Du Yu was cursing or simply repeating Qu Xi’s words. Just as he was about to ask a few more questions, a loud crash echoed out as a god stumbled and fell right in front of them.

He looked heavily intoxicated but still managed to scramble to his feet, grabbing Shiranui Asuka’s pale calf in a tight grip.

“Ah!” Shiranui Asuka shrieked, trying to pull her leg back, but the god’s strength was overwhelming.

“Beautiful lady… I’ve had my eye on you for a long time…” the god slurred with a lecherous smile. “Want to be my woman?”

Du Yu pulled a slender sword out of thin air. It instantly sliced through the wind and stopped mere inches from the god’s eyes.

“Let go.”