If the people of Athens found out, they’d probably drag me out and burn me at the stake, no matter how beautiful I was.

Hilde couldn’t help sighing at the thought.

“Byzantium…”

Spread out before her was a map of the Greek world, drawn on papyrus. Hilde had already marked the route from Athens to Byzantium. By ship, the journey would take at least seven or eight days—assuming they had a tailwind. If they ran into strong winds and rough seas, dying out there was nothing unusual. Hilde knew how dangerous the trip would be. Fortunately, she could fly. If things came to that, she could just grab Sophia and escape.

“Sigh…”

Hilde sighed again.

Life sure wasn’t easy.

First, she’d gone from being a straight man who liked women and worked herself to the bone at a 996 job to a stunningly beautiful girl.

And now her father in this world had exiled her.

Thinking about her life, Hilde couldn’t help feeling that she’d drawn a rotten lot. A truly rotten lot.

Still, exile had brought her freedom in return. She’d spent so many years cooped up in her home in Athens. It was time to go out and see the world. Byzantium might only be a small city-state with a population just over ten thousand now, but in the future it would be known as Constantinople. And the Thracians nearby were nothing but uncivilized barbarians. If she made Constantinople her base and put her abilities to use, she might just make something of herself.

But when she thought about leaving tomorrow…

Hilde still felt a little reluctant.

After all, this had been her home for so many years.

The next day came in no time.

Pericles really was remarkably efficient. In just one day, he had arranged for about ten heavy infantrymen and twenty archers to escort Hilde to Byzantium. They would stay there with her before returning to Athens. He had also prepared a trireme for her—a large ship rowed by 170 slaves. It was a little extravagant to send a single person on such a vessel, but at least it was safe.

Pericles had also given Hilde a thousand drachmas. It was enough for her to live in Byzantium and buy supplies, a house, and slaves. If she leased a farm, she could even become a landowner. Pericles had always had a problem with Hilde, but when she was about to leave, he still gave her enough to survive somewhere outside Athens.

This was also one of the busiest days of the year in Athens.

The divine beauty was leaving home.

Tens of thousands of Athenians crowded the streets. With all their eyes on her, Hilde and Sophia left Pericles’ estate and climbed into a carriage. The moment Hilde appeared, her silver hair and violet eyes drew gasps from everyone around her. Many people had never seen her in person before. Some had thought the stories about her were exaggerated, but now that they saw her with their own eyes, they realized that even the legends couldn’t do her beauty justice.

“Miss, please be careful.”

With Sophia’s help, Hilde climbed into the carriage.

At the estate’s entrance, the maids were weeping their eyes out. It looked for all the world like a funeral.

“Miss!”

“What are we supposed to do without you?!”

Seeing how reluctant they were to part with her, Hilde stood up in the open carriage and addressed the maids below. “Your tears are the best gift you could give me as you see me off. I’ll treasure them forever. It’s just a pity that my poor, unfortunate self has been cruelly cast out to Byzantium by my father. From now on, whether I live or die is in the hands of the gods. Still, at least I have you, and your love. All this time, you’ve shown me what love is and what it feels like to be loved… You made up for the love I never got from my father.”

“Hilde.”

Pericles cleared his throat a few times.

“Don’t waste any more time.”

“Ah, Father! Will you even take this last farewell from me?”

The Athenians watching nearby couldn’t stand to hear that.

“Pericles, I didn’t know you were that kind of man!”

“Sending such a beautiful Athenian girl to Byzantium is like handing a jewel to a band of thieves!”

Hilde’s beauty had taken everyone’s breath away. The Athenians loved beautiful things, so naturally they felt for her. And with plenty of people already opposed to Pericles, Hilde’s speech only fueled their anger. Faced with this awkward situation, Pericles could only swallow his frustration. He turned to Sophia and said, “Take her away at once. Remember, from today on, you’re Hilde’s slave. You have nothing to do with us.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Sophia nodded solemnly.

Then she climbed onto the driver’s seat and took hold of the reins.

“Miss, we’re off.”

“Since you belong to me now, shouldn’t you call me something else?” Hilde said with a smile.

“Y-yes… Master.”

With that, Sophia flicked the reins, and they headed for the harbor.

It took two or three hours by carriage to get from the Great Athens district, where Pericles’ estate stood, to the port of Piraeus. But this was Hilde’s first time leaving the estate, and now the sights of Athens as it had been more than two thousand years ago unfolded before her. When she looked up, she could see the imposing Acropolis and the towering statue of Athena. She had to say, the statue of Athena looked nothing like the Athena she had seen.

Athens was the grandest and wealthiest city in the Greek world, and its whole design was impressive and grand. Its roads were paved with stone, and the surrounding buildings were houses in the distinctive Athenian style. Street vendors were everywhere, and commerce and trade were thriving. As they went along, Hilde even spotted a few wise men with long hair and bushy beards, looking for promising students in the streets. Then she saw someone who looked very familiar.

“Sophia, stop the carriage!”

“Yes!”

Sophia pulled on the reins, and the carriage gradually came to a stop.

Hilde fixed her gaze on a man strolling along the street.

He wore nothing but a plain linen tunic, and he didn’t even have a pair of sandals on his feet. His hair was a mess, and he looked completely unkempt. Just then, he was walking with his head bowed, deep in thought. People nearby gave him disdainful looks, but he didn’t seem to care in the slightest. Hilde, however, was very interested in him.

Hilde immediately waved and called out:

“Socrates! Socrates!”