The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 203 Helena and the Market

One second, or even less.

From silence to noise, from quiet to bustling.

Ino stood by the roadside, leaning on his cane, listening to the sounds of traffic.

But it was precisely because of this lively scene that his appearance did not seem abrupt.

After all, with the constant flow of people in the market, no one would notice if one person were added or removed quietly.

Looking at the market from the classical era, Ino lifted her leg to ask someone what was going on, only to find her palm leaf sandals being grabbed by a small hand.

"Are you a priest of the temple?"

……

Helena felt lucky. She thought it was just an ordinary market gathering, and as usual, she picked enough olive branches on the mountain to sell.

But a sudden appearance of a figure stirred a thrill within her, as if a scene from a story was unfolding in reality.

It seems the other party is leaving now.

Looking at the clean and spotless robe, Helena didn't dare to reach out and touch it. She could only kneel down and grab the other person's shoes with her hands.

The discovery that the palm leaf sandals, which were right next to her, were completely free of dirt further solidified her belief.

At the same time.

Ino had already turned around and found a 7-8 year old child kneeling behind him.

Upon this discovery, he bent down without hesitation and gently helped the petite figure in front of him to her feet.

He then saw the child's face clearly and was surprised to find that it was a girl. Although her face looked dirty, her bright eyes were unforgettable.

She had a pair of violet-jewel-like eyes, and the look in them was just like that of a newly hatched chick, timidly peeking out at the outside world.

Faced with such a pair of eyes, Ino tried her best to soften her voice.

"I am not a priest of the temple, but a traveler from a foreign land, a wandering bard."

"But I think you are!" With those words, as if she had used up all her courage, Helena lowered her head timidly again.

Perhaps because she came from an orphanage, Ino felt that she had almost no resistance to these poor children.

He immediately abandoned any further inquiries, put down his bundle, and sat down on the ground, keeping eye level with the little girl in front of him.

"Then tell me, what kind of priest do I resemble?" Ino asked softly.

Perhaps it was the level gaze or the gentleness of her voice, but this time Helena was no longer timid and spoke her mind.

"I think you are a priest of Apollo, the sun god. In the story, he was once a bard and even had a harp that was transformed from the laurel goddess Daphne..."

Ino could no longer hear what the little girl said after that.

Two widely known names have already consumed all his energy.

Classical times, temple rituals, Apollo, the sun god, Daphne, the laurel goddess...

All of this, when put together, undoubtedly points to an extremely vast story world—the Greek gods.

Unlike other stories, God is hidden and just.

In Greek mythology, the gods on Mount Olympus were pure arrogance. The age of the gods began with Zeus, who overthrew the rule of his father Cronus, ascended the throne of the gods, and ushered in a new era.

Although Zeus was much more restrained than the previous king of the gods, he still possessed a sea that was much larger than that of Poseidon, the god of the sea.

Sisters, aunts, great-granddaughters, great-great-granddaughters… Zeus had seven wives and countless lovers. There are more than 20 recorded and named, and countless others whose names are unknown.

Zeus even had a transgender lover, the famous Aquarius Ganymede among the twelve constellations.

Ganymede was a handsome prince, but his beauty attracted the attention of Zeus, who transformed into a giant eagle and abducted Ganymede to Mount Olympus, making him a wine server.

The transgender love affair humiliated Hera, who, in a fit of rage, transformed Ganymede into a transparent water pitcher, punishing him to spend his entire life pouring water for Zeus, water that was entirely Ganymede's tears.

When Zeus saw that his lover had become an Aquarius, he was heartbroken and sealed Ganymede in the sky, where he became the constellation Aquarius.

Compared to other mythologies, Greek mythology can be summed up in two words—chaos.

More than half of the stories from the Age of Gods revolve around Zeus's amorous nature. Fortunately, Hera, the queen of the gods, was jealous; otherwise, the number of the twelve Olympian gods would have at least doubled if things had escalated further.

……

The bustling market of Athens on the Aegean coast.

In a secluded corner sat two figures, one large and one small, with a two-foot square linen cloth spread out in front of them, upon which were some fresh olive branches.

In Athens, the city protected by Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, olive branch headbands are undoubtedly the most popular item.

However, because it was so popular, there were many people selling headbands, so the secluded stalls that only sold olive branches were basically ignored.

Behind the stall, Ino took out two toffee candies from her bundle, handed one to Helena, and then picked up an olive branch to examine it closely.

While olive branches may be commonplace in other stories, in Greek mythology they are always associated with gods, legends, and heroes.

The olive branch not only represents peace, but the gods also endow it with nobility and rebirth.

"Do you like it? I'll give it to you!" Helena said, her eyes crinkling into crescent shapes, her face beaming with happiness.

Seeing that expression, Ino took out another piece of candy from her bundle and handed it over, then shook her head and said:

"This is your product, but I don't want it."

He knew perfectly well that there was no point in taking it. Once he understood the characteristics of olive branches, he knew he couldn't really take them with him; even if he did, they would just be ordinary branches.

On the other side, Helena saw that there were more sweet candies to eat, and her big violet eyes blinked as she stared at the white cream toffee.

In stark contrast to the pristine white toffee were a pair of dirty little hands, so small that they were barely bigger than an adult's palm when held together.

Seeing this scene, Ino felt a pang of sadness.

Suffering should never befall children; they are always the most innocent.

Seeing that the candy hadn't landed in her hand yet, Helena seemed to sense something was amiss, and promptly rubbed her hands on her clothes, vigorously wiping them.

But how could you possibly clean your hands with the same dirty clothes?

Looking at her hands, which were getting dirtier the more she wiped them, Helena turned her head away in grievance.

But soon, she felt many small pebbles suddenly appear in her palm.

Turning her head again, a handful of colorful, round pebbles came into her view.

"This one tastes even better! Try them, each one has a different flavor."

Ino reached out and picked up a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean from Helena's dirty palm, then casually put it in his mouth.

(End of this chapter)