Chapter 26: To Truly See a Person, You Have to See Their Full Body
Under the guidance of the pseudo-local Hina, the maze-like Knossos Palace suddenly became easy to navigate.
In truth, the structure of this palace wasn't all that complex. It only seemed labyrinthine due to the many staircases, dim lighting, and the way the palace wasn't built on level ground, resulting in uneven heights and layered construction on the east and west sides.
The architectural abilities of people in this era were still quite limited, and their sense of spatial design hadn't yet reached the levels of later generations. Before heading to Minos, Rameses had taken Hikigaya Hachiman to tour the royal tombs and even allowed him into his father Seti I's burial chamber. Honestly, aside from the eerie vibes, there wasn't much to see—certainly not the over-the-top traps featured in movies.
Simply put, ancient kings could only impress with size and height, and maybe by carving into a mountain. Besides the enormous labor and material costs, there wasn't much technical complexity involved.
Still, Knossos Palace was arguably the most complex structure Hachiman had encountered in this time period.
However, that complexity became meaningless the moment Hina led him up to the second floor. Inspired, Hachiman activated the power of the "yin system," and everything within the palace became completely visible to him—including the underground mortuary chamber, though that particular "view" wasn't very pleasant.
This power came from the manifestation of Athena, fused with Hachiman's own divine authority—the power of Kua Fu. Although Athena and Kua Fu evolved differently in later mythologies, they both originated as ancient Mother Goddesses—earth goddesses and serpent goddesses. They shared the same type of yin-based system.
When Hachiman seized Kua Fu's power to chase the sun, he also inherited part of her yin-based system, particularly the power of "shadow." Originally, he could only use it to devour light and consume fire, but thanks to Athena's manifestation, he could now utilize the shadow in a more refined way.
Kua Fu had once used shadow to cross space in pursuit of Hachiman. Now, Hachiman turned shadow into his eyes. Since Knossos Palace relied on open courtyards for lighting, it was powerless against this kind of ability.
All the ancient magical protections hidden in this palace were designed to ward off evil—not to defend against gods. And even if they wanted to resist divine power, the Minoans simply weren't capable of it.
So, naturally, Hachiman saw all the women in the palace naked…
He couldn't help but show a smug expression, the kind that said, "Call me Professor XXX." This just so happened to be noticed by Hina, who had stopped in front of a door and turned back—causing her to jump in surprise.
"What's wrong with you? Did you get brain damage from the stench downstairs?" Hina looked at him worriedly. She was now strongly realizing that being Hachiman's lover was no easy task. This guy's brain worked in such strange ways, you never knew what he'd do next. Her long-honed ability to judge people at a glance was practically useless on him—it felt like her skills were being wasted on a dog.
Before she could even finish processing that concern, Hachiman gave her a thumbs-up.
"No, I just suddenly realized that your figure ranks top ten in this whole palace."
"You're the worst! Be serious for once!"
Hina rolled her eyes and scolded him, then pointed at the door.
"One of the people you're looking for is in here."
"Yeah, I see her. She's mumbling in front of a pervy statue with exposed boobs. Heavy taste! Is this what people call praying these days?"
"That's the Serpent Goddess. She's the earthly representative of the Snake Goddess," Hina tried to explain, but halfway through she gave up, rubbing her forehead with a sigh. "Want me to go in with you? But I don't get along with her."
"No need. Take these folks and find a place to rest. I'll handle the rest from here. I've already got the whole layout of this place down, don't need you guiding me anymore."
"Then take it easy, okay? These people scare easily."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Go already."
He waved her off. Watching Hina's not-quite-convinced expression as she led the Egyptian emissaries away and disappeared around a corner, Hachiman finally pushed open the door and stepped inside.
The room was reasonably spacious, but lighting was poor—it relied on torches. The torchlight made the brightly colored, religiously-themed murals on the walls look like something out of a horror movie.
Furnishings were simple and sparse. The largest item was a bed positioned on the southern side of the room. The floor was covered with rugs, and on the northern end stood a human-height statue.
It was the famed "Snake Goddess" statue of Crete, later known as one of the iconic artifacts of Minoan civilization. She was the Minoan Earth Goddess.
The statue was identical to the one preserved in modern times—a voluptuous woman in a tight-fitting bodice and long skirt, holding snakes in both hands. The bodice was open at the front, exposing her full breasts. This design symbolized the Minoan worship of fertility.
Kneeling before this statue was a tall, curvaceous woman, chanting praises to the goddess. Seeing how passionately she was sucking up to the statue, Hachiman didn't have the heart to interrupt her, so he gently shut the door behind him. However, the door made such a loud creaking noise that Hachiman couldn't help but suspect some serious embezzlement had gone into the palace's procurement budget—why else would a door be so noisy?
Still, the effect was immediate.
The woman's flattering prayer was interrupted. She turned around, clearly angry at first, but the moment she saw Hachiman standing there, a look of panic filled her eyes. Her full, sensuous lips parted slightly in surprise.
She was clearly very nervous.
Hachiman took the opportunity to study her appearance—back in the audience chamber, that place had been so bizarre it distracted him from getting a good look. Besides, he'd been too busy checking out boobs on every other woman except Hina…
The woman stood up.
She wore the same outfit as the Snake Goddess and had a similar figure—full and voluptuous. Her eyes were large and dark, fringed with long lashes.
She had plump cheeks, a slightly long neck, broad shoulders, and a generous chest. Her exposed skin was smooth and milky white.
She was a truly stunning woman.
That Hachiman could even give her such high praise said a lot—given the harsh living conditions of this era, a woman's "shelf life" was far shorter than in modern times. That old line, "I'm not a lolicon, I just happen to like lolis," might be tearfully heartfelt in this historical context…
A woman of this quality was rare—not exactly once in a lifetime, but close.
However, after scanning her from head to toe, Hachiman noticed something that an ordinary person would never have seen.
"You and your goddess… seem to get along very well."