Bear School Astartes-Chapter 520 - 522. Pilgrimage, sightseeing

Chapter 520: 522. Pilgrimage, sightseeing
Piraeus Harbor is a crucial hub for Athens to connect with the outside world.
The air here is a mix of various odors: the sweat of sailors, the stench of excrement, the aroma of bread and sea bream from the oven, and the intoxicating fragrance of wine, all mingling together.
Soldiers dressed in blue and white uniforms march in tidy formations, shuttling back and forth between the warships densely packed in the harbor, while grain-laden carts use pulleys to unload sacks of grain from Egypt, delivering them to the docks marked with white flags.
"Wow..." Wearing new shoes, Phoebe pattered along behind Lann, looking around at this bustling port. "There are so many people here!"
"Indeed." Lann was also curiously observing the surroundings.
Ancient Athens, what student of history wouldn’t want to come and explore?
Moreover, statistics show this city-state has a citizenry of three to four tens of thousands, with slaves and foreigners innumerable.
Even the citizen population is far greater than that of the Temerian Capital in the Magic World.
"But what are you shocked about?" Suddenly, Lann turned around, puzzled as he looked at Phoebe. "Aren’t you Athenian?"
The young girl immediately pouted: "I’m only twelve, and have been in Cephalonia for years... How can you expect me to remember anything?"
So Lann’s plan to get a local guide for free fell through.
Phoebe, though a local, had to follow an outsider to get to know her hometown.
The city of Athens was a sea of red-tile roofs, while the Acropolis was like a marble island, with its breathtaking temples and monuments rising above this sea.
The Parthenon gleamed: the silver-white stone sculptures and brilliant varnish inside the temple radiating dazzling light under the sunlight. The bronze statue of Athena stood solemn and proud, spear in hand, like a sentinel, her sheen as fiercely radiant as flames.
Lann gazed at the giant bronze statue of Athena standing at the harbor, visible even down to the head from afar.
Though he had already seen the enormous Zeus on Kefalonia Island, the scale of this statue still made the corner of his mouth twitch unintentionally.
One finger of the statue was roughly the size of an adult, which when calculated, equaled nearly fifty meters tall!
A size worthy of starring in a special effects film.
The [Insight Vision] in his mind received a slight inspiration with Lann’s awe.
The two, one large one small, ventured deeper into the city, gradually learning more about this city.
At various intersections in Athens, or places where the populace gathered, several statues of armored warriors drawing swords or wise men in robes holding pens would be displayed, standing three to four meters tall.
Clearly visible on the streets were different groups of people.
One group living well and leisurely, spending the entire day strolling through bustling marketplaces, speaking articulately; these were the noble citizens of Athens.
The other group were slaves engaged in either light or heavy labor, rarely having time to pause. Plus, there were foreigners selling goods or offering services.
They had hardly gone two hundred meters before seeing at least two groups debating with each other.
These debates mostly centered on thoughts about life, the will of the gods, with the most explosive topic being whether the gods existed.
Intense discussions and arguments constantly pushed the depth of people’s thinking.
Quite a few noticeable foreigners and slaves watched the debates, but at most, they listened for a while before the discussions’ depth surpassed their comprehension and common sense, prompting disengagement.
The surrounding Athenians, however, continued leisurely holding earthen cups or a string of fruits, following the rhythm of the debaters’ thoughts.
Occasionally sharp sarcasm or praise was offered.
This collision of ideas and pursuit of understanding or assimilation offered a thrill greater for Athenians than the pleasures of romance.
Lann could easily grasp these debates; his good educational foundation and additional memories even granting him a sense of overlooking these topics.
But this was only regarding the topics themselves, not towards humanity’s probing spirit. Lann could distinguish this clearly.
This rational pursuit and yearning for pure knowledge made Lann feel very comfortable.
Among the people in the Magic World, perhaps only the legendary Ossenford University might have such an atmosphere?
Lann was not too sure.
After all, even at Airetusa Academy, most female sorcerer apprentices focused more on future court intrigue.
The allure of power was far greater for them than knowledge. It was almost a prevailing trend.
Just as Lann was moving forward in good spirits, with a light step, Phoebe behind him abruptly slowed her pace.
Perplexed, Lann turned back only to see Phoebe twisting her face to look towards the marketplace beside the road.
Under a simply erected linen canopy, a small, thin boy, dirty all over, was taking advantage of the vendor’s distraction to sneak stuff from a fish basket.
This wasn’t a high-end market; likely the basket carried sardines only affordable to the poor.
With the silent movements of the boy, a shimmering sardine was smoothly stolen.
Lann glanced down, Phoebe’s hand clenched unconsciously, quietly cheering the boy on.
But just as the sardine was about to be fully extracted from the basket, the still-alive fish wiggled its tail.
The wicker basket emitted a soft ’pop’ sound.
The stall owner immediately refocused his attention from the adjacent debate, spotting the little thief.
He seemed accustomed with this, using a rough towel linen wrapped around his hand to snatch the sardine from the boy.
So swift was his action, the fish fin cut into the boy’s palm, causing blood to spill.
The fish vendor, throwing the sardine back into the basket, grabbed the frightened boy attempting to flee and delivered a sound slap.
The skinny boy was instantly smacked flat on the ground, vendors around them chuckled, while the fish vendor re-hung the towel on his neck.
Seeing the vendor not further assault him, the boy thanked him before quickly fleeing.
Ordinarily, vendors would beat thieves until immobilized or were spitting blood before letting up.
"Let’s go, Lann." Both watched this farce unfold, yet Phoebe was the first to tug at Lann’s sleeve, prompting him to move on.
Vendors and passers-by also routinely refocused on the Athenians’ thrilling debates.
Children, thieves, caught, beaten...such were common facets of life.
Lann, yielding to Phoebe’s gentle force, departed.
Aside from the statues requiring an immense amount of manpower and resources scattered everywhere, these scenes quite aligned with Lann’s cognitive understanding from studying history.
Athens was a vibrant, progressive civilization, but simultaneously, it was a civilization built upon the backs of slaves.
The "noble," "supreme," or "I serve you, not the other way around" citizens declared in Pericles’ speeches merely referred to this city’s scant three tens of thousands.
Continuing along Athens’ cobblestone and sandy thoroughfares, even as he saw clearly: this city housed Socrates, Pericles, Alcibiades, and other historical figures able to grace textbooks.
Yet he no longer observed the city with a mindset akin to ’pilgrimage.’
At most, he regarded as tourist sightseeing.