Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1108: Haca Meets Okriton

"Honestly, the creations of the gods are truly wondrous! Look at those two elephants—so massive and imposing, yet their temperaments are so gentle. That little calf in particular refuses to let go of her mother's tail with her tiny trunk, and the mother doesn't get annoyed at all. Instead, she just keeps pulling down leaves with her trunk to feed her..." Agnes smiled as she sighed in admiration. "It reminds me of Avia when she was little. Wasn't she exactly like that? Always sticking right by my side, terrified that I'd leave her..."

Davos looked at Agnes, who rarely showed such animation, and smiled. "It seems to me that you've become quite captivated by these elephants yourself!"

"Isn't that the truth!" Christoya complained loudly, having finally found a sympathetic ear. "Just a moment ago, Agnes told me she wasn't going to the Temple of Hera today. She wants to stay home and watch the elephants all day, and she asked me to keep her company! Tell me, we're both nearly fifty years old—how can we act like children? Besides, I'm so busy right now, where would I find the free time to slack off and watch elephants?"

"I say we toss everything else aside today," Davos suggested loudly, "and go watch the elephants with the children. Let's properly enjoy the happiness of the whole family being together!"

"Alright!" Agnes agreed immediately, clapping her hands with a radiant smile.

Christoya frowned slightly. She was just about to voice her objection when Davos gently pressed her hand. "You," he said softly, "are busy every single day. Let yourself properly relax for once today."

The concern in Davos's eyes softened Christoya's heart. "Fine, we'll stay home with the children today and go nowhere. However... keeping the elephants right next to the mansion isn't a good idea. They might look gentle, but they're absolutely massive. If they ever go berserk, they'll pose a danger to us!

"Also... these elephants are rare animals that the kingdom's citizens have never seen before. Ever since they were brought up the mountain yesterday, many people have wanted to come in and see them, including quite a few Senators. And this morning, the children even had their friends pass through the checkpoints to come up the mountain to see them... If this continues, it will be very difficult to guarantee security here!"

"I've already thought about this matter," Davos said calmly. "Christoya, we're going to have another business venture on our hands."

"Building a zoo."

"A zoo?"

"We've all heard the story of Heracles strangling the Nemean lion since we were children, but have you ever seen a real lion?"

Christoya and Agnes shook their heads. (In truth, during this era, the interiors of Asia Minor and Mesopotamia still hosted prides of lions. However, Miletus was a coastal city-state, and Greek women were not permitted to travel far, so Christoya never had the chance to see them.)

"We've heard the tale of Apollo shooting the great serpent Python. You might have seen snakes, but have you ever seen a true python?"

The two of them shook their heads again.

"We've all heard that there are hippopotamuses and crocodiles in the Nile River in Egypt, but what do they actually look like? I'm afraid not many Theonians have actually seen them." Davos tapped his finger lightly on the dining table and said confidently, "So why don't we build a zoo? We can raise all these strange and rare animals in it, give them their own fixed areas to live in, and create suitable habitats for them. Do you think the people would come to see that?"

"Of course they would!" Agnes answered immediately. "Just the elephants alone have driven the people crazy. When I came back yesterday, I even heard the captain of the Palace Guard at the foot of the mountain complaining that people were trying to force their way in just to see them. They nearly broke out into a conflict."

Having been in business for many years, Christoya immediately understood the implication of Davos's words. "Do you mean," she asked uncertainly, "we'd charge an admission fee like when they host the Rugby championship and football matches at the arena?"

"Exactly." Davos silently praised his wife's quick thinking and continued to explain. "After all, raising these animals costs money, and we'd need to hire a large number of people to maintain the entire zoo... The money collected from tickets would perfectly cover those expenses. As for where the rare animals for the zoo will come from? We don't need to worry about that at all. Once those city-states and factions that are on good terms with Daionia—or want to be on good terms with us—find out that I've built a zoo and am collecting rare animals, they'll take the initiative to send them over to strengthen our friendship...

"As the kingdom's territory expands, our zoo will only grow larger, housing more and more rare beasts. When that time comes, Thurii won't just be a place for eating fine food, watching games, soaking in hot springs, and enjoying festivals... people can also visit the zoo. Whether it's the common citizens, students, or academy scholars, they won't have to risk their lives traveling abroad to learn about and study the majority of the world's rare animals. That is an incredibly fortunate thing! At the same time, it will let them realize how great the gods truly are. Not only did they create us humans, but they also created so many wondrous animals. We are not alone..."

Davos spoke confidently about the zoo's prospects, but his heart was filled with emotion. When he first heard from Ansitanos that the Mauretania envoy delegation had delivered several elephants, his immediate reaction was that these had to be the North African elephants from his past life—a subspecies of the African elephant! Pyrrhus had once relied on them to defeat the Roman armies on several occasions, and Hannibal had integrated them into his army to pose a massive threat to the Romans. Regrettably, they had gone extinct during the Roman era, not because of war, but due to the Romans' fanaticism for gladiatorial games. The Romans had captured all kinds of fierce beasts from all over the Mediterranean Sea and transported them to the Colosseum, letting gladiators slaughter them to earn money and provide thrills for the spectators...

Davos had read an article in his past life detailing how a Roman emperor held grand gladiatorial games to amuse the citizens of Rome, during which thousands of fierce beasts were slaughtered. Under the relentless slaughter of the Romans, not just the North African elephant, but the entire Mediterranean region eventually lost sight of lions, leopards, and other beasts. If not for the terrifying and impassable Sahara Desert allowing the animals to the south to survive, the modern people of his past life would likely only have been able to learn about African elephants and lions from historical texts.

It could be said that the Westerners of his past life had practiced a frantically predatory way of survival from ancient times to the modern day. But in this life, Davos wanted to change them, and instilling a good habit of appreciating animals in the children through a zoo was the perfect place to start.

...

Okriton had asked the officials of the Daonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to submit his request for an audience with King Davos, but two days passed without any news. Seeing that the festival was about to begin, he grew anxious and had no choice but to follow another suggestion given by the foreign affairs official.

During the festival, not only did many foreign envoys and distinguished guests come to Thurii, but the administrative magistrates and key officials of various towns also tried their best to find free time to rush back and participate. At the same time, visits to the kingdom's important ministers became much more frequent. Typically, the mansions of the five Rotating Chairmen and the various ministers would be as crowded as marketplaces.

Logically, Haca's mansion should have been even more crowded. After he and his brother arrived in Thurii last year, Hasdrubal directly became a Legion Commander and quickly went north to take up his post, while Haca officially became a Rotating Chairman of the Senate. Even though he was still recuperating from his illness, Davos couldn't wait to have him start managing some government affairs so he could familiarize himself with the kingdom's political operations as quickly as possible. Add to that the fact that another important member of the Magonid family, Dido, had become a princess consort and given birth to two young princes... The Magonid family was white-hot in the kingdom's political arena. One would imagine the kingdom's officials flocking to their doorstep in endless droves, yet the reality was that their home saw scarcely a visitor.

This was because Haca had publicly declared, "I am frail and sickly, and I require quiet rest. Therefore, I do not welcome officials visiting my home."

Furthermore, Herpus even endorsed his claim.

At first, the kingdom's officials were half-skeptical, but after several Phoenician Senators were turned away at his door, they finally confirmed that Haca was telling the truth.

After arriving in Thurii, Okriton had specifically looked into this matter. Coupled with the years of grudges between the Magonid family and the Hanno faction, he had remained rather hesitant. But now, with no other options, he could only gather his courage and pay a visit. To his surprise, his request was actually accepted.

Of course, the way this former Carthaginian noble and current prominent minister of the Kingdom of Daunia received a guest from his homeland was quite unique—in the bathhouse.

Bathhouses had been invented by the Theonians, but they quickly spread to Carthage after the two nations signed their earliest peace treaty over a decade ago. The Thermae Hot Spring Bathhouse used to be a favorite spot for the Carthaginians, though it naturally belonged to the Kingdom of Daunia now.

Although Okriton found this request odd, the fact that Haca was willing to see him at all was an unexpected delight. He certainly didn't dare to refuse.

The bathhouse in Haca's home was built strictly according to the traditional Daonian layout. By the time Okriton finished the preliminary procedures and stepped into the warm pool, Haca was already sitting in the water.

Okriton had never met Haca before, but he had long heard that Himilco, the head of the Magonid family, had a second son who had been exceptionally intelligent since childhood. Unfortunately, he was born with an illness, and the doctors who treated him had given a grim diagnosis: the boy would not live past the age of twenty.

Yet the Haca sitting in front of Okriton now, though appearing slightly thin and frail, had a rosy complexion and bright, piercing eyes. No matter how one looked at him, he didn't seem like a man about to step into the grave.

Haca looked at him and said in a calm tone, "After I came to Thurii, the Daonian doctors advised that someone like me, who cannot perform strenuous exercise to stay fit, should take more baths for the sake of my health. I listened to their advice and take a bath every day. Since I was right in the middle of a bath when you arrived, I invited you to meet me here."