Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1242: Encounter at the Zoo

Caunus looked at the merchant from Massalia and said earnestly, "Secondly, the curriculum is uniform across every school in the kingdom. There are standardized textbooks for the primary, intermediate, and advanced stages of learning, so you don't have to worry about your child learning any less than the children in major cities."

"Most importantly, upon enrolling, your child can apply to become a Daionian Citizen. Even if he does not pay taxes to the kingdom yet, as long as he completes his studies, graduates with excellent grades, and has no criminal record, his entire time in school will count toward the residency requirement for becoming a Daionian Citizen."

"This way, he will only need to live and pay taxes in the kingdom for a few years after graduation to smoothly become a Daonian Official Citizen. Since he will have grown up studying and living in Daionia, he will be fully accustomed to our laws and customs, allowing him to seamlessly integrate into the kingdom."

The Massalian merchant beamed with joy upon hearing this. He felt this path was practically tailor-made for him.

"I haven't heard of this decree before. Was it enacted just this year?" someone asked tactfully, hesitant to question Caunus directly.

"You guessed correctly. It was proposed, revised, and enacted at the Kingdom Assembly earlier this year, and it was only officially announced last month," Caunus said, looking at the crowd with a smile. "So if any of you have children who want to take this route, your timing is perfect!"

Sure enough, several guests began eagerly discussing the matter. Meanwhile, Caunus introduced Hesklaus to a few merchants from the allied states who had worked with Sostratus in his early days. Under his guidance, everyone enjoyed a lively conversation.

Half an hour later, Sostratus arrived at the banquet.

He first apologized for his delay, then sincerely thanked all the merchants present for their recent help. He quickly shifted the focus to the upcoming games, urging them to participate actively so they wouldn't miss out on any business opportunities, and promised to provide as much assistance as he could.

Sostratus originally wanted the slightly drunk Hesklaus to spend the night at his estate, but Hesklaus politely declined, keeping in mind that he had to rush back to Athens first thing in the morning.

Since Hesklaus's pottery shop was quite far away and patrol squads roamed the streets late at night, Sostratus felt uneasy letting them walk. He arranged for the father and son to take his own palanquin back.

Lyrias, who had initially been reluctant to attend the banquet, was now extremely unwilling to leave with his father. As a result, he complained nonstop inside the palanquin.

Half-leaning against his seat, Hesklaus watched his son throw a little tantrum. He thought back to the merchants from the Daunian Allied States he had met at the banquet. They had partnered with Sostratus much longer than he had, possessed substantial wealth, and were far more familiar with the Daionia market. Yet they had been full of envy toward him—simply because he, a man hailing from Thessaly, had been lucky enough to become a Daionian Citizen.

Recalling the efforts those men were making for their children, Hesklaus felt a deep conviction that he needed to start planning for Lyrias's future as early as possible. "Son," he asked softly, "I have urgent business and must return to Athens tomorrow. I won't be back here for another twenty days or so to watch the games. During this time, I want you to stay at Uncle Sostratus's house. How does that sound?"

Lyrias instantly cheered up. "Yes! Yes! Dad, did you know? Brother Cleis said he's going to take me to the Thurii Zoo! He said there are terrifying beasts and all kinds of weird animals in there..."

Hesklaus smiled as he listened to his son chatter away, but his mind was reflecting on the advice Caunus had given him at the banquet. Garaguso was a small mountain town not far from the Thurii Region. Because of its sparse population—it had once been home to Lucania's most conservative and traditional tribes, but decades of influence from the kingdom's most prosperous area centered around the Bay of Thurii had led many Garaguso residents to reject poverty and move away for a better life—it would be easy to get permission from the Ministry of Education for his child to study there. Once his son graduated, whether he went into business or politics within the kingdom, he would have a significant advantage over his peers back in Thessaly.

Hesklaus secretly made up his mind: once the games were over, he would ask Caunus for help arranging it!

...

Early the next morning, Lyrias was dropped off at Sostratus's residence.

As it turned out, Sosicles hadn't been making empty promises the night before. He genuinely took Lyrias to the zoo. Naturally, they were accompanied by the children of a few other merchants and several servants from Sostratus's estate.

Considering the constant influx of foreign tourists pouring into Thurii recently, the population in Thurii City and its surrounding areas had grown exceptionally dense. To reach their destination faster, Sosicles opted for the water route.

They went down to the riverfront docks and hired a passenger boat.

The boat hoisted its sails, the wooden oars dipping into the water as they traveled upstream. They passed beneath the three great stone bridges spanning the Crati River, turned into its tributary, the Coseni River, and finally disembarked at the south bank pier of the river delta.

In truth, the inland river traffic was just as busy. It took them over an hour before the group finally set foot on the main road leading toward the mountains south of the delta.

This mountain road had undergone multiple upgrades over the years. Back in the era of the Thurii city-state, it had been built because a Copper Mine and stone quarries were discovered in the mountains. At the time, however, it was just a dirt path—often crushed into ruin by heavy carts and virtually impassable in the rain. After Daionia was founded, it was paved with flagstones to improve ore transport efficiency. But it wasn't transformed into one of the kingdom's premier avenues until after the zoo was established. As the number of tourists flocking to the zoo grew, pedestrians and ore-hauling carts ended up sharing the same congested, dangerous road. Accidents happened constantly. Thurii City Hall had no choice but to expand it into a grand avenue. Now that the road was wider, pedestrians used the walkways while the carts took the main thoroughfare. With the traffic separated, travel became smooth and unimpeded.

The establishment of the Thurii Zoo wasn't exactly a novel concept across the Mediterranean Sea. The Persian royal family had built grand gardens in Babylon long ago, housing not only rare and exotic beasts but also precious plants; the former King of Persia, Xerxes—the one who suffered a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Salamis—had been an outstanding horticulturist. In Memphis, Egypt, the pharaoh had built magnificent gardens in his palace's backyard, keeping all sorts of strange and marvelous animals for himself and his concubines to admire. However, opening an entire zoo to the general public, as the Kingdom of Daionia had done, was a truly unprecedented move.

The Greeks loved to travel, and wealthy Daionian Citizens were no exception. But no matter how bold they were, they couldn't risk their lives exploring deep mountains, dense forests, or mighty rivers in search of mysterious creatures. The Thurii Zoo, however, perfectly satisfied their curiosity. It even gave them a chance to glimpse the forms of beasts from myth and legend—such as Python, the great serpent shot by Apollo, or the mighty lion that fought Heracles...

Needless to say, the zoo held an irresistible appeal for children. Coupled with its affordable admission price, its reputation had spread far and wide among the kingdom's people since its opening. It even drew citizens from the allied states. With an endless stream of visitors arriving every day, it had become one of Thurii's most famous tourist attractions.

Although there were always plenty of visitors at the zoo on normal days, seeing the walkways so packed that it was hard to even move was extremely rare. Clearly, the impending games had caused a drastic spike in tourists.

Sosicles groaned inwardly. He truly hadn't expected it to be this bad.

By the time they reached the foot of the mountain where the zoo was located, a massive line had already formed at the entrance. Countless travelers stood under the scorching sun, waiting anxiously to pay their entrance fee.

Some refused to line up, yet didn't want to leave either. They simply cursed aloud from within the crowd: "Was the owner of this zoo struck by lightning in the head?! Deliberately messing with travelers who came from thousands of miles away! My neighbors bragged to me about how amazing this place is—what bullshit!..."

"Hey! Hey!" Someone nearby tapped the complainer's shoulder in displeasure. "You aren't a Daionian Citizen, are you? Don't you know the director of this zoo is His Majesty King Davos's daughter, Princess Avia?! If you keep cursing and the people of Thurii hear you, they'll beat you so badly your own parents won't recognize you!"

Startled, the man immediately shut his mouth in fright. Catching sight of a few soldiers patrolling up ahead, he felt even guiltier and quietly slipped away.

Sosicles had no interest in watching this farce. He told Lyrias and the others to wait off to the side while he walked up the long queue. To his surprise, he actually spotted a familiar face near the front of the line.

"Big Brother Peicestas! Big Brother Stas!..." he shouted happily, waving his hand.

The young man named Peicestas quickly turned around at the shout. Looking surprised, he asked, "Cleis, what are you doing here?!"

"My dad told me to bring a few of his business partners' kids to see the zoo. What about you?"

"Pretty much the same. A few officials from Thessaly brought their families to Thurii for the games. My father put them up at our house and put me in charge of hosting them. I brought them to the zoo today, but I didn't expect such a massive crowd!"

"If I had known it would be like this, I would have just asked you to help me watch these kids too, big brother."

"Don't even think about slacking off, kid, or I'll go back and tattle to Uncle," Peicestas joked before lowering his voice. "The situation today isn't looking good! Princess Avia probably saw the huge flood of tourists and worried it would frighten the animals. She posted a notice at the entrance earlier: 'Only 1,000 people allowed in at a time. More will be admitted only after a portion of them leaves.' A batch just went in a little while ago. By my guess, we won't get inside until the afternoon."

"We have to wait that long?! How are the kids supposed to endure that!" Sosicles turned back to look at Lyrias and the others, who were standing nearby and glancing around. His eyes darted thoughtfully before he whispered, "Brother, we can't just stand here waiting. Let me go see if I can figure something out."

Hearing this, Peicestas immediately knew what he was planning. He grabbed him and warned in a hushed tone, "Don't go! I know Avia; she won't agree to it."