Aglaea pronounced the sentence coldly, yet her beautiful eyes were filled with a gleam of laughter.
At that time, she might choose to call this convict by another name:
For instance, the God of Philosophy—Socrates?
Noticing the change in Aglaea’s expression, Luo En couldn’t help but laugh and said:
"It seems you’ve gotten the answer you wanted."
"Thank you for enlightening me, my master."
"Compared to ’sir,’ I think this title better expresses my respect and feels more intimate."
Aglaea blinked with a smile, placing one hand over her chest as she paid homage to her divine superior like a student meeting a teacher.
This discussion not only saved Socrates’ life but also resolved some doubts she had.
For instance, as a deity, how to interact with humans.
Since gods and humans are essentially the same life form, there’s no fundamental difference between them, looking down from a high position arrogantly is nothing but divine arrogance.
Approaching them, understanding them, and even learning from them is how deities should measure themselves.
Seeing Aglaea no longer suppressing her emotions, Luo En also showed a relieved smile and teased:
"You’re really becoming more human-like, Radiant Goddess."
"There’s nothing wrong with that, my master. After all, it was you who first infused us gods with humanity. So if you have to blame someone, you’re the main culprit."
Aglaea spoke eloquently, with her gestures and speech now free from the previous tension and restraint.
Luo En pretended to be angry and said:
"Well, humans learn nothing good but learn how to shirk responsibility, don’t they?"
"It’s your excellent teaching."
Aglaea lightly covered the corners of her mouth, showing a bright and mischievous smile like a young girl.
Luo En rolled his eyes at this ’new student’ and snorted:
"There’s one more thing."
Speaking of work, Aglaea immediately switched to a serious expression and brought up another troublesome issue of her trip.
It’s still related to the citizen assembly’s democratic decision.
Only this time, the victim is not the great philosopher Socrates, who spoke heretical views, but a naval general, Timistocles, who had just achieved remarkable military merits.
Several months ago, the divine eras of Egypt and West Africa gathered their fleets for an expedition against the five divine eras of Europe.
This is not only a war of gods but also a war of humans.
Hundreds of thousands of Egyptian and West African troops, with hundreds of ocean warships, broke through the Chaos Sea Domain, appearing along the line of Athens.
The army was commanded by several pharaohs, such as Ramses II, Nito Kries, and Cleopatra. With the protection of the gods, they landed in Thrace and then broke through Macedonia, Corinth, Mycenae, and more than a dozen city-states of the Pan-Hellenic Alliance one after another, making everyone in Greece fear, feeling the oppressive sense of an impending collapse.
In this moment of crisis, Aglaea appointed Timistocles, a general of the Athens Navy with rich naval combat experience.
Timistocles indeed didn’t disappoint Aglaea’s expectations, organizing the navy, leading the Egyptian fleet into Salamis Bay, leveraging the geographical advantage, and utilizing the small and quick vessels of the Athens fleet to perform wolf-pack-like oblique assaults on the larger Egyptian ships, ultimately achieving victory in this naval battle after fierce fighting.
According to the results, the Egyptian fleet lost over 200 warships, while the Greek Alliance only lost more than 30 ships.
The loss ratio reached an astounding ten to one, making it a groundbreaking victory.
"Isn’t it a good thing to win against the odds?" Luo En was a bit confused. "What’s bothering you? Don’t you know how to reward him?"
Aglaea shook her head, showing a slight bitter smile:
"On the contrary, after this naval battle ended, the citizen assembly voted unanimously to strip Timistocles of all honors and ranks, intending to expel him from the City of Athens and exile him overseas..."
"Because although Timistocles won the naval battle, he faced delays due to the sea wind, preventing timely rescues and allowing many Athenians who fell overboard to die at sea. The citizen assembly believes this is Timistocles’ responsibility and that he should be held accountable."
After a moment of silence, Luo En said with a darkened face:
"Has this citizen assembly been eating too many olives and sprouting brains?"
What war doesn’t involve casualties? Just because he didn’t prioritize rescue during the battle, this so-called citizen assembly voted to exile a meritorious general? And even during such a crucial period when the flames of war have not been completely extinguished!
Aglaea helplessly replied:
"I also think this punishment is unreasonable, but this is the outcome of a citizen assembly vote. With Socrates, it’s about personal honor and the spread of philosophy, affecting not that many. Some leniency might not be a big issue. But the matter with Timistocles has widespread implications, almost touching the foundation of Athens’ existence. Athenians have always regarded ’democratic politics’ as the most superior system and pride themselves on it. It’s precisely this sense of honor that gives citizens a strong sense of belonging to Athens. I’m worried that repeatedly overturning the assembly’s rulings might provoke collective opposition from the citizens and discourage their enthusiasm to defend their homeland.
Since I can’t think of a satisfactorily balanced solution, I want to hear your opinion."
After thinking for a moment, Luo En asked:
"Aglaea, do you think the choice of the majority is always correct? Is every vote of theirs made out of reason, diligently upholding the law, and adhering to the principles of fairness and justice?"