CHAPTER 188: CHAPTER 188 – TARANTUM ACTIONS

Watching Phibidas reluctantly board the ship and leave Tarantum’s port, Daiomilas immediately changed his expression and spoke earnestly to Yumacas:

"The Spartans have a saying that is absolutely correct — if Tarantum doesn’t pull itself together soon, even a brand-new city-state like Dionia, without any historical traditions, will look down on us!"

"Do we really have to go to war with the Messapians?!" Yumacas hesitated.

"Aren’t the Messapians already waging war on us?!" Daiomilas retorted. With pain in his voice, he said:

"It’s precisely because we have been tolerating them again and again that the Messapians think Tarantum is weak, becoming more and more aggressive in harassing us, while the other Greater Greek city-states grow increasingly dismissive of Tarantum’s existence! We must strike back and resolve the Messapian problem once and for all!"

"Resolve it once and for all?! That’s not what you said to me last time!" Yumacas frowned.

Daiomilas realized he had spoken too much, and quickly amended:

"What I mean is, we should first focus all our strength on seizing Manduria, which poses the greatest threat to us, and then, if the opportunity presents itself, take Brindisi as well. That way, our power will be greatly strengthened! The other Messapian city-states can be conquered slowly..."

Yumacas was tempted, but still uncertain:

"Do we have the strength to defeat the Messapian main force in one go?"

"Of course we do!" Daiomilas said firmly, and to further convince his colleague, he added:

"Besides, we have powerful reserves!"

"What reserves?" Yumacas was puzzled.

Daiomilas pointed toward the western sea:

"Dionia — our ally. We’ve helped them for so long; now it’s their turn to lend us a hand!"

Yumacas finally said:

"I’ll support your proposal in the Senate."

"Damn it! Dionia, Castellon, and Tarantum — all these Greater Greek city-states are in cahoots!" Phibidas said angrily aboard the ship.

"How about we just go to Croton?" Dorobisis cautiously suggested.

Phibidas shot him a glare:

"We’re going to Syracuse!"

Of course, Phibidas knew Croton’s relationship with Dionia was terrible after the last war. But he couldn’t go there — Croton’s enemies were not limited to Dionia; Locri had an even worse relationship with Croton, and Locri was an ally of Syracuse, Sparta’s partner in Greater Greece. If he went to Croton, Syracuse might lodge a complaint to Sparta.

Although he was eager to get back at Dionia, he did not want to end up like Thibron, exiled by his own people. Besides, compared to Croton, Syracuse was a much better partner. Still, when dealing with the reportedly domineering Sicilian tyrant, Phibidas knew he should learn from his mistakes in Greater Greece, adopt a subtler approach, and achieve his goals in a more discreet way.

The newly built Clystoria Restaurant in Thurii was located in the southwest part of the city, near the docks. Unlike the other Clystoria restaurant near Thurii’s market, this one catered mainly to alliance citizens, foreign envoys, and wealthy merchants. As such, it served high-end dishes such as beef and mutton hotpot.

To accommodate grilling and ventilation, part of the restaurant had been sectioned into open-air courtyards.

When Timasson, Xantiparis, and Cleianus entered one such courtyard at Agacia’s invitation, they felt no sense of unfamiliarity — they had already enjoyed similar treatment at Davos’ mansion.

Cleianus, curious about the hotpot’s price, asked the serving slave beside him while eating:

"How much does it cost to eat this once?"

The slave thought for a moment:

"Honored guest, that depends on how much you eat. Usually, it’s around two to five drachmas per person."

"So expensive!" Cleianus exclaimed.

"I don’t even make a single drachma a day now!"

"It is indeed pricier than ordinary food, but it’s worth it!" the slave patiently explained:

"First, our beef and mutton are all purchased from Niutum — Lucanian cattle and sheep, famous throughout Greater Greece, so naturally not cheap. Second, the restaurant must send people regularly to the mountain peaks in the west to collect unmelted ice and snow to preserve the meat — a dangerous task! Third, we have skilled slaves slicing the meat into perfectly even pieces, and we’ve even hired Egyptian chefs to prepare a variety of sauces. And lastly, I’m here to serve you throughout the meal...

With so many complicated steps and so many people involved to bring you the hotpot you love, do you still think it’s expensive?!"

"You have quite the silver tongue!" Cleianus said with admiration. Then he sighed and added bluntly:

"A pity you’re a slave."

"Although I am a slave now, my kind-hearted master still pays me daily wages. According to the Alliance’s slave laws, ’If a slave works diligently for his master for more than four years, saves enough to buy his freedom, and gains his master’s consent, he can become a free citizen.’

Our mistress, Clystoria, is as merciful as Lord Davos himself, and she has made a sacred vow to mighty Hades in front of us! So, I believe that in ten years, I will surely become a citizen of Dionia!"

His eyes shone with gratitude and hope.

Davos, you really know how to win hearts! Aren’t you afraid the other slave owners will oppose you? Cleianus thought, but did not say aloud. Instead, he casually asked:

"What’s your name?"

"Tanarus."

"I hope your wish comes true," Cleianus said insincerely.

"Thank you for your blessing, kind guest!" Tanarus replied happily.

"See? Finally someone said Cleianus has a good heart!" Timasson teased.

"Timasson, are you jealous?!" Cleianus pretended to be angry, raising his beer jug:

"Come on, let’s drink!"

"Oh, with your drinking capacity? Trying to get me drunk?!" Timasson laughed, lifting his jug as well:

"Let’s drink it all in one go!"

"Fine, let’s drink!" Both tilted their heads back and downed their drinks.

"Slow down, you two! Agacia spent a lot to treat us tonight!" Xantiparis called out, then joked to Agacia:

"This restaurant must belong to Davos, so maybe you can get him to charge less."

"Eh... you don’t need to worry about Agacia. He’s a senator — how could he possibly not afford a few dozen drachmas?" Cleianus hiccuped loudly, his tone tinged with sourness.

"You’re right, Cleianus. Don’t worry about the money — tonight, we eat and drink to our hearts’ content!" Agacia said loudly, ignoring the jab.

"Bring me another jug of beer!" Timasson said to Tanarus.

"And me too!" Cleianus shouted.

"Please wait a moment." Tanarus quickly went to the doorway and passed their order to a hallway server.

The feast went on for about half an hour, and the group was slightly drunk.

"A year ago, we fought Persians every day, seeing the stiff corpses of our comrades daily. Back then, we didn’t have much hope of even returning to Greece alive, let alone imagining we’d be here today, drinking and eating happily..." Xantiparis said with emotion.

"It wasn’t easy! We truly must thank the gods for their protection!"

"To us being alive and together — cheers!" Timasson proposed.

"Thanks to Zeus (and Hades) for their blessing!" the others echoed.

Xantiparis set down his cup:

"Agacia, you didn’t just invite us here to eat and drink, did you?"

He had noticed Agacia’s gloomy demeanor all evening.

Agacia’s ladle, halfway to the pot, froze in the air. After a moment, he set it down, wiped the wine from his mouth, and said in a low voice to the three curious men:

"Today, the Spartan envoy came, demanding that the Alliance arrest you and hand you over to Sparta..."

News of the Spartan warship’s arrival in Thurii had already spread through the port, so Timasson and the others knew of it, but they hadn’t expected the envoy to come specifically for them.

"What did you tell the Spartans?" Cleianus asked urgently, the other two tense as well.

"Don’t worry — even when the Spartans threatened us with war, Davos firmly refused their demand!" Agacia’s answer made all three breathe a sigh of relief.

"Davos truly deserves his reputation as a victorious leader — he’s not afraid of Spartan threats!" Cleianus praised.

"In truth, Spartans aren’t that fearsome. We followed them in Asia Minor for over half a year, so we know them fairly well. Their generals are indeed experienced, but they have very few Spartan citizens they can actually send into battle. They rely mostly on allied troops and mercenaries like us. Their fighting power isn’t that great — just dealing with Persia was already giving them trouble. I don’t think they have the strength to provoke the Alliance as well..." Timasson tried to reassure them.

But his words didn’t seem to ease Agacia’s mind. Staring at the ground, his face full of guilt, he muttered:

"Back then, it was I who insisted Davos agree to go to Asia Minor and bring you here... To get you all to come, I even offered terms that didn’t actually exist in the Alliance. I only hoped that once you arrived, you could live a peaceful life like us... But I didn’t expect so many conflicts and disputes, for you to suffer so much and face resentment from Alliance citizens... And now, we’ve even drawn Sparta’s hostility toward the Alliance! Because of this, Davos has been criticized by the Senate! I... was I truly wrong to do this?!"