Chapter 249 \nThis era canât be compared with later generations, the price of papyrus is still expensive for the commoners and is generally used for formal writing. While the children learn to practice writing mostly with sand and clay, so Patroclus had prepared a wooden frame containing sand, even though the writing in a wax wooden tablet can be stored for a longer period of time and it is also easy to carry and the price is low, but Patroclusâ parents could not afford to spend this money. As for the small foldable wooden chair, it is the masterpiece of the newly-built Cheiristoyaâs school supply store and the price is cheap and had soon become popular as it got released. It is much better than the simple wooden stool made by Patroclusâ parents.\nHence why when Patroclus received the gift of Aguilas, he became so excited that he jumped so high.
âVillage chiefâŠthisâŠthisâŠ.â Periandorus, who had been strictly disciplining his son just now, was both grateful and cowered in the face of Aguilas, who was a former mercenary and has now a high prestige and didnât know what to say.
âWhat?!â Aguilas stared at him, âLittle Clus saved a few villages, this is the reward that he deserves! I like this boy, he is courageous, flexible and does not panic when things go wrong, and once he can read and count, he will definitely be better than you in the future!â
Patroclusâ father became so excited from hearing Aguilas high evaluation of his son that he agreed to it.
While Patroclusâ mother covered her face, as she could not stop her tears from flowing down. She remembered those hard days when she followed her husband who was working as a porter at the port and wharf, and accepted employment by helping merchants watch their stalls in the market together with her son. She was busy every day from morning to night, she not only had to endure the discrimination and demanding customers, but also had to endure the severe heat and cold that had even made her faint several times due to heatstrong, and had to compensate for the lost goods. It made her to not even know how she manage to get through those hard daysâŠ.fortunately, the Theonia city-state union was established, and the great archon, Davos, was the one in power, and had made the poor vagrants like them to have the opportunity to become citizens of a city-state, to own land and houses, and to live a stable and prosperous lifeâŠ.
Therefore, she hopes that her son will not follow her husbandâs old path, and should study well and then become a civil servant in the city-state in the future and live a decent life.
After breakfast, Patroclus placed his school supplies into his brand-new linen schoolbag, and was then led by his mother to the altar in their home. In the past, they only have a humble statue of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, and Ares, the god of war. One was to hope for a good harvest and the other was to bless her husband who was a soldier in the army during the war. It wasnât until her son had to go to school that the statue of Apollo, the sun god, was added, because this god was also in charge of art.
Under the lead of his mother, Patroclus prayed to Apollo.\nAfterwards, his mother handed Patroclus four drachmae, which was the tuition fee for one academic year. Only after her repeated instructions could Patroclus finally go on his way.
It was still dawn and the curved moon was still vaguely visible in the sky. Fortunately, it was summer and he was wearing a short linen shirt and bare legs. Otherwise, the dew on the grass on the roadside would surely wet his clothes.
The cool and fresh morning wind, mixed with the smell of earth and some herbs, blew on Patroclus, making him happy and unable to restrain his excitement. He shouted twice and then heard a âGlug! Glug!â from the canal on the side of the road, which was the sound of frightened minnows. In the past, Patroclus would have taken off his leather sandals and jumped into the canal and made a mess of it, but today, his mind was already at the akademia.
He was humming a tune as he stride forward while carrying a schoolbag, wooden chair and tablet.
On the main road, the number of pedestrians increased significantly. Carriages with passengers, caravans filled with goods, farmers with their livestocksâŠ.of course, there are also many parents with their children going to the akademia to sign up, and the bustling flow of people going to the city of Thurii as well as the port and market.
Davos initial plan was to build the akademia on a hillside to the west side of the city of Thurii, on the north bank of the Tiro river, where there are mountains and rivers, and a large area of wilderness which would allow for further expansion, and also allow them to build a park in the future, making the Akademia of Theonia to be the largest educational centre of the Theonia Union.
However, as the discussion with Kunogelata and the others, Davos canceled the plan for the time being. After all, the majority of students were children, not only is the north bank of the Tiro river far, but it is also a bit desolate there now, and would be too physically demanding for the children and not very safe. Therefore, the akademia was finally located in the delta area at the confluence of the Crati and Cosceli river, which is not only part of the greater urban area of Thurii, but also right in the middle of the Sybaris plain, making it easier for the children of the citizens of Theonia on both sides of the Crati river to arrive at the akademia on time.
None of the statesmen objected, because they knew that it was for the children of the citizens of Theonia, which also includes their own children. Therefore, the construction efficiency was very high, in less than half a year the walls, classrooms, school buildings and playground were built, which naturally could not be aesthetically pleasing due to it being built in such a short period of time. However, the playground for the children to play and train was large enough to accommodate all the parents who came to enroll their children today.\nThousands of people crowded in the playground, for fear of accidents happening, Ansitanos also invited patrols to maintain the order.
Patroclus stood in the line and was looking around. He then noticed that there were not many children like him who had come to enroll alone, and there were only a few children as old as him, so when a lot of curious gazes were focused on him, he felt a little uncomfortable.
At this time, there was a commotion behind the line, and the noise became more and more loud, and the people around looked back, which made Patroclus very curious.
âItâs lord Davosâ wife, Cheiristoya, and her daughter!â
âHow can his daughter be so big already when lord Davos is still very young?!â
âThatâs his adopted daughter, I heard that she is the daughter of Marcellus, the former archon of AmendolaraâŠ.â
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lord Davosâ daughter?! Patroclus became more curious after hearing the people around him. So he squatted down and looked through the gap between the crowd to see a tall adult woman, as elegant and beautiful as the goddess of beauty â Aphrodite. Next to her is a lovely girl, although she is a little shy, she also looks around quietly and curiously, and when she notices a pair of young gazes between the gaps, she doesnât dodge it, and instead, she opens her bright eyes and gazes back at him.
Patroclus then quickly and shyly avoided her gaze.
\nHowever, Patroclus became dumbfounded as he could not read a word and had to go and ask someone else.
âHello, where is Classroom One?â
At this moment, a clear voice came from behind him, âClassroom One is beside you, idiot!â
Patroclus turned his head and saw the daughter of the archon, whom he had just seen earlier, standing behind him and looking at him with big bright eyes and a teasing smile on her round face.
âCynthia, itâs rude of you to say that. Apologize to this little brother.â Cheiristoya gently reproached her.
Cynthia usually listens to Cheiristoya, but when she faces a boy who was only a few years older than herself, she couldnât say a thing, and her little face suddenly turns red and so she hurriedly turns her head away.
Therefore, Cheiristoya had to personally apologize to Patroclus.
Facing the noble wife of the archon, the 13-year old Patroclus was at a loss. So he bowed his head shyly and even said âItâs okay! Itâs okayâŠ.â then fled in a hurry.