After Medea left, I stood there for a while and let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Haa..."
My mind was far more exhausted than my body.
Becoming the adopted son of the gods, figuring out how to handle that revelation, and the complicated affairs involving Medea and my lovers...
"Too much to think about, and far too little time."
I shook my head to clear it and immediately set myself in motion.
"Your Majesty."
The chief steward approached me and bowed deeply.
"The ministers have all assembled."
"Very well. Let us go."
Following the steward, I made my way to the meeting.
When I arrived, the council chamber was already filled with ministers occupying their seats.
As I entered, they all bowed in unison.
"We greet Your Majesty."
I gave a brief nod and took my place upon the throne.
"I will not be long today. We will settle what needs to be settled and conclude this quickly."
With that, I opened the council.
"First: temple construction. We already enjoy the protection of various gods, but the current method of worship is problematic."
"Problematic, Your Majesty?"
"There is no standard. Every god has different demands, and our responses are haphazard. As a result, it is completely uncontrolled. To bring order to this, we will build the new temples ourselves."
"Do you mean... under your direct command?"
"Yes. The location, the scale, the rites—we shall determine everything."
At my words, one minister asked cautiously, "If we do that... there may be backlash from the gods."
"I am aware. Nevertheless, it must be done."
I spoke with a cold, expressionless face.
"I respect the gods. However, I have no intention of permitting them to interfere in every minute detail of our lives forever."
Several ministers stiffened at my bluntness.
"If we continue like this, this nation will eventually be nothing more than a puppet danced by the gods. I am organizing this to prevent that outcome."
A brief silence followed my declaration.
"...I support Your Majesty's opinion."
"I agree as well."
One by one, voices of agreement began to rise.
I watched them for a moment before continuing.
"Then we proceed as planned. The temples will be built, but the standards will be ours. Now, to the next item: the revision of our laws. We amended them once before, but with the growth of our territory and population, the current system is no longer sustainable."
A minister spoke up tentatively.
"...Then, how do you intend to handle things moving forward?"
"We will redefine the criteria. In the past, we looked at *who* committed the crime; from now on, we will look at *what* was committed."
"Does this include the nobility?"
"There are no exceptions to the law. That includes me, the King. No one stands above the law—not even a god. The law must apply equally to all, for that is the only reason it exists. And..."
As I answered, I brought up a matter I had been contemplating for a long time.
"We will also redefine punishment. Execution is not the only answer. For those whose crimes are too light for death, yet too heavy for freedom, we shall confine them."
"Confine them?"
"Yes. We will build prisons. Those who commit crimes will pay their price there, regardless of how long it takes."
Some ministers looked bewildered, while others nodded in understanding.
"I will draft the detailed criteria and submit them for your review," one minister offered.
"Very well. We will meet separately later to finalize the laws and the prison system."
I gave a short reply and rose from my seat.
"...That is all for today."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Despite the meeting ending two hours earlier than usual, not a single person dared to complain.
I left the council chamber, leaving the bowing ministers behind.
As I walked down the corridor, I let my thoughts drift.
"...This is only the beginning."
Temples, laws, prisons.
On the surface, it seemed like simple administrative cleanup, but it was a fundamental shift in the nation's direction.
The gods would undoubtedly be displeased.
However, I had been extraordinarily lucky. By becoming the adopted son of the primordial deities, Nyx and Erebus, I was under a protection that even other gods could not easily challenge.
*I really should express my gratitude to them.*
I felt a surge of excitement knowing I could finally execute the plans I had only imagined. Along with the temples for the gods of Olympus, I decided I would also build temples for the children of Nyx and Erebus—who were now, genealogically, my elder siblings—as well as temples for the gods of the Underworld.
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