I realized I had been reincarnated into ancient Greece when I was reborn as a boy named Iskios, back when I was still a baby. More precisely... a few months after I was born.
Iskios... in other words, the me of this life was born to parents, but from the moment I was born, I was far away from them... no, they may as well not have existed. It always made me think, what kind of sin did I commit to end up like this...?
I may have been dumped into this end-of-days Greece without parents, but it wasn't all bad. Maybe even out of nine misfortunes, there really is one piece of luck mixed in.
"Now then, everyone. Let's begin today's lesson."
"""Yes, Teacher Chiron!"""
And around the time I turned five, my mood only sank further. I was an orphan, but I grew up under the care of someone like an adoptive father. Of course, that adoptive father was neither ordinary nor even human.
A centaur, with the lower body of a horse and the upper body of a man, and among them, the one said to possess the greatest wisdom: Chiron. He is my adoptive father now, and also my teacher. I was shocked at first, but little by little, that bewilderment turned into affection.
He was a guardian far removed from anything normal, but in this end-of-days Greece, where I had been thrown as a helpless infant, I grew up under Chiron's protection and instruction. In this ruined age, he was truly a ray of light to me.
So once I turned six, and became old enough to join the other children who had come to study under Teacher Chiron, I decided to begin learning from him in earnest.
"Iskios. You said you want to study every subject... are you certain?"
"Yes. I... don't want to die just like that. I need to learn as much as I can and keep living."
To be honest, I chose to study everything. I probably don't have any special talent like the heroes who learned under Teacher Chiron, and there's no way I'd possess some special power either. It's not like I'm overflowing with confidence.
No matter what kind of world it is, there's a saying: knowledge is power. Education matters anywhere. And this place is end-of-days Greece. If I don't build up my mind as well as my body, I'll end up getting slaughtered like some famous hero raising a death flag.
I learned the sword, spear, shield, axe, club, and bow, but also medicine, music, navigation, and farming. As expected of the sage said to know all things, his knowledge was vast enough to make that claim seem true. Even after being dropped into this apocalypse, maybe I had at least that much luck.
Right now, my number one goal in this Greek life is to live freely, quietly, and comfortably, without anyone interfering with me. To make that happen, I need ability and strength. But... my daily life couldn't be spent focusing on study alone.
I can't forget it. This place is the end times... and in the end times, the weak are oppressed without fail. The weak have no voice here... it may sound cruel, but that's reality. And then...
"....."
"....."
—A gaze. I could feel someone watching me. And I could tell it wasn't an ordinary stare.
By the time I was seven, while studying under Teacher Chiron, I started catching these sticky looks aimed at me every so often. Whenever I turned around, whoever it was had already run off, and whenever I wasn't looking, they'd keep sneaking glances my way.
...At first, because of my age, I didn't think too deeply about it... but whether I liked it or not, I came to realize it. This is end-of-days Greece. I didn't think that kind of thing would show up at this age too... I let my guard down. There was homosexuality even among little boys...?
"Fucking—!!!!"
When I was alone, I screamed and punched a nearby tree. I should've expected it. In Greece, the highest form of love is homosexuality—more specifically, they treat boy-love with beautiful youths as the best thing there is.
Then I looked at my face reflected in the water beneath the tree... and that face was, without question, that of a beautiful boy. In other words, with a face like this, I was bound to become a target for men with those tastes whether I liked it or not. And if I ever ended up living on my own because of that... well, I'll spare the details.
Today too, after blowing off the stress in a place only I knew and returning to Teacher Chiron's stables, "that guy" was standing in front of me with his arms folded, as if he'd been waiting all along.
"Yo. I was wondering who it was, and isn't it Iskios, the one destined to become my retainer?"
"You again...?"
Seeing this blond brat standing there with that smug, overconfident grin like he'd been expecting me, my face naturally twisted into a frown. He looked like he'd grow up handsome someday, but that smile of his was irritating enough to make me sigh.
This puffed-up little bastard is Jason... yes, that very Jason who would one day lead the Argo expedition and meet a very ugly end with Medea. I have no idea why he keeps babbling that I'm going to become his retainer, but at least he's different from the ones who stare at me with those lecherous eyes, so I put up with him to some extent.
—But only to that extent. I just deal with him in moderation, nothing more and nothing less.