Culture Order
"Ah…" Mash hummed loudly as she submerged herself in the hot water.
"Hm? Why are you humming, Shielder of Chaldea?" Nero asked, having already submerged herself into the bath prior.
There was a thick layer of steam that served as a soft veil over everything.
Emperor Nero's private bath was equally as luxurious as the Domus Transitoria itself. It had no ceiling directly above the bath, permitting one to view the open sky unabated. This was a piece of engineering marvel, as in cases where the sky wasn't a beautiful blue, the skylight would be covered by a stone painting depicting what the heavens over Elysium should look like.
Tall marbled pillars surrounded the bath, and a bit further away were the richly decorated, colorful walls with heated floors.
There were indents in the walls— crawlspaces— occupied by statues of people, horses, or busts of famous Greek philosophers such as Plato. Between the statues hang paintings that depict what her Polkovodets explained as 'naked men and women wrestling', with occasional artwork that showed beautiful landscapes.
Beyond filling the sight with displays of absolute excess, the room was also filled with the smell of incense as well, almost transporting those who smelled it to a flowering field on a beautiful summer day.
Zvezdnyy stayed mostly silent this whole time, observing everything. Like Nero and Mash, she was also devoid of any clothing as she submerged in the water.
It felt nice, the girl thought. The way the water's heat emanated into her core. It made her want to sigh. The floral scent… there were fruits held in baskets around the edge of the bath, and flowers as well.
There was such a vast and vivid contrast between how the villagers lived and how the Emperors lived… and between what the lackluster Foundation facility looked like.
Zvezdnyy took notes. Mental notes of what luxury looked like. It wasn't eating pizza every day. It wasn't being able to own a forest— no, this was what extravagance truly looked like.
This place closest resembled Eden. Heaven itself.
"In public baths, I've read that people like to make that sound when they get in," Mash replied.
"There was such a trend I didn't know about? Does this exist only in the future?" Nero then looked at the only person who didn't get into the bath, "Goddess, is this true? And why aren't you in the bath?"
"I don't know, and I can't feel the bath heat anyway." Her Polkovodets responded as she sat on a chair nearby, fully clothed.
Nero got up, her nude form on full display as water trickled down and around 'peaks' on her body. "Yes, but while you may not be able to feel the heat of the bath, it serves the purpose of cleansing oneself. You simply must be dirty after fighting against my uncle."
"I don't sweat. Dust, dirt, and bacteria will find no purchase on my body and clothing. There's no reason for me to ever bathe because I'm always clean."
Nero looked stumped. She nodded to herself.
"Well, I suppose that is a Goddess compared to us mortals."
"Nero… I must ask why is this place the most luxurious out of all of the Domus Transitoria?"
Nero smirked at her Polkovodets' question. She plucked a rose from a basket sitting on the edge of the bath before settling back down in the water.
Twirling it in front of her, the Emperor took a whiff of that flower.
Paired with Nero's naked beauty in the clear, the scene was almost heavenly.
"I wanted to see Elysium." Nero said frankly, "Homer said the Elysian Fields were located at the western edge of the Earth by the streams of Okeanos, the same place that Alexander the Great once tried to reach. The Poet Hesiod called it the Fortunate Isles. The greatest of the nine ancient Greek lyric Poets, Pindar, said Elysium is a single island. I paid the best captains of the Empire to reach that place, yet none returned. So I made my own. This is my Elysium."
How arrogant.
She raised her other hand and gestured at the room, "Everything here is of the finest quality. This bath is peerless. None can rival this room, the most beautiful place in all of Rome."
Nero then offered a hand to her Polkovodets, "Your sights are filled with beauty. Your contacts are filled with comfort. Your tastes are filled with deliciousness. Your nose is filled with frankincense. All your senses are filled with unparalleled beauty, except hearing. For that, I shall sing. Allow me to give you Chaldeans— Elysium."
Nero began to sing. She held the flower as though it were a microphone.
"Ugh!"
It was horrible. It thoroughly broke Zvezdnyy's image of Eden, so she altered the flow of vibrations in the air to make Nero's horrendous singing into something more palpable.
Her Polkovodets stared at Zvezdnyy, to which the girl responded, "I did it around."
After Nero finished singing, she had a bright smile on her face.
"Once again, are you sure you don't want to come in, my Goddess? Surely a divine being like yourself can appreciate the luxury here?"
Her Polkovodet flinched. "No."
The Emperor then said, "That said, Goddesses should have carnal desires no?"
"Huh?" Her Polkovodets tilted her head as though confused by what Nero was talking about. 'Where… are you going with this?"
"I'm organizing a victory orgy later with the soldiers—"
"Ha?"
"—hundreds of the best prostitutes of Rome will be there, do you Chaldeans want to join?"
"Wha—?"
"Emperor Nero!" Mash cried out.
It took a full three seconds for her Polkovodets to fully register what Nero was saying.
"What is an orgy?" Zvezdnyy asked with innocent curiosity in her voice.
What was an orgy? The word was completely new, one the girl had never encountered before. Not even in Russian.
Her Polkovodets got up so quickly from her chair that a breeze blew across the bath. Raising a finger, she said in a hurried tone, "Okay, we are definitely not joining that. Zvezdnyy, we are going right now."
With that raised finger, her Polkovodets pointed at the exit.
"But I like this bath..."
"Zvezdnyy." Her Polkovodets' tone was firm and as hard as a diamond. She gestured once more at the closed door with her raised finger, "We are leaving, you can come back later. Mash, do you want to go as well?"
"Um— sure."
"Why are you leaving, o' Goddess mine? Was it something that I said?" Nero asked innocently.
Her Polkovodets was currently helping Zvezdnyy out of the bath. Towel in hand, the Goddess moved to wipe the girl dry. It was a bit rough, in Zvezdnyy's personal opinion, but not so rough that it hurt.
"Your culture must be one of prudes if the discussion of sex is kept away from someone almost of marriage age. It's a wonder how your people are growing instead of shrinking then."
Her Polkovodets squinted her eyes shut like she had just seen something terrible. It was as though she was trying to physically keep out what Nero had just said.
Quietly, her Polkovodets muttered to herself, "Right. Right. Right. This is the past. The freaking past. I really should've specified what I want to be shown!"
Her Polkovodets quickly finished wiping Zvezdnyy clean. Dropping the towel on the chair she sat on, the Goddess gave the blonde-haired girl a look-over, trying to spot any water left on her nude form.
"Alright, you should be dry. Can you manifest your clothing?"
Zvezdnyy gave a smile as she raised her arms off to the sides, her hat materializing right on her head, "Why, of course, my esteemed Polkovodets. Tis' a simple matter that requires me to wish for its existence, and the world will respond in kind."
Her clothing shimmered into existence around her body. Nero was staring at the girl since it was the first time she had seen anything like the reality-warping powers of Zvezdnyy.
"Let's go."
"Don't forget to join the feast later!" Nero called out.
Practically pushing her out of the bath, Zvezdnyy found herself almost alone with her Polkovodets as the two entered the hallway adjacent to Nero's private bath, guarded by two Praetorian Guards.
"What is an 'orgy', my esteemed Polkovodets?" Zvezdnyy asked again, having found no answer to her questions the first time she had asked.
Her Polkovodets froze for a brief instant.
In a higher-pitched tone than usual, she said, "Well, that is something very, very inappropriate. You shouldn't ever participate in it. If you're ever in one, you should leave as soon as possible."
"Oh. I see." The girl could tell how uncomfortable her Polkovodets were with the word 'orgy'. Was this something involving nudity? Her Polkovodets did instruct Zvezdnyy how you shouldn't see a boy nude.
Strangely, the same restriction does not apply to naked statues of boys. Why are there bits of meat jutting out between the legs of a boy?
Pushing aside her questions for later, the blonde girl took note of what her Polkovodets said. 'Orgy' is bad. She should stay far away from an 'orgy'.
Her Polkovodets squatted down until she was at Zvezdnyy's eye level. She stared at the young child's shimmering greenish-grey eyes. "Promise me, Zvezdnyy, that you would stay away from such activities."
Such intensity. Rarely did her Polkovodets ask for a promise from Zvezdnyy.
"Fufu~" With a single hand, Zvezdnyy lowered her hat until the rim covered her eyes, making the girl look all kinds of mysterious, "Very well, so be it then. If thou asketh for a promise, then thou shall receive it! As my Polkovodets, that is the least I could do. I vow to steer clear of any 'orgy'."
Her Polkovodets looked relieved. "Okay, thank you."
She got up, standing tall just as how a Goddess should. Taking in a deep breath, her Polkovodets then let it all out.
____
Oh, thank god. I sighed while closing my eyes as though tired.
That was a close call.
Bloody hell! I knew somewhat that the Romans were open-minded in terms of sexuality but to talk about group sex in the form of an orgy in front of literal children.
It was already very uncomfortable trying to pass off the erotic art hanging off the walls inside the bath as naked men and women wrestling to Zvezdnyy. Seriously, what the actual fuck? Not only was there an excess of such erotic art, but there were also so many painted statues of scantily clad naked men and women all over the Domus Transitoria.
Culture shock is now more real than ever. Different sensibilities in different eras.
"Alright, so the bath plan is ruined. Dinner is not for another two hours…" I said while thinking of something else to pass the time.
What's something that Romans do to pass the time? What are some games they play? Surely they have board games, do they not? All cultures have some form of games, it's human nature to seek to play.
Just then, Mash came out of the entrance to the bath, clad in a white toga.
Perfect, she should know more about ancient Rome than I do.
"Mash, what are some board games that Romans play?"
The Shielder thought about things for a while, before replying, "The Romans played a lot of boardgames such as Rota, Ludus Calculorum, and the Game of Ur."
I have no idea what those things are. So I chose to pick the one that stands out the most to me: "Let's play Rota. How does one play Rota?"
"More commonly called Terni Lapilli in Latin, I've read that it's similar to tic tac toe."
"Nero has to have a game room, right? Guards!"
A pair of nearby guards dressed in the finest armor approached us. The armor looked pretty impractical, to be honest, as it was filled with decorations and shimmering gold embroidery. But it is very pleasant from an artistic point of view.
"Goddess, how may we be of service?" The pair did a small bow.
"Does Emperor Nero have a board game room where we can play Rot— I mean, Terni Lapilli?"
"Her Majesty has the finest board game room in all of Rome. I can show it to you if you wish?" The guard offered.
I noticed how his gaze lingered a bit on my chest. I know that it was only natural, only human, for one to desire to breed with an attractive mate, but I still felt a bit uncomfortable. No, not with the inherent act, but with the desire for intimacy.
Thinking his proposal through, I decided that there was no harm. We were guests of the Emperor after all.
"Yes please."
The time it took to travel to that place was not insignificant. During the travel there, my nose picked up the scent of nearly dissipated incense.
Before I signed on with the Company, I remembered reading a passage about how insanely expensive incense was in the ancient eras. Frankincense, they were called, and apparently, Nero has them alight all the time here in the Domus Transitoria.
Seeing this, I'm reminded of candles. In Medieval Europe, candles weren't all that expensive all things considered, that was at least before the Catholic Church got ahold of them. The Church bought so many candles to light their places of worship that their prices skyrocketed until only the nobility could afford them.
After about five minutes of walking through winding hallways, we finally reached Nero's board game room.
Just like the rest of the palace, the game boards were all needlessly luxurious. Clay tablets had pieces of gems stuck inside of them, alongside gold finishes.
Mash stepped forward and picked out a large clay tablet with nine small dimples on it— eight of which circularly surrounded the ninth like fictional cultists surrounding the virgin sacrifice to their dark gods.
"So that's the game board of the Terni Lapilli?"
"Yes. Now if I remember, to play it is to…" Mash explained the rules to Zvezdnyy and me. She explained how two players are supposed to place a piece on an available dimple. After all three pieces that are given to each player have been placed, they must then be moved along the curving edge of the game board to an empty spot. Then, a piece may not jump other pieces nor move more than one spot. Finally, to win, a player must get three in a row.
The first round between Mash and Zvezdnyy was slow and methodical, as the kid wasn't familiar with how the game worked. Zvezdnyy constantly asked for instruction and affirmation if the move she just did was legal or not, while Mash, ever the patient girl, replied with a yes or no.
The game continued on, though mostly played between Mash and Zvezdnyy. Halfway through, Ritsuka met up with us and joined the games. Rarely did I play a match, and when I did, I mostly played randomly and didn't bother trying to win.
As a result, I had the fewest wins. I didn't mind, as the look Ritsuka had being able to win against a Goddess was one of pure jubilation.
Such innocence.
His smile was unburdened by the weight of the world, and I hoped it remained that way. A normal person shouldn't bear such expectations.
No, a normal person should grow up, get married, grow old with their children, and then pass away peacefully into a proper afterlife.
That is the right of a person. The existential right of a human. I no longer possessed such rights, as I'm no longer human.
As I am a Goddess, I'm beyond mere humans. They can excuse their failure whereas I cannot. I failed to capture that Grail in France, simple as that. I can examine the reasons but I would never excuse my failure. To err is to human, but I'm no human… I'm a Goddess.
"The feast is ready." A well-dressed slave with a golden collar said as he entered the room.
Feast? Oh right, it's a word used to describe a large meal. Like State Dinners.
Because of my perfect memories, I had no issue remembering the last time I had a 'meal'. It was during a State Dinner with President Bright. We were discussing the economic system that the United Earth Authority should implement.
That was five months ago.
I almost said how they could go ahead without me before realizing how rude it would appear to Nero if I didn't accept her feast. She would see it as an insult: as though she is below me.
Beyond that, I also promised never to let Zvezdnyy out of my sight for the remainder of the Singularity. Ugh, I really wish I could've spent all this time discussing battle plans with Boudica and the other generals, it would be a far more productive use of my time.
The feasting room that Nero had was situated at the top of the Domus Transitoria, where guests had to walk up several flights of stairs.
"Ah, my guests of honor: The Chaldeans!" Nero raised a golden cup full of wine.
The nobles around Nero also raised their cups in our honor.
"""To the Chaldeans!"""
With the sky turning the slightest red, the Cena began with tables upon tables full of food. Appetizers to be exact.
Plates full of innumerable eggs are prepared in all kinds of ways from scrambled to boiled and more. Mountains of olives with the aroma of pickled emanated from it. Slaves and servants with jars full of honeyed wine were proactively making sure all the cups were filled instead of empty.
I had to close my eyes and tried my best to avoid looking at the slaves. It was almost torture how helpless I am.
Beyond these three, there were also chilled fresh oysters, tuna, anchovies, and snails buried in piles of half-melted ice akin to blades of grass. The freshest of lettuce, leeks, mallows, mint, and arugula framed those seafood.
There were no refrigeration methods here in the past. Just how expensive must this ice be? I wondered as I picked up a small cube of frozen water.
"Goddess Kukulkan, I noticed you still haven't eaten anything," Ritsuka said as he sucked out the content of a snail.
"I drank the wines."
The honeyed wine was sweet, almost like a soda in taste even if I can't feel buzzed.
"Yes, but you still should eat though."
My brows furrowed a bit. "I don't need to eat. No need to waste food on me."
"It's not a waste. Besides, didn't you want to feel closer to a human, Goddess? I remember you asked me to help you be more human, and eating the food of a human is one of the best ways to be closer to a human."
My lips thinned. Unpleased.
"Don't use my words against me."
Ritsuka pushed on.
"Besides, didn't you say you'll do it later? Well, this is later."
"..."
I sighed. Glancing at the nearby oysters, I picked out the largest one. Bringing it to my lips, I drank the oyster as a human might with soup.
Hmm. There was a distinct copper taste. Other than that, the meat was flavorless.
"Um, Kukulkan? I'm pretty sure you're supposed to squeeze a bit of lemon juice on the oyster." Ritsuka said as he pointed at the lemon slices around the oysters.
Oh.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
unit_201
unit_201 Kukulkan is slowly building back the humanity that she lost in the last Arc. Piece by piece.
Though, one must wonder if it's wise to wield the power of a god with the mind of a human. Perhaps there's a reason...? Hehe~
Your comments give me motivation. I need a lot of motivation.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone