47_Almost Home

" Congratulations, dude, ” Brody said to Heracles. “ You’ve won every event so far. ” " Thank you. ” Heracles looked solemn. “ But I won’t relax until the final event is complete—and you and Julia are safely through the time passage. ” ” Yeah. Me neither, ” Brody agreed. “ I’m definitely ready to go home. ” The athletes had just completed the boxing event. There had been more pranks from the gods, of course, but Heracles had handled them without much trouble. Now all that was left was the final race—the hoplitodromos.

"祝贺你，伙计，”布罗迪对赫拉克勒斯说。“到目前为止，你赢得了所有比赛。” "谢谢你。”赫拉克勒斯看起来很严肃。 “但我不会放松，直到最后一场比赛结束，你和朱莉娅也会安全度过这段时间。” “是啊，我也是，”布罗迪同意。“我已经准备好回家了。” 运动员们刚刚完成拳击比赛。 当然，众神的恶作剧更多了，但赫拉克勒斯处理这些恶作剧没有太多麻烦。 现在只剩下最后一场比赛了-武装赛跑。

Brody wished Heracles luck and headed over to his armor. Hermes and Markos were waiting there. “ You’ve performed well today, my boy, ” Hermes said cheerfully. “ I’m proud of you! ” “ You are?” Brody was relieved. He’d been pretty sure that Hermes was pleased with his performance, but it was still good to hear it. Especially since Brody had come in second or third in most of the events. “ Of course! ” Hermes chuckled. “ You can’t be blamed for failing to defeat the mighty Heracles. He’s quite amazing, isn’t he? “ “ I’m almost tempted to cheer for him myself in this final event. ”

布罗迪祝赫拉克勒斯好运，然后走向他的盔甲。赫耳墨斯和马科斯在那里等着。 “你今天表现得很好，我的孩子，”赫耳墨斯高兴地说。“我为你感到骄傲！” “是吗？”布罗迪松了一口气。他很确定赫尔墨斯对他的表现很满意，但听到这一点还是很好的。 尤其是布罗迪在大多数比赛中都获得了第二或第三名。 “当然！”赫耳墨斯咯咯地笑了起来。 “你不能因为没能打败强大的赫拉克勒斯而受到责备。他很了不起，不是吗？“ ”在这最后一场比赛中，我几乎想亲自为他加油。”

Brody scowled as he put on his armor. He was a little annoyed by Hermes’ remark. After all, Brody was Hermes’ champion, not Heracles. Didn’t Hermes believe in Brody? “ Heracles is very dominant, ” Markos said politely. “ Of course . . . ” Hermes seemed to be thinking aloud. “ If Zeus’ champion sweeps the Games, then Zeus will be impossible to deal with. ” He shot a look at Brody. “ But if something happens to Heracles in this final race . . . ” He winked mischievously. “ Well, I suppose in that case, they’d have to award the olive crown to you, my champion! ”

布罗迪穿上盔甲时怒目而视，赫耳墨斯的话让他有点恼火。 毕竟，布罗迪是赫尔墨斯的选手，而不是赫拉克勒斯。赫耳墨斯不相信布罗迪吗？ “赫拉克勒斯很有统治力，”马科斯礼貌地说。 “当然……”赫耳墨斯似乎在大声思考。“如果宙斯的选手横扫奥运会，那么宙斯将无法应付。” 他看了布罗迪一眼。“但如果赫拉克勒斯在最后一场比赛中发生了什么……” 他调皮地眨了眨眼睛。“好吧，我想在这种情况下，他们必须把橄榄冠授予你，我的选手！”

“ Oh. ” Brody hadn’t thought about it that way. It would be fun to win, but he needed to make sure that Heracles came in first. Hermes’ words alarmed Brody. “ There’s no reason to worry, ” he told himself. “ Julia is a genius. ” She had figured out what Aphrodite had planned for Heracles during the hoplitodromos. She’d also figured out a plan to help Heracles avoid the prank. “ So there’s no danger, ” Brody thought.

“哦。”布罗迪没有那样想过。获胜会很有趣，但他需要确保赫拉克勒斯首先获胜。 赫耳墨斯的话提醒了布罗迪。 “没有理由担心，”他告诉自己。 “朱莉娅是个天才。”她已经弄清楚了阿佛洛狄忒在比赛期间对赫拉克勒斯的计划。 她还想出了一个计划来帮助赫拉克勒斯避免受害。 “所以没有危险，”布罗迪想。

“ It’s almost time to go home. ” “ Hold still, Brody, ” Markos said. “ I’ll help you put on your shin guards. ” Hermes watched as Markos fixed the guards to Brody’s legs and then handed the helmet to Brody. “ You’ve performed well too, my boy, ” Hermes told Markos. “ Your loyalty and hard work are a credit to your family. ” “ Thank you, Hermes, ” Markos said with a bow. “ It has been an honor to serve you. ” “ Yes, I know, ” Hermes said. “ Still, I wish there were a way to thank you. " " Perhaps I should declare your entire family to be henceforth under my patronage and protection. ”

“差不多该回家了。” “别动，布罗迪，”马库斯说。“我帮你穿上护胫。” 赫耳墨斯看着马库斯把护具固定在布罗迪的腿上，然后把头盔递给布罗迪。 “你也表现得很好，我的孩子。“赫尔墨斯跟马库斯说到”你的忠诚和努力是你家人的功劳。” “谢谢你，赫耳墨斯，”马库斯鞠了一躬说道。“为您服务是我的荣幸。” “是的，我知道，”赫耳墨斯说。“不过，我希望有一种方式来感谢你。" "也许我应该宣布你全家从此都在我的庇护和保护下。”

Markos’ eyes widened. “ You would do that?” Athena happened to be walking by at that moment. She stopped and raised an eyebrow at Hermes. “ I would like to hear your answer too, Hermes, ” she said. “ You shouldn’t promise such protection to mortals unless you mean to follow through with it. ” “ Of course I mean to follow through with it. ” Hermes looked annoyed. “ I don’t need a warning from you, Athena. ”

马库斯的眼睛睁大了。“你会这么做吗？” 当时雅典娜正好路过,她停下来，向赫耳墨斯扬起眉毛。 “我也想听听你的回答，赫尔墨斯，”她说。 “你不应该向凡人承诺这样的保护，除非你打算坚持到底。” “当然，我的意思是坚持到底。”赫耳墨斯看起来很生气。“我不需要你的警告，雅典娜。”