Dear Diary,

Y'know, I'd never actually expected to learn anything in school before I got Isekai'd to Phileo City? I know, what a concept.

Saffron slept over last night. Woke up in that weird dream-state after the Locked in a Box dream. Came to the realization that I've got more people I trust here in Phileo than I did back in Camden. Strange thing to hit my brain while I still hadn't gotten my shit together. Also woke up early, so bonus morning fun time for the win!

Y'know, there might be something to this whole 'exercise' thing. Refractory period set to zero as a side effect, apparently. Not complaining though.

We got to breakfast on time, so I can say for certain that our table got no bacon today. Plenty of spicy eggs, jalapeno scrapple, and sausages though. No complaints there either.

When we got to class, Doc DeLeon had the map up again, this time with Sparta marked out with an arrow stuck to the map. The ROTCs dropped into our seats early, as usual. Behind me Raven pulled out her sketchbook and continued work on her Europan map.

The Barbie Brigade came in, and when Lancaster deigned to look up at the map, he called out, "Finally!"

Doc DeLeon sighed and shook his head, but he had a little smile on his face as well. "Yes, Laurence, we will finally be studying Sparta today."

A few moments after that, as the last students found their seats, Doc DeLeon stood up and started his lecture. "Today we'll be studying Sparta, probably the second most influential City in Europa, at least as regards Phileo City Heroic Academy."

I raised my hand, but Saffron's shot up before me. Doc DeLeon nodded at her, and she asked, "I understand why Thebes is the most influential, since Phileo City's Heroes are modeled loosely on the Sacred Brotherhood of Thebes, but hasn't Athens had more influence on Phileo City?"

The prof nodded, "If we were talking about Phileo City in general, that argument could be made. An argument could also be made for Corinth, as Phileo City has based many of its architectural works on the engineering seen in Corinth. Sparta, of course, has attacked Phileo City more often than any other City; impressive when you consider Norfolk does so at least once every generation. Since I mentioned Europan cities, Venice could be seen as influential, as Phileo City's attempt to dominate Atlantean trade resonates with Venice's own dominance of Europan trade."

He paused, scanning the room to make sure none of us had fallen asleep. One of the kids from the gobbo tables did that a few weeks back, and Doc DeLeon had shown an unexpected mischievous side by sneaking up and shouting 'boo!' at the top of his lungs.

Mischievous, not creative. Still, better than so full of himself that he got offended or some shit.

Anyhow, he asked, "Does anyone have an idea why Sparta has had more influence on Phileo City's Heroic Academy than any other City besides Thebes?"

That started the usual round of guesses. Lancaster managed to get his hand up first. "Heroes each being part of the Council is modeled on their own Regency Council."

Doc nodded, pursing his lips a bit as he did so. "While that's not the answer I'm looking for, it's an interesting insight. I don't believe I've ever read any historical texts indicating Penn and the founders of Phileo City were influenced by the Spartan Regency Council, but the suggestion is not without potential merit."

My hand shot up; not a common occurrence despite my 'Graduate, Become a Hero, ???, Profit!' plan. When Doc DeLeon pointed to me, I asked, "What's the Spartan Regency Council?"

He chuckled a little before answering. Of course Lancaster took that moment to hiss, "Ignorant Bag cretin," but I let it slide; no profit to be had brawling in the classroom.

"I hadn't intended to mention it in today's lecture, as it only comes up once a generation at most, and has less impact on Phileo City than some other aspects of Spartan culture, but," he paused, nodding a little to himself as if throwing together an impromptu lecture right then, "Sparta is ruled by a King. He is acknowledged by all other Spartan Heroes to be the bravest, strongest, most deadly fighter in Sparta. When the King dies, if he is killed by another Spartan Hero, that Hero ascends to the throne. On at least one occasion, a non-Spartan Hero has killed the King and been elevated to the throne as well, although his reign was unfortunately cut short before he could make any of the reforms he'd publicly promised to make. In most cases, however, when the King of Sparta is killed by anything other than a Spartan Hero, the remaining Heroes of the City form a Regency Council, who then vote to determine the most likely candidates to become King."

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

He paused, looking around the room to see if everyone was following along. Pretty much every eye except Raven's was glued to him, what with the talking about death and killing and everything. My classmates might be a little bit on the bloodthirsty side.

I mean, shit, I was pretty much fixated on the story, so I guess I was too.

"So once someone is chosen, the candidates then face off against one another. Any candidate who does not wish to face one of the others may, at that point, surrender and defer their votes to their opponent. While that's seen publicly as a sign of relative weakness, in the case of an older Hero it can also simultaneously be seen as a sign of wisdom; we here in Phileo City always keep track of those who surrender their votes, as they are usually the Heroes most likely to negotiate in times of strife."

"So, like, they've never had a King die of old age or something?" I asked.

"The last recorded King of Sparta to do so was Leonidas; after returning victorious from Thermopylae with but two Heroic companions, both of whom were maimed in the fighting and thus ineligible for the throne, he is recorded as having died in his bed; the Regency Council after him officially recorded him as falling in battle to Thanatos and Cronos, 'as no Hero of his stature could conceivably be bested by a single God'. I'm quoting that Regency Council, of course. The Spartans are among the most racially prejudiced of all Europan cultures; even having Olympian blood to any meaningful degree disqualifies a man from becoming a Spartan Hero."

Of course that rubbed me the wrong way, so I asked, "What about women?"

Doc DeLeon nodded, as if expecting the question, "I suppose I should also note that they are among the most sexist of Europan cultures. While Spartan women are expected to train in weapons and defend themselves and their children if the City walls are breached, they are ineligible to become Heroes, and thus ineligible to become King."

I looked around the room, pointedly noting the ROTC row, where Bill had the only guy card in the row, and I wasn't really sure on that. "Kinda fuckin' stupid if you ask me."

Lancaster muttered, "Nobody asked, you, moron." Good old Larry, always there to one up me in the 'how stupid can you be' competition.

The prof ignored him and said, "I wholeheartedly agree that they are foolish in their ignorance, but results speak for themselves; their training regimen is brutal enough that even with a good two thirds of Spartan men dying before they reach their majority, the remainder are fierce enough fighters that no Europan City save Thebes has been able to consistently best them, if they've ever bested them at all."

Without raising my hand I asked, "Didn't you say they've attacked Phileo a bunch?"

He nodded, "That would be why we follow in Thebes' footsteps, with a few added flourishes such as English ship design and our own gender equality stance as regards Heroes." He paused a bit, but nobody else raised their hand. "Now, as we mentioned, the Spartans are perhaps the most racially prejudiced Cities in Europa; that is a hint as to how and why Sparta influenced this very Academy. Anyone?"

Rider raised her hand, confusion warring with discovery on her face for everyone to see. "Does it have something to do with the Maenads?"

"Exactly!" crowed Doc DeLeon. "You all recall that one Hero who took the throne?" Everyone nodded, and he continued, "That Hero's Patron was Dionysus, and he took the throne shortly before the founding of Phileo City. His successor, Leonidas the Sixteenth, decreed that slavery was 'too good' for Dionysus' chosen people, the Maenads, and began a systematic purge of both Maenads and worshippers of Dionysus, initially in Sparta, but eventually attacking and destroying the temples of Dionysus throughout the Greek peninsula, until only the temples within the city walls of Athens, Thebes, and Corinth remained. Of course, shortly before then Penn and the founders of Phileo City had founded our city with both religious freedom and racial tolerance as the basis of that foundation, and Penn himself spoke with our local High Priestess of Dionysus and offered sanctuary to all followers of Dionysus, most especially the Maenads, who obviously couldn't hide their differences the way some," here he paused, although it was so slight nobody else might have noticed, "Hybrids might."

Doc DeLeon pointed behind me, and Angel asked, "How did they wind up serving as Maids here at Phileo?"

Doc nodded before replying, "As might be obvious, our Heroic Academy was, at that time, still under construction, and our first generation of Heroes still being trained. While the Maenads of that era chose not to take on the mantle of Hero, a number of them volunteered to serve and guard the Academy. Over time, especially once the Academy construction was completed and its Enchantments in place, the 'guard' portion of that faded, as our Academy is not only a fortress, but one populated at any given time by hundreds of Heroes in training, many of whom are simply waiting for a Heroic posting to open up, meaning that they are Heroes in all but name."

Well, shit. Guess my instincts about darling Marie and Sparagmos weren't too far off. Good thing I'd managed to get on her good side before that day in the Infirmary, I guess.