**Nicko's POV:**
**King Odysseus:** So, you're telling me that it wasn't really you? The legendary Argos, the first king who ruled the lands of Agamemnon, named after its founder?
**Nicko:** Indeed, Your Majesty. Instead, he is my grandfather, who is also the son of Helios, the god who sees all...
**King Odysseus:** Well, you have quite the family tree, don’t you?
King Odysseus and I shared a moment of humor, admitting secrets I had never revealed before.
**Nicko:** A hundred years have passed, and three generations have carried the name Argos in our family. To maintain the family's legacy, the family’s prophecy stated that...
*"As the sun gives life, for every sunflower that blooms, the sunflowers will praise the sun. But as soon as the sunflowers suffer drought, their seeds will shatter and grow, continuing the sunflowers’ legacy of praising the sun."*
Until now, the riddle of Argos remains a mystery regarding its true intention. However, in Hestia's understanding, Argos will continue his legacy through his children, passing his name to the firstborn son. It only relented after my father passed the next generation through me, and I decided to leave and start a life different from his...
**King Odysseus:** I see; that's why Hestia always prefers to call you Argos?
**Nicko:** To be honest, it is quite irritating that she insists I am my father. She also insists that I treat her as my real mother...
**King Odysseus:** So, it’s very important for you to make the people you meet understand that you are Nicko in person, not Argos in disguise. What you’re doing, my friend, is undoubtedly difficult, especially with an Olympian goddess like Hestia involved.
**Nicko:** True, Your Majesty. I've tried several times to escape her, but she always manages to find me. I even consulted Athena to devise a plan to make Hestia go away, but she refused.
**King Odysseus:** It seems Hestia is not the only goddess watching over you...
**Nicko:** I’ve been watched by all the other goddesses on Mount Olympus and have received several invitations there. Due to this incredible offer, the gods have granted me privileges, but I still insist on resisting...
**King Odysseus:** It appears humanity holds greater importance to you, Nicko.
**Nicko:** Indeed, King Odysseus.
**King Odysseus:** In trying to escape, you’ve adopted the name Nicko instead of Argos, right?
**Nicko:** To tell you the truth, Your Majesty, I received my name from Athena. She blessed Hestia’s children, granting us intellectual abilities to match our remarkable strength. I see her more as a mother than Hestia, King Odysseus.
**King Odysseus:** Is that so? But from what I observe, Hestia seems to provide more motherly care than Athena, doesn’t she?
**Nicko:** Perhaps for Argos, but not for Nicko, Your Majesty... May I ask you something, King Odysseus?
**King Odysseus:** And what is it, Nicko?
**Nicko:** Why did Achilles withdraw from the war?
**King Odysseus:** Ah, that? Well, it started when...
[**Flashback**]
Chryses, a priest of Apollo and father of Chryseis, came to Agamemnon to request the return of his daughter. Agamemnon refused and insulted Chryses, who then prayed to Apollo to avenge his ill treatment.
Enraged, Apollo afflicted the Achaean army with a plague. Agamemnon was forced to return Chryseis to end the plague, taking Achilles' concubine Briseis as his own.
Enraged at the dishonor Agamemnon had inflicted upon him, Achilles decided he would no longer fight. He asked his mother, Thetis, to intercede with Zeus, who agreed to grant the Trojans success in Achilles' absence, leaving the Achaeans without their best warrior.
**[End of Flashback]**
**Nicko:** Well, King Agamemnon certainly knows how to make a lot of good friends, doesn’t he?
**King Odysseus:** It seems you've also experienced the friendship that Agamemnon offers...
We spent time together, sharing jokes and humor that we found amusing, though others might not agree.
**[King Odysseus' POV]**
After Achilles withdrew, the Achaeans initially achieved success. For the first time since landing, both armies gathered in full.
Menelaus and Paris engaged in a duel that ended when Aphrodite rescued the defeated Paris from the field. With the truce broken, hostilities resumed.
Diomedes gained significant renown among the Achaeans, killing the Trojan hero Pandaros and nearly slaying Aeneas, who was saved only by his mother, Aphrodite. Assisted by Athena, Diomedes even wounded the gods Aphrodite (at great risk) and Ares.
However, in the following days, the Trojans pushed the Achaeans back to their camp, stopping only at the Achaean wall thanks to Poseidon. The next day, with Zeus' assistance, the Trojans broke into the Achaean camp, coming close to setting fire to their ships.
An earlier plea to Achilles to return was rejected. But after Hector burned Protesilaus' ship, he allowed his close friend and relative Patroclus to enter battle wearing Achilles' armor and lead his army. Patroclus drove the Trojans back to the walls of Troy, but his advance on the city was thwarted by Apollo. Subsequently, Patroclus was killed by Hector, who took Achilles' armor from his body.
Overcome with grief, Achilles vowed to kill Hector. He reconciled with Agamemnon, reclaiming Briseis, untouched, and received a new set of arms forged by the god Hephaestus before returning to battle.
Achilles slaughtered many Trojans and nearly killed Aeneas, who was saved by Poseidon. He fought the river god Scamander, resulting in a clash of the gods. The Trojan army retreated to the city, but Hector remained outside, deceived by Athena. Achilles ultimately killed Hector with a spear thrust to his heart.
Victorious, Achilles dragged Hector’s body behind his chariot and refused to return it for burial. The Achaeans then held funeral games for Patroclus.
Later, King Priam, guided by Hermes, approached Achilles’ tent, pleading for the return of Hector’s body. Subsequently, the armies agreed to a temporary truce, allowing the dead to be buried.
**Hestia:** And thus, the Iliad concludes with Hector’s funeral.
