However, Aesop took the initiative to explain to his relatives: "They don't know whether I have an heir, and I can't prove my identity and my origin is suspicious. The house and the farm are real property, and they already belong to them. Are they smart or stupid? Only the gods know it."

Amon, who was driving the car, shrugged and said, "I don't know, I'm just a driver!"

Medanzo asked: "You are rich enough, but it is not difficult to buy the house and the farm. If you do this, I think they will be happy to recognize your relatives."

Aesop asked back, "Medanzo, we live in this world. Have you ever considered a question - who am I? You are Medanzo, but why are you Medanzo?... If I do that, I will lose the meaning of finding my hometown. Actually, I don't mind giving them a lot of money, but why is this? Let's start by proving my identity. I am Aesop, and act as Aesop."

Medanzo asked again: "What are you feeling when you meet such a relative? Are you a little disappointed?"

Aesop said calmly: "Actually, I am not surprised at all, nor disappointed. They are all small people among the countless people. Their may seem merciless, selfish, suspicious, and ridiculous, but their ideas and practices are very common in the world and are also very normal people. Even the playwrights in Yalun City often describe the gods like this.

Since all living beings are like this, any relative of any family may be such a small person. Why can't I, Aesop's relative? Their reaction is understandable. In fact, I don't resent at all. On the contrary, I am even very grateful, thank the gods and thank them. When I returned to my hometown, I could still see the relatives of the Akerman family. My old house and my father's farm were still there."

Amon, who was driving, couldn't help but sigh: "Aesop, you may be the closest person to the gods in this city-state."

...

Old Ackerman's son Aesop has returned. After 60 years of disappearance, this incident caused a small stir in Midulli City and became a topic of conversation for people in their spare time. Some people say that Aesop made a fortune outside, but he still had to take back the farm and houses that his ancestors should inherit. Some people say that the foreigner was not Aesop, but had just heard about Old Aesop's family. Aesop, who pretended to be rich, tried to cheat.

Aesop lived in the inn, with a groom and an escort. Whenever people older than him saw him, they said that he really looked like the Achman family, maybe it was Aesop Achman. Some people began to talk about it again. Since Aesop returned from wealth, why bother to get back the assets that his cousin had been operating for 60 years?

Red Ackerman was very promising to keep his property. After so many years of war, if it were someone else's house, the house and the farm would probably have been gone long ago. Even if Aesop came back, who could he ask for it? Those sages who like to preach in the Temple Square also talked about this. According to their point of view, if Aesop was Aesop, then the house and the farm were his. Whether Aesop was generous or stingy, it would not change this fact.

Even if Aesop is willing to give his house and farm to his cousin, he must first prove that it is his so that he can talk about generosity and gifts.

Aesop's identity will be decided by the City-State Citizens Council, which is a request submitted by Aesop himself. The ruling is the fifty permanent representatives of the City-State Citizens Council. This is different from submitting it to a judge to a trial, because the court can only try the accusation of property disputes brought by Aesop or the fraud charges filed by Red Ackerman against Aesop, but the premise of all this is to determine Aesop's identity.

Red Ackerman did not file a complaint in the city-state court, but he just claimed that he could not confirm the identity of the old man.

On the day of the convening of the citizen meeting, many interested city-state people went to watch the fun and listened. The city-state conference hall was crowded with people. The Citizen Conference appointed a representative to preside over the ruling, namely, Thales, the famous sage in Midulli City, accepted the commission and invited more than ten old men over 80 in the city-state to attend, all of whom had met Aesop Ackerman.

Longevity has always been regarded as a blessing for gods. After the war years, people who have lived in the same city-state and enjoyed such a long life are respected elders as long as they are not criminals. There are not many such people, and they also require a clear mind and it is even more difficult to recall what happened sixty years ago. It was finally difficult to invite ten people.

It is indeed unrealistic to think that these elders clearly recall a young man whom they met sixty years ago but did not pay special attention to. Several of them told Thales that his facial features were indeed very similar to Aesop Ackerman in his memory, but it has been too long since, and his impression back then has been blurred, not to mention that Aesop is now an old man and cannot be confirmed!

Thales did not expect these old men to confirm that they could recall Aesop back then, so that the ruling was meaningful rather than a farce. No one could come to the city-state and claim that he was from decades ago, and the city-state meeting would make a ruling for him.

Next, Thales asked Iso in front of everyone, "You old man who returned from another country, you insist that you are Aesop Ackerman. Is there any document to prove your identity?"

Aesop replied: "I have a document that can prove my identity in Egu and Salem, but it can only prove my identity there, which is meaningless to this ruling. Such a document can only be signed by the Citizens of Midulli City State, which means that I can only have it after the ruling is over. The document of that year is no longer there, and even if it is still in my hands, it is difficult to prove that I am the person in the document."

Next, the city-state meeting held an important ceremony, and at the suggestion of most citizens, the gods asked the gods to come to the oracle. If the oracle confirmed Aesop's identity, there was no need to make a judgment. There was an image of the city-state patron saint in the parliament hall. Under the auspices of the two city-state priests, Thales prayed to the gods on behalf of the city-state people and prayed for the arrival of the oracle.

The situation of the Olympus divine system is very interesting. Its divine domain composition is similar to that of the United Kingdom of Heaton. Zeus is not the main god of every city-state. Almost every city-state believes in its patron saint as the main god of the city-state. For example, the patron saint of the Yaren city-state is Yarenna, the patron saint of the Kibada city-state is Ares, the patron saint of the war and blacksmith, and the patron saint of the Midulli city-state is the messenger of the gods and the god of trade Hermes.

Amon and Medanzo also stood among the crowd watching, and Medanzo's voice quietly rang in Aesop's soul: "Old guy, don't worry, if those two priests were bought, deliberately lie and pretend to be an oracle, I would tell them that they would never speak for the rest of their lives!"

Aesop was not worried about these things, but just watched silently. Ordinary priests would not lie on such occasions. If they really believed in the gods, how much would it cost to make them betray the gods in public? And Amon was very interested in this. Will Hermes give up the oracle to confirm Aesop's identity?

Sure enough, an oracle came, it was really an oracle made by Hermes on the altar. Amon sensed it very clearly that the priest did not play any tricks, and Thales, who presided over the ceremony, truthfully declared the content of the oracle-

"The people of Midulli, the old man before you returned from a foreign land, and he did not receive the brilliance of the gods. The gods will not prove his identity, but need him to prove himself."

Amon was slightly stunned. The Hermes should be able to confirm Aesop's identity. For example, Aesop can also confirm using the magic of traceability - the current Aesop is Aesop Ackerman of the year. But Hermes refused to provide a conclusion, but asked Aesop to prove himself and handed over the ruling power to the city-state citizen meeting.

But Hermes did not lie. The god was telling the truth, and he did not deny Aesop's identity. Thales seemed not surprised by this result. After reading the oracle, he said to Aesop: "The god has already issued an oracle to ask you to prove your identity."

Aesop replied: "I can prove myself. I am standing here as a proof, but what kind of evidence should I provide before the ruling of the Citizens' Conference?"

Thales thought for a while and said, "This is a difficult problem. In fact, you are you, and there is no need to prove it. But according to the laws of the city-state, a basis for ruling must be provided. There should be three types of such basis: the mark left by the past identity, the memories awakened by past experiences, and the traces of your hometown."

Aesop nodded and said, "It should be so, so I'll do it one by one. First of all, please take a closer look at this mark." He stretched out one arm and rolled up his sleeves. There was a light brown blurred mark on the inner side of his upper arm, which looked like a scar left a long time ago.

Aesop explained: "I was very naughty when I was a child. I heard that gold would not burn and would not deteriorate in the fire, so I used something to grind my father's ring on the fire, but I accidentally fell on my arm and burned myself. The ring was engraved with the Ackerman family's emblem. At that time, I was only eight years old, and the scar seemed to be half an emblem. The scar became bigger as I grew up, but the outline of the emblem could still be seen."

Thales called Red Ackerman in front of him, took off his ring to check the family emblem, and the mark on Aesop's arm was indeed the vague outline of half the emblem, obviously not left recently. Thales also asked other representatives present to check it out in turn. Although the scar was already blurry, it was still identifiable.

Medanzo in the crowd grinned and laughed, thinking in his heart that Aesop is so evil, he still has such a trick, and he only took his sleeves to his knees when it was this occasion.

After examining the scars, Aesop put down his sleeve and said, "How can there be no memory of past experiences? Otherwise, how did I find it back here? Mr. Thales, I need you to ask Red Ackerman. Although my old house has been renovated, the steps in front of the gate have not moved intact for seventy years. Is that true?"

Thales turned his head and asked Red, who nodded and gave a positive answer. Aesop said again: "There are five stone steps in front of the gate of the house. They are built one by one. The four stone slabs on the top are taken apart. The largest and heaviest stone slabs at the bottom are turned over. I still remember the patterns engraved on the back, and you can draw them in public."

Thales asked, "How did you know?"

Aesop replied, "That step was built when I was six years old, and I saw it with my own eyes."

Thales ordered people to bring Aesop paper and pen. Aesop drew a scepter on the parchment paper, with two pythons wrapped around the top. This is the common appearance of Hermes' scepter. It is carved under the stone slabs on the steps to protect the house. Many buildings in Midulli have this custom when constructing this custom, leaving behind the symbol of the patron saint of the city in an invisible position. As for which position to stay, it is the secret of each family. It is said that if the secret is leaked and the demons learn it, they will lose the protection of the patron saint.

The house was newly built after Aesop's father split up and Red's father. The symbol of the patron saint was left under the stone slab on the first step of the steps in front of the door. This was a situation that even Red Ackerman knew, but Aesop said it in public.

This kind of thing cannot be joked about. If it is really verified, then according to custom, the house must be rebuilt before it can be lived in, because the hidden position of the patron saint has been exposed. Thales quickly asked a priest to take a team of strong warriors to the house, demolish the steps and lift the stone slabs to check.

After a while, the person who inspected the test came back. The priest reported the results to the representative of the Civil Assembly. There was no sign of passiveness in the steps in front of the house gate, and the situation Aesop provided was accurate. The sound in the hall suddenly became very noisy, and people were whispering, and no one doubted Aesop's identity anymore.

Thales waved his hand and asked everyone to be calm and let Aesop continue to speak. Aesop was about to speak, but Red Ackerman walked up to salute Thales and said, "Sir, dear deputies to the Civil Assembly, don't ask anymore. This old man is my cousin Aesop Ackerman, I'm sure!"

Red Ackerman is a nobleman and one of the representatives of the city-state's civil congress. He knew the result when he heard the discussions of the people. Whether he recognized Aesop's cousin or not, he had already identified Aesop's identity in everyone's hearts. If he waited for the ruling to express his opinion, he and his three sons would be despised and ridiculed in the future. Although Red was a philanthropist, he also understood the truth and took the initiative to stand up at this time.

Thales smiled and looked at Red and said, "The issue of discussion in the Citizens Conference is to confirm whether the old man in front of me is Aesop Ackerman from sixty years ago. On this occasion, whether you admit it does not mean the final result. Mr. Aesop, Mr. Red, should we continue to ask, or submit the vote now?"

Aesop smiled and said, "Then please vote now. If the deputies of the city-state citizen meeting think that I need to continue proof, I will continue to prove it."

The vote began, and the fifty representatives participating in the vote believed that Aesop did not need to do more proof and confirmed that he was Aesop Ackerman. Cheers and applause sounded in the hall. Red Ackerman called his three sons over and asked them to salute and greet his uncle Aesop. The eldest son Black blushed and his face was ashamed, the second son Hunter was embarrassed, and the third son Weir seemed very happy.

Aesop opened his arms and gave his cousin a warm hug, hugged his three nephews one by one, then reached out to take out three flame elves and handed them to each of the three nephews and said, "Dear nephews, I returned to my hometown alone. This is the gift I prepared for you. Since I have confirmed my uncle, please accept it. This is the blessing of returning from afar."

Many people in the hall were shocked and looked at the flame elves in the hands of the three brothers with various eyes. They never expected Aesop to act so generously and gave such a valuable gift from his three nephews in public. In fact, when Aesop and his relatives first met, they planned to give them, otherwise Medanzo would not have taken it out. This was a gift that had been prepared long ago.

Red Ackerman sweated on his forehead, causing his three sons to kneel down to thank him, and stepped forward to grab Aesop's arm and his passionate lips were trembling: "My cousin, you are so generous! How can you give such expensive things to your child? Please forgive me..."

Aesop interrupted him and laughed: "I have never blamed you. I heard that you want to buy a merchant ship to do business. I have no other use for keeping this money. If I were your cousin, it would be natural to support them... Actually, I am very grateful to you. After so many years when I returned to my hometown, I can still see my old house and the farms when I was young. It was you and your family who kept them. This is too precious to me!"

This scene is very touching. Thales cleared his throat and said, "Today's meeting, the first issue voted for has ended. I would like to congratulate the Ackerman family on their recognition. The second issue will be voted on next, which was proposed by Hunter Ackerman of the Ackerman family. This second proposal will only take effect after the ruling on the first issue is made."

Aesop turned around quietly and asked, "Oh, dear sir, do you have a second issue today?"

Thales replied helplessly: "Yes, this second issue is also related to you. The City-State Citizens' Meeting unanimously decided that you are Aesop Ackerman, the son of Sainz Ackerman. The house and farm left by Mr. Sainz Ackerman should belong to you. This has been determined at the same time as the ruling is made. Your nephew Hunter Ackerman raised another question in advance and requested another ruling to be made based on this ruling..."

Before Thales finished speaking, Hunter Atman stood up with a flushed face, spread his arms and shouted: "Dear deputies to the Citizens' Council, please forgive my rudeness, I will take back my proposal!"

Red Ackerman also said: "God, please forgive this stupid child! I also ask him to take back his proposal."

Thales asked with a smile: "Mr. Hunter Ackerman, do you really want to give up your request?"

Hunter nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, I'll take it back!"

Thales waved his hand straightforwardly: "Then the meeting ends here."
Chapter completed!