After they escaped from the venue and large crowd, Hermes and Alex crossed paths with the Boddhisatva, Padmapani.

When the monk saw Alex, he lightly bowed.

"Oh, hello," Alex greeted the monk.

"Sir Alex, have you made a verdict on the matter I have discussed with you?" Padmapani politely asked him.

'What matter? Ah, the meeting with Buddha...'

Truthfully, Alex did not wish to meet him before, but he had a change of heart.

The Buddha promised to mediate conflicts between the gods, yet he didn't intervene when Indra attacked them and heavily harmed Hermes.

'I need to confront him about it...'

"Bodhisattva Padmapani, I have decided to accept your invite," Alex nodded.

The monk happily cocked his head, and informed them, "I will be departing tomorrow, would that align with your schedules, sirs?"

"Hermes, we don't have anything left to do here, do we?" Alex turned sideways at Hermes.

Hermes shook his head.

"Then it's decided, let's depart tomorrow,"

_________________________________________

After they made their decision, they parted ways, and Alex and Hermes waited for the ceremony to end.

Fortunately, it didn't take too long, and a large chariot soon entered the estate.

When it reached the gates of the Imperial Palace, the doors of the chariot opened and a crown-wearing young man exited in slow steps.

It was Aadityapal, the Emperor of the Maurya Empire.

'I wonder where Master and Sir Hermes are...?' Aadityapal recalled how the two escaped the square, and couldn't help but laugh.

Guards followed him into the palace and led him to mysterious chambers that he hadn't entered before.

The living facilities of the previous Emperor, Ashoka.

They were very satisfactory, and Aadityapal felt fulfilled as he laid down on the bed that now symbolized that he reached his life-long goal.

'Oh yes, before I forget...' Aadityapal called two advisors to the chambers.

The two managed matters of state religion and architecture respectively.

"Would it be possible to build temples for Master Alex?" Aadityapal demanded.

Alex often interacted with Ashoka, so the advisors were familiar with him.

One of the advisors replied, "I believe it would certainly be in the realm of possibility."

The other advisor also agreed.

Aadityapal then nodded and exclaimed, "Well then, have the best craftspeople of the Empire build a million temples for Master Alex!"

The advisors were stricken-aback since they didn't expect 'a million' temples.

Meanwhile, Alex sneezed.

'Strange? I can't fall sick, can I?'

The rest of the day was mundane, but to celebrate the coronation, Aadityapal hosted a large banquet.

Most of the guests were Brahmins, and most of them had unpleasant expressions since they all wished for their own children to succeed the throne.

However, there was one woman who had an extremely joyful face.

She was middle-aged, and when Aadityapal saw her, he bowed lightly, "Mother, welcome!"

The woman didn't bother with formalities and instantly hugged the emperor.

Aadityapal was bewildered, and she whispered, "Congratulations, son!"

At this moment, Hermes, Ashoka, and Alex entered the banquet hall.

When the mother-son hug ended, Aadityapal ran up to Alex and exclaimed, "Master! I've searched for you everywhere!"

When the Brahmins heard the emperor call another person 'Master', astonishment spread throughout the hall.

"Hi, Emperor!" Alex emphasized on 'Emperor' and smiled brightly.

Aadityapal then greeted Hermes and his father, following which they all sat down and dined.

Alex was eating peacefully, but a middle-aged woman that had a similar appearance to Aadityapal approached him and kowtowed.

"Lord Alex, I have heard of your exploits from my son, we have not had any time to thank you, but please let us prepare the best of gifts for Lord."

Alex immediately refused, "No, no, it's alr-

"Thank you, Lady, we'll be coming back to Patliputra in a few weeks after departing tomorrow," Hermes was the one who interjected.

He then whispered in Koine Greek, "Alex, give yourself some credit and accept the gifts."

Alex rubbed his head in embarrassment.

___________________________________________

-The following day-

Hermes and Alex woke up rather early and immediately began preparing for their departure.

Alex packed up Prometheus and the Spear of Victory.

In the largest courtyard of the palace, Ashoka and Padmapani were waiting for them.

Ashoka also wanted to visit the temple in Nepal, therefore they decided to depart together.

Padmapani then said, "It is an auspicious day, let us move now, we will reach the temple in less than a week on foot if we depart swiftly."

Hermes exclaimed, "On foot? No way!"

Suddenly, the miniature chariot grew in size and turned into a flying chariot capable of accommodating 4 people.

Alex and Hermes got inside of the chariot and the former invited the two, "Come on, get in!"

Ashoka laughed and remarked, "Bodhisattva Padmapani, this time, I have to say, this is a better way."

With that, the monk who wished to go on foot also entered into the chariot.

Hermes wielded the chariot and slowly made it hover up.

Right before the chariot sped up, a voice screamed out from below.

"Master Alex, Sir Hermes, goodbye!"

Alex looked out from the sides of the chariot and saw Aadityapal.

He had clearly just gotten out of bed and did not look like an emperor in the least.

"You're now an emperor, Aadit! Dress up the part!" Alex scolded his clueless disciple.

However, the chariot burst into the north, and they quickly left the estate and the city of Patliputra altogether.

'After Nepal, and the Himalayas, we'll finally be there...'

Alex fantasized of this elusive and mysterious land, that the equally mysterious Jade Emperor ruled over...

The group of four crossed rivers, and mountains, and plains, and deserts.

Now, the scenery below them was a snowy and uneven terrain.

The altitude here was much higher than the low-lying Patliputra, and even though they were still in autumn, the ambient temperature was quite chilly.

There weren't many people living in this secluded part of the world.

However, they occasionally crossed some temples and rested there before resuming their journey.

It didn't take too long, and on a snowy meadow, a golden pagoda towered over the land, and Padmapani remarked, "Sirs, we have reached the temple."