The Underworld,
Inside the palace of the Goddess of Roads, Hecate.
Today was another quiet day.
And for Goddess Hecate, who had long grown accustod to this, such days... had recently suddenly beco hard to bear.
"The experint... failed again."
Hecate frowned and set down the magic potion in her hand.
Just as her mood inexplicably beca irritable.
A underworld butterfly gently landed on her shoulder.
Informing her that soone had arrived.
Upon hearing this, Hecate vanished in an instant and appeared at the gate.
After opening the gate...
"Why have you co?"
Seeing the Queen of the Underworld, Goddess Persephone, standing before her.
The excitent that flashed in Hecate's eyes vanished instantly.
"I ca to see my lovely little brother."
Persephone did not notice Hecate's off mood and revealed a very bright smile, while complaining, "He has not co to see for many days now. Today, I must give him a good scolding..."
"He is not here!"
After saying this flatly, the disappointed Hecate tried to close the door.
"Not here?" Persephone was stunned for a mont. "He did not return today?"
"Not recently..."
Hecate's words were not yet finished.
"Not at all, really?" Persephone exclaid with wide eyes, "He has been away from the Underworld for almost a month now, and he has not co ho at all?!"
"Yes." Hecate, who had intended to reply flatly, did not notice that when she answered, there was a hint of gritted teeth...
"How could that be? That child has never been away from ho for so long before... Hecate, that child must not have gotten into trouble, right? He is fine, is he not!"
Persephone said to Hecate, appearing sowhat worried.
"Do not worry, he is fine. He is doing well. I saw him just yesterday."
As Hecate replied, she huffed.
Upon hearing this, Persephone breathed a sigh of relief while...
Huh?
Finally noticing that sothing was subtly off with Hecate, she could not help but scrutinize the Hecate before her and blinked.
"... What is it?" Being stared at so directly by Persephone made Hecate feel very uncomfortable.
"It is nothing, just... Right, what about little sister dea?"
"She went back long ago."
"And Cerberus?"
"Not back."
"... Oh, I see. So that is how it is."
Persephone smiled, looking at the Hecate before her and smiling, smiling very happily.
"What are you doing!" Hecate looked at the laughing Persephone, feeling baffled while also quite irritated.
"Hee hee, I am not doing anything... Hey, Hecate, Hecate, do not close the door!"
"Do you have any other business?" Hecate said coldly to Persephone, who was holding the door open.
"I have no business, just... Now that little brother is not here, Hecate, why not make do with for now?"
Persephone said to Hecate, holding back her laughter, "Do not worry. When little brother returns next ti, I will definitely give him a good scolding!"
"No need!" Hecate said loudly, while trying to close the door again.
"Yes, yes, no need, no need." Persephone quickly slipped into the temple and intimately linked arms with the unhappy but unresisting Hecate.
And with her arrival, the originally cold and empty temple, which had only Hecate and the wooden puppets, finally gained a bit more vitality...
...
...
In the Kingdom of Iolcus.
Ah,
I really want to go see Teacher Hecate!
I really want to hug Teacher Hecate's thigh and rub against it. I really want to see Teacher Hecate's expression of reluctance but helplessness toward !
Jason cried out in his heart like this.
In the wooden hut, Jason sat by the window, holding his caduceus in hand.
He looked up at the starry sky outside the window, his gaze full of lancholy.
Those who did not know might think he was pondering so major issue.
After hesitating repeatedly, even with the underworld butterfly flying out on its own... Jason finally put away the caduceus.
He already knew Hera was watching him.
Going to see Hecate at this ti would just be asking for trouble...
Understanding this principle and accepting it were two different things.
As soon as Jason put away the caduceus, he revealed an expression of utter despair yet unwilling to die, slumping over the windowsill.
I am going to die, I am going to die. Without Teacher Hecate's hugs, I am going to die!
Just as Jason's inner world was in turmoil.
"Jason, are you there?"
Accompanied by the knock knock of the door, a very gentle voice ca from outside.
"I am!"
As he replied, Jason sprang up and returned to normal.
The person who ca was none other than Jason's mother in this world.
At this mont, so ti had already passed since Jason returned ho.
Jason had played the role of a qualified child returning ho...
After all, even if they were Jason's birth parents, it was impossible for Jason to imdiately accept them in his heart.
But because of this, Jason received a very special emotion from them... familial love.
Facing a child who had not been seen for many years and had gone straight to the palace upon returning.
Who declared he had no desire to beco king but, to seek justice for his parents, agreed to go to Colchis to obtain the Golden Fleece and accomplish the impossible. How could they not like him?
"Child, the road to Colchis is far too dangerous. Countless heroes have already perished there. Why not... just forget it? As for the throne, we have long since let it go."
The concern from his mother brought a warm current surging through Jason's heart.
"No, Mother, I must go... I have inford the gods of this matter and sought their protection. The wisest goddess, Lady Athena, has already responded to ."
Jason smiled and comforted his worried mother, "So rest assured. I will absolutely be fine!"
"... Yes. Since you have the protection of Goddess Athena, then I am relieved."
Upon hearing that even the great gods had responded to Jason, Jason's birth mother breathed a sigh of relief.
Watching the warm scene between Jason and his birth mother, and hearing Jason's words, Hera, who had been secretly peeking, had a complex expression flash across her face.
"That woman Athena actually agreed to protect him. What does this an!" Hera frowned, appearing very displeased.
She had appeared when Jason was hesitating at his ho's door, so naturally she paid attention to what happened afterward.
When she saw him return ho and receive an enthusiastic welco from his parents, Hera herself did not notice that her lips had curled upward at that ti...
As for now, Hera was naturally unhappy.
Because the one who had instigated her to cause trouble was Athena herself.
What also made Hera unhappy was that the god Jason sought protection from was not her, but Athena...
Of course, even if Jason sought Hera's protection at this mont, Hera would absolutely not agree and would instead humiliate him.
But...
...
...
Ti passed, and in the blink of an eye, several days went by.
During this ti, Jason stayed at ho.
He dutifully fulfilled his duties as a child.
Of the hundred virtues, filial piety cos first.
Even if this Jason was not the original Jason, he was now truly Jason.
Thus, even though in Jason's heart he had not truly regarded the two as his birth parents, he still fulfilled his responsibilities as a child.
Moreover, because he had lost such a thing once before and knew how precious such emotions were, Jason appeared very earnest.
For such a Jason, Hera had originally observed with the attitude of nitpicking faults even in an egg.
But what followed was envy... intense envy!
Over the course of a few days, she began to envy Jason's parents!
Especially when comparing Jason's actions to those of her own children, Hephaestus and the war god Ares...
I wonder what that child Heracles would do... No, no, how could I compare him to that child Heracles? He is not worthy at all!
The mont this thought arose in her mind, Hera felt as if she had gone mad!
But...
If it were Heracles, would he really do better than this child?
Hera silently watched the warm scenes of Jason with his parents, unable to stop questioning herself in her heart.
... Yes, he would definitely do better.
After all, that is the hero in white, my child Heracles!
How could he possibly be inferior to Jason, who rejected !
Only after saying this to herself did Hera's emotions gradually calm down.
Then Hera felt she could not continue like this and resolved to seek out Pelias, urging him to press Jason to set out for the Golden Fleece as soon as possible.
Faced with the urging of the great Queen Hera, Pelias naturally did not dare disobey.
Afterward, Pelias personally ca before Jason...
He had sworn to the gods, seeking the throne only to obtain justice for his parents, pursuing the Golden Fleece at the risk of nine deaths and one life, and Jason's recent actions.
Pelias had naturally seen it all.
Thus, even though Pelias still feared that Jason might one day replace him, at this mont, he was still moved by Jason.
He guaranteed it to Jason once again, swearing to the gods once more: when he returned... even if he did not return, his parents would absolutely be safe!
And in fact, at this very mont, the butterfly had already begun to flap its wings.
In the original story, Jason had not sought such a promise from Pelias, and Pelias feared Jason's excellence.
Thus, almost as soon as Jason set out, Pelias acted against his own brother.
Therefore, Jason bid farewell to his parents and arrived alone at the seaside.
To cross the great sea and reach the distant Colchis, a large ship was naturally needed... Actually, a pegasus would suffice.
But now, Brother Horse was off duty... After all, the pegasus was the signature mount of the white-clothed Heracles.
And when Hera said she would make things difficult for Jason, she was not joking.
Although over this period, Hera's impression of Jason had undergone subtle changes.
But the fact that he had rejected Hera and chosen Hecate was indisputable, so Hera could harden her heart.
Thus, Hera sternly greeted Athena, Artemis, and the others, making them promise her that they would absolutely not co to help!
To build a large ship and gather many of the world's heroes to sail together, without the help of gods, was simply impossible in the current world.
Hera watched as Jason, after several days of seeking skilled craftsn in vain, sat by the sea lost in thought, and she could not help but feel extrely pleased.
Because she felt that she had finally made Jason suffer a setback...
However, what Hera did not know was that Jason was not truly without options.
After all, he was the disciple of the god of craftsn, Hephaestus,
His only disciple!
Thus, forging a large ship was not difficult for Jason at all.
The difficulty lay in whether he should expose this, arousing Hera's suspicions...
Moreover, in Jason's heart, he actually did not want others to build the ship for him at all.
After all, this was a ship, a ship to sail across the vast sea!
Who knew how many dangers lurked on the ancient Greek seas, how many demons and monsters existed? Letting others craft the bed to cross the ocean.
Jason felt that he probably would not dare to sleep at all...
Thus, now, after several days had passed, just as the decisive Jason finally made up his mind and prepared to do it himself.
Actually, at this ti, Hera also felt it was ti for her to appear and help Jason.
Of course, Hera would let Jason set sail.
Because only once Jason set sail could Hera devise all sorts of obstacles along the way, causing him to fall into various failures continuously.
And Jason's failures, Hera would make the gods witness together.
In this way, Hera could thoroughly humiliate Jason and humiliate Hecate!
At that ti, Hera could mock Jason freely, mock his initial choice, and mock Hecate.
This was also the idea Athena had given Hera, the reason she had been following Jason all along.
She wanted to turn Jason into a clown, the greatest clown in the current world!
And she had even thought of an ending for the clown Jason: letting him leave the world in utter pain and despair.
Thus, just as both had made their decisions in their hearts.
At dusk this day, Jason stood up, ready to pick up an axe and get to work.
Hera had already transford into a silver-haired old woman, preparing to take Jason to et a carpenter to build the large ship when...
"Child, are you in trouble?"
An extrely gentle voice suddenly rang in their ears.
At this mont, Hera, who had not yet stepped out, stiffened behind the large tree.
Only to see, pushed by a young lady puppet, wearing an exquisitely beautiful mask.
The goddess who, since gaining her own temple, had almost never stepped out, now appeared before Jason... the goddess of craftsn, Hephaestus.
She turned her back to Hera and blinked at the stunned Jason.
Her small mouth curved upward slightly.
"Do you need... my help?"
The beautiful goddess, daughter of Hera, Hephaestus, asked Jason softly.
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