This... what is going on?
Persephone stared in bewildernt at her mother, who was hugging Jason and dea while looking at her with obvious distaste.
She wondered if she had walked into the wrong ho. Was this really her mother?
The Goddess of Harvest Deter, who had once caused the entire earth to wither just because she had left?
Persephone had imagined many ways their reunion might go, but this scene was definitely not among them!
Many of the surrounding nymphs could not help covering their mouths and letting out quiet giggles.
While Persephone was completely lost, Jason, who had finally escaped Deter's embrace, walked over to her.
"Lady Persephone, it has been a while."
"Um..."
Persephone stiffly responded as she looked at Jason, who had grown taller in the past six months. The childishness was slowly fading from his face, making him even more handso.
After unconsciously gazing at him a little longer, Persephone turned to Deter, who was feeding dea divine fruit and acting as if she did not exist.
She could not help pulling Jason aside and whispering, "Little Brother Jason, what... what is all this?"
"Lady Persephone, don't worry. Goddess Deter does not truly dislike seeing you. In fact, last night when she learned you were returning today, she was so excited she could not sleep at all..."
At this point, Jason's face was filled with helplessness.
Deter could not sleep, so he and dea suffered for it.
As ntioned before, dea had once slept with Deter. Did you think Jason could keep avoiding it forever?
Even though Jason's mind was mature, he was still a shota in appearance, and how could he resist a mother goddess overflowing with maternal love?
She could not sleep?
Persephone looked doubtfully at Deter, who was completely focused on pampering dea and ignoring her. She clearly doubted the truth of Jason's words.
"Ahem." Jason gave a light cough and quietly reminded Persephone, "Lady Persephone, is there not sothing you should do first when you return? For example... apologize to Goddess Deter?"
"Lady Persephone, Goddess Deter actually regretted it a lot after you left. Do you know why she kept here? Because I am Hecate's student. Through she could learn how you were doing in the Underworld."
"Now that things have reached this point, Goddess Deter will no longer stop you. And you don't want your relationship with her to remain strained forever, do you?"
Hearing Jason say this, Persephone fell silent.
Although she had been truly furious with Deter at first, after half a year of calm reflection, Persephone understood that Deter had confined her mainly out of love.
Even if that love had been overly heavy, it was still love.
"Then what about you two..."
"Ahem, well..." Jason sneaked a glance at Deter, then whispered to Persephone, "Goddess Deter... has a bit of a temper, you know."
As soon as Jason said this, Persephone, who had been stunned for a mont, instantly understood. So this whole scene was being put on deliberately for her to see!
Feeling amused now that she understood, Persephone hesitated briefly before steeling herself and walking toward Deter.
In truth, although Deter appeared calm while doting on dea, she was actually panicking inside.
If I do what little Jason said, will my daughter really make up with ...? Deter wondered anxiously.
At that mont, Persephone approached.
After curtsying to Deter, Persephone softly said, "Mother... your daughter Persephone has returned."
The issue with her mother had to be resolved eventually. And could she truly say she did not care about her mother? Even now, she clearly rembered the question Jason had asked her half a year ago when he left.
Persephone had thought about it for six whole months, so today she made her decision quickly.
With such an opening, everything that followed beca much smoother.
Soon, dea returned to Jason's side.
Jason looked at the mother and daughter in the distance, their faces once again glowing with happy smiles, and whispered to dea, "Alright, dea, we should head back too."
"Yes." dea nodded obediently.
They left the temple together and went to the stables.
Jason walked up to Pegasus, stroked its pure white mane, and smiled. "Brother Horse, it is ti for us to go... Sorry for making you wait half a year."
Pegasus neighed softly twice and motioned for Jason to look to the side.
Jason turned curiously and saw the familiar golden-horned deer. Delight spread across his face as he hurried over. "Deer Sister... it really is you! Deer Sister, why are you here too?"
The golden-horned deer affectionately nuzzled Jason and let out a gentle cry.
Pegasus watched the deer in puzzlent.
It still rembered that this little rascal who had used it as a test subject once promised to introduce a beautiful deer sister to it!
After a brief reunion, Jason and dea led Pegasus and the golden-horned deer out of the temple.
The mont they stepped outside, they found Persephone and Deter already waiting for them.
"You are leaving just like that? Without even saying goodbye to Mommy?" Deter complained.
Before Jason could reply,
"Big Brother Jason told to follow him," dea, who had spent half a year with Jason, had learned to answer first.
"Um, Goddess Deter, Lady Persephone, I just thought we would definitely see each other again in the future..."
Jason glared at dea, then helplessly endured the direct stares of the two goddesses and defended himself.
"And Goddess Deter, this is your long-awaited reunion with Lady Persephone after half a year. We did not want to disturb you."
"Just call Persephone 'big sister,'" Deter said faintly while looking at Jason. "Yet after I looked after you for half a year, you still refuse to drop the honorific for ."
Jason looked very embarrassed. Persephone smiled and said, "Alright, Mother, stop teasing him. Let us give them the gifts."
With that, Persephone handed two golden ears of wheat to Jason and dea.
"I am sorry the eting gifts are so late. These wheat ears contain mine and Mother's power. With them, you can make any plant grow.
You can also sow seeds anywhere... Little Brother Jason, dea, see you in another half year."
After giving them the gifts, Persephone crouched down and kissed both of them on the cheek. Deter ca over, gave a few instructions, and kissed them as well.
Thus, Jason and dea officially bid farewell to the two goddesses. One rode Pegasus, the other the golden-horned deer, and they departed.
"I suddenly find myself looking forward to it," Persephone said abruptly while watching their retreating backs, especially Jason's.
"Looking forward to what?"
"To the day my little brother truly grows up."
"That child..." Deter smiled. "You are not the only one. Everyone is waiting."
...
...
On the first night of their journey ho,
Jason and dea t Artemis and Hecate, who had been waiting for them for a long ti in a forest pavilion under the full moon.
After a brief conversation, dea followed Hecate back to the Underworld, and the golden-horned deer left with the Moon Goddess Artemis.
The next day, Jason rode Pegasus to the seashore and called out to the Sea God Poseidon, but Poseidon did not respond.
Jason had intended to leave Pegasus behind to return to Poseidon, but Pegasus refused to leave. It even bit Jason's clothes and followed him.
This made Jason realize sothing. He thanked Poseidon several tis... though he was secretly a little nervous.
In the end, Jason rode away on Pegasus.
On the third day, under the bright afternoon sun, Jason once again heard those enchanting lyre strings.
Although he still felt the urge to turn and run, he obviously could not escape this ti... especially since he had failed the first ti.
So Jason once more ca before the luxuriously dressed, handso Sun God Apollo with his long golden hair cascading over his shoulders.
Jason had thought Apollo ca this ti to reclaim the sword he always carried.
Although that sword had helped Jason imnsely, he was more than happy to return it because it contained Apollo's tracking mark...
Yet after sitting down before Apollo, who was playing his seven-string lyre (this ti with no small animals around), and listening quietly for a while, Apollo never ntioned the sword.
"Next ti we et, I hope to hear a lody you play for ." Smiling, Apollo left only this sentence before walking into the light and vanishing from Jason's sight.
Helpless, Jason could only continue flying away on Pegasus.
On the fourth day, Jason had thought he would et the goddess who first found him, but she did not appear... because it was not yet ti for Athena to show herself.
What Jason did not know was that on that very night, Athena still ca to him while he slept. She silenced Pegasus and gently stroked Jason's head, staying with him for half the night.
With them watching over him, even though Hera now knew Jason had left the temple, she had no way to act.
Thus, on the fifth day, Jason, riding Pegasus, returned to the place he knew so well.
Mount Pelion, the cave of the centaur sage Chiron.
He t his teacher... Chiron, who remained his teacher even after he had taken Hecate as master!
"What brings you back this ti?"
Under the sun-dappled shade, Chiron smiled and asked Jason.
Jason bowed to Chiron and answered seriously, "I have co first to apologize to you, Teacher.
I hope you can forgive my immaturity until now.
Second, I have co to train.
I wish for you to teach powerful martial skills!"
"I see. So you finally want to beco a hero?" Chiron's eyes lit up.
"No!" Jason imdiately replied. "It is for self-protection. And right now, I must beco stronger. Only by becoming stronger can I eventually obtain divine fire and achieve immortality!
As for becoming a hero... I am sorry, Teacher, but that is absolutely impossible!"
With Chiron, Jason almost never hid anything.
Chiron looked speechlessly at Jason, then said helplessly, "Could you not just lie a little to make your teacher happy? Fine, I accept.
But what about Goddess Hecate? Are you not studying magic with her?"
"Of course I will continue that too, so..."
From that day onward, every single night, a white-clad youth would pass through the gates of the Underworld, cross the River Styx, and arrive at Hecate's temple.
He would study magic and potion-making alongside Hecate and dea.
During the day, he would leave the temple alone and return to Mount Pelion.
He trained in martial arts under Chiron.
Three years passed in this endless cycle.
Ti flew by!
Jason was now sixteen years old.
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