At night,
Under the illumination of the moonlight, stretching its wings and flying amid the stars of the night sky on the heavenly horse.
"This is truly too terrifying..."
Jason, who had fled the kingdom, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"What is so terrifying about it..."
Atalanta, sitting sideways behind him, felt speechless.
"Not terrifying, how could it not be terrifying!" Jason turned his head slightly, widening his eyes at Atalanta as he said, "That is Io, she is a princess!
That old king actually wants me to marry her and plans to pass the throne to me... Is that not terrifying!"
More importantly, this princess was a woman eyed by Zeus!
Thinking of this, a look of lingering fear appeared on Jason's face.
He looked back at the kingdom gradually disappearing from sight behind them and even reached out to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead again.
"Brother Horse, faster, run faster!"
Whoosh—
The heavenly horse turned its head sideways, glanced at Jason, and neighed softly while its eyes revealed a human-like expression of speechlessness.
"Completing the trials given by the great gods, rescuing the peerless princess, then marrying the princess, becoming a revered king, and letting this tale be passed down through the ages... Is this not the ultimate goal you people pursue?"
Hearing the words Atalanta could not help but say, Jason looked toward Atalanta again and said, "Who said that? I do not pursue this at all. For these things, I cannot avoid them fast enough!"
As he spoke, after a slight pause, Jason muttered softly, "And besides, I still want to live a long life."
Atalanta looked speechlessly at the strange person before her... The current Atalanta had thoroughly labeled Jason with the tag of 'strange person'!
Although Jason had told Atalanta more than once that he did not want to become a hero and had no interest in heroes at all.
But hearing is false, seeing is believing.
This time, after Jason unhesitatingly discarded the beauty, throne, and wealth that were within reach, Atalanta finally completely believed and understood Jason's previous words.
This was not Atalanta's fault either, after all, the heroes traveling this world sought glory, wealth, and status.
Even in Atalanta's view, this was an extremely normal matter.
Thus, as she thought about it, Atalanta could not help but recall yesterday, the words Jason had said to her about the trials Hephaestus had given Jason.
And when Atalanta had asked why, since he had no interest in all this, he still traveled this world and did so many things.
Jason's answer to her was that he wanted to live... to live carefree, safe and sound in this world.
As Atalanta thought about these things, the atmosphere between the two fell silent for a period, with only the soft sound of the heavenly horse flapping its wings audible.
"Atalanta."
Then, Jason broke this silence.
"Next, will you continue following me... I need to go to Teacher Hephaestus's temple to fulfill my agreement with Teacher Hephaestus."
Atalanta was stunned for a moment upon hearing this.
"...No."
After a brief silence, Atalanta shook her head.
"Is that so." Jason nodded, saying nothing more.
After another brief silence between the two.
"Without me following, are you not sighing in relief in your heart right now, feeling like you have finally shaken off this trouble?" Atalanta suddenly said this.
However, the moment the words fell, Atalanta felt some regret in her heart.
She did not know why she had suddenly said such words.
"Ah?" Jason was stunned.
"Hmm... To be honest, a bit."
Then Jason nodded very honestly.
Seeing this, the corners of Atalanta's mouth twitched, and the gaze she directed at Jason became somewhat sharp...
Although she had long known the answer, after all, Atalanta's fateful connection with Jason stemmed from Jason finding her troublesome back then.
And then a series of accidents occurred.
But even so, what did it mean for you to say it out loud!
As Atalanta thought this...
"However, I actually do not mind traveling with you either... At first, I did feel like I had taken on a big issue, but later I discovered having someone to talk to by my side.
And every night I could naturally fall asleep, waking the next day without fearing who might be standing before me... Thus, there is a feeling of having gained something."
Jason added to Atalanta with a light chuckle.
From the time Jason emerged from the mountains, traveling all the way until now.
The past time was not very long if said to be long, but not short either.
And in this period, aside from resting on the goddess's lap, Jason actually rarely took the initiative to rest... But during the time Atalanta followed him, he rested very well.
Moreover, every mealtime, Atalanta would 'prepare' food for him.
The reason was exactly as Jason had said: the reason he did not want to rest at night was because he feared the next morning.
Fearing a stranger, or perhaps a familiar 'someone,' standing before him.
This someone included powerful magical beasts and otherworldly creatures.
At the same time, it also included the gods...
Did you not remember how, back when Jason rested at Apollo's place, he went to the underworld every night to visit the goddess Hecate's door?
It was because he was afraid...
And Atalanta was not only a skilled huntress but also the most favored follower of Artemis.
Therefore, with her following, Jason truly felt a sense of ease.
"...Is that so." After a long while, Atalanta replied faintly, looking at Jason before her, and said, "Then should I feel happy?"
"Yes, I think you can feel happy."
After Jason replied seriously, he was grabbed by the expressionless Atalanta, who seized his cheeks and pulled them hard.
"That is... truly my honor then!"
"It hurts, hurts, hurts... Let go, release me quickly. Who taught you this!"
The next morning.
When the bright sunlight shone on Jason's body, and Jason, who had been sleeping leaning against the heavenly horse, slowly opened his eyes.
His nose twitched, and he immediately smelled an enticing aroma of roasted meat.
Thus, when Jason got up, stretched lazily, and pondered in his heart what to exchange with Atalanta for this morning's meal.
As Jason, who had risen and scanned the surroundings, could not help but be slightly stunned.
Because he did not see that figure of the beautiful woman in beautiful emerald green attire; he only saw a roasted wild rabbit hanging over the campfire to the side...
"Has she left?"
Stunned for a moment, Jason looked toward the heavenly horse.
The heavenly horse nodded gently to Jason.
"I see..."
The nodding Jason appeared slightly surprised but not very astonished.
"Parting without a word... Is it revenge for my last parting without a word? That is truly petty enough, as expected of a woman."
As Jason muttered, he came to the campfire and picked up the roasted wild rabbit.
Whoosh—
The heavenly horse walked over and looked at Jason.
Its expression appeared very puzzled.
"Yes, for now, this is fine." Knowing what the heavenly horse was puzzled about, Jason said, "Temporarily like this is sufficient... Because whether it is me or her, in our hearts, we both actually understand very well.
It will probably not be long before we meet again."
That's right, so there is no need for a farewell...
And the next meeting time, if nothing unexpected, should be during the Golden Fleece... Jason thought this in his heart.
After all, Jason remembered that in the story of the Golden Fleece, there was Atalanta's figure; she was one of the heroes on that ship!
Moreover, even for the current Jason, the Golden Fleece held extraordinary significance.
Because that was the tribute offered to the goddess of wisdom Athena... In this world, besides the goddess Hecate and teacher Chiron.
Athena was the goddess who occupied the second heaviest place in Jason's heart.
Everything Jason had experienced and possessed up to now was inextricably linked to Athena.
At the same time, because of Hecate's reminder and the matter of the magic spear, the goddess of wisdom Athena seemed to vaguely sense something...
The goddess of wisdom Athena, she was actually the most terrifying god among the Olympian gods.
One must know that even that fictional existence, the man who defeated the Olympian gods and destroyed the Greek world, succeeded entirely because of Athena's assistance...
Therefore, actually, everyone had it wrong.
Including Jason and the goddess Hecate!
Based on the existing information, they had once unanimously believed that the path of divine favor, mediocrity, and divine destruction was in tacit agreement with Queen Hera.
Actually, it was not at all!
Although it was not entirely unrelated, the one who could truly sway these three outcomes was fundamentally not Queen Hera, because she simply did not have such power!
That's right, it was Athena... It was the goddess of wisdom Athena.
This goddess, who occupied the most place in Jason's heart besides the goddess Hecate.
Was actually the true key to determining these three outcomes!
And regarding all this, even Hecate had not noticed now, so Jason naturally had even less awareness.
At the same time, in fact, it was precisely because of Athena's various interventions.
That Jason had been jumping back and forth on the lines of divine favor, divine destruction, and even mediocrity.
If one slightly sorted out everything Jason had experienced up to now, thought about what he had done, and considered what role Athena played in it.
One could actually understand why Athena was the true goddess who determined these three paths!
Queen Hera? ...She had actually just taken an unwarranted black pot.