The next day,
When the sky brightened, Jason slowly opened his eyes, drawn by the faint, elegant fragrance wafting from beside him.
What immediately came into his view was Athena, smiling gently and gracefully.
Jason was stunned for a moment.
After his brain processed what was happening, he hurriedly got up and scrambled to his feet.
Athena smiled, watching the flustered Jason with interest, then used her divine power.
Under Athena's divine power, small birds that had plucked ripe, fresh fruits from the forest arrived before the two, carrying the fruits in their beaks.
There were also tender leaves filled with clear spring water.
"Come here, little Jason." Then Athena took the fruit brought by the birds and looked at Jason with a beaming smile.
Seeing this, Jason's expression could not help but stiffen somewhat.
"Um, noble Goddess of Wisdom Athena, this..."
"Be obedient."
Before Jason could finish speaking, Athena directly interrupted him.
Jason had no choice. He knew he could not resist this goddess, so he could only obediently step forward and be fed by Athena.
Athena watched Jason, whose face had turned red after being fed by her, and could not help but let out a crisp, light laugh.
"Is it delicious?"
"Delicious." Jason nodded.
It really was delicious, very sweet.
"Is that so... Then I'll try one too."
Athena said this, but made no further movements. She just sat in place, smiling brightly at Jason.
Jason was dazed for a moment.
Then, after hesitating for a while, he finally gave in helplessly. He took a small fruit from the mouth of one of the hovering birds nearby and came before Athena, squatting down.
He placed the item into Athena's hand, feeding it to her.
But just as Athena took a bite,
A tree branch fell down, striking Jason's head squarely and accurately.
Before Jason could react, several more small animals flew over and lightly tapped him with tree branches.
"Hee hee hee... Alright, alright, don't be angry anymore. I won't do anything like that again."
While Jason was utterly embarrassed, Athena, who was laughing so hard she clutched her stomach, finally let him off the hook.
In response, Jason could only look at Athena helplessly.
And with Athena's words, those small animals finally spared Jason.
However, Jason figured that the next time he encountered them, there would probably be an additional exhausting routine of feeding and being fed...
Sigh, staying alive is really so tiring!
Thinking of this, Jason's gaze toward Athena could not help but become somewhat resentful.
And the more Jason acted this way, the happier Athena's smile appeared.
There was no helping it. This Athena, she was just the type to revel in mischief...
It was true that Athena had earned the title of Mother of Heroes in the future because she had helped and protected numerous heroes.
But from another angle, it also showed that wherever major events occurred, Athena's figure was always present.
She was either stirring up trouble or on her way to stir up trouble...
Then Pegasus spread its wings, and the hero Jason, dressed in white with golden hair and blue eyes, mounted Pegasus.
And today, behind him was also the goddess Athena, dressed in a white skirt with a graceful figure.
Athena had far fewer reservations than Atalanta. After mounting, she intimately wrapped her arm around Jason and gently pressed her body against his.
However, compared to Hestia, who clung tightly, Athena gave Jason a feeling that was like touching her but not quite... When Jason thought he wasn't touching her, his body would relax and then it would brush against her; when he thought he was touching her, his body would tense up, but in reality, he wasn't actually touching Athena's body at all.
After a few times like this, how could Jason not know that Athena was deliberately teasing him for fun? Thus, his heart felt utterly exhausted...
But to be teased by Athena in this way, aside from Jason, no one else would have the honor.
As a virgin goddess, let alone such teasing, Athena had almost never allowed any male god or man to touch her body in her entire life.
Thus, Jason looked at the Pegasus beneath him and began to contemplate whether he should stop using it next time... Although with Brother Horse around, traveling anywhere was indeed quite convenient.
But if those goddesses... Well, goddesses were one thing, but if male gods started imitating Athena, Jason would probably burst into tears on the spot.
The main thing was, Jason thought about it and felt that the possibility was actually quite high!
Because up to now, more than half of the troubles on Jason's body had been caused by Athena. They were all things she had taught him!
"Little Jason, were you just saying bad things about me?"
Just as Jason was thinking this, Athena suddenly reached out and pinched Jason's cheek, whispering softly by his ear: "I just felt it. Someone was talking badly about me."
"Um, um... The weather is really nice today... Ouch ouch ouch, I was wrong, Goddess Athena. I won't do it again next time!"
"...Pfft, I was fooling you, idiot." Looking at Jason, who had turned his head with a helpless, pitiful expression, Athena laughed again and said: "Your soul has been strengthened by the Immortal Fire, and it is also protected by the divine power of Underworld King Hades. Not to mention me, even God King Zeus cannot hear your voice or casually know your thoughts, so...
Oh, so you really were saying bad things about me!"
Athena said this, pinching Jason's face a bit harder.
Jason looked speechlessly at Athena, who was not angry at all and was laughing exceptionally happily. In the end, he sighed sadly in his heart and put on a look of utter despair.
If one said that women were trouble,
Then goddesses were clearly trouble among troubles.
And if this goddess was also the smartest among all the goddesses,
Then it clearly could no longer be called trouble. That was a calamity!
My great teacher Hecate, you must protect me. Please, absolutely do not let Athena play me to death!
No salvation, just await death.
Hecate of the underworld, who had been continuously paying attention to the situation between Jason and Athena, could not help but roll her eyes upon hearing Jason's inner plea, thinking this in her heart.
After all, even she, regarding this Athena who had inherited the great divine power of God King Zeus and also the wisdom of the first Goddess of Wisdom Metis,
Felt only a headache...
As for the reason... The Ancestor of All Monsters Typhon was very terrifying, right?
But with just a little observation, one could discover that Zeus was not actually very concerned about Typhon. The god he had always watched most closely was not some other deity.
It was precisely the Goddess of Wisdom Athena!
Because among the many possibilities, Athena, who possessed unparalleled wisdom and power second only to God King Zeus, was the one who could truly overthrow Zeus's rule in the end!
However, it was also precisely because of her unparalleled wisdom that Athena would not actively seek to overthrow God King Zeus's rule.
Because those eyes of Athena, representing extraordinary wisdom, had long seen the future.
Just like many gods, like Jason's teacher Hecate, the prophetic god Prometheus who knew things in advance like them.
Athena had long known that those 'shooting stars' rising on the earth would replace the immortal deities and open a brand-new future world.
And it was exactly because of this that Athena went to such lengths to help humanity.
In summary, this short journey today, though brief, was exceptionally torturous for Jason. It finally came to an end as the sun was about to set.
Pegasus carried Jason and Athena to the temple of the God of Fire and Craftsmen, Hephaestus.
And just as Pegasus landed, Jason saw Hephaestus sitting in her wheelchair, who had arrived at the temple entrance at some point to wait for him.
Beside Hephaestus were also two automaton maidservants whom Jason was familiar with.
Seeing Hephaestus, who immediately revealed a smile on half of her face that was as exquisitely beautiful as a woman's upon looking at him, Jason could not help but be stunned.
Then he hurriedly dismounted from Pegasus and quickly came before Goddess Hephaestus.
"Teacher Hephaestus, you..."
"Goddess Hephaestus has been waiting for you out here since very early, you know."
Before Jason could finish speaking, the maidservant beside the goddess, who resembled a queen, spoke up.
"Yes, she came to the entrance first thing in the morning. We followed Goddess Hephaestus and stood here all day."
The maidservant on the side, dressed magnificently like a true princess, also spoke up.
"Enough, stop talking."
Hephaestus glared at these two maidservant automatons she had created.
While pondering in her heart whether she should disassemble them later, she also felt some puzzlement.
Lately, she had been interacting frequently with these automatons because they were the ones who had been responsible for taking care of Jason back then.
And after Jason left, Hephaestus did not know if it was an illusion or something, but she discovered that these automatons suddenly seemed to have gained hearts.
"Teacher Hephaestus..."
Hearing the words of the two maidservants and looking at the goddess before him, who wore a mask with one side beautiful and one side pitch black, Jason could not help but feel somewhat moved.
"Is it not normal for a teacher to wait for her student... Come here, let your teacher take a good look at you."
After Hephaestus beckoned, Jason came before her and proactively squatted down, to the level of Hephaestus sitting in the wheelchair.
Allowing Hephaestus to gently stroke his cheek and hair.
"I never thought that after just a few days apart, you've grown a bit more... You've been tired these past days, haven't you? Now that you're here with your teacher, rest well."
"Mm." Jason nodded obediently.
And watching this scene...
"You never act this obedient when you're with me!"
As expected, Athena pouted, showing an unhappy expression as she looked at Jason.
She felt it: differential treatment!