When discussing this matter, Jason's heart was actually quite depressed as well.
He regarded trouble like a fierce tiger and wholeheartedly wanted to avoid it.
But unfortunately, the more he wanted to dodge, the more that fierce tiger lunged straight at his face!
What could he do about it?
And facing Jason's sophistry, Hecate had clearly grown tired of hearing it, so she offered no evaluation.
"The goddess Nyx is just like that; I will take him back first."
Having explained the reason, Hecate looked toward the goddess of night, Nyx.
"Oh, you will not stay to keep me company a bit longer?"
"Sorry, goddess Nyx, next time." Hecate showed a smile to Nyx. "I have something to attend to now... with this wicked disciple of mine, something urgent!"
Hearing this, Jason shivered and was just about to speak up to seek help from the goddess Nyx.
But as Hecate's words fell, the underworld butterflies that suddenly appeared in the chariot directly covered Jason's eyes.
In a moment, Jason felt the world before him blur, and the next second, when he came back to his senses, he discovered that he had already returned to that familiar place.
The underworld, inside Hecate's temple hall.
Medea happened to be there as well; she looked at Jason before her with a slight stun.
And behind her, a joyful expression appeared on her face as she prepared to step forward to welcome Jason's return.
But after taking just two steps, she saw Hecate, who had arrived right after, reach out and ruthlessly tug at Jason's ear!
"It hurts, it hurts, Teacher, be gentle, be gentle; it's going to come off..."
Hecate let out a cold smile and was just about to say something when she turned her head and saw Medea, dressed in a light purple gown. She paused slightly before saying, "Medea, right now, ride the celestial horse and inform the lord of the underworld, Hades, that I have brought this wicked disciple back."
"Great goddess Teacher, there is no need to trouble others with this; I can go inform him myself!" Sensing that something was amiss, Jason wanted to pull away.
"You?" Hecate looked toward Jason and revealed a stunningly beautiful smile. "As for you, stop thinking about running away. Your teacher now has... something to discuss with you!"
With that, she dragged Jason inside by his ear.
Jason shot Medea a look with his eyes, urging her not to just watch but to come save him quickly.
Medea blinked her eyes, pondered for a moment, gave Jason an apologetic expression, and then turned away. Under Jason's despairing gaze, she left the temple.
Soon after, the sound of thunder crashing and someone's miserable screams echoed inside the temple...
And so, after Jason returned to the underworld this time, more than a month passed in the blink of an eye.
And for the sake of his wedding, the noble lord of the underworld, Hades, nearly came to personally supervise Jason.
Thus, during this more than one month of time, Jason finally avoided having trouble ride right in his face and managed to pass the period safely and peacefully.
In the blink of an eye, the final time for the wedding drew near.
In the last week before the return of the lady of the underworld, Persephone, Jason—who had remained in the underworld all along, preparing for the wedding—
finally took new action...
...
...
In the final week before the wedding of the lord of the underworld, Hades, and the lady of the underworld, Persephone.
The underworld, outside Hecate's temple grounds.
The temple grounds illuminated by the fire of the sun.
"I say, my dear little sister, can you please stop hitting your big brother where it hurts?"
Jason, who was diligently studying magic, looked at Medea beside him, who casually drew a symbol and cast magic. His face was filled with one words: envy!
"Embarrassing!" Watching from the side, Cerberus—who had transformed into a black-haired, red-eyed little loli—gave an unsparing evaluation.
She looked at Jason with disdain and said, "You, as the student of the great goddess Hecate, have studied for so long and still haven't learned anything. You are truly embarrassing the goddess Hecate; you should just drop out!"
"Whether I learn it or not is none of your business. By the way, Cerberus, should you not be guarding the gate?" Jason rolled his eyes at Cerberus.
After a long time of interaction, plus their bond from past bites, Jason no longer addressed Cerberus as an adult now.
"Guard what gate? Anyway, the other two heads are substituting for me. And you promised to take me to the human world to play; have you fulfilled your promise yet!"
"Next time, next time for sure."
Jason waved his hand, brushing off Cerberus perfunctorily.
"Actually, I think she is right."
Hecate emerged from the shadows nearby and said indifferently, "Do you still remember the purpose for which you became my apprentice? It was to learn magic from me. And the result?"
"Teacher, this is not my fault." Jason set down the caduceus in his hand and protested. "Personal talent is just like that; I have already worked hard enough afterward... Moreover, when all is said and done, it has not been that many years, just a few years' time!"
"A few years, and your little sister has already graduated."
"Teacher, my little sister is not human; I am a proper human!"
Medea gave Jason a sideways glance.
"Let us not talk about these depressing matters. Teacher, did you come to find me for something?"
"I have nothing for you, but a certain god has something for you." Hecate found it amusing and said, "The lord of the underworld, Hades, has subtly asked me five times this week already."
Hearing this, Jason and Medea exchanged a glance and both laughed.
"Brother-in-law Hades is at it again... But that makes sense; after all, there is only one week left. It is also time to set out."
With that, Jason paused slightly before looking toward Hecate and saying, "Then, Teacher, I will leave the rest to you and Medea."
"Should I go with Teacher Hecate to Lady Persephone's place?" Medea asked.
"Yes." Jason nodded. "Medea, in the time that follows, you must keep a close eye on Lady Persephone and make sure she does not return to the underworld early."
"And what about you?"
"Me... Well, now it is time for me to set out and distribute the wedding invitations, inviting the gods and also my fellow disciples from the same master."
"Jason, are you going to the human world?" Cerberus's eyes lit up. "Take me with you, take me with you!"
Looking at the excited Cerberus staring at him, Jason reached out in speechlessness and patted her head.
Cerberus did not resist this.
It was just that watching this scene before her, Hecate's expression appeared slightly unnatural.
Because when Cerberus transformed into human form, her reference was Hecate herself.
Thus, the loli form of Cerberus bore some resemblance to Hecate, like a loli version of her.
So every time she saw Jason playing with Cerberus, Hecate felt it somewhat strange.
"Though the underworld has provided some spots for humans, you should still be a bit careful yourself." Hecate said afterward. "If the humans you invite commit any act of disrespect toward the gods, it will be hard for you to handle then."
"Do not worry, Teacher; I know my limits." Jason smiled at Hecate. "Moreover, there is Cerberus as well. Cerberus, when the time comes, I will trouble you to keep an eye on the human guests... Do not worry; once this matter is over, I will definitely take you out to play!"
"Then... alright... But why are you inviting humans?"
"To spread the news." Jason explained to Cerberus. "To inform the world that brother-in-law Hades, the lord of the underworld, and Lady Persephone are getting married; inviting some humans to witness is one of the simplest ways."
Cerberus tilted her head upon hearing this, clearly not understanding.
Jason had no intention of explaining further; anyway, they would know when the time came.
"Teacher, I have basically decided on the people I plan to invite on my side, but there is one... I do not know if I should invite him."
Jason looked at Hecate with a face full of hesitation.
Seeing this, Hecate furrowed her brow slightly and said, "Could it be that you... still want to invite the ancestor of all monsters, Typhon, to attend the banquet?"
"Ahem!" Jason coughed lightly, signaling that Medea and Cerberus were still there.
"It is fine; they cannot hear our current conversation. I have already used magic to isolate it."
"I see... By the way, Teacher, how did you know I wanted to invite the ancestor of all monsters, Typhon?"
Hecate gave Jason a sideways glance and said, "Because when you invited the god-king Zeus and the god of the abyss, Tartarus, you did not even blink.
The only one who could make you hesitate like this and with whom you have a connection is that guy... You should think it through; if you go to invite him, he will not refuse."
"I know." Jason smiled bitterly. "That is why I am hesitating now... Though actually, there is no need to invite him necessarily. However, Teacher, he has helped me quite a lot after all.
Moreover, I think he will not cause any trouble at the wedding."
"He is very clever, so naturally he will not... But you should think it through yourself. Even if the god-king Zeus does not notice in the end, Athena will.
And if you really plan to invite him, go see your other teacher first; she will forge an artifact that cannot be identified."
"Ahem, actually, Teacher, a few days ago, I already commissioned Teacher Hephaestus to forge it..."
Upon hearing this, Hecate's eyes narrowed involuntarily. She looked at Jason, who guiltily turned his head aside, and after a good while, she let out a light hum and turned to leave.
Seeing this, Medea blinked her eyes in confusion, looked at Hecate, then at Jason, tilted her head, and finally chased after Hecate.
"Jason, what did you do? How did you upset the goddess Hecate again?" Cerberus asked curiously.
"It is nothing..." While brushing off Cerberus, Jason muttered softly, "Teacher is unhappy, probably not because I went to invite him without telling her, but because I went to see Teacher Hephaestus without telling her...
Has Teacher's jealousy been getting stronger lately?"
As his words fell, a bolt of crimson lightning came crashing down with a boom.
But Jason, who had anticipated it, deftly dodged with a twist of his body.
"Teacher, Teacher, then I will be off first!"
Jason shouted as he ran.
In the blink of an eye, he disappeared inside the temple.
A short while later, Jason arrived by the stables and saw his horse brother.
"Horse brother, I will have to trouble you again." Jason patted the celestial horse.
Then, he took out his caduceus, and under the escort of a flurry of underworld butterflies, Jason and the celestial horse vanished from the underworld and arrived at the temple of the god of craftsmen, Hephaestus.
"You have come."
Soon after, Hephaestus, seated in his wheelchair, looked at Jason who had arrived before him. A gentle smile appeared on the face beneath that exquisite mask, and he beckoned Jason over to sit, patting his head.
After talking with him for a while, he handed over the dark golden invitation that had long been prepared.
This was no ordinary invitation; it was one crafted by the god of craftsmen, Hephaestus, containing the essence of one of the primordial gods, the god of darkness, Erebus.
Holding it would allow one, on that most special day, to head to the underworld and participate in the wedding of the lord of the underworld, Hades, and the lady of the underworld, Persephone.
After receiving the invitation and expressing his thanks to Hephaestus, Jason donned the mask and transformed into the white-clothed hero Heracles.
He headed to the sacred mountain of Olympus.
Jason had considered whether to have someone like the messenger of the gods, Hermes, help distribute the invitations to the gods, but after some thought, Jason decided to go personally.
Then, among the gods in the human world, the first one to receive this invitation would undoubtedly be the god-king of the Olympian gods, Zeus!
In fact, during this past month or so when Jason had quieted down, the discussions among the gods about Jason had not diminished.
On the contrary, they had increased even more.
Because these gods of Olympus had long known that Jason's next tribute recipient was precisely the lord of the underworld, Hades, the goddess of agriculture, Demeter, and the lady of the underworld, Persephone.
And with the precedents of Jason's previous tributes laid out there, the gods had already developed expectations for what Jason would offer.
Thus, the gods naturally wondered how Jason would present a wedding of what sort of special nature as a tribute to the lord of the underworld and the others!
At the same time, during this period, Athena only felt that her anxiety was so intense that her hair was about to fall out.
Why? Of course, because of Queen Hera.
All the gods of Olympus knew that the so-called white-clothed hero Heracles was none other than Hecate's student, Jason.
But Hera did not know, and Hera could not know.
Therefore, ever since the day Jason vanished from the sun god Helios's chariot, his departure had been easy, but it had left Athena in a bitter spot.
Hera had to get an explanation, and what was more, from Hera's perspective, the white-clothed Heracles had directly disappeared for over a month.
Such a troublesome matter was something the gods naturally shunned, so it could only fall to Athena to handle.
Moreover, Athena was not at ease entrusting it to others; what if they accidentally let something slip? Then everything would be ruined!
However, Athena also knew that this was not a viable long-term solution.
Because Jason's next tribute was due to her, and the tribute offered to her was related to the Golden Fleece.
And by that time, continuing to conceal it would be far too difficult!
But for now, she could only drag it out day by day; after all, even the wise goddess of wisdom, Athena, could not think of a way, for the moment, for Jason to pass Hera's hurdle!
Thus, on this day, Queen Hera, as usual, came to the temple of the goddess of wisdom, Athena, to inquire about the white-clothed hero Heracles.
And it was also on this day that the celestial horse carrying Jason arrived at the sacred mountain of Olympus with the wedding invitation...