Jason's resolve was firm, and there was no need for further words.
This meeting with the Goddess Athena was merely to express his determination.
Under the moonlight,
Athena's golden eyes stared intently at Jason.
She had naturally sensed Jason's resolve.
After a moment, she bit her lip lightly and could not help but tremble as she said, "You... are you really certain about this?"
Before Jason could respond, she lowered her head slightly and said, "Could you not... discuss it with me a little more?"
Her words carried a trace of hopeful inquiry, and her small actions of biting her lip and clenching her hands tightly.
All of them revealed that Athena's heart at this moment was in utter turmoil.
Her heart... had indeed become disordered.
She, Athena, was a radiant pearl that shone incomparably even among all of Greek mythology!
She was the goddess of wisdom and war, the source of civilization and the arts.
She was the daughter of the king of the gods, Zeus, and the first goddess of wisdom, Metis.
She was the pride of the Olympian divine court.
Even in later generations, many who knew nothing of the Greek pantheon would hear the name of Athena in various places.
They would know of a goddess who represented wisdom, named Athena!
She was almost a perfect existence... Unfortunately, there is no such thing as absolute perfection in the world.
Even though Athena's golden eyes, which represented absolute wisdom, could pierce through all things in the world, look back to the past with a glance, and gaze to the future at the edge of the universe.
Yet she alone could not understand the human heart, and she alone should not taste the fruit called "love."
Because that, for her, was a forbidden fruit!
But...
In this very instant.
As Athena realized what she had lost through Jason's words, her heart plummeted to the depths, filled with incomparable panic.
She suddenly discovered that her heart was aching... It was a strange emotion that surged through her body and soul.
And this emotion was absolutely not the feeling she had toward her "child"!
In this instant, countless scenes flashed through her mind.
All the moments spent with Jason... their meeting, their acquaintance, their growing familiarity.
She had always believed that her affection for Jason was the love of a goddess for her child.
But in this instant, as she detected the disappointment in his heart through his words and fell into great disarray,
She undoubtedly examined her own inner self once more.
And thus...
Athena's body stiffened.
She keenly realized that she had fallen into a vortex she absolutely should not have entered.
It was the forbidden fruit that she, as the goddess of wisdom, alone should not touch!
Yes, it was the forbidden fruit.
For the goddess of wisdom, it was more like a curse!
Her mother, the first goddess of wisdom, Metis, had died precisely because she tried to touch this forbidden fruit.
So she had sworn an oath for various reasons.
She would become a virgin goddess, unloved by any god, and she would not love any divine being, forever preserving her pure virginity!
But... fate was truly ironic.
"Respected Goddess Athena, I will do my utmost to offer you the finest tribute I can present."
Jason smiled lightly and did not directly answer Athena's question.
He wore pure white sacred robes and held a silver lyre as he bowed sincerely to Athena and said, "At the same time, please forgive my previous negligence.
From this day forward, the youth named Jason will surely become a true hero... in this quest for the Golden Fleece.
And a hero is fearless and dauntless, always charging straight ahead.
To rescue the world's sufferings, protect the weak, and bear trials that ordinary people cannot endure, that is what makes a hero!"
Jason said earnestly to Athena, "Please watch me closely, noble Goddess Athena.
I will do better than anyone else.
I will show the people of this world what... a hero truly is!"
Jason's voice echoed loudly under the bright moonlight on the Argo, resounding in Athena's ears.
Hero... This was a name that Jason had absolutely no desire to bear in his heart.
But today, he promised Athena that during this journey for the Golden Fleece, he would become a hero.
And not like the heroes of this era, who bore the name yet acted like bandits.
A hero is selfless and devoted, undaunted by hardship.
A hero must bear far too many things...
Athena looked at Jason before her, who was making this vow to her.
Her thin lips trembled slightly.
She wanted to say something, but she found that she... could say nothing.
He could do it... Athena understood that since Jason had said it, he would certainly achieve it.
Because he had never disappointed anyone.
He had never let anyone down...
Never.
But it was precisely because of this that in this instant, Athena finally understood what despair was!
She realized, in this moment.
The star that she had once nearly reached out to pluck.
Had already drifted far away from her.
Slipped from her grasp.
It was something that even she, as the goddess of wisdom, could not reclaim...
No, it was not entirely impossible.
After all, she was the goddess of wisdom.
She was the most radiant pearl in the Olympian divine court.
But this was the forbidden fruit... the one she, as the goddess of wisdom, should least touch.
Should she really reach out and try to reclaim it?
Athena did not understand...
The moonlight receded.
The youth shed his white robes and donned the black attire that faced the butterflies of the underworld.
The beautiful goddess also departed.
She wandered aimlessly on the silent sea under the night.
She, the symbol of absolute wisdom, now had eyes filled only with bewilderment.
Jason naturally did not notice any of this, as Athena had hidden it well... And probably none of the gods in the world had foreseen it.
That goddess of wisdom, who seemed so utterly perfect.
Would actually have such a weakness.
If he had known earlier, Zeus, who had always been wary of her, might have forced a trap on her, making her fall in love with some god to completely eliminate her threat.
Under the night sky,
Athena, lost in her heart, unexpectedly did not know where to go.
Now was absolutely not the time to return to the divine court.
She was lost on the seemingly endless ocean under the night.
She wandered in bewilderment until she reached a small island...
An unnamed island.
"Why have you come again!"
As Athena stepped onto the island, sensing the arrival of a stranger, a stunning woman with purple hair reaching past her knees appeared before her.
Her eyes were filled with endless disgust toward Athena.
Athena looked at her... at this woman in the world who hated her the most.
The Gorgon, Medusa.
The youngest of the three sisters revived by Jason's resurrection potion.
A desolate, indescribable faint smile appeared on Athena's face.
"I... do not know either."
Yes, Athena... truly did not know.
Medusa was stunned.
She looked at the existence she hated most in her life... the Athena she despised the most.
She looked at Athena, who had always been so proud, as if she held the entire world in her grasp.
The weak expression she now revealed left Medusa in shock.
Because this was utterly absurd, was it not?
...
...
The next day,
Bright sunlight streamed through the porthole onto Jason's face.
He leaned against the cabin wall, a magic book in hand.
He had fallen asleep at some point.
And there was a faint smile on his lips.
Then, in a soft golden light, the ship spirit of the Argo appeared before Jason.
She looked at Jason sleeping peacefully before her.
Blinking her pale blue eyes, she gazed at him quietly for a long time.
Finally, as if suddenly remembering her task, hesitation appeared in her eyes.
"Should I really wake the master... But he has finally gotten some sleep... But, but this is the task the master gave me!"
The ship spirit murmured to herself, her expression one of extreme conflict.
Just as the ship spirit hesitated, Jason's eyebrows twitched slightly, and then he slowly opened his eyes.
He looked up, his gaze somewhat dazed as he turned to the conflicted ship spirit beside him.
He tilted his head slightly.
After a moment, his eyes gradually cleared, and a shallow smile appeared on Jason's face as he said, "Argo, good morning.
"Uh, good morning... Ah, master, you're awake!"
The ship spirit said in surprise.
"Yes... Thank you for coming to wake me."
"N-No need! And... I'm sorry, master. I was supposed to wake you as ordered, but just now I couldn't bear to..."
The ship spirit said, showing a dejected expression.
Jason chuckled lightly, stood up, set down the magic book, and said softly, "It's fine... It looks like the weather is nice today."
The ship spirit followed Jason's gaze out the window to the blue sea under the blue sky and said, "Yes, master, the weather is great today!"
Jason smiled, then left the room with the ship spirit.
At the bow ahead, the huntress with pale yellow hair fluttering in the sea breeze had already been waiting for him for quite some time.
"Atalanta, good morning."
Atalanta turned her head at the sound of Jason's voice and looked toward him.
Then, seeing Jason smiling before her, she was slightly stunned for a moment.
"Yes, good... It looks like it's passed, right?" Atalanta's expression softened.
"Yes, I slept well yesterday."
"Is that so? That's quite rare." Atalanta tucked a strand of hair disheveled by the wind behind her ear and said, "I thought you might have the Goddess Athena pillow your head on her lap... To think you could sleep obediently by yourself, not bad."
"...I feel like you're indirectly mocking me."
Jason rolled his eyes.
"I'm not indirectly mocking you; I'm directly mocking you."
Atalanta said flatly, paused briefly, and then added, "So, what should we do next, Captain Jason?"
Jason was speechless, then turned his head to look at the island called Lemnos.
"What else? Of course, we do what a hero should do..."