Thanks to Atalanta, provisions were secured in no time, and preparations moved along swiftly. Once a sufficient number of people had gathered, we offered sacrifices to the gods, and everything was ready.
Jason had just been handed the ship's figurehead—a statue of a goddess—from Hera, and the [Argo] was set to hoist its sails and depart. That is, until he appeared before me.
"It's been a while, my beloved Iskios!"
"....."
The most loathsome being—no, deity—appeared before me. At the sight of that god, the rest of the [Argo] expedition party was stunned, their gazes fixed on him.
Of all gods, it had to be Apollo—one of the Twelve Olympians, infamous for once chasing after me—who arrived riding on clouds right before us. Naturally, he became the center of attention once more.
No matter where or when, as long as Apollo was involved, I kept my guard up. Yet he smiled brightly and handed me something. His radiant grin seemed far too suspicious, so I took a cautious step back and asked,
"W-what is this...?"
"Hohoho! I heard you were about to undertake a perilous expedition, so I prepared this gift!"
I could see he was hiding something in the clouds. As the mist parted, Apollo produced two swords, each as long as my arm.
The blades gleamed with golden light, enough to draw everyone's attention. I too couldn't help staring at their pristine edges, while the others cheered loudly.
"A-Apollo... what on earth is─"
"These weapons were made at my request by Hephaestus! I received them in exchange for playing him some beautiful music!"
Wait, what? He got them by performing music for Hephaestus? Well, when you think about it, Apollo isn't just the sun god—he's also the god of prophecy and of music.
He might as well have multiple divine credentials. To be honest, Apollo's gift makes me uneasy, but it also shows he still hasn't given up on me.
A weapon is a weapon, though. You take it when you can. It's better to have one more than one less. And if I refused, he'd probably flip out, accuse me of insulting a god, and take it out on me. So I politely accepted the swords from Apollo.
"Well then... I'll accept them gratefully."
"Hm! I knew it would be worth bringing these!"
He was grinning complacently, but no matter what he tries, I'll never yield. In any situation, I will protect my body above all else.
I already know how dangerous my face can be. And this is end-of-days Greece, a nightmarish realm that declares BL to be the ultimate love. On a ship with about fifty men (apart from Atalanta and a few other women), I'm in serious danger.
Some might recognize me, others might know of me only by rumor. I never know when and where someone will try to assault me in a sexual way.
"That's incredible... weapons from a god..."
"...."
Some glared in jealousy, while others clapped in awe. Honestly... I can't let my guard down.
For who knows how many years to come, I'll be under Apollo's watch while surrounded by fifty men. You could think of it as being in an army, but compared to this, being in an actual army would feel like heaven.
Armies have discipline, after all. But this is end-of-days Greece—a madhouse ruled by strength, violence, and raw instinct.
— [Avenger] — the [Argo] expedition, depart —
After Iskios received the pair of swords from Apollo, the [Argo] expedition boarded the ship and began rowing out to sea.
A gentle breeze blew, making for smooth sailing. As the [Argo] glided across the water, the crew rowed diligently, and Orpheus played his lyre, filling the sailors' ears with beautiful melody.
Everyone hummed along to Orpheus' music as they rowed, but Iskios sculled with a heavy air. Of course, his expression was hidden by his mask, but Jason—who sat rowing just behind him—noticed Iskios' mood immediately.
"What's wrong, Iskios? You seem so down..."
"Nothing... I just remembered something from long ago. Whenever I hear the lyre."
Iskios couldn't bring himself to explain that he was thinking of the time Apollo tried to lure him by carrying the lyre's song throughout the entire forest. To him, that whole ordeal was nothing but a nightmare.
Back then, Apollo had thrown every tactic he could at Iskios—laying out sumptuous feasts, intoxicating him with beautiful music, even transforming into stunning shapes or animals to catch his attention.
He even called on his divine retinue, using every means possible to claim Iskios—but Iskios never fell for it.
"Sorry about that."
"You don't have anything to apologize for—that's not like you."
Jason couldn't even begin to imagine the hardships Iskios had endured. Having lived with a god on his heels, he was hypersensitive to people's gazes and took caution to an extreme.
He had always avoided love with men, but Apollo's obsession had driven it to outright aversion. He must have suffered greatly on account of his looks.
"Hmph! It's vital to check on the state of the man who will be by my side once I become king!"
"Right... that's so you, Jason."
For better or worse, that's exactly Jason, Iskios thought.
He's arrogant and petty, trash as a human being, yet he possesses a charisma that rallies people with words and displays heroic mettle in a crisis.
Just as Iskios was thinking this, the wind that had been blowing steadily from ahead suddenly died down. Seeing the stillness, Jason looked at the rowers and decided it was time for a break. He called out in a loud voice,
"Alright! Take a break for now! We'll row again once the wind picks up! Bring out the food!!!"
"Woooooo!!!!"
As if they'd been waiting for it, the expedition members pulled supplies from the hold and passed them around. The rations turned out to be just enough for fifty, and they began eating dried meat and ache.
While everyone happily shared their stories with confident grins, Iskios sat at the very end, eating dried meat and ache alone. Seeing him quietly keep to himself out of sight, Nestor asked Jason,
"Hey, Jason. Is it alright to leave Iskios like that?"
"Iskios likes to eat alone. He prefers some corner to himself."
Jason figured that although Iskios said it was because he didn't like attention, it was probably on account of his looks. And that was true—whenever he ate, Iskios always stayed alert, wary of anyone eyeing him with ill intent.
Since he had to remove his mask to eat, Iskios was even more on guard at meal times. Pollux, who watched Iskios take off his mask to eat, felt curious and quietly approached him from behind.
Jason tried to stop Pollux, but it was too late. Pollux crept closer to catch a glimpse of Iskios' face. But Iskios already sensed him approaching, even before Pollux took a proper look.
"—!?"
Swoosh—!!!
In that instant, Pollux felt something zip past his ear. It flew through the air out over the sea, much like an arrow fired at close range.
Something had been thrown. The only hand capable of both hastily pulling a mask back over his face and tossing an object was Iskios'.
"I was going to take your ear off. If you come any closer, I'll gouge out your eyes instead."
His voice was androgynous, but those chilling words made Pollux sulk back to where the other men were.
The stones Iskios had thrown were ones he'd picked up on the shore where the [Argo] had docked before departure. He'd collected them as a countermeasure against any man who might try to peek at his face or overcome him.
Seeing Pollux half-teasingly lamenting his failure and Iskios removing his mask to resume eating, Atalanta couldn't help but marvel.
"Is that the social finesse of the man whose beauty even enthralled the gods... He's more skilled than the rumors suggested."
With that assessment, Atalanta quietly finished her own meal.