After Atalanta was struck by the potion Medea had thrown, she was, as if by miracle, returning to her original human form. Seeing that eased my mind, but I couldn't completely relax.
Her hair was still the same color, and I could faintly smell the beast on her body. In other words, the exact same transformation could repeat at any moment. I wrapped Atalanta in my cloak and carried her to Medea's workshop.
Inside the workshop, Medea examined Iskios carefully, and I heard one of the outcomes I had anticipated from her lips: the reason why Atalanta had become like this, the true culprit behind her berserk transformation...
"Inside Atalanta's body is implanted the hide of the Calydonian boar. And it's bound by a powerful curse—that curse is driving her into ferocity."
"A curse...? Could that be a curse from a god...?"
"Yes..."
A thin wisp of smoke made of dark mana seeped from Atalanta's chest. The moment I saw it, my body trembled. Medea watched that corrupt magic with a grave expression before she spoke again.
"Judging by the nature of the curse... it must be the curse of Lady Selene."
...
I'd suspected it and yet couldn't bring myself to speak or fully hear her words. My mother, Selene, passive and insecure though she was, had the power to curse. Mother... I'd been reluctant to face her simply because she's a goddess. Aaah...
"...Medea. Do you know where the temple of my mother is located?"
"Huh? All of a sudden—"
"—I'm going to settle this with my mother face-to-face. In the meantime, Medea, I need you to prepare something for me."
No matter the cost or the outcome, now that I was married to Atalanta, I swore to take responsibility for life. To do that, I must restore her to her original self.
While commissioning Medea to prepare the item, I asked where my mother normally lived. She said the temple lay straight to the north of Greece.
—I will restore her. Atalanta... I will bring her back to who she was. To that end, I will go and confront my mother one-on-one.
-Human and divine 'love' are different.-
***
Several days had passed since the incident in which Atalanta became a black lion and rampaged through Iolcos's palace. After that event, the palace had returned to normal and resumed its role as a school for the children.
Jason was burdened with a grueling workload like me; Phel led the royal guards in training; Absyrtus was self-studying the disciplines Iskios had taught. And today, Iskios was giving his final lesson to the children.
"Listen well, you rookies. As of today, I have imparted every piece of knowledge we can offer, and you've absorbed it brilliantly. From this moment on, you graduate from being rookies to becoming true 'humans.'"
Seeing Iskios speak in an uncharacteristically solemn tone, some of the children exchanged anxious glances, while others sighed in relief that it was finally over.
Although their reactions varied, Iskios felt a tinge of bittersweetness as he looked at them. Regardless of time or process, these were the children who had received everything he could teach.
Children are like sponges. They learn by absorbing what's around them, just as a sponge soaks up water. They once seemed immature, but now—perhaps his teachings had helped them— they appeared dignified.
"With this, I leave Iolcos as of today."
"Wha—what!?"
At that shock, Iskios, perhaps feeling a trace of relief, softened his tone and delivered the astonishing news. The children panicked even more.
The reason Iskios was leaving Iolcos was the fallout from Atalanta's incident. When Atalanta went berserk, Phel's swift command had minimized the damage, but there were still casualties. Several palace staff were killed without warning, and multiple soldiers died trying to subdue the monstrous Atalanta.
Jason, too, was troubled by this, and some soldiers argued they should have killed Atalanta outright. But Iskios opposed that. When they pressed him on it, he arrived at this decision: no matter what happened to Atalanta, they were now married. Until one of them died, Iskios would bear full responsibility.
"Because of the Atalanta incident, I have decided to take responsibility and leave Iolcos with her. But morality will not be excluded here. To be human, you must know what it means to act humanely."
When Iskios added that if they wanted to kill Atalanta they could expel them both, the people stared in shock. That wasn't his intention, but at last he had his chance to escape.
Iskios summoned someone with a gesture. A boy hiding outside the door stepped in. Behind his mask, Iskios gave a wry smile as he regarded the newcomer.
"This is Queen Medea's younger brother, Absyrtus. He will be my successor."
The talk of expulsion had been a pretense. Iskios seized the opportunity he'd long awaited. Jason could rule well without him, and Iskios's own dream had been fulfilled.
Now, all that remained was a peaceful, quiet life. The final hurdle was persuading his mother to lift Selene's curse and restore Atalanta. Of course, if he left, someone had to teach morality... he had already chosen his successor.
At first, Iskios had had many doubts about Absyrtus, but as Absyrtus settled in Iolcos and studied various disciplines, Iskios couldn't deny his talent. He still felt a brotherly fondness for him, and aside from that, he thought Absyrtus was a better human than Medea.
"...Master Iskios... I—"
"As I said, I have an aversion to homosexuality, but I recognize your abilities."
Leaving behind the words "I entrust the rest to you," Iskios quietly exited the classroom. Absyrtus and the children felt a weight unlike any lesson they'd had before.
Walking alone through the palace, Iskios reflected on how much Iolcos had changed on his path to the city walls. He remembered helping Jason earn the people's trust, making him king, and though he'd voiced many opinions for his ideal nation, he never withheld his cooperation.
Teaching and admonishing the children; the time Jason was overwhelmed with work and dragged to bed by Medea, their moans echoing through the chamber; drinking with the grown Phel; teaching morality to Atalanta so she could become more human...
Compared to his years studying under Chiron, his stay in Iolcos was brief, but his memories here weren't all unpleasant. As he recalled them, he walked through the town and finally reached the city gates.
"You're late, Iskios! Making me wait like this—you've got nerve!"
"Well, no need to be so strict, right? It's our last meeting, after all."
"Kuh...!"
Jason was the first to greet him. Though he wore his usual uneasy expression, this time it was laced with melancholy. He didn't show it, but he didn't want Iskios to leave. He was Jason's greatest retainer, friend, and comrade who had helped him build the kingdom he dreamed of.
Though their aims differed, Iskios's presence had been immense to Jason. Internally, he more than anyone didn't want to admit this moment.
"Well, we'll meet again someday. It's been hard, but I've enjoyed having you here."
"...I... thank you too, Iskios..."
He murmured quietly, but Iskios heard every word. There was nothing more he could say. He simply took Jason's hand and gave him a firm shake.
After a brief farewell, Iskios looked to Queen Medea standing beside Jason. She seemed to understand his intent and stepped aside, opening the path behind her.
Phel, captain of the Iolcos guard and leader of the students Iskios had first taught, stood ahead holding a heavy chain. On the other end was a black lion wearing what looked like an iron collar. Though her head had turned silver and her eyes were beastly yellow, it was Atalanta.
The collar was a special commission from Medea, designed to suppress mana.
"Master Iskios..."
"Hand me the chain."
"Yes..."
With a heavy heart, Iskios took the chain from Phel and gazed at the black lion that was once Atalanta, recalling Medea's explanation.
He had learned that under Selene's curse, Atalanta became a savage black lion when awake and reverted to human form when asleep. Moreover, by using the Calydonian boar's hide as the medium, her ferocity was amplified.
Though the chain and collar suppressed her savagery, it wasn't enough to truly calm her. So, the day before departing, Iskios had received several potions from Medea to force her into sleep.
"This is farewell, you rookies. And you too, Jason... I hope we meet again someday."
With that, Iskios turned quietly and led the subdued black lion out through Iolcos's gates.
Even though Atalanta's rampage was the work of a deity, they deeply regretted Iskios's departure because of what he meant to them. From the moment Jason became king, the people of Iolcos had changed.
If Jason shone like the sun, Iskios was the shadow—doing his duty and helping people, not by forcing help but by guiding them to act of their own will. They wished he would stay, but he chose Atalanta.
"—Let's erect it. Here...!"
"Lord Jason...?"
"Even though he's leaving, what he accomplished for this country is countless! Shouldn't we build a statue in his honor!?"
With uncharacteristic excitement, Jason called for a statue of Iskios. No one opposed the idea.
After Iskios left Iolcos with Atalanta and headed north toward Selene's temple, he vanished from their sight. Though he departed, what he left behind was immense.
He had helped Jason govern wisely, taught scholarship so humans could remain humane, and though his methods of protecting the weak were divisive, the people of Iolcos honored him by erecting his statue in the city center.
The statue didn't depict Iskios alone. It showed him walking beside the black lion, the lion looking down at him as he looked up—captured in stone.
That statue of Iskios and the beast-turned Atalanta survived through the ages into modern times and is now preserved without major damage in the British Museum.