As the Argo left the harbor of Iolcus and sailed farther away, the firmness of the ground beneath my feet gave way to the heaving of waves.
The briny scent of the sea and the steady rhythm of the heroes rowing.
A vitality unlike the stillness I had felt in Eirene's garden brushed against my skin.
I sat leaning against the stern and lightly stroked Noctis's neck as he quietly gazed out at the sea beside me.
Perhaps because he, too, was a divine beast, he showed no agitation at all even upon the open water, and seemed instead to be enjoying the view.
"For some reason, it seems you're better suited to this hard wooden deck than to a throne, my disciple."
At Lady Hecate's languid voice, audible only from within the shadows, I smiled without a sound.
"Indeed. Listening to the oars is easier on the heart than leafing through a code of laws."
"Hey, Astellon! What are you thinking about so hard?"
From afar, Heracles came lumbering over with his massive frame and dropped heavily down beside me.
The weight of it made the ship sway.
Heracles studied the holy sword at my waist, then spoke.
"That sword's said to bear a goddess's blessing, right? I saw it earlier, and it's no ordinary thing. Do you remember when we used to spar under Master Chiron back then? When you broke my club with that old wooden practice sword of yours?"
"You were too careless then."
I answered with my eyes closed.
Back then, we were only eight years old. A time when we would gaze at the stars, debate wisdom, and learn martial arts while sweating against one another.
"Careless? Your speed was just absurd. It's even faster now than it was then, isn't it? I couldn't even hear your footsteps when you boarded the ship earlier."
Heracles looked at me with eager eyes.
In the world of warriors, a challenge to spar was no different from a greeting. But I only lazily shook my head.
"Let's save it for now. We've still got a long way to go."
Then, from above the deck, I felt a sharp gaze.
The owner of that gaze was Atalanta.
She was seated near the mast, trimming her arrow fletching, but she was clearly listening to our conversation.
I wondered what she had thought when she heard that I had returned as king.
As I was thinking that, Jason was at the prow, shouting orders and rousing the spirits of the heroes.
Jason was still as flashy and noisy as ever, but his reckless courage in binding this ragtag band of heroes together and setting out to find the Golden Fleece was something I could at least acknowledge.
"Come on, everyone, keep your spirits up! We're still far from our destination, Lemnos Island!"
At Jason's cry, the heroes let out a cheer.
I closed my eyes again and felt the grain of the wind.
The weight of the holy sword, Lady Hecate's secret counsel, and the breathing of old friends.
It was an unfamiliar place for a first voyage, yet the atmosphere was not one I disliked.
**
After that, the ship set sail in response to Jason's signal, and all the male heroes who had joined the expedition took to the oars, while Orpheus played the lyre at the prow.
The ship cleaved the sea cleanly and headed east.
But as the rowing continued, one by one they grew weary, and Heracles and I, still in fine condition,
"Heracles. Shall we have a contest to see who can row longer until we reach the island?"
"Fine. But in terms of strength, I'll win."
"Will you now? It's not as though I've been idling all this time."
began a wager over who could row longer, and once the bet was set, we both rowed with all our might. Seeing that, the other heroes
"All right, choose! Bet on whether Astellon or Heracles will win!!"
joined Jason's gambling with one coin after another.
"Heracles. It looks like your oar's about to crack. Why not give up?"
"Hmph. You're the one who looks exhausted. Let go first."
"Nope."
And so, without even realizing Jason was doing such a thing, we rowed harder and harder, each focused only on the other.
Crack!
"Ah."
At the same moment, both our oars broke.
"Damn it. I didn't think even my oar would snap. I figured Heracles would lose control of his strength and break his first..."
"...Once we reach land, we'll have to make new oars."
"Hey, Jason! Since this is a draw, you're returning everyone's stakes, right?"
"What are you talking about! Since both oars broke, the money I bet on a draw is the winner!"
The heroes who witnessed the scene showered Jason with noisy jeers and cheers, and thanks to that, the ship that had been crossing the sea turned into a riot of noise.
I looked down at the broken oar handle left in my hand and gave a dry laugh.
I had worried in private that my strength might have withered from sitting on a throne and twirling a pen all day, but to think I could still match Heracles in a test of strength—my body must have remembered after all.
"See, Astellon? What did I tell you? Strength alone won't do it."
Heracles laughed heartily as he wiped the sweat from his brow.
His own oar had been shattered to pieces as well.
"It was you who failed to control your strength. I only rowed until the oar reached its limit. It was your brutish power that pushed it past that."
I replied lazily as I rose from my seat.
In truth, I was almost relieved that the broken oar had made it impossible to keep rowing even if I wanted to.
"My disciple, you go on and on about order, and yet you're the first one to destroy the ship's equipment? What a contradictory king."
"Indeed. I never imagined it would come to this..."
At Lady Hecate's mocking praise from within the shadows, I answered inwardly.
After that, the other heroes took up the oars, and I, having broken mine, stepped back for a while.
"You. I thought you would have no time to train after becoming king, but it seems you've returned even stronger than before."
As I withdrew, Atalanta came over and spoke to me.
"Well... I gained an unexpected connection."
"A connection?"
"Yes. Let's just say it was thanks to that."
"...What have you been learning all this time?"
"Hmm... magecraft."
"Magecraft? You?"
When I said I had been learning magecraft, Atalanta stared at me in shock.
"No. You were clearly using all manner of weapons, were you not? And now magecraft? What on earth happened?"
"Hmm... I suppose it's thanks to my master saying I have some talent for magecraft."
"...You change every time I see you."
"Seems that way. I never imagined I'd end up like this either."
After that, I spoke with Atalanta, and when noisy voices rose from the front, I walked there with her.
"What is it? What's going on...?"
"Astellon, Atalanta. It's an island! There's an island ahead!!"
When I went forward, I asked Jason what was happening, and at his words that there was an island ahead, I looked out in front of us.
"...It's real? It's really an island..."
As Jason had said, we had found a massive island.