Even under those stares and those words, I kept driving the bulls and plowing the earth. Once the ground had been torn up to a sufficient degree, I took out the dragon's teeth I had received from the King of Colchis.
Then I scattered the dragon's teeth into the fissures of the freshly turned soil.
Before the dust had even settled, a grotesque tremor surged up from beneath the ground and ran through the soles of my feet.
And not long after that, dozens of warriors armed with spears, shields, and swords burst forth from the earth.
Seeing the warriors emerge from the ground, I threw the stone Medea had given me into their midst, making sure it struck the helmets of several soldiers.
Startled by the stones that had suddenly come flying at them, the warriors who had just risen from the earth looked around at the others who resembled them, and they began shouting at one another.
"Who was it?! Who hit my helmet?!"
"You! You're the one who threw this stone at me!"
They demanded to know where the stones had come from, and before long it turned into a brawl among themselves.
But I, the one who had created that situation, stood alone like a still life amid the scene where the stench of blood and iron hung thick in the air.
Then, brushing away the blood that had splashed onto me, I knelt once more and stroked the necks of the bronze bulls.
After a short while, the warriors who had been swinging spears and swords at one another were annihilated by each other's hands.
"W-what is that... What in the world is going on?!"
The Colchian king's thunderous cry of shock echoed across the field.
He rose from his throne and pointed at the battlefield with trembling hands.
But I ignored his outcry and slowly stroked the head of the now-docile bronze bull.
The heat that had been searing hot flowed pleasantly through my palm.
"This is kind of cute, the more I look at it."
[Heh, you really are my disciple. Look at that king's face. Doesn't he look as though he swallowed a stone he can't chew?]
In that situation, Lady Hecate's languid laughter from within the shadows tickled my ears.
I brushed the dust from my silver hair and lifted my head, looking toward where my companions who had come to Colchis with me stood, and where the King of Colchis was.
And there, I caught sight of Medea looking down at me with eyes mixed with relief and awe, having seen her own advice carried out to perfection.
"O King of Colchis. Since I have fulfilled the contract I made with you, you too should carry out the pledge you made to us."
The King of Colchis was silent for a moment.
His gaze moved back and forth between the plowed earth, the remains of the warriors strewn across it, and me standing there as though nothing had happened.
Then his lips trembled faintly.
"...Unbelievable."
His low murmur was clearly heard by all, yet no one dared to speak.
I stepped forward.
The bronze bulls were breathing quietly behind me, and the field that had only moments ago been spilling killing intent had become eerily still.
"King of Colchis."
I spoke calmly.
"Since I have fulfilled the contract I made with you, it would be right for you to keep your pledge as well."
At my words, a brief silence fell.
But that silence was by no means light.
The king's eyes narrowed.
Something other than the shock from moments before had seeped into them.
Calculation.
And suspicion.
"...Yes."
He slowly rose from his seat.
Resting a hand against his chin, he looked down at me.
"Indeed... the trial has all been completed."
A faint smile touched his lips.
But that smile was not at all pleased.
Rather, it was far too thin.
"However."
With that one word, the air over the plain sank once more.
"You accomplished it far too easily."
I said nothing. I simply waited quietly for his next words.
"Taming the fire-breathing bulls, and turning the warriors born from the dragon's teeth against one another..."
His gaze pierced deeply into me.
"Are you... truly human?"
Sounds of people swallowing their breath could be heard around us.
Even Jason could do nothing but stare at me in silence.
At those words, I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them again.
And I answered very briefly.
"...I am a king."
The instant the King of Colchis heard my words, the corners of his mouth rose a little higher.
"...Ha ha."
A low laugh.
"Interesting. Truly interesting."
He raised a hand.
At that single gesture, the soldiers standing behind him stiffened and adjusted their posture.
"Very well. As promised, the Golden Fleece..."
He deliberately cut himself off.
Then, slowly, he tilted his head.
"...I shall give it to you as promised."
The moment those words fell, Medea's eyes trembled faintly.
And at the same time, Lady Hecate's low laughter seeped out from the shadows.
[Heh... my disciple.]
Her voice was sweet, but the meaning within it was clear.
[That king is lying.]
I exhaled without concern.
I had already suspected as much.
Keeping my face expressionless, I looked at the King of Colchis.
While doing so, I pondered what sort of scheme the King of Colchis was plotting.
"However, it would not be proper to hand over a sacred object like the Golden Fleece out here on this field."
And as I was thinking that, the King of Colchis raised his hand, and the soldiers lying in ambush around us slowly began to close the encirclement.
But in their hands were not swords, but banquet banners and musical instruments.
"Tonight, I shall hold a grand festival at the palace! For the hero Astellon and Jason, who have passed the trial. We shall offer thanks to the gods and hand over the fleece there. What do you say, silver-haired king? With such courtesy, you should be satisfied, should you not?"
Though he was pretending to be hospitable on the surface, the flow of magical energy streaming behind the king felt as savage as the eve of a storm.
Jason, oblivious as ever, let out a relieved sigh and looked pleased, but I spotted Medea on the battlements, subtly shaking her head.
[My disciple, that king intends to burn the Argo and cut your throats while you sleep tonight. A thoroughly human, filthy ending.]
At Lady Hecate's mocking advice, I tapped the hilt of my holy sword and answered calmly.
"I thank you for your hospitality, King of Colchis. I trust your promise will not change."
**
After some time had passed, just before the banquet began, in the palace garden swallowed by darkness.
I met Medea again, away from everyone's eyes.
And I found that her eyes were filled with a deeper anxiety than the awe she had shown during the day.
"Your Majesty, my father has no intention of letting you live. Even now, he has ordered offerings to be made to the sleepless dragon guarding the forest, commanding it to tear you apart and kill you."
She gripped my sleeve tightly with trembling hands and confessed to me.
"Tonight. While my father's attention is turned to the banquet, I will guide you to where the Golden Fleece is. I have also prepared a means to subdue that monster. So please..."
She lifted her head and looked at me with earnest pleading.
"So please promise that once you obtain the fleece, you will take me away from here."
At those words, I looked down at her for a moment.
Eyes mixed with fear and resolve.
A woman who, though she could have fled, remained here and chose me.
"...Medea."
I called her name in a low voice.
"I do not trade in promises."
At my words, her eyes wavered.
"A king takes what he has chosen."
I raised a hand and lightly took hers.
"If you have chosen me..."
I paused briefly, then continued.
"I will not abandon you."
"...Thank you. Truly..."
Hearing my words, Medea showed me a smile free of falsehood.
Then Medea took from within her robes a strange glass vial with a strong fragrance.
"My father has finished preparing wine laced with poison for the banquet hall. Once Jason and the heroes are drunk, that plan will begin. But before they are taken, we must move first. Let us go to the forest. The Golden Fleece you desire is there."
I nodded and tightened my grip on the hilt of my holy sword.
**
Leaving the uproar of the banquet hall behind, we slipped into the dense forest on the outskirts of Colchis.
The deeper we went into the woods, the more clearly a fishy stench and a powerful magical pressure that pressed against the heart could be felt.
And at last, I found the Golden Fleece hanging from a massive oak tree.
That sacred object, shining more brilliantly than the moonlight in the night sky, was enough to steal the soul of any who looked upon it.
But beneath it coiled the sleepless dragon, its scales flashing by the thousands as it wrapped layer upon layer around the tree.
Its eyes had no lids, and so they remained forever open, watching in all directions. When we approached, a low growl shook the entire forest.
"Please wait a moment."
As I watched the dragon, Medea, her face hidden, walked alone toward the dragon guarding the Golden Fleece.
At that, the dragon's pupils narrowed.
Its enormous head slowly lowered toward Medea.
One more step, and it would be close enough to bite her down at once.
"..."
Holding even my breath, I gripped my sword.
But Medea did not stop moving forward.
Then, standing before the dragon, she opened the glass vial she had prepared in advance and offered it its fragrance.
In that instant—
Crunch.
The dragon's jaws snapped shut right before her eyes.
Hot breath spilled out between the teeth that had passed by her by a hair's breadth.
"...Haa."
But in the next moment, the dragon's eyes began to grow hazy.
The massive body slowly lost its strength, and then—
Thud!
With a great crash, it collapsed onto the ground and fell straight into sleep.
"...With this, it won't wake for a while. So please, bring me the Golden Fleece."
At those words, I slowly passed through the dragon's sleeping scales and approached the oak tree.
Climbing the tree, I reached for the branch where the Golden Fleece hung and seized it in my hand.
At that instant, a weighty sensation flowed into my palm.
What Jason had yearned for so desperately.
What countless heroes had staked their lives on and still failed to obtain.
The end of all those things now lay in my hand.