Nightfall descended.
When the stars emerged in the sky, at the very last instant of the sun's descent, Jason pushed the boulder to the mountaintop.
He completed his task.
Then, clad in black garments emblazoned with an underworld butterfly, Jason arrived at the mountaintop and gazed at the silver-haired goddess who had awaited him for so long. In his heart, he could not help but mutter.
Goddess Athena, you really love this sort of thing...
Actually, it was not just Athena who enjoyed it. Many gods probably liked these mysterious yet ultimately unnecessary theatrics.
For example, appearing in the guise of an elder, speaking riddles that were half-understood, then secretly observing from the shadows, appearing at the critical moment to reveal their identity, helping the person overcome the crisis, and leaving behind a tale sung through the ages.
Jason could not even remember how many times he had played along with such scripts for them.
Especially Athena; she was the most enthusiastic about it, and she always made it full of ceremony. Each time, Jason was thoroughly exhausted by her antics.
And such behavior, summed up in a popular term from later eras, was... a poser!
As these miscellaneous thoughts bubbled up in Jason's mind, under the moonlight, Athena, who had put away her lyre, walked slowly toward him.
With a gentle wave of her hand, divine power lifted the boulder, setting it aside.
"Congratulations, Jason. You are the first hero to push the boulder to the mountaintop. Now, engrave your name here... under the witness of I, Athena, the wisdom goddess of Olympus."
Coming before Jason, a golden sword appeared in her hand.
Now, Athena handed this golden sword to Jason.
Jason looked at the smiling Athena, knowing he could not avoid it, so he simply used the golden sword to engrave his name at his feet.
On this mountaintop symbolizing absolute honor, he engraved: Jason.
"Goddess Athena... You won't go find bards to tell them about this, like Lord Hermes, will you?"
After engraving his name, Jason looked at her with concern.
"How could I? I am not as bored as he is... And doing that would be far too dull, would it not?"
Athena's lips curved slightly upward. With a wave of her hand toward below, she said, "Listen, they are all discussing you now. Thus, this matter will eventually spread across the Greek continent.
Everyone will know that an unknown hero pushed the boulder to the mountaintop and even met a great god.
In the future, when the second hero besides you arrives here and sees the name you left, learning of your existence...
At that time, would it not... be even more interesting?!"
Hearing this, Jason could not help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
Lady Athena, your wicked sense of humor is truly as consistent and splendid as ever!
In front of others, Athena might still feign some restraint, but before Jason, there was clearly no need.
Athena noticed Jason's gaze and glanced back at him.
Although Jason's soul was under the protection of underworld king Hades, and the Sea of Fate was suppressed by the foreseer Prometheus, Athena had known Jason for more than a day or two.
Moreover, as the god who understood Jason the most, how could she fail to see what he was thinking?
Thus, she rolled her eyes and said, "You have no right to say that about me, little Jason... Look, my hand hurts a bit from playing."
As she spoke, Athena extended her hand before Jason for him to see.
The fair goddess's palm entered Jason's view.
"See? My fingers are red!
You could have pushed the boulder up right away, but you insisted on timing it to the last second, making it so that even though you reached the mountaintop, you took the longest time, the worst result!"
Indeed, he had arrived at the exact moment of sunset and nightfall's rise, the very last second of this boulder-pushing event.
Not a second more, not a second less.
One could only say, it was so very Jason.
"Because you only told me to free Sisyphus, Goddess Athena, but you did not specify a time limit."
Jason blinked at Athena.
"Oh? Little Jason, you have learned to retort to me now!"
Athena's eyes widened slightly, then both hands struck out, pinching Jason's cheeks hard and toying with them for a bit before finally letting him go in satisfaction.
"Where is Goddess Rhea?"
Afterward, Jason wisely and skillfully changed the subject.
"She has already left, so now, it is just you and me, Jason. And besides us, no one else can come here, not even your teacher." As she spoke, Athena's smile brightened by two degrees.
In contrast, Jason's cheeks stiffened a bit.
And in his mind, the scene from last time when Artemis came to find him involuntarily surfaced... Though he felt that Goddess Athena should, probably, not be as capricious as Goddess Artemis.
But... what if?
"Kidnapping little Jason home and hiding him away, so no one else can find him... Honestly, that is quite a tempting proposal."
Jason had just thought of this when Athena, as if truly reading his mind, nodded and said it, then looked at Jason with regret. "But alas, I do not wish to fall out with Hecate, Hephaestus, and the others, so I will give it up for now. Next time, I will find another opportunity."
No, better not to have a next time at all!
Jason shouted inwardly in exasperation, but his face showed no change in expression, because he knew Athena had not read his mind.
And for Athena, there was no need to read minds. A single glance or gesture, and she basically knew what Jason was thinking.
After all, she was that familiar with Jason.
Seeing Jason start to play the wooden doll, clearly frightened by her, Athena could not help but chuckle.
"Alright, alright, I will stop teasing you... Who let little Jason not come find me for so long, and not even pray to me? This is punishment."
As she said this, Athena poked Jason's cheek, then stepped back two paces. "So now, let us get to the main matter... Oh, before that, little Jason, come here."
Athena sat on the boulder beside them and patted her lap.
"Um, Goddess Athena, I am really not sleepy right now. Not tired at all. I have been resting very well lately!"
Jason strongly resisted the urge to step back.
"...Yes, you have been resting very well lately, it seems."
This time, Athena did not force Jason over. Propping her chin with both hands, her beautiful golden eyes gazed at Jason. "That child is named Atalanta, Artemis's child, right?
I truly did not expect that besides your few teachers, you would actually act spoiled toward a child. It really makes me... a bit jealous.
Because even facing me, you have never taken the initiative to act spoiled.
And I clearly suppressed the impulse to go find you right away, waited for you until now, prepared to dote on you properly tonight, but unexpectedly... I was beaten to it by a child!"
Hearing this, Jason's eyes widened slightly.
Then, before Jason could say or do anything,
"Rest assured, I am the wisdom goddess Athena. Though I am a little angry, a little jealous, I will not go cause trouble for that child... Anyway, even if I let her go, Artemis will probably not be able to hold back."
"...Goddess Athena."
"Relax, do not worry. Even if Artemis cannot hold back, she will not do anything too excessive to that child. After all, that child is also her favorite... But now... Little Jason, what do you think I should do?"
Athena gazed at Jason with a beaming smile. "You clearly said that if Hecate did not exist, the one you cared about most would be me. But now... You were just afraid, right? So scared that I would do something to that child, right?"
Jason opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to say no, to retort.
But... he could not retort.
"Jason, tell me, should I... be angry now?
If I get angry, what sort of punishment should I give you?"
Athena's smile at this moment was still beautiful, so perfect.
But at this moment, she exuded more pressure than ever before.
After all, the air was now filled with the thick scent of a toppled jar of vinegar.
Gods were inherently extremely capricious beings.
And because they were born holding the laws and authorities of the world, they never suppressed their own desires.
In Jason's matters, Athena had actually yielded many steps already.
Whether to Hecate or to Hephaestus and the others... But she had never expected that one day, a mere child could surpass her!
Under Athena's such gaze, Jason... slowly lowered his head and averted his eyes.
Seeing this, Athena could not help but sigh.
"I am actually quite puzzled too. What did I do wrong? You have accepted Hecate and the others, so why up to now, you still cannot accept me... The result that surprised me was that the reason lies in my own divine role and identity."
"And what surprised me even more was that you, Jason, as a human, our child, actually possess... a future where you can slay gods."
Slay gods... Athena uttered these two words in a faint tone.
Yet these two words struck Jason's heart like a heavy hammer!
It was known after all... No.
Jason also sighed deeply, raised his head, and looked at the beautiful yet dangerous goddess before him, the wisdom goddess Athena.
One could say, you have finally... told me, have you not, Goddess Athena?