A month passed in the blink of an eye.
Jason once again set foot on the land of Colchis.
He had returned.
"You really are a very responsible captain," came a familiar voice the moment he arrived.
Atalanta, who had caught his scent (literally) and received an oracle from the Moon Goddess Artemis, intercepted him on the road to the palace.
The beautiful hunter dressed in emerald green did not mince words. "You left without a single word and abandoned us for more than a month… hm?"
Halfway through her sentence, Atalanta's brows suddenly rose. She stopped speaking and studied Jason carefully.
After a few moments of scrutiny, she asked again, "Did… something happen to you?"
"Is it that obvious?" Jason replied, genuinely puzzled.
This was not the first time someone had seen through him so easily. He was certain his mask had been perfect.
"You probably haven't noticed it yourself, big brother," Medea's bell-like voice rang out before Atalanta could answer.
The girl in the pale purple dress walked over slowly, a sweet smile on her face. "Whenever you're in front of people you truly trust and feel safe with, you never bother putting on too much of a facade… Big brother, haven't you always wondered why Dryad Godmother Demeter and Big Sister Persephone adore you so much?"
"I heard it from Big Sister Persephone herself," Medea continued. "That strong front you show the world, combined with those rare moments when you let a little vulnerability slip through (the kind that makes everyone want to protect and spoil you) is exactly why no one can resist you!"
Jason froze at those words.
Atalanta, hearing Medea so casually mention "Dryad Godmother Demeter" and "Big Sister Persephone" (names she herself had never been privileged to use), felt a faint prick of irritation in her chest.
"So, big brother," Medea said as she stepped past Atalanta and stopped right in front of Jason, "did something troubling happen?"
Jason gave her a soft smile and reached out to gently pat her head. "It's nothing."
As he spoke, he walked past Medea (whose body stiffened slightly at his touch) and stopped in front of Atalanta.
With faint apology in his eyes, he said, "I'm sorry. I truly didn't expect to be gone so long. Thank you for looking after everything while I was away."
"It was no trouble," Atalanta replied, tucking a wind-tossed strand of hair behind her ear. "With your teacher and your little sister here, I barely had to do anything. Everyone has been doing well. In fact, after you were gone for a few months, most of the crew started saying they didn't want to leave anymore. They were ready to settle down here."
"Really?" Jason turned back to Medea, who had already caught up, and ruffled her hair again. "Thank you, Medea."
"It's nothing! It's nothing! It's what I should do!" Medea beamed, basking in the head pats. "As long as I can help big brother, Medea is willing to do anything!"
As she spoke, her gaze flicked (seemingly by accident) toward Atalanta.
At the exact same moment, Atalanta glanced at her.
Their eyes met, locked for a brief second, then both looked away as if nothing had happened.
Jason noticed none of this. Under normal circumstances his sharp senses would have caught it instantly, but right now his mind was entirely occupied by something else.
Naturally, that something was the love of the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena…
The image of Athena's breathtakingly beautiful face flashed through his mind, and his expression grew momentarily dazed.
After the initial shock and disbelief had passed, Jason had accepted the truth. Even so, the thought still made his scalp tingle.
Yet, strangely enough… he was not afraid.
Yes. Jason felt no fear toward Athena because of this.
That was actually rather incredible.
Looking back on his journey, Jason had always kept beautiful women and goddesses at arm's length. He had once fled in panic with Atalanta the very day he was betrothed to Princess Io out of sheer terror at the idea of marriage.
If he reacted that way to a mortal princess, one would expect him to be even more terrified of the most radiant jewel of Olympus, the Goddess of Wisdom Athena herself.
And yet, he was not.
True, his trust in Athena had wavered for a time. He had once again glimpsed the insurmountable gap between gods and men in her actions, and had sworn to her aboard the Pegasus that he would become the dazzling hero she wished to see on the quest for the Golden Fleece, even though his heart did not truly desire it.
But he had also said, clearly and sincerely, that he did not dislike Athena.
On the contrary, Jason felt boundless gratitude toward her.
Back on the Pegasus, when he told her that, had Hecate not existed, he would willingly have become her child, those were not empty words.
And so… what exactly should I do now?
Even Jason himself no longer knew.
"Big brother…? Big brother!"
"Jason… hey, Jason!"
Atalanta's light tap on his shoulder finally snapped him out of his reverie.
"Hm? What is it?"
"What on earth were you thinking about? We called you several times and you didn't answer," Atalanta said with a frown. "Did you run into some terribly difficult problem again?"
Her emerald eyes stared quietly into his.
Jason merely smiled. "It's nothing. I'm really fine."
He brushed the matter aside and walked past the two girls, entering the palace of Colchis with a heart full of complicated emotions.
If Athena were here right now and saw Jason like this, she would probably be ecstatic (so happy she might wake up laughing in her sleep).
After all, if he did not care, why would he be so troubled?
Yes. If he did not care, why had he fallen into such a prolonged depression the moment the Argo first set sail?
It was precisely because she had finally acknowledged her own feelings that Athena later became terrified of facing Jason.
She was even more terrified that Jason might discover her love.
Athena knew she had already hurt him once. If she made another mistake… everything would be irreparably lost.
In truth, both Hecate and Hephaestus had been extremely reluctant to tell Jason the truth.
As they themselves had said, revealing this to Jason was by no means a bad thing for Athena.
Given Jason's personality, he would never ignore the situation.
More importantly, Athena already occupied a very large place in his heart.
Thus, telling him was essentially helping Athena (helping their "enemy").
But the matter of the god-slaying sword Mistilteinn was simply too enormous, and Athena was the only one capable of single-handedly turning the entire situation around with her wisdom. Therefore…
"Circe, stop right there… I said stop!"
"No way! Stop chasing me already!"
The moment Jason stepped into the palace, noisy voices reached his ears.
He looked up just in time to see a talking eagle zoom past his face, then immediately fly back.
In the next instant, it transformed into a witch wearing winged garments with rainbow-colored pupils.
None other than Medea's aunt, Hecate's very first disciple, the witch Circe.
"Jason! Jason, you're finally back!"
Circe grabbed hold of him in desperation. "Save me, little brother! You have to save me!"
While she spoke, the water nymph Scylla (who had been chasing Circe) came storming around the corner, fuming.
Seeing Jason, she paused in surprise. "Captain Jason, you're back…"
Her eyes flicked toward Circe, who flinched and immediately hid behind Jason, using him as a shield.
The commotion managed to scatter Jason's complicated mood for the moment.
He glanced at the furious Scylla, then at the trembling Circe clinging to his back, and could not help feeling both amused and exasperated.
Even after I've been gone so long, they're still at it…
As he thought this, the spirit of the Argo herself hurried over.
"Master!"
The ship-spirit puppet ran up to him in small steps, bowed her head, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Master. I failed to keep them under control and betrayed your trust…"
"It's fine. You did very well," Jason said with a gentle smile.
Seeing that he truly was not angry, the ship-spirit finally relaxed.
Shortly afterward, Medea and Atalanta also arrived.
Seeing the situation, they both reluctantly shelved their questions for now.
"Auntie, what are you doing? Get away from big brother already!" Medea said, trying to pull Circe off Jason.
But Circe clung to him tightly and refused to let go. "No! I'm not leaving!
Good little brother Jason, please save the world! This crazy woman has been chasing me for over a month without rest! I haven't had a single good night's sleep! Look (look at these dark circles)! I'm going insane!"
"Hmph! One month? Even if it were a year, ten years, a hundred years, I would never let you off!" Scylla declared coldly.
"You hear that, little brother? You hear that?!" Circe's eyes widened as she shook Jason frantically. "Teacher said only you can save me! Please, I beg you, save your poor senior sister! If you save me, I'll do anything you ask!"
"Senior sister… senior sister!"
Jason, dizzy from all the shaking, quickly tried to calm her. "It's all right, senior sister. I'll handle it…
Lady Scylla, will you trust me and let me resolve this matter?"
"Of course."
Even knowing full well that Jason was Circe's junior disciple brother, Scylla answered without the slightest hesitation.
After all, Jason was the great hero who had saved her from her torment and freed her from the sea of suffering.
If he asked her to stop right now, there was a very high chance she would agree.
But naturally, Jason had no intention of doing that.
"And you, Senior Sister Circe? Are you willing to leave this in my hands?"
Circe hesitated for a moment, glancing between Jason and Medea.
Realizing that having her own junior disciple brother judge the case could only work in her favor, she finally nodded.
"Very well… Medea, lead us there."
"Where to?" Medea asked, puzzled.
"To the temple of Themis, Goddess of Justice and Judgment," Jason replied. "I will conduct a fair trial before the fairest and most impartial goddess in the world!"
As the words left his mouth, the mark on his left hand glowed with pure white light.
At the same time, the Scales of Judgment materialized and floated beside him.