What staggering arrogance!
Faced with the love of Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, Jason did not yield or reciprocate.
Instead, he asked her to wait.
Wait while he tried to fall in love with her.
In the present world, and even looking far into the future,
for a great and beautiful goddess, especially one as outstanding among the gods as Athena,
her love would be the ultimate honor and bliss for any mortal.
Countless people would envy and covet such a romance.
Yet Jason still gave his answer.
The truest answer from the depths of his heart.
After Athena left, Jason remained bewildered. He had no idea why she suddenly departed.
But as he watched her retreating figure, then looked at his right hand and remembered their interlocked fingers,
a shiver ran through his entire body.
"I actually… survived?!"
Jason muttered in disbelief, "I survived, and nothing happened to me?!"
"What on earth did I just do?!"
A wave of survivor's relief finally cleared his chaotic mind.
Sometimes people act on inexplicable impulses and do things that leave their future selves dumbfounded.
Jason was normally an extremely rational person.
Of course, that was also tied to his personality.
If one thought about it carefully, today's actions had been anything but rational.
He had walked into mortal peril with almost no preparation. One wrong move and he might never have seen Hecate or Hephaestus again.
This was very unlike Jason, very unlike the cautious Jason.
Yet when all the circumstances were considered, it was not incomprehensible.
Jason usually appeared rational and prudent, but in front of those he truly trusted, he often became… childlike.
Not brainless, but unusually trusting, far more than the average person.
The prerequisite, of course, was that they had genuinely earned his trust.
One could see it in how he treated Hecate, Hephaestus, Athena, the centaur Chiron, and Atalanta.
He behaved completely differently toward them than toward other people or gods.
The reason was probably because he was a transmigrator.
As a transmigrator, he was inherently alone.
In this unfamiliar and dangerous age of Greek gods,
the few people he could trust naturally became objects of deeper dependence than most would ever understand.
Though Athena had once shattered his trust, his respect and gratitude toward her had never faded.
Everything she had done for him, all the help and protection she had given, was plain for all to see, mortal and divine alike.
Even now, many heroes aboard the Argo believed Jason was Athena's own child.
After all, he had always walked the correct path guided by wisdom.
Thus, the so-called "shattered trust" was only in comparison to Hecate and the others.
Even after that incident, Jason still trusted Athena deeply.
There was merely an additional barrier, the eternal divide between mortal and divine.
Moreover, before learning of her love, what had Athena done?
She had once again resolved an enormous crisis for him: the god-slaying sword Mistilteinn.
Without her, Hecate and the others would never have been so at ease. They would have been driven half-mad with worry over his situation.
That was why Jason had said he did not want to hurt her.
Add to that the trial of Circe and Scylla he had just conducted.
That entire mess had begun because Circe fell in love with a fisherman, giving rise to jealousy and hatred.
For someone as familiar with Greek mythology as Jason, the lesson was stark: love could be terrifyingly heavy.
Under the combined weight of all these factors, Jason had come to Athena's temple almost completely unprepared, waited for her, and poured out everything in his heart without considering the consequences.
Only now, as his mind cleared, did he realize just how bold he had been.
This was no longer dancing on the edge of a blade.
This was breakdancing on the line between the sky falling and the sky staying up!
"Good gods, I actually survived. I really survived, and I actually resolved the whole thing…"
Jason muttered to himself, eyes wide with disbelief.
One could only say that, as Athena had declared, Hecate and Hephaestus had unwittingly saved him once again.
Her reason had not yet been consumed by love.
So for the sake of obtaining Jason, she was willing to wait.
And precisely because her reason remained, Athena understood clearly that her love for Jason could not leak out even the slightest bit right now.
The fallout from the god-slaying sword's emergence had not yet settled.
No one could guarantee that Typhon, Ancestor of All Demons, would not reveal that Jason possessed it.
If Typhon, in order to claim Jason, announced the sword's existence and forced Jason to his side,
a Jason who wielded Mistilteinn and was loved by Athena would become someone Zeus would kill at any cost, even if it drove him insane.
That was why Athena had set the deadline at his ascension to godhood.
Once Jason endured the divine thunder tribulation and became a god, divine lightning would no longer be his weakness.
And let us not forget the terrifying array of divine gifts he already carried.
With a divine body and the god-slaying sword in hand,
even if he still could not defeat Zeus, it would be nearly impossible for Zeus to kill him.
If Themis, Goddess of Judgment, were to stand with him that day and bestow all her divine authority upon him,
everything would be decided. Not even Zeus could change it.
Athena was still rational.
Unlike a certain goddess who only wanted to lock Jason away forever,
she could distinguish between a moment and an eternity.
As for the possibility that Jason might ascend yet still not love her…
She laughed at the thought.
After today, Athena had seen Jason's attitude clearly.
She now understood that even after everything that had happened before, she still held a place in his heart.
If a moment was not enough, she would spend an eternity.
If a year was not enough, she would spend a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand years!
As she had said, the instant she realized she loved Jason, the instant the Goddess of Wisdom tasted poison and bit into the forbidden fruit,
she no longer had any choice.
She would help him with everything she had.
And she would claim him with everything she had.
Jason could never escape her, whether he eventually fell in love with her or not.
This was the arrogance… of the Goddess of Wisdom!
…
A sleepless night passed.
The next morning, when bright sunlight streamed through the temple windows and fell upon Jason,
he finally looked up, squinting against the dazzling light, and realized he had stood in the temple all night.
The sun woke the dazed Jason who had spent the entire night lost in thought.
No one knew what had occupied his mind during those long hours.
"It's morning…"
Jason murmured softly, then turned to glance at the statue of Athena inside the temple.
A complicated, wry smile that defied description crossed his face.
He turned and finally walked out of the temple.
Last night, his first instinct had been to take his staff and flee to the Underworld to throw himself at Hecate's legs for comfort, as he always did when troubled.
But in the end, he had not.
This was something he had to face alone.
He had not walked far before he spotted the beautiful huntress leaning against a corridor wall, clearly waiting for him.
"You…"
Before Jason could finish, Atalanta cut in calmly.
"I just happened to be passing by. I figured you would be back around now, so I waited a little."
Jason stared at her silently for a moment.
Then he suddenly reached out and pinched her cheeks.
He was rewarded with Atalanta's first murderous glare in a very long time.
"Your face is frozen stiff, and you say you only waited a little?"
Ignoring her glare, Jason released her cheeks and took her icy left hand.
Despite her protests, he poured rich life force into her.
The sudden rush of warmth and comfort nearly made Atalanta, who had stood in the cold wind all night, cry out.
She managed to hold it in, but the expression that bloomed across her face still made Jason chuckle.
And so… he was promptly stomped on several times.
"What happened?"
After a while, Atalanta finally asked.
"Nothing."
Jason could only shake his head and give that answer.
Atalanta studied him for a moment, then said, "It has to do with the esteemed Goddess of Wisdom Athena, doesn't it?"
"…Yes."
After a brief silence, Jason nodded.
There was no hiding it; he had just come from her temple.
"That esteemed goddess has always been very good to you," Atalanta continued, unable to help herself. "Even great gods sometimes have their little tempers, just like…
the great Goddess Artemis."
Mentioning her own patron deity, Atalanta's face showed faint helplessness.
"But even so, she is still a goddess we must respect."
She was gently admonishing Jason. Atalanta actually knew what had happened between him and Athena.
She knew his trust in the goddess had once been broken.
So she naturally assumed the current trouble stemmed from that incident.
Jason quickly guessed what she was thinking and looked at her with helpless affection.
He desperately wanted to tell her that Athena was not angry at all. Far from it, she had wanted to devour him whole!
If not for her remaining reason, he would already be gone tonight, and Atalanta might never have seen him again!
But of course, he could not tell her that.
So Jason merely smiled wryly and let her misunderstand.
They spoke for a while longer until Medea came looking for them.
Not just her, soon the centaur sage Chiron and the others, whom he had not seen in over a month, arrived one by one.
They naturally scolded him for disappearing without a word and only returning now.
But no one dwelled on it for long.
Hermes, messenger of the gods, had appeared and informed them that Jason had been carrying out divine missions.
Last night Jason had asked Atalanta and Medea to relay the message that everyone should prepare to depart.
So by now, they were all ready.
Jason went to the palace and informed King Aeëtes of Colchis that they would be leaving.
Aeëtes tried to persuade him to stay and lamented how much the Argo's heroes, under Chiron's leadership, had done for Colchis over the past month.
He was deeply reluctant to see them go.
But Jason explained that he was bound by divine oracle, and now that he had the Golden Fleece, he had to return home to save his parents. Aeëtes could only relent.
After some polite farewells, Jason took his leave of the king.
As Jason walked away, King Aeëtes gazed at his retreating back and sighed, "His story is destined to be told forever in ages to come. He is a great hero!"
Hearing this, the queen turned to Aeëtes. "Why did you not mention marriage?
We agreed to betroth our daughter to him.
We can all see how much Medea loves him."
"I had intended to," Aeëtes replied with a wry smile, "but last night the girl suddenly came to me and spoke of it herself.
She begged me earnestly, almost in tears, not to do it. She made me swear before she was satisfied."
"Why?" the queen asked in shock. "Doesn't she adore Jason?"
"Yes," Aeëtes said helplessly, shaking his head. "That is exactly what she said: because she loves him, she cannot do it."
"Then she has given up?" the queen exclaimed in confusion.
"No," Aeëtes sighed. "She pleaded with me all night, so in the end… I agreed."
"Big brother!"
When all the heroes had gathered, ready to leave under the reluctant gazes of the people of Colchis and guided by the Colchian seer to the magic circle,
Medea came running up, slightly out of breath.
She had finished packing.
"Big brother, I've already spoken to Father and Teacher."
Seeing Jason's puzzled look, Medea gazed at him anxiously and said carefully, "They both agreed, so big brother… can I travel with you this time?"
Jason blinked, then looked at the nervous girl before him.
He remembered the arrow she had once shot at him in the temple.
Then he smiled. "Of course, my little sister."
Medea froze for a moment, then her face lit up with a radiant smile.
"But first, we need everyone's approval…"
"I have no objection."
Before Jason could finish, the centaur sage Chiron stepped forward with a wide smile.
He looked Medea over, glanced at the silent Atalanta beside them, and laughed, extraordinarily pleased.
He looked exactly like a father-in-law approving of his son's bride…
"No objection here."
"Of course not!"
"Princess Medea, you are most welcome!"
"Welcome aboard, Medea."
Many of Chiron's former students also grinned and welcomed her warmly.
Most of them had known her for a long time.
When Jason was studying in Chiron's cave, Medea would occasionally leave the Underworld with him and visit.
So they all knew Jason had a little sister who was also his senior disciple sister.
Only when they arrived in Colchis did most of them realize she was the princess of this land!
Thus, Medea ultimately boarded the Argo once more.
But unlike the original myth, this time the heroes of the Argo welcomed her with open arms.
Medea was greeted with laughter and cheer.
Soon after, through the teleportation circle, they arrived at the coast of Colchis.
On the azure sea, the spirit of the Argo once again manifested her holy and majestic form,
astonishing many who had come to see the heroes off.
This time, the heroes of the Argo did not flee in panic pursued by Colchian soldiers as in the original tale.
This time there was no bloodshed.
This time, beneath the bright sun and the reluctant, worshipful gazes of the people of Colchis,
bearing the Golden Fleece and endless glory,
the Argo set sail for home!