The woman named Helen naturally knew Jason.
Clad in sacred white robes, the great hero who always walked the righteous path.
Meeting him was boundless fortune.
He was the hero beloved by all the gods.
Stories of Jason's fame and deeds circulated throughout the world. Everyone praised him.
How could Helen not know him?
But Theseus was the same. Theseus was also a great hero sung by the world and the bards!
In truth, Helen's parents had always protected her very well.
They deeply understood the nature of so-called "heroes."
When Theseus and his companions visited, Helen had been locked away, not allowed to meet them.
Yet at that time, she had yearned to see a hero.
She had slipped out secretly, met Theseus and the others, and ended up being abducted.
As a result, the young girl had been separated from her homeland for more than two full years.
Thus, even facing Jason, even facing this hero beloved by the gods, whose tales and praises filled the mortal world, the first emotion Helen felt toward him could only be wariness.
...
Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
In the early morning, Helen, who had fallen asleep leaning against the holy Pegasus, slowly opened her purple eyes.
A ray of morning light filtered through dense leaves and shone upon her exquisite face.
Pure yet alluring. Two utterly contrasting kinds of beauty appeared together on her, even though she was only eleven years old.
As she stirred slightly, she immediately noticed the beautiful little bird resting on her left shoulder and instinctively froze.
Then...
"You're awake?"
A gentle voice came from beside her.
She turned her head instinctively and saw Jason in his white robes, golden hair and green eyes, smiling as he closed the book in his hands: The Complete Basics of Magic That Even Cerberus Can Learn!, woven by Teacher Hecate.
As Jason spoke, the little bird rubbed its eyes and slowly rose. Pegasus let out a soft whinny.
At the same time, several squirrels descended from the trees. They came before Helen, chittering, and placed morning dew collected in leaves and fruits into her hands.
Seeing them, Helen could not help smiling, revealing the innocent joy that truly belonged to a girl her age.
"Wash up, and we'll prepare to continue our journey..."
As he spoke, a seabird landed in Jason's hand. He listened for a moment before continuing, "We're already close to your home now.
At most... we'll arrive in about four more days."
Ah, so close to home already?
Hearing Jason's words, Helen froze for a moment, then looked at him with great surprise.
When Theseus had abducted her, the sea voyage had taken a full one or two months.
During that time, Helen had constantly hoped her father the king and her mother the queen would come to rescue her. In fact, they had sent pursuers.
But Theseus was also a very famous great hero in Greek mythology.
Moreover, his father was the sea god Poseidon...
While Helen was surprised by this,
"Our original plan was to go straight there, but... something unexpected came up, so we may have to detour a little and take a different route."
Jason smiled wryly.
He looked at Helen with slight apology. "Sorry, Helen. Last night I received an oracle from Queen of the Sea Amphitrite. She asked me to go to a small island in the sea and hunt a flock of monstrous birds."
Those monstrous birds had once inhabited the shores of Lake Stymphalis in Arcadia.
They were enormous birds of prey with bronze wings, beaks, and claws.
The feathers they shed were like arrows loosed from bows. Their bronze beaks could pierce bronze shields. They had taken countless lives.
This had also been one of Heracles's Twelve Labors.
With Athena's help, Heracles had successfully driven them away.
Thus they had left Lake Stymphalis, flown out to sea, and continued to prey upon passing travelers.
Amphitrite wanted them eliminated because their presence had harmed a sea nymph, her sister, who was on that island.
And by chance, Jason was nearby.
After Jason finished speaking, before Helen could react, Pegasus whinnied twice beside them.
"What are you saying!"
Jason glared at Pegasus in annoyance.
While Helen was puzzled by this,
"Pegasus says you should get used to it, Helen. Following Lord Jason often means getting caught up in all sorts of troublesome things. Nothing ever goes completely smoothly."
Hestia's messenger, the little bird, translated faithfully.
Well, as a divine messenger, it was not strange that she could speak.
And since she was the messenger of a virgin goddess, she was naturally female.
Hearing the bird's words, and seeing Jason glaring at Pegasus while even pouting slightly, Helen could not hold back a soft laugh.
After laughing, she startled herself, quickly stood, curtsied to Jason, and said cautiously, "I'm sorry, Lord Jason. I..."
"It's fine, it's fine... This stupid horse is telling the truth."
Jason waved his hand, his expression slightly depressed. "Ah, it's fate... But Goddess Amphitrite has helped me a lot over the years, so I've already accepted this oracle.
It's just you, Helen..."
As he spoke, Jason looked at Helen thoughtfully. "If you don't want to go, I can ask the kind nymphs of the forest to look after you..."
Before he could finish,
"I'll go!" Helen, hearing she might be left behind, hurriedly interrupted Jason. After brief hesitation, she looked at him cautiously. "But I can't offer Lord Jason any help at all. I'll only hold you back..."
"It's fine, don't worry. They're just a flock of monstrous birds."
Jason smiled at the somewhat anxious Helen. "And with Brother Horse here, if you stay close to him, you won't be a burden at all."
Hearing this, Helen tilted her head toward Pegasus.
Under her gaze, Pegasus raised its head proudly and flapped its wings twice, indicating everything would be fine with it there.
Seeing this, and seeing that Jason had no intention of abandoning her, Helen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She then went to wash up. When she returned, Jason stared at her loose golden hair for a while, then thought for a moment.
"Helen, come here for a second."
Helen obediently came to Jason's side. He gently had her sit on a tree stump.
While Helen was puzzled, Jason took the silver comb from her hand and began brushing her hair.
"Lord Jason, this..."
Once Helen understood his intent, she could not help feeling flustered.
"It's fine, it's fine. I'm actually pretty good at this, let me tell you."
Jason chuckled lightly. "Ah, and it was trained into me... My teacher is very lazy. I couldn't stand watching anymore, so I started doing it. Later my little sister saw me brushing Teacher's hair and demanded I do hers too.
But once she grew a little older, she got shy and wouldn't let me touch it anymore."
"Now that I think about it... I've never really fulfilled my duties as an older brother."
Speaking of Medea, the smile on Jason's face faded slightly. "She's done so much for me, but I... The only good news is that it's not too late. I can still make it up to her."
He did not speak of debt, but Jason truly had not fulfilled his duties as an older brother.
Jason always said an elder brother is like a father and must be respected.
Medea had done that.
But he? Only after Medea loosed that golden arrow had Jason truly accepted her.
Before that, Jason had always carried obvious fear toward Medea.
Even though there were reasons, it was still Jason's failing.
As Jason finished speaking, Pegasus whinnied twice again beside them.
"Pegasus says you talk nicely, but you still left Medea at home and ran off without taking her."
The little bird translated honestly.
"If I didn't run? Could I not run? If I hadn't run fast back then, I wouldn't have gotten the chance to run at all!"
"Brother Horse, have you been talking more lately? Believe me, I'll find time to take you to the abyss and let you play chess with Lord Tartarus and the others!"
Jason glared at Pegasus and bickered with it.
Hearing their exchange, Helen, who had been very tense, found she could no longer stay tense.
The corners of her mouth lifted into a smile.
And when she smiled from the heart, even the sunlight seemed to grow brighter, as though indulging her.
Soon Jason finished brushing Helen's hair.
He tied it neatly into a single ponytail.
Then, as they prepared everything and were ready to leave,
Helen suddenly approached Jason, her face flushed with embarrassment.
She bit her lip, kept her head lowered, and after a long while gathered her courage. Very shyly, she said to the puzzled Jason, "Um, Lord Jason, do you... have any spare clothes?"
Hearing this, Jason looked at the dress Helen had worn for several days straight and finally realized.
Because of his sacred robes, he never needed to change clothes.
"Yes, my little sister left quite a few with me back then. Let me find some for you..."
"Then... Lord Jason, do you have any that are a bit looser?"
Looser?
Jason paused slightly, looking at Helen in Medea's dress that clung very tightly, and could not help clicking his tongue.
"This... I really don't."
"Mm... then this is fine."
Thinking for a moment, Jason turned and went to Pegasus. Under Pegasus's wide-eyed stare, he plucked a single sacred feather from its wings.
At the same time, he extended his hand. A mass of ghostly undying flames gradually gathered in his palm.
Then Jason combined the feather and the undying flames, recited a few incantations, and looked toward Helen.
"Don't be afraid, Helen. Relax."
Saying this, Jason pressed the flames toward Helen.
The instant she saw the flames coming, Helen's eyes widened and she instinctively wanted to dodge.
But seeing Jason's clear, sacred azure eyes, she ultimately chose not to.
The ghostly flames settled upon Helen's body, burning away the pale purple dress and transforming into an ancient-style long gown that fit her perfectly.
"There, that's better."
Jason smiled, walked to Helen, and placed the feather, now strung on a thread at some point, into the stunned Helen's hands.
"Today, you only need to say 'remove' or 'wear' to this feather... Oh, and don't say 'remove' right now."
Helen took the feather, still dazed and clearly not yet recovered.
By the time she finally reacted and prepared to say something to Jason, he was already seated on Pegasus and extending his hand to her.
"It's time to go, Helen. Goddess Amphitrite is still waiting for me to complete her oracle."
Hearing this, Helen could only swallow the words on the tip of her tongue.
She took Jason's hand and sat on Pegasus.
As Pegasus spread its wings and soared, after hesitating, she finally hung the feather around her neck.
At the same time, she tilted her head and secretly stole glances at Jason's profile as he sat in front...
After flying over the azure sea for some time, in the early afternoon, Pegasus brought Jason and Helen to their destination.
They arrived outside the island where the monstrous birds dwelled.
Just as Pegasus prepared to fly into the island,
"That's far enough. We'll stay outside... This is a good chance for me to test the ability Lady Artemis taught me."
"Fly higher, Brother Horse."
Jason patted Pegasus's head. Pegasus flapped its wings until they were just below the white clouds in the sky.
Helen looked down at the scene below and could not help feeling her scalp tingle. She unconsciously grasped Jason's sleeve, fear showing on her face.
Jason turned back, smiled, and gently patted Helen's head.
"Hold on tight, Helen. Don't worry. It'll be over soon."
Before Helen could nod in response, Jason lightly stood up on Pegasus.
He reached into the light and drew forth a golden longbow.
It was the second gift from the god of light Apollo to Jason.
The bow of the god of light Apollo.
He drew the bow, aiming at the island below.
As Jason drew, under the radiance of light, a golden arrow immediately appeared upon the string.
A soft twang.
The golden arrow shot straight toward the island below, easily dispatching one monstrous bird in a single strike.
Before the birds below could react, Jason drew again from afar, sniping them.
One arrow, two arrows, three arrows... Every arrow Jason loosed struck a monstrous bird with perfect precision.
Though they had bodies like steel, they naturally could not withstand the arrows of the god of light Apollo.
Helen sat on Pegasus, watching Jason draw and shoot.
As she watched, she gradually forgot the fear in her heart.
Her gaze grew entranced.
Even Lord Apollo, god of light, could probably not shine more brilliantly than he does... In the end, Helen could not help thinking this.