"Thank you, Jason."
Clad in a pale blue long gown, with slightly curled blue hair and amber eyes... Jason once again met the sea goddess.
Sister of the Queen of the Sea Amphitrite.
And the goddess fated to bear a son stronger than his father, thus personally betrothed to Jason by the king of the gods himself.
Thetis.
The moment everything returned to calm, right after Jason finished hunting the monstrous birds on the island and prepared to leave, she appeared.
Gently stroking Pegasus, she gave Jason a soft smile as clear and soothing as water flowing over the soul.
Seeing her and hearing her thanks, Jason naturally froze for a moment.
But he quickly recovered.
He realized he had fallen into a "trap."
Thinking carefully, Amphitrite's request for Jason to hunt the monstrous birds had seemed slightly odd from the beginning.
Amphitrite was a goddess of great divine authority.
If the birds had truly angered her, she could easily raise towering waves and drown the entire island.
There was no need to specially give Jason such an oracle.
Jason had wondered about it but had not dwelt on it. Now, however, he understood Amphitrite's true purpose.
The sea nymph "harassed" by the birds was none other than Thetis herself.
Thus, the real intent behind Amphitrite's oracle was clear: to bring the two of them together...
Meeting this "fiancée" goddess.
Realizing this, Jason could not help smiling wryly inside.
He felt somewhat helpless.
"Please do not blame Sister Amphitrite."
At that moment, Thetis spoke, as though reading Jason's thoughts. She lowered her head slightly and said in a softer voice, "This was because of my willfulness... I wanted to see you, Jason."
The sea goddess Thetis was one of the most renowned goddesses in the entire sea pantheon, celebrated among the gods for her virtue, wisdom, and beauty.
Even Zeus and Poseidon had once schemed in every way to claim her.
Zeus had nearly gone so far as to force her shamelessly.
If not for the prophecy protecting her...
"Meeting you is my honor, Goddess Thetis..."
Jason, feeling a headache coming on, had not finished speaking.
"Is that so?"
Thetis looked at Jason and said softly, "Though your words are not false... could you add that you are glad to see me?"
At this, Jason faltered.
Helen blinked.
Sitting on Pegasus, she watched the beautiful goddess who had suddenly appeared and Jason, who had stiffened beside her.
Though she did not fully understand the situation, she naturally sensed something was off and noticed Jason's embarrassment.
The sensible Helen dismounted from Pegasus, breaking the brief silence. She addressed Thetis, "Beautiful goddess, I am Helen, daughter of King Tyndareus of Sparta. It is my great honor to meet your noble self."
Helen curtsied to Thetis. Her pleasant voice naturally drew Thetis's attention.
"I have heard of you, Helen."
Thetis smiled at her. "And I have seen your future appearance... the most beautiful woman in the mortal world.
You are indeed worthy of walking beside Jason."
The most beautiful woman in the mortal world?
Jason froze at these words.
He then looked at Helen, who was also stunned and surprised by Thetis's statement.
Seeing her at only eleven years old, yet as though favored by the world, like the finest sculpture—pure and beautiful yet alluring—he felt the words were true.
Even the most radiant goddesses would likely be unable to suppress the brilliance she would radiate in the future.
"Goddess, this... I..." Faced with such praise, Helen inevitably became flustered and unsure how to respond.
Jason walked over.
He patted her head, then nodded to Thetis with a smile. "Indeed, Helen is very adorable. However...
Are you not the same, Goddess Thetis?
Your fame resounds among the gods. You are the noble and untouchable goddess in the hearts of all men."
Facing Jason's praise, Thetis smiled and accepted it gracefully.
At the same time, her gaze toward Jason carried a trace of quiet resentment.
Untouchable...
Thetis silently reached out and stroked Pegasus beside her.
Jason, in turn, secretly glared at Brother Horse, who had lowered its head and was now perfectly docile.
"My temple is nearby."
Thetis averted her gaze slightly and continued softly, "I learned of your journey from Sister Amphitrite. I will not delay you.
So... please come with me.
Allow me to express my gratitude for everything you have done until now... You will not refuse, will you?"
Her words carried a slight firmness—this was something Amphitrite had taught her.
Amphitrite had told Thetis to be firm with Jason.
If she softened, he would run away...
"I did nothing extraordinary, but your invitation, Goddess Thetis, is the greatest honor for me. Only, Helen..."
"No matter. Come together."
"...I understand, Goddess Thetis."
In the end, Jason could only smile wryly and agree.
He then took Helen and followed Thetis into the depths of the sea.
A goddess's invitation was commonplace for Jason by now, but for Helen, it was naturally the highest honor.
And since it was her first time entering the deep sea, after brief nervousness, Helen was immediately captivated by its beauty.
Jason watched her with a smile.
"You seem to like her a lot."
Thetis could not help commenting.
"She is very sensible... and she has suffered much over the years."
Jason clearly did not grasp the implication of Thetis's question and answered directly.
Thetis paused, looked at Jason for a moment, then understood.
She said no more.
At the same time, her attitude toward Helen grew even kinder.
Soon enough—not more than two or three hours—Jason, Helen, and Pegasus arrived at Thetis's sea temple.
When they reached their destination, Thetis's cheeks were slightly flushed.
They had covered quite a distance in those hours.
All in all, Thetis was in very high spirits. After all, Jason had agreed and come to her temple.
She had indeed prepared a lavish banquet long ago, waiting for Jason's arrival.
Unfortunately, things could not remain smooth forever.
When the sea nymphs serving her came in panic to report that a god had arrived,
Thetis's expression darkened noticeably.
Jason sensed something wrong but decided not to ask.
Yet some things could not be avoided even if he wished.
"Thetis, you're finally back. I've been waiting forever!"
A rough voice echoed from the temple entrance. Under everyone's gaze, a monster in the form of a bull-headed man strode out.
He was a god named Achelous.
The river god Achelous, guardian known as the Silver Whirlpool, capable of changing form at will.
And he was one of Thetis's suitors.
Only, this suitor was somewhat lacking.
In the past, because Zeus and Poseidon had both pursued Thetis, though many gods coveted her beauty, none dared offend her.
But now, Zeus and Poseidon had given up. The news that they had even betrothed Thetis to a human—Jason—had spread throughout the divine realm.
The key issue was that Jason had not directly accepted.
Thus...
The crude bull-headed monster emerged. Greed flashed in his eyes as he looked at the exquisite Thetis. Then he spotted Jason and froze.
Mad joy appeared in his gaze.
"It's you!"
Seeing the monster's ecstatic stare, a question mark slowly formed above Jason's head.
"You're the one, kid!"
The monster... river god Achelous strode forward, arrogantly raising his head at Jason. "You're that Jason fellow, right? I'm the great river god Achelous. Come, fight me.
I'll prove to King Zeus that you are utterly unworthy of Thetis!"
In the age of Greek mythology, mutual affection was not a concern.
After all, this was an era where a man could knock a woman unconscious with a club and carry her home—and a woman could do the same to a man.
Thus, beautiful women belonged only to the strong.
This was the conduct of the age.
Jason paused briefly, then understood as he looked at Achelous what was happening.
Beautiful women... especially goddesses.
They truly were trouble.
Jason could not help sighing inwardly.
It really applied universally.
Weaker beautiful goddesses like Thetis attracted the covetous gazes of many male gods.
And goddesses like Athena, who could easily overpower nearly all male gods, were trouble in their own way.
"Achelous, return to your river domain. You are not welcome here!"
Thetis, her expression poor, grabbed Jason's hand beside her. "Ignore him. Let's go!"
She tried to pull Jason into the temple.
But Achelous blocked them.
"If you're a man, step out and fight me!" Achelous shouted loudly at Jason. "Don't just hide behind women!"
Seeing him act this way, even Helen's eyes showed clear disgust.
But before Jason could react,
A golden arrow shot straight through one of Achelous's bull horns and pinned it to the temple wall nearby.
"How arrogant... Achelous."
Achelous, startled and furious, had not yet uttered the crude words on the tip of his tongue.
An angry voice rang out. A golden-haired male god holding a golden bow walked over from nearby.
"Lord Apollo?" Jason looked at the approaching god and called his name in mild surprise.
When Achelous saw Apollo's face clearly, he swallowed the words he had been about to say.
Apollo?
Helen also froze, then turned to look at the god said to be the most handsome male deity: Apollo, god of light.
Looking at him, Helen instinctively glanced at Jason.
Then she thought to herself.
As expected, Lord Jason is still more dazzling.
The moment this thought arose, Apollo turned his head and glanced at Helen... Jason's inner thoughts could not be heard by anyone due to various reasons.
But Helen's thoughts—gods could hear them clearly if they wished.
Comparing oneself to a god was a great taboo in Greek mythology. Countless people had died for it.
Yet Apollo was not angry.
Because only with Jason did he not mind being compared.
"Long time no see, Jason."
Turning his gaze to Jason, Apollo's formerly angry expression changed to a radiant smile.
It made Jason instinctively tighten his grip on Thetis's hand.
Thetis tilted her head, puzzled, and glanced at Jason.
"Long time no see, Lord Apollo. But why are you..."
Jason had not finished asking.
"I heard you were here, so I hurried over to find you." Apollo said this, ignoring Achelous and walking straight to Jason.
Jason quickly gripped Thetis's hand even tighter, as though afraid she might let go.
"I already heard from Artemis what you did for Mother Leto."
Apollo smiled like pure light and, as he had when Jason was a child, gently pinched Jason's cheek. "I came to express my gratitude."
"N-No need, Lord Apollo. It was what I should have done."
Thetis watched the scene before her with a subtly strange gaze.
And the strength with which Jason clung to her hand, making it ache slightly...
At the same time, Thetis naturally noticed that the closer Apollo got, the tighter Jason's grip became.
"Jason, you're always so humble and adorable... It's a pity I couldn't have you. Hecate got there first."
Apollo sighed, genuine regret in his eyes.
Though Thetis truly did not understand the situation, she gripped Jason's hand back, signaling she was here.
In that moment, Jason was moved beyond words.
He was on the verge of pulling Thetis over to shield himself from Apollo...
Facing Apollo's intimate behavior, as though he wanted to press close,
Jason truly could not handle it!