Chapter 213: Don't you think its time.
Chapter 213: Don't you think its time.
After some time had passed, the sun was finally urged to set by the arrival of the night.
Its descent marked not only the end of the day but also the conclusion of Promise's battle with Ares and the long and arduous journey for the Golden Fleece.
As calm returned to the land under the moonlight, Promise felt the divine power within him begin to fade, and his gaze towards the goddess Hecate became more and more fiery.
"What's with that look?"
Hecate, who had now turned back to her original appearance, felt the boy's intense stare and couldn't help but take two steps back in panic.
"I could have endured the darkness, but you let me see the light, Goddess Hecate!"
Hearing his words, Hecate raised an eyebrow, a vein throbbing on her forehead. "Speak plainly!"
"This feeling is so incredible, Goddess Hecate! I realize now that I can never go back. I refuse to return to being a weak, ordinary person!"
Promise exclaimed passionately, fixing his determined gaze on Hecate, who had her eyes widened. "And this-this is all your fault, Goddess Hecate. So you must take responsibility for me!"
"Exactly!" Hermes chimed in from the sidelines, adding fuel to the fire. "Take responsibility!"
"Well... it's not entirely out of the question," Athena remarked with an amused smile.
"Come to think of it, this guy's personality has actually always been very bad, but because she cared about Promise, she's been holding back quite a lot.
"Promise really does seem to like Hecate a lot,"
Hera was also laughing softly.
As she took a moment to appraise Hecate in front of her, her sharp eyes examining the goddess from head to toe.
Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, Hera muttered under her breath, "Oh, that's right. Speaking of which... Goddess Hecate is still unmarried, isn't she...?"
"Well, no, isn't the age difference a bit too big?" Hearing this, Hades, the god of the underworld who had earlier ran out with the goddess of night Nyx, couldn't help but interrupt the conversation.
Ah, behold-the one truly rational god in Greek mythology.
"What does it matter? As long as Promise is happy, isn't that enough?" Hestia also joined in with a mischievous grin on her face, that made it clear she was enjoying the spectacle.
Not content to leave it at that, she turned to Hera and escalated the matter to a higher level, speaking.
"And look, even Nyx, the goddess of night, seems to like Promise a lot. If this works out, she might be overjoyed, right!"
Nyx, the goddess of night, was actually God King Zeus's foster mother.
So, when she heard Hestia mention her, Hera's eyes lit up immediately as she turned her gaze back to Hecate, now evaluating her anew.
Strong abilities? Check-Hecate could definitely protect Promise.
A decent personality? Check-she wasn't as troublesome as some gods.
Good looks? Check-more than adequate.
High status? Check-well-respected and still unmarried.
The more Hera thought about it, the brighter her eyes glowed and the more satisfied she became.
In the end, she nodded approvingly, lost in thought.
At this moment, Hecate, who was giving Hera an incredible look, was so frightened that her soul almost flew out of her body.
"This is impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Clutching herself protectively, she backed away while shouting, "Are you all insane? No you all are definitely insane. Stop joking around and leave me out of this!"
What's wrong with you people?
You all lost your minds!!
Looking at her terrified expression, the gods exchanged glances and then burst into laughter, unable to contain themselves.
Even Ares, who had just gotten up after being beaten and had a swollen face, couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"I'm done! "I don't want to play with you anymore, I don't want to play anymore! I'm out!" Hecate activated a magic circle, and was preparing to retreat to the Underworld.
"Hey wait, Goddess Hecate! Let's talk this through..."
Well...it would have been fine if Promise hadn't been spoken, but once he spoke, Hecate ran even faster.
Looking at Promise's dejected expression, the gods couldn't help but laugh even harder.
Hermes and the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite, in particular, seemed thoroughly entertained, feeling somewhat refreshed in their hearts.
'Promise, so even you have moments when people find you annoying.'
"Why's she running? It's not like I'm going to eat her," Promise muttered with a hint of frustration. "At most, I'd just make her work two more jobs. Geez, so stingy."
"Alright, that's enough," Athena said with a smile as she stepped forward to pinch Promise's cheek playfully and reassured him, "Don't be like that. If you scare her off for real, you won't be able to see her again in the future."
Hecate, who was still "retreating" but keeping an eye on things, paused at Athena's words and almost nodded in agreement.
But then she realized something was wrong.
Wait a second. What's that supposed to mean?
You're saying you don't intend to ever let me go, aren't you?!
No, what do you value about me? Can't I change my career?
Promise, meanwhile, was a bit touched by Athena's words.
Nodding his head, he thought to himself,
'It seems you're the one who truly cares about me, Goddess Athena.
But just as he was basking in that warm thought, Promise suddenly noticed that the corners of Athena's mouth were raised, revealing a smile that was very familiar to him.
It was the smile the Goddess of Wisdom always wore whenever she was about to stir up trouble-a smile so elegant yet ominous it sent a chill down Promise's spine.
Oh no. This is bad.
Sensing impending doom, Promise tried to speak, but he didn't expect Athena to be faster.
Anticipating that he would likely interrupt her, she deftly took the silver strand of hair from
her possession and tied up his loose black locks once more.
And doing so, in one smooth motion, she sealed his ability to speak.
Then, her voice, as melodic as it was playful, rang out:
"Come to think of it, everyone seems to be looking at this place, watching us right now.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Of course, that's only natural after all, today marks the grand finale of the adventure we gods have eagerly anticipated for so long.
Now that this magnificent stage has finally come to an end, it's only fitting that a few matters
are resolved... Do you think I am right, Promise?"
Athena finished tying his hair, then took a step back.
Her flawless face was framed by the moonlight as she smiled mischievously, her expression
brimming with troublemaking intent.
No, what on earth are you going to do, Athena!
Promise thought, his gaze filled with horror.
And just as Athena said, no matter whether it was the main gods present at the scene or the gods who were not present, as long as the gods knew about the promise or the Argonauts,
they were indeed watching here at this moment.
After all, Promise's clash with Ares had caused quite the commotion.
The fact that several major gods had bestowed their authority upon him had left many divine
beings dumbfounded.
Just as some were preparing to turn away, assuming the spectacle was over, they now perked
up at the hint of more drama.
Wow, there's a sequel!
Even Hera, Artemis, Hermes and the other gods, present at the scene looked puzzled at Athena, all of them curious about what she was plotting.
It wasn't long before Athena spoke again as the wicked smile on her eyes deepened.
"For instance, the question of which goddess you ultimately choose to follow... the one you
truly believe in-don't you think it's time we had an answer to that?"
"Don't you agree, my dear little Promise~~?"