"To you who are forever noble, pure, elegant, and beautiful, I offer my humble blessing…"
Under the light of the full moon, as if the world itself had stopped, in a realm where lily petals representing purity and grace hung motionless in the air,
Artemis finally came back to her senses at the sound of Jason's gentle voice.
Thus, in her clear azure eyes was reflected the image of Jason, dressed all in white, holding a pure white lily, smiling as he asked her.
Would Artemis be satisfied with this tribute?
One only needed to glance at Persephone, who was hiding in the shadows, currently gnawing on her hand in envy, to know the answer.
"Nnngh, nnngh… So jealous, I'm really so jealous! I want one too! I want my little brother to make one for me!"
Not to mention the jealous Persephone; even the way Hecate was now looking at Jason carried a trace of something unusual.
Romance…
No matter the woman, it was clearly a devastating weapon!
Thus, at this moment, whether it was Hermes, the nymphs around them with mouths agape in envy as they stared at Artemis,
or the gods secretly watching from afar,
all of them gazed upon the pure white sea of flowers, upon Jason offering his tribute to Artemis beneath the frozen rain of petals,
and the same thought arose in every heart.
You can… play it like this?!
"Ah… T-This… Is this really for me?!"
After a long silence, Artemis finally recovered. She appeared utterly flustered, asking Jason in a panicked yet hopeful tone, careful and full of anticipation.
"Yes, Goddess Artemis."
Seeing this, Jason inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
From her reaction, Jason already knew that Artemis was clearly extremely satisfied with the tribute.
So he placed the bouquet of lilies he held into Artemis's hands and said, "This is the tribute I offer to you, Lady Artemis. I hope you like it…"
Before he could finish,
"I love it!" Artemis threw her arms around Jason, declaring with overwhelming excitement, "I love it, I love it! This is absolutely the best tribute I have ever received. It is the greatest gift I have ever been given in my entire life!"
After saying that, Artemis rubbed her cheek hard against Jason's before letting him go.
Thrilled and careful, she stepped into the blooming field of lilies and began frolicking within.
As she moved and her joyful laughter rang out, more and more small animals came running from the forest.
The underworld butterflies beneath the moon did not leave either; they danced gracefully around Artemis.
Hearing Artemis declare her satisfaction with the tribute, Jason could not help but smile.
Finally, one god was dealt with…
Thinking this, Jason turned his head toward the distance.
Soon, under the moonlight, he spotted Atalanta standing atop a large tree blooming with white lilies, looking in his direction.
Their eyes met. Jason gave her a thumbs-up and a brilliant smile.
Atalanta, seeing Jason smile at her, froze for a moment. Suddenly, she realized her heartbeat had quickened…
But it was not surprising. The charm Jason radiated at this instant
was enough that even Hecate could not help taking a few extra glances.
A little while later, seeing Artemis still playing in the lily field and knowing it was about time to end things, Jason lightly clapped his hands.
The next second, Hecate released the magic holding the flower rain still.
Thus, as the pure white lily petals began falling once more,
Jason took out his staff and cast a spell on Pegasus high in the sky, making the moonlight radiating from its body grow even brighter.
Then Pegasus, having flown extremely high, let out a loud cry that instinctively drew everyone's attention.
From beneath the moon, it came galloping down once again.
Treading upon moonlight and falling petals, it appeared extraordinarily beautiful as it arrived before the delighted Artemis.
From its mouth, it gently placed a bundle of silver lilies that seemed plucked from the moon itself into Artemis's hands.
Of course, these were silver lilies Jason had created using magical potions.
Having studied ancient magic under Hecate, even if Jason was far from mastering it, turning objects silver with specially prepared potions was naturally no difficulty for him.
Watching Artemis joyfully accept that unremarkable bundle of silver lilies, Hermes could not help laughing as he said, "This is probably the most inconspicuous tribute ever offered to any of us."
"Mm." Persephone beside him nodded and added, "Yet at the same time the most dazzling one… Ah, I'm upset! Why wasn't this tribute for me? I've always been so good to little Jason!"
Persephone gnawed on her hand, looking at Artemis with jealousy.
"…I didn't get one either."
Hecate muttered under her breath, her current expression clearly somewhat dissatisfied as she watched Jason.
Of course, Jason had no way of knowing any of this now.
He had evidently underestimated the charm of "romance."
In Jason's view, this "romance" he offered was really nothing special. After all, he had never eaten pork but had seen pigs run.
In the age of the internet, heart-shaped rose confessions, romantic candlelit dinners; Jason had seen countless such things.
So to him, this truly was not much.
Yet Jason seemed to forget where he was and what era this was.
In this world, how many people knew to deliberately create a romantic atmosphere while cleverly producing various visually explosive effects?
To render emotion and mood, gradually drawing others into the perfect moment.
Still, Jason had clearly given his all. He had used basically every resource he could think of and access.
After all, one of Jason's survival rules was: when faced with a god he could not avoid, he must do everything in his power to please them!
Only… this time, he may have overdone it a little.
But an equivalent effort naturally deserved an equivalent return!
Holding the bundle of silver lilies delivered by Pegasus, looking at Jason before her, Artemis very naturally recalled Athena, who had come to brag about Jason's "tribute" just a few days ago.
"Rest assured. When he comes to you, he will naturally offer you tribute. And when that time comes, I hope you will not be stingy.
After he offers you tribute, grant him a return gift as well."
Twelve tributes from the gods.
Twelve gifts from the gods.
Artemis held the silver lilies and walked before Jason, showing the most radiant smile as she softly said to him, "This is the best gift I have ever received. Therefore…"
Artemis stepped forward and gently kissed Jason's forehead, then raised her hand toward the full moon in the sky.
From the moon, she drew forth a silver arrow.
"From this day forward, I bestow it upon you."
Smiling, Artemis handed the silver arrow to Jason.
And as Jason looked at the arrow, he naturally had no idea how shocked Hermes, Persephone, and even Hecate were at this moment!
"She… she actually bestowed her own natal divine artifact upon Jason? And an arrow no less?!"
Hermes pointed at the scene in astonishment.
Persephone was equally surprised, but soon she laughed and said, "It is certainly unexpected, but… if it were me, I probably would have given a similar return gift."
"No, you don't understand… Anyway, things are getting more and more interesting." Hermes gave Persephone a wry smile and shook his head, then looked toward Hecate with a sigh.
Hecate gave a deep nod in response.
"Hm? …What do you mean?"
Persephone tilted her head, puzzled, looking at Hecate.
"…This is the first tribute." After a long silence, Hecate finally replied. "And also the first return gift."
Yes, the first tribute, the first return gift.
They also represented a precedent.
From now on, the tributes Jason offered could not be inferior to Artemis's.
And similarly, the blessings granted to Jason could not be lesser than Artemis's!
After all, the gods of Greece cared about face more than any others.
Now…
things had truly become more and more interesting!
…
…
At this very moment,
within Athena's temple on Mount Olympus.
Crack.
A faint sound.
The silver lyre that was Athena's tribute developed tiny cracks in her hands.
Then, with a smack, Athena slammed the lyre onto the table before her.
"This doesn't count as a tribute! …It absolutely does not count!"
…
On Mount Olympus, Aphrodite, Goddess of Beauty.
Gazing at that holy field of flowers from afar, longing and envy involuntarily appeared in her eyes.
…
On Mount Olympus, God-King Zeus.
"This child… I might have to ask him for help more often. That way no woman could possibly stop me… And this child seems to be getting cuter and cuter."
…
On Mount Olympus, Queen Hera.
She was still unaware…
…
Meanwhile, outside Mount Olympus,
deep within the ancient forest, Apollo ceased playing the beautiful melody on his golden lyre beneath the moon.
His golden eyes gazed toward Jason in the distance.
…
Within the brightly lit kingdom, the brown-haired Goddess Hestia.
Currently tucking her hair behind her ear, cheeks puffed out, looking in Jason's direction.
…
Harvest Goddess Demeter.
Her eyes were filled with envy…
…
"Twelve tributes from the gods, twelve gifts from the gods, and that one in the abyss of Tartarus…"
Hecate silently recited in her heart.
Watching Jason receive the blessing from Artemis,
she was gradually beginning to understand.
Understand why she could see him, why she could see this mortal
who would one day slay gods and even point his sword at God-King Zeus.
"The favor of the gods or the destruction of the gods… Still, it remains only a thin line between the two."