God-slayer.
God-beloved.
Return to the ordinary.
These are the three paths most likely for the current traverser Jason to walk in the future.
As for the original path of that Jason, it has obviously been completely derailed by him long ago.
So… what exactly will your future become?
Crimson eyes gazed upon the youth beneath the holy field of flowers as he received the Moon Goddess Arrow bestowed by Artemis.
Hecate could not help asking this question softly in her heart.
And at the same time, she sighed.
Because from today onward, she clearly would no longer be able to use "doing experiments" as an excuse to ignore everything outside.
So this really is an ungrateful disciple… and one who hasn't even offered her tribute yet!
…
…
"Thank you for your grace, great Goddess Artemis."
Jason accepted the arrow Artemis handed him. He naturally noticed nothing unusual about it.
After all, there was no way he could know that this was Artemis's natal divine artifact, the weapon that had accompanied her since the moment of her birth!
At the same time, Jason had grown somewhat accustomed to receiving things from gods.
It had to be said, when the Greek gods were generous, they were truly generous. When they were stingy, they were genuinely stingy.
However, the moment Jason took the arrow, he let out a soft sound of surprise because the silver Moon Goddess Arrow vanished from his hand the instant he received it.
Just as Jason grew puzzled…
"No, I should be the one thanking you, Jason… This is absolutely the best gift I have ever received in my life."
Silver hair swaying in the gentle breeze, amidst the rain of falling petals, Artemis reached out and tenderly brushed the lily petal from Jason's hair.
Her azure eyes looked at the golden-haired, emerald-eyed youth before her.
And then…
"Ah, I can't take it anymore!"
Artemis suddenly lunged forward and pulled the clearly unprepared Jason into a tight embrace!
"So cute, you're too cute, how can a child be this cute?!"
Artemis rubbed her cheek vigorously against Jason's as she held him.
Then she buried Jason's face in her chest, tilted her head toward the shadows where Hecate hid, and declared, "Hecate, I want to trade! I want to trade children! This child is too cute!
I want him, I want him so much! Hecate, give him to me!"
"I have no objection."
Hecate, dressed in her long black gown, slowly emerged from the shadows.
As she appeared, the underworld butterflies around them paused briefly before immediately gathering around her.
"You can ask him yourself…"
Before Hecate could finish,
"No way!"
Persephone, who had run out, snatched Jason back and said, "You can't have him! He's my little brother!"
"And Artemis, you already received such an amazing tribute! I haven't gotten anything yet!"
Persephone finished with a very sour tone and, still not satisfied, reached out to pinch Jason's surprised face.
"But I really want him…" Artemis toyed with the bundle of silver lilies in her hand, looking at Jason with longing.
"Plenty of people want this child." Hermes stepped out, meeting Jason's "why are you here too" gaze.
With an expression that clearly enjoyed stirring the pot, he said, "Athena, Hestia… They've had their eyes on this child even longer than you."
"What's so great about him? I don't see it."
Hecate said indifferently, "Just a guy who still hasn't offered his teacher tribute after all this time. Whoever wants him can take him. I don't care."
As soon as Hecate said this, even Hermes froze and looked at her with a strange expression.
"Oh my, I never thought Hecate would throw a little tantrum like this." Persephone looked at Hecate with open curiosity.
Hecate remained silent for a while, turned her head, and said no more.
Seeing this, though Jason was a bit confused about what was happening, he knew what he needed to say. He gently stepped out of Persephone's embrace.
Then he turned to Artemis and said with apology and seriousness, "I'm sorry, Goddess Artemis. Hecate is my teacher and the goddess I revere. So although I am deeply moved by your great affection, I will never leave her!"
"And this tribute was not offered by me alone…"
As he spoke, Jason glanced toward Atalanta, who remained hidden in the distant shadows, and softly said to Artemis, "Noble Goddess Artemis, I believe no one in this world reveres you more than she does!"
"Yes, both you and Hecate have good children. I'm the only one who doesn't."
Persephone pouted.
"But you have a little brother who adores you, Big Sis Persephone."
"You little rascal." Persephone couldn't help pinching Jason's cheek again and laughed. "That mouth of yours is still so sweet!"
Hermes watched from the side and let out two soft tsks.
He couldn't help sighing inwardly: no wonder this child attracted so much attention. Even he had to admire his skill with words.
In just a few sentences, he could make everyone happy, and none of it was a lie.
"Yes, Artemis, you should give up."
Hermes concluded, "After all, even when faced with the choice between Hera and Hecate, this child chose Hecate."
This statement carried the most weight. Artemis, still playing with her bundle of silver lilies, could only give up unhappily.
Jason shot Hermes a blank look.
Damn it!
Can you not bring that up?!
Hermes winked at Jason, his face full of smiles as if to say, "I'm helping you here."
Yet Jason remained completely on guard.
Because based on accumulated experience, whenever he ran into Hermes, nothing good ever came of it!
And it seemed that was indeed the case.
Although Hecate's expression remained calm after hearing Jason's words,
the corners of her mouth could not help curling upward ever so slightly…
"Jason, come with me for a moment… And Artemis, you too. You actually gave this child your arrow."
"But I think the tribute he offered was completely worth it!"
No one refuted Artemis's words.
Jason watched the scene in puzzlement, then glanced at Hermes…
No way, no way?
I didn't… get myself into trouble again, did I?
Confused, Jason followed Hecate away as the flower rain stopped.
After bringing Jason to a quiet spot and setting up a magic circle, Hecate dispersed the underworld butterflies around her to keep watch. Without waiting for Jason to ask, she went straight to the point.
"You're in trouble. Big trouble."
"…Was there something wrong with the tribute I gave Goddess Artemis?" Jason hesitated for a moment before asking in confusion.
"There's nothing wrong with the tribute you gave her. The problem is… it was too good."
"Too good?" Jason blinked.
Too good? …It was just a slightly romantic setup.
Seeing Jason's puzzled look, Hecate thought for a moment, then for the first time asked him with open curiosity, "If you had to offer similar tributes again, could you make them just as good?"
"Mm, I think so."
Jason nodded and answered Hecate without any concealment. "I can even do different styles. Better ones are possible too. It's actually quite simple."
This was, in fact, the honest truth.
If time had not been so pressing, if Athena had not given him only one week and today was already the fifth day,
Jason could actually have done much better.
For example, dyeing an entire mountain pure white.
Or gathering more cute creatures to embellish the scene.
Or building a holy chariot carried by Pegasus to take Artemis for a ride through the sea of white flowers.
And finally adding beautiful music, ideally with birds dancing along or forest nymphs singing and dancing to it.
Thinking this way, under Hecate's stunned and strange gaze, Jason, who had not hidden his thoughts from her, even sighed.
And said, "Sigh, there really was too little time. Just half a day. It barely passed."
…Barely?
It barely passed?
Hecate froze, looking at the youth before her.
At this moment, she actually didn't know what to say…
As a traverser, even if Jason lacked in other areas, when it came to creativity, how could anyone in this world possibly compare?
That was why Jason, who had seen countless "pigs run" in his previous life, felt absolutely no sense that he had overdone it tonight.
"I… I see." Hecate nodded somewhat stiffly.
"Mm, yes. So Teacher Hecate, is there something wrong with my tribute?" Jason looked at Hecate in confusion.
Hecate was silent for a while before saying, "Nothing. Persephone just wants one too."
"Oh… Then maybe I can discuss it with Lord Hades."
"…I want one too."
"…Hm? Teacher Hecate, did I just hear something?" Jason's eyes widened as he looked at Hecate in shock.
Hecate said nothing. With a wave of her hand, her magic staff appeared.
"Wait, I didn't hear anything just now, but I understand everything now!"
Seeing this, Jason backed down with extraordinary speed.
Only then did Hecate calmly put away her staff. Her emotions gradually settled as she continued, "Since you have an idea of what to do, that's good. This incident is trouble for you, but it may not necessarily be a bad thing."
"From today onward, the gods will have very high expectations for your tributes, but in return they will also bestow their very best upon you."
"As for exactly what they will give you, and what Artemis has given you… you can test it yourself."
"…So this really was something Goddess Athena deliberately set up, right?" Jason gave a wry smile.
"Mm, though… I don't think even she expected you to make it this big." Hecate couldn't help smiling at that.
Who would have thought the wise Goddess of Wisdom would repeatedly stumble because of this child?
"Make it big?" Jason was still completely bewildered.
Looking at him like this, Hecate didn't know what to say for a moment.
"In any case, remember one thing. From now on, every tribute you offer them must be filled with heartfelt sincerity…"
"You can rest assured about that, Teacher." Jason nodded seriously. "No matter which god it is, I would never dare be negligent!"
"…Actually, what I wanted to say is that when you offer tributes, you can take it a little easier… Never mind, pretend I said nothing."
Hecate started to speak, then stopped and gave up. She continued, "As for why I say this is trouble… I think you'll understand better by experiencing it yourself. Conveniently, there's a perfect test subject."
"Test subject… Teacher Hecate, you mean the Calydonian Boar?"
Hecate nodded, then added, "Also, among the gods you will offer tribute to next, the one you must be most careful with is Apollo. Understand?"
"Why?"
"Because you now possess the arrow of Moon Goddess Artemis. If you can satisfy Apollo with your tribute as well, he may bestow his bow upon you."
"Oh…" Jason nodded, still a bit lost.
Hecate had no intention of explaining further for now.
Because when Jason obtained the bow of Apollo, God of Light, and already possessed the arrow of Moon Goddess Artemis,
he would come to wield one of the strongest weapons among all the Greek gods!
And at the moment when sun and moon alternated, if Apollo's bow fired Artemis's arrow, that single strike would pose a genuine threat to any god!
Hecate did not tell Jason this now.
Because for the current Jason, not knowing… might be the best choice.
A god-slaying weapon… is almost within reach.
Thinking this, Hecate couldn't help sighing again in her heart.
Though satisfying Apollo and making him willing to give Jason his Bow of Light was in itself an extremely difficult task,
for some reason Hecate felt certain Jason would succeed.
And this… was merely the beginning.
Because Jason's journey had only just begun.
The visible parts alone included the imminent Calydonian Boar, visiting Hephaestus, God of Smithing, to forge a divine artifact that concealed his identity, and the promise with Hermes.
He still had to deal with the matter of God-King Zeus and Io.
And there was Jason's own kingship.
Moreover, he had to pass the trials Athena had set for him and achieve immortality.
Thinking of all this, Hecate looked at Jason before her. After a moment of hesitation, she sighed softly, stepped forward, pulled him into an embrace, and gently stroked his head.
In this world, the one who understood Jason best was probably her.
Hecate knew full well that deep in his heart… he truly did not want to touch any of what lay before him!
"Teacher?" Jason was naturally surprised by this.
"When you're tired, remember to rest." Hecate stroked his head and said softly, "Okay?"
"…Mm." Jason nodded lightly.
"And… tonight is an exception."
With a wave of her hand, a campfire appeared beside them.
"…Actually, I've been resting pretty well lately, Teacher."
Jason said in a small voice. Seeing Hecate looking at him with a kind, smiling face, he naturally dared not say more.
Teacher Hecate tonight… really is a little angry.