Possessing nothing, neglected by all.
Thus the most difficult, yet also the easiest goddess to deal with?
After hearing the oracle that Athena had Hermes, the messenger of the gods, deliver to him, Jason fell into silence.
Recalling what little he knew of Hephaestus' identity and deeds, Jason quickly understood the meaning behind those words.
Hephaestus was one of the Twelve Olympians and, moreover, a "legitimate" daughter of Zeus.
She was born from the union of Zeus, King of the Gods, and Hera, Queen of Heaven.
By all rights, someone of such exalted birth should have lived a blessed life, yet the exact opposite was true. Her existence had been filled with hardship from the very beginning.
The moment she was born, rumor said she was cast away by Hera herself because of her unsightly appearance.
She was hurled directly from Mount Olympus and became lame from the fall.
Had she not been fortunate enough to be rescued by Thetis, the first goddess of the sea, the primordial sea goddess, and Hera's own foster mother, the world would never have heard of her again.
Later, when all the male gods coveted the beauty of Aphrodite, Goddess of Beauty and Love, Zeus naturally desired her as well. Only Hera's watchful eyes prevented him from acting. Because of this, the other male gods also refrained from making any moves on Aphrodite.
In the end, Zeus, unable to withstand Hera's scrutiny any longer, married Aphrodite off to the ever-silent Hephaestus as though ridding himself of a burden.
Even afterward, when Dionysus, the only Olympian with mortal blood, ascended to Olympus, Zeus attempted to have Hephaestus yield her seat among the Twelve to him.
Only because her elder sister Hestia intervened and voluntarily surrendered her own throne was Hephaestus able to retain her position.
Thus, if Artemis was the daughter most doted upon by Zeus, King of the Gods, then Hephaestus was truly the child he favored the least.
Yet... the most difficult yet also the easiest goddess to deal with?
Jason could not help feeling a trace of doubt.
There was no use thinking too much about it now, and Hermes had vanished shortly after delivering the oracle.
He still had a mission of his own: the matter concerning Io.
At this very moment, Io, transformed into a heifer and guarded by the hundred-eyed giant Argus, was being led all over the world.
Although Hermes intended to leave the resolution of this affair to Jason, he first had to locate Io without alerting Hera.
After Hermes departed, leaving only Jason, Atalanta, and the heavenly horse behind, the atmosphere grew quiet.
Jason pondered what he had to do next, while Atalanta fixed her gaze firmly upon him.
At this moment, Atalanta finally began to understand... to understand what Artemis had meant when she said Atalanta knew nothing about Jason and that all her previous impressions of him had been mistaken.
And the disdain he had shown at the beginning was simply because she was too beautiful...
Every time she thought about this, Atalanta could not help taking out the ever-blooming lily she kept close to her heart.
She toyed with it in her hands, lost in thought.
Under this silent atmosphere, time gradually passed until deep into the night.
Noisy sounds came from outside, and soon a servant arrived to inform them that the gathered heroes were ready to set out.
"Understood... Atalanta, aren't you going over?"
"And you?" Atalanta looked at Jason.
"I'll pass." Jason shook his head. Naturally, he had no intention of joining such a gathering of heroes.
"I'll just ride the heavenly horse and stay hidden in the shadows."
"Then I'll come with you." Atalanta said calmly. Seeing Jason's slight surprise, she hurriedly added, "I don't like overly noisy places."
"But this is a heroic undertaking. If you hide with me, how will the bards sing of your deeds?"
"Not interested." Atalanta replied indifferently. "If that monster weren't something belonging to Lady Artemis, I wouldn't have come here at all."
This was not a lie.
Yet Atalanta did not speak the whole truth.
Aside from the reason above, she had also come out of curiosity, wanting to witness the heroes sung of by the bards across the land.
That curiosity, however, had come to an abrupt end the moment it touched Jason.
The truth behind the oracle three years ago, and the tribute from last night... Now, when Atalanta looked at those other heroes, she would probably only see a bunch of fools.
Barbaric people who understood nothing of courtesy.
Night fell deep, and the hour of the hunt arrived.
Outside the kingdom, Meleager led the many heroes who had answered his call, waiting for Jason and Atalanta to appear.
After a long while with no sign of them, just as Meleager began to wonder, Heracles came over and nudged him.
"No need to wait. You already know what Junior Brother Jason is like."
As he spoke, Heracles quietly pointed toward the sky.
Meleager instinctively looked up and saw, beneath the full moon, the heavenly horse spreading its wings in flight.
And behind Jason on that heavenly horse sat a beautiful woman bathed in moonlight.
"...As expected, they really do suit each other."
Muttering softly and letting out a sigh, Meleager quickly rallied the heroes and set off in grand formation.
Soon they reached the ancient forest and searched within for a long time, yet found nothing.
The forests of Greece at this time were dense with trees and filled with swamps; ferocious beasts, boars, and other vicious creatures roamed everywhere.
Although Meleager had deliberately chosen to depart at night, after much effort many in the group were still injured.
From the sky, Jason, riding the heavenly horse, saw that the situation was not progressing.
He took out the directional guide Athena had bestowed upon him, confirmed the location, and relayed it to Atalanta.
Thus, after the heavenly horse descended, Atalanta appeared before the group and led them to a beautiful valley where they finally located the monstrous boar.
The creature was not merely enormous; it stood several meters tall. Stiff bristles jutted from its broad back, and its massive, sharp tusks gleamed like ivory under the full moon.
Startled by the frenzied barking of the hunting dogs, the boar soon charged out, snapping countless trees in its path.
Even though the gathered heroes were prepared, the sight of this several-meter-tall monster capable of breathing fire from its mouth still filled them with fear.
Then, as the boar thundered forward as though shaking the very earth, the spears hurled at it with courage did not slow it down at all.
Instead, they only enraged it further!
Sparks flew as the spears scraped against its rigid hide.
The furious boar charged the heroes, instantly trampling three who failed to dodge and killing them on the spot!
The situation instantly descended into chaos.
Fortunately, not everyone present was incompetent.
Atalanta nimbly darted between the trees, drew her bow, and struck the base of the boar's ear, drawing first blood upon its body.
Heracles and Meleager attacked together. The two of them forcibly withstood the terrifying impact of the boar. Especially Heracles; with a roar like that of a lion, he actually lifted the screaming boar clean off the ground.
And hurled it away!
"Chirp chirp—!"
Having used invisibility magic and hidden in the shadows, the heavenly horse watched the fierce battle below and could not help chirping twice at Jason beside it. The meaning was obvious.
Aren't you going to help?
"What's there to help with? Although this monster is strong, even Senior Brother Heracles alone would be more than enough to handle it."
Jason shook his head and spoke very frankly.
The current Jason was not yet a match for Heracles or Theseus, the strongest heroes of Greece at this time.
After all, one was a son of Zeus, the other a son of Poseidon.
And both were outstanding disciples of the centaur sage Chiron... Of course, that came with one condition for now.
As long as he did not use the arrow bestowed upon him by the Moon Goddess!
Hearing Jason's words and looking toward the distant battlefield, the heavenly horse, being a warhorse of Poseidon, naturally sensed the divine power coursing through Heracles.
So it chirped at Jason again, asking why, if that was the case, they did not take the chance to leave now.
"Because I need to confirm its death, and... Teacher Hecate said this is an excellent test subject."
Almost the moment Jason finished speaking, with a furious roar, the boar, now covered in countless wounds and blood, broke free from Heracles' hold.
After several charges, it burst out of the heroes' encirclement, spewing flames from its mouth to force them back, and staggered away in retreat.
"Atalanta, may I borrow your bow for a moment?"
Just as Atalanta frowned and prepared to give chase, Jason suddenly appeared before her.
And under the moonlight, he reached toward the moon itself and drew forth from it the silver arrow of the Moon Goddess.
Seeing this, Atalanta naturally understood what Jason intended to do and handed him the Bow of the Heavens.
This was the weapon Artemis, the Moon Goddess, had bestowed upon Atalanta.
'Fire this arrow... Once you do, you will understand exactly what you will be facing from now on.'
Recalling what Teacher Hecate had told him, Jason took the Bow of the Heavens, rode the heavenly horse high into the sky, and beneath the full moon's glow, nocked the arrow and slowly drew the bowstring.
Then he loosed it toward the Calydonian Boar.
And so, under the radiance of the full moon, the released arrow became the brightest light of this night.
It shattered the entire mountain range before Jason's eyes!
As for the Calydonian Boar that was caught in the blast, it naturally died beyond any possibility of death.
Thus, when Jason finally came back to his senses, he immediately fled on the heavenly horse.
In his panic, he even forgot to return the Bow of the Heavens to Atalanta.
"I... I absolutely have to return it!"
From this moment on, the only thought in Jason's mind, now that he finally understood the nature of the blessing he had received, was this single idea.
He absolutely had to return this arrow to Artemis, the Moon Goddess!