To Jason's request to become her disciple, Hephaestus's first reaction, after her initial shock, was naturally to refuse.
But when she heard Jason say that he wished her to accept him as her student and to receive the very first item he would ever forge, Hephaestus understood.
"Become my disciple and then offer me the first thing you create… This is the tribute you intend to give me, is it not?"
Facing the amber-eyed goddess who stared straight at him and spoke these words, Jason did not hide anything and nodded.
He knew he had to explain this clearly if he had any hope of becoming Hephaestus's student.
And this truly was the answer Jason had arrived at after deep consideration!
"As I just said, right now I have nothing in my hands that I can offer you, Goddess Hephaestus."
Jason continued speaking to Hephaestus. "Therefore, I can only place my tribute in the future… But tell me, how could I ever offer a satisfactory tribute to you, the God of Craftsmanship?
Since you are the God of Craftsmanship, naturally the tribute should be something built by my own hands.
Yet I am merely a mortal. How could I possibly create something that would satisfy you, Goddess Hephaestus?"
Hearing Jason say this, Hephaestus looked at him with evident surprise. She already knew what he was going to say next.
"Therefore, after a full week of thought, I arrived at my current answer… That is to become your student and, in the future, offer you something I have made that will not disgrace the name of Goddess Hephaestus!"
Jason gazed straight at Hephaestus. There was no falsehood in his eyes.
And this truly was one of the solutions Jason had devised.
But beyond the reasons above, there was another, deeper reason. That deeper reason was the true cause for Jason choosing this path.
He would never voice that reason aloud.
And that reason was: to offer care to the goddess who possessed nothing…
"I already told you."
After a long silence, Hephaestus spoke softly to Jason. "There is no need for you to waste time here… I have already given you the bracelet that blocks Hera's perception."
"You showed no interest in wealth, weapons, or even the automatons, so there is clearly nothing left for you to gain from me. Why force yourself to stay?"
"I never placed much importance on tributes to begin with…"
"Then please treat this as my own stubbornness."
Jason smiled at Hephaestus as she looked at him. "Because, Goddess Hephaestus, I—Jason—have decided!
I will definitely offer you a tribute that will satisfy you!"
"…Satisfy me?" Hephaestus could not help laughing when she heard this.
The half of her face that belonged to a goddess revealed an extraordinarily beautiful smile.
Then, still smiling, she said to Jason, "I am Hephaestus. The divine artifacts of the world, the glorious palaces of Olympus—all of them came from my hands.
Even if I accept you as my student, are you truly certain you can create a tribute that will satisfy me?"
"Yes, Goddess Hephaestus, I am certain."
Jason replied earnestly. "If months are not enough, then years.
If years are not enough, then centuries!
Even if it takes my entire life, I believe that one day I will offer you, Goddess Hephaestus, a tribute that will satisfy you!"
When Hephaestus heard this, her hands unconsciously tightened on the armrests of her wheelchair…
"Are you… truly certain?" Hephaestus asked softly, her amber eyes fixed upon Jason. "Are you truly certain you wish to become my disciple? …Once I agree, there will be no turning back."
"Why would I ever want to turn back, Goddess Hephaestus?"
Jason smiled. "To become your student and learn forging from you would already be the greatest honor for me!"
This was not a lie.
The forging skill Hephaestus had displayed had already thoroughly amazed Jason the moment he entered her temple.
Thus, if Jason could truly learn even a fraction of it from her, it would benefit him for life!
Jason did indeed dislike gods.
But that dislike was not hatred.
It was simply annoyance at the trouble they brought.
After all, in this world, the appearance of a god almost always meant trouble.
Otherwise, Jason would never have clung so tightly to Goddess Hecate's thigh back then, calling her "Teacher" so sweetly that even Hecate could not shake him off.
In the end, he became the disciple that still made Hecate grind her teeth in frustration to this day.
The benefits of becoming Hecate's disciple were obvious to all.
Then would becoming Hephaestus's disciple bring benefits? …How could it possibly not!
She was the God of Craftsmanship, the one most likely in the current world to be able to forge weapons on the same level as those wielded by Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon!
The day Jason saw the armory filled to bursting with what could all be considered divine artifacts, he understood.
Hephaestus was a golden thigh… an absolute, unquestionable golden thigh!
"Honor… Do you truly see it that way?"
When Hephaestus softly asked Jason this, she unconsciously reached up and touched the side of her face concealed by the black half-mask.
"Yes, Goddess Hephaestus."
Jason looked at her and said clearly, word by word, "To become your student is an incomparable honor for me! Therefore… Goddess Hephaestus, will you accept me as your disciple?"
"…If you truly wished to become my student, you would have come to me long ago instead of waiting until now."
Hephaestus lowered her hand and smiled lightly. "What you are truly offering me is not something you will make in the future.
It is the very concept of 'my student'… is it not?"
"I sincerely wish to become your student, Goddess Hephaestus." Jason deftly sidestepped the question… He was not surprised she had guessed, for he had made it rather obvious.
After all, when facing Goddess Hephaestus, not even the slightest lie was permitted!
"Because I believe… it will definitely be very convenient!" Jason finished and even winked at Hephaestus.
Hephaestus was momentarily speechless, but the corners of her mouth rose higher.
Then she reached out, beckoned Jason over, and when he approached, gently pinched his cheek.
"Have you discussed this with your teacher Hecate?"
"Do not worry, Goddess Hephaestus. Teacher Hecate will not mind."
"…If she blames you later, I will not get involved."
"Then…" Hearing this, Jason looked at Hephaestus with delighted surprise. "Does that mean, Goddess Hephaestus—!"
"Are you still going to call me Goddess?" Hephaestus, still smiling, pinched Jason's cheek again.
And after Jason called her "Teacher," she could not help pulling him into her embrace…
...
...
The next day, Hephaestus accepted a disciple.
And that disciple was Jason. The news spread with astonishing speed to Athena and Hermes, messenger of the gods!
Soon, Moon Goddess Artemis, Sun God Apollo, Goddess of the Sacred Flame Hestia, and Goddess of Harvest Demeter all learned of it.
In the end, even Hades in the distant underworld, King of Gods Zeus, and Sea God Poseidon heard the news.
Until finally, aside from War God Ares and Queen of Heaven Hera, even Goddess of Beauty Aphrodite knew!
They learned that Jason had become Hephaestus's disciple and of the promise he had made to her.
No matter how many months or years, even if it took his entire life, Jason would one day personally offer Hephaestus the tribute that belonged to her!
This time, although it did not shock the gods who heard of it with the same "dazzling" brilliance as the tribute to Moon Goddess Artemis,
it made many gods feel two different words: envy!
Especially Hestia, Artemis, and even Athena—all of them felt flames of jealousy rising in their hearts…
Because they wanted this child too!
All three of them had clearly expressed their desire for him.
Yet none of them had expected Hephaestus to swoop in and take him first!
And no matter how long it took—years, centuries, even an entire lifetime… Just listen to that!
"…Very clever."
Athena's rapid breathing caused her chest to heave. She silently exerted more force on the lyre she held, which already bore faint cracks, deepening them further…
"Months, years, centuries, an entire lifetime—this is actually what Hephaestus wanted most… It seems he completely understood the oracle I gave him.
And he has received the most precious gift from Hephaestus: the forging arts bestowed by the God of Craftsmanship…"
Athena spoke softly, satisfaction on her face, but even more conflicted feelings…
Everything up to this point could be said to be entirely orchestrated by Athena herself.
Helping Jason grow step by step and become ever more brilliant had always been her goal.
Therefore, she should be happy.
Yet right now… she truly could not feel happy!
Because clearly, aside from Hecate, she had been the first!
As for Hera? She was naturally an exception.
...
...
"Hecate, Hecate! Your student is gone! Your student is gone!"
After learning from Hades that Jason had become Hephaestus's disciple, Persephone naturally rushed straight to Hecate.
Inside the laboratory, Hecate, dressed in black, looked helplessly at yet another exploded experiment.
Then, with great dissatisfaction, she let Persephone in.
"What are you shouting about?"
Hecate frowned at Persephone. "What do you mean my student is gone… Isn't Jason's flame of life still burning?"
Well, Medea was also Hecate's disciple, but clearly Hecate never even considered that something might have happened to Medea.
Because if anything went wrong, dumping the blame on Jason was always foolproof!
"No, little Jason is fine, but Hecate, you're finished! Your student is gone! He doesn't want you as his teacher anymore!"
"What?!" Hecate first looked shocked, then overjoyed. "There's such good news?!"
"…Huh?"
Persephone, who had come specifically to tease Hecate, was stunned.
Then she could not help sighing. "Your opinion of little Jason… really hasn't changed at all."
"Nonsense! He's a cursed disciple! If he were gone, I'd probably set off fireworks to celebrate!"
Hecate pouted and waved her hand. "Enough, stop messing around. Tell me what that cursed disciple of mine has done now… As for being gone, impossible!
As long as that cursed disciple of mine is still alive, he will never let me go!"
Seeing how confidently Hecate declared this, Persephone could not help laughing at Hecate's absolute "trust" in Jason.
"Didn't he go to see Hephaestus?… What, did he mess something up again?
He didn't run straight into Hera and get captured, did he?
That would indeed be troublesome, but Hera can't kill him quickly. Letting Hera lock him up for a while might calm him down."
"Can you not talk as if little Jason only ever causes trouble?" Persephone said helplessly.
Then she stopped hiding it and told Hecate that Jason had become Hephaestus's disciple.
And after Hecate learned of this…
"Good news!" Hecate's eyes widened. "This is obviously fantastic news!"
"Yes, Jason becoming Hephaestus's disciple is indeed good, but you really don't mind at all…"
"No, I mean from now on when he gets into trouble, I won't have to be the first one to rush over!" Hecate interrupted Persephone. "Now that he has Hephaestus as his teacher, he won't come running to me with every little thing, right?"
With that, under Persephone's speechless gaze, Hecate happily returned to her temple.
But the moment she stepped inside, the smile vanished from her face and was replaced by gritted teeth.
"That little brat! Becoming someone's disciple without even discussing it with me first… What's that supposed to mean? Have I ever treated you poorly?
And using me as a shield every time he meets another goddess—I still haven't settled that score with you… This cursed disciple! Even if I truly don't mind, this matter can't just end like this. He needs to be taught a lesson!"
With that thought, Hecate quietly left the underworld and went to find Athena…