"…Oh, so Mr. Alaric is the unnamed hero who defeated the demon on the 'Invisible Island'? That's incredible!"
"Yes, truly unbelievable! The creature on that island was terrifying, it killed more than forty warriors. For Mr. Alaric to have defeated it, his strength must be extraordinary."
"I heard from those who later ventured to the 'Invisible Island' and returned that everyone slain by that demon had turned into statues.
So that was the effect of its petrifying eyes? How did Mr. Alaric deal with such a terrifying curse?"
"Speaking of which, one of our seniors, Perseus, once planned to go to the 'Invisible Island' to slay the monster himself.
Looking back, it's lucky he didn't! Only great heroes like Mr. Alaric and Heracles could have slain such a fiend."
…
When Alaric first invited the four heroes to dine with him, they were reluctant.
They agreed only because of the immense power he and Circe displayed, they had no wish to offend such people lightly.
Yet as the meal went on and the conversation flowed, the four soon found themselves genuinely admiring Alaric.
During their casual talk, they were completely disarmed by this powerful mage's warmth, his vast breadth of knowledge, and the unfathomable depth of his wisdom.
To them, the man before them seemed like a bottomless well of learning.
His mind held endless knowledge, no matter what subject they brought up, he was already familiar with it; no matter what doubts they voiced, he always had an answer.
He was like an omniscient sage who understood all things under heaven.
Asclepius, in particular, was amazed. The man who had always prided himself on his medical mastery had thought Alaric's expertise was limited to magical healing.
Yet to his astonishment, Alaric's understanding of both herbology and the human body went far beyond anything he had ever conceived.
Armed with the medical knowledge of a future age, Alaric easily earned Asclepius's full respect.
Orpheus, too, admired him deeply.
The famed musical genius and bard among heroes heard from Alaric theories of music he had never encountered before, and melodies of entirely new styles.
These novel harmonies not only inspired him greatly, but also convinced him of Alaric's true talent in music.
At this point, in their eyes, Alaric was no longer just a wise man, he was a sage comparable to their great teacher Chiron, and in some ways even surpassed him.
Chiron, after all, was a being of boundless mastery, versed in music, painting, archery, combat, philosophy, and all the arts and sciences of heaven and earth.
He lived in his cave upon Mount Pelion, teaching world-renowned skills to countless heroes.
Any who learned even a single art from him could dominate the world in that craft.
That the four heroes now regarded Alaric as Chiron's equal was proof enough of the esteem they held for his wisdom.
Of course, when conversing with Greek heroes, there was one topic that could never be avoided, heroic deeds.
You see, heroes of ancient Greece were unlike the so-called heroes of the modern age.
They did not care overly for moral virtue; indeed, many whose characters were far from noble were still celebrated as heroes.
Even Heracles himself had committed many dishonorable acts.
The one true measure of a hero was their deeds, the legendary stories sung and passed down through the ages.
At first, they assumed that a man like Alaric, a figure of intellect and insight, would have no such heroic tales, much like Chiron himself, who preferred to guide and teach rather than to draw sword or bow in battle.
But to their surprise, after they had all finished boasting, no, recounting their own exploits, Alaric shared a story of his own.
He told them of his victory over the demon Gorgon of the "Invisible Island."
(It was true, in a sense, though in a way none of them could imagine.)
The name "Gorgon of the Invisible Island" was well known throughout Greece.
Dozens of heroes had perished by her hands, yet none had ever returned with information about her. Such a dreadful monster was infamous far and wide.
They all remembered that time well, when every few days another brave soul would declare his intent to challenge the beast, only for none to ever return.
And yet, one day, the monster simply vanished. No one knew how or why; only the dozens of petrified heroes left behind testified to her former terror.
No one ever learned who had slain the demon, or whether she had simply disappeared on her own.
But today, that mystery had finally found its claimant.
Now, in their eyes, Alaric was not merely a sage of infinite wisdom, but a hero of great deeds, one worthy of the highest respect. Their admiration for him only grew stronger.
Only Circe, quietly observing from the side, hid a secret smile.
For to her, the "Gorgon" was a very familiar face, an acquaintance from the Mistral Academy, someone she saw regularly.
Only she knew the truth: the great hero Alaric, who in their eyes had slain the Gorgon, had in fact defeated not only her, but also her two sisters.
As the conversation drew to a close, Meleagros suddenly spoke up.
"Mr. Alaric, Miss Circe, did you come to Iolcos to take part in that event as well?"
"That event?" Alaric feigned confusion. "What do you mean? Circe and I are merely passing through. Has something important happened here recently?"
"You don't know?" Meleagros looked astonished, and the other three shared his surprise. "It's about Jason's journey, he's summoning all the heroes of Greece!"
"Summoning all the heroes of Greece for a journey?" Alaric's eyes gleamed with interest. "Tell me more."
"It's like this," Orpheus explained.
"Jason is one of Chiron's students, my senior brother. He is the son of King Aeson, the former ruler of Thessaly. But Aeson was overthrown by his own brother, Pelias.
When Jason returned after completing his studies, he sought to reclaim his father's throne.
Pelias agreed, but only on one condition: that Jason travel to the distant island of Colchis and bring back the legendary Golden Fleece.
So Jason has called upon the heroes of Greece to join him on a glorious expedition aboard a grand ship, the Argo, to sail for Colchis."
Circe, who had been disinterested in tales of "heroic quests," suddenly stiffened at those two words, Colchis and Golden Fleece.
For Colchis was no ordinary place, it was the very land where the Mistral Academy stood, and the domain of her elder brother, Aeetes.
And the Golden Fleece… that was one of Aeetes' most treasured possessions.
"Could this be some kind of plot?" she thought grimly.
Just as she was about to speak, Alaric quietly raised a hand to stop her.
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