The gods of Greece, most of them actually... are really quite idle.
And their desire to compare is extremely strong!
Though as the former god-king and queen, the now-retired Goddess Rhea, had already become much more detached regarding this aspect.
But with Athena setting such a fine example, and the later Hestia, Hephaestus, and Hecate encountered, including Atalanta who represented Artemis.
Just as Artemis had said back then, since Athena and Hestia had given such blessings, then I want to give one too!
Thus, Rhea naturally had such an idea as well.
Of course, this matter still had a prerequisite, and that was affinity.
And evidently, Rhea was very satisfied with the answer Jason gave, holding quite a favorable impression of Jason.
Therefore, she proactively proposed mediating the relationship between Jason and Hera.
Regarding this, though Jason was helpless, and inexplicably felt that perhaps in the future such days might become more numerous, thus feeling a faint headache.
But he still accepted Rhea's such blessing... Refusing would be foolish.
And so, the hero Jason in white robes with golden hair and golden eyes once again fell into slumber under the goddess's lap and the goddess's softly sung lullaby.
The next day, when Jason awoke, the sky was already bright.
And Goddess Rhea had already departed.
Just as she had said, she had already wasted too much of Jason's time. It was time to let Jason continue his journey.
After all, if she did not let Jason go, her daughters and granddaughters would become anxious with her...
In the bright morning, Jason was awakened by the golden-horned deer gently nuzzling his cheek.
Jason opened his emerald-green eyes still heavy with sleep, saw the golden-horned deer before him, then rose and looked around before smiling, stroking the golden-horned deer, and saying: "Good morning, Sister Deer."
The golden-horned deer chirped softly and came beside Jason to crouch down.
And when Jason sat upon it, what slightly surprised him was that the golden-horned deer adjusted its direction and directly set off.
" Sister Deer, before going to the god of light Apollo, do I still need to go somewhere else?"
The golden-horned deer nodded.
Thus, Jason thought for a moment, his expression somewhat unnatural as he asked: "Could it be... Goddess Artemis?"
It would not be to make me go find Atalanta, right...
The golden-horned deer shook its head.
Jason breathed a sigh of relief in his heart but became even more curious, so after thinking a bit longer, he asked: "Could it be... Goddess Athena?"
The golden-horned deer chirped softly, neither shaking nor nodding its head.
But Jason smiled, because he understood the golden-horned deer's meaning. After lowering his head to kiss the golden-horned deer, he smiled and said: "Thank you, Sister Deer."
Athena, it seems it should be somewhat related to the matter of the tribute to Apollo... Jason thought this in his heart.
Regarding Athena, though the time Jason spent with her was little... truly little, perhaps even less than the time spent with Hermes.
But the two inexplicably had a tacit understanding.
And among the various gods Jason had encountered, now aside from Hecate and Chiron, the one he trusted the most was not the queen of the underworld Persephone nor the harvest goddess Demeter and the others, but precisely Athena!
Though Athena had indirectly caused Jason quite a few troubles.
But just as the prescient god Prometheus had said, Athena had always been using her wisdom to guide Jason.
From leaving the mountain until now, a total of merely two or three months had passed, but Jason's growth was evident to all, advancing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
And all of this was the result of Athena's covert operations.
The event about to unfold this time... was naturally the same!
...
...
At this moment, on the high mountain where Sisyphus pushes the boulder.
A goddess in pure white sacred robes with silver hair and golden eyes stood at the highest point. Under the sunlight's illumination, she gazed at the gradually gathering crowd below.
Her smile was extremely brilliant, evidently in a very good mood. This was naturally the goddess of wisdom Athena, one of the twelve main gods of Olympus!
"How about it, Ares."
Tucking a lock of silver hair behind her ear, Athena softly asked the burly man beside her, saying in a slightly boastful tone: "This is my child Jason. Without using the power of flight, he completed Grandmother Rhea's test and even obtained Grandmother Rhea's approval!"
Ares? ...That's right, the burly red-haired man standing beside Athena at this moment was none other than the god of war Ares, one of the twelve main gods of Olympus!
When Jason had encountered Queen of the Sea Amphitrite on the great sea, it had been mentioned that Hera, extremely puzzled by the matter of the serpent monster Lamia, had dispatched the god of war Ares to the mortal world to investigate the truth.
Though because all parties' gods were extremely 'cooperative,' Ares had all along not known who this new 'Heracles' was.
Just as Ares was growing annoyed and preparing to return and casually make up some words to cope and report back, Jason had erupted into a great battle with Geryon...
That's right, because of that one arrow, Jason had exposed himself.
And when Ares saw the person who shot that arrow, dressed in white robes with golden hair and golden eyes, he naturally knew that he was precisely the Jason he was seeking!
Seeing this, Athena knew that if she did not intervene, something might go wrong.
Thus, that very night, Athena arrived before Ares dressed in golden sacred robes, holding a spear and shield, and without a word, engaged Ares in battle!
Catching Ares off guard, and then when Ares, furious and ashamed, counterattacked, he discovered that he simply could not defeat her...
Ares truly could not defeat Athena, even though he was hailed as the god of war.
Setting aside that among Athena's divine domains, she also held the domain of war goddess, and merely from the mythological tales, there were records of Athena battling Ares.
In those several clashes, the god of war Ares was completely bested by Athena!
And it was even openly written that Athena, as the "mother of heroes," though a female war goddess, her wisdom and power still far surpassed the god of war Ares!
And after Athena had suppressed him with force for a round and felt it was about enough, she began to 'reason' with Ares, proactively revealing Jason's identity and even bringing out Goddess Rhea to pressure Ares.
With first force then courtesy, Ares found it hard not to submit.
Thus, there was the current scene.
"Hmph, crooked and devious ways. Just smash this stone with one punch, and it would be done. Wasting all this time for nothing!"
Ares, clad in crimson battle armor, replied with a cold snort.
Regarding this, Athena was not angry, still smiling as she said: "Oh? Then you mean that Grandmother Rhea's judgment also has issues?"
"I did not say that!" Ares glared at Athena a bit, then added: "And Athena, if I recall correctly, he is not your child at all, but Hecate's, right!"
At these words, Athena's smile slightly stiffened.
And seeing Athena fall silent, Ares glanced at Athena a few times, noticed she was somewhat unhappy, and could not help bursting into laughter, saying: "Hahaha, clearly not your child, yet you dare claim him as your own. You truly have no shame, Athena!"
The smile on Athena's face slowly faded. She glanced sideways at Ares expressionlessly, her eyes turning slightly before her face bloomed with a smile again. With narrowed eyes, she said: "Ares... dare you make a bet with me?"
"A bet?" Ares halted his laughter, looking puzzled at Athena before him, and said: "Bet on what?"
"Bet on this child." Athena pointed distantly at Jason, who was once again setting out on his journey seated upon the golden-horned deer.
"If I win, from now on, regarding any matters about Jason, you are forbidden from telling Queen Hera.
And if I lose, then I will publicly declare that I am not your opponent, and from now on, wherever you are, I absolutely will not appear!"
"Fine, I bet!"
Hearing Athena's words, Ares replied without a second thought.
After all, for him, not telling Hera about Jason's matters was a small thing to begin with, and if he won, then he would have defeated Athena!
"Tell me, how shall we bet?" Ares asked somewhat impatiently.
"Very simple, and it happens to be... Though it cuts in line a bit, I will go explain to Apollo later."
"Prepare your gift." Under Ares's puzzled gaze, Athena said faintly: "That child is about to offer tribute to you."
"Offer tribute... to me?" Ares's brows furrowed slightly.
"The best tribute offered to you as the god of war would naturally be a thoroughly exhilarating battle... Would it not?"
Ares nodded, though his brows remained unfurrowed.
Thus, Athena continued: "Do not worry. When he offers tribute to you, he cannot use the gift from Artemis, Apollo's sword, and at the same time, he will be unable to use the underworld domain given to him by Hecate again in a short time.
And since it is a tribute offered, the scale naturally cannot be low either."
Hearing this, Ares's brows finally relaxed. After nodding in satisfaction, he asked Athena with slight puzzlement: "If that is the case... then is some great war currently erupting somewhere in the mortal world?"
"No." Athena shook her head.
"Then our bet..."
"Since I said you cut in line before Apollo, then it will be executed immediately." As Athena spoke, she turned her head and pointed to a distant place.
Ares followed Athena's pointing gaze, was slightly stunned, and said: "The Golden Apple Sacred Garden?"
"That's right, the Golden Apple Sacred Garden." Athena nodded and replied: "The tribute he offers you will be, without borrowing the power of Artemis and Apollo, defeating the guardian of the Golden Apple Sacred Garden, the hundred-headed giant dragon Ladon!"