"...Eh, I can see you."
Lying on soft thighs, Jason looked up at Atalanta and said something rude.
This made Atalanta subconsciously reach out and pinch his cheek hard.
"Why did you pinch me?"
"I feel like you're talking nonsense."
"Where? I really am not." Jason grinned mischievously. This made Atalanta furrow her brows, and she pinched his face even harder.
If Cerberus were here, she would definitely add that this was a lie!
Yes, it was indeed a lie.
After all, the goddesses each had figures that were too perfect. So when Jason lay down, he could not see the face. What he could see was only the heart.
In the quiet night sky under the ancient forest, a gentle breeze lightly brushed by.
By the campfire, Atalanta reached out to tuck away a strand of pale yellow hair that had fallen down. The faint fragrance made Jason's nose twitch subconsciously.
In this way, after a period of wordless silence...
"Strange."
"Hm?" Atalanta looked at the muttering Jason and said, "What now?"
For some reason, Atalanta's voice was very soft at this moment.
"It's not that..." Jason originally wanted to say something random to change the topic, but under the gaze of Atalanta's holy azure eyes.
Slightly lowering his head, Jason finally said, "It just feels like... I really have become strange."
"Hm?" Atalanta tilted her head slightly.
"I am actually calm now..."
Atalanta was slightly stunned. Then, looking at Jason whose gaze had become evasive, as if he was embarrassed, the corners of her mouth could not help but curve up a bit.
"Do you want me to pat your head and coax you to sleep?"
"No, no, that would be way too embarrassing!"
"You have slept with so many great goddesses already. What is there to be embarrassed about?" Atalanta pouted.
Jason opened his mouth to retort, but then his eyes darted around and he obediently closed his mouth.
Because he realized that no matter how this topic was discussed, he would definitely be in the wrong. So he simply stopped talking.
After a while...
"Atalanta, do you remember I told you that I never wanted to be a hero?"
"Yes, you have mentioned it many times... But congratulations. You are now the most renowned hero in the entire world."
"No, that is Heracles, not me!"
Atalanta lowered her head upon hearing this and examined Jason. She said, "Wearing snow-white robes, with a handsome face like the God of Light Apollo, riding a pegasus as if descending from the stars. The hero... Anyone who sees you would know that the so-called Heracles is you, right?"
"But actually, no one does. Because aside from my senior brothers, very few people know me. There are not many at all. Atalanta, you are special... By the way, can I take what you just said as you complimenting my looks?"
Atalanta rolled her eyes but did not refute it.
After all, setting other things aside, Jason's appearance was indeed quite good.
"How does it feel to become the most renowned hero?"
"Awful... And that is not even the main issue. As you said, I am very busy. So busy that I often do not even have time to rest. To be precise, many times I do not even dare to rest.
I can only keep myself busy, keep myself from thinking about all those messy things. That way, I feel a little more at ease.
So this time... I really want to sleep. Just lie down and sleep, without caring about anything."
Hearing Jason's pointedly awful remark, Atalanta's expression gradually became serious. "Exactly... What happened?"
"...Atalanta, as you can see, I am just an ordinary human, right? I do not want to become a hero admired by all, nor do I want to do anything earth-shattering. I just want to live a little more easily.
But lately, I have found that I am getting farther and farther from an easy life. Unknowingly, I have been dragged into all sorts of troublesome matters. And by the time I realize it, I cannot extricate myself anymore..."
"In simple terms, you want to run away, right?"
Jason was silent for a moment. Finally, he nodded and said, "Yes, I want to run away."
"Then run away."
"...Eh?" Jason, who had never expected Atalanta to reply like this, was completely dumbfounded as he looked at her.
"I have known for a long time that you are a coward... Do you remember four years ago? When you saw me and just ran off."
Back then, the first time he met Atalanta, after learning she was Atalanta, Jason had tried to escape. But he did not escape and was caught up to by Atalanta.
The fateful bond between the two of them had formed at that time.
"So, I never believed that you would become that white-robed great hero. Because in the end, you have always been a coward... But because of that, I know you absolutely will not run away."
"I will not run away?" Jason blinked.
"If you could run, you would have run long ago. Since you have not run now, that means you will not run. Because in the end, you are not the type to dawdle or hesitate!"
"...So Atalanta, you understand me this well." Jason, stunned for a moment, could not help but laugh.
"Yes, because I have been watching you."
After saying that, Atalanta suddenly felt something off about her words. She subconsciously looked at Jason, at his handsome face and emerald eyes. For some reason, her heart suddenly panicked. Then she hurriedly said, "Mainly, this is the task given to me by the Moon Goddess Artemis. It is her... Yes, it is her who told me to pay attention to you, to understand what kind of person you are!"
"If Cerberus were here, she would say you are lying."
"Shut up, be quiet!"
Seeing Atalanta's expression gradually turning unfriendly, and that continuing to tease might lead to hands and feet getting involved, Jason closed his mouth.
Then Jason closed his eyes.
"...Atalanta."
"What!"
Like a wild cat about to explode, Atalanta was very vigilant now.
"Thank you."
Jason's voice at this moment had a sense of relief.
When Atalanta reacted and was about to reply, she discovered that Jason, lying on her lap, had already fallen asleep...
Yes, just as Atalanta said, Jason had always been a coward. He hated trouble, so he always avoided it.
But when he judged that the trouble could not be avoided, his courage would become very great. He would make decisions at the fastest speed and resolve them at the fastest speed.
Therefore, he would not hide... Nor had he ever thought of hiding.
But he was indeed a bit tired. He needed to vent.
And his teachers, the goddesses, were not good confidants... Before, Jason had always gone to the centaur Chiron.
Whenever he encountered something, he would go to Chiron and pour out his troubles to him.
But lately, he obviously could not spare the time to go to Chiron.
And at this time, he met Atalanta. Originally, he had not thought of showing his weak side to Atalanta. But what he did not expect was that Atalanta saw through it...
The current Atalanta clearly understood Jason very well.
Compared to the gods who had always been watching Jason, even compared to the Moon Goddess Artemis, she understood even more clearly what kind of person Jason really was.
In fact, it was also thanks to venting to her. Otherwise, if something was bottled up in the heart for too long, it would inevitably have a bad influence.
It might even affect the final outcome...
...
...
Several days later, on the morning they were about to reach their destination.
"Wake up... Hurry up and wake up, got it!"
Atalanta pinched the sleeping Jason lying on her lap.
At this moment, bright sunlight shone on the two of them. The night had long receded. Cerberus had even hunted game and prepared breakfast.
And Jason? He opened his eyes, looked at Atalanta in a daze, yawned, and lay back down...
"You two definitely did something, right?"
Cerberus looked suspiciously at the scene before her.
As for this side of Jason... Unlike the heroic side he showed before the gods, Cerberus was not surprised.
Because she had seen it long ago and knew that Jason was actually a good-for-nothing.
But this good-for-nothing side was actually extremely rare. At least Cerberus had only seen it when Hecate was around.
When Jason sensed that the other party was someone he could confide in.
He would become more dependent on that person than ordinary people!
Because to him, this was a very precious existence... In this crisis-ridden and unfamiliar divine era of Greece.
"How would I know what happened... Lady Cerberus, hurry up and bite him a couple of times to wake him up!"
"No way." Cerberus refused outright. "If I bite him, I will definitely not get honey cakes or sweets anymore!"
When it came to food, Cerberus always had all three heads working at the same time.
"Besides, if you really hated it, you could have refused last night and not let him lie on you."
"I did refuse, but it did not work!"
"That was even called a refusal... Whatever, this is not bad either. I think many goddesses would be very envious of you. Right, pegasus?"
The pegasus nearby, hearing Cerberus's words, nodded in agreement.
After all, Jason like this was truly rare, except in front of a few like Hecate and Hephaestus.
Even Athena had not seen this treatment.
"I do not think this is good at all!" Atalanta shouted loudly.
Cerberus glanced at the shouting her and yawned.
Yes, it was a lie...
And at this moment...
"I am really envious."
The suddenly ringing voice made the two people, one horse, and one dog present stiffen all over.
The next moment, a noble woman in a dark purple dress appeared before the seated Atalanta and the Jason lying on Atalanta's lap.
She had a pair of beautiful amethyst eyes and a head of dazzling golden hair.
And that face, which bore some resemblance to Hera and Hephaestus.
The second-generation Queen of the Heavens, Rhea...
As soon as she appeared, she reached out and touched Jason's head. The next instant.
Whoosh.
Jason abruptly stood up. Staring at the second-generation Queen of the Heavens Rhea before him, the laziness in his eyes was completely gone. He said to Rhea with utmost respect, "It has been many days. It is an honor to see you again, great Goddess Rhea."