Hera has already noticed...
Hermes revealed this to Jason, and he could not help but gaze at Jason with eyes full of anticipation.
However, what he felt was regret, along with astonishment.
Jason merely paused for a moment...
That was right. He only paused for a single moment!
"Is that so?"
Then Jason smiled and nodded to Hermes. "I understand, Lord Hermes."
...This is not right!
Without seeing the expected reaction, Hermes's eyes widened instead. He scrutinized the Jason before him and finally could not resist saying, "Could it be... that Athena visited you not long ago?"
"The Goddess Athena? No, she has not." Jason shook his head in reply. "In fact, it has been quite some time since I last saw the Goddess Athena."
Ever since that day, when he made his change and expressed his resolve to Athena.
Jason truly had not seen Athena again.
"Lord Hermes, do you know what the Goddess Athena has been up to lately?" Thinking of this, Jason instinctively followed up with the question.
"Athena? I do not know. It has been a long time since I last saw her too... No, no, there is no time to talk about her right now.
Jason, Hera already knows!"
Hermes shook his head and stepped forward to grab Jason, saying to him, "Hera has guessed that you might be the White-Clothed Heracles.
Are you not surprised? Are you not afraid?!"
"Afraid? Surprised?"
Jason echoed Hermes's words back to him, then gave Hermes a light smile and shook his head. "Why should I be surprised or afraid... Lord Hermes, I have long since prepared myself mentally.
In fact, to be precise, this is the outcome I have been hoping for."
How should I act to ensure that the Goddess Hera falls in love with me once more?
How should I act to offer tribute to the Goddess Athena?
For this reason, ever since the Argo set sail, Jason had not slept a single night.
When faced with the onslaught of a storm, he had even felt joy, allowing the Argo to drift freely with the wind.
But now, all that was in the past.
Thanks to Athena, he had made a change... a change he had no choice but to make.
"The Goddess Hera will naturally recognize me," Jason said to the momentarily stunned Hermes. "Because I am who I am... I am the White-Clothed Heracles."
How could the cunning and clever Hermes fail to understand Jason's words?
Thus, this time Hermes was truly shocked. He said to Jason, "You mean... you did this on purpose.
Hera will recognize you because you have actually been signaling to her all along that you are the White-Clothed Heracles?!"
Jason smiled, revealing a faint, gentle laugh.
Sitting idly by and waiting for doom was never in Jason's nature.
That was correct. He was indeed that confused, cowardly Jason who once feared his own fate.
But at the same time, he was also the great hero who strove to alter his destiny: the White-Clothed Heracles!
"The great Goddess Hera fell in love with the child known as the White-Clothed Heracles, so she knows exactly what kind of person the White-Clothed Heracles is."
Jason said to Hermes, "Therefore, when my actions begin to align with those of the White-Clothed Heracles, she will naturally take notice.
However... thank you, Lord Hermes. By telling me this, you have helped me steel my resolve."
As he spoke, Jason bowed to Hermes in gratitude.
"Steeling your resolve... Could it be that you intend to...?!"
Hermes's eyes widened once more as he looked at Jason.
"...Let us wait until this matter concludes."
Jason pondered for a moment before saying, "At that time, I hope you can help arrange a private meeting with the Goddess Hera... I will go to see her."
Jason said softly to Hermes, "As the White-Clothed Heracles, and at the same time... as Jason!"
Hermes looked at the Jason before him, his mouth unable to resist opening slightly in surprise.
"This... Is this an oracle from Athena?!"
Hermes could not help but exclaim.
"No." Jason shook his head at Hermes. "The Goddess Athena will not give me an oracle for this matter... because this is the tribute I offer to her.
During this journey, my teacher Hecate will not accompany me.
The Goddess Athena will not either."
Thus, this was a conclusion Jason had reached on his own.
"Then... then are you not afraid?!"
Hermes looked at Jason in astonishment and said, "If, if Hera becomes furious at this outcome.
If she wants to kill you, what will you do?!"
Jason fell silent, not answering Hermes's question.
Afraid? ...How could he not be afraid?
But would fear change anything?
Did he still remember Hecate's evaluation of him in the past?
Jason was a cowardly person, but at the same time, he was also a mad one!
Consider this: Did anyone remember how Jason had chosen Hecate over Hera in that fateful decision?
It was a choice made with full knowledge that Hecate would not blame him, while Hera certainly would.
Consider further: How had Jason encountered Typhon?
It was when offering tribute to the God of War Ares, in order to defeat the Hundred-Headed Dragon Ladon, seeking that slim sliver of possibility. For that, he had willingly entered the endless abyss!
"Lord Hermes, can you promise me this unreasonable request?"
Jason said to Hermes once more. He did not answer any of Hermes's questions.
And such silence was, in itself, an answer.
Hermes fell silent. He looked at the Jason before him...
"Has something happened between you and Athena?"
The clever Hermes detected a faint whiff of something amiss.
"No, nothing has happened between us."
Yet to this question, the shaking-headed Jason provided an answer.
Yes, in Jason's heart now, nothing had truly happened between him and Athena.
Hermes was speechless.
He looked at the Jason before him for a long while... After a prolonged silence, he knew not what thoughts crossed his mind.
In the end, he gave up pressing Jason further.
Then he told Jason about the matter concerning the Scylla sea monster.
He hid nothing from Jason, directly revealing the conflict between Scylla and his senior sister, the Night Witch Circe, who was the great disciple of the Goddess Hecate.
After informing him of all this, Hermes departed.
Hermes, wearing only one winged sandal, did not even have time to search for the one he had lost.
But he did not return to report to Hera, because he was going to find Athena.
He wanted to see Athena and ask her for the full story!
Something must have happened!
Hermes was certain of it in his heart at this moment.
Because Athena had not appeared for a long time... This was not surprising in itself, as those with long lifespans like them could vanish for years, decades, or even centuries without issue.
Thus, at first, Hermes had not noticed anything strange.
But now he did... After all, this was Jason's journey of tribute to Athena.
And as the goddess among the Olympian gods who was publicly acknowledged as the one who doted on Jason the most.
The Athena who had always guided Jason with her wisdom, who had once declared to the world that Jason was her own child, was nowhere to be found now!
Under normal circumstances, this was utterly impossible!
So Hermes had to find Athena and get answers from her.
From this, it was clear that Hermes truly cared for Jason.
Though every time he appeared before Jason, he brought trouble.
To the point that Jason had once grown annoyed with him.
Yet their relationship was exceedingly close.
Aside from Athena, the god Jason most often turned to for help and requests was Hermes.
And Hermes had almost never refused Jason's pleas.
Troublesome friend... Once Jason ascended to godhood, Hermes would undoubtedly become his first divine companion.
Then... where was Athena at this moment?
She, ah, she remained on that desolate, formless island.
Even though this small island had nothing on it.
Even though the three revived beings there were the three most loathsome to her in the world.
But in a twist of dramatic irony, this place had become Athena's current sanctuary.
Because only here could she pour out the bitterness in her heart.
Confiding her inner troubles to Medusa, who hated her the most.
...
"Master Jason, it seems I have fished up a divine artifact."
After Hermes departed, the Argo continued onward.
Not long after, the ship's spirit appeared suddenly in the walkway inside the ship before Jason and handed him the winged sandal she held.
"This sandal... I never thought it would actually be retrieved."
Jason recognized at a glance that this exquisite magical footwear was the winged sandal Hermes had lost. He could not help but laugh.
"This is a divine artifact?"
Theseus, who happened to be nearby and overheard the conversation, could not resist drawing closer.
"Yes, this is Lord Hermes's winged sandal... the one he just lost."
Jason did not hide it from Theseus.
"Lost?" Theseus paused.
"Did you not notice that Lord Hermes was barefoot on one foot back then...?"
As Jason said this, he could not help but want to laugh.
Then he instructed the ship's spirit to store away this single winged sandal and told Theseus that if no gods asked, he should pretend he had never seen the sandal today...
With the small interlude ended, Jason returned to his room.
After hesitating for a moment, he drew out the caduceus from the silver pouch at his waist.
Looking at the caduceus in his hand, Jason instinctively wanted to use the magic engraved upon it to journey to the unreturning Underworld.
But... in the end, Jason held back.
"Teacher Hecate... the most critical moment has finally arrived."
Gently wiping the caduceus given to him by the Goddess Hecate, after a long while, Jason's soft murmur echoed in the quiet room.
"The Goddess Hera has ultimately, ultimately noticed... Though it is the result of my own deliberate actions, Teacher Hecate, I...
am still a bit afraid."
"But anyway, what's one more debt when you already have so many, right, Teacher Hecate?"
"My relationship with the Ancestor of All Demons Typhon, that future of deicide, and the deicidal sword I will gain after this journey ends... When I compare those things, the matter with the Goddess Hera suddenly seems rather minor."
As Jason spoke, he could not help but laugh.
The White-Clothed Heracles was him, but so too was the cowardly Jason.
Though he always did things that caught people off guard and had never disappointed the gods, how many had seen just how hard Jason worked to provide those answers?
Thus... What was wrong with not wanting to be so exhausted anymore?
What was wrong with wanting to rely on others?
What was wrong with wanting to hand it all over to Athena, to pour out everything to her, to let her help him?
What was wrong with that for Jason?
After all, Jason had long felt tired... The farther he went, the more he bore, and Jason had long felt tired.
So this time, the thought rose in his heart to entrust it all to Athena.
Simply put, it was this.
Noble and beautiful Goddess Athena, your Jason... does not want to strive any longer!
But...
This was an act of cowardice.
This was the situation the Athena who hoped for him to become a great hero did not wish to see.
Therefore, Jason understood once more.
He understood that his initial decision had not been wrong.
A mortal like him could never control his own fate.
A mortal like him did not even have the right to speak!
Thus, Jason could face Hermes candidly and say that nothing had happened between him and Athena... and indeed, nothing had happened between the two of them.
Because all of this was Jason's doing alone.
But...
"Teacher Hecate, you can hear my words, right?"
Jason said softly to Hecate, far away in the Underworld. "I will not say selfish things like asking you to come help me, but... Teacher, can you bless me? Bless my journey ahead.
And... once everything is over, Teacher, I want to sleep soundly for a while. Is that all right? ...You're not responding, so I'll count to three and take your silence as agreement.
Three!
All right, you agreed!"
With that said, Jason quickly stowed the caduceus away.
Then... after pondering alone for a long time, Jason took out two divine artifacts.
The first was a gift from the Lord of the Underworld Hades and the Queen of the Underworld Persephone: Hades's Helm of Invisibility.
The second was Jason's trump card.
The three black chess pieces he had held onto without ever using them until now.
The return gift from the God of the Abyss Tartarus: three slots.
"If things truly go poorly in the end... sinking into slumber in the abyss does not sound so bad."
Jason gave a light laugh, tinged with a touch of helplessness, and said, "I just hope that when Lord Typhon and the great god Zeus clash later, they do not think to drag me into it.
And Lord Tartarus, please do not come pester me every day over chess matters."