Athena, Hurting Each Other! 2/2

The next day, Caenis woke up, sat up in bed, her mind a complete blank, and rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought.

"Last night..."

"Um?"

Circe, standing by the bed, stiffened, his expression turning wary.

"I slept very comfortably..."

"Then I'll go, then I'll go..."

"My head just hurts a little, and I feel a bit dizzy..."

"Uh, you're a restless sleeper, you probably have a stiff neck, that's normal, normal..."

"Oh, it's morning outside? I feel a little hungry."

Caenis scratched the back of her head, looked confused, and rubbed her stomach, muttering to herself.

"Yes, yes, let's go out shopping and grab something to eat, put it on Jason's tab!"

Circe nodded hurriedly, her little face full of fake smiles, and urged her roommate to get up.

However, as soon as she moved, Caenis felt a dull ache in her bones and muscles for some reason, causing her to sit on the edge of the bed and gasp, muttering to herself.

"I feel like something's not right. Did I forget to order something?"

"No way, it's just my imagination. Let's hurry up and head out, or that shop will be sold out of pastries."

"Oh, yeah, that's it."

With Circe pushing and shoving, Caenis, wearing only a thin shirt, blankly stepped out of the room, stared at the next room, and remained stunned for a long time.

Time ticked by, and beads of cold sweat rolled down the Great Witch's forehead. Her hands involuntarily reached under the bed.

The moment Caenis turned her head to look at him with a lingering gaze, Circe's heart nearly pounded, and he almost dropped something.

Xingnian's roommate frowned slightly, and an impatient voice came from his mouth.

"Have I been waiting for you for ages? Aren't you coming yet?"

Circe was stunned for a moment, then loosened his grip and nodded with a big smile.

"Hey, here it is! I'm starving!"

After the Great Witch turned away from the bedside and locked the door, the angular Nether Moon Staff and a medicine pouch with a half-open edge, from which several suspicious black pills rolled out, were revealed in the shadows under the bed.

As the two figures, one large and one small, emerged from the courtyard, the air around the corner of the corridor rippled slightly. Samael emerged from within, his expression strange and his gaze unfathomable.

This... memory erasure?

It seems I really scared Circe on Ayu Island; he's already developed such a severe psychological trauma.

Thinking of this, Samael awkwardly raised his hand to touch the bridge of his nose, his eyes darting around guiltily.

The image of a grotesque figure is indeed a bit excessive.

Well, I'll be more careful next time, and I'll also give you some compensation later, is that alright?

The ancient snake muttered to itself, comforting its conscience, before quietly slipping out of the courtyard.

Although Jason kindly arranged a secluded courtyard with only two guest rooms for him and Atalanta, next door were their familiar teammates Circe and Caenis.

But after seven days of reckless commotion, resulting in such a commotion, the two noise-causing individuals were too ashamed to continue hanging out together and tacitly agreed to separate for a while.

Iolcus, the capital city, and its port of call.

Samael stood on the edge of the neatly stacked stones, facing the salty sea breeze, looking down at the surging sea. He stood there for most of the day before thoughtfully withdrawing his gaze. After chatting with a few locals for a while, he found a quiet corner to sit down and looked around at the sailboats of all sizes returning to port or setting sail.

These things are passable for fishing in coastal waters, but in the environment of the Sea of Okeanos, going on a long-distance voyage would be pure suicide.

Moreover, even the few large ships that venture into the deep sea to bring in more fish often have damaged keels due to encounters with sea monsters, storms, and other factors. In fact, more than 40% of these ships have been destroyed.

No wonder this new King, who was unwilling to relinquish power, dared to throw the difficult task of obtaining the Golden Fleece to his nephew Jason as a test.

Putting aside future problems, finding suitable ships at the outset is already a hurdle that transcends the navigation and shipbuilding technology of ordinary people in this era.

Unless a miracle occurs, even if Jason manages to assemble his crew, he won't be able to set sail.

But a miracle is about to happen...

Samael smiled slightly, bit his index finger, and casually flicked a drop of blood into the surging waves.

A faint reddish hue spread, clouds filled the sky, and a golden Sorcery Array hundreds of meters in diameter converged and rotated, casting a dazzling beam of light down onto the sea.

"Buzz!"

A strange, rhythmic tremor spread out, and a colossal vessel, over a hundred meters long, with Sorcery Array carved on its hull, inlaid with magic crystals, and equipped with as many as fifty oars on both sides, sailed out of the light curtain and docked at the shore, dragged by several snow-white owls.

Behind the half-open light curtain, the majestic and solemn outline of Mount of Ares could be vaguely seen.

Boom!

Suddenly, a silver-white lightning bolt descended from the sky and struck the large ship. Instantly, obscure divine patterns appeared on the ship's deck, and its entire body shimmered with light, as if it had been cast in metal, making it indestructible.

Immediately afterwards, a large flock of cuckoos gathered in mid-air, forming an archway leading to a sacred forest. A giant covered with horrifying eyeballs carried an old tree with facial features, and amidst the painful screams of that face, he shaved off several planks to serve as the bow of the ship and the mast of the hull.

Several local priests present examined the scroll and immediately concluded with excitement that this was the sacred tree of Dodona, capable of predicting the future and bringing good fortune while avoiding misfortune.

In an instant, the seahorse chariot representing Poseidon and the blood-red light representing Ares descended, each bestowing their blessings upon the ship.

The once rare miracle, like a cabbage, bestowed upon this ship layers of blessings.

Upon seeing this, the port residents excitedly and reverently gathered around, praying and kneeling in worship, marveling at this divine creation.

Even the King Iolcus, alarmed, rushed to the port, pale-faced, with a large number of priests, where he burned incense and prepared offerings to the gods.

At this moment, Samael had already avoided the crowds and retreated to a secluded corner, where he sat under a tree connected to Mount of Ares, humming softly without any energy.

"Didn't I just ask you to salvage my boat from the sea and resell it? Why are you making such a big fuss?"

Athena in the temple blinked, her face full of innocence.

"This is not my fault. Zeus came. He had his eye on the 50 heroes that Zeus had gathered for the Golden Fleece expedition."

Hera did this on a whim, testing Jason on the way, and then, finding him agreeable, bestowed a favor upon him.

Poseidon is the God of the Sea; shouldn't we consult him before setting sail?

As for Ares, he himself had no interest in showing up, but behind the scenes, he was either instigated by Aphrodite or ordered by Zeus.

"It was all an accident anyway, and with so many gods sending you gifts, you're really making a name for yourself."

Immediately, the Goddess of Wisdom smiled with narrowed eyes, her expression mocking.

"Besides, when you're going on a long trip to meet the parents, you can't show favoritism, can you?"

"You've been spying on me all day long on Mount of Ares, haven't you? You've got nothing better to do, haven't you?"

When Samael heard Athena's veiled reference, he recalled his recent "seven days and seven nights" of battle, his face darkened, and his sense of shame surged.

In an instant, the ancient snake's eyes flashed, a sinister sneer appeared, and it flicked its nails as it asked in a low, eerie voice.

"By the way, did you receive the Golden Apple I sent you?"

"Squeak!"

Athena, who had just been all smiles, suddenly froze, her teeth grinding together as she forced out an angry word through gritted teeth.

"You still have the nerve to say that!"