A Prophecy for the Hero

The morning sunlight was always so gentle and warm. True Ether filled the air, and the abundant magical energy made Thaumas, once a modern man, feel refreshed to his very bones.

The morning air was damp. Thaumas and Jason got up early, and after washing up, they were about to set out when an "uninvited guest" arrived.

"Children, did you rest well last night? I specially blessed you, you know~"

Thaumas looked at the Goddess of Wisdom, who had suddenly appeared before them. Her golden eyes shifted slightly, shimmering with golden light as she curiously examined him.

Thaumas was no longer surprised by Athena suddenly popping up. After all, anything this famous God of Amusement did somehow seemed perfectly reasonable, didn't it?

Were all these gods really this free?

"Hmm~? Not at all. I was specifically watching over you two, especially you, Hera's little believer." Athena spoke with great enthusiasm.

When would people stop eavesdropping on his thoughts? And what was this goddess planning to do now? Hey! Jason, you coward, stop playing dead! This was Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, who was willing to spare you a glance!

Sometimes, when two people were together, one of them was bound to feel helpless. Damn it, he really hoped Jason would get beaten up by the entire world someday!

"Hmm~ Oh, right! I remember now!" Athena seemed to have just recalled something. She shifted her gaze away from Thaumas and turned toward Jason behind him.

The smile vanished from her face. Her golden eyes flickered, and after staring at him for a while longer, she spoke coldly.

"You are Jason? Your purpose in coming here is to return to the Kingdom of Iolcus, reclaim your throne, and take back what you lost. Is that correct?"

Upon hearing this, Jason looked at the purple-haired, golden-eyed goddess before him. There was not the slightest expression on his face. Gone was his usual arrogance; only his uncontrollably trembling legs gave him away. After all, this was a true deity—Athena, goddess of wisdom and victory!

"Yes! Honored Goddess!"

Well, well, Jason!

You could actually speak without stuttering, and you hadn't wet yourself from fright. Tsk, what a pity.

Still, let's see how you die. At last, he got to see this scene...

"Ha ha~" Athena, who had been eavesdropping, could not hold back her laughter. However, she ignored Thaumas beside her and continued.

"Jason, I came here for you."

"I bring you a prophecy, one that will help you reclaim the throne that belongs to you, take back everything that is yours, and win countless glories!"

Hearing this, Jason could no longer remain calm. He looked at Athena with fervent excitement, then turned excitedly toward Thaumas, who was lowering his head in thought.

In the end, he trembled in disbelief. "Praise the great Goddess of Wisdom, Athena! Thank you, honored goddess, I should..."

Athena raised a hand. Her powerful Authority stopped Jason from saying anything further, and she said.

"Remember this: on this journey, you must never mistreat the elderly, nor may you ignore the old, weak, women, and children who seek your help! If you can truly do this, I, Athena, Goddess of Wisdom, will personally help you reclaim your throne."

Before Jason could even react, Thaumas had already pieced together most of it. But with the Goddess of Wisdom present, he did not dare think further and merely watched in silence.

After delivering the prophecy, the goddess did not leave. Instead, she turned to Thaumas and gently said, "Child, you too. If you want to help him, you must follow the prophecy as well. You absolutely must obey it!"

With that, she left without giving Thaumas time to respond. If he had not known everything already, curiosity alone would have tormented him to death. What a God of Amusement.

He had also understood the prophecy. He had known about this from the very beginning and had been planning around it, but he had not expected Athena to become such a major interlude—in the literal sense.

Well, this was Nasuverse Heavy Industries, a company that started out with eroge. Those who understood, understood; those who did not did not need to. Fun~

Back to the matter at hand, the identity of Athena's "old, weak, women, and children" was practically obvious. It was the great Queen of Heaven, wife of Zeus, the king of gods, who was so often cheated on...

Of course, she was also one of Olympus's Twelve Olympians, the goddess who governed marriage and childbirth.

This Queen of Heaven, Hera, was actually Thaumas's second objective on this journey. As for his first objective?

Did that even need to be said? Naturally, it was the Argo, filled with glory.

From the Greek myths he knew, as well as his understanding of the Nasuverse, if he wanted to leave behind remarkable deeds in this world and take part in those splendid legends and epics, then he could not avoid the gods. There was no escaping them.

He did not intend to sit around and wait for death. Instead, he had decided to strike hard. As for who he would strike?

Did that even need asking? It could only be Jason.

After all, Jason was the "protagonist." Jason would just have to suffer a little so Thaumas could take a share of his legends! Don't worry, he would only lend him a supporting hand.

That was what Thaumas thought.

Meanwhile, Jason had just emerged from his surprise and was hopping around in excitement like a foolish deer.

That was hardly strange. After all, Athena's prophecy had clearly stated that she would personally help him reclaim the throne that belonged to him—everything that should have been his!

So...

"The great Goddess of Wisdom, Lady Athena, really came for me! With this, the day I reclaim my throne is practically at hand!" Jason was overjoyed, then immediately teased Thaumas.

"Now that I think about it, I don't need you at all, Thaumas! I alone can fulfill the prophecy, then personally reclaim my throne with the Goddess of Wisdom's aid!"

"Ah, Thaumas, from now on, you must address me as His Majesty King Jason! I shall reluctantly permit you to become my royal strategist!"

Thaumas, who was traveling onward, did not want to pay any attention to Jason's usual nonsense. Yet seeing that Thaumas ignored him, Jason actually pushed his luck.

"I should never have brought you down the mountain. You caused me so much trouble! If Heracles and the others find out, I'll really lose a layer of skin!" Seeing Thaumas's face darken further and further, Jason immediately changed his tune.

"But as the brother of me, King Jason, I won't hold it against you too much.

Once I ascend the throne, I will surely grant you a position. You can become this king's strategist and gain wealth and glory!"

Looking at Jason, who was smugly spouting nonsense, Thaumas truly could not take it anymore. Jason had rambled on with a pile of unrealistic empty promises. This guy would definitely become a king who was good at selling dreams in the future!

"So, have you understood Goddess Athena's prophecy, Your Majesty King Jason?"

"Um... well... ah, that isn't the important part! It'll happen sooner or later anyway!" Jason immediately looked troubled, but as he looked at Thaumas, he seemed to remember something and quickly said with anticipation.

"Right, this king remembers now. Didn't you say you would help me reclaim my throne? Now you have a chance to help a great king. My clever and handsome strategist can definitely do it, right?"

Now you knew how to cling to someone. As expected of you, Jason!

Thaumas was genuinely angered into laughter. But then again, Greece's three virgin goddesses were all troublesome. If possible, he truly did not want to meet any of them. Goddess Hera was better—she was like a normal person. As long as you made her happy, anything could be arranged.

Whenever he thought of Artemis, that love-struck goddess of the moon and hunt, he felt lingering fear. After all, her lover Orion had suffered terribly.

After Orion became a Heroic Spirit, whenever he was summoned, the God of Months would certainly lower her Spirit Origin rank and appear as a Heroic Spirit rather than a god, all while tightly strangling Orion by the neck.

How tragic. Even after death, he could not rest in peace.

As for that prophecy, it was the second treasure.

The first, of course, was Teacher Chiron!

Jason was Aeson's son and Cretheus's grandson.

Cretheus built a city and the Kingdom of Iolcus on the bay of Thessaly, then passed the kingdom on to his son Aeson.

Like his father, Aeson was an upright king, but his personality was far too indecisive, making him unsuitable to rule the fierce Thessaly.

When the lords of Thessaly rebelled, he welcomed the assistance of his half-brother, Pelias.

After Pelias suppressed the rebellion, he was appointed captain of Aeson's guard. Yet that brother secretly overthrew Aeson's rule and imprisoned his parents. Of course, there were also rumors that he had them secretly murdered.

When Jason came of age and prepared to return home to reclaim everything that had once been his, his uncle Pelias offended the Queen of Heaven, Hera. In order to punish him, Hera came before Jason.

She disguised herself as an elderly, frail woman and stood before a raging river. When Jason arrived, she begged him to help her cross it.

Jason agreed. While carrying her across the river, Hera suddenly caused the surging waters to sweep away all his wealth and weapons. She even left one of his shoes buried in the river mud.

Yet even so, Jason did not abandon her to chase after the wealth and weapons the river had carried away. He successfully passed Hera's test.

From that day onward, he became Hera's believer, a child favored by the Queen of Heaven.

There was no doubt that this was a legend. Therefore, even if merely participating in it could improve the quality of a Heroic Spirit, Thaumas had no reason to let it slip away!

Thaumas's plan was to stay beside Jason and lend him a hand while crossing the river.

First, he would make his presence known before Hera and reveal that he believed in her, allowing Hera to gain two believers at once.

That was his plan. It was simple, but precisely because of that, it was also effective.

After all, ever since he had come to this world, he had worshiped Hera. Every day, he prayed to her sincerely, all for the arrival of this day!

Years of uninterrupted daily prayers would finally bear fruit! This was his effort!

In Ancient Greece, flattering gods was nothing to be ashamed of. After all, if you made a god happy, they really would give you things!

With such thoughts and plans in mind, Thaumas and Jason traveled diligently, constantly watching their words and actions.

Until one evening several days later...

PS: I originally wanted to keep writing, but I realized I had already written eight thousand words today, so that's it for now. I'll split it into two chapters and post the rest tomorrow.