The Witch of Aeaea Island

In the end, Bai Mo followed Circe to her house. Along the way, he had mostly ignored what she said, but Circe did not mind in the least and continued talking tirelessly.

Circe thought to herself, I'll make him a feast later, then slip him some drugs. Hehe, my adorable little piglet, I'll take very good care of you~

Bai Mo was thinking too. He knew what Circe was like, having learned about her in the Odyssey. No, she could not be called a witch yet. Only after the Trojan War would Circe be forced to bear that name.

Seeing the nearly glowing look in Circe's eyes, Bai Mo could not help shuddering. This woman must be plotting how to turn me into a piglet. I know how to deal with her, but I'm not in good shape right now. I need to buy time to recover.

For some reason, the wounds on Bai Mo's body showed no signs of healing. The injuries inflicted by the venomous dragon had not taken long to heal, so why was it so slow this time?

After walking for a while, the two saw a cottage not far away. For someone living alone, it was quite spacious. The living room in particular was just like a hall in some castles, only more miniature.

"All right, the guest room is here. You can rest here for now, and I'll bring you some food later."

Circe left Bai Mo in the guest room and trotted away. Before long, the sound of firewood burning could be heard.

Bai Mo looked around the room. The wooden furniture and woolen quilt were simple, but they all showed the care their owner had put into them. The entire room was spotless and had a cozy feel to it. Even the quilt smelled of sunshine.

It really is a nice place to relax, Bai Mo thought, but he did not let his guard down. This could very well be a facade that woman was using to deceive him.

In the myth, Circe would invite the heroes to dine before drugging them. That was the information Hertor had given Odysseus. In the Odyssey, Hertor had practically thrown the script in Odysseus's face, so Bai Mo still had some reason to feel confident.

But that was no reason to relax. The myths also said Atalanta hated men, yet in reality she had invited him to go hunting after the voyage.

Knowing how history would unfold was Bai Mo's advantage, but if he relied entirely on it, he would probably die without even a scrap left. These were all living, breathing people. Leaving everyone else aside, could Circe, who had lived for who knew how long, possibly be a fool?

Bai Mo could even hear the cries of the unlucky souls who had been turned into pigs in the pigsty.

Before long, the door was thrown open, and Circe walked in carrying a bowl of barley porridge.

"Kykeon?"

Bai Mo looked at the bowl of porridge. His face remained impassive, but inwardly he was on the highest alert.

"Oh my, you even know about this? How impressive."

Circe clapped her hands and said this happily, apparently delighted that Bai Mo knew about this food.

"That's right. When someone is recovering from an injury, of course they should eat barley porridge. It's easy to digest and nutritious too..."

Circe spoke cheerfully, but before long she abruptly stopped her lecture, surprising Bai Mo, who had been watching the show. Then she scratched her head sheepishly and awkwardly dropped the subject.

"Um, I have something to take care of, so I'll be going. Remember to drink it while it's hot."

Circe then left the cottage looking displeased. Seeing this, Bai Mo picked up the bowl of porridge.

There's no way I'm drinking it, but can I use Electric Current Push to try analyzing it? I can't avoid dealing with Medea if I want to get the Thread of Fate back, so I'll try to learn about magic from Circe first.

Bai Mo then began channeling his power into the seemingly ordinary bowl of porridge.

Meanwhile, Circe walked to the shore with her head lowered, muttering resentfully to herself.

"Damn it, this was such a good chance, and I was going to make myself look gentle and considerate! What could be so urgent, Dad? He even used the emergency measure I gave him."

Circe then grabbed her head with both hands and shouted, "Aaaah! I finally met someone I liked this much! If he runs away because he doesn't like me enough, where am I supposed to find another? Dad, you'd better really have something urgent!"

If Aeëtes knew what was going on with Circe, he would surely be utterly speechless and never come to disturb her again for the rest of his life.

An eagle flew over the coast and dropped a parchment. Circe opened it with some displeasure, and gradually her mood changed, from impatience to alarm, then disbelief, until she was utterly dumbfounded.

The letter went roughly as follows:

My dear daughter, a few things have happened in Colchis recently. Simply put, the Golden Fleece was stolen, the venomous dragon guarding it was killed, and your niece Medea fell in love with Jason, the enemy leader, and betrayed us. Then the army I sent in pursuit was crushed by someone named Bai Ermo. There were no casualties. I'm preparing to break with the gods. This is a major matter, and rushing won't help, so I'm letting you know. Take care of yourself.

Your loving father-Aeëtes

Circe then put the parchment away, took it out again, and read it several more times to make sure there was nothing wrong with her eyes.

Then she let out an indescribable shriek.

"How did this kind of crap happen in just a few days?! No, what are you all doing?!"

Circe swayed as though she were about to fall, then shouted in the direction of Colchis, "What's going on with Medea? And who is this Bai Ermo? Where did he come from? Your fleet was crushed, and there weren't any casualties? You're really something! After all those things happened..."

Circe slammed the parchment onto the beach and stomped on it twice, finally wailing, "And you still tell me to take care of myself! I'm so ****! And rushing won't help? You're pretty open-minded, old man!"

His son, whom he had thought was going to die, had been brought back, so Aeëtes had indeed become considerably more open-minded.

But just as Circe was stomping hard on the parchment beneath her feet, another eagle flew over and dropped another parchment onto her face.

Circe laughed. She was so angry that she laughed.

"Heh heh, hahaha. Fine, fine, fine. What other surprises don't I know about?"

She opened the parchment. If the previous contents had made Circe angry, what was written on this one made her break out in a torrent of cold sweat.

The letter went roughly as follows:

My dear daughter, there's no catching the Argo now. Those people must have made a sacrifice to the sea god, but Bai Ermo, who stayed behind to cover their retreat, didn't board the Argo.

Circe said speechlessly, "You really had the nerve to admit you were smashed to pieces by someone covering a retreat."

After that complaint, Circe continued reading the letter.

That Bai Ermo is different from the other rats on the Argo. He can be considered a true hero. He saved my child Absyrtus, and the details are as follows... Moreover, according to our information, he is suspected to be one of Athena's followers. He has also displayed the power to wield lightning, so he should be a descendant of Zeus. Although this sea is so vast that you probably won't meet him, just to be safe, don't make things difficult for him even if you do.

A portrait of Bai Mo was also attached.

Circe said, "Oh my, this fellow is surprisingly handsome. He seems kind of familiar. I feel like I've seen him somewhere..."

Then Circe's cold sweat soaked right through her thin clothes, and she drew a sharp breath.

Right, Bai Ermo is at my house right now...

She held her head weakly and crouched down, like an owl hanging its head, its wings drooping limply at its sides.

"What is all this? Hecate, why...?"

For a moment, Circe desperately wanted to run. She muttered, "He used to be a member of the Argo's crew, so he probably knows about me. Someone like that definitely wouldn't go into a fight unprepared. What should I do? Should I just run away? But... if I miss this chance, it'll be very difficult for Medea..."

Clever as she was, she quickly began weighing the pros and cons. After some thought, Circe decided to take a risk.

"There's no other way. At this point, I can only count on Bai Ermo. There's no way I can bring Medea back on my own."

Even with her powerful magic, Circe knew perfectly well what she could and could not touch. This was undoubtedly a game played by the gods. If she entered it herself, she might be schemed to death. She could only count on Bai Mo, who was already in the game.

Of course, a witch had her own methods.

When she returned to the cottage, the room was very quiet. Bai Mo seemed to have no intention of making a move. Circe smiled faintly, then walked quietly toward the kitchen.

"A few poisonous mushrooms, and a little medicinal paste. Yes, yes, that's just the smell."

Circe immersed herself wholeheartedly in her cooking. This time she prepared a particularly lavish spread: roast suckling pig with a crisp exterior, steaming cream of cheese soup, and bread with garlic sauce and butter. The table was laden with food.

Then she quietly walked toward Bai Mo's room, a smile filling her face.

Inside the room, Bai Mo held his blade blank at the ready. Watching the shadow appear beneath the door, he tensed his entire body.

Circe opened the door. "How was your rest? I've prepared din-huh?!"

The moment she opened the door, the huge blade blank chopped straight down from above, bearing a murderous pressure! Fierce killing intent swept over her. It looked as though this strike would make Circe a girl with her brains splattered!

Circe did not move. Unless a person had received professional training, they needed time to react in a situation like this.

Huh? Am I going to die?

The thought flashed through Circe's mind. The next second, the blade blank stopped only a few centimeters from her forehead.

Circe froze, and then a voice rang out.

"Circe, I know you're a witch, the daughter of Aeëtes. You've prepared to drug me, haven't you?!"

Bai Mo's voice rang through Circe's head like a thunderclap.

Bai Mo was not entirely calm either, because he felt that something was wrong. He had truly wanted to kill her just now. Fortunately, he had stopped his attack at the last moment.

And Circe? She had now recovered from her daze... and then.

With a plop, Circe sat down on the floor with her legs folded to either side. She looked at the person before her, her eyes brimming with tears and a sense of grievance so clear that even Bai Mo could see it.

"I... ugh..."

"What are you trying to say?"

Bai Mo's voice remained cold. Then Circe, the witch famous throughout history, the witch who had turned countless men into pigs, actually began to cry.

"Waaah!"

Circe wiped her tears with her hand as she wept, tears streaming down her face. But it had to be said that this method did have some effect on someone like Bai Mo, who had a heart of stone but had never even held a girl's hand.

For a moment, Bai Mo did not know what to do.