Treatment

The dining table in the living room was laden with a sumptuous spread. Steam rose from the food, and its mouthwatering aroma filled the air. Even someone who had eaten their fill would have felt hungry at the sight.

It was the witch's dinner, yet not a single person was eating it.

In Bai Mo's room, Circe was concentrating all her efforts on something.

"Stop arguing and take it off already!"

"I'm not a three-year-old! Give me the medicine and I'll put it on myself!"

Circe had one hand on Bai Mo's clothes. The arrows had already torn them to shreds, and his long swim underwater had left them even more ragged. They looked like a beggar's rags.

But her efforts caused him no trouble at all. Bai Mo held one hand against Circe's head, thwarting her wicked scheme.

"Never mind that. Just give me the medicine. You want to bring Medea back, don't you? Then I don't have time to waste here."

Now that Bai Mo had recovered his strength, he was ready to set out regardless of his wounds.

Circe said, "Don't rush, don't rush. Pelias of Thessaly is a sly old fox. Even if he gets the Golden Fleece, he won't hand over the throne so easily. Jason will definitely need Medea's help, so my niece should be safe for now. You need to rest and heal your wounds."

Bai Mo clicked his tongue. Much as he hated to admit it, Circe was right. This trip would be more than a simple matter of bringing Medea back. They might run into opposition from the gods. It was going to be anything but easy.

"I still don't need you to apply the medicine. Just give it to me and get out. Don't you have things of your own to do?"

Circe's eyes darted around. Then, putting on the air of a seasoned elder, she lectured Bai Mo. "These wounds aren't that simple. The damage was inflicted under the War God's blessing. Without the right spell and incantation, giving you the salve would be a waste. Now, stop fussing!"

"Really?"

"Of course. Why would I lie to you?"

Circe was lying to Bai Mo. Injuries sustained in the War God's trial really were difficult to heal, because they counted as the War God's blessing in a sense. Those who completed a god's trial received the god's reward, and those scars were the War God's commendation.

Under normal circumstances, the scars would heal slowly, continuously strengthening the injured person's body in the meantime. The battlefield was a warrior's anvil, and scars tempered a warrior, so the process was slow.

Of course, that meant nothing to Bai Mo. This strengthening could not continue indefinitely; the limit of the human body was its ceiling. The stronger a person was, the less effect it had. For Bai Mo's current body, it was completely pointless. Instead, it clashed with his Magnetic Field Power, slowing his healing.

Circe was naturally well aware of this. No matter how many blessings a warrior received, they could not compare to someone with even a trace of divine blood or a demigod. In her eyes, Bai Mo was Zeus's son, so the blessing was utterly useless to him. She only needed to remove it.

But removing it required no spell or incantation at all. Unlike a curse, a blessing was easy to remove if the recipient cooperated.

Circe simply wanted to do it this way. After all, it was a perfect opportunity.

In the end, Bai Mo could only accept, though he remained skeptical.

"Can you hurry up?"

"Hehe, don't rush. You can't rush this sort of thing."

"Then can you stop touching me all over? That's obviously not how you apply medicine!"

"Huh? Is that so? You're imagining things~"

Thessaly-

The evening breeze rustled through the branches and leaves of the olive trees. At the site where a feast had been held when the Agor departed, the bonfire once again burned in celebration.

The crowd cheered the triumphant return of the Argo Heroes. Countless beauties did everything they could to share a drink with the mighty heroes, dreaming of spending a night with them.

Of course, a few people were not among their targets: the women, such as Atalanta and Caenis; Heracles, who looked thoroughly unapproachable; and Jason, who was squirming under Medea's gaze.

In the original course of events, the Agor would have faced two more trials on its return voyage: the bronze giant and the twin sea monsters. But Poseidon's blessing had proved immensely effective. The Agor moved as fast as a speedboat and reached Thessaly that very night.

"If we'd known Poseidon was so powerful, why didn't we make an offering to him from the start?"

Many people said things like that, while some of the older sages were deeply worried. They knew there was a price to pay for dealing with a god.

An incredibly terrible price.

Whenever Medea heard such remarks, she could not help frowning.

"Medea, um, have you heard anything about Bai Mo?"

It was an awful thing to ask in an ordinary conversation between lovers. Jason asked because Medea was currently the only person who could be considered connected to Colchis. Although some of Aeëtes's relatives were also aboard the Agor, those people had only just been reunited with their family and obviously could not have any news of Bai Mo.

But it was inappropriate to ask Medea, too. She had already broken with Colchis for Jason's sake, and asking her that now showed no consideration for her feelings.

Yet Medea felt not a trace of resentment. At present, Jason was all she cared about. As for the offense his question gave her?

In love, one party was humble and gave no thought to themselves. They gave all their love to the other person, leaving none for themselves. Thus, love took away their desire and their right to love themselves.

"No, my love, you're too impatient. We've only just covered a journey that took you months. Even the fastest carrier pigeon couldn't outpace us. Perhaps only the gods know what has happened to Bai Ermo."

Jason scratched his head, troubled. He really had not gotten used to Bai Mo's absence during this time. For some reason, he felt unsafe, and he was also genuinely worried about Bai Mo.

After all, the adventure was over, and the heroes would gradually leave. Though some seemed prepared to stay in Thessaly for a while, they would still leave eventually.

Seeing Jason so troubled, Medea grew anxious about his situation as well. She spoke slowly. "My love, Bai Ermo is Athena's retainer. She assigned him to help you. The goddess Athena cannot be unaware of his current situation, so why don't you ask her?"

Jason clapped his hands. "That's right! I can't believe I forgot Athena. I'll go to her temple tomorrow!"

But Medea hesitated as she spoke. "Um, my love, must you be in such a hurry? We've only just won. Shouldn't we enjoy ourselves first?"

Medea's meaning was clear enough: as Jason's lover, she was inviting him to spend the night with her. As her lover, Jason should have obliged, but if he was going to Athena's temple, he could not do so tonight.

Athena was a virgin goddess. If he did that sort of thing at night and went to her temple the next day, the priests would throw him out at best. At worst, he would incur the goddess's wrath.

But Jason merely gave her a perfunctory response and left. Someone in the crowd was calling his name; the feast was summoning its great captain. It was also a kind of avoidance and... distancing.

Yes, distancing. Medea could feel it, but she did not know what to do. Whenever doubts arose in her heart, the magic of love suppressed them.

Medea watched Jason leave, her feelings a jumble. Poseidon's words echoed in her ears from time to time.

It was a price she could not pay.

Medea sighed and looked at the thread wrapped around her ring finger. Bai Ermo was definitely alive at the moment; she was certain of that. But what if he had already been captured alive by Colchis? What should she do if Aeëtes wanted to exchange Bai Ermo for the Golden Fleece or for her?

Medea shook her head. Bai Ermo had much stronger backing than she did, and at the very least, he should be able to protect himself. She would hold on to it for now.

Elsewhere, Atalanta was also deeply worried. She planned to stay in Thessaly for a while, at least until news of Bai Mo arrived. She was even prepared to sail for Colchis again.

"Oh, you should be by my side right now, Bai Ermo. You'll be all right, won't you?"

Atalanta no longer wanted to stay at the noisy feast. She wanted to hunt a deer in the forest and pray to the moon goddess to protect the man who might already be in grave danger.

"Please don't let anything happen to him."

Without realizing it, Atalanta murmured the words, giving voice to her thoughts.

Aeaea Island-

"Gah! Stop it! There's no wound there!"

"Ehe, sorry, I didn't notice. I had no idea you had such a nice body~"

Circe stroked his chest muscles in a highly suggestive pose. This time, Bai Mo really could not take it anymore. He grabbed Circe by her elfin ear.

"Ow, ow, ow! I'm sorry, all right? I was wrong, boohoo."

By now, his wounds were gradually healing. The salve had dispelled the power of the War God's blessing, and Bai Mo had begun circulating his power to heal. Seeing this, Circe could only leave in disappointment.

After leaving, Circe looked at the sumptuous but drugged spread on the table. For a moment, she was torn, and she let out an involuntary sigh.