Wrinkles

"Phew." Bai Mo let out a deep breath and looked at his body. His wounds had long since vanished, leaving only lean, toned muscles. His body had recovered, and he had no reason to stay here any longer.

Bai Mo picked up the unfinished blade and left the room, intending to talk things over with Circe. He hoped she would free the people who had been turned into pigs, and then he would leave. The moment he opened the door, he saw a table laden with food.

Circe was beside it, trying to clear the food away.

"Ahaha, so soon? Um... are you hungry?"

Circe struggled to keep smiling, but inwardly she was already cursing herself for not being decisive enough to throw the food away sooner.

"You drugged this stuff, didn't you..."

"Ah... oh, how could I? Of course I didn't."

"Then can you swear to Hecate?"

With that one question, Bai Mo completely shut down Circe's excuses. She lowered her head like a child caught doing something wrong, making him sigh.

"You'd better break that habit. Someone with ulterior motives could easily take advantage of you. Don't end up branded a witch."

Bai Mo gave her the warning because Circe's reputation as a witch could be said to have gone into a nosedive after the Odyssey. Curiously, both Circe and Medea were descendants of Helios, the first-generation sun god. The god himself could be said to have had no blemishes on his record, yet Medea and Circe both ended up infamous as a result of the gods' scheming.

Circe eagerly admitted she was wrong but had no intention of changing, merely going through the motions. Bai Mo couldn't be bothered with her anymore. It was better to let someone like her suffer a setback.

Grrr. An ill-timed sound rang out. Bai Mo glanced at the sky, where night had already fallen. He had escaped from Colchis and swum underwater for who knew how long, then spent quite some time arguing with Circe and recovering from his injuries. He was indeed feeling a little hungry now.

Once again, Bai Mo found himself wishing he could reach the level where he could make bread with Magnetic Field Power. But doing that would require a very high horsepower, and by the time he reached that level, he probably wouldn't need to eat at all.

"Uh... how about I make you another meal?"

Circe spoke with some embarrassment.

"There's no need for that. As long as that bowl of porridge is all right, it's fine. You have no need or obligation to take care of me."

His words were perfectly reasonable, but they didn't take Circe's feelings into account. To her, that sense of distance was unpleasant-utterly unpleasant.

The kykeon had gone cold again. Bai Mo cupped the wooden bowl in his hands and activated Electric Current Push, heating the porridge once more. Seeing this, Circe instinctively wanted to say something, but when she recalled what Bai Mo had just said, she pressed her lips together and swallowed her words.

It was true that the bowl of kykeon had been perfectly normal the first time. But... by the time it was heated for the second time, Circe had learned about Bai Mo. Knowing that the man before her was the best choice to help Medea, would she have remained indifferent?

That was impossible.

But she hadn't expected this. Rather, she didn't understand this man.

He had made no demands. Simply out of anger at the gods' actions and sympathy for Medea and her family, he had sworn to do what she had originally thought she would have to threaten him into doing.

At that moment, she had felt from the bottom of her heart that meeting him was wonderful. Someone so exceedingly rare among the people of the world had appeared in her life, yet his coldness and distance filled her heart with bitterness.

I should warn him now. I should tell him there's a sleeping potion in that wheat porridge too. He trusts you so much, Circe. Say it!

But I have to consider whether this is the only chance I'll have in my life.

"Then enjoy. If it's not enough, I have more here~"

Circe said those words with a gentle smile.

Sorry, Bai Ermo... but what I want you to know now isn't any of those meaningless things... I just hope you can understand how I feel...

Paying no attention to the temperature, Bai Mo drank the entire bowl in one gulp without even using a spoon.

Nice! Circe clenched her fist on the sly.

Before long, Bai Mo sensed something was wrong.

"Circe! You!"

"Hehe, darling, you should know that women who cry are the best liars~ Don't worry, I won't turn you into a piggy~"

But the next moment, Bai Mo's gaze sharpened. He didn't look remotely unsteady from the drug as he stood up, his knuckles making a dreadful crack, crack.

"Huh? Why can you still move?"

Circe's smile froze on her face. It had never occurred to her that Bai Mo might drink the porridge and not pass out.

Half a minute later, Circe crouched angrily by the door, rubbing her forehead.

"That was too much, you jerk!"

What right do you have to say that, you jerk?! Bai Mo very much wanted to retort. He couldn't help sighing at how accurate the myths had been. What kind of decent person was a woman who, after Odysseus saw through her, invited him to sleep with her, planned to castrate him in bed, and then gave herself to him outright once he saw through her completely?

But Bai Mo couldn't even speak now. He had to admit that Circe's drug was terrifyingly potent. Even his body, which had long since surpassed human limits, could barely withstand it. His body had already gone into "hibernation," and his mind was struggling to hold on as well.

Getting Circe out had taken everything he had. Now he truly had no strength left to resist.

I hope I scared her just now, so I'll have time to recover... damn it... I'm so sleepy.

His brain could no longer resist the drug. Bai Mo closed his eyes unconsciously, and after taking one final precaution, he fell into a deep sleep, a rare sleep since coming to this world.

Would Circe let things end there?

A light knock came at the door. Bai Mo, already asleep, naturally couldn't hear it. Then Circe, on the other side of the door, smiled as if to say, "Just as I thought."

Circe: "Just as planned."

Thessaly-

Dim yellow firelight illuminated the room, and a faint floral fragrance filled the air. Black datura stood in a vase, tiny points of light glimmering on its petals. The girl was combing her purple hair up, drawing the comb through its silky length again and again. Her lovely pale-purple hair was enough to make any woman envious, but its owner was in no mood to care.

She put down the comb, and a few purple hairs as fine as lotus silk fell. Medea glanced at them briefly, then looked away. The purple strands lay quietly on the floor, as if abandoned.

Medea gently stroked the corner of her eye. Then the comb fell from her hand to the floor.

Wrinkles, something that should never have appeared at the corner of a teenage girl's eye, were reflected in the mirror.

Trembling, Medea reached out and touched the mirror, as though the wrinkles were specks of dirt on its surface.

No matter how she wiped, the wrinkles never disappeared.

She bit her red lip with her pearly teeth, and a rusty, metallic taste flowed onto her tongue.

"Ah!"

The next moment, the mirror shattered, like her heart, which had always remained steady.

Medea hurried out, not even caring that her shoes weren't properly on. All she wanted now was something to lean on, somewhere to soothe the unease in her heart.

She opened the door to Jason's room. He had long since fallen asleep. Medea slowly climbed into bed and listened to his heartbeat. Only now could that steady heartbeat calm her unease, but it could do no more than calm it.

That night, Medea couldn't sleep.

Meanwhile, far away on Olympus, the goddess Athena was also restless. She looked at the book in her hands, but her gaze kept drifting toward Aeaea Island.

A scantily dressed goddess with a voluptuous figure pulled open the door to Athena's room. She had long, captivating hair like flames, and her expressions and every movement could make any man unable to help feeling desire for her.

"What's wrong? Has something happened to trouble Athena, goddess of wisdom? Or has Athena finally figured it out and given her heart to someone?"

The goddess let out a seductive laugh, and the sound made Athena frown.

"Aphrodite, what I'm considering is the future of humanity and the world. It's not something you can solve by spreading your legs. If you want a debate, I don't think there would be much suspense about the outcome."

Aphrodite clicked her tongue. To be honest, Athena was definitely one of the gods she least wanted to face.

Even so, Aphrodite kept the smile Athena disliked. "Hehe, not necessarily. Athena, you're worried about that little man of yours, aren't you? What's wrong? Are you afraid he'll fall in love with that lovely young lady?"

Athena said calmly, her face expressionless, "The man I chose is a great figure who will lead humanity in the future. How could he lose himself in love? But he really is bad at dealing with women. This will be a chance for him to grow. That woman's cheap feelings are nothing more than a stepping stone to help him along."

Aphrodite laughed even louder when she heard that. "Hehehe, what a poor child, bound at such a young age."

Athena shot back, "That's no shackle. It's the direction humanity will take. He will be celebrated in epics, not lose himself in a woman's love. He'll understand soon enough."

Aphrodite nodded casually and mocked her. "Yes, yes. He'll become the man you say will lead humanity toward the light. Once he becomes an epic, all that will be left is courage and wisdom, with no love and no feelings."

Athena said coldly, "Those things are only obstacles. Aphrodite, if a traveler wants to go far, he should cast aside unnecessary burdens. So-called love is merely a weight. It's just that in some people's eyes, it has no value, while in others', it weighs a thousand pounds. Isn't that right, goddess of love?"

Aphrodite had nothing more to say. She had originally wanted to take the opportunity to needle Athena, but facing her, she had only made things unpleasant for herself.