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(Fate) Chapter 142: Jason: Welcome Back, Promise!
🕑 Added 2024-09-17 19:01:24 +0000 UTCA week later,
In the morning, at the coastal area of the Kingdom of Iolcus.
The hero Jason, with his golden hair and sapphire eyes, sat on the deck of the Argo, which was docked at the harbor.
The sea breeze gently blew through his short golden locks, while the bright sunshine bathed him in warmth.
Today was a rare beautiful day, with the sky a brilliant blue and the waves softly rolling in.
Since the construction of the Argo and its mooring here, Jason had never left the ship; he had been guarding it all this time.
Because from the moment it was built, he had a feeling that this ship would be the greatest glory of his life.
And more than that, it was tied to the promise he had made.
The promise he made to that person.
Even though more than a year had passed since then, Jason could still vividly remember that day,
Whenever he thought of it, it still felt like it had just happened yesterday.
At the grand sacrifice hosted by his uncle, Pelias, Queen Hera herself had revealed her divine presence, appearing before everyone,
But... she seemed to have recognized the wrong person.
She had mistaken the man named Jason for Promise.
Thinking of this, Jason couldn’t help but chuckle softly as he sat there.
Of course, to him, that detail didn’t matter and he didn’t care.
What truly mattered was what happened afterward—
When facing Queen Hera, his uncle Pelias who had usurped the throne that belonged to him; in front of everyone else in the kingdom,
Promise had spoken those unforgettable words:
"I swear before the gods, Jason truly is a hero of great stature, a courageous man worthy of his title!"
Even though so much time had passed, those words still echoed in Jason’s ears.
Before he went down from the mountain, Promise had vowed to Jason that he would help the man reclaim his throne.
That was the reason Jason had secretly brought him down from the mountain.
And it was also the reason why, whenever someone came to this place, they would take it out on Jason and give him a good thrashing.
That day, Promise, after saying those words, had asked Hera for a trial.
"To be honest, at first, I didn’t really care about that oath," Jason suddenly said, speaking into the sea breeze.
Because he had sensed the familiar footsteps approaching behind him.
The person he had been waiting for for more than a year finally came back.
"Although I was a little impressed and tempted, deep down in my heart I always believed you wouldn’t be able to pull it off.
After all… you were the weakest among us,"
He said, gazing out at the distant horizon of the sea,
Then without waiting for the person behind him to respond, he continued,
"The real reason why I decided to take you down the mountain was actually because many people on the mountain had already left.
Besides, I also thought that they were being too soft on you. No one wanted to crush that unrealistic dream of becoming a hero, so I figured I’d be the one to bring you down."
"Well...even though you’re not as handsome and charming as me, you weren’t too bad either.
With your art and musical skills, I thought with my help you could easily snag a rich lady,"
Jason laughed, revealing the truth of the past. "And once I reclaimed my sacred kingship and throne, I could make sure you would no longer have any worries about food and clothing, so that you would live in luxury for the rest of your life. Wouldn’t that be better than rotting away on that mountain?"
His laughter echoed as he shared his candid thoughts from that time.
When he finished speaking, the returned boy had already taken a seat beside him.
The boy also smiled, the sea breeze blowing through his black hair, with a silver strand tied into his artistic ponytail.
"You're only telling me this now?" the boy named Promise, said with a grin.
"Well, I didn’t expect you to be gone for so long, and I certainly didn’t expect your journey to be so very turbulent," Jason laughed again, not turning his head as he said.
"When the bards began singing of your legends here, when our friends arrived here and told tales of your deeds… Oh, and also beat me for it."
"I often felt like it wasn’t real, because you were always the weakest among us. But somehow, I also felt that all this was completely natural."
"Because you are my friend, Promise. And how could someone like you be ordinary?"
"But now, after more than a year, and as we’re finally about to embark on this adventure together, I feel like I need to finally ask you about something that’s been bothering me all this time..."
Having said that, Jason finally turned his head and looked at the young man beside him with an extremely serious expression..
With black hair and emerald eyes, the person in front of him was no longer the naïve young man he once was,
Much of his earlier innocence had been wiped away by the journey over the past year.
"Promise, do you really believe... that I am a hero?"
"Yes, I do," The latter answered without hesitation, nodding his head.
"Even though you’re proud, arrogant, and a bit of a womanizer, always exaggerating your might and acting recklessly without actually considering the situation, constantly avoiding problems and being a coward..."
"Hey!" Jason's eyes widened at his words.
Is he ever going to stop?
Not, right?
"But in my eyes, you are still a hero and a brave man," Promise smiled once again as he said.
"So there’s no need to be afraid or worried.
You just need to hold your head high with pride."
"You...!" Jason looked at the young man for a long moment, his gaze complicated.
Then, as if he had been fully recharged, he proudly lifted his head and said, "Of course! And who said I was ever afraid or worried? I am Jason, after all!"
"Oh, by the way, speaking of this, you owe me a painting, don’t you?
It's about the time you draw one for me.
I remember asking you for one when we first came down the mountain,"
Looking at the yellow hair, who was looking at him expectantly, Promise only had a look of contempt on his face as he said, "Are you worthy of it?"
"No..you just said I’m a warrior and a hero! How do I not deserve it?"
"So all that talk just now was to trick me into giving you a painting, wasn’t it?"
"Fine, if you won’t paint for me now, just watch!"
Jason, acting like a child throwing a tantrum, stood up abruptly and pointed his finger dramatically toward the distant sea, speaking with high spirit.
"One day.
Just wait and see, when that day comes, I will make you beg me to paint!
When you all reach the island of the Golden Fleece under my heroic command, and I lead everyone to retrieve that priceless treasure, when the whole world sings my praises and the gods themselves celebrate me—then, Promise, even if you beg to paint me, I won’t let you!"
Ah, this guy’s old habits are acting up again… Promise thought to himself.
"And so... Promise, you better make sure you watch me closely! Don’t even think about dying so easily in the middle of the journey!"
Jason stood up, lowered his head, and looked seriously at the boy, who was slightly stunned at the moment, and said:
"You have promised to help me regain the throne, so you need to be there with me until the end, do you understand?!"
Promise tilted his head slightly, looking at him before he smiled again and said, "
That's why I have already told you? You’re a hero."
Clearly, Jason had realized—or at least guessed—the truth.
He had guessed that this adventure might very well be the final chapter for someone.
"Alright, then," Promise said, "I’ll promise you this. At the end, I’ll paint a portrait for you."
"And, Jason, you should be proud. So far, I’ve only painted one hero’s portrait!"
The only hero whose portrait Promise had painted so far was Atalanta.
"Tch, I’m not the first? That’s the biggest mistake on your part!" Jason complained, but he couldn’t help but smile, his mood clearly lifted.
"By the way, did you bring any wine?" He sat back down, eagerly urging Promise, "It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other.
How can we not have a drink under such circumstances?"
"Nope." The latter, however, shook his head and replied casually, "Goddess Hera and Athena have always forbidden me to drink..."
Thinking about it carefully, it was true that during the entire year of his journey, Promise had never touched a drop of alcohol which was a strange no . outrageous thing in the Ancient Greece, the era of the Greek gods.
After all, in this world, legends of heroes were almost always accompanied by fine wine.
It’s important to remember that the future god who would replace the elder sister Hestia and become one of the twelve Olympians in the future was none other than Dionysus, the God of Wine.
However, even when they were on the mountain, the centaur sage Chiron did not allow Promise to touch alcohol.
He didn’t even allow Promise to hang around when Heracles and the others started drinking,
After all, after drinking, those people did not hold back when it came to their attacks.
Hearing this, Jason gave Promise a speechless look.
Are you their child or something?
Thinking of this, Jason recalled the legends he had heard from the poets and the experiences he had heard from his friends who had arrived.
"Hmm... now that I think about it, the gods seem to like you a lot, right."
"It’s not that big of a deal," Promise said, tilting his head casually.
Even a lot would be an understatement in his case.
"Oh."
Jason, who had never seen anything with his own eyes, didn’t press further and completely lost interest.
Promise’s indifferent answer didn’t make it seem like anything special.
"Speaking of which, Promise," He continued, "the way you came back return was rather low-key, wasn’t it? I heard from everyone that you stirred up quite a bit of trouble over the past year and even caught a falling star or something."
..
"So how do you think I should have returned?"
Hearing his words, the boy raised an eyebrow, looking at Jason, who had now completely relaxed and was back to his usual unpredictable self.
"Well, you should’ve fallen from the sky riding that meteor, or appeared during one of our big feasts, making the most dramatic entrance ever, so that all the men present will be shocked by you, and all the women will be unable to take their eyes off you!"
Jason said, half-jokingly.
However his words made Promise suddenly recall something.
His expression changed, and he shivered, wrapping his arms around himself.
"What’s wrong with you?" Jason asked, puzzled at his reaction.
"Nothing. It's just… I remembered some unpleasant experiences," Promise replied, shaking his head. "Forget it, let's not talk about this, Come on, Jason, I’ve got a companion to introduce to you."
Promise stood up.
The companion he was referring to was naturally Helen who followed him.
"Her name is Helen. Goddess Athena left me with an oracle, instructing me to bring her on this adventure... By the way, kid, let me warn you first, you’d better behave yourself when you meet her later, or else."
Promise shot Jason a warning look as he said.
"Just so you know, because of her, Theseus might not even be able to take the adventure."
"What? What happened?"
Hearing his words, Jason tilted his head in confusion, then said, "Oh hy the way, speaking of that, Promise, your little lover also arrived a few days ago."
"My Lover?" However, the latter looked at him in confusion. "Who are you talking about?"
"Come on, you don’t need to hide anything from your good buddy here!"
Jason laughed, throwing an arm around Promise’s shoulders.
"You have a good eye.
She’s a beauty, I tell you.
Even I was taken aback when I saw her, you know, my heart was racing the whole time."
"Good for you, man! You’ve finally opened your eyes to the beauty of women!"
"So, who exactly are you talking about?" Promise asked, walking alongside Jason.
As they disembarked from the ship and headed back toward the Kingdom of Iolcus, Jason suddenly stopped on the shore.
He turned to look back at the Argo, then forward to where Promise was waiting, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
"Come to think of it, I seem to have forgotten to say something important," Jason began, his tone softening. "Welcome back, Promise... and, thank you."
...
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