Walking through the streets of Kitaea, Jason did not rush straight to the palace to meet Aeetes.
Instead, he planned to wander around first and gather information about the Kingdom of Colchis.
To be honest, before coming here, he had certainly imagined that Colchis would be quite different from the other lands he had visited.
But even he hadn't expected the differences to be this stark.
It wasn't just the clothing or the architectural style on the surface, every part of this city, every tiny detail, felt refreshingly new to him.
For example, the stone-paved streets.
The drainage ditches running alongside the roads, filled with flowing wastewater.
The four-wheeled carriages racing across the roads.
And the finely crafted standardized armor worn by the soldiers, armor that, in other parts of Greece, only officers of considerable status could afford, yet here every soldier wore such equipment as if it were nothing.
And so on, and so forth…
Of course, the first thing they needed to do was find a shop and buy some clothes.
Greek-style clothing was far too eye-catching on these streets. In just a short while, dozens of curious onlookers had already given them strange looks.
So Jason led his companions into a clothing shop by the roadside.
They didn't carry Colchian currency, but they had gold.
In fact, they had brought a great deal of gold for this journey, knowing that they would be visiting many unfamiliar lands, and gold was a universal currency anywhere.
Very soon, they stepped back out wearing short-sleeved Colchian garments, moving their arms and legs as they walked, getting used to their new outfits.
"How does it feel? These new clothes?" Jason asked as he walked.
"Very convenient, certainly more so than Greek robes," Argos, Jason's cousin, clicked his tongue in admiration. "For ordinary people, these are indeed perfect for work."
"What's the point of that?" Telamon snorted dismissively. "Flashy but useless. People doing real heavy labor don't need clothes at all."
His words stunned the others for a moment, then made them all smile wryly.
"Telamon isn't wrong," Jason agreed.
"But that only applies to basic manual laborers. Carpenters, blacksmiths, craftsmen, that's different.
They do need clothing that makes their work easier. In that sense, these outfits are indeed practical."
As he spoke, he pointed toward a tavern ahead.
"It's just around noon. Let's take a look inside."
The moment they entered, they were greeted by a pleasant aroma.
It was not the scent of flowers or perfume, nor the fragrance of a woman, but something familiar, the smell of heated fat and cooking meat.
"This smell…" Jason closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Hunger instantly surged within him, so he decided, "We'll eat here."
They found a seat and didn't bother ordering dish by dish, Jason simply told the server to bring some signature dishes and a jug of wine.
Soon, the food and wine arrived, and the seven heroes began tasting the cuisine of Colchis.
Naturally, wine came first.
Jason immediately noticed that its appearance surpassed every wine he had ever seen, the liquid was crystal clear instead of the cloudy mess typical of Greek wines, and its fragrance was rich and intoxicating.
Pouring himself a cup, Jason took a large gulp.
And instantly regretted it.
Because this wine was far stronger than anything he had ever tasted. First of all, it was fiery.
The moment the liquid touched his throat, it felt like flowing flames. A hot surge burned from his throat all the way down to his stomach, and he nearly gagged.
But he forced himself to remain composed, refusing to show an awkward expression.
"How's the wine?" Augeas immediately asked, the others watching him with eagerness.
Under their gazes, Jason calmly nodded, feigning satisfaction.
It wasn't that he didn't want to speak, he was afraid that if he opened his mouth, the burning would make him cry out.
Who could have expected wine to be this strong? Jason had drunk wines from all over Greece, and nowhere, absolutely nowhere, had anything like this.
If anything, it was his own fault for mistaking this liquor for ordinary wine and taking such a huge gulp. Naturally, he suffered for it.
But he refused to suffer alone, so he forced himself to look composed.
Seeing his calm demeanor, the others assumed the wine was nothing special, and one by one, they imitated him, lifting their cups and taking big gulps.
And then...
"Cough, cough, !"
"Cough!"
"Cough! Cough! Cough, !"
Caught off guard, the six of them were overwhelmed by the burning liquor, coughing violently with flushed faces.
"This wine… is ridiculously strong…" After a long while, Telamon was the first to speak. The others nodded repeatedly, looking at Jason with exasperated amusement.
They could already tell they had been tricked by him.
"This is the kind of wine real men, real heroes, should drink," Augeas declared, then carefully took a light sip this time, having learned his lesson.
"We should buy some to bring back to the crew."
"I was thinking the same thing." Jason agreed.
"Colchis is truly unique. At least when it comes to wine, they certainly have their own craft.
Now let's see how their food compares, many of these dishes look completely unfamiliar to me."
Stomach growling, the group began devouring the dishes.
"Mmm, this one is so fragrant and crispy. How did they make it?"
"This, this is delicious! This flavor… Jason, you should try this!"
"This taste… it's amazing. I've never eaten anything like it."
"I remember when Mr. Alaric and Lady Circe visited Iolcos, they both said the food there wasn't very good.
I didn't believe it then, I thought the cuisine of Iolcos was among the best in Greece. But now…"
Aside from the strong liquor, the rest of the tavern's dishes also left the heroes full of praise.
There were many reasons for this, seasonings that had clearly originated from the Mystra Academy, cooking methods different from Greece's usual roasting and boiling, techniques that preserved the tenderness of ingredients while removing their flaws.
The flavors were rich and layered.
After sampling several dishes, their astonishment could hardly be expressed with mere words.
"Barkeep, how do you make these dishes?" After finishing the meal and the wine, Jason grabbed a passing man.
"You must be here to study magic, right? These dishes use Colchis's signature ingredients and cooking methods," the barkeep replied, clearly mistaking them for aspiring mages hoping to enter the Mystra Academy.
In an age without long-distance ships (the Argo being the very first), only mages could realistically travel from the mainland to Colchis Island.
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