Hestia is the goddess of the hearth and home, as well as the goddess of sacred fire.
She is one of the twelve Olympian gods of Greece.
At the same time, she is the firstborn child of the second-generation God-King Cronus and Queen Rhea. She is the eldest sister of Demeter, Hades, Poseidon, Hera, and Zeus!
Thus, Hestia is the most sacred and ancient deity on Mount Olympus. Her status among the Olympian gods is extremely high.
God-King Zeus granted his eldest sister tremendous authority. She is the chief among the Olympian goddesses, her rank no less than that of Queen Hera!
When Jason learned Hestia's true name, he was naturally stunned.
Great, another completely unexpected god, and an Olympian at that!
Now, aside from Sea-King Poseidon, Beauty Aphrodite, War God Ares, and Craft God Hephaestus,
my achievement of meeting the Olympian gods is almost complete!
"I have always known about the matter between Demeter, Persephone… and Hades."
Holding Jason's hand, the graceful Hestia in her embroidered dress spoke softly to him. "Though I am their eldest sister, this matter… is not something I can easily interfere with."
Although Hestia is the eldest sister of Zeus and the others, she remains unmarried to this day.
Together with her nieces Athena and Artemis, she is regarded as one of the three virgin goddesses of Olympus!
Of course, that does not mean no one pursues her. On the contrary, she is extremely popular. Both Sea-King Poseidon and Apollo, God of Light, once courted her fiercely.
Even God-King Zeus secretly made moves on her…
Well, what a messy set of relationships. Typical Greek gods.
In short, to escape all that trouble, Hestia ultimately chose to remain a virgin goddess.
"But now… countless lives have perished because of Demeter. I can no longer sit by and watch the situation worsen, so after speaking with Hades, I came to find you."
Hestia looked at the obedient Jason following her and smiled. "And you… clearly did not disappoint me.
I have seen many heroes in my life, but child, you are still so special.
Even with all the disguises you wear, I can still see that your heart is pure."
Hestia's evaluation of Jason was extremely high, so high that Jason felt uncomfortable all over.
Am I really that noble…? How come I didn't know?!
Yes, Jason's primary goal had always been his own survival in this dangerous era.
But as a transmigrator, as a university student who had only been in this world for about half a year and had been shaped by future society,
his moral values were undoubtedly positive by the standards of this world!
Though he could mercilessly kill his enemies, when he learned that taking Persephone away had caused the earth to wither and countless people to die, Jason's first thought was indeed how to make amends.
When trouble arises, one must not sit idly by but resolve it immediately! That was why Jason set out.
Yet the true reason he chose to act within mere days, without careful, steady planning,
was that he understood the longer he delayed, the more people would die because of this calamity!
That was the kindness Hestia saw in Jason.
It was also why Chiron, Hecate, and the others, after finding his decision strange, simply smiled and agreed.
Thus, congratulations, Jason, on acquiring a new tool… I mean, ally: Hestia!
Though Jason vehemently denied his own kindness, insisting he was just a selfish little man (after all, only villains live for a thousand years),
he naturally had no reason to refuse Hestia's company.
After all, Jason would never dare face Demeter alone. Though Hades's protection made it nearly impossible for him to die, being imprisoned was still a possibility.
Hestia then took Jason's hand and led him out of the ancient forest. Before sunset, they arrived at the seashore.
"Child, wait for me a moment." Hestia released Jason, patted his head, then slowly walked toward the sea.
After dipping her feet into the water, Hestia began to call, calling the name of that person.
Sea-King… Poseidon!
Soon, under Hestia's summons, the calm sea began to churn. From the ocean emerged a burly, muscular man.
He held a trident, his eyes the deep color of the sea, vast and boundless.
Poseidon looked surprised. "Big sister, why are you here?"
"I came to borrow something from you." Hestia spoke to Poseidon, then turned to look at Jason, who had gone completely stiff and expressionless, slowly inching into the shadows.
A perfect picture of "you can't see me, you can't see me."
"And to introduce you to a child… Come here, Jason."
…Lady Hestia, thank you ever so much!
Didn't you already know I'm not fond of gods?!
As the saying goes: If Greece is chaotic, blame the Olympian gods.
If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beams will be crooked!
There is no need to mention Zeus the old lecher. Poseidon is not much better!
The only slight comfort Jason felt was that at least Poseidon's history contained no mention of liking boys… but given the moral standards of Greek gods,
sigh, headache.
"Great Sea God Poseidon…"
With no choice, Jason steeled himself and walked over to greet Poseidon.
He never expected that before he could finish,
"You're Jason?" Poseidon interrupted, looking at him with great interest. He even walked around Jason twice. "The one who abandoned faith in Hera and turned to Hecate, slapping her in the face?"
The gods have such a small social circle. Most of them naturally knew about the prophecy of the Moirai.
A hero is one thing, but slapping Queen Hera in the face? What juicy gossip!
Thus, most gods now remembered the name Jason because of this.
Jason's face paled several shades when he heard this.
He knew he was done for. He had truly offended Hera beyond repair.
His brief interactions with the gods had taught him one thing: every single one of them cared deeply about face!
"Alright, enough. Say less." Seeing Poseidon poking exactly where it hurt, Hestia pulled Jason into her arms and rolled her eyes at Poseidon. "Lend me one of your winged horses… I need to go to Demeter."
Since Hestia asked to borrow it, Poseidon naturally could not refuse.
Though he wanted to chat more with Jason, seeing Hestia shielding the boy behind her, he could only give up for now.
A winged horse soared out of the water and stopped before Hestia and Jason. Hestia then sat Jason on the horse, wrapped her arms around him, and held the still-small Jason securely in her embrace atop the steed.
"Um… Lady Hestia, couldn't we borrow another winged horse from Lord Poseidon?"
Feeling the back of his head perfectly nestled against something soft, enveloped in Hestia's embrace and surrounded by her faint fragrance,
Jason's entire body went rigid.
"Hm? Why?"
Hestia smiled as she stroked Jason's hair and whispered in his ear, "Isn't this nice…? And I don't know how to ride a horse. If I don't hold tight to little Jason, I'll fall."
With that, Hestia lightly kicked the horse. The winged horse neighed softly, spread its wings, and galloped toward the sky.
…Lady Athena, where on earth have you gone?!
Jason, stiff as a board and afraid to move, recalled the image of the silver-haired, golden-eyed maiden and could not help screaming in his heart.
And where was Athena right now?
She was actually waiting on the only path through the next forest Jason would pass after leaving the ancient woods.
At this moment, she stood before numerous magical beasts bowing their heads in submission, issuing them orders.
"Listen well. Soon a golden-haired, emerald-eyed hero will enter this forest. Your task is to give him as much trouble as possible, but you must not injure him!… Forget it, you couldn't hurt him anyway."
Athena looked at the many beasts before her, then gazed into the distance, the corners of her mouth curving upward with anticipation. "Jason, why aren't you here yet? I've prepared so many stories for you this time. Hurry up and come!"