Finally, he met Athena!
Although this reunion was nothing like what Jason had originally imagined.
Still, the moment he saw Athena, a wave of relief washed over Jason's heart.
This was not to say that Demeter had treated him poorly during the past few days. Quite the opposite: Demeter, who had suddenly changed her attitude, had been extremely kind to him lately!
She did not simply inquire after his well-being and take meticulous care of him; she practically treated him as her own child.
Naturally, the original talk of him being a mere "attendant" had become a complete joke.
Yet it was precisely because of this that Jason felt uncomfortable all over. He almost wished Demeter would go back to scowling at him like she had at the very beginning.
He would even welcome her making things difficult for him!
This was not because Jason had masochistic tendencies. It was simply that the ultra-cautious Jason feared the favor of the gods; such things were privileges only protagonists could safely enjoy.
See? This was exactly how fickle the gods were!
A few days ago she had regarded him as an enemy, and now she suddenly acted like a completely different person. Truly, accompanying a god was like accompanying a tiger!
Therefore, for the sake of his own little life, Jason avoided such favor as if it were a plague.
"Athena?"
Hearing the announcement, Demeter turned her head. Her golden eyes looked in puzzlement at Athena, who was now completely frozen in place, staring blankly at the sight of Demeter feeding Jason by hand.
Athena wore an expression that seemed to say, "Is something wrong with my eyes?"
Demeter asked curiously, "Why have you come?"
Before Athena could recover and answer,
"Big Brother Jason!"
Jason turned toward the voice and saw Medea standing beside Athena. She wore a light purple dress, her innocent and adorable smile framed by a single ponytail.
The corner of Jason's mouth twitched involuntarily.
Another trouble has arrived!
Oh well, at least this trouble was not divine... at least not yet. It was barely within acceptable limits.
"Hmm? Who is this child...?"
Hearing Medea call Jason "big brother," Demeter grew very curious and began examining both Jason and Medea.
After all, they did not look alike at all.
"Lady Demeter, her name is Medea. She is my little sister and also Lady Hecate's disciple," Jason explained at the right moment.
"Your little sister... then she is Persephone's little sister too, correct?"
Having reached that conclusion, Demeter smiled kindly and beckoned to Medea. "Come here, child. Come to Auntie."
Medea hesitated for a moment and glanced secretly at Jason.
Jason gave her a small nod, and only then did Medea walk over to Demeter with relief.
She curtsied gracefully to Demeter and greeted her in a soft voice, "Goddess Demeter, I am Medea, daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis. It is my honor to meet such a noble goddess."
"What a good girl."
Demeter reached out, drew Medea into her arms, and smiled so widely she could not close her mouth. Clearly, she was very pleased with and fond of Medea.
In short, love me, love my dog.
While Jason watched this scene, he suddenly noticed Athena glaring at him. When he turned to look, he found she was also signaling with her eyes for him to come over.
After Jason obediently walked to her side, Athena shifted her body to block Demeter's line of sight, then covertly pinched his ear. Leaning slightly down, she whispered through gritted teeth beside his ear, "Explain. What exactly is going on here!"
"Well, Lady Athena, it's a long story..."
Smelling the faint fragrance drifting from Athena and feeling the soft sensation pressing close, Jason subtly shifted away.
Athena immediately closed the distance again and pressed, "Then make it short."
"This isn't the place, Lady Athena..."
The moment Jason's helpless words left his mouth, Demeter's puzzled voice reached their ears: "Jason, Athena, what are you two doing?"
Knowing she had no choice but to let him go for now, Athena gave Jason's ear one last hard pinch before releasing him.
Turning around, Athena's face bloomed once more into an elegant and beautiful smile. She said to Demeter, "It's nothing, Aunt... Seeing you in such a good mood puts Father and everyone else at ease as well."
Demeter did not think much of it. After all, the moment any god saw the pure white holy garment Jason wore, they would instantly understand: this was the child Athena favored.
Soon afterward, Athena began conversing with Demeter.
Although Athena had come because of Hecate's arrangements, Zeus had naturally taken the opportunity to give her instructions to check on Demeter's state of mind.
The earth had already regained its vitality, but if Demeter ever wished it, the land could wither again at any moment.
She was, after all, a daughter of Cronus, child of the former Titan King, wielding immense divine power and authority over the harvest.
Not even Zeus could prevent that.
While Athena and Demeter talked, Jason naturally took the chance to speak with Medea.
Under Jason's questioning, Medea held nothing back and recounted every detail of Hecate's plan to him.
"As expected of Teacher; she's reliable and truly loves me!"
Only after hearing Hecate's arrangements did Jason finally feel at ease accepting his role as attendant to Demeter.
He completely forgot how fiercely he had complained about Hecate in his heart just a few days ago.
"Um, Big Brother Jason..." Medea hesitated for a while, then lightly bit her lip and asked, "Lady Demeter... she didn't make things difficult for you, did she?"
"No, she didn't."
Looking at Medea's eyes filled with worry as she cautiously asked the question, Jason could not help but feel a little embarrassed and even a slight pang of guilt.
Medea was different from him; she had been born and raised in this world... well, not exactly "human."
But because she was native to this world, questioning the gods in any way was close to blasphemy.
This showed just how genuinely worried she was about him.
Yet Jason had always treated her as nothing but trouble. Even if he had his reasons, when he looked at the ten-year-old little Medea before him, at those beautiful and innocent eyes, guilt inevitably welled up in his heart.
As for Medea not being human... setting aside the status of her parents, one only had to look at her appearance, especially those pointed ears that resembled a fairy's, to know.
Medea's nature was actually closer to the nymphs of the Greek world.
To put it more complicatedly, Medea had a cousin named Asterios... yes, exactly: the Minotaur, the bull-headed monster said to dwell in the "absolutely inescapable labyrinth"!