The next day, early morning.
When the bright sunlight shone upon Jason's golden hair, who had fallen asleep leaning against the pegasus, and upon that handsome face resembling the God of Light Apollo.
It made Jason subconsciously want to turn over and continue sleeping.
A sudden wafting aroma of meat teased Jason's stomach, forcing the groggy Jason to open his eyes.
Then Jason saw that beside the campfire, Atalanta, who had woken up at some unknown time, was roasting her breakfast, a wild rabbit she had caught.
Eating something so greasy first thing in the morning, be careful not to ruin your stomach!
Looking at the roasting rack with only one wild rabbit, Jason pursed his lips and muttered, turned over, and prepared to continue sleeping.
Then, not long after...
"Atalanta, share a bit with me?"
The hunter clad in beautiful emerald green clothes tilted her head, looking at the approaching Jason who was blinking at her, and said flatly, "Go catch your own... I have no reason to take care of you now!"
"You did say you would listen to my words..."
"The goddess I believe in is the Huntress Goddess Artemis, so I only eat game I have hunted myself. And if one wants to exchange for prey from my hands, then one must offer corresponding compensation... Taking care of you three years ago was also because of Artemis's command!"
"Tch..."
Jason pursed his lips.
Truly the same as always, not cute at all!
Evidently, Jason had completely forgotten how he had praised Atalanta's cuteness in his heart when he first met Medea.
"Then I will buy it with money..."
"No need. I do not lack money now."
Atalanta refused Jason again and said, "Because of the Calydonian boar incident last time, the prince of Calydon... That one called Meleager or something, anyway your senior brother, gave me a large sum of reward."
"...Truly not sharing any with me?"
Jason looked at Atalanta. Atalanta also looked at Jason without yielding. Both of their eyes were extremely beautiful, like emerald gems.
Then Atalanta directly replied, "I said, offer compensation that satisfies me. Otherwise... impossible!"
Hearing this, Jason naturally felt very helpless. But going to catch game first thing in the morning, Jason did not want to.
Usually eating wild fruits, now smelling the aroma of meat, Jason naturally did not want to eat them.
Thus, after his eyes turned, and looking at the sunlight sprinkling on the ground, Jason suddenly knew what kind of compensation he should give to Atalanta.
"Alright, then I will play the lyre for you. If you feel this can be considered a tip, then give it to me as compensation."
After saying this, regardless of Atalanta's refusal.
Jason, who sat down on a nearby stone, took out the seven-stringed lyre and began to gently play it.
Evidently very confident that Atalanta would definitely give him the compensation.
But Jason indeed had the capital to be confident. The seven-stringed lyre, along with the guidance of the centaur sage Chiron and Sea Queen Amphitrite, as well as the recognition of the sea nymph Muse goddesses.
In the world, how many people would not submit to Jason's lyre music?
Thus, accompanying the rise of the beautiful lyre music, Atalanta, whose brows were originally furrowed looking at Jason, soon became stunned.
She truly did not expect that Jason actually had such talent... No, simple talent could no longer describe the lyre sound Jason played.
Just as Atalanta was dazedly looking at Jason playing before her eyes, not long after, when she came back to her senses, she discovered that around them, at some unknown time, a large number of small animals had gathered.
They were all listening to the wonderful music, showing expressions of enjoyment.
Even the pegasus came to squat beside Jason.
And how to put it... Atalanta turned her head to look at the Jason before her, clad in white clothes, slender fingers gently plucking the strings, under the illumination of the bright sunlight, golden hair swaying slightly in the wind.
Amid the surprise, this scene also deeply imprinted itself in Atalanta's mind...
One piece ended. Before Jason could even open his mouth, Atalanta reached out and tossed the roasted wild rabbit to Jason.
Jason caught it and, without politeness, took it and enjoyed it beautifully.
And looking at Jason eating the fragrant roasted meat, Atalanta could only take out dry rations to gnaw on.
Jason saw her pitiful and took out a few wild fruits for her, but she glared at him.
Thus, in the end, Jason did not even give her the wild fruits.
This made Atalanta's actions of gnawing on the dry rations become a bit fiercer.
At the same time, it made the pegasus's gaze toward Jason somewhat speechless, and also a bit strange.
Because the pegasus had known Jason for so long and discovered that everyone he interacted with, he always tried to please them, showing quite a lot of sentiment and smoothness.
How come today, suddenly so...
And actually, the reason was also very simple. Just look at who those people were.
Either gods or monsters.
And then his own senior brother, as well as his sister part-time senior sister Medea.
It would be strange if Jason did not find ways to coax them.
Thus, facing Atalanta... Moreover, Atalanta was the one who followed on her own. Jason fundamentally did not want to bring this freeloader.
It would be strange if he went to one-sidedly accommodate Atalanta!
As for building favor... Jason wished that Atalanta's favor toward him was a negative number, the better!
After all, beautiful women in Greece were nothing but trouble!
Jason was extremely wary of these things.
Thus, when Jason finished enjoying breakfast and Atalanta had filled her stomach, the two continued their journey.
Jason sat in front, Atalanta sat behind.
The sacred pegasus then carried the two, soaring under the vast blue sky... It was just a pity that, probably besides the gods observing in secret, no one could see this scene.
Because ever since that giant Antaeus back then, one boulder nearly smashed the pegasus and Jason.
After that, Jason had always been applying invisibility magic...
Regarding this, when Atalanta learned of it, for a moment she did not know what to say... She could only say that she originally thought that after the Calydon incident last time, no matter what, she should have some understanding of Jason.
But in fact, it was in merely one day's time that she refreshed her understanding of Jason again and again.
Thus, thinking of these things, Atalanta, sitting sideways on the pegasus, tucked the light yellow hair by her ear, looking at Jason's back.
Toward him, she could not help but feel increasingly curious.
On your body... exactly how many secrets and stories are there? The hero unknown to the world, favored by the gods.
As Atalanta was thinking these things.
"Atalanta... Atalanta, Atalanta!"
"Hm, hm." Atalanta came back to her senses, pressed down the hair blown by the wind, calmed herself, and said, "What is the matter?"
"Nothing, just that there are some things I feel I need to make clear to you... This time, the thing I am going to do is actually according to the oracle of the Goddess of Wisdom Athena, to offer tribute to Lord Hermes."
Hermes knew Jason, and Atalanta knew that, after all, they had met. But...
Athena's oracle?
And hearing this, Atalanta naturally thought of that evening when she saw Hermes and heard his conversation with Jason.
"Wait, if I remember correctly, your tribute to Lord Hermes is related to a person called Io, right?
And I remember that the oracle Hermes gave you back then was about offering tribute to the God of Craftsmen Hephaestus..."
As she spoke, Atalanta naturally thought again of that day when Jason offered tribute to Moon Goddess Artemis and then received Artemis's gift.
At that time, Atalanta had not thought much of it, but now with this clue connecting...
"Ah, you still remember... Yes, I have already offered the tribute to Teacher Hephaestus. Actually, afterward I also offered tributes to Lord Ares and Lord Apollo. Now it is Lord Hermes."
Hearing Jason's words, even Atalanta at this moment could not help but ask, "Hephaestus... Teacher?
And could it be that you obtained a gift from every great god?"
After all, Atalanta was the only one present at the time who knew that the silver arrow that killed the Calydonian boar was not shot by Moon Goddess Artemis, but by Jason.
And that silver arrow was precisely the return gift from Artemis because of the tribute matter!
"Yes, that counts, after all, the great gods do often bestow boons upon us, right?"
Facing Jason's vague answer, Atalanta suddenly did not want to speak.
Often bestow boons... Ordinary people basically cannot see gods in a lifetime, let alone like you, running back and forth among the gods!
"You are not... planning to offer tributes to all the Olympian gods, are you?"
"Yes... Currently, only twelve..."
"Twelve?" Atalanta's voice rose slightly, evidently understanding which twelve gods Jason was planning to offer tributes to.
Wait, twelve gods, twelve gifts.
If those gifts were also on the level of Goddess Artemis's...
And that lyre this morning, why did it look so familiar? Now I remember, that is not Lord Apollo's seven-stringed lyre?!
"Cough, in any case, Atalanta, listen carefully. Guarding Io is a terrifying monster called the hundred-eyed giant Argus... Because of some reasons, peacefully resolving it should be impossible, so when the time comes..."
Jason lightly coughed and began to change the topic.
"...Yes, I understand." And the speechless Atalanta, who had looked at Jason for a while, now could only suppress the surprise in her heart and reply, "When that time comes, I will help you defeat the hundred-eyed giant Argus..."
Before Atalanta's words could finish, she was interrupted by Jason.
One could hear Jason, who turned back to look at her this time, say to Atalanta in an extremely serious tone, "No, what I mean is, when the time comes, I will give you a hand signal, and then you directly take Io and run. The hundred-eyed giant Argus, I will handle! ...Do not glare at me. I am not doubting your ability.
But at that time, it will be extremely dangerous... Do not forget, you promised me to listen to my arrangements along the way. Otherwise, then do not follow me!"