The Fates probably had never seen Athena this angry. While Zeus was trying to pacify her with kind words, The Fates on the other side immediately swapped out their communicator. Lachesis stepped down, and Atropos, the eldest and most composed, took her place to communicate with her.
The eldest Fate Goddess indeed spoke much better than the impatient Lachesis. She immediately said to Athena:
"We are not in a hurry; you should first listen to what Zeus wants to tell you."
Athena took a deep breath, and the rapid heaving of her chest slowly subsided. She glared fiercely at Ares, who was observing from outside the assembly of gods. In truth, a large part of her anger stemmed from his words, but at this point, Zeus and the other gods, incited by him, had already apologized to her. Only this fellow, not only showed no remorse but even gave her a cheeky, inviting-a-beating expression.
Ignoring Ares's grimace, Athena said to Zeus:
"I apologize, Zeus. I've been under a lot of pressure lately. Please tell me your request again."
Zeus ignored Ares's nonsensical remark about "Is she going through menopause?" and, pointing below the clouds, said to Athena:
"Heracles's strength is simply too overwhelming for the Argo Heroes, Athena. Find a way to make him leave the Argo."
"I understand. Please allow me a moment to think."
Athena turned her head, stood at the edge of the clouds, and looked down at the man who resembled an iron tower. As she watched, a thoughtful expression appeared in her eyes.
At this moment, seeing that Athena was free to listen, Atropos, the eldest of The Fates, continued speaking:
"Hylas did not board the ship. Heracles's fate line is intertwined with Jason's, and it's already a bit messy. You need to find a way, according to Zeus's command, to keep him behind midway. Otherwise, The Fates of all the Heroes on the entire ship will be disrupted."
In the early stages of the Argo's expedition, because Heracles, this formidable figure, was leading the way, there were no casualties among the crew. It was only after Heracles left that the demigods on the Argo began to lose their lives due to various accidents. Furthermore, the crew members each had their own objectives, and many disembarked midway. By the time this massive ship reached Colchis Island, there was actually not much combat power left on board.
It was precisely for this reason that the gods requested Aphrodite to send her son Eros to shoot Medea with an arrow of love, so that this magic-wielding princess of Colchis Island could help Jason obtain the golden fleece. Otherwise, with only the yellow-haired youth's own combat strength, there would be no way to defeat King Aeetes of Colchis's two fire-breathing bulls and a giant dragon-tooth soldier, which he used to test him.
But these things were mere trifles in front of Heracles. To put it bluntly, if Heracles were to land on Colchis Island, he would simply walk into Ares's sacred grove and pluck the golden fleece, and King Aeetes of Colchis would not dare to utter a single "no."
Athena also understood the stakes involved. Of course, whether or not to allow the fate lines to be disrupted was also something she had considered, but at this moment, in front of the Three Goddesses, she still had to appear as if she had "done her best."
To trick the Three Goddesses into using their authority to help her achieve her plan, Athena had to pin all the blame on Ares, the fate disruptor.
So, after feigning contemplation for a moment, she agreed, "I have an idea."
"What is it?"
Zeus asked eagerly.
Athena altered the original situation of Heracles being delayed midway, changing the group of nymphs who dragged Hylas away to instead drag Heracles away, and then informed Zeus.
Zeus lowered his head and thought for a moment, then asked with some concern:
"Just a group of nymphs, wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
"Zeus, think about it, they are all women as beautiful as flowers."
Athena smiled:
"If it were you there, would you refuse their invitation?"
Zeus thought about it, found it somewhat reasonable, and said:
"Then let's try it that way first."
So Athena immediately went to prepare, while Ares, feigning disinterest, squatted to the side. At the same time, he quietly used his own methods to send a message to Heracles on the Argo, informing him that Athena was about to make a move.
...
On the Argo, Heracles held his once again broken oar, lost in thought.
A large group of Heroes surrounded him, discussing the oar in Heracles's hand. Perseus pushed through the crowd and came before Heracles, snatching the oar from his hand. He examined it, then exclaimed:
"You broke it after I applied so many layers of reinforcement magic? You're truly not human, Heracles."
Heracles was about to respond when he saw a flurry of bird feathers falling from the sky in front of him, landing on his nose.
He paused slightly, picked up the feather, and then looked up to see a bird flapping its wings, soaring high, and disappearing into the clouds.
Heracles pondered while holding the feather, then changed his mind:
"In that case, never mind. I won't row for now; you all can row."
With that, he rose from the rowing position, picked up the broken oar from the ground, and casually tossed it into the sea.
Seeing Heracles act so nonchalantly, the Heroes were somewhat surprised. In an environment like the Argo, surrounded by Heroes, these Heroes, in order to prove their strength, engaged in various competitions in addition to teamwork. Eating, sleeping, drinking, finger-guessing games, wrestling, musical instruments, magic—almost every moment, the Heroes were secretly competing with each other.
Activities like rowing, as a way to effectively demonstrate one's physical strength, naturally also involved comparisons among the Heroes.
However, the Heroes thought about it and then realized that for some time now, Heracles had proven through various incidents that he was not on the same dimension as the others. Not only did he not want to compare himself to them, but even when the others compared themselves, they would subconsciously exclude Heracles from the comparison. In such a situation, Heracles rowing could only be considered an act of loyalty and effort for everyone. He indeed no longer needed to prove his strength through such means.
Thus, the Heroes on the Argo accepted this decision, allowing Heracles to simply go to the cabin and slack off. However, this situation lasted only half a day before Jason, with an awkward expression, found Heracles and said to him:
"Heracles, how about you make an oar and come row again?"