Holding the compass Athena had given him, Jason quietly circled Persephone several times. When he confirmed the needle always pointed unwaveringly at the breathtaking golden-haired, golden-eyed woman before him, he finally verified that she was indeed Persephone!
He glanced around the chamber once more and patiently waited for several dozen minutes, making certain the nymphs outside would not enter casually.
Even a blind person could see that Persephone was in low spirits.
Dressed in a pale yellow long gown, she gazed out the window at the scenery beyond the temple and would always let out a quiet sigh.
After observing for a while and feeling confident, Jason began softly calling to her.
"Lady Persephone… Lady Persephone, can you hear me?"
"Hm?" Suddenly hearing someone seemingly call her name, Persephone instinctively looked around. Just as confusion appeared on her face,
"Lady Persephone, I am Hecate's student. My teacher sent me to help you. I am currently wearing the Helmet of Invisibility that Lord Hades has lent me. Could you please pretend you know nothing and go close the door?"
Upon hearing Jason's words and the names of Hecate and Hades, a flash of excitement crossed Persephone's eyes. That excitement quickly turned to joy. She silently nodded, stood up, and went to shut the door.
"I wish to rest. Unless I give express permission, none of you are allowed to enter. Do you understand?"
"Yes, noble Lady Persephone."
The nymphs, spirits born of nature and minor goddesses themselves, naturally dared not disobey Persephone.
Although Demeter had strictly ordered them to watch over Persephone when she left to attend the gathering hosted by Apollo, Artemis, and Athena, they had no way of knowing someone had already slipped inside!
The moment Persephone closed the door and released her divine power to envelop the area, Jason very tactfully removed Hades's Helmet of Invisibility without needing to be told. Revealing his true appearance, he immediately bowed to Persephone.
"Noble Lady Persephone, this unworthy student of Hecate, Jason, is deeply honored to meet you!"
"…There is no need to be so formal, child."
Persephone looked at the extremely young boy before her, and surprise naturally flickered in her eyes.
"Your teacher and I are very close friends… Hm?"
While speaking, Persephone gave Jason a brief once-over and froze again. "Why do I sense the auras of Athena, Apollo, Artemis… and even Hermes upon you, aside from Hecate?"
"In reply to Lady Persephone, this garment I wear was personally bestowed upon me by the great goddess of wisdom Athena, and it is she who has been guiding my path.
The golden sword at my side was lent to me by the great god of light Apollo. It is only because of this blade that I have been able to cut through every obstacle along the way.
The great moon goddess Artemis lent me the golden-horned deer. It is only because of it that I have been able to traverse mountains and rivers from Arcadia to reach this place.
And the great Lord Hermes, at the very end, delivered Lord Hades's Helmet of Invisibility to me and lent me his Talaria and caduceus, allowing me to slip past the watchful eyes of your great mother, Lady Demeter, cross the perilous terrain, and finally stand before you."
With every sentence Jason spoke, Persephone's eyes widened a little more.
"Right now, the great god of light Apollo has veiled the sun, the great moon goddess Artemis has concealed the moonlight, and the great goddess of wisdom Athena has ensured Lady Demeter will not notice anything amiss here for the time being.
Please, Lady Persephone, wear Hades's helmet, don the Talaria, take the caduceus, and leave this mountain.
Lady Artemis's golden-horned deer and Lord Hermes will be waiting outside to receive you."
After hearing everything and gradually regaining her composure, Persephone looked at the boy offering her the divine artifacts and could not help asking, "Once I leave, what about you?"
"Lady Persephone need not worry about me. After all, I am Hecate's student." With that, Jason took out a feather glowing with underworld light from the bag Athena had given him.
It was the very item Hecate had handed him before he set out.
Only then did Persephone accept the three divine artifacts from Jason's hands.
Before departing, she looked at the extraordinarily young boy and asked, "Child, will we meet again?"
"Of course, noble Lady Persephone." Jason nodded with a bright smile.
Of course we will. I'm still waiting for you to temper my soul with the flames of the Underworld!
"Jason… After this matter is concluded, I will surely reward you handsomely, brave child."
Persephone gazed deeply at Jason for a moment, expressed her gratitude, then went to the window. She donned Hades's helmet of invisibility, put on the Talaria, and flew away.
Watching the now-invisible Persephone depart through the window, Jason stood stunned for a second.
Right… why did I choose to walk through the front door in the first place…? Also, Lady Persephone, why do you seem so practiced at this…?
Shaking his head to dispel those thoughts, Jason walked over to a lit torch that illuminated the night, and used it to ignite the underworld feather Hecate had given him.
Once the feather caught fire and burned away, it turned into specks of ghostly light.
Those specks grew larger, transforming into beautiful underworld butterflies. The butterflies gathered together, and the beautiful goddess Hecate, dressed in a long black gown with black hair reaching her waist, appeared before Jason.
"Where is Persephone?"
"Teacher Hecate, she has already left."
Jason recounted everything that had just happened, then added with a small complaint, "Teacher, don't you think Lord Hermes was a little… mean?
It only occurred to me halfway that Hades's Helmet of Invisibility can only conceal one person. If you weren't here, I would have been finished!"
"Hm, I don't think this has anything to do with Hermes. Though he did use his power to cloud your thinking for a moment, that much is true."
Hecate pondered briefly and spoke thoughtfully. "If I'm not mistaken, Athena probably told him to do it."
"Lady Athena?" Jason blinked in confusion.
He was quite certain he had never offended Athena!
"Because the game she was playing with you can no longer continue… She already knows Artemis accidentally revealed her involvement. I imagine she'll be giving Artemis some trouble for a while."
Hecate smiled as she spoke and patted Jason's head. "So as compensation, she gave you one last little puzzle at the end of this affair… She guessed you would be fine, since I'm here after all."
"But because of that, I have to deliver some very unfortunate news."
Knowing full well that Jason wanted nothing to do with gods and found them troublesome, Hecate could not help finding the situation amusing as she told him, "Originally, given Athena's personality, she might have played a few more games with you and then let you go.
But after this whole incident… congratulations. You have now been completely targeted by one of the most troublesome gods on Olympus!"
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Full Recovery!