How Many Goddesses want to strangle me?

Ancient Greece, Aegean Sea.

The very night that Hera let go of her hand from Promise.

The silver moonlight shone here, and the first god of the ocean in ancient Greek mythology, the gentle sea god Nereus, lived here.

Revered by the gods as a wise elder, Nereus, appearing as an old sage, watched with a mixture of tenderness and sorrow as his daughter visited him.

Thetis, his most gifted daughter, the wise one of the ocean.

"Thetis, my poor child, have you come to bid me farewell this time?" Nereus asked in his slightly aged voice.

The beautiful Thetis lowered her head, her voice soft as she replied, "Yes, my beloved father. The great king of the gods Zeus has given me his command, and… I have also seen the future that awaits me."

Hearing these words, Nereus's expression grew even more sorrowful.

"Then not even that boy can change your fate? I had clearly asked the goddess of wisdom to help…"

Thetis shook her head, recalling everything she had witnessed in her encounters with Promise. She couldn't help but smile. "If it's that boy, he probably could manage it. But… I refused."

After she spoke, seeing the confused look on her father's face, Thetis smiled gently and explained, "I don't want that sweet child to struggle on my behalf. It would be too much of a burden for him."

Nereus was silent for a moment, then he raised his head and looked up at his wise, kind, and beautiful daughter in front of him. "Thetis, you are my child, my greatest pride… So, will you tell me the real reason?"

Still unwilling to see his daughter bound by fate, Nereus wanted to try one last time.

Thetis was silent, knowing that her previous reason wouldn't convince anyone.

After all, she herself knew that it held no ground.

Looking at her father's sad, worried expression, Thetis sighed softly and finally revealed the true reason.

"I just don't want to trouble that sweet boy because… I don't want to fall hopelessly in love with him."

Under her father's stunned gaze, Thetis shared her true reason.

She understood Promise's fate, as well as Hera's vow.

And so, she had already guessed who would ultimately have to bear this destiny—herself, Thetis, and the most beautiful woman of the mortal world, Helen.

Thetis was well aware that during her brief time with Promise, she had been attracted to him again and again, so she had already glimpsed that potential future.

It was a future in which, the moment Promise altered fate, she would fall helplessly, deeply in love with him. As if… struck by Cupid's golden arrow of love!

...

...

On the Argo, sailing toward distant horizons, laden with dreams and glory.

The Next Morning

In the quiet dawn, Promise, dressed in a plain white robe, sat at the far corner of the ship, lost in thought, with a blank look in his eyes as he mulled over something unknown.

Yet even in this secluded spot, the warm sunlight still shone on him.

"Promise?"

Medea, dressed in her light purple mage robes, happened to walk by.

She had been up all night again, working on her potions and completing tasks set by the goddess Hecate.

Despite her diligent efforts, her teacher had shown no interest in checking her work, no...she had completely ignored her, making Medea secretly angry.

How could there be such an unreliable goddess in the world?

She had stepped out to feel the refreshing morning sea breeze and enjoy the beauty of dawn to clear her groggy mind.

But to her surprise, she found Promise here, giving her a rare chance to speak with him alone.

This filled her with a mix of surprise and delight.

"What's wrong? Why are you sitting here by yourself?"

With her single ponytail, she looked fresh and pure—though, in truth, her thoughts were often more mischievous and sinister.

She sat down beside Promise.

As the boy looked up at her and said, "I've been abandoned."

"Abandoned?" Medea tilted her head, a bit puzzled.

"Yes, I've been abandoned by Lady Hera."

"…Who?" Medea blinked, as if she hadn't heard properly… although, in fact, she had. She just didn't quite understand.

"Lady Hera, Goddess Hera. Queen Hera… She's abandoned me and doesn't want me anymore."

When Promise answered like this, Medea's eyes widened in shock.

Her first reaction was to think Promise was joking with her.

But she quickly realized that he wouldn't joke about something like this, which left her even more confused. "Why?"

"I don't quite understand myself," Promise was equally confused as he said. "She only told me to find another deity to follow and said that, once I make this choice, I can never take it back…"

'Once you choose one, you can't choose another?'

Medea was very smart and her mind worked quickly.

Plus, she had a rather sinister personality, so she even quickly understood the other meaning of the story.

Could it be that Hera thought Promise was attracting too much attention from others, so now, after a fair competition, no one would be allowed to "steal" him anymore?

Medea quickly realized a truth that Promise himself hadn't yet seen.

After all, she'd often wished Promise would pay more attention to her and not get so caught up with Helen or Atalanta.

And this was Hera, the most famously jealous of all goddesses...

Well thinking about it carefully, it made sense.

"It feels less like she's abandoned you," Medea murmured, "and more like she plans to imprison you… like what the goddess Hephaestus tried to do last time."

Medea remembered all too well that, when she saw Promise for the second time in the temple of the underworld teacher, he was imprisoned with chains in his hands..

Should we say they are worthy of being mother and daughter?

Promise thought about it looked at Medea in confusion. "So… you're saying Goddess Hera wants to strangle me?"

"Strangle?" Medea was at a loss.

Strangle? Why would it be strangling?

"No way… you don't think Goddess Hera actually plans to do that, do you?"

Suddenly, Promise felt a chill down his spine.

It wasn't that he was too worried, more that he felt dejected at the thought of being "abandoned."

After all, for someone as famously jealous as Hera to make such a choice, Promise actually felt quite touched by her decision.

In addition, he had always enjoyed his time worshipping Hera, and he hadn't really intended to change his belief; he was just planning to speak with Athena and Clotho first and then return to Hera.

But now…

"No way, I don't want to be strangled! If anyone's going to do the strangling, it might as well be Goddess Clotho, who's small and soft!"

Medea blinked, recalling the goddess of fate's appearance: small, soft, and unlike Helen, who was also a loli. Clotho seemed like someone you'd want to hold, protect and keep safe.

"So, does that mean you're choosing to follow Goddess Clotho?" Medea asked curiously.

Promise's expression froze for a moment, and he didn't answer right away.

Medea tilted her head, then quickly understood.

"Oh, you're afraid that Goddess Athena will be unhappy again!"

Promise gave Medea a blank look.

People say clever girls aren't always easy to like for a reason!

"So, it's Goddess Athena, then? Well it makes sense; she's the obvious choice… To be honest, I always thought you were one of her followers from the start."

"No way!" Promise refused without even thinking. "If I choose her, I'm sure I'll end up getting strangled!"

Besides, she's a virgin goddess like Artemis, it's way more terrifying!

"Why strangling, though…?" Medea couldn't help but cover her mouth, chuckling. "Is this some new divine game of strangling the chosen mortal?"

Promise glanced at the little witch who was smiling unscrupulously and said, "Medea, you are really becoming less and less pretentious now, or you are completely letting yourself go. When we first met, you were quite innocent and sweet."

Promise could tell that this little witch wasn't actually trying to help him find a solution, she was just here for the entertainment.

"I am still innocent and sweet," Hearing this, Medea stood up with a smile on her face and turned around in front of him.

"Looks that way, sure… too bad your heart's already corrupted."

"It's not!"

Medea covered her mouth with her hands, but couldn't hide the upturned corners of her mouth.

Who could resist, really, when Promise's troubles were so amusing?

At first, she'd assumed it was just another trial or oracle from the goddess of wisdom, but it turned out his dilemma was about dealing with… an overwhelming amount of affection.

After a quick laugh, Medea rested her finger thoughtfully on her chin. "But if you're rejecting everyone, then it will be difficult to deal with."

Though there were plenty of goddesses out there, even Medea had to admit that none quite stood up to the three they'd already mentioned.

Oh, right—wasn't there also Goddess Themis, the goddess of justice?

Just as she thought this, ready to suggest it, a sudden idea flashed through her mind.

She clapped her hands, eyes lighting up with excitement as she said. "Aha! There's still one more option. Promise, if you really don't know who to choose, why not choose my teacher, Goddess Hecate!"

In that instant, Medea felt like a genius.

After all, if Promise picked Hecate, he'd technically be her junior disciple, too!

But just as she finished speaking, even before Promise could even react, there was a sharp "No!"

With a loud thud, Medea yelped and clutched her head, crouching in pain.

The goddess Hecate, who was wearing a black dress, with black hair and red eyes, tore open a crack in space and stuck her body out from it.

She clenched her fists, glared at her student, and, then turned her intense gaze on Promise.

As their eyes met, Hecate immediately crossed her arms over her chest, declaring, "Absolutely not!"

"If you dare push this trouble my way, I'll take you down with me!"

The mere thought of dealing with Hera's and Athena's jealous stares if Promise chose her was enough to make Hecate's scalp prickle with dread.

With that, she did not even wait for Promise's response, and just turned around, vanishing through the rift, leaving behind a bewildered Promise and a tearful, head-clutching Medea.

"...I don't know why, but I suddenly feel like choosing her."

Looking at the goddess leaving and the merging space, Promise couldn't help but say this.

"Pick her!" Medea growled, still clutching her aching head. "Pick her!"

Seeing her pained, resentful look, Promise couldn't help but laugh.

You two really are a perfect teacher-student pair.

But even as he chuckled, Promise knew he wouldn't seriously consider Hecate.

After all, the tone Hecate used when she spoke was clearly genuine, so if he truly pursued this idea, this goddess might actually lose her mind… Not that Promise was afraid; if it came down to it, a "mutually assured destruction" scenario was fine by him. Who's afraid of who?

Still, with Hera making such a serious decision, if he ended up choosing some unrelated goddess as a joke, he'd probably face an all-out "strangling" session from the goddess.

But…

"Such a hassle," Promise muttered to himself, feeling a slight headache at the thought of having to choose just one goddess among so many.

On the side, after a long time, Medea finally recovered, squatted there, tilted her head, and thought of something.

"Promise… do you think my teacher overheard our entire conversation?"

"Hm?" Promise looked at her in confusion.

"And… do you think she was the only one listening?"

As Medea finished speaking, she looked at Promise and blinked.

The latter froze.

"…Goodbye!" Medea bolted to her feet and tried to run.

"Hey, wait! Medea, get back here!"

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