Teacher, I will protect him.

"Speaking of which, Promise's favouritism is just too obvious,"

Hermes, who was also expressing his dissatisfaction, changed the subject and couldn't help but complain in a low voice:

"Hercules and I have both suffered, but what about Athena, the real culprit!"

And hearing his words, Hestia couldn't help but glance at Hermes with a mix of pity and exasperation.

He really didn't learn his lesson.

Didn't he realize that everyone was deliberately avoiding mentioning Athena?

Though the situation had escalated to this point, and Athena would certainly face consequences eventually, even Hera wouldn't bring up Athena's name in front of Promise.

After all, she was not blind.

One could tell at a glance the difference between Promise's attitude toward Athena and that toward other gods.

Mentioning her would only make things awkward for everyone.

Chiron, the wise centaur, smiled as he watched his student standing beside the Queen of the Gods, feeling an immense sense of pride and satisfaction.

He had always believed that Promise would grow into a true hero, but he never imagined that the frail boy would achieve such greatness, even surpassing Heracles in certain ways.

At the same time, in the ancient Temple of Fate, where the threads of destiny were woven, Clotho had just returned from her latest task.

Her sister, Lachesis, couldn't help but speak up, "Clotho, that boy of yours is altering destiny again, and this time, it even involves the King of the Gods, Zeus!"

Clotho lowered her head and didn't respond, pretending she hadn't heard anything.

Lachesis, feeling helpless, rolled her eyes at her and said, "You're just spoiling him. I bet he's going to get into big trouble one of these days because of you all!"

.

.

.

The next day, as the sun brightened the world, inside the cave of Pelion,

Heracles learned of Promise's decision to seek a trial from Hera.

Shocked, he anxiously turned to Chiron and exclaimed,

"Teacher, how could you allow this to happen?"

"Promise, you must come with me right now. We need to go find Queen Hera immediately. This matter has nothing to do with you; you don't need to take such a risk with me!"

As Hercules moved to grab Promise, the latter took a step back to dodge him and then pulled out his well-prepared little grudge notebook.

He even took out the pristine feathered scroll.

His green eyes focused on Heracles, and with a serious expression, he began writing in the notebook, saying,

"Two years ago, Heracles left the mountain without me.

Even though we agreed initially, he suddenly changed his mind and tied me up, not allowing me to go.

And now, three years later, he still looks down on me, thinking I'm not worthy to accompany him in the trials, and even wants me to break my promise in front of my goddess!"

Heracles, seeing the grudge notebook and the notorious grudge scroll, grew even more anxious and shouted, "I didn't!"

"No, you did."

Holding his paintbrush and the grudge notebook, Promise tilted his head toward Chiron and blinked before smiling as he said, "Teacher Chiron, you agree with me, don't you?"

Looking at the boy in front of him, fearing that he would turn the page and bear a grudge if they disagreed, Chiron struggled internally for a moment, before finally turning his head as he said, "Yes, this is Heracles' fault."

"Teacher Chiron?!" Heracles looked at Chiron in disbelief.

How could this be the Teacher Chiron he knew?

"Ahem... enough," Chiron, who felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by Hercules, coughed dryly, thought for a moment, and then turned to Heracles and said, "You won't be able to escape Promise; eventually, he'll come after you with that little notebook anyway.

Plus, he's seeking to become a hero and face heroic ends.

Now that he's leaving the mountain, I can't control him anymore.

So instead of letting him run around, why don't you watch him more during the trial and help him."

Hercules initially refused to agree, as he couldn't bear the thought of dragging Promise into such a dangerous situation because of his own mistake.

But after hearing Chiron's reasoning and recalling the things Promise had accomplished in the past year...

"I understand, Teacher Chiron. You can trust me to take care of Promise."

He looked up with determination and said to Chiron, "I promise you, as long as I'm alive, anyone who wants to harm Promise will have to go through my dead body first."

"So, Teacher, you can trust me to protect him!"

Hearing this, Chiron couldn't help but give this guy a good kick, sending him flying.

He kicked him without any mercy.

You think you're going to protect him? Watch your words!

Promise also found himself exasperated.

"Oh, Promise, by the way," Chiron said, after kicking Heracles and as they were preparing to leave, handing Promise the Helm of Darkness that Hades had given them.

It was originally taken by Athena during the theft of the golden apples, later given to Hercules, and then passed to Chiron.

Receiving the Helm, Promise suddenly realized he had yet to return it to Hades.

"And here, take these remnants of the golden apple tree trunks as well," Chiron said, handing over all the remains from the tree Heracles had cut down.

Although they were dead wood, they were still parts of the divine golden apple tree, making them dangerous for anyone else to handle—except Promise.

Promise understood this well, so he took them without hesitation.

The tree's remnants, being part of the golden apple tree, had potent restorative properties and were brimming with life force.

As soon as the boy took hold of them, an idea flashed through his mind—like the inspiration that often came to him while painting—leaving him momentarily stunned.

Then, as he snapped out of it, an unusually joyful and excited expression appeared on his face.

"What's on your mind?" Chiron asked, curious about Promise's sudden reaction.

"Teacher, I just thought of the perfect gift—something I can present to the lovely Goddess Clotho!" Promise replied with a beaming smile.

Promise toyed with the golden apple tree trunk in his hand, speaking to Chiron:

"Goddess Clotho has helped me so much up until now, yet I've never given her a proper offering."

He had long wanted to give Clotho, who had aided him many times, a gift.

He even sought advice from Hecate, the Goddess of the Crossroads, during his time in the Underworld.

But that laid-back goddess casually suggested that Promise should offer himself as the gift...

"I've always struggled with what to give her, but just now, an idea suddenly came to me. I have a feeling that the adorable little goddess will definitely like this gift!"

.....

.....