chapter 25 (edited)

It was the third day in the "Land of Women," and today, no one came to see them—neither crew members nor residents. It seemed that everyone was still lost in their newfound pleasure. Honestly, any normal man would be enchanted by such an experience.

"How can we get Jason and the others to come out?" Hercules asked, holding a watermelon and staring in the direction of the city.

"Just give each of them a good kick in the balls," Cyd replied, taking a bite of the watermelon. "Make sure you crush them completely so they have no hope of recovery."

"That's not going to work," Hercules said, looking frustrated.

"I think it's a good plan," Atalanta said, examining her own watermelon before taking a bite.

"Isn't there a way to get them out without hurting them?" Hercules asked, a little exasperated.

"Not everyone is like you. They are simply indulging in their desires," Cyd said lazily, stretching. "But because they're driven by their desires, it's actually very easy to get them out."

"Huh?" Hercules was taken aback, expecting Cyd to deny the possibility of getting them out on their own.

Even Atalanta looked up, intrigued.

"This desire-driven relationship is like the clouds in the sky; it will disperse on its own," Cyd shrugged. "It's simple. They will eventually get bored and come out. And when they do, they'll be full of excuses about their 'noble goals' to justify their actions."

"Hmph, disgusting men," Atalanta scoffed.

"But who knows how many women are on this island—thousands, maybe tens of thousands? Even if they slept with five women a day, they wouldn't get through them all in a year. Even if they did, the new ones would be just as enticing as the old ones," Cyd said, lying down on the ground and shaking his head. "There are no storms, no monsters—any normal person wouldn't want to leave."

"So it's impossible for them to come out on their own?" Hercules asked, scratching his head.

Should they just follow Cyd's suggestion and kick them out?

"Of course, if things were as wonderful as they seem," Cyd said with a grin, stretching and brushing off the dust from his clothes.

"What are you planning to do?" Atalanta raised an eyebrow.

"Just confirming a few things," Cyd said as he started walking slowly toward the city. "You two stay here and wait."

"Wait! I still—" Atalanta reached out a hand towards Cyd.

"Be good and wait here. That's an order. You don't want to waste time, do you?" Cyd glanced back at her.

Atalanta gritted her teeth and let her hand drop.

"Fine, I understand."

"Ha ha ha, don't go!"

Jason, completely naked, was cheering with the queen in the middle of a throng of people, a mosaic-patterned cloth covering his head.

"He looks like he's having a great time," Cyd said, standing on a rooftop and looking down at the revelry below.

It was no wonder Athena had come to find him. If no one intervened, Jason and the others might have stayed in their bliss forever.

Sighing, Cyd jumped down from the rooftop and approached a woman in the corner who was still wearing clothes. He gently pulled her into a dark alley.

The woman, perhaps thinking Cyd was just another Greek hero joining the fun, made no attempt to resist. She eagerly tried to pull him into the alley, loosening her ribbons to reveal her snowy white skin.

"hey beautiful, I'd like to ask you a few questions," Cyd said, rolling his eyes as he embraced her from behind and whispered in her ear.

"O-okay…" The woman's legs nearly gave way from the excitement, and she might have fallen if Cyd hadn't been holding her.

Cyd couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth. No wonder Jason and the others didn't want to leave—these women were even more desperate than they were.

"Where did all the original men on this island go?" Cyd narrowed his eyes as the dark green crystal on his bracer began to glow faintly.

"They all… they all died…" the woman said, struggling but revealing the truth.

Can you tell me why?" Cyd gently stroked the woman's chin.

Her eyes grew even more glazed over.

"They wanted to leave, so… we killed them all…"

"Good girl, I'll reward you," Cyd said, releasing her. Just as the woman turned to embrace him, Cyd swiftly knocked her out with a chop to the back of her head.

Thud—

The half-naked woman collapsed at Cyd's feet.

"A land of gentle pleasures a perfect trap to those fools~" Cyd glanced at the naked Greek heroes enjoying themselves in the crowd and sighed. "Why am I even helping them?"

No one had an answer for him.

"Oh well, nothing this perfect exists in the world," Cyd shrugged and shouted to the crowd, "Hey! There's an unconscious girl here—wanna give her a try?"

He bent down and patted the woman's face. "Here's your reward."

Then Cyd ran back to the rooftop and headed towards the Argo.

On the Argo

"I got the information," Cyd said as he patted Hercules on the shoulder, who was busy cooking.

"These women don't want any man to leave"

"This island isn't a paradise it's a trap," Hercules said with a frown.

"The others are in danger," Hercules said.

"Well, not really…" Cyd said, scratching his head. "These women have their way of maintaining control of men so the others should still be okay for now."

"Hey, Cyd, what's that smell on you?" Atalanta sniffed the air and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Oh, it's probably from when I was gathering information," Cyd said, sniffing his arm. There was indeed a faint scent.

"It stinks. Take it off," Atalanta said, tossing her hair and leaving the kitchen.

"Uh…" Cyd hesitated before removing his outer garment.

"Let's focus on the danger," Hercules said, patting Cyd's shoulder after a brief silence.

"Well, it's not really danger they're facing; they're bringing it on themselves," Cyd said, snapping his fingers. "These women are pretty impressive. the reason why there aren't any men on this island is because the women killed them all."

"So Jason is—" Hercules's eyes widened.

"Don't worry. If they were intent on killing men, Jason wouldn't have survived his first night," Cyd said, shrugging. "They probably have a strong possessive streak. If you tried to leave, they'd kill you. But honestly, they're right to do it. You slept with them, and now you're trying to run away. It's only fair that you get punished."

"Um… but Jason still has unfinished business," Hercules said, looking uncertain.

If there was nothing left to do, then it's fine for them to die, right?

"The problem is, Jason and the others are refusing to leave. As long as they stay, these women won't do anything," Cyd sighed. "We can't force them to leave. We don't have enough power to drive the ship ourselves."

"So what should we do?" Hercules scratched his head.

"Don't worry. These guys… ahem, if they're only indulging themselves, they won't leave. If they don't mind paying some price, they'll be even less likely to leave," Cyd said with a mysterious smile. "They're such fools that it might actually work to get them out of here."

"it feels like you're insulting them."

"Seriously, if they finish with all the women here and just leave, that's the height of irresponsibility, isn't it?"

"Um… they haven't done that before…" Hercules covered his face.

They really are a bunch of fools.

.