Mother Demeter, I am your daughter

"How would I know? If you really don't know what to dedicate, then dedicate yourself to them." Hecate answered casually.

After arriving at the designated location, accompanied by a familiar feeling, he was embraced by a group of flying Hades butterflies.

The butterflies dispersed, and when Promise opened his eyes again, he had already arrived at the temple of Hades, the god of the underworld.

And before he could look around to confirm the situation.

The next second, he found himself being hugged by someone.

Without thinking, Promise knew who the person hugging him was, because he saw Hades looking at him with depression and helplessness.

Then, just as Hades was about to say something, Persephone suddenly exclaimed, grabbed Promise' left hand, and looked at the chain in surprise.

Seeing this, Hades naturally discovered it as well, and after seeing clearly what it was, he was even more surprised and said: "The chain that bound Hera... Promise, have you gone to see Hephaestus?"

"Yeah." The latter nodded honestly.

"Hephaestus...wait, Promise, you are not hurt, are you okay?" Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld, suddenly became anxious and asked.

"Of course, I'm fine, Goddess Persephone, after all, Hephaestus is a very gentle goddess," Promise replied with a smile.

And as soon as he finished speaking, the scene suddenly became quiet.

Even the surrounding nymphs from the underworld looked at Promise with strange eyes.

Tenderness...in a sense, well...it's undeniable.

After all, she didn't use a hammer to just beat this guy that Hera doted on to death.

Persephone touched Promise's forehead and found that her current mood was a bit similar to when the boy said he wanted to see her mother.

At one point, it was hard to tell whether Promise was abnormal or they were not normal enough!

"Hades, why are you still standing there? Help me to open it!" After coming back to her senses, Persephone immediately urged Hades.

The latter also reacted at this time, turning around and preparing to get his weapon.

But he was stopped by Promise,

When the boy indicated that this was all that was left for now and that after returning Persephone to the goddess Demeter, he would return to Hephaestus and continue to be imprisoned by her.

Even Hades couldn't help himself and wanted to untie the silver thread left by Athena on Promise's body to see what was going on in his head!

"Actually, I went to see the goddess Hephaestus for a divine artifact, and the goddess of wisdom told me that only the goddess Hephaestus could do it.

In fact, now, the goddess Hephaestus has handed over the artifact to me and made a vow with me..."

Promise explained and then took out the pure white feather paintbrush.

He knew it must be very precious.

After all, Hephaestus himself admitted that it was one of the most outstanding works.

Although for various reasons, he couldn't feel it intuitively.

But the gods were different.

Just as she saw the paintbrush, even Hecate was moved, her face full of shock.

"You're really lucky to be just imprisoned." Hecate, who originally didn't intend to say more, couldn't help herself now.

Hearing her words, Persephone and Hades, even Persephone, who doted on Promise so much, did not refute this time.

In a panic, she told Promise to put it away and looked around warily.

"It doesn't belong to me yet. According to my oath with Hephaestus, it will only be mine after I have used it to depict all the great gods."

Promise explained while glancing at Persephone and Hades.

"So I must return because Goddess Hephaestus is also one of the Olympian gods!"

"And... Goddess Hephaestus is actually quite gentle."

Recalling his time with Hephaestus, although he was indeed imprisoned, Promise couldn't understand why all the gods were so shocked that he came out unscathed.

After all, in his view, Hephaestus wasn't as unreasonable as the moon goddess Artemis and the god of light Apollo!

If the gods initially thought Promise was abnormal, now, looking at the divine artifact, they were wondering if it was him or them who was abnormal.

And so, Promise took Persephone from Hades.

As they left, Persephone, clearly reluctant, asked Promise, "Child, do you think... I can come back here?"

Promise didn't know the answer, so he remained silent.

Persephone smiled gently and didn't press him further.

"...I've always thought that this kind of task should be left to Hermes," Hecate sighed, breaking the silence.

Hermes, the messenger of the gods, sometimes guided the souls of the dead into the underworld or helped heroes leave it.

"Thank you, Goddess Hecate," Persephone said softly, knowing well the goddess's status and power among the gods.

"It's not a bother... I was going to say that," Hecate glanced at Promise and continued, "But next time, don't call me.

No, wait, there won't be a next time!"

Without waiting for a reaction from Promise and Persephone she left, and the two returned to the mortal world.

It was already daylight when they returned, with the afternoon sun shining warmly on them.

Not far ahead was the temple of the goddess Demeter. Persephone blinked at Promise and said, "Oh, Promise, did you do something to upset Goddess Hecate?"

Persephone recalled that among the gods she had met, Hecate seemed to dislike Promise the most.

Even Hephaestus, who should have disliked Promise the most, wasn't certain anymore.

"I don't know, but I quite like Goddess Hecate," Promise replied.

Though they hadn't met often, he had witnessed Hecate's mystery and power.

Most importantly, despite her high status, she lacked the typical demeanor of a goddess and had expressive emotions, making her unforgettable.

"Really... So, does little Promise like me?" Persephone asked, her face full of expectation.

Just as the boy was about to answer, they noticed someone approaching quickly.

It was the goddess of agriculture, Demeter, who had sensed their presence.

Seeing the anxious Demeter, her mother, despite their short separation of just over ten days, Persephone's eyes turned red

She stepped forward to embrace her worried mother but was met with an empty hug.

Demeter bypassed the prepared Persephone and went straight to Promise.

"Good child, are you alright? I was so scared when I heard from Hermes that you were imprisoned!" She said, her eyes full of worry. "You don't know, Hera almost fainted with shock and is now looking for Zeus everywhere, ready to take him to demand your release!"

Demeter dropped a bombshell of information.

When Promise ate the sleeping golden apple, Hephaestus had sent a message out, which was exactly what Athena had been waiting for.

However, Athena hadn't expected the sequence of events to be so chaotic.

She thought Hephaestus would first imprison Promise and then forge the artifact after everything was over.

But inspired by Promise's words, Hephaestus had set everything else aside...

Such was the nature of artists—no crisis was more important than a burst of inspiration!

"This is the chain that once bound Hera?!" Seeing the silver chain in Promise's hand, Demeter's face turned grim. "No, this is too much, even for Hephaestus. I will go find her and demand an explanation!"

Watching the furious Demeter, seemingly angrier than when she had left, Persephone was stunned.

"Mother, Mother Goddess, don't you notice I'm here?!" Persephone called out.

But Demeter glanced at her, then turned her soft gaze back to Promise, gently patting his head. "Child, it's alright now. You must have been frightened. Don't worry, I, Demeter, swear to seek justice for you!"

Seeing Demeter make such a direct vow, both Promise and Persephone were dumbfounded.

Mother Goddess, calm down. I'm your daughter!