Painting Cerberus

With Medea's matter settled, without the little witch herself noticing that her teacher had sold her to the young man in front of her,

Promise decided to stay temporarily at the temple.

Aside from preparing to paint a picture for the three-headed Hellhound Cerberus, he also intended to take this opportunity to prepare a gift for the Goddess of Fate, Clotho.

He had always wanted to give something to this cute goddess as a thank-you for her help.

The gift he was making was a doll.

A doll crafted from the wood of the golden apple tree, using the carving techniques taught to him by Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship!

As soon as he received the wood of the golden apple tree from his teacher Chiron, this was the idea that came to mind.

Just thinking of the cute little goddess holding a doll made him feel it was the perfect gift.

"So, Goddess Hecate, do you have the tools here? If not, I might have to make a trip back to the goddess teacher to get them."

Inside the temple, when Hecate learned of Promise's intentions, she shook her head and said, "No, I'm not into carving. But it's not a big deal—I'll inscribe a set of tools for you later... By the way, why don't you carve a servant for me while you're at it?"

As she spoke, she glanced at the flowers and plants outside the temple and added, "Medea will be leaving, and I don't have time to care for them. If they die, she'll definitely nag at my statue, even if she's gone."

"I won't nag at all!" Medea loudly protested nearby.

Her beautiful eyes looked a bit annoyed as she stared at Hecate, thinking how her teacher was so much better when she was quietly focused on her experiments—a far cry from her current demeanor!

"Carving a servant is no problem, but... can a statue really take care of plants?" Promise asked Hecate with a hint of curiosity.

Hearing his words, the latter blinked in surprise and said, "Wait, you didn't learn..."

She almost revealed what kind of divine skill Promise was unknowingly learning, but stopped halfway.

Then her striking red eyes blinked at the boy before she sealed her lips shut.

As a goddess who excels at avoiding trouble and evading responsibilities, Hecate knew it was smart to be cautious around this boy, who was intertwined with fate and gods, almost like a beehive.

So, it was best to keep things simple and not say anything that might unintentionally get her more involved.

"Well... you see, I am the goddess of magic. You carve a statue, and I'll enchant it to move around, easy as that."

Promise nodded in understanding and said, "Oh, I see. It's similar to the dolls my goddess teacher creates."

"Exactly," Hecate responded casually.

Meanwhile, Medea glanced at her with suspicion.

Being Hecate's student, she could sense that her goddess teacher was being a bit dismissive towards Promise, but she didn't know why.

After all, he is so good, not to mention it was her teacher, who was sending her away with him.

Well...after speaking Hecate quickly made an excuse to leave, claiming she needed to prepare the tools.

After she left, Promise just chatted briefly with Medea before preparing to start drawing, the three-headed hound Cerberus.

And hearing that he was about to paint, Medea also couldn't resist coming over.

Seeing the girl's hopeful expression, her eyes sparkling as she slightly tilted her head, Promise didn't refuse.

And it wasn't just Medea, who was so deeply interested in his painting, but even the ever-hungry Cerberus set down its treats to watch.

The act of painting was no secret.

Neither Hera nor the other gods had hidden anything from anyone, so the fact that Promise was planning to paint all twelve Olympian gods had already spread even to the Underworld.

What Promise didn't know was that his paintings had already become treasures among the gods.

To be painted by him was seen as a significant recognition.

Promise then prepared to retrieve his brush from the sky but quickly remembered that he was in the Underworld.

Fortunately, Hecate returned at that moment.

Realizing what the boy was about to do, she simply raised her staff and pointed to the sky,

The next moment, a projection of the heavens appeared above the temple.

At that moment, Promise once again clearly realised that this goddess was indeed not to be trifled with.

After arriving outside the hall, he found a step to sit down on, secured the easel, and then as Cerberus knelt down in front of him, Promise skillfully took out a golden apple.

He could no longer remember how many golden apples he had.

He had carefully preserved them at first, but now he was afraid that he would not be able to eat them all even if he wanted to.

And at the moment when he was about to paint, Medea clearly felt that the boy's temperament had changed.

The three-headed hellhound Cerberus, naturally had the most intuitive feeling, reacting instinctively.

Its tail stiffened, and it rose, its three heads simultaneously growling at Promise.

But being shot a cold glance by Hecate, coming back to its senses, Cerberus backed down, lowering its head in submission.

Not paying attention to him, Hecate's red eyes watched Promise with growing interest.

"So, it's not about the brush giving him the ability to paint the gods—it's that he inherently possesses the power to depict gods perfectly. The brush was merely made to facilitate that," Hecate muttered to herself.

But Medea on the side did not hear it, because at this moment there was only Promise in her eyes.

To her, at this moment, the young man looked as if he were a living painting himself.

The magical sunlight illuminated him, his dark ponytail wrapped in a silver thread from the goddess, and his green eyes sparkled like stars.

Time passed quickly.

What surprised Promise was that the temple even had a day-night cycle.

By the time he finished, the temple had darkened.

Although there were no stars or moon above, the temple was softly lit by divine fire torches.

Promise looked at the painting in front of him that he made.

It depicted the grand gates of the Underworld, with the towering three-headed hound, Cerberus standing guard like a massive mountain.

Cerberus felt aggrieved at first. After all, when it comes to peeping into secrets, no matter if it is gods or monsters, they will definitely retaliate severely if caught.

However, as soon as he saw the finished product of the painting, Cerberus's grievances instantly disappeared as it perked up.

Its three heads nodded in approval, and it even threw a proud look at Promise.

"I'm glad you like it, Cerberus," Seeing his actions, the latter chuckled, feeling amused.

But suddenly, he caught a faint scent and instinctively turned, only to find Medea's delicate face inches from his.

No one knew when she had moved so close to him,

But at this moment, the girl's purple eyes stared at him intently, with a hint of admiration and shock in them.

"Promise, you're... really amazing," Medea said softly, clearly impressed.

Promise blinked and then smiled at her. "Thank you."

Medea snapped back to reality at the sound of his voice.

As she lifted her gaze, she found Promise's face inches from hers, close enough that she could feel the warmth of his breath.

Stunned for a moment, the girl finally realized what was happening and quickly jumped to her feet in a panic but she almost fell because she used too much force.

Before she could fully steady herself, she heard the mischievous laughter of her teacher beside her.

Hecate laughed quietly, covering her mouth as she looked at the girl, then turned her attention to Promise.

She gave him a playful tap on the head and said, "You're something else... Oh, by the way. Do you need a veil? I can make one for you. It might come in handy if you ever run into...ahem, let's just say certain situations maybe it'll be useful for you."

You were going to say, Zeus, weren't you?

Promise looked at the goddess in front of him, standing there with a smile.

At this moment, a purple Underworld butterfly rested on her shoulder, casting a faint glow.

Her hair, black as night, flowed beautifully, and her red eyes were stunning.

Thinking that this was one of the few pure goddesses in the ancient Greek era who had never been involved with any other gods, he nodded in understanding.

Yes..she's powerful, high-ranking, and so beautiful... no wonder she has been hiding in the Underworld and always has to wear a veil when going out.

Considering all this, Promise suddenly felt that this was a very good goddess, *She's a good goddess, just like Daphne, the laurel tree nymph!*

'I can get along well with her. After all, if I have trouble with Zeus in the future, maybe...'

*Smack!*

"Ouch!" Promise gasped, clutching his head in pain, looking painfully at the Goddess, who showed no mercy.

"Why don't you learn from your mistakes? I keep wondering where you get the nerve. Athena? Well, if it's from her, I really can't afford to offend her, but really,"

Hecate looked at the young man depressedly, rolled her eyes and said, "You always slander the gods in your heart, it's a miracle that you are still alive today!"

"...I wouldn't do it with other gods. It's mainly because you just don't really feel like a goddess,"

To her words, Promise muttered under his breath.

Cerberus, overhearing this, couldn't help but lift its head and shoot Promise a look that said, *You've got guts, kid.*

Hecate's mouth twitched, and she was about to attack again.

When,

"I get it." Medea nodded and said to the young man with a look of sympathy: "Teacher really is like that sometimes!"

"You two... maybe I'm just too soft on you both!"

With those words, two quick smacks followed, and Medea, who was shocked, finally understood why Promise had reacted so dramatically earlier.

It was a sharp hit, but hardly enough to count as even a minor wound.

In the end, Hecate left in a huff while Promise stored away his painting.

Looking at Medea rubbing her sore head, he thought for a while and then asked, "Medea, would you like a painting?"

As he mentioned this, Promise suddenly remembered that he still hadn't completed the painting he promised Atalanta.

He had intended to finish it after returning to the cave at Mount Pelion, but then they were interrupted by Goddess Artemis's oracle halfway, sending the huntress away, and he had not received any news after that, having no idea what had happened since.

When Medea heard his words, her face lit up with joy and she was about to agree, but suddenly her mind fell into a thought.

Promise had mentioned the Golden Fleece to her during their first meeting.

After thinking for a moment, she carefully responded, "Could we maybe hold off on the painting for a bit?"

Promise was taken aback for a moment, and then glanced at the girl in front of him, and immediately guessed what was on her mind.

After all, at this point, she still wasn't the treacherous witch of the future; her face couldn't hide her thoughts.

So, he chuckled and naturally agreed.

"Goddess Hecate, can I paint a picture of you?" he suddenly asked loudly, standing up and calling out to Hecate, who was walking away.

Hearing this, the latter quickened her pace, responding, "No way! I'm not letting you trap me into helping you like that!"

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